Chapter 18 This Isn’t Even Our Floor
THIS ISN’T EVEN OUR FLOOR
RAYA
The hair on my arms stands on end as we walk arm in arm out of the bustling restaurant, down the sidewalk and back to our hotel.
My heels tap too loud on the lobby floor, the only sound between us as we head toward the elevator bay.
Asher is in predator mode, he has been all night, and my inner shifter isn’t helping the situation.
Every time I think about him, sense his gaze on me, feel his light touches, hear his whispered words, my mind instantly wonders what else he could do with that filthy tongue or what it would be like to have his scent wrapped all around me.
The way he murmured “ray of sunshine” earlier… it almost sounded like my name, said with reverence, and a hint of something even deeper.
Raya sunshine.
We step into the elevator and I feel primed to run, like at any moment he might attack and I need to be ready to escape.
Which is nonsense, of course. I’m pretty certain at this point that he isn’t a danger to me, but that instinctual response, the dichotomy of our races being in close proximity urging me to move, won’t let up.
Instead of that instinct instilling fear, I’m feeling more and more turned on, with a sense of excited anticipation threading through my muscles.
My heart rate has been slowly rising, adrenaline trickling through my body, and if I’ve noticed it, I’m certain Ash has too.
I wonder what he would do if I ran; would he chase me? Would he catch me, and what would he do when he did?
As the elevator doors close, Asher turns toward me, his gaze alight with predatory intent.
An inhuman glint gives his normally bright blue eyes a dark, sinful look that causes my breath to catch in my throat.
Without even realizing it, I’ve allowed him to back me into a wall, and his arms come up to cage me in.
He rests his elbows on either side of my head against the mirrored elevator, and as I lean my shoulders and head back, my hips angle forward, brushing against his.
Asher sucks in a breath and presses his entire body into mine so my back is flat against the mirror, and now I do know what it’s like to be surrounded by his scent. It’s as devastating as I was afraid it would be. My eyes nearly roll to the back of my head as I breathe him in.
His breath on my neck sends shivers down my spine, and his gravelly voice elicits a following tremor.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve been doing to me all night?” he rasps, both of our gazes pinned to each other’s lips.
I lick mine and then bite my bottom lip, not bothering to respond because he has no right to talk—he’s been doing worse to me.
His thumb tugs it out from my teeth and then glides across it. My eyes dart up to his, but he’s still intent on my mouth. As I’m about to go up in flames, we move at the same time. I lean forward, tilting my mouth up as he leans down, crashing his lips against mine.
His kiss is hard, intense and demanding as his tongue swipes out, and I gasp when sparks shoot through me.
Asher doesn’t hesitate. His tongue sweeps into my mouth as he cups my jaw with one hand, angling both of us in a way that makes me think he’s trying to kiss all the way to my heart.
I quickly run out of oxygen, but I don’t care to breathe, not when this is the alternative.
I feel the tell-tale tingling, but I focus on the present moment, and by grounding myself I manage to hold back the ears that I sense wanting to transform on my head. A distant part of myself is proud that I’m able to prevent the shift, but the present part of me doesn’t care one bit.
My fingers thread into his dark, silky hair, tugging him closer.
I whimper when he pulls back for a breath, and his lips curve into a satisfied smirk against mine at the sound.
Our mouths are already melding together again though, his lips firm but molding to mine, and I feel drunk, despite only having had a virgin strawberry daiquiri with dinner.
More than drunk, this feels like an out of body experience. I’ve never been this attracted to anyone before, and never have I practically dry humped someone while making out with them in an elevator.
Right as that thought passes through my head, the elevator doors ding and someone pointedly clears their throat. Asher tastes my bottom lip once more, then pulls back so his hands are braced on either side of me.
I don’t think, don’t spare a moment for it. I act on instinct, and my instincts tell me I have just enough room to escape.
So I do.
I duck beneath his arm in the brief moment when he’s looking over his shoulder at the person with their hand on the door, and I run.
I risk a glance behind me, eyes widening as I see Asher step off the elevator, exchanging places with the other man.
I turn forward again, a thrill running down my spine as a low chuckle echoes down the hallway behind me.
“Are you running from me, little shifter? This isn’t even our floor. Where do you think you’ll go that I won’t catch you?”
My hair is a mess, my dress is disheveled, and wildness surges through my veins.
With a giddy laugh, I tip my head back and fling my arms out, letting my shoes fall from my feet as I sprint down the hallway.
The carpet is thick under my bare soles, and doors fly past on either side as the air rushes over my skin.
I don’t care that I probably look—and sound—insane.
The hem of my dress flutters against my thighs, a tease of what’s to come.
As I round a corner, I glance back again, and the sight nearly sends me careening into the wall. Somehow, Asher looks to be calmly jogging along behind me, his long legs easily eating up the carpet and a confident smirk on his stupidly perfect face with my heels dangling from one hand.
He stopped to pick up my shoes?
I’m sprinting like my life depends on it, and he’s not even breaking a sweat. I narrow my eyes and aim for the stairwell. The door slams open when I shove through it, and I stall in surprise. This is the nicest stairwell I’ve ever seen, with plush carpeted stairs and a black wrought iron handrail.
I have no idea what floor we’re currently on, but I know I still need to go up, so that’s what I do. Unfortunately, I only make it one flight before an arm snags my waist, yanking my back into a hard chest as teeth clamp onto my lower neck, just shy of drawing blood.
My body goes limp. I involuntarily angle my head for him to have easier access to my neck, all the while silently berating my inner shifter for the submissive response, in denial of the satisfaction swirling through my blood.
The chase was fun, and I relish the feeling of powerlessness that overcomes me in his presence, especially when my animal practically purrs now that he’s proven himself.
Asher whips me around and crushes me into the wall, caging my body with his again.
I’m panting, and my heartbeat is a rush of blood pounding through me, diluting any other sounds I might hear.
At first glance, Asher doesn’t even look like he took a brisk walk.
When I look closer though, I see the muscles flexing in his jaw, the tight shoulders and mussed hair, his dark blue eyes fully dilated and lips clamped shut over the fangs he had on my neck moments ago.
He pauses, entire body rigid with restraint as he looks down at me.
I meet his eyes and tip my chin up in challenge. My lips twitch up, silently daring him to take it a step further.
Not needing any further encouragement, he does. Asher rakes my dress to my hips as he drops to his knees before me and hikes my leg up, slinging it over his shoulder, then inhales my scent with a groan.
My hands fly to his hair; this isn’t what I was expecting. I thought he’d attack my mouth again, not… this.
“What…” I’m still breathless, overwhelmed with the sensation and presence of him as he presses his nose to the crease of my hip and nips at my black satin thong.
“I need you,” his voice rumbles against me.
My grip in his hair tightens as he runs his nose down my inner thigh and grazes his teeth over my tender skin.
“Not here.” He pulls away with another groan, this one sounding almost painful, then sweeps me into his arms. My shoes somehow end up in my lap, then he blurs us up the stairs. It’s the only way I can describe it.
I blink, realizing I never had any chance of escaping him.
Shifters can run faster than humans, but apparently vampires beat all.
He moves so fast my eyes can’t even track where we’re going, and in a matter of seconds, I’m back on my feet in front of our hotel room door, one of his hands still gripping my waist while the other searches his pocket for the keycard.
When he finally pushes the door open, we crash through and I take the opportunity to turn the tables on him. I push my body against his, backing him into the wall this time as I rake my fingers through his hair, pulling his lips back to mine.
The groan he lets out is swallowed by my mouth and I revel in the power of making this stoic man feel.
I angle us toward the bed, our mouths still hungry as we lick and suck and taste each other.
He stumbles and mutters something about “practice pillows” under his breath.
My laugh is more like a breathy sigh between his lips; neither of us is willing to let anything interrupt this moment.
It feels like we’ve been building toward this since he first walked up to me on the sidewalk, before I knew who he was.
We’ve been circling each other for weeks; me wary and distrustful, Asher apparently unsure what to make of me.
But in such close proximity, it was bound to happen.
The tension snapped, and we can’t resist the force of it bringing us together.
Nor do either of us want to anymore.
When we part for air again, both panting this time after having landed horizontally on the bed, I have to tear my eyes away from the fangs peeking out from his kiss-swollen lips.
I’m sure mine are equally red and puffy, but I’m also sure we need to have a quick conversation before we go any further.
“Wait.” I raise a hand to his chest as he leans over me again.
Asher backs off, settling on his side facing me.
“We can stop," he says, and I smile at how tortured he sounds as he says it.
He swipes a hand down his face, and I take pity on him.
“No, I don’t want to stop. We do need to check in real quick tho. I’m not on birth control, but I’m clean, got tested a couple weeks before this trip. You?”
“Also not on birth control, and also clean," he replies.
I roll my eyes.
“Really? Now is when you want to make jokes?”
He growls and buries his face in my neck, sucking on that tender spot right behind my ear. I nearly get lost in him again, before I manage to squeak out.
“Ash… condom?”
“Don’t have one, don’t care. There’s plenty else I want to do with you.” His voice is deep and gravelly, and my toes curl as I give in to the haze of lust taking over every ounce of my body.