I felt him looking at me while I still had my eyes pointed to the sky. It was seriously so beautiful, and even though there were a lot of lights surrounding us, I could spot a sprinkle of stars.
“I’ve spent a lot of time with you, but never heard you mention going to New York. What makes you so fascinated with it now?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know.” I lowered my gaze, looking at him through the corner of my eye before focusing on the tips of my black and white Nikes. “When Kelly hurt me, I just remember thinking that I wasn’t ready to die yet.”
I looked at him and he closed his eyes, his entire body tensing.
I placed my hand on the top of his. “But it wasn’t like an ‘oh shit, I don’t want to die’ kind of thing. It was more of a ‘I don’t want to die not knowing what the world looks like’, kind of thing.”
His eyes popped open and expanded, like that was the last thing he thought he would hear. “Oh…I see…”
“When I was younger, I remember making this bucket list with Frankie. New York City wasn’t at the top of our list, but after what happened, and when you asked me about a getaway, I started to wonder, why not, you know? I mean, New York City should be experienced at least once in a person’s life, especially if they live in this country. It’s also a city that is always in TV shows and movies, so it’s the obvious place to visit first.”
He chuckled. “Very true.” He grabbed my hand and caressed it with the pad of his thumb. “Where else do you want to go?”
I thought on it for a moment. “New Orleans, Belize, any part of California, Bora Bora, Scotland, Paris…a few other places.”
“I bet I can make all of those happen one day. I can take you to each and every one of them.”
I smiled, meeting his eyes. “Would you really?”
“Yep.” He wrapped an arm around me, pulling me to his side. After dropping a kiss on my temple, he said, “Just say when and I’ll make it happen.”
I put my arm around him, resting my cheek on his chest. I breathed in and could smell hot dogs grilling on nearby hot dog stands. “I love it like this.”
“Like what?”
“When it’s just us. No interruptions or distractions. No warnings or secrets.”
“Me too,” he murmured.
I picked my head up, then grabbed his hand and stood. “Come on.” I bobbed my head toward the hotel. “Let’s go back.”
He stood too, and we walked hand-in-hand back to the hotel. Of course, Tierra smiled at us from behind the counter. “You guys are so cute,” she said dreamily, as if she wished she had her own Mr. Cane.
All I could do was smile at her.
On the way up the elevator, it was only us, and as soon as the doors closed, Cane stepped in front of me, caging me between his arms.
“What are you doing?” I asked, smiling, my breaths ragged.
Our foreheads connected, and his lips came down on mine. He kissed me whole and deep, and it was unexpected, but I melted with the kiss anyway. I felt like I was going to turn into a pile of mush. I curled my fingers into his black jacket, bringing my other hand up and curling those fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck.
A moan gushed out of me, and Cane started to pull away when the elevator chimed, but I didn’t want the kiss to stop. I reeled him back in with a tug of his jacket. A deep groan erupted from his chest, and he picked me up in his arms, carrying me out of the elevator.
I don’t know what came over me at that point. I suppose this always happened. We’d kiss so hard, grind, tug, and pant, but as soon as he got down there, I’d panic. I always panicked.
Cane stumbled toward our room door. I felt him digging in his pockets with one hand for the key. Once retrieved, he stuck it into the lock, pushing the door open, all while I kissed him on his lips, his neck, his cheeks, anywhere I could put my mouth. The door automatically shut behind us, and he wasted no time going toward the bed.
My heartbeat ratcheted up as he placed me down and then climbed on top of me, making out with me just as passionately as he had in the elevator. He sucked my bottom lip between his teeth, and a soft groan filled my throat. I was heated, ready…but so fucking terrified. God, why was I so scared?
Cane snatched off his jacket and then pulled his shirt over his head, revealing his beautiful, lean, inked body. I sat up, kissing from his chest to his stomach, and when I got to the waist of his jeans, I unbuttoned them with shaky hands and even shakier breaths. My hands shook so badly that he stopped me when I got to his zipper.