Chapter Thirteen
D o you watch Skinwalker Ranch?
Lowen reread Saxon’s text. Of course , she replied.
Saxon: Yay! Now I have someone to talk to about it. Big bros just roll their eyes.
“Why are you grinning?” Evren asked.
“Oh, Sax asked if I watch a TV show and when I said yes, he was extremely happy.”
“Let me guess,” he teased. “If it’s not about UFOs, then it must be the show on that ranch.”
She chuckled. “You know him very well.”
“Whatever you do, don’t tell him the Roswell crash was fake. He’ll never shut up.”
Saxon: What is Evren telling you?
Lowen: Not to encourage you about UAPs and tell you Roswell was fake.
Saxon: Frown emoji came through. It was real. He’s just a nonbeliever!
Lowen: I agree. She also sent a thumbs-up emoji.
With brief stops for food and bathroom breaks, they finally rolled into Denver about twelve hours later.
Evren took them to a high-end hotel, parked, and then exited the cab to help her out.
Lowen stretched as she watched him gather their overnight suitcases.
Or, his at least. She still had only a bag that carried her one other piece of clothing.
“There’s a Wal-Mart across the street,” he observed, pointing. “After we check in and have a bite to eat, we’ll head over there to get you some clothes.”
She nodded and took hold of his hand when he held it out. They walked into the brightly lit foyer where the female clerk behind the counter smiled a greeting. Lowen smiled back at her.
“We’d like a room for the night,” he told the clerk.
“Certainly,” the woman said as she clacked on the keyboard.
While Evren took care of booking the room, Lowen noticed a lounge and went to explore. Leather wingback chairs somewhat encircled a warm electric fireplace. Rich, dark tones gave the place an air of privacy, despite it clearly wasn’t private.
“Would that be one bed or two?”
The question made her pause, her attention suddenly riveted on Evren’s reply. Her pulse skyrocketed. Did she want him to say one? Would she be disappointed if he said two? She glanced over her shoulder to discover he stared at her with an intensity that took her breath away.
“One.”
The air whooshed from her lungs, leaving her a little giddy.
She wasn’t blind on where this relationship with Evren was headed.
A part of her was still fearful of intimacy, but the other part knew it was time to move past that last piece of her other life.
Time to kill Scias Mailliard’s grip on her psyche for good.
Maybe accepting Evren as her lover would be the catalyst she needed to remove the dagger in her chest.
“Ready?”
Once more, Evren held out his hand. A symbol of acceptance. A leap of faith. She hesitated for only a quick moment before entangling her fingers with his. Was she prepared to embrace a future she’d been afraid before to reach for?
“I am,” she replied softly.
****
T he showpiece of the hotel room was the large bed.
It took up the majority of the floor plan, and was piled with pillows.
One wall was nothing but a window, and the black-out curtains were open, showing off the Rocky Mountains despite the distance between them and the hotel.
She was a little disappointed that the darkness hid a lot of the city, but she reminded herself Denver was simply a stepping stone to their destination.
“Do you want to freshen up before we get dinner?”
Lowen turned from the view to face him. “I think if I shower, I’ll crash. How about we just get everything done and then we can relax for the rest of the night?”
“Okay,” he agreed. “Hungry for anything specific?”
She thought about it. “Pizza.”
He gave a surprised little chuckle. “Really?”
Uncertainty filled her and she hurried to backpedal. “Or not. Anything you want is fine with me.”
Evren joined her at the window, and laid his hands on her shoulders. “Pizza is fine with me. It just surprised me, is all.”
“Oh, okay. I’ve never had pizza and it looked really good.”
His eyes widened. “Never?”
“If I had it as a kid, I don’t remember,” she replied. “Scias never allowed me to have anything like pizza or fast food. He didn’t want me to get fat.”
“You are anything but fat.”
“I agree. They were his words, not mine.”
“Lowen, even if you decided to gain a hundred pounds, I’d still find you sexy as hell,” he told her. “This is your body. Remember? Your temple. You be whoever you want to be. Eat whatever you want to eat. You should never allow anyone to govern your own self. So, I say let’s get some pizza.”
“Can I try the one with pineapple? That’s my favorite fruit.”
“How about we get a couple so you can do a proper taste test?”
She nodded enthusiastically. Placing their overnight bags on the bed, he led her out of the room, placing the DO NOT DISTURB sign on the door handle.
They left the hotel and once more, Evren helped her into the passenger side of the SUV.
He found them a busy pizza house that boasted the best in the city, and they sat at booth that offered a modicum of privacy.
Evren ordered three pizzas—one with just pepperoni, a supreme, and a Hawaiian, along with a large soda for her and a beer for himself. When the pies came, she ate until she felt like puking. Lowen decided she liked the Hawaiian best.
After Evren paid the bill, they drove to Wal-Mart, where he chose a lot of clothes he thought she’d need for the Canadian wilderness.
On top of the jeans, shirts, long-sleeved flannels, socks, panties, bras, and shoes, she grabbed feminine hygiene products and anything else she could think of.
Everything went on the credit card Jeremiah had given her.
When they were back in the hotel, she showered first, letting the hot water soothe away the ups and downs of the day.
When he went in after her, she sat on the edge of the bed, still wrapped in her towel, and waited.
A few minutes later, he came out with steam billowing around him, wearing only black boxer briefs.
The damp skin and taut muscles on display, not to mention the bulge between his thighs far more impressive than anything Scias could hope to have, made her a little tongue-tied.
Anxiety caused her heart to thump in her chest, and her mouth went dry. She looked up at him and knew this moment belonged to both of them.
Heat settled in her cheeks. Nerves rattled through her body. “W-would you make love to me?”
He came to stand in front of her and cupped her face. “I don’t think you’re ready to be mine.”
Does he not want me?
“I do want you.”
Did he read her mind?
“You have a very expressive face,” he explained. “I said that because you’re still flinching at things. I don’t want to push you into something you’ll regret tomorrow.”
She stood, forcing him to take a step back, and then dropped her towel. It fell to her feet in a damp puddle. Excitement, embarrassment. Hope. It all blended together, sending butterflies through her body. His gaze swept up and down her body, and desire turned his dark eyes into molten pools.
“I want you to replace the memory of his hands,” she whispered. “Erase his touch with yours. I choose you, Evren, to be my first, this time around. I didn’t get to do that before.”
He took a step closer, so close that the heat of his body warmed the ice in her blood.
“I’ll ask one more time. Are you sure? Because if you allow me to make love to you, there’s no going back. No do-over this time. Are you prepared for that?”
Without a thought or hesitation, she nodded.