Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
ARABELLA
“I don’t understand what’s wrong with this place.”
I eyed the motel and gas station, trying to understand the problem they saw with it. Considering the storm that was battering outside, it didn’t seem we had much of a choice anyway. Plus, the gas station had a restaurant attached to it, and all of this amazing sex was working up quite the appetite.
“It doesn’t strike you as just a little unsettling?” Damian asked, looking amused.
I mean, sure, the place looked sort of odd, the motel containing only four rooms with a main office, and the gas station had only one pump with lights on that seemed to flicker…
But we were in the middle of nowhere; that was to be expected.
Why the heck were they worried? They were literally the stuff of nightmares.
“Nightmares gravitate towards places like this,” Amun translated their concern.
“Honestly, I think all of you are being babies,” I pointed out astutely.
It wasn’t the only thing they were being babies about.
Apparently, Zain and I had caused quite the problem, which was how we ended up here, having pulled off the road so the guys could hop out instead of listening to me moan out his name… Which I very much had.
Except now that it was storming and roads were so bad, we were thinking that we probably needed to stay here for a bit until it passed.
Which was why I pulled up my hoodie and hopped out of the RV, into the rain.
My steps were still a bit shaky, truth be told, and I could feel a charged sensation running up my spine that would forever be connected to Zain.
Razar was there so fast with a jacket over my head, steadying my elbow as I nearly stumbled, an action that caused me to smile.
I knew everyone else would stay in the RV and either keep watch or try to go unnoticed…
Not that there was anyone to notice us out here. I mean, seriously—there was no one.
The door opened, and a bell rang overhead as we entered the small wood-paneled motel lobby.
The front desk had peeling linoleum, and there was a ‘Welcome to Colorado’ sign on the wall that was falling off.
The faint scent of animal urine filled the carpets under my feet, and the entire scene was set by an old man sitting behind the desk, glaring at both of us with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.
“What do you want?” he bit out.
Friendly. Very cool.
“Need a room, or two,” Razar said, locking me to his side. I relaxed into him, loving how possessively he held me.
It shouldn’t have been surprising after all this time, but I think I would always relish in it considering how strong my feelings towards them were.
“Booked solid.” The man shrugged.
“Liar,” Razar said evenly. “There is no one in those rooms, I already checked.”
I looked up at him in confusion because… When the heck had he done that? Maybe he was lying, and if so, it completely worked, because the man grunted.
“We don’t serve folk like you here.”
“Folk like us?” I clarified, hoping he didn’t catch onto the nightmare thing.
“City folk.” The man shook his head. “Everyone stops here between Chicago and Boulder, and all of you fuckers complain about shit, so you can’t stay.”
“We promise we won’t complain,” I said with a small smile. “Please? We will even pay extra. Cash.”
The man grunted, something he seemed to do often, and put his hand out. Razar handed him cash, and the man tossed us three keys. I cringed as I gripped them and felt that they seemed a bit…greasy.
Gross. Really freakin’ gross.
As we walked out, Razar took the keys to the RV so the guys could get settled, and he even brought back hand sanitizer, which I used in earnest. I had been planning to go to the room, but then Razar suggested going to the gas station because we hadn’t had dinner and he insisted I was hungry.
He wasn’t wrong, and it was a bit scary how well he knew me.
“When was the last time you ate?” he asked.
“That is a good question.” I winced as we stepped into the gas station.
The woman behind the counter watched us in shock as I tugged down my hood and Razar kissed the top of my head.
Yeah, I had to admit, considering he was more than a foot and a half taller than me and covered in tattoos, we probably made an odd couple.
I didn’t like normal, so I was perfectly okay with that.
Plus, the human definition of normal was always changing, it seemed, and always messed up. I didn’t understand their obsession with being ‘normal.’ Wasn’t it more fun to not be normal?
After we purchased some snacks, Razar convinced me to head towards the attached restaurant. I had asked if the others would want anything, but he insisted they weren’t hungry. I would probably still order for them, though, because I had an urge to take care of them as much as they cared for me.
Even though that was probably amusing, considering I was human.
The minute that we were sat at a table, a small bus with ‘North Field College’ on the side pulled up to the singular pump station.
I made a sound of annoyance as a group of what I had to assume were humans got off, and Razar immediately noticed, his gaze sharp on the newcomers.
There were only about five of them, and then an older man, who seemed to be on the phone yelling at someone, but they walked into the gas station as if they owned the place instead of just passing through.
“I hate other humans,” Razar growled under his breath, making me smirk.
I slipped out of the booth as we waited for the waitress to come take our order and sat on his lap, a happy sound coming from his throat as he wrapped an arm around me.
I purposefully kept my eyes on him as the door to the restaurant opened and voices filled the space.
His eyes turned black, making me know the hooded figures were other males, so I tilted his head back towards me, not wanting him to focus on them.
“Don’t give them your attention.” I kissed his nose.
Razar’s chest released a rumble. “Hard to do when I can feel them staring at you.”
“They are probably staring at us. I mean, you are rather large and terrifyingly hot, and I am short with bright pink hair.”
“Terrifyingly hot?” he mused, looking in a better mood. “I like that.”
“Is it the terrifying part?” I teased as his fingers wrapped around my waist.
“I like you finding me attractive,'' he admitted softly.
“Hello, you two!” A bright, cheery voice had both of us looking over to a waitress. My eyes narrowed on her direct gaze on Razar. Yeah, I was sort of seeing his point about humans.
“Hi.” What? That was a polite, if short and clipped, response.
“What can I get you guys?” she asked, her eyes still on Razar. Still!
“What do you want?” he asked me, his eyes lit with humor as I tried to not show how annoyed I was with this woman nearly salivating over him.
“Chocolate chip pancakes, french toast, eggs, and toast.” It was an absurdly large order.
She jotted it down quickly and then moved her gaze directly back to Razar. Did she actually hear anything I had just said?
“What about you?”
“I’ve already got what I plan to eat.”
Razar’s words took a moment to register as I snapped my head to where he was looking at me with mirth, my mouth popping open. The woman dropped her pad of paper and mumbled something as she ran off, leaving me with an amused Razar.
“Jealousy looks good on you.” He nipped my nose, seemingly thrilled.
“Not jealous,” I huffed, pressing my forehead against his. “Possessive. She doesn’t get your attention.”
A groan left his throat. “Don’t talk about being possessive,” he growled, running his fingers up the back of my neck to grip my hair before tugging on my bottom lip. I couldn’t help but turn to straddle him as his other hand gripped my ass.
“Why?” I teased, locking my arms around his neck.
A new voice interrupted, “Because he’s about to fuck you on this table to prove a point to all these little boys watching.”
Amun’s voice had my head snapping up as the table of six looked away. I blushed but stayed on Razar’s lap as Saint and Amun both slid into the booth across from us, their eyes on the men around us.
Oh no. The two of them being friends would be trouble.
“Is that true?” I teased Razar.
He seemed to consider it and then shook his head. “No, I don’t want them to see that.”
Amun chuckled. “I think it would be worth making a point.”
“No,” Razar snapped.
“Here is the— Shit!” The woman swayed, eyeing Amun and Saint, before looking towards me.
I glared at her with narrowed eyes, and she ran away as I slipped down onto the bench and began to eat my pancakes, unsurprised when the other two guys each grabbed a plate.
I hadn’t purposefully ordered for them, but it was like I knew it would be the four of us eating together.
“Damn, this is good,” Saint muttered.
“I only order the best,” I agreed while eating all six pancakes, letting out a happy sound.
After we were done eating, we ordered some extra food. The guys took it back, telling Razar to not kill anyone, while the two of us had some coffee, knowing I had a lot of work to do to prepare for finding Hate and possibly Peace tomorrow.
When we were finally done, I stood up and stretched, feeling eyes on us. Razar walked ahead, pulling my hand gently, keeping me protectively behind his back. I swear, the man commanded the room with just his presence, and it was intoxicating to watch.
Which was why when a hit came across my butt, hard enough that I hissed, I was absolutely shocked. I turned around so fast that I nearly fell over, but Razar caught me, surrounding me completely with his arms. Immediately, I was touching his face, trying to keep his gaze and speaking to him.
“Don’t.”
He knew exactly what had happened, and I had a feeling this was going to be the culmination of all his anger and frustration lately.