Chapter 2

"Room service."

Stephanie rolled her eyes dryly and her nose wrinkled with annoyance as she turned her head, glancing over at the closed door. Was this place for real? This was the second time in two days that the hotel staff had got the wrong room. Was it so hard to deliver a meal to the right person? Apparently it was.

"Wrong room number." she called out reluctant to leave her chair as she began to leaf through the scattered sheets of paper around her on the small table. Fifteen hours until the production meeting with her father and the rough draft of her segments weren't even half complete. He was definitely going to chew her ear off tomorrow morning if she didn't get her ass in gear. Of course it didn't help that everyone and their dog were sending her stupid emails that took up most of her time not to mention the added interruptions from incompetent members of hotel staff.

"Room service."

Stephanie smacked down the thin pile of paper in front of her feeling her patience finally snap as she groaned loudly in frustration. She pushed her glasses up into her hair. "I told you you've got the wrong number. I didn't order anything." she called out.

"Room service." replied the muffled high pitched voice through the white painted wood.

"Oh for Christ sakes! I'm not bloody hungry!" she cried as she angrily pushed back her chair. Stephanie's hair spilled out behind her as she paced towards the door, her mouth set firmly in determination. Whatever idiot was stood behind that door was going to get a piece of her mind. Couldn't he understand simple fucking English! The guy was an imbecile!

"Look I already told you……." she began as she hauled on the shiny brass knob and opened her door. The rest of her words caught in the back of her throat as she saw him standing there in the hall, his shoulder leaning against the wooden frame. His brown eyes twinkled at her as his mouth curved into an amused smirk. God, she had never seen anything so sexy in her life. Her chest was fluttering and she swore her knees were trembling underneath her. Even though they had been back together for a couple of months, it always surprised her how much the simple sight of Paul affected her. It was like he invaded every part of her, mind, body and soul.

Stephanie pretended to scowl as he let out a low chuckle. "I suppose you think you're very funny."

"Oh I know I am." Paul grinned cockily as he pulled her into his arms. He breathed in the subtle scent of her perfume as his mouth gently caressed hers. Stephanie's soft sigh echoed in the empty hallway.

"I bet you think that lets you off the hook."

Paul's reply was another kiss, this one a little bit longer and that little bit deeper that it allowed his tongue to teasingly brush against hers before he pulled away leaving Stephanie slightly breathless. She licked her wet lips and lightly shook her head. She wanted so much more. How she'd managed not to maul this man so far was a complete mystery to her.

"Room service my ass." she said, playfully smacking the firm muscle of his chest. Her smile twinkled in her big blue eyes.

"Hey, if you're not satisfied with what's on the menu, I can easily leave you know."

As Paul pretended to step away from their embrace, Stephanie grabbed the lapels of his leather jacket and yanked him back in her direction and the direction of her hotel room.

"Oh I'm satisfied. In fact I'm extremely satisfied."

As she led him into the small living area, Paul's foot lightly kicked the door closed behind him. Stephanie stood on her tip-toes and found his lips once more. This time it was her tongue that sought out his and as she brushed over it temptingly, she wondered how she had survived the last three days without him. Sure they had talked on the phone several times but it just wasn't the same. She needed Paul close. She needed to touch him and feel him in her arms. She needed to kiss him like this and tell herself this all wasn't just a dream. That she wasn't going to wake up and discover that her fairytale was suddenly over. God knows it had broken her heart the first time they had gotten together and her father had taken it all away. She had been so conflicted over it too. Sure, she wanted to obey her father's wishes and stop seeing Paul like he had asked but it had been so incredibly hard especially when she knew she was falling in love. Paul was like no other man she had been with. He was smart, funny, honest and so beautiful. He was her Prince Charming, the man of her dreams; the man who had told her that if they were meant to be, it would be.

And thank God, he was right. The months she had to spend without Paul had been so long and so empty. Looking back now, she wondered how she had survived. Maybe it had been the knowing looks that had passed between them from time to time. The odd glance into those amazing brown eyes that told her he ached for her every bit as much as she ached for him. Paul expressed so much with his eyes including the words he could never say, not out loud. He was falling in love with her just like she was falling in love with him. It was that love had given her hope and that little bit of faith that they would eventually be together. And that faith was rewarded ten fold when Paul had gone to her father and told him he didn't give a damn what was best for the business but that he did give a damn about her and that they would be together whether Vince liked it or not. Her father's response had been to give them his approval to date and a promise he wouldn't ever make them stay apart again.

"I thought you weren't hungry McMahon." murmured Paul as Stephanie's mouth moved to his neck. As her fingers brushed back the soft blonde strands from his shoulder, she allowed her tongue to flick out and taste his hot, sweet skin before tilting her head and offering him a lop sided smile.

"Well what do you know? I suddenly found my appetite."

Her grin slowly faded into a gentle caress as her mouth traced his stubbled jaw line before tenderly kissing his cheek and his lips once more.

"Hmmm. I missed you." she confessed.

"Well what do you know? I missed you too."

And he had. He had missed her terribly. The last three days without her had felt like an eternity. He had woken up thinking of Stephanie. He had gone to sleep picturing her perfect face. She consumed his thoughts and his dreams so much so he swore a moment didn't go by when she didn't cross his mind in some way or another. And he had felt somewhat empty without her. He guessed that's what love did to you. It made you half of another person and without that person, you just didn't feel complete. And he loved Stephanie more than he had ever imagined possible. His feelings for her were so real and ran so deep that really he should be fucking terrified. But he wasn't and how could he be when his heart knew this was so right. Stephanie was the one. She was his one shot at true love.

"I should think so too. Abandoning me at the last minute to go and visit your parents. A girl might take offence and think she's not worth spending time with."

Paul smiled knowing that some girls just might think that and Joanie had been the perfect example. How many times had they argued over the time he had spent with his family? She just hadn't understood that it wasn't a competition; that just because he wanted to be with his parents he hadn't wanted to be with her either. She didn't get that his family meant everything to him. But Stephanie got it. She understood without question that he loved them and spending time with them was so important to him. And the reason she understood was because she felt exactly the same way. Stephanie loved her family and they were such a huge part of her life both in and out of business. She would do anything for them and her devotion to them was one of the many things that had attracted him to her in the first place. Their family values were something they had in common.

"Well instead of taking offence, how about next time you just come with me?" Paul suggested as he brushed a lock of hair over her forehead. Stephanie's eyes glinted back at him teasingly.

"Oh I don't know. It's an awfully big thing spending time with parents. Anyone would think we were getting serious or something."

Paul pressed his lips together thoughtfully. "Well maybe we are." he replied simply as his eyebrows lifted slightly. His deep brown eyes sucked her in as his big hand trailed down the length of her arm before sliding his thick warm fingers through hers.

His forehead rested against hers gently.

"So what do you say McMahon to coming home with me in a couple of weeks? It's my mom's birthday and I know she'd love to have you there."

"And I'd love to be there." Stephanie replied softly as she nuzzled against his cheek. Inside her heart was doing somersaults. She knew this was a big step in their relationship and a sign of Paul's commitment to her. Not that she ever doubted that commitment. How could she after all they had been through to get to this point?

"Of course it all depends on my father and if he's still working my fingers to the bone."

"Daddy riding your ass again?" Paul asked as he lifted his head and stepped back still gently clutching hold of her hand as he broke their embrace.

Stephanie nodded and sighed heavily as she gestured towards the paper littered table. "But you know what? He will just have to wait." she decided as she pushed the mountain of work she had to do to the back of her mind. Screw it. She'd find some way to get it done. In the meantime, for once, her needs were going to come first especially now Paul had surprised her with his unexpected visit. He wasn't supposed to arrive until tomorrow morning. That meant she had a whole extra night to spend with him and she wasn't going to waste one single second.

"Let me just switch this thing off." she said as she let go of Paul's hand and made her way to the laptop sitting open on the table.

Bending over, the keys clicked as she typed in the password logging her back in. Her finger slid over the mouse saving her work. That was when the message box popped up alerting her she had an e-mail. Stephanie sighed, sorely tempted to just ignore it. Instead a voice niggled in the back of her mind telling her it could be her father. He had told her this afternoon that he would be sending her a new employee contract for her approval. Apparently now she was involved in creative, he wanted to award her with a new title and salary which was more than generous. She would quickly skim over the details and send him back her reply. If she kept him waiting he would only call her and the last thing she wanted was any interruptions tonight.

"I'll just be a second." she told Paul, lifting her head to smile at him apologetically as she brought her glasses from her hair to sit on the bridge of her nose.

"Hey there's no rush." he assured her tucking his blonde strands behind his left ear.

Stephanie allowed herself to watch him for a second before she turned her attention back to the laptop screen. She clicked to open the message. That was when her screen went black for a moment before an image of a red rose lit up her display. Her blue eyes went wide noticing the same white ribbon that adorned the stem. A message scrolled along the bottom.

"Sleeping beauty fair
Gold of sunshine in your hair
Lips that shame the red, red rose
Dreaming of true love in slumber repose

One day he will come
Riding over the dawn
When you awaken to love's first kiss
Till then, sleeping beauty, sleep on

One day you'll awaken to love's first kiss
Till then, sleeping beauty, sleep on.."

Her brow crinkled with concern. This had to be the same guy who had been sending her the flowers. But why and how did he get her e-mail address? And who was he?

"Clint decided to woo you via e-mail, huh?"

Stephanie nodded absently as she continued to stare at the screen. "It looks like it."

Her voice was distant. Paul's smile faded as he noticed Stephanie definitely looked a little spooked. He had to admit he was getting a bit concerned himself. This rose would be the fifth in as many weeks, the last one being delivered to her office only yesterday. Stephanie had called him just moments after it arrived and despite her joking manner about her lovesick truck driver, he could hear the undercurrent of trepidation in her voice. Someone wanted to get her attention and badly. She had obviously become the target of a secret admirer. He just hoped it wasn't some sicko freak like the ones you read about or see in the movies.

"Did you see what he wrote?" Stephanie asked suddenly interrupting his thoughts.

Paul gazed over her shoulder and read the words on the screen. But they weren't just words. They were lyrics.

"Isn't that from……."

"Sleeping Beauty." Stephanie said finishing his sentence. "Yeah."

"Guess he knows you like Disney cartoons."

"But how does he know that, Paul?"

He heard the panicked tone in her voice. Her beautiful features were laced with her fear. Instinctively wrapping his arms around her, he kissed the top of her hair as Stephanie's back rested perfectly into his massive chest and tried his best to reassure her. After all it was his job to protect her, to keep her safe.

"Steph, the whole world probably knows you like Disney cartoons." he reminded her. "They probably picked it up from an interview that you did or something."

"I guess."

"Come on. Let's forget about it."

Paul's head ducked round to meet hers. He smiled softly as his lips brushed over Stephanie's. "How about I take you out for dinner or we do something?"

"Hmm, I think I prefer the something." she grinned as she turned in his arms to face him. Her slender fingers tossed her glasses to the table before lacing through his soft hair as she kissed him again, this time a little more insistently. All thoughts about flowers and lyrics were forgotten as her tongue ran over his bottom lip teasing it open and exploring his mouth. Paul tasted of mint and as his tongue sought out hers, Stephanie's soft moan echoed in the silent hotel room. Her left hand crept underneath his t-shirt, her palm tracing a path along his warm smooth skin. Her thumb flicked over his nipple before her fingernails lightly scratched his chest.

"You know you're making it extremely difficult to keep my promise." Paul growled in her ear. His wet lips nipped at her lobe. Stephanie swallowed thickly feeling her pulse jump and her stomach pool with her desire.

"What promise?"

"To take this slow."

Paul's breath whispered into her ear as he sighed heavily and broke their kiss. His head lifted to look at her and his eyes sought out hers. The brown orbs were a mixture of colours. The soft hazel represented his love for her. The intense black represented his desire and it was a desire that left no doubt in her mind that he wanted her and needed her. And God, she wanted and needed him every bit as much. She loved Paul with all her heart and even more so now that he was standing in front of her like this; silently seeking her permission to take their relationship to the next level. Words alone just weren't enough to show one another how they felt. Not any more. It was time to cement the love they had, mind, body and soul.

"Well Levesque, haven't you found out yet?"

Paul's brow furrowed as he stared at Stephanie in confusion. "Found out what?"

"Well some promises were just meant to be broken."

Sliding his leather jacket from his shoulders, Stephanie's eyes stared deeply into his leaving left no doubt in his mind as to what she meant.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded, touched by his need to respect her, to make sure there were no regrets. But how could she regret something that she had been waiting for her whole life. "Paul, I've never been more sure of anything. I love you."

"I love you too, Steph. So much."

"Then show me baby." she whispered as she pushed his jacket to the ground.

A surprised gasp passed her lips as Paul lifted her into his arms and carried her across the room. As their eyes locked on one another, Stephanie felt her breath catch in her throat. She could see her future in those eyes. She could see her heart too. And it was a heart that would always belong to Paul. He was her happily ever after. Her dream come true and it was a dream that she would keep hold of forever.