Jamilla and I went inside, where I registered, and then we were brought upstairs to the Log Cabin room. Along the way, just about every surface, corner, cranny and crevice was filled with antique puppets, lithographs, jewelry in glass cases. We took it all in. Silently.

A strange thing happened to me on our way upstairs. I had the thought, here I go again. It almost caused me to stop walking and head back to the car. But something inside told me not to give up, not to shut feelings out, to put my trust in Jamilla.

Neither of us said a word until the bellman was gone.

Alex Cross 8 - Four Blind Mice

Chapter Thirty-Six

I could get used to this in a hurry!“ Jamilla whispered when we were alone in the room. ”Let's explore this place. It's beautiful, perfect, Alex. Almost too nice."

And so we explored.

The Log Cabin room was an amazing two stories that even included a sauna-Jacuzzi. The loft was reached by spiral stairs and had a full kitchen. The walls and floors were wood-paneled to suggest the simply hewn tongue-and-groove design of a cabin. A rough-cut, stone-framed fireplace was there to keep everything cozy. There was also an aquarium.

Jamilla did a quick, gleeful dance. She obviously approved, and so did I, mainly because she was happy. It sure was a whole lot better than the front seats of cars where we'd spent so many hours together during surveillance details in New Orleans.

As we checked out the suite, we explored each other a little, too. We stopped to kiss and I discovered once again that Jamilla had the sweetest-tasting mouth. We held each other and danced in place. We kissed some more and my head began to feel light. I was still nervous, and I couldn't quite figure out why.

Jamilla slowly unbuttoned my denim shirt and I helped her loosen and then slip out of a cream-colored silk blouse. Under her shirt, she wore a plain, thin, silver chain. Very simple and lovely.

Her hands gently unfastened my belt, then loosened my pants. I helped her out of her leather ones. “Such a gentleman,” she said. Somewhere along the way I kicked off my shoes and she did the same with her sandals.

Which finally, somehow, brought the two of us to the centerpiece of the suite a king-size bed.

“I like this, ”she whispered against my cheek. “Nicest bed I ever saw.”

The bed was definitely the visual focus of the room. It had four wooden columns suggesting a canopy bed, but without the frills. It was covered with a flannelly comforter and half a dozen throw pillows, which we immediately tossed onto the floor. The room looked even better a little messed-up.

“Music?”Jamilla asked.

“Be nice,”I said. “You pick something.”

She switched on the CD player and found WPFW, 89.3. Nina Simone's "Wild Is The Wind' was playing.

“Our song. From now on,” she said.

Jamilla and I kissed again and her mouth was soft. I was happy to see that the homicide inspector had a gentle side. Her lips continued to press into mine and I felt myself melting. Maybe that was why I was afraid. Here I go again.