She tried a third time and this time she twisted the handle harder and shoved the door more firmly. And was rewarded. Lights were on in the room and the place was already toasty warm as if the welcoming mat had been set out for her. Perfect. She walked into the room and glanced at the two queen-sized beds, one with the chartreuse covers pulled back from the pillow, a chocolate wrapped in gold foil sitting on the center of it. She smiled and pulled off her parka, peeled off her boots, and reached for the phone to call room service when she saw a leather bucket filled with ice. Wow, they sure knew how to coddle their guests.
That's when the bathroom door opened. She whipped around and faced a naked man towel-drying his hair. Or at least until he saw her.
His mouth gaped. Her expression matched his, and he quickly wrapped the towel around his waist. "I didn't think room service would come this soon." He glanced down at her sock-covered feet, her boots lying beside them.
"I'm not… I'm… they gave me a key to your room by accident." Faith tried not to look at the man's physique—too much—but ripped abs, arms muscled just enough to give a woman a good hug, and toned legs that looked like they could run a marathon, were just too appealing.
And his eyes—blue like the ocean, dark, hiding a wealth of secrets, that held her gaze with way too much interest, as if she was the specialty of the house and just what he'd ordered from the menu. Light blond stubble covered his square jaw, making him appear a bit roguish and intriguing.
He folded his arms across his broad chest. A light smattering of blond hair trailed down to the towel slung low on his hips. Her gaze dropped lower. He cleared his throat to get her attention, making her skin heat in a flush of awareness, but he wasn't moving out of her path to the door. Just now she wished it were her room, and he were part of the amenities.
He inclined his head a little, a hint of a smile on his lips, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "Then I guess I'd better get dressed before—"
A knock rapped on the door.
"Too late." His deeply amused baritone sounded like he was enjoying this a little too much, as he turned, took a couple of steps, and opened the door.
Great. Faith hurried to pull on her boots, when the aroma of steak wafted into the room as a man brought in a tray. Faith's stomach growled. The room service guy glanced at her, green eyes smiling. She could just imagine what he was thinking, what with the room's occupant wearing a towel, and her pulling her boots on.
The toweled guy signed the bill, and the lodge employee grinned, dimples appearing in his ruddy cheeks. "Thanks so much, sir. If you need anything else, just ring." He glanced at Faith, smiled even more as if to say she could visit him next if she had a mind to, then left the room.
"Enough for two of us, if you want to split a medium rare steak, baked potato, and salad," the sandy-haired hunk said.
"Thanks so much for the offer, but I'm returning to the front desk to get the right room key. Have a nice night." She brushed past the mostly naked man, smiled when he smiled, then hurried out of the room.
"The night could have been better," he murmured.
She glanced back at him, wishing he was the kind of man she had been dating, and could justify staying and splitting his dinner with him, then maybe share the chocolate treat resting on his pillow with him. And more. For the first time ever, she seriously wanted to flirt with a man. Something about him appealed to her, as if he were the real McCoy, spontaneous and fun-loving, and for an instant, she yearned for that. Wanted to feel that a man who looked like this guy with a hint of the devil in his expression and actions found her appealing, too.
The man lifted a brow and smiled again, his chiseled features and intensely intriguing gaze nearly irresistible. She faltered, but shook her head, and hurried for the elevator before she did anything she might regret in the morning. She didn't look back at him, although she wanted to see if he was still watching her. But she felt he was doing just that, observing her, maybe hoping she'd change her mind? Or maybe it was just wishful thinking on her part that someone was truly interested in her after Hilson ditched her. On further introspection, she realized she hadn't heard his door shut.
It wasn't until she returned to the front desk with her suitcase in tow that she realized she'd left her parka on the man's desk chair. She let out her breath in exasperation. Okay, so the day turned night wasn't going to get any better.
A line of five guests was waiting for rooms. The clerk still had the cell phone stuck to her ear as she nodded and chatted it up with the woman first in line.
Faith didn't hesitate to stalk up to the counter, pulling her bag with her. The woman who was being waited on looked at Faith as if she was ready to clobber her for trying to barge in.
"Excuse me," Faith said to the clerk and handed her the key card, "but someone else was already in Room 318."
The girl's eyes widened. Then she smiled. "Oh, my, you mean you got the key to Cameron MacPherson's room?" She put her hand to her breast. "If I'd made the mistake, I would have just stayed."
That's saying he wanted the clerk to stay. And jeesh, the clerk had made the mistake. No apology? "Another room, please?"
The clerk held out the new key card. "This one is for Room 317."
"Three-seventeen."
"Yep. The numbers were close. It's directly across the hall from Mr. MacPherson's." She winked. "Tell him if he needs anything, just to give me a holler."
Faith shook her head, grabbed the key card, and headed back to the elevator. At least with his room being across from hers, she could ask for her parka without having to traipse across the whole of the hotel and back.
As soon as she reached her room, she struggled to get the key card to work, then gave the door a shove. The room was dark and cold. She fumbled for the light switch, but when she turned on the lamps, the bedcover wasn't pulled back from the pillow, nor was a gold foil covered chocolate waiting for her either. And of course the ice bucket was perfectly empty. She wondered if Cameron got the special treatment because he was a big tipper, or just an incredibly smooth-talking hunk.
She sighed and rolled her bag next to the bed, then headed back for the door. She might as well get this over with before she finally settled down for the night.
Glancing at her watch, she hadn't realized how late it was already. Probably too late to order anything from the kitchen. But if she ate at this hour, the food would most likely just sit like a lump in her stomach when she went to bed anyway. She knocked on Cameron MacPherson's door.
While waiting for him, she closed her eyes and yawned. Man, she was ready to skip the shower and just collapse in bed.
The door squeaked opened. Wearing only a pair of stone-washed jeans that looked incredibly soft, shirtless and barefoot, Cameron smiled, but he hadn't brought her parka to the door. He looked every bit as sexy as when he was wearing only a towel.
"Are you sure you don't want to have a bite with me?" He motioned to the tray on the table.
The old werewolf movie with Jack Nicholson was playing on the television, and by the sound of the growling, she envisioned he had shapeshifted and was fighting the bad wolf, if she recalled the movie correctly.
She gave Cameron a tired smile. "Under other circumstances, maybe. I left my parka here?"
"You look like you could use a meal and the kitchen's closed by now." His voice, deep and pleasing, sent little chills of expectation through her.
But she resisted the temptation and held out her hand for her coat. "Thanks, but I'm fine." He retrieved her coat and gave it to her, his hand brushing hers in a sensuous way, which made her skin heat again. She thought he looked a little wistful, hopeful that she'd stay and keep him company, but she figured if she did, she would melt under whatever spell he seemed to cast over her. It wasn't like her to be that attracted to a guy she'd just met. She glanced down at his hand, no wedding ring. When her gaze returned to his, he was smiling broadly.