As the elevator’s wooden doors slid silently shut, Tyson dropped his bag and grabbed Jayde in his arms. Her own bag fell to the floor and her brown arms slid up around his neck. Their tongues met in an old mating dance. Time ceased to exist as their world shrank to only them. There were no problems, no issues, not one single bad thing. Just them, two halves of the same whole. As it should be.
When the elevator stopped on the tenth floor, Jayde slid her softer body down his hard length. Tyson still took her breath away. His hair was cut short and he wore a red T-shirt that hugged his chest along with his bi- and triceps, blue jeans with a hole in the knee, and white tennis shoes. With his ring settled comfort-ably on his finger, Jayde knew there wasn’t a day on this earth she would grow tired of looking at him. He was a work of art. Red, white, and blue—a true American hero.
Yes! her body screamed. But her ever-practical mind said no. So instead, she picked up her bag and walked down the hall towards her…their room.
She slid the keycard in the door and entered her room. Not too shabby as far as hotel rooms went. Right away her mind found and focused on the king-sized bed that seemed to dominate the room.
Jayde also noticed two bags on the floor beside the closet. Slanting a glare at the man with whom she’d just shared a soul-shattering kiss she demanded, “Why are you in this room?”
Tyson kicked the door shut behind him with his foot. “Why? ‘Cause last time I checked, a husband and wife were allowed to share a room.” He placed her bag down beside his as he tossed her own words back at her.
“Do I even want to know how you figured out where I was staying?” Jayde asked.
“No,” he stated simply.
“Of course not.” She placed her smaller bag and purse down beside his things. Then, she stretched and rolled her neck. It had been a long flight, five hours, and she was tired, both physically and emotionally, especially now that Tyson was here. “So, Tyson, why do you think you should meet my family?”
“Because we are married.” She grimaced slightly. “Does being married to me cause you that much dis-tress?”
Jayde shook her head and sighed. “Tyson, it’s not that. I am just not really excited about seeing my family. They stress me out so much.”
She began to unpack her bags. He moved closer as she went to the dresser. As she put in her bras and underwear he pulled them out, holding the delicate fabric up high.
“You wear these?” he asked stunned. The one he currently held was pale peach silk and slip-like. “It should be a sin.”
She snatched it away from him and put it in the drawer with a sharp, “Do you mind?”
“Not at all.” He picked up another one, a full-length, deep-necked, rich chocolate color with a slit up one side. The silk ran through his fingers like water, it was so smooth.
“Tyson!” she snapped. “Leave my things alone!”
“How come I never got to see you in things like this?” he asked as he gave, albeit reluctantly, the seduc-tive garment back to her.
Jayde threw the garment in the drawer. “I don’t know; shall we review our time together?” Her eyes crackled with fire as she glared at him.
Tyson shook his head. “Okay, I get it. How about do I get to see you in any of these?” His eyes spar-kled with a mixture of seduction and playfulness.
How she didn’t manage to hold onto her anger, no matter how slight it was, never ceased to amaze her. Even when they’d been in the jungle, Jayde couldn’t stay mad at him. There was just something in his eyes that made her smile despite the situation. And she did so now.
“Maybe. I suppose I could wear one of them for you later.” Jayde ran her eyes over his military-honed physique. “But if I do that for you…” She paused and swayed towards him. “What will you do for me?”
Not even two seconds fell between the time Jayde’s words crossed her lips and the time she was pressed tightly against Tyson. “What do you want?” His mouth was millimeters away from her full lips.
Unlike the last time he’d asked on the boardwalk in Belize, when she hadn’t given her true answer, this time she would. “I want you.” She touched his clean-shaven face. “I want you to make love to me, like you did that night in Belize.”
His eyes darkened with passion. “What else do you want, because that, my little rose, is not going to be a problem? Do you have something else you wish to ask of me?” Tyson cupped her face as well. “You are so beautiful. I love you, Jayde.”
Tears welled up in her eyes and she looked into the soul of the man who would forever be a part of her. Blinking them back, a trembling smile crossed her face. “A date. I want a date.”
“A date?” He nodded as his head lowered to capture her full lips with his firm ones.
“Uhh-huhh,” she mumbled from beneath his passionate kiss.
He pulled back and looked down at her, taking in her dark beauty and lingering on the simple filigree gold chain and karabiner pendant. All of a sudden the perfect idea came to him. “A date.” Tyson nodded and moved away from her picking up the room phone and calling the front desk. Meanwhile Jayde went into the bathroom to freshen up.
After completing his call, Tyson went to get Jayde. “Ready to go?”
Laying the towel on the countertop, she met his stare in the mirror. “Go where?”
“On our date,” he said, boldly moving his eyes over her body.
“Shouldn’t I change first?” she asked as she looked down at her black shorts and green shirt.
“No, that’s just fine. Come on.” He reached out a hand and winked at her as she took it.
Heading out of the hotel room, Tyson kept hold of her hand and led her to the car. He took the keys and slid behind the wheel of her rental car.
“You know, I think I should be offended you just assumed you could use my rental car. Don’t you have one?”
He tweaked her nose. “Of course I do; how do you think I got to our hotel? But I like yours better.” Soon he was driving through the city towards their destination.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“It’s a surprise,” he said easily.
“What kind of surprise?”
“The kind that if I tell you, it won’t be one anymore.”
Jayde took the hint and fell silent for about ten seconds. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“What was the one thing that you wished for when we were in the jungle?”
Tyson took a second to answer. “I wished I could always make you as peaceful as you’d looked when you were swimming in that water.” He turned the car onto another street.
“What look? You weren’t there when I was swimming,” she denied.
“Yes, I was. I was watching you the whole time.” A smile crossed his face as he said that.
“That means you saw me when…” she trailed off not needing to say it.
“Sure did. And I thought you were never more beautiful.” Tyson assured her.
Jayde covered her face with her hands. “I’m mortified.”
“Don’t be. What about you? What did you wish for?” Tyson asked.
“A shower. I think that was the one thing I kept wishing for.”
“Don’t you ever camp?” he wondered.
She nodded. “Well, sure.”
“You don’t shower everyday out there, do you?”
“No, but at least I have deodorant and not scared or running for my life!”
Tyson swore. “I am so sorry I put that on you.”
“No,” Jayde said. “Tyson, please don’t keep apologizing for something that wasn’t your fault.”
“It was my fault. I was supposed to protect you and I couldn’t.” His voice was full of shame and dis-gust at himself.
“How did you know they were going to blow up the plane, or any of it? And you did protect me. Everything I was able to do was because you were with me.” Jayde reached across the small car and put her hand over his. “I would be lying if I said there were times I wasn’t scared, but I never, ever, lost faith in your ability to protect me.”
“And after I got shot? You had to haul me up that last hill.” His words were full of pride at her accomplishment.
“You would have done the same for me,” Jayde said immediately.
Tyson pulled the car into a parking lot, shut off the engine, and turned to Jayde. “I was…no…I am so proud of you. You did things most wouldn’t have been able to do. You were just as tough as the situation warranted you to be.”
“That means a lot coming from you.” She blushed and looked away from his mesmerizing eyes. A wide grin grew on her face as she saw they were at an outdoor supply store with a huge indoor rock-climbing facility.
Jayde got out of the car, her bottom lip between her teeth. “Come on, let’s go.”