Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
TEDDY
Itry to text Lily a few more times, but there’s no response. She still might be flying. She is going to freak when I give her all the details of what has gone down. I’m just not sure how we’re going to share them.
Our texts are cryptic and short. Tristan is watching, and I’m pretty sure he always is. I hope that she’ll pop up on Discord. She won’t access it from her phone, so I likely won’t hear anything until she’s settled into wherever they are going.
I watch Killian talk to the woman at the front desk.
She's animated with her hands as she speaks with him, giving Killian a bright smile.
I think she's flirting with him. I run my fingers through my hair, wishing it was shiny like hers.
At least mine has a crown. Which is probably silly now that I think about it. I reach up and take it off.
A knot forms in my stomach when she throws back her head and laughs.
Is Killian in there busting jokes with her?
The heck? He wasn't super chatty with me, but he did answer my questions.
I should not be getting jealous. Of course they are talking.
Killian is a nice guy. He's not going to be rude and blow her off. Even if it would make me happy.
Gah! See, those mean kinds of thoughts are not going to win me points with Killian. I watch as she gives him the room key and then a card before winking at him.
Oh my gosh, what if she made plans to go to his room?
Why is my mind having these thoughts? I should be happy for Killian.
That could be his true love. He could fall madly in love with her and no longer want to be a nomad.
Instead, he'd want to be at home with his wife and maybe a few little ones and a lynx.
I jerk my attention out the other window to pretend I wasn't paying attention when I see him head back toward the SUV. He slips in.
"Are you okay?" he asks me.
"Great, perfect." The silence grows, and I finally crack and turn my head to look at him. He's watching me.
"Not sure I believe that." He takes my crown from my lap. "Your eyes are sad, and you took this off."
"My eyes are sad?" He shrugs. Did he pay that close attention?
"Only one room." Oh. Okay, I didn't see that coming.
"But then how will Miss Shiny Hair come to your room later if I'm there?" Oh my God. I slam my hand over my mouth. Killian’s brows pull together.
"Who?"
"Never mind."
"It's not never mind." I sink my teeth into my bottom lip. Killian reaches over, his forefinger going to my chin as his thumb pulls my lip out. "Zolotse, tell me."
"Zolotse?" It sounds Russian. I thought I've caught hints of an accent.
"Don't change the subject. Answer me."
"It's silly."
"It is not." I can see the determination in his gaze.
"The girl behind the front desk." He glances back toward the entrance; we're still parked right outside. She's watching us.
"What of her? She has the shiny hair?" I nod.
"She gave you her card." He holds out his hand, revealing only the room key. "Oh."
"I tossed it on my way out. She was strange."
"Strange?"
"She laughed at nothing. It was irritating.” I snort a laugh. "See, Zolotse? Your laugh is sweet."
"You think so?"
"Know so. This is why it will only be you in my room tonight."
"They only had one room?" I ask. I want to do a happy dance, but I keep it together. I'm playing it cool and hip. Sharing a room with a man, no big deal.
"Renovations."
"Are you sure that's okay? I don't want to intrude."
A deep chuckle rumbles from him. "I enjoy your chatter."
"Chatter?" He gives me one of his shrugs. Killian is a man of few words. Stoic, almost. "Maybe you'll tell me a bedtime story."
"Now you're teasing me," I say with a laugh as I give his arm a playful smack.
"We'll see." He starts the SUV and pulls it around to the other side of the building. "It's nothing much, but we can get sleep here and shower."
"It's great," I tell him as he slides the key so we can get in the building. The room is right there. The first one. That makes it easy. "We can look up a few places that maybe we can stop at tomorrow."
"We can do whatever you like." He opens the door to our room.
The first thing I notice is that there is only one bed. It's massive but still only one. Killian goes around the room opening the closets and checking the bathroom. I’m not sure what he’s looking for or why he’s doing it, but I have my own quirks, so who am I to judge?
“There is only one bed,” I point out. My eyes flick over to the small loveseat sitting off to the side with a coffee table. “I can take that,” I offer.
“I’m not making you sleep on the couch.” He shakes his head.
“You can’t fit on it.” I laugh.
“I’ll take the floor.”
“I can sleep on it. It’s fine,” I push back.
“My mom would be disappointed in me if I did that,” he says with a straight face.
“You don’t have one.” I roll my eyes playfully but quickly realize that’s not the right thing to say. He’s not Lily, with whom I share a dark sense of humor.
“Teddy.” He must see the horror on my face. “I’m teasing you.”
“Oh, right. It’s hard to tell with your face.
You’re always like this.” I stiffen all my features the best that I can, trying to show him how stoic he looks normally.
Except for when I get him to give me one of those rare smiles.
His lips twitch up on one side, softening him.
"It's a big bed," I point out. "We could share it," I offer, hoping I'm not crossing a line or making this awkward.
"Yes," he says without hesitation. "We'll share it. I'll give you the bathroom first."
"Such a gentleman," I tell him before snagging one of my bags from next to the door where he'd placed it.
When I get into the bathroom, I almost die when I see myself in the mirror. My hair is wild, and there are a few smudges of dirt on my clothes. I'm a mess. I quickly shower and find a pair of pajamas.
Great, Teddy, you had to pack the silliest of pajamas.
Most of mine are matching sets with loose shorts and an oversized tee.
That's fine, but it's the silly teddy bears all over them that don't feel so cute anymore. I probably lean into my name more than I should. Don’t get me wrong; the PJs are adorable, but now that I’m going to be wearing them in front of a handsome man, they don’t seem as appealing as they once did.
I ditch the shorts; the shirt falls past them anyways. I don't want to be a silly, dorky girl with matching pajamas. I want him to see me as a woman. When I step back out of the bathroom, I almost die again.
He's changed into a pair of sweats and a T-shirt, except now I can see his bare arms. The man is covered in ink! I open and close my mouth. For once in my life, I’m truly at a loss for words. I didn’t think this man could get any hotter. How wrong I’d been.
"They’re just tattoos." He runs his hand up one arm like he's brushing them away. Does he think I'm judging them?
“They’re cool. I just wasn’t expecting it is all.” I walk over to him to get a closer look.
“They scare some people.” He doesn’t stop me when I start to trace one of them.
“Then people are dumb because you’re the nicest.” He didn’t have to offer to help me, but here he is doing it out of the kindness of his heart. “But I understand. I too get looks over how I dress.” People are always judging. I see my clothing as expression. It’s fun too.
“I like how you dress.” He sounds defensive of me.
“Really?”
“Yes.” He doesn’t elaborate more, but I believe him. Killian had no reason to say it if he didn’t mean it. I can’t fathom him lying to me.
"Did you have a preference for a side?" I ask him.
"No, I normally sleep alone. Do you?"
"I sleep with a giant cat. I just fit into whatever spot she's not taking up."
"Minnie really sleeps with you?" Ahh, he remembered her name. He is paying attention to all my ramblings.
"Not always, but sometimes."
"I'll take the side near the door."
"Sounds like a plan." I hop over to the other side of the bed and lie down. "Should we make plans for tomorrow?" I pat his side of the bed. He stands there and audibly swallows. "What's wrong?"
"Maybe I should sleep on the floor."
"What?" Disappointment slams into me harder than it should, making me realize how much I did want to share a bed with him.
His eyes roam up my bare legs.
"They're not hairy, and I'll keep them on my side.” I rub them.
"I wouldn't care if they were. I want you."
I sit up straighter. "Really?" I run my fingers through my hair.
"I can see the outlines of your nipples." I glance down, and he's right.
"They're never hairy either," I tease, and he merely relaxes his shoulders.
"Come." I pat the other side of the bed.
"I'm attracted to you too,” I admit. I'm sure I'm cherry red to match my hair at this point, but I don't care.
He makes his way over to the other side of the bed.
"Maybe we could kiss." He pauses. "Just an idea.” Why did I say that?
Things are just popping out of my mouth.
"I like your ideas." He sits down, and I can hear the mattress give a slight groan.
"So you want to kiss me?"
"I want to do more than kiss you, Zolotse."
"What does Zolotse mean?"
"Treasure."
I melt a little inside. I’ve been referred to as a lot of things by a lot of people, but that was never one of them.
"You think I'm a treasure?"
"The rarest of them all." I crawl over toward him. He remains utterly still.
"Can I touch you again?" I can't believe how bold I'm being with him, but even from the very start, I've found this comfort and protection in him.
It's just there, and I can't explain it.
Grams told me that not everything can be explained; you have to go with your instincts, and mine are telling me that Killian is different than me.
"You can do anything you like to me." He shifts, putting his back to the headboard in a show that he's all mine.
At least that's how I perceive it. This is all so new to me.
I place my hand on his chest as I slide my leg over him.
His hand comes to my hip, and he moves me quickly so I'm straddling him.
"If you haven't noticed, I'm a little sheltered, so this is going to be my first kiss." I place both my hands on his shoulders, and I see that his breathing has increased. It's mind-blowing to me that I could have this effect on him.
"I don't kiss either.” I'm not sure what that means.
"Like Pretty Woman?" His brows pull together. "It's a reference to the movie." I choose to ignore it because I don't want to think about what he does with other women. "I'm going to do it now." He grunts a response.
I lean in, letting my eyes fall closed as I press my mouth to his. The second our lips meet, he wraps his arms around me, tugging me in closer to him. I might have been the one to initiate the kiss, but Killian quickly takes it over.
One of his hands goes to the back of my head, his fingers tangling into my hair to fist a handful as he thrusts his tongue into my mouth. He uses his hold on me to have full control over my mouth, tilting my head back so that he can deepen the kiss. Holy hell this is hot.
I kiss him right back, gripping his shoulders. My hips rock, and I feel the hardness of his cock pressed between us.
Holy crap. The realization that I’m the one that did that to him hits me.
I moan into his mouth, and he suddenly breaks the kiss, pulling back. His eyes are darker, more intense. Killian's lips are pinker now because of mine.
"That's enough for tonight," he tells me, picking me up off his lap and sitting me down on my side of the bed. "Sleep, you need rest," he orders. Killian's words are gruff and deep.
I don't get a chance to respond before he's standing and striding toward the bathroom, the door closing behind him.
I stare at the closed door, not sure what to make of it. He was into it, but now he is putting distance between us.
Does he regret it? I don't. That was a hell of a good first kiss. It was worth the wait.