Free Room 1208 by Sophia Renny

“I’m here.”
    She lifted one hand to his face, pressed her palm
to his cheek. She took several deep breaths, her body still trembling with
residual sobs. Her thumb brushed along the ridge of his cheekbone. She drew
back, resting her head in the curve of his upper arm and shoulder as she raised
her damp eyes to his. “Thank you,” she said softly, pouring all of her gratitude
and…love into those two simple words.
    She loved him.
    She wondered if she’d fallen in love with him at
first sight and had only been burying that powerful emotion for the last six
months. Because there wasn’t any lightning bolt or clap of thunder in her head,
no sudden, sharp recognition. It was as if she’d merely unbolted a door that
had hidden what she’d known all along.
    She grabbed his shirt collar, tugged his face
down to hers. Her lips parted in a happy little sigh before she pressed her
mouth to his. She felt him smile against her mouth as his hand came up to
cradle her head, his fingers sifting into her coiled hair.
    It was a tender kiss, close-mouthed, almost
chaste. Lips pressing against each other, drawing back, shared smiles before
touching again. She breathed in his scent, citrus and cedar and warm, vigorous
man. She took a teasing tug at the comma of hair at the nape of his neck before
tunneling her fingers into his hair, hair that was a little longer and thicker
than when she’d seen him last. He made a sound of contentment against her
mouth.
    She could have kissed him like this forever.
    Until her stomach growled with a loud and
demanding noise that seemed to reverberate throughout the room.
    He pulled back, eyes glowing with teasing amusement.
“Is there a tiger in the room?”
    She laughed and blushed.
    “God, I’ve missed that blush of yours.” He
trailed his fingertips across her cheek.
    Her stomach growled again.
    He sat upright, bringing her with him. “When did
you last eat?”
    She had to think for a moment. “Not since
breakfast. I was too nervous to eat much today. We were all so anxious to hear
if we’d landed the account.”
    He scooted off the chair with her still in his
arms. He paused, staring at her quietly for a moment as if unwilling to let her
go. He finally released her legs, holding her in a loose embrace until she was
steady on her feet. “This is a good thing, actually,” he said gruffly. “As much
as I want to toss you onto that bed and bury myself inside of you, we have a
lot to talk about.” He gave her a light smack on her butt. “Go change into
something comfortable. We’re going to get something to eat.”
    She glanced at the bedside clock. “At two o’clock
in the morning?”
    “Sugar, this is New York. The night is only just
beginning.”
     
    He held her hand as they
walked along the still busy sidewalks. She could not stop looking up at his
smiling profile every few seconds. Jason. Jason. Jace . He was really
here, holding her hand, here in the heart of Manhattan on a balmy summer night.
    She swung their arms, giving in to the happy
impulse to skip beside him. Dressed as she was in black yoga pants, pink hoodie
and sneakers—her workout gear—she felt like a teenage girl. A teenage girl in
love.
    Jason laughed as he brought her closer to his
side. “Watch out for that garbage can, hon.” He steered them around it.
    “Have you always lived in New York?” she
wondered.
    “No. I was born and raised in Nebraska.”
    “Right next door!”
    “You’ve always lived in Iowa then?”
    “No.” She hesitated. “I grew up in Washington
State. I went to the University of Iowa and decided to stay there after
graduation. Do you still have family in Nebraska?”
    “Yes. My parents live there. I have two younger
brothers, one lives in Nebraska, the other moved to Idaho.”
    “Are they married?”
    “Nathan, the middle one is. He and his wife,
Anne, have one daughter and another baby on the way.” There was a slight catch
in his voice. She pressed his hand. He pressed back,