Chapter 11
eleven
. . .
Presley
I could not remember the last time I’d laughed this hard.
I’d been scared for my life just a few minutes earlier.
Worried that I’d put Cage in danger. Frustrated that the man was friendly one minute and appeared to hate me the next.
Yet, here I was, sprawled out on top of him, with the snow coming down hard as he blinked up at me.
Popcorn and Hot Tamales covered the snow like confetti, as he’d clearly forgotten to zip up his treat bag.
And all I could do was laugh.
“Is this funny to you?” he asked, but the softness in his gaze made my chest squeeze.
“It’s a little funny.” I shifted to get up, and something hard poked me in my lower belly.
Oh. My. God.
My eyes met his, and I tried hard not to laugh some more.
He gripped my shoulders and easily lifted me before he moved to his feet. “Laughing at a man’s dick is not cool.”
I covered my face with my hands and shook my head. This whole day had just been… unexpected.
I bent down and tried to pick up the splattered treats decorating the snow, and he grabbed the bag. “Leave it for the animals. Let’s get inside.”
“I wasn’t laughing at your dick, by the way.” I hurried behind him, trying to keep up, but he came to an abrupt stop, and I slammed into his back before he whipped around to face me.
“Stop talking about my dick. Stop touching me and taunting me with your hot little body. I’m fucking done. Do you hear me?”
I bit down on my bottom lip because he looked damn good, acting all angry and pissed off. I’d always loved how worked up he got.
With me in particular.
“Got it, Cowboy.”
He urged me in front of him, and we walked toward the door. This motel looked like a scene from a horror flick, but it was better than being out on the road any longer. Cage pulled the door open, and I stepped inside.
“Hey, y’all. Looks like you took a tumble out there. I’m Margo, by the way,” a woman in her mid-fifties said with a whole lot of enthusiasm. She wore glasses, and her brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail.
“Hi, Margo,” I said. “We’re okay, just happy to be out of the cold.”
“We need two rooms if you’ve got them available.”
“Let me check on that.” She typed on her keyboard for the longest time.
Like she was booking us a trip to the moon.
The place was small and couldn’t have more than ten rooms, so I wasn’t sure what she was searching for.
She stopped and glanced up at us with a weak smile and then went back to typing manically on the keyboard once again.
I glanced over at Cage, who appeared highly annoyed, with his stiff shoulders and a prominent crease between his eyebrows as he tapped his fingers against the counter impatiently.
I reached forward to grab a piece of soggy popcorn that was stuck to his shoulder and tossed it into the trash can.
There was a door with a sign that read Gift Shop.
“Well, folks, I’m sorry to tell you that, due to the storm, we’ve had a few people come in over the last two hours. We’ve got one room available, but it’s the smallest room we have, and the heat’s a bit faulty in there.”
“Fuck,” Cage grumbled under his breath as he ran a hand through his damp hair.
“It’s not the end of the world. We’re grown-ups, after all. At least one of us is,” I snipped because the man acted like he was being forced to share a room with a serial killer. “And it’s better than sleeping out in the truck.”
“So, you’ll take it?” Margo asked.
“Yes, it’s fine.” He pulled out his credit card, just as I did the same.
“This whole thing is my fault. The least I can do is pay for the room.”
“Put it away.” his voice commanded, and Margo looked up at him with puppy dog eyes, like she’d never seen a more beautiful man. Hell, I got it. It was hard to look away for me, too. Even when he was being a complete jackass.
“I noticed that door led to a gift shop. Do you have any warm clothes in there by any chance? Or maybe some snacks?”
“Oh, yes. We carry long underwear, toiletries, and groceries.”
“Great. I’ll go stock up.” I hurried inside and grabbed two pairs of the one-size-fits-most long johns and some fuzzy socks for both of us. There were packages of mini donuts, Pop-Tarts, chips, and, of course, the ever-trustworthy M&M’s.
I swiped my card, and the woman loaded everything into two bags, and I met Cage near the front desk. He was using the motel phone, and I assumed he was talking to his mom as he explained that we’d had to stop for the night.
I pulled out a powdered sugar donut as I watched him talk, and I groaned when I took the first bite. I was starving. Cage’s gaze landed on mine, and there was a mix of heat and anger, but he held his hand out, and I placed a donut there.
“All right. Thanks again. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He ended the call, thanked Margo for the phone, and guided me toward the elevator. Once we stepped inside, he stood on the other side of me, but he didn’t take his eyes off me. We were both soaked, and I was trying hard not to shake from being so cold.
“What’s in the bag?”
I told him the list of sinful goodies I’d purchased, and he raised a brow. “No Hot Tamales?”
“No. What a shocker that they don’t carry them. They had long underwear and fuzzy socks, but not your favorite candy. And do you know why that is?” I tried to hide my smile as the elevator doors opened, and I stepped off with him right behind me.
“I can’t wait for you to tell me.”
“Because no one eats Hot Tamales. It’s an endangered candy. But the M&M… that delectable treat has held its own since the beginning of time, or at least since candy was invented. It’s tried and true—the superior snack.”
He paused at the door and pulled out the key. “Maybe you just didn’t look that hard for them because you enjoy acting like your candy is better than mine.”
When I flipped on the light, I cringed at the orange and mustard floral bedspread that matched the curtains. Margo wasn’t kidding about the faulty heat as the room was not warm. It was better than being outside, but it was a far cry from comfortable.
“Jesus. This is a shit hole,” Cage grumped as he pushed the door closed. “I bet there have been murders in this room.”
“Don’t worry. I promise not to murder you, for Gracie’s sake.”
“How do you know I won’t murder you?” His voice was deep and gruff, and it had me squeezing my thighs together, even while I trembled from being wet and cold.
His gaze softened again as he clearly noticed, and I dropped the bags onto the chair by the door before handing him a pair of long underwear. “Here you go.”
“You go change first. I know you’re cold. I’ll try to see if I can get this heat to turn up a little bit.”
I walked into the bathroom and was grateful that I had a brush in my purse and some lotion.
I tugged off all my wet clothing and hung them over the shower curtain in hopes that it would all be dry by morning.
I slipped off my bra and panties because they were soaked, as well, and slung them over the tub.
I used the towel to dry myself off and pulled on the dry clothing, which already felt much better.
I looked in the mirror, brushed my hair, and washed my face with warm water before applying a little lotion.
I made my way out to the room, where Cage was playing with the buttons on the thermostat.
“Hopefully that works,” he said, as his gaze traveled the length of my body, from my face down to my toes, before snapping back up and grabbing his clothing. “I’ll be right out.”
I set the bag on the bed and then laid out all the snacks as I popped another donut into my mouth before guzzling some water. When the door opened, I had to cover my mouth to muffle my laughter.
Cage Reynolds. Six foot three inches of manliness, standing there in what looked like a painted-on crop top and capri leggings.
Tears streamed down my cheeks as my entire body shook.
He looked ridiculous, yet still managed to be sexy as hell with his six-pack on full display.
The bottoms were so small that the waistband sat below his deep V, and my gaze followed the light dusting of hair down to the clear outline of his still-erect penis.
“Can you stop staring at it like that? It’s not helping matters.”
My teeth sank into my bottom lip. I was pleased that I still had an effect on the man, just like he still had an effect on me.
“Sorry. They only had the one size.”
He moved to the bed and sat beside me, stretching out his legs and reaching for the Pop-Tarts. He tore the foil packet open and took a bite.
Yes, my mind wandered to thoughts of him tearing the foil packet of a condom. And what would follow.
And yeah, the heat must be working because I wasn’t that cold anymore.
“I saw that. One size fits most. Are most people unusually small? It’s a bit biased, kind of like your whole M&M-Hot Tamale theory.”
“I’m not unusually small, and they fit me just fine. And don’t shame me for having great taste in candy.”
“And what am I? A giant?” he asked as he leaned back on the bed and devoured the strawberry Pop-Tart. My gaze moved to the elephant in the room… his dick that was practically bared to me behind the thin fabric.
Giant was a fitting word.
My God. When was the last time I’d even been turned on?
I cleared my throat and moved to my feet, finding my phone charger and plugging it in.
“I have service in here, so I sent a text to my dad and let him know what was going on. He asked me to apologize to you, and he’s just glad that we’re okay. So, if you need my phone, feel free to use it.”
“Nah. I already spoke to Gracie. I asked my mom to let Kate, my receptionist, know to reschedule my appointments for tomorrow. Hopefully, we can make it to White Peak and bring that horse home with us if the roads have cleared.”
I sat back down and tore open the package of M&M’s, not even caring that I’d probably have a terrible stomachache by morning. I was hungry, and donuts and candy were better than nothing.