Chapter 11 #2
“You don’t have to be sorry.”
It takes only a moment before we reach my floor. “Come on. I’m at the end of the hall.”
She’s quiet as we walk side by side until we reach my room. Tapping my card on the lock, the light flashes green, and I open the door. Lights turn on automatically as we step inside.
“Wow. I thought our room was nice, but this is amazing,” she says as she looks around and walks towards the large window facing the bay. Down below, moonlight reflects off the water. “Have you seen this view? It’s so pretty.”
“Gorgeous,” I whisper, watching her reflection in the glass.
“Thank you for letting me stay with you.” She turns and gives me a soft smile. “I know this isn’t how you expected your night to end. I bet Farrah would have joined you in a heartbeat,” she jokes with a chuckle.
Rolling my eyes, I scratch the back of my head. “How about I find you a shirt or something for you to sleep in, and you can get cleaned up in the bathroom?”
Opening my overnight bag, I search for the T-shirt I planned to wear when I went for a run tomorrow morning. “Here,” I say, handing it to her.
“Thank you.” Taking it, she pads across the floor towards the door separating the two rooms. Glancing over her shoulder, she says, “I won’t be long.”
After the door closes behind her, I lower myself down onto the edge of the bed and rest my elbows on my knees. Cupping my mouth with my hand, I inhale deeply through my nose.
What the fuck am I doing? I should have paid for another room.
That would have been the smartest thing for me to do, considering there is only one king-size bed in this room.
It wasn’t even an option after I pulled her into my arms. It’s like her scent made me lose my remaining brain cells and all objectivity.
I sit up straight when I hear the door open. Beck walks back into the room in sock feet and with the button undone at the top of her jeans.
“Can you help me? I’m stuck,” she says, turning her back to me.
Standing, I walk towards her. “What seems to be the problem?”
“I don’t know; I can’t see. Something is up with the ribbon on the back of my corset. I can’t get it to loosen.”
Closing my eyes, I take a steeling breath before carefully scooping up her hair and pushing it over her shoulder so I can see what’s going on.
The red ribbon is undone at the bottom and hangs free.
I start there and work my way up, loosening it as I go.
She shivers when my fingertips brush against the soft skin along her spine.
After untwisting the ribbon at an eyelet, the delicate fabric loosens around her chest. Stepping away, she turns towards me with an arm holding up the material that now barely covers her breasts.
“Thank you. I’m glad I’m here,” she says with relief. “It would have been horrible trying to sleep tied up in this in the lobby all night.”
I just stand here and stare at her with my hands at my sides.
How did I get here? Barely a week ago, I would have had no problem renting a second room and saying good night at the door.
She would have annoyed me so much at Bob’s that I would have been glad to get away from her.
There has been a shift over the past few days as I’ve gotten to know her better.
Maybe we can try to be friends. A friend I’m wildly attracted to. Fuck my life.
“What? Is something wrong?” she asks, furrowing her brow.
“No.” I shake my head, in denial. “Go finish getting changed.”
“Okay…” She raises an eyebrow. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, just tired.”
Turning away from her, I grab the grey sweatpants from my bag. I normally sleep in the nude, but that’s not an option tonight. When I hear the bathroom door click, I undress quickly and pull on my pants.
Then I send Vaughan a text about the missing key, the asshole at the front desk, and reluctantly share that Beck is safe with me.
I bet he and April will have a good laugh over that.
He likely won’t get the message until the morning, but I want her to be able to get her things ASAP.
I don’t think I can handle seeing her wear that shirt again tomorrow after I helped her take it off.
One bed. Just one. No big deal. We’re grown adults; no need to make it awkward.
My mouth dries and heart races when she steps back into the room wearing nothing but my T-shirt. She has a large mandala-style lotus flower on her outer hip and thigh that I’ve never seen before. It’s one of her bigger pieces, and it suits her.
“I’m so glad there was a hair elastic in the pocket of my jeans,” she says, holding the band out for me to see before quickly braiding her hair over her shoulder.
“I hate sleeping with my hair down. Funny, I lost my room key but still held on to my elastic.” She chuckles, rolling her eyes.
She stops in place when she sees me watching her. “What?”
With her arms lifted behind her head, my shirt rises even higher, and I can see a sliver of her black underwear underneath. And now my dick’s hard.
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I say, “Nothing.” I glance at the bed, then back to her. “So…there’s only one bed. I thought you could take it, and I could sleep on the couch.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s a giant bed,” she says, climbing under the covers. “I can wrap myself in a blanket burrito, or we can build a pillow wall if it makes you feel better.”
“No, I just don’t want to make you uncomfortable,” I say, willing my cock to go down before she notices. I’m grateful I kept my boxer briefs on to restrain it, or this would have gotten even more uncomfortable for both of us.
“I was seriously considering sleeping in the lobby with the guy at the front desk scowling at me all night. Trust me when I say you don’t make me feel uncomfortable.”
“Okay.”
After checking that I latched the security chain, I turn off the light and approach the bed. She is lying on her side, her head resting on the pillow, facing me.
“Come on, Pretty Boy. Get in.” She extends her arm and pats the mattress.
Nodding, I slide in on my side of the bed. I’m careful to stay on my edge, but even with the distance between us, I can still feel the heat of her body on the cool sheets.
“See?” she whispers in the darkness. “It’s perfectly fine.”
“Sure,” I manage, though my heart is racing behind my rib cage.
We lie there watching each other for a long time before she quietly asks, “What are you thinking about?”
I’m thinking about what it would feel like to give in to temptation.
To pull her into my arms and kiss her red lips.
To trace my tongue around her hard nipples and to sink my cock into her tight pussy while she cries out my name with pleasure.
That and all the other X-rated fantasies I have been having about her all week.
Instead, I reply, “Nothing.”
“I had fun tonight,” she says, snuggling deeper into the blankets. “Did you have fun?”
“Sure. I only had to rescue you from one pervert. And you never climbed on any chairs or tables, so that’s good.”
“He wasn’t a pervert, and I don’t do that all the time,” she scoffs softly.
Reaching across the distance between us, I gently brush wisps of hair from her face. “Go to sleep. We will figure out how to get your stuff in the morning.”
“Thank you for taking care of me this week,” she says, sighing softly and closing her eyes.
“Always.”