Dane
By the time we made it back to the hotel, my head felt pleasantly foggy in the way that only happened after kissing Seth for too long.
The ocean breeze still clung faintly to both of us from our walk along the beach. My hand remembered the shape of Seth’s perfectly.
Warm fingers threaded through mine while we wandered along the shoreline like this wasn’t supposed to be temporary. My wolf was deeply, embarrassingly satisfied about the entire thing.
Beside me, Seth adjusted the room key in his hand while we walked down the hallway toward our room. I was glad we ended up ditching the wedding rehearsal.
The beach had been better, certainly quieter and more private.
It had just been the two of us walking along the shore while the sun dipped lower and lower, turning everything gold. Of course it didn’t hurt we kissed several times.
Seth finally unlocked the hotel room and pushed the door open.
The second we stepped inside and the door shut behind us, Seth exhaled a long breath. He was relieved.
Today had probably exhausted him. Seth had certainly handled everything better than I would’ve.
Honestly though, parts of today had unsettled me too, like seeing Seth talk to Darryl. Seth had been perfectly polite. They were certainly comfortable around each other.
Then again, I reminded myself that there was real history there.
Five years didn’t just disappear because a relationship ended, and Darryl and Seth still shared some inside jokes only they knew about.
And Darryl still knew how to make Seth laugh. Knew which drinks he liked. Knew the tiny expressions Seth made when he was annoyed.
Still, watching Darryl with Elliot eventually settled something restless in me. They were very obviously in love.
A few times, they had leaned toward each other during conversations, and shared glances across crowded rooms. They knew each other without speaking.
Seth had seemed okay with that. He appeared neither bitter nor devastated but I had a feeling he might still be a little bruised in places. Who wouldn’t be in Seth’s shoes?
Part of me wondered how. If it were me, I wasn’t sure I’d handle seeing an ex move on that gracefully. It was entirely possible Seth was just more mature than I was.
My thoughts broke apart when Seth’s stomach growled loudly in the quiet room.
Seth froze, then immediately flushed. For some unknown reason, the embarrassed look on his face hit me directly in the chest. He looked so cute.
“Wow,” I said solemnly. “That sounded serious.”
Seth groaned and dragged a hand down his face. “I can’t remember the last time we ate.”
“Breakfast maybe?”
Seth snorted softly.
“There’s a restaurant downstairs,” he said. “I read the hotel reviews earlier. Apparently the burgers are decent. We could brave human interaction one more time.”
I considered that for exactly two seconds.
Or more specifically, I considered Seth downstairs in public wearing that soft, tired expression while every idiot in the restaurant inevitably noticed how cute he was.
“Nah,” I said immediately.
Seth blinked. “No?”
“Room service?”
He laughed quietly. “That bad?”
“I’m beat,” I lied smoothly.
Seth looked visibly relieved, and that made something protective settle warmly in my chest.
“Room service sounds amazing actually,” he admitted.
We ended up sprawled across opposite sides of the bed with the room service menu between us. Choosing food somehow became deeply serious.
“You can’t order chicken tenders,” Seth informed me. “It seems wrong.”
“Watch me,” I told him.
“You’re in your thirties,” Seth pointed out.
“And yet my love for fried food remains strong.”
Seth grinned down at the menu. "Somehow that doesn't surprise me."
Eventually we compromised by ordering entirely too much food.
A burger and fries for me. Seafood pasta for Seth. We also ordered chicken tenders, extra onion rings, and beer.
While we waited, Seth disappeared into the bathroom first to shower. I heard the water start running a minute later.
I stared at the bathroom door a little too long, picturing what Seth looked like naked. Then I dropped backward onto the bed instead and stared at the ceiling.
This whole trip had become emotionally dangerous far too quickly. Somewhere between fake dates and beach walks, I’d apparently developed real feelings like some kind of idiot.
The bathroom door finally opened about twenty minutes later, and then Seth walked out wearing the hotel bathrobe.
My brain stopped functioning temporarily. His curls were damp again, softer somehow after the shower. A few drops of water still clung near his neck.
The robe sat slightly loose on him, exposing just enough skin to become a problem. My wolf perked up so fast it practically hit its head.
Seth glanced over while toweling his hair. “You okay?”
“No,” I said honestly, eying him up and down and letting him see the appreciation in my eyes.
He blinked, then laughed.
“You should probably shower,” he informed me.
“Probably.”
I grabbed my clothes and escaped before I embarrassed myself further. Unfortunately, showering didn’t help much.
If anything, standing under cold water just gave me more time to think about Seth sitting ten feet away wrapped in a hotel bathrobe. Not ideal.
When I came back out in an old T-shirt and boxers, room service had arrived.
Seth was already sitting cross-legged near the headboard with the tray pulled close between us. For one stupid second, the sight hit me with startling domestic warmth.
Yeah, I could certainly get used to this.
“You took forever,” Seth informed me.
“You survived,” I told him.
“Barely.”
We settled against the pillows with food balanced precariously between us while some random action movie played on the television mostly ignored.
In the end, it turned out that both of us had actually been starving.
Seth attacked the pasta with impressive focus while I demolished half the burger in record time. At one point, Seth stole several fries off my plate without asking.
“I saw that,” I said.
Seth looked over innocently. “Saw what?”
“You stealing my fries.”
“You have enough fries for two people.”
“Those were my fries.”
Seth popped another one into his mouth without shame. “You’ll survive.”
A few beers in, the room softened around the edges comfortably. Both Seth and I felt more relaxed. The tension Seth had carried earlier finally seemed gone now too.
His shoulders loosened, and his laugh came easier. At some point, we abandoned the mostly empty plates onto the rolling tray near the foot of the bed.
Seth shifted beside me afterward, stretching before settling back against the pillows. It didn’t escape my notice how close he was next to me.
The movie continued playing unnoticed in the background.
I became acutely aware of Seth’s bare knee brushing mine beneath the blankets. Neither of us moved away. My pulse ticked upward quietly. Seth yawned softly beside me.
“Tired?” I asked.
“A little.”
He turned his head toward me slightly while speaking, close enough now that I couldn’t help but notice his gorgeous mouth.
Without really thinking about it, I reached over and brushed one damp curl back from his forehead. Seth went still immediately.
My hand lingered briefly near his temple before sliding slowly down the side of his face. His skin felt warm from the shower, and soft.
“Dane,” Seth murmured.
“You can tell me to stop any time,” I informed him.
A flush crept slowly across his cheeks, but Seth didn’t tell me I was crossing any line. In fact, Seth leaned into my touch before he seemed to realize he was doing it.
That tiny unconscious movement nearly ruined me. The air shifted. I let my thumb brush lightly along his jaw. Seth’s eyes dropped briefly to my mouth.
I considered that a very encouraging sign.
“So,” I murmured, inching closer slightly, “you always steal fries from people you fake date?”
Seth’s mouth twitched. “Only the special ones.”
Something warm spread low in my chest. I smiled despite myself. Then Seth shifted closer until his shoulder rested fully against mine.
That wasn’t an accidental brush this time. My arm slid naturally around him after that, settling along his shoulders. Seth relaxed into me almost immediately.
Seth fit against me like he belonged there, and my body already knew how to hold him. Seth tipped his head back slightly to look at me.
“You know,” he said quietly, “for people who claim this is pretend, we’re very cuddly.”
I huffed out a laugh.
“Maybe I’m committed to the role.”
Seth smiled softly.
“I think,” he said, voice quieter now, “maybe I am too.”
And when I kissed him again this time, slower and softer against the hotel pillows, Seth kissed me back like neither of us wanted to think about pretending anymore.
The television kept playing forgotten noise somewhere across the room, flickering light over the bed while Seth shifted closer against me.
My hand stayed warm against the side of his neck, thumb brushing lightly beneath his jaw as I kissed him again and again.
Seth moaned into my mouth that nearly unraveled me.
I tilted my head, deepening the kiss, and Seth responded immediately this time. He seemed less hesitant now, and more certain.
His fingers curled into the front of my shirt. That tiny movement sent heat straight through me. I pulled back just enough to look at him.
Seth’s lips were slightly swollen now, curls messy from my hand running through them earlier. His eyes looked darker somehow.
My hand slid instinctively to his waist beneath the hotel robe, fingertips brushing warm skin. Seth inhaled softly against my mouth.
The robe loosened slightly beneath my hand as I pulled him closer, and suddenly there was too much fabric between us.
Apparently Seth agreed, because while kissing me, he fumbled lazily with the front of my shirt before tugging lightly.
“Too many layers,” he mumbled.
I laughed softly against his mouth.
“You saying that while wearing a bathrobe is bold.”
“Don’t ruin my point.”
I kissed him again instead. Seth shifted onto his knees beside me, and the movement tugged the robe off one shoulder, exposing a strip of bare skin.
My hands settled more firmly at his waist this time, thumbs brushing slowly over warm skin underneath. He shivered. My pulse jumped hard at the reaction.
“You okay?” I murmured.
“Mmhm,” Seth said immediately before adding, “You’re very distracting though.”
I grinned. Then Seth tugged my shirt upward impatiently, and honestly, I was more than willing to cooperate.
The second the shirt hit the floor somewhere beside the bed, Seth’s gaze dropped briefly over my chest like he couldn’t help himself.
That should not have affected me as much as it did. Seth looked back up and immediately caught me noticing. A flush crept slowly into his cheeks.
I leaned forward and kissed him again. Seth melted against me more easily now, one hand sliding into my hair while the other stayed curled lightly against my shoulder.
Everything about this felt slow, not rushed. I liked the fact that neither of us wanted to get too far ahead of the moment.
The robe slipped farther open when Seth shifted into my lap slightly, and my hands skimmed carefully up his sides before settling at his hips. I touched warm and bare skin.
My brain briefly stopped functioning. Seth kissed me harder when my hands tightened slightly against him.
Seth eventually pulled back just enough to breathe, forehead resting lightly against mine.
“You know,” he said softly, still a little breathless, “we’re really bad at pretending this is fake lately.”
I laughed quietly.
“Yeah,” I admitted.
Neither of us sounded particularly upset about it.
Seth’s fingers traced absentminded circles against the back of my neck while I kissed slowly along his jaw. Another soft sound escaped him.
I was becoming dangerously addicted to those.
My hand slipped beneath the robe again, this time brushing lower along his back, and Seth pressed instinctively closer like he wanted more contact everywhere at once.
That did something very unfair to my self-control. I kissed him again before I could think too hard about it. Seth’s fingers hooked lightly into the waistband of my boxers.
A moment later, I felt his fingers on my shaft. I groaned softly. In response, I did the same, curling my fingers over his length.
I started to move my hand, slow strokes at first, before quickening my pace.
Seth mimicked me, and both of us were soon panting with need. I rested my forehead against his, focusing on making him climax. It didn’t take long.
Seth came first, moaning my name as he painted my belly with his seed. Several moments later, I followed, the pressure inside me caving open.
Then a loud crash sounded through the wall beside us followed immediately by drunken laughter. Both of us froze.
Somebody next door whooped loudly. Another voice yelled something unintelligible followed by more cackling.
Someone shouted, “Chug, chug, chug!”
I snorted before I could stop myself. Seth buried his face against my shoulder laughing.
“This hotel is cursed,” Seth mumbled against me.
I wrapped my arms around him properly now, still grinning.
“You saying the romantic atmosphere got ruined by a couple of drunks?”
“One hundred percent.”
Another burst of laughter exploded through the wall. Then came what sounded suspiciously like someone attempting karaoke.
Seth lifted his head slowly, visibly trying not to laugh again.
“Is that… Bon Jovi?”
“I think legally we have to move hotels now.”
That finally broke him. Seth laughed fully this time, shoulders shaking against me while I held onto his waist.
And weirdly, despite the interruption and the room service tray still abandoned near the foot of the bed, this still felt weirdly perfect somehow.
Seth was warm in my arms, and he was smiling.
When he leaned in to kiss me again between quiet laughter and distant drunken karaoke, I kissed him back like I had nowhere else in the world I’d rather be.