Ryan Ranger studied his reflection in the mirror while he waited. He did not know what he expected when he agreed to this 'one night stand' with the woman who had been eating at his craw for a week now. But being left waiting in the hotel room that was practically a mirror image of his own just two floors above was not it.
He shook his head as he once more considered the sanity of this course of action. It was nothing like him. Hell, even if the company that he had been assigned to infiltrate did not have a fraternization policy, the agency that was his real employer did. What the fuck was he doing sleeping with what amounted to a suspect or at best a witness?
Thing was he had never actually had a 'one night stand.' Not even back in the days when he was a 'pup' and he and his friends trolled the bars in Coronado. The idea of casual sex with someone you barely knew just did not appeal to him. It probably came from never knowing his own father. His single mother could only give him half a dozen first names, any of whom might have done the deed.
As odd as it was in this world, he was a relationship kind of guy. Love and commitment were what he craved. If his career first with the Navy and now the agency had limited his ability to find such a thing, he was only thirty-two. There would be plenty of time for that later, he tried to reassure himself.
But none of that mattered...not this once in his life. This one night he was going to follow his gut and not the rules. Or he would if she got the hell out of that bathroom. What was taking the woman so long? Because every moment that she spent preening in front of the mirror in there was one more that his logic had to argue with his heart. And he was hanging on by a thread.
***
Laura Reynolds stared at the woman in the mirror. "What's your problem?" Her hand trembled as she brought it up to her face. She pushed her hair back for a moment, studied the tiny lines that were barely visible around her eyes. There was nothing really wrong with her appearance as she stood wearing nothing but matching bra and panties from an upscale lingerie shop.
The black bra lifted her b-cup tits, pushing them together to form a decent cleavage. The matching lace panties both fully covered and were sheer enough to reveal. There was no point in touching up her make-up. Hopefully it would get smudged soon from the sweaty exertion of sex.
That was the problem though. In the two decades since she had lost her virginity at a frat party to her boyfriend of six months, she had never once engaged in casual sex. The double fear of sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy had been more than enough to keep her celibate between her two relationships.
If you called a drawer full of vibrators celibate. She was neither frigid or a fool. Battery operated boyfriends truly were the smartest and most economical way to go for the modern career woman. Even the hassle of storing and changing batteries were miniscule when stacked against...well, against this.
The very idea of walking out there wearing nothing but her underwear and having sex with a man she had met just two hours ago was more daunting than her interview that had landed her an internship with the company, or even the first time she had done a presentation before the board. This was truly terrifying. Which was why she had been hiding in the bathroom for the past ten minutes. Ten minutes? Was he even still out there? In his position she was not sure that she would be.
She shook her head at the woman in the mirror, "If you want this baby then you better get your butt out there before he leaves." The idea of waiting another month only to repeat this whole damned process was more than Laura could handle. She sighed, turned and opened the door.
***
Ryan had just about convinced himself that this was all a sign from fate that this was a bad idea. He had even picked up his coat and turned towards the door to leave when the bathroom door opened. The coat slipped from his numb fingers as the air left his lungs in a giant swoosh.
She was stunning. Perhaps the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Petite...was that the word? She would barely reach his chin now that she had shed the heels. And while her breasts were not large, they would fill his hand nicely. But it was the soft roundness of her womanly hips that held his gaze. And those legs that were surprisingly long for someone so short. He imagined what they would feel like wrapped about his waist as he buried his cock inside of her. Yeah, this woman had his number.
She dropped her head as she walked the short distance to stand in front of him. Gone was the confident, self-assured feminist that he had met in the bar, the one in the file. Before him stood a woman, a real one. Someone that you loved and protected. Someone you cherished and cared for. He wanted to scoop her up in his arms and run as far and as fast as he could from this place. He wanted to spill the whole can of beans about the company, wanted to warn her of the corruption and deception that was to come.
But he knew he could do none of those things. He would not blow his cover, risk other lives, endanger national security. Not even for her.
No, this night was all he would have. All he could ever have of this woman. Just a taste of heaven that would have to last him a lifetime. Because when tomorrow came, when he fired her from the career that she had spent a lifetime building, well, there was no doubt...she would never want to see him again.
He cursed fate that had shown him what he was missing even as he reached out and touched it for the first time. His hand started at her shoulder, skimmed softly down her arm to her finger tips. He laced his fingers through hers and slowly raised her hand to his lips. "Beautiful," he whispered as her eyes met his.
