Indelibly Intimate by Regina Cole Page B

dinner?”
    She opened her lids and nodded, shaking the confusion off. Why did it matter anyway? This wasn’t going anywhere. It was only for fun. Like Kim had said, maybe Hammer would be a great rebound guy. That’s what she’d do. She’d lay it all out for him. Explain what she could and couldn’t give to him. Draw a clear line in the sand so he’d understand this was pure chemistry and not anything Hallmark stocked a card for.
    The idea had merit and as she led the way back to their hotel room to gather her purse, she smiled, feeling lighter and more carefree than she had in the last year or so. Fun. She could have fun with Hammer and as long as he was cool with it, nobody would get hurt. What a novel idea.
    “What are you grinning about?” Hammer stood beside her as they waited for the elevator. “You look like you just found a hundred-dollar bill.”
    “I’m feeling good, that’s all.” Quinn didn’t bother to dim her cheer as she stepped into the elevator. “I’ve got an idea I want to float by you.”
    “Okay,” he said, leaning against the rail in the elevator, crossing his arms and his ankles like a cowboy lazing on a break. “Shoot.”
    “Well,” she started, but at that moment a woman and two small children rounded the corner.
    “Can you hold the elevator, please?” the woman called.
    Hammer punched the door open and Quinn sighed. “I’ll tell you upstairs.”
    The youngest kid spent the trip from the ground floor to the fifth bawling her cute little eyes out. The sound rubbed at Quinn like a cheese grater on burned flesh. Her prepared proposal to Hammer floated right out of her head as she tried to dig her nails into the brass rail behind her. But she kept a pleasant expression pinned as the wails bounced off the walls of the elevator around her. It wasn’t the kid’s fault she’d picked the worst moment to have a temper tantrum ever.
    When the car arrived on floor five, Quinn’s cheeks were numb, she’d broken two nails and her spine ached from retained tension. She nearly collapsed when the door closed behind the little family.
    Hammer’s laugh echoed in the small moving room.
    “What?” Quinn griped, pulling herself upright again. Her temples throbbed from the little girl’s shrieks.
    “Not a huge fan of kids, are you, Sparky?” He wiped away tears of mirth. “I thought you were going to climb the damn wall to get away from that kid.”
    “If I thought she’d stop crying, I’d have done fricking cartwheels in here.”
    “Now that, I’d pay to see.”
    The elevator arrived at their floor. Quinn led the way back to their room. She waited beside the door as Hammer pulled his keycard from his wallet and inserted it into the electronic lock.
    “So what was this idea you were mentioning before?” he asked as the light above the handle flipped to green and he pushed the door open.
    “Well…” Quinn trailed off as she followed him into the dim room. What to say now? The impetuous idea had had some simmering time now and it sounded less good than it had before. What if it offended him? Maybe she’d better hedge her bets. A little buttering up never hurt anybody.
    She reached out, grabbing his arm. He stopped and turned to her, exactly as she’d hoped. Rising on her tiptoes, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her. Her fingers delighted in the smooth skin of his shaved head. The brush of their lips together kindled a slow burn low in her belly.
    She stepped into him, aligning their bodies closer. Her breath came quicker as the kiss deepened, Hammer’s tongue delving into her mouth. He traced her lips, her teeth, her tongue. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her in close to him. His cock lay hard and heavy against her belly, the stiff heat stoking the small fire in her to a straight-up blaze.
    She moaned deep in her throat. He tore his mouth from hers, only to press his lips to her cheek, her jaw then the tender flesh of her neck. His