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I fuck until every last part of me is hers for the keeping. Reaching between us, I find her clit slippery and swollen, dancing with her pleasure until she teeters over, falling into bliss right after.

When there’s nothing left to give, I drop on top of her. Her frame is small under me, so I don’t stay long. When I try to roll to the side, though, her arms tighten around my neck. “I like you here. Stay. Just a moment longer.”

Kissing her cheek, I rest my head on the pillow under her and begin to relax. But when I hear her breath jag, I move and crash onto the mattress beside her. Her eyes are closed, the weight of the world, and me, released from her expression. “Sorry.”

She turns to look at me, and I’m granted a sympathetic smile. “Don’t say sorry after we make love, okay?”

It’s not lost on me that she makes it sound like this will be a regular occurrence, just as I promised. I didn’t know it was possible to be so wrapped up in someone. The change of heart is something new that I’ve only experienced with her.

Although I was referring to basically crushing her, I kiss her gently, stroking the hair stuck to her cheek and pushing it behind her ear. “Okay.”

14

Nick

Panic overwhelmsthe good dreams I’m having, and my eyes fly open to find an empty bed beside me.Fuck!

Apparently, I’ve learned nothing since Catalina.

I sit up, the smallest bit of hope remaining as I scan the room—top to bottom, left to right—for Natalie. The bathroom door is open with no signs of her inside there either. Last night was too good to let go as if it meant nothing, but she’s gone.

Slamming my fists down on the mattress, I grit my teeth and close my eyes in anger for letting this happen twice. I take a deep breath and attempt to riddle myself into rational thought. If she left, she had her reasons. Maybe last night didn’t mean as much to her as it did to me.

As much as I want to take this frustration out on myself, maybe I overlooked reality. I had a few drinks, and although I wasn’t drunk, not even close, did I misjudge what was happening?

Even though she remains a mystery to me, I find some consolation in the fact she knows my last name and where I’m staying. What she does with that information remains to be seen.

What’s that phrase about setting someone free, and if they never return, they weren’t yours? I’m fucking this all up, kind of like my relationship with Natalie. She said she loved what I did with my mouth and tongue. One would assume that I might get a number based on that alone. Why did she make me promise her we were more than a one-night stand if she planned to disappear in the morning?

Natalie’s complicated . . . to say the least, but it’s one of the things that attracts me to her.

I scrub my hands over my face and get out of bed. Tugging on my briefs, I go to start the shower and grab my phone on the way. Just as I turn on the water, my screen lights up in my other hand.

I grin as everything that ran through my mind since I woke up is gone in an instant.

On the screen is a photo of her that she must have taken this morning. Her face is clean of the makeup I kissed away last night, but a fresh layer of pink lipstick has been applied. The break of day sneaking in through the window glows against her skin. She’s absolutely luminous.

Her smile is mischievous as if she knew I’d wake up and freak out, or maybe that’s what she planned all along.Complicated.

Although the shower water is still running, I leave the bathroom to snoop around for more clues that will lead me to her. I find my next one on the hotel stationery pad—a note left behind:

Check your last call.

Love,

Natalie

Smiling.Ear to ear.It’s been a long damn time since I’ve felt this happy. But I’m still quick to check my recent calls log. I chuckle when I see the last contact my phone called—Tequila Girl.

I call the number and stick in the earbud, waiting for her to answer. “You have my number now,” she answers, her voice a balm to soothe my racing heart.

If I was smiling before, I’m flat-out grinning like an idiot now. “I do. Good morning, by the way.”

“Good morning.” There’s a slight pause, and then she adds, “I would have woken you, but you looked so peaceful that I couldn’t bring myself to do it.”

Hoping to talk to her for longer than a few minutes, I walk back into the bathroom. “I only found peace because you were next to me, so wake me next time.”

“With lines like that, I might have to keep you around.”