Page 56 of Love or Leave

His head had already started nodding, but his brain forced some logic out of his mouth.

"What about Max?"

She stared into his eyes for a moment and desperately wished he could read her mind. "We don't have to tell him."

He gave one more utterly useless hesitation before he took her hand in his and unlocked his door.

fifteen

Cara walked into Antonio's hotel room, feeling more nervous than she would have expected, considering how badly she wanted to be there. She'd been so relieved he hadn't said no that she hadn't fully processed what she was in store for. In fact, she was still reeling from their steamy kiss under the stars.

She took a few deep breaths and moved through the room, noting how neatly he'd placed his suitcase on the rack inside the closet, peering into the bathroom to see how he'd carefully unpacked his toiletries onto the counter.

She compared it to what her bathroom sink had looked like when they'd left for dinner that night and laughed. "I think I've found another thing we don't have in common."

"Really?" he asked, coming up close behind her and placing his hands on her upper arms. "What's that?"

His hands drifted up and down, warming her through her jacket. On instinct, she moved until her back pressed up against the front of his body. He reached around to the buttons of her jacket and slowly undid the top one.

His fingers unhooked the next three buttons, and her coat fell away. The cool air reached Cara’s too-hot skin and anticipation shot through her body.

"What's that, Cara?"

"What's what?"

A low chuckle came from his chest as he took the lapels of her coat and pulled, dragging the scratchy wool fabric down her shoulders. Shivers zinged across her skin.

He dropped the coat on the floor and reached his hand to her neck, pulling her hair back and leaning in close. His lips grazed her ear. "What don't we have in common?"

A gasp escaped and her head flopped to the side as he trailed kisses her from her ear to her neck and across her shoulder.

"You're tidy," she breathed out.

He let out a hum as he kissed his way back to her ear. "Are you messy?"

"Yes," she said with a sigh, but it came out as encouragement. She never wanted his mouth to leave her neck.

"What else don't we have in common?"

She focused her thoughts. "You like sports."

"Mmm."

His mouth was still on her neck, but his hands were moving down to her back and to the top of her zipper. "I'm not that into sports,” he countered. “I just needed something to do besides work and sitting alone in my apartment."

"You played when you were younger, though, and if you played with Max, then you must have been pretty good."

He took the zipper and slowly inched it down.

"I was a fast skater and a decent puck handler, but I only kept playing because my dad wanted me to. When I broke my leg, my mom made me stop and I don't remember being too torn up about it."

Her back cooled as he exposed more and more of her skin. She was lost in the deep vibration of his voice.

She wanted more.

"What made you want to be a doctor?"

"I like gross things."

---