Rachel was lost for words. Staring deep into Eddie's eyes, she could see the intensity and the sincerity there, and she certainly couldn't deny that he meant every word he was saying to her. Tears continued to cascade down her flushed cheeks, and Eddie could bear to see her like this no longer. Letting go of one of her hands, he brought his own to her face, wiping away as many of her tears as he could. She felt the rough skin of his thumb brushing her cheek, leaving a tingling trail behind, which only served to intensify Rachel's longing for the man sitting before her. His words had touched her deeply, and his touch was so affectionate, so caring, she knew he really did care for her. He really wanted her to be happy, for them to be happy together. She could feel her resolve crumbling, an almost magnetic force was pulling her head nearer to Eddie's, their gazes still locked on each others. Each of them silently testing the resolve of the other, trying to gauge how they were really feeling.
When their lips finally locked together moments later, they were still staring into each other's eyes, neither wanting to close them for fear the other would disappear. Rachel finally gave in first, giving herself completely to Eddie, allowing her fingers to roam through his hair, pulling his head closer to her, completely overcome with emotion, feeling almost as though she could consume him in that one kiss.
As her mouth opened slightly, granting Eddie the access he craved, they breathed a simultaneous sigh of relief as their tongues met and began to dance together. They were finally breathing the air they had been craving all day, and this time neither of them felt able to stop there.
Eddie rose gradually to his feet, pulling Rachel into an upright position next to him, and drawing her body closer to his. He slipped his hand beneath the hem of her dress, desperately craving the feel of her skin on his. Rachel reciprocated, untucking his unusually smart shirt from his trousers and tracing the line of his spine with her silky soft touch. The alcohol both had consumed this evening was just enough to remove some of their inhibitions without compromising their sensibility; they both knew what they wanted to happen next.
As Rachel allowed her hands to trace further down Eddie's body, stroking the skin of his taught abdomen, towards the buckle of his trousers, Eddie let out a small moan, his own hands venturing further beneath Rachel's dress, causing her knees to quiver as she wondered how much longer she could remain standing. They were brought to their senses by the sound of a cheer from around the corner, and looked up to see one of Rachel's nephews chasing a football in their direction.
"Crap Eddie," she hissed to him, "That could have been Phil coming, he could have seen us!"
"Sshh," Eddie soothed, rubbing her back in comforting circles, "Don't panic, it wasn't, and he wouldn't have noticed us anyway, they're too caught up in their football! Do you have your room key Rach?"
"I do yes," she replied, "But Eddie, I really don't think I can go up there with you tonight, I won't be able to keep my hands off you, not after the little taster you just gave me! And seriously, until you prove to me you are serious and you sort things out with Mel, I can't let this go any further. I mean, I trust you, don't get me wrong. I'm glad this is out in the open between us, and you know that I love you, but I absolutely refuse to go behind her back. If we're going to do this properly, you need to tell Melissa."
"Excuse me Miss Mason, but did you just tell me you love me?" Eddie asked, his mouth hanging open in both surprise and delight.
"You better believe it Mr Lawson," she replied with a small grin, holding both of his hands in hers and staring deeply into his eyes that were overflowing with emotion. "But seriously Eddie, you need to tell her, and make it soon. I don't think I can keep my hands off you for much longer!"
Rachel then turned her back on Eddie and began to walk back towards the hotel, but before she had taken more than half a dozen steps he was by her side again.
"Come on now Rach, you don't seriously think I would let the woman I love walk back to her room in the dark all by herself do you?"
"Thanks Eddie," she replied feeling her cheeks flush brightly in the dark as a huge grin lit up her face at his words. They fell into step next to each other as they entered the building and headed for the lifts.
Standing in the enclosed space waiting for the lift to reach their floor, Eddie could not resist leaning in for one last soul consuming kiss before leaving her for the night. This kiss was much more passionate than before, both of them trying, in the few seconds they had left before the lift reached its destination, to communicate all the feelings and passion that the events of today had built up within them. Rachel could feel desire welling up inside her as their tongues clashed together, fighting for dominance, each determined to outdo the other and prove the strength of their feelings. Once again, their hands began to roam each other's bodies, leaving fiery trails in their wake across the others skin. But just as Rachel felt she could resist removing his shirt no longer, an electronic sounding voice announced they had reached their destination, and they quickly straightened their clothes, wanting to leave the lift looking presentable.
As they approached the door to Rachel's room, she inserted the key card into the lock, before turning to Eddie.
"You don't know how much I want to invite you in here right now and forget the rest of the world even exists Eddie. But it does, and I need you to talk to Melissa before this goes any further. Tell her tomorrow when we get home. If you want me to be there with you then I absolutely will, but I think it will be better coming from you. So I'm going to go to bed now. Will you take this key back down with you please and give it to Phil? I don't want the poor lad getting locked out again!"
"Will do Rach," he responded, glad that taking the key gave him one last tiny opportunity to brush his skin against hers. He stared deeply into her eyes one last time, and could see the emotion swimming there, see the love that he felt for her mirrored in her eyes. "I love you Rachel Mason," he whispered with a grin, "Everything will be ok, I promise." He kissed her slowly and lovingly on her cheek, lingering for just a moment longer, committing her scent to memory, before turning on his heel and walking back towards the lifts to search out Phil and see whether Melissa was still standing, or whether the tequila had finally got the better of her.