He left after breakfast, and I didn’t see him for the rest of the day.

When 2:45 rolled around, I anxiously checked my phone for a text from him. A few minutes later, it came.Channing: I’m in Room 248. Take your time. I’ll be here waiting whenever you’re ready.Despite the feeling that I was forgetting something, I grabbed my bag and forced myself out the door.

By the time I approached The Peabody, the butterflies in my stomach had turned frantic.

Goosebumps covered my arms as I made my way to the elevator up to the second floor.

The elevator dinged open, and my heart was racing as I walked down the long hallway in a fog. I knew I’d be nervous, but my anxiety was much higher than I’d anticipated the closer I got to the room.

After knocking lightly, I took a deep breath in and waited.

When he opened the door, Channing flashed his beautiful grin and moved aside for me to enter. Immediately, his cologne infiltrated my senses as I felt my body temperature rise.

My legs felt wobbly. I guess you really don’t know how you’re going to feel about something until it was about to happen. Suddenly, all of the self-doubt started to creep in at this inopportune moment.

What if I suck, and he doesn’t want to do it again?

What if he doesn’t like my body?

What if I come too fast or not at all because I’m nervous?

I immediately ventured over to the window. While a part of me was tempted to jump, I stared down at the busy Boston traffic below. The faint sounds of life outside of the room were muffled by the beat of my own eardrum.

“You okay?” he asked from behind me.

I turned around and rubbed my clammy palms on my skirt. “Yeah, I think I just need some water.”

“How about water then some wine?”

“Even better.”

Alcohol sounded great right about now.

He opened a bottle of water then poured it into a glass for me. My armpits were sweating, and that became another worry. Had I worn enough deodorant?

I sipped my water and watched as he opened a bottle of cabernet that I knew was pricey.

“That’s an expensive bottle of wine, Lord.”

“Well, it’s not every day I have Amber Walton in a hotel room with me. It’s a special occasion.” He smiled, and that calmed me down a bit.

Channing handed me the glass then sat at the edge of the bed across from me, watching intently as I gulped the wine down. His stare made me shiver.

He looked so damn good. Everything was on point. His hair was slightly damp. He must have showered in the room right before I got there. He wore a collared shirt that was open slightly at the top, showcasing a few inches of his tanned chest. His dark jeans fit him perfectly, displaying a prominent bulge. Could he possibly have been hard already?

When my eyes made their way back up to his face, I could see he was still observing me.

“You look really beautiful.” His smile was almost enough to melt my nerves—almost.

“Thank you. I tried to pick something sexy for you.”

“I’ve been hard all morning, so you could’ve walked in wearing a paper bag, and I’d still need an ice pack.”

Despite my nerves, the confirmation that Channing was aroused made my body buzz with excitement.

Setting my now-empty wine glass down, I asked, “How exactly does this work? “Do we just start going at it or…”

His mouth curved into a smile. “No.”

“No?”

“No.”

“Then what do we do?”

“We do what comes natural. You’re not ready to have sex right this second. I prefer it if the woman I’m with isn’t white knuckling her way through it.”

“You can tell I’m nervous?”

“Yes. And to be honest, if you weren’t, I’d be a little weirded out. It’s normal. I think it’s adorable how nervous you are, actually.”

“I wanted to tell you how nervous I was over coffee this morning, but I didn’t want to break the rules. You know, no talking about this at home.”

“Well, guess what?” He leaned in, and the feel of his breath on my skin put my body on alert. “I’m nervous, too, Amber. And you can tell me about what you’re feeling now. There are no rules in this room. None at all. Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“A part of me wants to run out of here. But another part of me thinks you smell really damn good and wants to stay. So, yes, I’m nervous, but I still really do want this.”

He placed his hand on my knee, and it sent what felt like shockwaves up my spine. “You know what I think?”

“What?”

“I think we should watch TV.”

“Watch TV? Surely, you didn’t just pay five hundred dollars for a hotel room so that we could watch television.”

“We have all afternoon and night. And if by the end of tonight, all you want to do is sleep next to me with no sex involved, that’s okay, too,” he said. Channing crawled to the top of the bed and began exaggeratedly fluffing the pillows. He kicked his feet back, put his hands behind his head, and let out a deep breath. “Ahh. This is so relaxing. You should try it.”