D?nhoff Hotel

  Hazel enters her hotel room and quietly shuts the door. She throws the deadbolt and secures the bottom lock. Crossing to the beautifully decorated bed, she leans on the wooden footboard and removes one high-heeled shoe at a time.

  Raking the fingers of one hand through her long hair, Hazel chuckles softly. She uses her free hand to unbuckle the gold-colored belt around her waist. Carefully drawing the thin belt through the dual loops on her blouse, she tosses the belt aside. As Hazel is preparing to pull her blouse up over her head, there is a soft knock on the room door.

  "Oh damn!" Hazel hisses mainly to herself. "Room service?"

  Straightening her clothes, Hazel rushes barefoot to the room door. Another soft knock. More insistent this time.

  "Okay. Yes. I'm coming," Hazel says.

  She considers putting her shoes back on but quickly decides it isn't worth the time or effort to do so. Not for room service. Pressing her right hand against the door, Hazel lifts up on tiptoe and peeks through the peephole. Her eyes widen, and she hastens to open the deadbolt and bottom lock. A very happy Deputy Newsome waits on the other side. As soon as the door is open, Hazel grips Dave's right hand and tries to yank him into the room. Not an easy feat considering he is almost double her size and much taller.

  "Dave?" Hazel pouts. "I told you to come by after nine. What if someone had seen you?"

  "I don't care!" Dave whispers as he enters the hotel room.

  "You should!" Hazel insists, shutting the door and locking it.

  Before she can go deeper into her explanation, Dave grips Hazel's face in one large hand and fiercely kisses her lips. Hazel puts both arms around Dave's neck, adding her own passion to their elaborate french kiss. Dave drops his hand, surrounding Hazel's waist with his big arms. He lifts her off of the floor and pivots toward the queen-size bed. Or at least, he assumes it's a queen-size. The bed is smaller than the king in his own house. Yet, bigger than the twin bed in his hotel room at the Needlemeyer. Logically, a queen.

  Pushing aside unimportant details, Dave focuses on the task ahead of him. He carefully lowers Hazel to the mattress, so that the backs of her bent knees are over the bed's footboard. Placing one hand against the mattress and leaning down, Dave alters the position of his mouth in relation to Hazel's. He kisses her chin, working his way downward to the flesh of her neck.

  Dave uses his free hand to reach for the bottom of Hazel's golden blouse. However, he quickly changes his strategy. Not bothering to fully remove Hazel's blouse, Dave settles for merely peeling back the silk material covering her chest. The large opening at the front of her blouse makes his job so much easier. Hazel sighs and allows Dave to have his way.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Twenty minutes later, they are both completely undressed and under the covers. Hazel's head rests on Dave's hairy chest. A sad expression alters her usually flirtatious countenance. She tilts her head to peer up at Dave. The faint smile on his lips brings tears to Hazel's eyes.

  "Dave, I can't live like this. I don't want to be confused anymore. I want to say I love you. I think I do love you. But, I'm...I'm afraid to love you. I don't want to be hurt again."

  Tears begin to stream down Hazel's cheeks and her body trembles, not from ecstasy but from fear and anxiety. Dave removes his arm from around Hazel's shoulders. He angles on the bed so that he can wipe her tears.

  "I won't hurt you, Hazel. I love you too much. I think...I've loved you since just after your mother died. She was a good woman. I remember watching you...Trying so hard to be brave. I saw the way you cared for your old man. You were there when he needed you the most. But who will be there for you, Hazel? I can be that man, if you'll let me. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise. On everything I hold dear. I'm tired of being just your friend with benefits. I want you all of the time. I want to wake up next to you every day. From now until the day I die. I want you to marry me, Hazel."

  Hazel narrows her eyes and sits up on the bed. She leans against the headboard, staring sternly down at Dave.

  "You don't understand, Dave. My father... Doesn't know about you and me. But he does know about you and my mother. He wasn't exactly happy about that little revelation. He'll blow a stack if he ever learns about us."

  Dave's mouth falls open and he stares aghast at Hazel. She continues without prodding.

  "It was one of the last things my mother told us, on her deathbed. She begged my father not to be angry. Mom said it was over and done with before she and Dad were even married. She just needed to come clean. She told Dad that she still loved you. That's sort of where I got the idea to seduce you, Dave. I was hurting so badly. Oh, Dave. You don't want to marry me."

  Dave reaches up with his left hand and cradles Hazel's face. He looks straight into her brown eyes without blinking.

  "But I do want to marry you, Hazel. I truly do. And if you'll have me, I will."

  "Dave, please," Hazel sighs, shutting her eyes. "Please stop saying that."

  "I won't," Dave replies. "Because I believe that's what you want too. You can try pushing it down and away. But, you're only lying to yourself. That's the source of your pain, Hazel. William doesn't love you. He hasn't loved you for a long time. It's a game to him. He didn't just cheat on you with Pamela. It was Laura before that. And his intern, Gabrielle, before her. Then, there was Denise and Sheryl. You're wasting your time, Hazel. He doesn't deserve you. Move on. Even if it's not with me. Move on. You deserve better."

  Hazel's chest rises rapidly and her cheeks grow warm. She lowers her furious gaze to Dave's face.

  "You knew? You knew he was cheating on me for that long? And you didn't say a thing? You could've at least told me, Dave!"

  "We weren't an item back then," Dave argues. "I didn't think you'd believe me. I thought you'd think I was a crotchety old man trying to control your life. Like your father. Once we were together, I didn't want to hurt you. I was satisfied with being your occasional bedroom friend. I'm not satisfied with that anymore. Not with everything going on in Castleton these days. I love you too much for that. I won't watch some self-righteous, cheating bastard ruin your life. Marry me, Hazel. Make me that promise. Not now, but maybe...Someday."

  Hazel breathes in deeply and slowly exhales the breath. She runs both hands over Dave's hairy chest and leans forward. He sits up, in order to meet her halfway, and they kiss passionately.

  "I promise. Someday," Hazel says.

  Dave is so overcome with emotion that he quickly reverses their positions. Hazel releases a loud giggle as Dave's mouth finds her ruby-colored lips again and again.