Chapter 12 I went back to Tore's hotel with no intention other than wanting to spend more time with him. If this was a one-night thing, I'd get all I could from it to keep in my memories. The door clicked shut behind us, and he leaned against it, watching me. We'd spent the evening pressed side by side-in the booth, the car, on the rock-this was the first time we'd been truly face to face. I blushed. All he'd done was look at me head-on, and my cheeks were aflame. Who was I? "Can I kiss you?" he asked. I nodded. "That would be ideal." He pushed off the door and closed the distance in three steps. One hand cradling the back of my head, he drew me in, humming as our bodies gently collided. He was taller, but with my heels on, he barely had to bend to reach my mouth. His lips brushed mine. Soft. So soft. Like warm feathers gliding across my skin. His hand drifting to my nape, the other clutching my waist, he inhaled against my lips, taking my scent and breath, then exhaled as he pressed into me, fitting my bottom lip between his, sucking oh-so-carefully. It was slow and methodical. Singularly Tore. Each swipe of his tongue along the seam of my lips weakened my knees and had me leaning into him more. He held me tighter, wrapping his arm around my waist with such strength, I didn't doubt he could hold my entire weight without breaking a sweat. I slid my hands up his chest, around his neck, threading them into his thick, silky hair. When I parted my lips, he met me with his tongue, tilting his head to deepen the kiss. Then he whimpered. Gritty and desperate, I nearly shattered in his arms from how beautiful the sound was. "Bea," he uttered brokenly into my mouth. "Oh god." "I know, baby. I know." I kissed him again, grazing his lip with my teeth, lapping at the little pained sounds rising in his throat. I wanted more of him, to know what his skin felt like against mine. Reaching for the hem of his shirt, I yanked it out of his pants. His crackled moan, a magic medicine that cured all my ails, shot directly into my veins, and I wasn't sure there had ever been a more perfect man. Then he went and ruined it all. Gripping my shoulders, he took a step away, and my hands slipped from beneath his shirt. "Let's slow down." My eyes fluttered open. "We don't have to." Pain flickered across his expression, gone in an instant. "I need to. I know I asked you back to my room, and I was the one to start this, but I don't want to rush. I-" Embarrassed, like I was some harlot trying to mount him, I turned my head. "No, I understand. You don't have to explain." "Bea." He touched my chin, coaxing me to look at him. "It would be so easy to get lost in you." I let him turn my face, unsure what to say. I'd already lost myself, and he had restraint to spare. He cupped my nape and dropped his forehead to mine. "For me, this isn't going to be one night. I don't want to rush us because I want to make sure we get this right." I closed my eyes, letting his words settle over me. He wanted more, and I...well, I did too. How that would work with him living states away, I didn't know, but I couldn't see myself letting him go easily. "There's no set order of how things have to go." "No, there isn't." At his frustrated tone, I opened my eyes. He was frowning. "Does that upset you?" "I'm not upset." The hand on my lower back flexed. "I might be a little old-fashioned for you, Bea. It's my father's fault. He thinks he's a character from a black-and-white movie, and he raised me to act like a gentleman, always." "That's cute, but I don't see the problem." "It isn't necessarily a problem, but I'm somewhat set in my ways. As much as I'd like to take you to bed tonight, I won't-not until I can give you the proper time and attention you deserve." My heart flipped and stuttered against my ribs. "We have all night." "But that's all, Bea. It's not enough." He huffed, not disguising his displeasure. "I'd like to know you." "I'd like that too," I agreed. "Let's do that then. In the time it takes for me to make the move to Denver, let's get to know each other." I sucked in a breath. "You're moving to Denver?" "I am." "When did you decide that?" His eyes didn't waver. "Tonight." I felt it-all the meaning behind that one word. It couldn't possibly be true, though. Surely, he hadn't made a decision because of me. That would be-no, it couldn't be because of me. If I let myself even think that for a second, the pressure would flatten me. "Not for me," I whispered. "You're certainly an incentive." Tore barely blinked as he looked at me. "I'm somewhat unbendable, and I don't make moves easily. Sam has had to shove me forward as our company has grown, and when it comes down to it, he's always been right. He's been pushing me toward the edge for a long while now, but I'm not unwilling to say meeting you was the tipping point." "I don't know how to respond to that." He shook his head. "You don't have to say anything. You're not required to reciprocate my feelings. I hope you'll allow me to get to know you, though." The pressure in my chest made it hard to speak, so I just nodded. Tore guided me to the loveseat in the small living area and tucked me against him. My mind whirled while he ordered us coffee and dessert, telling me he needed caffeine to keep this night going. I kicked off my heels, and he brought my feet to his lap, holding them in his warm, wide hands. Massaging my soles, he asked me how I could stand to wear such tall shoes, and I told him about my mother's collection of stilettos and explained Barbie feet were in my DNA. I let him hold my feet, touch them, examine them closely. He even kissed the tops of both and rubbed his thumb over the cherry-red polish. He might've done more, and I would have allowed it, if not for the knock on the door. Room service had arrived with a cart full of desserts and a steaming pot of coffee. We ate and drank, listening to my playlist over the room's speakers. Between bites, we kissed each other in random places. He landed most often on my left dimple, and I couldn't stay away from the divot in his chin. "College at sixteen?" I raised a brow. "What was that like?" "Freedom and hell." He grimaced. "I was stifled in high school. I couldn't get out of there soon enough. But college... Well, I looked about fourteen when I started. Scrawny, shy, uptight, a mess. I hadn't met Sam yet, so needless to say, I had no social life my first two years." "What changed?" The tips of his ears reddened, and I waited with bated breath for him to explain that reaction. "There was a girl in one of my business classes. She...uh, started a rumor about me that piqued a lot of people's interest." I gripped his arm, already delighted by this story. "Tell me, Tore. I have to know." "These...assholes in our class were trying to bully the girl-Elena-by accusing her of dating me. Most people would have been embarrassed and denied it. She'd rolled with it, telling them not only had we dated but I'd dumped her, and she was chasing after me because I" -Tore turned crimson-"have a horse cock." I blinked. Then gasped. "No." He winced. "And she couldn't get enough of it." The last words came out in a rush. When they landed, I screeched, launching upright. "Oh my god. I love her." He laughed, steadying me with his hands on my hips. "She is certainly one of a kind. After that, things changed for me." Leaning over him, I held his face in my hands. "Were you really with her?" "No." He shook his head. "We were good friends in college, though. She now lives on a ranch in Wyoming with her husband and brood of kids." Now that I knew they'd always just been friends, I liked her even more. "But her rumor got you laid?" He shrugged. "I was a stupid, horny kid. When girls came on to me, I didn't say no." I loved this story so much, I had to stop myself from bouncing. "You did get laid from a horse-cock rumor." I clutched my chest. "I'm so proud of teenage Tore." I paused. "Wait-that means...was it true?" He blushed so deeply, he nearly turned purple. "I don't-not a horse, but-" Laughter flung free from my body like an out-of-control missile, winding around us in erratic patterns until I fell forward, landing sprawled over Tore. He took me down to the cushions, lying half on top of me, watching me giggle. "I've never seen anything more beautiful than you laughing," he declared, like he'd just uncovered something mythical and wondrous. I trailed my fingertips over his smooth cheek. "I can't explain how happy I am you met her. I love that she took something negative and turned it all around for you." His brow furrowed. "You don't seem disturbed to hear about me sleeping with other women." "We both have pasts. They're what brought us here. I'm not going to get jealous of something you did long before you met me." I poked his chin. "Now, if you were to go off and sleep with someone tomorrow, I wouldn't be laughing." "I would never do that." I lifted my head to rub my lips along his. "I think I know that about you." Later, when we'd moved to his bed, him in lounge pants and me wearing one of his shirts, we held hands, struggling to keep our eyes open. "Do you ever see your siblings?" he asked. My heart lodged in my throat. "No. My mom and Phil...they don't allow it. I don't think they'd even know me anymore." Ten years was a long time in kid years. "I'm sorry, Bea. That isn't right. If you want, I can look into-" "No." I rolled to my side, touching my lips to his bicep. "Thank you, but no. I've accepted how things are, and I can't go back and ruffle things up. Caroline gives me little updates, and they're doing okay. They're fine without me." He was stiff beside me, his chest rising and falling in heaving waves as he took deep, gulping breaths. "It isn't right," he muttered. "It is what it is." "It's difficult for me to let things go when I see something that could be changed." "But you have to." He inhaled a great breath then slowly exhaled. "I know. I will." His eyes swept over my face. "You should know I'm autistic." "Okay." I'd sort of suspected, but I was glad he'd told me. I wasn't sure what the appropriate response was, so I said the first thing that popped into my head. "I'm allergic to peas and pollen." He blinked. "Are we exchanging medical information?" "I thought so..." I grinned at him. "Are we not?" "I guess we are." Smiling, he rubbed my nose with his. "I had my appendix removed when I was twelve." "Oh no. I don't know if I can date a man without an appendix. Deal-breaker." He started shaking with laughter, wrapping me in his arms. "I'll grow it back. It's already happening." "Mind over matter," I whispered between giggles. We fell asleep like that, holding each other, still giggling. And it was perfect. The next morning, I woke to Tore's lips brushing mine. My eyes fluttered open to find him showered and dressed in a sleek suit, so handsome, I wondered if I was still dreaming. "You can sleep in. I'm meeting Sam to go over contracts." He tugged his cuff and checked the time on his phone. "Our meetings will probably go on all day, but I'd like to see you tonight." "I'm working, but after?" He nodded. "Absolutely. I don't know what time I'll be free, but I'll come to the bar when I am." He leaned over me, kissing me one more time. "Until tonight, beautiful blue." "Until tonight, baby." I drifted back to sleep, and when my phone buzzed hours later, I yawned, reaching for it. A Venmo notification stopped me cold. $500 - a bonus for going above and beyond. Thanks for being the best waitress in town. From Sam. A bonus? Ridiculous and insulting. Last night hadn't been part of a job. I hadn't even thought of him or his money once. That wasn't what any of this had been about. I immediately sent the money back. Absolutely no way I was taking another cent from him. If I hadn't already used the initial five hundred for overdue bills, I would have returned that too. I'd have to explain this to Tore. Obviously, I couldn't allow this to hang over our heads. He'd understand. After last night, he had to know this was real for me. Nothing had ever been more real. I'd tell him tonight. He'd understand. Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!