Warning: fluff overdose ahead

Chapter 12 – A promise well kept

They walked into a nice boutique hotel. Killian walked over to the reception while Emma stayed in the lobby, surveying her surroundings. The hotel had a cozy warm atmosphere to it, the lighting was pleasantly dimmed, the lobby was furnished with polished antiques, decorated with rich fabrics and historic paintings, and it looked way too expensive, at least by her standards as she was accustomed to live in the car and crash motel rooms in between guests.

"Swan" He returned with the keycard in hand as she turned to face him "Here, you go ahead" He handed her the keycard "Unless you need help with those bags" He gestured with his hand to her black side bag that hung across her body and to the suitcase by her feet.

"I don't need help, but what about you? Aren't you coming?" She raised her brow in wonder.

"I'll wait here" He gestured with his hand at the direction of the seating area in the lounge.

"I believe it will take a while, I have a lot of making up to do" She chuckled as she reached for her suitcase "Besides, didn't you say that your battery is like on three percent or something?"

"Yeah, actually it just died, but I'm sure I can find an outlet here somewhere" He replied casually, his gaze sweeping around the lobby while his hands lightly held on to his backpack straps.

"Don't be silly, come up with me" She said as she gestured with her head towards the elevator.

"I don't want to crash your bath" He said, slightly shaking his head "Well, at least not this time" He whispered in a playful tone as he smiled mischievously at her and wiggled his eyebrows.

"You're not crashing anything, so don't get any ideas in your head" She scolded as she narrowed her eyes at him before a small smile escaped her lips.

"Didn't you say that you wanted some privacy?"

"Well, judging by the looks of this place" She said as her eyes swept the lobby "I'm pretty sure there is going to be a door to the bathroom, and that's about all the privacy I need" She continued as she averted her gaze back to him "I can tell you one thing, it will sure be one hell of an upgrade from the prison showers" She smiled and noticed that he was still reserved, a hint of hesitation in his eyes "Come on let's go" She urged, giving his shoulder a nudge before they both started to walk over to the elevator.

...

He was sprawled across the bed, lying on his stomach, propped up on his elbows, fiddling with his phone, that was connect by the charger to the outlet above the nightstand.

"What are you doing?" She asked when she got out of the bathroom. He raised his gaze from the phone to her, his mouth agape as he blinked twice, taking in her beauty. She stood at the doorway, a robe wrapped around her body, her gorgeous pale skin shining from the shower, her beautiful green eyes beaming and her damp hair falling down her shoulders.

"Cancelling my flight" He swallowed hard and glanced at the phone in his hand, jolting himself back to reality.

"I see you are not so optimistic after all" She joked, a smile slowly spreading across her face "You doubted that I'd agree to give you a ride?"

"I can never know with you Swan" He shook his head as he set the phone on the nightstand "You can be quite unpredictable" He pushed himself up to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Am I?" She teased, raising one eyebrow, leaning her shoulder against the door frame and crossing her arms across her chest, a small mischievous smile curving up her lips. What was she doing? Was she flirting with him?

"Quite" He replied as he got up, slowly walking over to her, his intense, consuming gaze fixed on hers and she could feel her heart beating wildly in her chest "Like right now" He said slowly as he drew near, his soft husky voice just above a whisper "I'm kinda having trouble figuring it out, so why don't you tell me love, do you want me to kiss you or not?"

"What do you want?" She asked softly, having to raise her gaze to stare back at him, as without the additional height of her boots she was much shorter than him. His blue eyes skimming over her face as he gently backed her up against the door frame, leaning over her, reaching one arm near her head and leaning it against the door frame.

"What do you think?" He whispered in a seductive tone as his other hand reached for her cheek, gently raising her chin up with his thumb. They stared deep into each other's eyes, both feeling the tension building up inside of them, blinking slowly, sharing a breath, sharing a pulse, her stomach flutter, his eyes burning with desire. His hand moved to stroke the back of her neck and her eyes fluttered shut as she leaned her head back to the touch "I missed this" His stubble ghosting over her cheek as he whispered in her ear before his hand moved to caress her cheek again, her eyes fluttering open to look at him, his eyes soft and loving, hers glazing with want.

He slowly parted his lips as they locked eyes, and she mirrored his movement by parting her own, his thumb slowly trailing down her cheek to the corner of her mouth, tenderly grazing her bottom lip as the tip of his tongue darts out to moist his lips. He leaned in, his lips ghosting over hers when she suddenly pushed him back a little, slowly ducking under his arm that leaned against the door frame, leaving him to stare in confusion at the now vacant wooden door frame, his eyes wide and his mouth agape before he turned to face her "See? I just never know with you" He shook his head and forced a chuckle.

"Your phone is ringing" She drew his attention to the vibrating sound and he glanced over to the nightstand.

"I don't care" He shrugged as he took a step in her direction.

"You go get that" She put her hand on his chest, gently pushing him back "I'm going to blow dry my hair" She said before she disappeared into the bathroom.

...

"So who was that?" She asked when she got out of the bathroom again, her hair now dried straight and she was wearing a pair of black jeans and a simple grey tank top.

"A friend from work" He replied from where he was seated on the edge of the bed, cocking his head to one side so he could look at her as she reached for her suitcase that was rested on the bed.

"Already making friends, are we?" She smiled at him as she put the floral dress back in the suitcase and closed it.

"I liked the dress, I like the jeans too" He stared at her, trying to catch her gaze that was still fixed on the suitcase.

"Anything better than those horrifying uniforms uh?" She stated as she grimaced in disgust at the memory.

"I didn't mind" He slightly shook his head as he got up and she averted her gaze from the suitcase to him "You are beautiful in anything" He said softly as he smiled and took a step in her direction.

"Come on let's go" She rolled her eyes and smiled in embarrassment as she pulled the suitcase to the floor "We have a long way ahead of us and I prefer driving during the day" She picked up her bag, pulling the strap over her head and settling the bag against her hip before she dragged the suitcase and headed for the door.

"Wait" He called after her.

"What?" She asked as she halted two steps away from the door and turned around. He reached for his backpack and took something from the front pouch before he walked over to her with the thing in hand, hidden behind his back.

"I promised you something" He said as he reached for her hand, taking it in his and turning it palm up "And I always keep my promises" He placed the small purple velvet box in her hand as she stared at it before she raised her gaze to meet his "What?" He asked when he looked at the shocked expression on her face, her eyes wide, her mouth agape, just like the first time he gave it to her "It's yours, I only saved it for you remember?"

"Yeah" She blinked heavily.

"Allow me to put it on?" He asked and opened the box when she nodded in reply, taking out the bracelet and placing the box on the hall console that stood against the wall. She stared at him when he lowered his gaze to look at the bracelet as he fumbled with the clasp "Give me your hand" He reached for her hand and glanced up at her, the sight of his blue eyes looking at her making her heart beat fast in her chest, the sensation of his fingers grazing her skin making her breath hitch in her throat.

"It's really pretty" She said quietly as she glanced down at the bracelet on her wrist before she raised her gaze and blinked heavily again "I love it" She said as her eyes fixed on the wide smile that spread across his face, making her smile in embarrassment "Thank you" She swallowed hard as she stared deep into his eyes.

"You already thanked me"

"Now" She said softly.

"Now what?" He asked as he looked at her in confusion, a confusion that vanished the moment he noticed that her eyes were flickering back and forth from his eyes to his lips.

He took the last step that separated their bodies, both of his hands reaching to cradle the back of her neck, this time not wasting any time and diving straight into the kiss, forcefully yet tenderly pressing his lips to hers. She moaned softly against his lips "You have no idea how much I missed these lips" He whispered when he broke away for a moment before his lips once again crushed against hers, burying one hand at her hair, the other reaching for her waist, slowly guiding her backwards, their lips parting only for a brief moment when he pulled the strap of her bag over her head and dropped it on the floor as he kept walking her backwards, his lips and hands returning to their previous positions, until his hand at her hair hit the door.

Her hands anchored at his waist, her fingers threading through his belt loops, tugging and hauling him closer as his hand tugged gently on her hair, tilting their heads to deepen the kiss, she opened her mouth, granting him permission to thrust his tongue into her mouth, she could feel a chill running down her spine as their tongues danced together in unison, the perfect sensation making her flushed with warmth and haziness.

Her hands began to trail underneath his shirt and up his back, his skin smooth and soft, as his hand moved from her waist to her shoulder, making her shudder at the touch over her bare skin, his fingers sliding slowly down her arm, reaching for her hand, intertwining their fingers together as he gently pinned her hand against the door by her head.

He relished her taste, her scent, her warmth, kissing her again and again, deeper and deeper, barely breathing, as the insatiable craving for her mouth took over him completely, her lips soft and tender, her mouth warm and sweet.

"Killian?" She moaned softly against his lips.

"What is it love?" He whispered as he kept devouring her lips.

"Nothing" She murmured and reached up her hands, threading them into his dark thick hair at the nape of his neck as his hands anchored at her waist. His lips broke from hers as they moved to kiss her jaw line, giving her the opportunity to gasp for air as she breathed heavily. He then trailed kisses down her neck as his hands tightened their grip on her waist, gently pining her against the door "Killian?" She moaned again as her hands tugged on his hair, pulling him back up.

"What?" He looked at her breathless.

"We really need to go" She said reluctantly.

"Not yet" He pleaded as he leaned to kiss her lips "Let's stay" She tugged on his hair again, slightly pulling him back so their eyes could meet.

"I don't want to go either" She whispered softly, her lips swollen, her skin flushed and her eyes glazing with want "But we have a long road ahead of us, and this day is already half gone" She swallowed hard, slightly shaking her head, jolting herself back to reality.

"We can go tomorrow" He reached his hand to caress her cheek and smiled slightly as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"And tomorrow we will say tomorrow" She said as they locked eyes, sharing the desire to stay, sharing the understanding that they need to go.

"Point taken" He said as he nodded and smiled. She averted her gaze for a moment in embarrassment before she looked at him again, returning a smile as her eyes sparkled along "So where are we headed?" He asked before he gave her one last short loving kiss on the lips before he pulled away, fetching her bag for her.

"Since we only have a few hours until it gets dark I say that Albuquerque can be our next stop" She pulled the strap of her bag over her head as he went to get his backpack, slinging it over his shoulders.

"Albuquerque it is" He nodded and grabbed her suitcase as she took the velvet box in her hand.

"Thanks again" She said as she fingered the box before placing it inside her bag and a sad smile lifted her lips "You surprised me that day, but I thought that after everything that followed – "

"I was merely trying to protect you" He cut her off to explain "You really think that I can say no to this?" He asked softly as he reached his hand to brush her hair back over her shoulder.

"But you did" She said quietly.

"And you can bet those pretty eyes of yours that I will never do that mistake again" He buried his hand in her hair and gently pulled her for a kiss, feeling her lips curving up against his.

"So you're basically saying that your ass is mine?" She asked mischievously, smiling against his lips.

"Pretty much" He replied softly, staring at her lips as he nodded before he kissed her lips once more, causing her smile to spread even wider.

She sure loved that ass.

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