Someone good.
And then he went and showed me the best sex of my entire life.
I smile at the memory. Even when I freaked out and let all my old ghosts wreck the moment, he didn’t judge me. He was kind and understanding…and then hot as hell. Yes, what happened with Matt is behind me now, and Austin has proven without a doubt that my ex-boyfriend’s issues have nothing to do with me.
But he’s done this with a hundred women, I remind myself sternly. Don’t go getting sentimental over a guy who was only ever meant to be a fling.
I decide not to sit around waiting for him to get back from wherever he went. I gather my clothes from where they’re scattered on the floor, and go take a shower in the massive en-suite bathroom. As I rinse off under the steaming power jets, I try to practice my best nonchalant smile.
“Sure, I have a busy day planned, too. See you around, sometime. Maybe.”
I laugh. It sounds ridiculous out loud. In fact, this whole situation is ridiculous. If you’d told me twenty-four hours ago that instead of snuggling up for hot cocoa with my boyfriend, I’d be waking after a night of scorching hot sex with a total stranger, I would have referred you to one of my counseling hotline coworkers for therapy. But here I am.
And I feel good.
I use the luxurious shower gel to soap up my tired limbs. My body feels like I just ran a marathon, but in the best way: every ache reminds me of Austin’s body, pressing me into the mattress; his strong arms pinning me down, gripping me in place as he surged deep inside me…
“Want some company?”
I yelp, spinning around. Austin is holding the shower door open, his eyes roving over my naked body from head to toe. His lips curl in a wicked grin. “I could soap those hard to reach spots,” he adds.
I shut off the jets, my heart still pounding. “You startled me!” I protest, pretending it was the shock that’s made my pulse race, and not the nearness of him. He’s dressed in a plain black T-shirt and jeans, but he looks like a million dollars: his chocolate brown hair falling messily over his eyes, and stubble creeping along his chiseled jaw.
“Let me make it up to you.” Austin slides his hands around my naked waist and draws me closer. He kisses me slowly, exploring every inch of my mouth with his expert tongue, and despite my secret promises to stay detached now that the night is over, I can’t help but melt against him.
He kisses like a god. A hot, gorgeous, sexy god…
“Mmm.” Austin makes a low noise of satisfaction, pulling away from me. His eyes drift lower, over my body, and he grins. “It’s a good thing we’re on a schedule, otherwise I would be doing all kinds of things to this beautiful body right now.”
I blush, grabbing for a towel. I wrap it around myself, then my brain catches up to my body. “Wait, what schedule?”
“Get dressed and you’ll see.” He winks.
“My clothes are all in my room,” I point out. Not to mention all my makeup and beauty products…I sneak a look in the mirror, but it’s too steamed-up to tell what I look like right now. A mess, probably.
“Then borrow some of mine.” Austin goes out into the bedroom and pulls a clean shirt and pair of drawer-string sweatpants from his bag. He tosses them over. “These should work?”
“What?” I burst out laughing, holding up the pants. I could fit into them twice over. “I can’t go out in these, Austin, come on.”
“We’re not going out,” he says mysteriously. “Come on, Sophie. It’s Christmas. Live a little.”
He grins at me, full of boyish enthusiasm, and I can’t help but be charmed. He was such a grinch about the holidays when we talked yesterday, I wonder what’s changed his mind.
“OK,” I agree, wriggling into my underwear and tugging on his clothes. I barely have time to pull my hair back into a messy bun before he’s grabbing my hand and tugging me to the door. I’m still barefoot, and when we reach the hallway, I realize he is too. “Where are we going?” I ask, breathless, as he pulls me into the elevator and hits the ground floor button. “Austin, what’s going on?”
“The whole point of a surprise is that you don’t know,” he laughs, dropping a kiss on my lips. It’s the lightest touch, but it fills my body with heat. The elevator arrives, and he pulls me out. “This way!”
I follow him across the lobby, laughing now, my bare feet cool on the marble floors. It’s empty in the early-morning light, save the woman on reception who just smiles and waves as Austin and I race past. He pulls me down a hallway, and through a door marked “Staff Only.”
“Are we allowed?” I ask, following him deeper into the rabbit hole of hotel hallways.
“I called in a favor,” Austin grins. “I can be very persuasive.”
That’s an understatement. I laugh. Nobody else could get me racing through a hotel first thing on Christmas morning in baggy sweatpants and un-brushed hair. But Austin’s enthusiasm is infectious, and I can’t wait to see what he’s got in store.
“Close your eyes,” he orders me, coming to a stop outside a pair of swinging double doors. I do as he says, letting him lead me slowly into the next room. It’s warmer in here, and I can hear the clatter of activity and noise. My curiosity grows. I can’t imagine where he’s taken me, or what this big surprise is all about.
“OK.” Austin carefully guides me a few more steps ahead, his hands on my waist nudging me into direction. “You can open them…now!”