“You don't have to do that, Hal.”
“Yes,” he said, “I do. What kind of guy would I be if I left a lady out in the cold?”
His smile was genuine. He'd turned off the flirtation and the charm, and he was simply offering me a place to stay for the night. I couldn't help but smile.
“All right, Mr. Masterson,” I said. “You've got yourself a deal.”
We went up to the room. Hal let me use the shower first, while he spoke to the hotel staff about getting a rollaway mattress and some extra pillows, towels, and bathrobes. I found all the amenities I needed: little travel-size containers of shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, and so on. I decided to treat the night like a little vacation. It was a hell of a nice hotel, and the room had a king size bed, a mini-bar, and a huge flat-screen TV.
Once I was cleaned up, I checked the TV for news about the storm, while Hal took his turn in the shower. It looked like everything would be cleared up by morning, which was good. I didn't want to be stuck here any longer than I had to, no matter how nice it was.
“Thanks again, Hal,” I said as I settled in for the night. “I really appreciate this.”
“No problem at all,” he said. “It's the least I can do for a lady, especially one as sweet and lovely as yourself.”
I turned off the light and lay in the bed, staring at the ceiling in the darkness. I half-expected Hal to come over and try to put the moves on me, but he didn't. He was a perfect gentleman. He deserved a lot more credit than I'd given him, it seemed.
Hal filled my dreams that night. In my dreams, he wasn't a gentleman at all. He was rough and assertive, the way I liked it, taking me to his bed and giving me what I needed. My body grew warm and I writhed beneath the sheets, feeling his dream kisses as if they were real. In that place halfway between sleep and wakefulness, I heard myself moan, and a distant part of me wondered if Hal had heard. A deeper part of me wanted him to.
I woke in a sweat in the early hours before dawn, filled with need. Hal lay sleeping on the rollaway mattress across the room. I rose from the bed and walked over to him, looking down at him. The sheets hung halfway off of him. He wore only a pair of silk pajama bottoms. His bare chest was covered in hard muscles, and with his shirt off I saw that his tattoos extended across his torso as well.
I reached out and touched them, sliding my fingers across the tribal designs. He stirred softly, letting out a soft moan in his sleep. My fingers kept moving, tracing across his muscles, feeling the warmth of his skin. I knew that this was a bad idea. We had a working relationship, and I wasn't in a place in my life to be ready for romance. But in that moment, I didn't care.
I pulled down the sheets and slipped my hand into his pajama pants. He gasped in his sleep, but he didn't stay asleep for long. “Jane?” he whispered as he woke to my tender touches.
“Shh, baby,” I whispered back, climbing on top of him. “I know you wanted this.”
“God yes,” he said. “But...are you sure?”
I stroked him to show him just how sure I was. He reached up and touched me, his hands sliding over my curves. He slipped his hands under my shirt, then pulled it off. “So soft,” he whispered, leaning up to bury his face between my breasts. “Soft and warm, just like a woman should be.”
“You want to feel the way a real woman feels?” I asked.
“Oh yes.”
I could tell just how much he wanted it, and I was ready to give it to him. I slid him inside of me and he gasped, grabbing my ample hips. He gently guided my movements as I rode him, taking my time, enjoying every moment of it. We melded into one another, his firm hands gripping my buttocks, his lips seeking my neck, my breasts. The rollaway mattress squeaked beneath us, shifting with our movements as they became more frantic and energetic. Then he grabbed my hips tight and gasped as climax overcame him
We moved to the bed for a second round, then fell asleep in each other's arms. I drifted off to sleep, thinking that this little “vacation” was turning out pretty damn good after all.
* * *
In the morning I was up and getting dressed before Hal had even woken. When he woke up, he sat up in the bed and looked me over. A blissful grin was on his lips, as he was no doubt reliving our experiences from the night before. “Good morning, beautiful,” he said.
I didn't look at him. “Good morning.”
“In a rush to head out?” he asked, the grin fading from his lips. He got up and went over to the window, peeking out through the curtains to look at the street below. “Looks like they've plowed. You won't have to worry about being stuck here. But I'd like it if you'd stay for breakfast.”