Room Service

by Fiona Riley

  Savannah cupped Olivia’s breast through her shirt once more before she rolled Olivia’s nipple between her thumb and forefinger. She kissed her back and dominated Olivia’s tongue as she teased with her fingers. This was escalating too quickly. How was it that she kept finding herself in these situations with Olivia? Too turned on to think clearly and too wet to deny her attraction.

  She slowed the kiss and nuzzled Olivia’s nose before she breathed against her lips in short, staggered breaths. “Baby, we need to slow this down or we’re gonna make a scene.”

  Olivia’s lips were kiss-plump and red when she pulled back. Savannah regretted putting a stop to their make-out session but Olivia nodded and frowned. She knew it was the right decision. It still sucked, though.

  “One could argue we already did.” Olivia leaned forward and tucked her head against Savannah’s neck.

  It was oppressively hot, even under the fan, but Savannah couldn’t care less. She would have kissed Olivia until the sun went down if she could. Granted, she doubted they would just keep kissing, at the rate her heart was thumping out of her chest. No, she was right to stop them.

  “I know.” Savannah pressed a featherlight kiss to Olivia’s forehead before reclining her head onto the back of the chair. She closed her eyes and let her heart rate calm down. There was nothing more Savannah wanted than to feel all of Olivia under her fingers, but the timing just wasn’t right. This wasn’t where she wanted that to happen, not like this, in the dead heat, outside in the open. No, she wanted Olivia all to herself and with significantly less clothes involved. “If we let this happen, we need to be careful. We need to take things slow and keep it between us.”

  She felt Olivia sit up in her arms. She was quiet and Savannah worried that maybe she’d said something wrong. She was about to open her eyes when she felt Olivia’s lips brush against hers.

  “Okay. I want that. I want this to happen. I want you.”

  Savannah opened her eyes to find Olivia watching her expectantly. “We have to take this slow, though, Liv. I mean that. I want this to work, I do. I want you, too, but it’s got to be slow.”

  Olivia nodded in agreement. She kissed Savannah once more before she untangled herself from her lap. She stood and extended her hand to pull Savannah up with her.

  The impish smile on Olivia’s lips brought a soft chuckle from Savannah. “What are you smiling about, beautiful?”

  “Oh, nothing,” Olivia teased. “It’s just that you called me baby earlier, that’s all.”

  Savannah entwined her fingers with Olivia’s as they walked away from the table and disposed of their trash. “You’re right. I did.”

  As they walked toward the parking lot, Olivia stopped and turned to her. “So, when you say we should take it slow…like, how slow do you mean? Because I have to be honest with you—there’s been lots of not so slow stuff happening between us and I’m about ready to bust. Like, all the time. I’m always right there and it’s making me a little crazy.”

  “Always?” Savannah knew what she meant.

  “Pretty much.” Olivia nodded. “So just putting that out there.”

  “Message received.”

  “Great.” Olivia smiled and Savannah was grateful they were on the same page.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The heat subsided as night approached even though it was still predicted to be close to a hundred around noon the following day, but at least the power was back on in some areas. Savannah insisted on taking Olivia out to dinner that night, and although it took them a while to find a county with electricity, they did eventually find one about forty-five minutes from the hotel. Olivia felt like the drive gave them a chance to get a little more acquainted without the physical distractions they kept seeming to run into.

  “Favorite movie from your childhood?” Savannah stroked her thumb along Olivia’s hand. She’d reached across the console and taken Olivia’s hand after the first five minutes of driving. Olivia loved it.

  “Goonies.”

  “Goonies?” Savannah sounded skeptical.

  “Yes, and before you criticize that decision, know that I will judge you forever for not liking an underdog story about precocious teenagers trying to save their town and their families by participating in the ultimate adventure—”

  “Of finding a hidden pirate ship with treasure.” Savannah nodded seriously.

  “Exactly.” Good. They were on the same page. “What about you?”

  “My favorite movie, or my favorite movie from my childhood?” Savannah tickled Olivia’s palm before resuming the gentle stroking from before.

  “Both.” Olivia wanted to know all the things. All. The. Things.

  “Um, as a little kid, I loved, loved, loved Pippi Longstocking.” Savannah looked shy in her response.

  “Pippi was legit. Excellent choice.” Olivia was totally on board with this. “Any particular reason? I mean, aside from the awesomely badass female heroine aspect and all.”

  “She was a redhead,” Savannah replied simply.

  Olivia wasn’t sure what that had to do with anything. “Okay?”

  Savannah laughed and looked over at her. Her gray-blue eyes shone as she said, “There weren’t a lot of red-haired characters that got leading roles or decent characterization when I was a kid. I don’t think I would have phrased it that way if you’d asked me at the time, but I probably would have told you that I liked her independence and cool style. She was the adventurous and fearless daughter of a buccaneer captain and she had really awesome red hair.”

  “Like you.” Olivia squeezed Savannah’s hand.

  “Well, duh.” Savannah flicked on the blinker and they pulled into the parking lot of a quiet little restaurant not far from the highway ramp.

  “Okay, and your favorite adult movie?”

  Savannah didn’t hesitate for a second. “Clue.”

  “As in you’ll give me a clue?” Olivia was lost.

  Savannah scoffed. “Tell me you’re joking.”

  “I’m joking.” She wasn’t.

  “Good. I was really—” Savannah put the car in park and gaped at her. “Wait. You really don’t know what I’m talking about, do you?”

  “Not a clue.”

  Savannah gave her a look. “Not funny.”

  “Really? I thought it was pretty perfect.” Olivia pulled Savannah’s hand up to her lips and kissed her knuckles. “Okay, clue me in…”

  “You’re the worst.” Savannah sighed and pulled her hand away, substituting her knuckles with her lips. “But you’re gorgeous and funny, so I’ll let it slide.”

  “You’re too good to me.” Olivia savored the kiss before she exited the car and rejoined their hands. “But you’ll tell me about the movie at some point, right? I don’t want to be clueless forever.”

  “You’re dead to me.” Savannah shook her head and held the door open for Olivia to enter the restaurant, wrapping her arms around Olivia’s waist as they stepped through, laughing together.

  All throughout dinner, Olivia was taken by how attentive Savannah was. And sweet. Savannah was very, very sweet. It wasn’t that she hadn’t anticipated her to be—just Savannah was so controlled and serious at work, she hadn’t thought about what it would be like to date her. Truthfully, she’d spent more time dreaming about fucking her and being fucked by her than thinking about dating her. But she never thought either would come to fruition. And here she was, on an actual date with her. She was still holding out hope for the sex part, but the dating part was plenty exciting all by itself. It felt too good to be true. She smiled at every word Savannah uttered. She felt like she could listen to that soft, husky voice all day long and never get bored.

  They were sharing an appetizer and wine when Olivia’s phone began buzzing again, much like earlier. She pushed it aside until it buzzed again a few minutes later, this time more insistently, refusing to be ignored. Olivia opened her purse to make sure it wasn’t an emergency and apologized to Savannah for the interruption. Savannah
seemed unfazed and motioned for Olivia to answer it.

  Olivia looked down at the screen and immediately felt an annoyed wave roll through her. It was Reagan. She had called five times in the last forty-five minutes. Reagan was a woman of few words via the phone, favoring a text to a phone call. A phone call meant one of two things usually: she was drunk and feeling chatty, or she was drunk and locked herself out of her room/apartment/whatever. It wasn’t uncommon for Olivia to be on the receiving end of some drunken rant from Reagan. It was uncommon for her to ignore it. Which she considered. Seriously. Instead she texted a quick reply telling her she was out to dinner…and immediately hated herself for it. That was more information than she had wanted to share. She didn’t have a problem with Reagan knowing something was going on with Savannah, but she’d intended to wait until she had an idea of just how serious things were. Or how casual things were. That was still to be determined.

  “Everything okay?” Savannah quirked an eyebrow as the waiter placed their entrees on the table.

  Olivia frowned. “Yeah, it’s fine. It was Reagan. Sorry.”

  “It’s not a problem. Really. I’m not like that,” Savannah assured her.

  “That may be the case, and I’m glad it is, but still, it’s rude. I don’t want to be checking my phone when I’m on a date with a beautiful woman.” Olivia tried to ward off the angry feelings she was having toward Reagan and her terrible timing, again, but it was a struggle.

  The waiter placed their entrees down and Olivia’s stomach growled. She didn’t realize how hungry she was. “This looks amazing.”

  “Agreed.” Savannah thanked the waiter and began cutting her food.

  Olivia tasted her pasta and let out a soft moan of appreciation. “This is so good. Like, super good.”

  Savannah laughed.

  “What?”

  “Nothing. You’re all kinds of adorable right now.” She forked a piece of her dinner and held it out to Olivia. “Would you like to try mine?”

  Olivia leaned forward to taste Savannah’s bite. Savannah used the flat part of the utensil to catch a little sauce threatening to drip down Olivia’s chin and brought it to her lips while she waited for Olivia’s opinion. “Ooh, that’s good too.”

  Savannah chuckled and accepted Olivia’s offer to try hers. “That is good.”

  “I know, right?”

  “Splitsies?” Savannah offered and Olivia was in love.

  “You read my mind.” This woman was perfect. It was decided.

  By the time dessert came to the table, Olivia had mustered up enough courage to ask Savannah about her dating history. “So, I’m pretty thrilled about it, but why are you single?” She paused. She’d just assumed Savannah was single, but what if she wasn’t? “You are single, right?”

  Savannah choked on her water. She cleared her throat in a light cough and she nodded. “Yes, I’m currently single. You can relax.”

  Olivia let out a nervous sigh. She forked the key lime pie in front of her, more to occupy her hands than anything else. “Good. Me, too.”

  “That’s makes all the kissing less complicated, doesn’t it?” Savannah sipped her water.

  “Seriously though, why are you single? You’re the complete package. Is there something I should know? Are you a serial killer?” She figured it was a little late in the game to get that last bit of intel, but she had to try.

  “If one was a serial killer, would one answer that honestly?”

  Savannah made a valid point.

  Olivia pouted. “That sounds like something a serial killer would say.”

  Savannah reached her hand out to graze her fingers along Olivia’s cheek before she tapped her protruding lip. “I’m not a serial killer. And I don’t know anything about this complete package you’re talking about, but I like to think I’m a pretty decent partner.” She pulled her hand back and brought a piece of dessert to her mouth.

  Olivia scoffed. “Really? Are you being modest? Or do you have no idea?”

  Savannah raised her eyebrows in confusion.

  “Okay, I’ll break it down for you. You’re gorgeous, I mean like unbelievably attractive. And you have excellent taste—I love your dress, by the way. You’re, like, the most efficient person I have ever met. Your eyes are this hypnotizing stormy blue and that voice…don’t even get me started. And you play the piano like some magical, musical unicorn. Are you even for real?” She looked around playfully. “Maybe you should pinch me so I know I’m not hallucinating that you are actually taking me to dinner, because this dream would suck to wake up from.”

  Savannah scrunched her nose and shook her head. “This is not a dream. And I am not a unicorn. There are plenty of things about me that are not as wonderful as you might think. I promise you.” She took Olivia’s hand in hers and squeezed it lightly before she fed the last bite of key lime to Olivia.

  Olivia didn’t believe her for a second. She gave her a skeptical look while she chewed.

  “I was in a serious, long-term relationship a few years ago that ended badly.” Savannah looked off into the distance, her expression sad. “I was lost for a while. I spent a long time trying to figure out what went wrong and if I could have done more. Eventually, I realized that it had less to do with me and more to do with her and her needs that couldn’t be met by me. But that took a long time to learn. I beat myself up about it and dragged some bad habits and baggage into my next relationships. They all suffered a similar fate because of it.”

  “What happened the first time?”

  Savannah paused. “She cheated on me. And then she left. She just packed up and walked out of my life like we hadn’t been together for almost a decade.”

  “Savannah.” Olivia squeezed their joined hands. “I’m so sorry.”

  A soft sigh escaped Savannah’s lips and Olivia noticed she looked everywhere but her face.

  Olivia considered her next question carefully. She didn’t want to push Savannah too far, but she wanted to know what she was getting into. “And the last relationships? What about them?”

  Savannah leaned back a little. “Gwen broke my heart. I think for a while that ruined my sense of stability. It hardened me in a way I wasn’t expecting. I didn’t give all of myself away again, not for a long time. I think I was subconsciously trying to protect myself, so I never let things get too serious. I think I was afraid of planting roots.”

  “Is that how you are? Do you flee?” Olivia was a roots person—they’d already discussed that. This information bothered her. She knew her attraction to Savannah was far beyond physical and bordering on something else. She traced her thumb along the back of Savannah’s hand to encourage her to answer and to keep herself from letting go.

  “No. My nature is not to run. I want a house and a family and a dog and PTA meetings. I always wanted what I never had growing up, stability and affection and a home. I think I took the breakup with Gwen so hard because it felt like I was destined to be alone forever. A traveling nomad as it were, like I was in my youth. My father bounced from wife to wife with me as his unfortunate baggage.” She paused. “I don’t want that life, though. I do want to plant roots somewhere. I’m not hard or cold or distant, but sometimes I forget that. Sometimes it’s easier to be something you’re not.”

  Olivia nodded. She could understand that. It made perfect sense to her. “You’re not though—cold, I mean. You’re sweet and thoughtful and caring. And in the small amount of time I’ve known you, you have been nothing but warm and welcoming. I always feel so important when I’m around you, like you care what I have to say. You’re so attentive to my movements and my words. It’s like there is no one else around, even in a crowded room. I feel special around you.” Olivia ducked her head to catch Savannah’s eyes. “I like you. All of you. And I want the good and the bad. I’m sorry you were hurt. But I’m here to listen if you ever want to talk about it, or, umm, not talk about it. And I will kiss it better, I promise.” Savannah rewarded her with a hearty laugh. It was a nice repriev
e from some of the tension that had formed.

  “Olivia Dawson, you are something else.” Savannah leaned across the table and pressed a soft, lingering kiss to Olivia’s lips before she settled back in her seat. “So, cat’s out of the bag on my less than spectacular dating history. What about you? How is someone like you not married with a family yet?”

  “Well, New York can be a hard town to date in. I’ve had my fair share of dating nightmares, but I haven’t really had the opportunity to meet someone I felt a real connection with. The longest relationship I’ve been in was about a year, and that was dysfunctional, at best. I seem to only find someone I can stand for a few months before I need a change.” She paused. Gosh, that made her sound awfully fickle. “That sounded bad. I mean, it’s true, but, I—” She took a breath. “I want a family and a house and a fish tank and vacations at the beach and inside jokes and…I just haven’t found the right person.”

  Savannah laughed. “I get it.”

  “I like this.” Olivia motioned between them. “I like the taking it slow approach. It’s nice. Don’t get me wrong, I really, really want to not take it slow with you, like, really, but I appreciate getting to know you and the romantic aspect of it. Maybe that’s what I’ve been missing all along.”

  “Agreed.” Savannah finished her glass of wine. “And just so you know, I really, really want to not take it slow, too.”

  Olivia basked in the new information. She was definitely falling for Savannah Quinn. There was no avoiding it.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Annabelle’s voice over the speakerphone read faxes aloud for Savannah to hear as Savannah anxiously tapped her foot. For whatever reason, her email had been down since before her date with Olivia the other night. She wasn’t receiving the emailed copy of any of the faxes from corporate, and she was losing her patience with her boss, who was no help whatsoever.