Toli Stevens was scared. . .
She entered the lodge and quickly crossed the lobby floor. Inside the elevator, she struggled to catch her breath.
She was scared because of what she’d done.
Just minutes earlier, she had practically assaulted him. She kissed him and mentally made love to him—and it was just three days before her wedding to another man!
Passion had spewed out of her like a geyser, steamy and hot, and out of her control.
She was scared because of what she’d become.
Her sense of order and stability—the very foundation that defined her—had crumbled in the wake of this unrelenting passion for him.
What is happening to me?
She had run from him to the safety of the lodge, to be alone and put her emotions back in order.
Yes order!
She pressed “4” on the elevator wall. But just before the door closed a hand slid in. Then a foot. Then a body. His body.
Toli backed into the corner.
The elevator door closed.
If they'd been characters in a play he might have said something profound. He might have delivered, with razor-edged lucidity, precise words designed to catapult her into the heavens. Instead he said nothing, and this was worse. For he possessed the most beautiful silence she'd ever experienced. If she hadn't seen him for years and she was in another city, or on another planet, and he moved up behind her, she’d recognize his silence.
Suddenly he was in her corner, leaning against the wall, his arms out, trapping her in a triangle.
She opened her mouth to speak and his lips met hers. Clasping the swelled muscles of his arms, she tried resisting him––but it was already too late. A bittersweet ache tugged at her heart… at her soul. She'd never been kissed like this before in her life. She had no idea a kiss could make her feel so helpless. And for this, she felt inadequate, at twenty-nine years old she’d never experienced the essence of a kiss before, the sugar in the chocolate that made it irresistible.
The elevator door opened. He stepped back, giving her space. But she didn’t want space. She wanted to be one with him. God help me. Breathless and on shaky legs, Toli took his hand and led him down the corridor to her room. Nervous fingers fished her hotel card out of her purse and slid it in the slot. He kissed her again. Leaning against the door they rolled into the room, their lips engaged, bodies intertwined.