by V.K. Sykes
* * *
It took a little longer to arrange for the room than Nate expected. He’d stayed at the Ritz several times before, but he didn’t know the clerk at the front desk. Luckily, she immediately recognized him, and chatted him up in her soft southern accent as if she were his biggest fan.
Until Holly Bell walked into his life, he wouldn’t have hesitated to respond when the sweet-faced clerk in her smart, tailored uniform started to flirt with him. But not tonight. Tonight the loveliest, sexiest woman a man could ever want to meet waited for him back in the restaurant.
And a very vulnerable woman, too, which had surprised the hell out of him. When Holly had clung to him this morning, trying so hard not to cry after the shitty phone call with Detective Rich, Nate had experienced an odd rush of emotions. Anger, of course, and then deep concern. He’d wanted to pound that prick Arnold into dust for scaring her. But mostly he’d wanted to hold her close, soothing away her fears. Then he’d wanted to make love to her, claiming and protecting her in the most basic way he could. He’d never felt like that toward any woman, but he was quickly learning that Holly Bell was like no one he’d ever met.
He’d settled for letting her fall asleep in his arms, and then later hauling her off to the golf course. She’d resisted at first, but he knew the challenge of learning the game would be a powerful distraction. It worked, too. Holly had been so irritated by her clumsy first attempts that she’d knuckled down with a grim determination that seemed to drive all thoughts of Arnold out of her head. Nate couldn’t help but admire her. She was so far from a natural athlete that he’d had to stifle the occasional laugh when she whiffed the ball or hammered one sideways into the trees. But his girl was a fighter, and that he could totally respect.
The pretty blonde who was helping him gave a satisfied exclamation, capturing Nate’s attention. “We’re in luck, Mr. Carter! We do have a small suite available for you.”
“Great,” he enthused. “I knew you could do it.”
Fortunately, classy hotels often kept a suite or two open for VIP’s that showed up unexpectedly, and it sure didn’t hurt that the clerk was a genuine fan. She gave him a suite on the fifth floor, that she said directly faced the ocean.
Perfect.
As Nate pushed his way through the doors of the Salt Grill, he fixed his eyes on Holly, sitting in elegant profile at their table by the windows. She was gazing through the tall glass toward the ocean, now dark and mysterious in the moonlight. The room’s subdued but warm lighting bathed her in tones that made her even more tantalizing than usual. Her long neck and creamy shoulders, uncovered except for the thin strap of the black cocktail dress, made him want to run a string of kisses on her glowing skin from the tips of her fine, surgeon’s fingers right up to her delicate earlobe.
“Penny for your thoughts?” he said quietly, hoping not to startle her.
She turned toward him, giving him a bright smile as if to celebrate his return.
“I was just thinking how lucky people are to be able to live beside the ocean. It’s good for the soul to be near the water, don’t you think?”
“Yes, it is,” he agreed, after pausing for a moment. “And it’s good for my soul to be near you.” He realized with diamond-sharp clarity how right the words sounded to him.
A look of wonder stole over her fine-boned features. “Nate Carter, that is without a doubt the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me.” Her heart was in her eyes, and her gaze made Nate feel ten feet tall. But strangely tongue-tied, too, as if something had grabbed at his vocal cords and squeezed tight.
“Ah, would you care to inspect our room now?” he finally managed. “I’m told it’s kind of nice.”