Chapter 54

His mouth didn’t rush back to mine. Instead, he dropped his head, his lips trailing an agonizingly slow path down my jawline before burying into my neck.

He licked a hot, wet line down the side of my throat, his tongue tracing over the frantic bounding of my pulse point.

He lingered there, nibbling lightly at the sensitive skin, claiming me so deeply that a sharp, violent shudder ran all the way down my back.

"So perfect," he murmured against my skin, his breath burning hot against my throat as his kisses moved outward, trailing over the slope of my shoulder.

His hands shifted from my waist, moving slowly down to the tie of my robe.

He caught the satin string between his fingers and gave it one steady, heavy tug, loosening the knot.

His bare palms slid inside the opened fabric, gripping my hips, the raw friction of his skin burning hot against mine.

Slowly, inch by inch, he pushed the material off my shoulders, letting it slide down my arms until it pooled around my waist, exposing the bare skin of my chest and shoulders to the cool kitchen air.

He followed the movement with his lips, licking down my neck and tracing the curve of my collarbone.

He dragged his tongue slowly over the sensitive skin, whispering broken praise against my flesh as he moved lower and lower.

His warm mouth pressed into the valley between my breasts, nuzzling there for a long moment before his tongue dragged a wet, torturously slow line down the center of my stomach.

He dropped slowly to his knees in front of the counter, his eyes never leaving my body.

His breath hitched as he leaned in, his lips pressing a firm, warm kiss right into my navel, his teeth lightly nibbling the soft skin around it until my lower stomach clenched in a tight knot.

I arched off the counter, my fingers knotting tightly into his hair, a broken, breathless gasp escaping me.

"Ren..." I cried out into the quiet room.

"You’re driving me crazy," he whispered, his hands sliding higher up my thighs, his calloused palms smoothing over my bare skin.

He leaned forward, burying his face between my thighs as his large palms gently parted my legs a fraction wider. His mouth moved to the soft, pale skin of my inner laps.

He took his time, his tongue dragging hot, deliberate strokes along the sensitive flesh before he began to nibble his way upward, his teeth biting just hard enough to make my entire body.

Every time his teeth grazed my skin, a fresh wave of liquid heat erupted in my lower belly. I was completely unraveled, entirely at the mercy of his hands and mouth.

The heat between us was completely out of control. My hands reached down, finding the waistband of his sweatpants, my fingers sliding underneath the cotton.

I gripped the edge of his briefs along with the pants, slowly pulling them down past his hips because I needed him closer, needed every single barrier gone.

Ren let out a dark, ragged growl into my skin, standing back up and driving his hips forward, pressing his heavy length firmly against me through the last of our clothes.

He hooked his arms under my knees, shifting my weight so I was completely open to him on the counter.

His large hand slid down, his long fingers spreading wide across my bare stomach before trailing down, down, past the hem of my panties.

The moment his fingers brushed against the damp heat between my thighs, my entire body went rigid.

I cried out into the dark room, my hips jerking upward into his touch as he began to slide his fingers against me, slow and steady, ruining me completely.

My hands clung to the bare muscles of his back, my nails digging deep into his skin as he lifted me higher on the counter, his mouth coming back up to devour mine again, completely consuming me...

Ring.

The sound was sharp.

Ring.

I blinked. The burning heat of his skin suddenly turned freezing cold. The dark kitchen started to blur and fade away like smoke.

Ring.

My eyes snapped open.

I wasn’t in the kitchen. There was no counter, no bare skin, no hands on my thighs, and no smell of stubble and cologne.

I was tangled up in the white duvet of my hotel bed, the gray morning light bleeding through the gaps in the curtains.

My heart was hammering violently against my ribs, and I was gasping for air in the empty bedroom.

My lips were tingling, completely warm, and my skin felt flushed. I reached up, touching my mouth with a shaking finger.

They were completely dry.

On the nightstand, my phone was vibrating against the wood, the screen flashing over and over.

It was a dream.

I pulled my knees tightly up to my chest and buried my face in my hands, a wave of pure horror and deep, suffocating guilt washing over me. It hadn’t been real. None of it.

But as I sat there trembling in the quiet room, the real truth hit me like ice water. I hadn’t wanted it to be a dream.

The phone didn’t stop. It buzzed against the dark wood of the nightstand, a harsh, relentless sound that seemed to vibrate straight through my skull, shattering the last lingering remnants of the dream.

I stayed frozen, my knees pressed tightly against my chest, my breathing still shallow and ragged.

My skin felt terribly cold now, the sweat drying rapidly under the icy blast of the hotel air conditioner.

The contrast was sickening. Just moments ago, I had been burning up, consumed by a heat so thick it felt real. Now, I was shivering in an empty bed, completely alone.

The guilt came next, heavy and suffocating, settling right into the center of my chest like a block of lead.

I had spent the last thirty minutes locked in a breathless, sinful hallucination of another woman’s man pinning me against a kitchen counter.

I shouldn’t be having such dreams, especially not about Ren. God.

What the hell was wrong with me? I had no right to feel this devastating ache of disappointment simply because I had opened my eyes.

The phone gave one long, final vibration and went silent.

I let out a shaky breath, slowly lowering my legs. But before my feet could even touch the carpet, the screen lit up again, the ringtone piercing the quiet room for a second time.

Shaking, I reached out and grabbed the device, my eyes straining to focus on the caller ID.

Ren.

My heart skipped a beat. I swallowed hard, trying to summon some moisture to my throat, but my tongue still felt thick and dry. I swiped the screen and pressed the phone to my ear.

"Hello?"

My voice came out as a breathless, cracked whisper. I pulled the duvet up to my chin instinctively, as if trying to hide the flush I knew was still staining my neck from the nightmare.

"Lumi? Sorry, did I wake you?"

His voice through the speaker was deep, rough, and layered with the distinct strain of exhaustion.

It was the exact same tone from my dream, and hearing it in reality sent a sharp, involuntary shiver straight down my spine.

"No," I lied, my voice tight. "No, I’m awake. Is everything okay? Is it Theo?"

"Theo is fine. He’s awake," Ren said, a faint trace of relief filtering through his deep tone. "I called Neve a while ago, she said he was doing much better and he’s already asking for you. He won’t stop talking about wanting to see his aunt mama." I blinked, my eyes finally darting to the digital clock on the nightstand.

My breath caught. It was already past 2 in the afternoon. I had slept for hours. The exhaustion of the flight and the terror over Theo must have completely knocked me out.

"Oh god, I slept for so long," I muttered, rubbing a hand over my forehead. "I’m sorry, Ren. I didn’t mean to stay asleep. Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?"

"You needed the rest, Lumi," he murmured, his voice softening just a fraction. "Don’t stress about it. I’m already dressed and waiting for you in the living room. Take your time, get ready, and we’ll head down restaurant to eat then to the clinic together."

"Okay," I whispered, my heart rate spiking for an entirely different reason now. "Okay, I’ll be out in a few minutes."

"Alright. See you in a bit." The line clicked dead.

I slowly lowered the phone, letting it drop onto the mattress beside me. The silence of the hotel room rushed back in, but the weight of the dream still hung heavily over the bed sheets.

He was right outside. Fully dressed, waiting for me, completely oblivious to the chaotic, shameful things my subconscious had been doing to him on the kitchen counter while he slept.

The dry, scratching thirst in my throat had returned tenfold, completely unbearable now.

I couldn’t stay cowering under the blankets forever. I needed water, and I needed to face reality.

Throwing the duvet aside completely, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed. My bare feet sank into the plush carpet, cold and grounding.

I pulled my satin robe tighter around my body, tying the knot at my waist with trembling fingers..the exact same knot I had just imagined Ren undoing in the dark.

I closed my eyes, forcing the image out of my head. Stop it. It was just a dream.

I walked slowly toward the bedroom door. My hand hesitated on the cold metal handle, my palms sweating against the silver finish.

I took a deep, steadying breath, steeled my spine, and turned the knob, stepping out into the quiet suite to face him.