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It was the contrast that initially caught his attention. The golden blonde tresses as opposed to dark brown locks. The full, soft pink lips that curved upward in place of lips pulled into a thin line and coated with toffee colored stain. The slightly lighter skin tone and the barely-there eye makeup. Even the rounded curves of soft looking hips.
He had snapped his attention back to the glass in front of him. The ice melting into nothing more than seltzer water, no more whiskey for him. He missed the burn on the back of his tongue, the warmth in his belly.
*
Alec rubbed a hand down his face. Now was not the time to let his mind wander. There were very important things for him to be focussing on. The case was still technically unsolved and reliving the past wasn’t going to help solve it. At least not that particular memory.
*
Her eyes had told the truth, that she wasn’t as happy as her smile would have you believe. He knew that look. Lost love, a touch of despair, all wrapped around determination. The same look he saw in his own eyes now. It made him look older, unsteady. It only made her eyes glow with something he couldn’t force himself to look away from.
So he didn’t. And the next time she glanced his way, he attempted to smile at her. The shift in her eyes was unreadable, but gone just as quickly as it had appeared. He didn’t question it as she joined him at the bar.
*
His glasses were falling down his nose, and instead of pushing them back up, he just pulled them off to rub at his eyes. It was late. Lack of sleep wasn’t going to do anything for him. He needed his mind sharp and his body wouldn’t operate on a few hours like it used to. It wasn’t as if he were getting anything accomplished. Not with that smile filling his mind.
*
He had a type, he’d always had a type. He bloody well knew it too. The fact had never bothered him before. Now, it felt like a bit of a curse. And this beautiful woman was the freedom from it he hadn’t known he needed. Now that he was aware, he had to have her. He needed release from the confines of his own personal preferences.
She was the first woman with blonde hair he’d ever found himself attracted to. He’d always stereotyped them, put them in a category that was unsavory and not worth his time. Somehow, he didn’t think she fit in that group.
When he reached out to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear and her cheeks tinted pinker, he just smiled. She tipped up her glass, draining the liquid and setting it back down. The ice clinked and he stood up, offering his hand. She didn’t hesitate and they didn’t stop at the elevator, choosing instead to use the stairs and keep moving. Momentum. It was all they had.
He unlocked his room and she walked inside, Alec following close behind. There had been conversation downstairs, but the time for speaking had passed. Lips, soft touches, and sighs turned to panting took over.
Hours later, he had a passing thought that it should feel odd having a foreign body cuddled into his. It didn’t. Not even as he caught sight of his ringless hand curled around her shoulder. Her golden hair took up most of his vision and he pressed a kiss into it.
They spent the next thirty-six hours in his hotel room, until she had to leave and he had to get on. They both had responsibilities outside the temporary haven they had created. He had to get Claire away to someplace safe. This majestic woman had to continue her search. From the little she had shared, he knew it was getting harder for her to maintain her hope and he lifted her chin to taste her lips one last time. Whispering against them that even though emotions were painful, he’d always liked hope. As he’d pulled away she had smiled up at him and he could see the hope already starting to surface.
*
Alec woke up to the sun streaming through a crack in the curtains. The case files were scattered across his chest and littering the floor, where some had fallen. He smiled to himself, her smile still etched into his mind from the dream. Hope. He had to hold onto hope.