Chapter 5
He liked me.
Oh, he'd rather listen to Vogon’s poetry than admit it out loud.
To himself first and foremost. But my future Daddy liked me.
I'd caught the looks. The quick glances he thought I wouldn't notice.
The way his jaw tightened every time I spoke for more than five consecutive seconds.
The way his whole body went just a little too still when I moved any closer to him.
Yeah. I saw it all.
The signs were there. Tiny, subtle, practically microscopic signs. But compared to Vogon poetry, Crowe's flirting was practically a love sonnet.
And okay, fine, maybe I'd been a little distracted by it.
My body had been reacting like I'd signed up for some kind of very specific, very inconvenient attraction marathon the second I got into his truck.
I fluctuated between sporting a semi during our quiet periods, to being rock hard and restless with need whenever his voice got all growly and protective.
What on earth was I going to do if I could actually convince him to get naked with me? The answer was probably panic. Which, as ever good hitchhiker knows, is exactly what you're not supposed to do.
Ever since he'd gone all doom-and-gloom about my hitchhiking habits, things had gone quiet for the most part.
Which, I'll admit, was probably for the best. I figured it was a good time to give the poor guy a break.
That didn't mean I was giving up though.
Nuh-uh. Crowe was going to be mine, and I didn't mind dragging him along for the ride, even if he went kicking and screaming the entire way.
I spotted the sign before he did and perked up immediately. "Hey!" I said, pointing. "Can we pull over, please? My breakfast has long since worn off, and I might have made some questionable slushie decisions before you picked me up and it's begging me to let it back out."
He grunted, clearly unimpressed with my request. But when the turnoff came, he indicated and pulled in anyway.
See?
He liked me.
Crowe got out and headed to the pump, while I made my way to the shop.
This time I paid way more attention as I walked in.
There was no chance of running into another man of my dreams, but just now the store was being held up or something.
I'm pretty sure Crowe would never let me hear the end of it if I got myself into trouble the first time he let me out of his sight. He just had that way about him.
I got the key from the attendant, with the promise of coming back out to spend some money.
I would need dinner after all. But by the time I had done my business, washed my hands and headed back inside the shop, Crowe was at the register paying for our gas and what looked to be about a week's worth of road snacks.
"Come," he barked out. "I don't have all day. We need to stop soon so I can get some shut eye."
I opened my mouth.
Closed it again when he shot me a look.
Right. Okay. Bossy Crowe was hot with a capital 'H'.
I could give in if he was going to glower at me like that. Plus, I was just gonna have to mooch off of the big guy. Or demand he fill me with something else, that might not fill my stomach, but it would leave me very satisfied, I was sure.
I followed him out, sliding back into the passenger seat as he started the engine. We were halfway back onto the road when I glanced at the snacks sitting between us.
Then at him.
Then... back at the snacks.
"You gonna share those with me, big guy?" I asked, "Or am I meant to admire them from afar like a museum exhibit?"
"Eat," he growled.
Oh be still my beating heart. And damned aching erection.
"Wow," I purred, reaching for the bag. "Bossy and generous. Careful, Mr. Crowe, you keep that up, I might have to ask you to marry me."
He didn't respond. But I caught the way his fingers tightened on the wheel. I grinned as I tore open a big packet of chips.
He so totally liked me! The odds of me being wrong were rapidly approaching the same odds as a bowl of petunias suddenly developing self-awareness and thinking, Oh no, not again.
***
The sky had gone fully dark by the time the next sign appeared for a roadside motel.
I straightened. "Hey," I said, nudging his arm lightly. "You said you wanted sleep. That looks promising, if you don't want to trust me with a shift driving your truck."
He didn't answer immediately, but still indicated and pulled into the parking lot when it was time.
The place looked questionable at best. Maybe even a little bit unsafe.
I loved it immediately.
"Charming," I said as we climbed out. "Very rustic."
Crowe ignored me and headed straight for the office. The bell above the door jingled as we stepped inside, and a bored-looking attendant glanced up from behind the desk.
"Two singles," Crowe ordered.
Awe. Did Daddy not wanna spend the night with me? Before I could get too sad about it, the attendant replied.
"One room left."
I turned my head to look at Crowe. Oh, this was delicious.
Crowe went completely still and that sexy muscle in his jaw jumped. "You've got to be kidding me," he muttered.
"Nope," the attendant said, popping the 'p'. "Want it, or not?"
I clasped my hands behind my back to physically restrain myself from clapping my hands and bouncing up and down. "Guess we're sharing," I said, far too innocently.
Crowe dragged a hand down his face. For a second, I thought he might actually walk out and abandon me to my fate. But then—
He exhaled. "Fine," he bit out and reached for his wallet.
I smiled so wide my cheeks hurt. "You don't need to pay. I can cover the room, seeing as you paid for gas and dinner."
He oh-so-slowly turned around and glared at me while taking out his wallet before handing the attendant his card.
So... asking for a friend... It would be really uncool of me to jump him in the lobby of a roadside motel, right?
Because it was becoming harder and harder (yes that too) for me to not beg this man to fuck my brains out.
The sleepy looking guy behind the counter handed Crowe the register and gave over the keys before explaining where our room was, and in no time at all, Crowe was opening a creaky door before telling me to wait outside.
The man—be still my beating heart—did a walk through of the room, even going so far as to check inside the closet before coming back to let me in. "It's clear."
"Why thank you. You're my hero," I purred as I pushed past him, letting my body graze his, even though he left me more than enough room.
My hero let out a beleaguered sounding sigh before pointing at the lone double bed in the room. "There's no couch, and I'm way too old to offer to sleep on the floor. Can you behave yourself?"
I grinned. "Not on your life," I promised him and enjoyed the way his shoulders tensed. "But I'll do my very best to not accost you in your sleep," I promised. "I much prefer a willing, awake partner."
And I would keep to my promise. No accosting would take place. But I didn't say anything about some harmless cuddling.