Chapter 10
CHAPTER 10
Misha
It wasn’t surprising to find the interior areas of the resort packed once they returned to Rawhide. The weather outside would mean no stable rides, and there were no outdoor events either. People were tucked indoors all chatting amongst themselves, and as homey as it felt, she couldn’t listen to all of that chatter.
She wanted to keep talking to Felix, but after giving the SUV’s keys to the valet and taking all her things out, he looked tired. Maybe it was due to the hectic afternoon or because she shed light on the mystery of his wife, but he looked exhausted. She wanted nothing more than to comfort him after the painful memory.
His friend Gabriel wandered up, and without really meaning to she stepped back. He cast curious eyes her way and so did Felix, but she just awkwardly cleared her throat and looked the other way.
“It’s nice to see you back safe.”
Misha blinked, staring at Sadie who’d also appeared. She hadn’t seen her since her first day at the Ranch, at least not this close. She was kind to her when she was nervous that first day, letting her know where to go before she saw Master Derek. He was nearby, talking to some other members, and she wondered if she’d hear anything from anyone about being out in the storm.
Apparently Sadie planned to bring it up.
“I got caught in the snow,” she admitted with a shrug. Sadie nodded, and she plunged forward before the sweet woman could say much else. “Felix happened by and brought me back. Good thing too because my car wasn’t going to make it back up the hill in this weather.”
“Hmm,” Sadie replied, her smile returning. “Well, we’re glad you’re both back safely. With the weather alerts that went out, we were just discussing phoning any visitors who hadn’t returned to the Ranch tonight but weren’t checked out either. Good thing you had Felix to help.”
“Yeah,” she mused quietly. “Good thing indeed.”
He was busy talking to Gabriel, and as she watched, Master Derek crossed the lobby and briefly spoke to both of them. She rocked on her heels and chose to watch instead of approaching, wondering what was going on now. A quick look around showed her that Gabriel’s companion Eris wasn’t nearby, and she couldn’t help wondering if they were serious partners or not.
She desperately wanted to continue spending time with Felix after his big reveal, and she needed to see if he was okay after dredging that up. If they needed to, she’d go back to the Dungeon so they could have more time together. She’d been in her own world since arriving and couldn’t recall if just anyone could bring others back to their rooms or not. It wasn’t the dorms, so maybe, but her thoughts were all jumbled after this afternoon.
“Misha?”
Her eyes widened as Felix approached, and she silently berated herself for letting her thoughts wander. This was another thing to put into her journal and work out later. Today’s level of embarrassing and regretful choices was startlingly high. She needed to cool it.
He dragged a hand over his face once he had her attention, the tiredness returning. “We should get your things up to your room.”
“Just my flowers and the snacks,” she admitted, her binge shopping at the store seeming silly in hindsight. She wanted to eat her feelings, and when the storm set in darkening her mood, it had felt right to just continue to gorge herself. She’d regret that in the morning, but it helped temporarily. “You don’t have to help me. You’re exhausted. Maybe we should be done for the night.”
“Perhaps,” he grumbled, and all she could think about was how she’d ruined his day. They could’ve had a good time and probably not gotten stuck in the storm if she hadn’t jumped to conclusions about his wife and blamed him for cheating.
Her chest tightened. It was cruel in retrospect.
Misha nudged his shoulder and nodded to the stairs. After a beat, he followed behind her to the guest wing, the pretty carpet coming into view the longer they walked. She wasn’t meaning to, but her head kept dropping as she let her anxiety win out. She did feel bad for all of this.
“This is me,” Felix said a few minutes later, and startled Misha blew past him before she stopped. He had her coat and her snacks held in one arm, letting her carry the flowers between both of hers.
Curiously, she stared at the door. It looked just like hers, but a different number. “I’m just down there a bit”—her head tilted toward the hallway—“but I can find my way.”
His chuckle was low when he leaned in closer, dark eyes locking on hers. “Misha, I know where your room is. If I wanted you to sleep all alone tonight, I would walk you to that door. My bed has been empty a long time. You’re more than welcome to fill it.”
That voice, it did all the best things to her body, making her pulse quicken at the tone. She seriously doubted he was in the mood to push her against the wall and fuck her right this second, but the idea of staying in his bed instead of her cold, empty one held more than a little appeal. When he spoke to her like this, it kind of reminded her of the tone he used when he called her Bambi.
As she swallowed, she made her decision. “I could sit here, for a little while. Maybe we could keep talking.”
When Felix’s eyes met hers, she caught the tiredness again, but there was something else there too. He looked closer to sleeping than chatting, but when he possessively wrapped an arm around her body to tug her closer, she felt how much he wanted her to stay. “I’m not sure how long I’ll be up tonight.”
“It’s okay,” she replied, her voice softer. “Just for a few minutes?”
He nodded, and after a moment the door popped open and she shifted out of his grip as she stepped into the room. It was very similar to her own, with the king bed just on the opposite wall since they were on different sides of the hall. His room was immaculately clean, making her think about the clothes scattered around hers.
He set the items inside, kicking off his shoes. “You can take the bed. I’ll be right back.”
Without a word he stepped toward the bathroom, and Misha was still in the doorway as he disappeared. Apparently he had no concerns about her snooping around, and she set her flowers on the table before smoothing her hands down her thighs.
When she envisioned tumbling into a bedroom with Felix, it involved hot and heavy sex and a lot of orgasms. The weird rift between them wasn’t what she had in mind, and now she had no idea how to mend the problem she’d caused. Yeah, he answered the questions, but he didn’t seem thrilled about all of it either. And she truly couldn’t blame him.
There was a pen and a notepad on one side of the bed, and she recognized the tinted paper from the note that he’d written to her. Before she could second guess herself, she snatched both items up before sitting down, and as a sense of Zen settled over her, she began to write.