Once Upon a Valentine’s

by Holly Jacobs

  Chuck didn’t mention he was standing outside freezing because he’d wanted to steal some time alone with her…even if it meant standing in a foot of snow. “I’ll think of something.”

  “I’ll be at your house about seven-thirty.” She hung up.

  He hurried inside and found Anderson already chowing down on his eggs. Chuck gratefully picked up his coffee cup, willing his hands to regain some feeling.

  “So, are you going to tell me? Do you need those flowers?” Anderson asked.

  Chuck shook his head. “No, I don’t think I do.”

  “Seriously? She forgave you that easily? I remember most of your exes did nothing but complain about your weird hours.”

  “She didn’t even mention last night. She wanted to make some plans for tonight.”

  The waitress stopped at the table with a coffeepot in her hand. “Fill ’er up?”

  Chuck set the coffee cup down. “Please.”

  Feeling a little warmer, he started his breakfast. Anderson didn’t ask any other questions. Didn’t press. That was one of the nice things about his brother-in-law. But Chuck wasn’t really thinking about Anderson’s consideration. His mind was on Carly and her surprise…her surprise that involved an overnight bag.

  CARLY WAS A MASS of nerves by the time she pulled up in front of Chuck’s that night. Not a bad, maybe-she-shouldn’t-be-doing-this, self-doubt case of nerves. Rather a sort of fluttery nervous excitement.

  She wanted Chuck.

  After her initial disappointment, she’d understood that he’d had to leave last night, because it was the nature of his job. If she stayed at the hospital after she passed her boards, her hours would be just as crazy.

  She wished she’d told him to come back over when he was done…whenever he was done.

  She hadn’t though, which was why she’d spent her night tossing and turning. When she finally did manage to doze off, her dreams had been full of Chuck, and what they might have done.

  What they would do tonight, if she had her way.

  She was relieved to see his car in the drive. She didn’t have time even to get out of the car before his front door opened and he rushed toward her, overnight bag in hand.

  “So?” he said as he climbed into the passenger seat. “What are we doing that involves an overnight bag? And don’t try to hold me off with your ambiguous it’s-a-surprise comments. I’m a cop. I know interrogation techniques and I’m not afraid to use them.”

  His teasing helped calm her nerves. She put the car in Reverse, and pulled out onto the street. “Well, I was doing some thinking—”

  “It’s always dangerous to hear you’ve been thinking, Carly Lewis. But I’m a cop and I live for danger, so go on.”

  Carly turned off 38th Street and headed north on State. Normally, she’d have noticed that today’s wet snow had left all the trees coated. It looked beautiful in the moonlight. But tonight it was only a passing thought. All she could concentrate on was the fact that Chuck was sitting next to her, that she wanted him and that she wasn’t waiting for fate. She was making it happen.

  “I was thinking,” she repeated. “If we wait for my kids and your work to give us a break, we’ll never have sex. We’ll reach the end of our fling without ever having flung. And that is a sad state of affairs…pardon my pun.”

  He chuckled. “And rhyme. Both were equally bad. I admit you’ve got a point and we wouldn’t want that. I wouldn’t want that.”

  “Well, once, I might have thrown up my hands and said that there was nothing I could do about a flingless fling. But after my divorce…” Oh, bad form to mention a divorce—which brought the existence of an ex into the conversation—when you were about to proposition a man. Carly wasn’t sure she was ever going to get the hang of dating. “Sorry.”

  “About what? You were talking about flinging, and there’s nothing to be sorry about there.”

  Thank goodness the light was green. She didn’t want to waste any of their time together idling at red lights. She needed to be in Chuck’s arms now.

  “Carly?” he prompted. “You were talking about flinging?”

  “Sorry. Thinking about flinging makes my mind wander. As I was saying, I decided I was done being anyone’s doormat. I’m done waiting for life to offer me what I want. No one, not even fate, is going to tell me what to do. I realized it’s up to me to reach out and take what I want.”

  “You can reach out and take me whenever you want.”

  “That’s the plan. Tonight. Dean has the kids. So, it’s just us.”

  “We’re not heading to your house, though.”

  She continued to hit green lights as they traveled down State Street. “Oh, no, that was part of the planning. People know where I live, and we’ve already proven that’s not good. I thought about suggesting we fling at your house, but people know where you live as well. They know your car, too, which is a bad thing since your cop buddies are everywhere in the city. That’s why we’re in my car and we’re heading someplace they’ll never find us.”

  “Where?”

  “That’s the surprise.”

  She turned and headed west on the Bayfront Highway, and in short order, turned onto the road that led to the new Convention Center. Carly pulled onto the parking ramp next to the hotel. “This is a perfect plan. I booked us at the hotel. Beautiful views, great ambiance. And as an added security measure, my car will be hidden in the ramp. We should be hard to track down.”

  “I like how you think.” They got out of the car, and both grabbed their overnight bags from the backseat.

  He reached out to take hers. Carly tugged it away from him. “I’ve got it.”

  And because that sounded a bit sharp, she added, “I want you to save your strength for tonight.”

  Chuck didn’t argue, but he did slip his arm over her shoulders and brought her close.

  Carly relished his touch. It had been so long since she’d felt like this. She leaned into him. He felt solid. A guy she could trust.

  The walked briskly into the hotel and through the lobby without even stopping to notice the beautiful ambiance.

  “Do we need to check in?” he asked as she bypassed the reservation desk.

  Carly pulled their keycard out of her pocket. “Got it covered.”

  “You really did work at this.”

  The appreciation in his voice warmed her. “When I do something, I don’t like to do it halfway. I came down early, checked in and scoped out the room. You’re going to love it.”

  He jabbed the button for the elevator. “I’ve never been in here. The hotel’s gorgeous. And you know that I’m only commenting on the decor because I’m trying to concentrate on behaving like a civilized man until we’re someplace private.”

  The elevator doors slid open.

  “Just how uncivilized are you planning to be, then?”

  They entered the elevator and Carly pushed a button.

  “As uncivilized as you’ll let me,” he assured her as the doors slid shut.

  Carly turned to him and kissed him. It wasn’t as long or as deep as she’d have liked to make it, but she wanted to make her intentions very, very clear. And she settled for a brief reminder.

  It must have been enough because Chuck whispered, “Wow,” as the doors slid open.

  She led him down the hallway. “You let work know you might not be answering your cell phone for a while?” she checked.

  “I let them know. I told them I was going to be out of touch for the night. If they called, they could leave a message.”

  The fact that he’d do that, that he’d put his work aside for her, only added to the need Carly felt. She stopped in front of the farthest room. “Here we go.”

  She opened it. Closed the door behind them and bolted it shut. “Come look at this.” She led him across the room to the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the bay. The moon was full and bright, illuminating the entire frozen surface in a bluish light. “I could stay here all night looking out this win
dow.”

  He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “It is beautiful, but I’m hoping I can convince you to pull yourself away for a while. Because there’s another scenic location I’d like to explore.”

  Without breaking his embrace, she turned so that she was facing him. “Scenic?”

  “Very scenic.” He nuzzled her neck.

  “Before we both start sightseeing, I need to tell you that I’m not nervous about this.” As she said the words she thought they sounded stupid, but she needed to say them.

  “I’m glad.” He continued kissing her neck, moving lower to her collarbone.

  She couldn’t remember ever having had her collarbone kissed before. And if she’d thought about it, she wouldn’t have imagined it would be sexy, but it was…incredibly sexy.

  Carly forced herself to concentrate, to get out the words she needed to say before they went any farther. “Samantha was nervous. She hadn’t made love to anyone other than her ex, and she was nervous about what Harry would think of her post-pregnancy body. I won’t let that bother me.”

  “You don’t need to let it bother you,” he assured her, and gently unbuttoned just one small button on her blouse, his lips moving to below her collarbone, toward the little bit of cleavage she had.

  “You’re right, I don’t. So, I have a few stretch marks? I won’t let myself worry that you’ll find them offensive.”

  Carly had to admit, Chuck didn’t seem to be offended by anything. He gently undid one more button and caressed her with his lips.

  She forgot what she’d been saying. Forgot to remember she wasn’t nervous. She was simply lost in the feel of the man, the sensations he was evoking.

  He didn’t offer any more reassurances, but simply pulled her toward the bed.

  “I’m okay with who I am, and if you’re not—”

  He gave a little nudge and she fell backward on the bed. He was immediately next to her. “Carly. I’m fine with you, fine with who you are. Fine with stretch marks. I’m sure I’ll love your stretch marks, but first, you have to stop warning me so I can start.”

  “I just want—”

  He pulled her into his arms. “You’re nervous, despite your bravado.” As he spoke, his breath brushed softly against her neck. “I get that. Guys get nervous, too. But you don’t have to be anxious with me. I want you. Woman, I want you more than anyone…ever. I want to strip your clothes off you, slowly, one item at a time. And when you’re naked, I want to trace every line, every curve, every stretch mark and memorize them. I want to…”

  He unbuttoned another button and went back to exploring her body with his lips, slowly teasing all worries, all thought, from her as she lay back on the bed and let Chuck explore her body in his slow, seductive, tantalizing way.

  A pressure began growing in her. Expanding as her need grew. Not just need. A need for Chuck.

  Her clothes were long since gone, one at a time, as he’d promised. They now littered the floor, while Chuck was still fully clothed.

  She sat up. “We have a problem.”

  “Your kids aren’t here, my phone’s turned off. What sort of problem could we have?”

  She reached for his belt buckle and began working it loose. “You have way too many clothes on, and I—”

  She didn’t get to slowly and seductively strip him, as he’d stripped her. Chuck was up off the bed taking off his clothes faster than anything she’d ever witnessed. She smiled at the site of him.

  She’d thought of him as cute, but now she acknowledged he was beautiful. She didn’t say that to him. She didn’t imagine his cop’s pride would appreciate the sentiment, but he was absolutely, utterly beautiful to her.

  “That’s better,” she assured him and reached for his hand, then pulled him down next to her. “So, where were we?”

  “I was exploring.” He gave her a nudge, as if he planned to continue.

  “Sorry, buddy. Turn about’s fair play.” Carly needed to take control. Needed to set the pace.

  She gave him a little shove back onto the bed. “Just stay still and let me have my way with you.”

  “Carly, you can have me whatever way you want.”

  Loving the feeling of freedom, Carly began her own exploration.

  And what she found was worth the wait.

  Chapter Eight

  Carly woke up the next morning to the sound of knocking.

  She felt a spurt of panic. She’d overslept and the kids were going to be late to school, and of course, she’d be late to work and…

  She felt something warm on her left.

  Chuck.

  No one was late for work or school. It was the kids’ weekend with their dad. It was Sunday morning and she was exactly where she was supposed to be.

  She pried her eyes open and saw a strange ceiling. Slowly, she looked down and slowly lifted the covers. Yep, they were both still naked in a hotel together.

  She’d forgotten all about the knock on the door as she enjoyed her new favorite view.

  Chuck moved, and she forced her gaze from under the covers to meet his eyes.

  “Uh, Carly, what are you doing?” he asked with a grin.

  “Ogling you,” she informed him, without making any attempt to alter her view.

  “Ogling?” He repeated the word as if it were foreign.

  “Yes, sir, I believe ogling is indeed the best word to describe what I’m doing. It’s a very nice view down here,” she added. “I’d like to discuss our day’s plans with you.”

  “Do we have plans?”

  “Well, I think we should start our day by asking for a late checkout and then—” Someone knocked on the door again, reminding her of what had woken her up in the first place and interrupting her plans, all of which involved staying in bed.

  “Who do you think that is? No one knows we’re here, right?” Chuck checked.

  “It’s probably room service. I left an order for breakfast last night.” She scrambled out of bed, found her bathrobe on top of her bag, and raced to the door, snatching her purse and grabbing a tip from her wallet.

  She cracked open the door, and held out the bills. “You can just leave it there. I’ll get it,” she said, very aware of the fact there was a naked man in her bed.

  “Thanks, ma’am.”

  She waited until the bellman had disappeared down the hall before she opened the door all the way and wheeled the cart into the room. She pushed it toward the bed and Chuck. “Breakfast in bed?”

  “Only if afterward we can have some dessert.” Chuck wiggled his eyebrows in such a way that Carly was absolutely sure what dessert he had in mind.

  “Really? After all those times last night, you still want to…” She wiggled her own eyebrows and climbed back into the bed.

  “I still want to. Carly, I can’t imagine ever not wanting to with you.”

  She reached for a plate, but Chuck said, “Don’t you dare start eating that yet.”

  Her hand froze. “What’s wrong?”

  “I believe you’ve got too many clothes on.” He tsked.

  “I only have my robe…Oh.” She hesitated. “I’ve never eaten naked before.”

  Chuck laughed. “Neither have I. Let’s both give it a shot and see what we think.”

  An hour and a half later, Carly decided that eating naked was her second new favorite thing to do.

  Her first favorite thing was also done naked, but didn’t involve croissants…it involved Chuck.

  THEY SPENT THE WHOLE morning in bed.

  It was a new experience for Chuck, one he’d have never considered before Carly.

  It wasn’t as if they made love all morning. They ate their breakfast, then read the newspaper that had accompanied their tray. Together, with coffees in hand, trading off sections amicably.

  They’d made love again, then napped until it was time to check out.

  Chuck could have made a plausible exit then. Normally he would have. But he wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Carly just yet
. Instead he changed the checkout time and ordered up lunch.

  They should have run out of conversational topics. They’d been in each other’s company for almost twenty-four hours, and yet they didn’t. And when lunch was finished, he still wasn’t ready to leave her.

  If it had been warmer, he’d have suggested a walk along the bayfront, but it was a cold, blustery day. They’d packed up their overnight bags, and Carly stood, taking in one last look out their window. He stepped behind her, and as he’d done last night, wrapped his arms around her.

  “Isn’t it a beautiful view?”

  It was a solid sheet of ice. Small ice-fishing huts broke up the whiteness. He could see the snow-covered trees across the bay on the peninsula.

  He knew that was the view Carly was referring to, but he purposely looked at her as he responded, “Yes, it is.”

  She pressed her arms against his, tightening his embrace around her.

  “I hate to leave,” she admitted.

  “Why don’t I come back with you?”

  “That wasn’t a hint,” she assured him. “We’ve been together since last night. I figured you’d had enough of me.”

  Part of him wanted to say he couldn’t imagine ever having enough of Carly, but it sounded schmultzy even in his head, so he opted for, “Not yet.”

  “But you’ll let me know when you have?”

  He kissed her. “I don’t think there’s any worries about that.”

  “At least not for six weeks.”

  He studied her, but didn’t see any signs of sarcasm, instead, there was humor in her eyes. He grabbed her, took her in his arms and nuzzled at her neck. “Six weeks is not a hard and fast rule, it’s merely the way these things have tended to play out in the past. There are no rules for us,” he repeated. And if there were, he suspected Carly wouldn’t fit nicely within their confines.

  Carly wasn’t the type of woman to be constrained by rules.

  She laughed. “I wasn’t complaining, Chuck. To be honest, there’s a comfort in knowing there’s an end-date in sight. It makes you the perfect boy-toy.”

  “I’m a lieutenant on the police force,” he huffed. “I’m no boy-toy.”