“I guess,” she says faintly, frowning into the distance.
“Hey,” I say, bringing my free hand to her chin. “Where’s your head at?”
“It’s hard to let go of the what-if ’s. I knew exactly what I was missing.”
“Colt’s always playing the what-if game with us, and he can take it to some really dark places, but in the end, it comes down to this. We’re where we are, with the people we’re with because that’s where we’re supposed to be.” I mentally repeat it to check, but yep, makes sense.
“Convenient. I’m sure he uses that to justify all the shit he pulls on other people. Like he’s just helping the universe along or something.”
Snorting, I shake my head. “You’re probably right.”
Grace and her husband move around the kitchen, turning off the lights. “What do you say we get out of here? Head back to the room.”
Her eyes are suddenly apprehensive. “What then?”
Her anxiousness makes me feel so fucking protective. I don’t ever want her to feel like this around me. “Geez, woman. I’m exhausted. You’re going to have to keep your hands off me so I can get some sleep.”
She rolls her eyes and rewards me with a small laugh. Her fingers wrap around mine, squeezing gently. “Idiot.” She reaches up, tracing the shell of my ear with one finger. The room full of snoring people disappears as I tune into the storm of sensation she’s creating in me with her simple touch. Her eyes are knowing as she traces a path from my earlobe, down the cords of my neck. She stops, and I gulp in a breath. I’m battling with myself. Don’t drag her out of the booth. Don’t be pushy. I’m getting a hold of myself when her fingers tug on my beard, bringing my chin down. Her ocean-blue eyes are laughing. I should be cool. I should say something witty.
I wheeze and give in. Slowly, carefully, taking that plump lower lip of hers between my teeth. Her gasp flutters against my mouth as I bring my tongue out to lick against the flesh I have trapped. I give her top lip the same attention. The hours stretch out before me. We have nowhere to be. Nothing to do. But sink into each other. But the hesitancy in her eyes a minute ago flashes through my mind. She’s not ready for more.
Reluctantly, I pull my lips from hers. She follows me, the tiniest bit, and I almost shout at the sign of acceptance. She’s coming to me. Slowly, but I will wait as long as she needs me to. I can live on that little movement for a year if I need to. I press one last kiss to the corner of her mouth. “Let’s go.”
I slide out of the booth, then take her hand to help her up. When she’s standing, I help her into her coat. Something about her allowing me to do that hits all my buttons. She turns, resting her hands on my biceps, grinning, waiting for me to zip her up. It’s our new routine, and I don’t want to miss a second of it. I keep my eyes locked on hers as I slide the zip up slowly, carefully easing the material of my hoodie out of the way. I love that she’s still wearing it. I don’t think I’ll ever fucking wash it after this. I’ll just keep it next to me, so I can get a hit of her whenever I want. That’s not creepy at all.
Waving our goodbyes, I tuck Cara into my side, glancing one last time at the booth the suits were occupying. They cleared out a couple of hours ago, and while it’s unlikely they’ve been laying in wait this whole time, we still have to get past their door. I mean, they’d have to be fucking idiots to camp out at their door for hours, just waiting for a shot at me.
Turns out, they’re fucking idiots.
26
CARA
H e’s doing it again. His hand is on my back, and he’s guiding me out the door. He stops suddenly, and carefully moves me to his other side, the side opposite the hotel room doors. He leans over to whisper in my ear.
“You sure you can run in those things?”
“Yes. I’m sure. I’ve done it more than once.”
He nods, eyes sweeping in front of us. He presses the key into my hand. “If there’s trouble, run to our room, or go straight back to the bar. Whichever route is closest. Do not hesitate. Don’t wait for me. Just go.”
My fingers tighten on the key reflexively. He’s serious. I have about twenty questions and as many objections to this plan, but we’re moving, his body positioned slightly in front of me. No way these guys are going to jump out at us. No way.
His tension ratchets up as we pass door after door. He shifts his hand from my back to grip my elbow and propels me in front of him as we pass what I assume is their room. I’m starting to relax, only a few more steps to the safety of our door, when the squeak of a hinge behind us makes me turn.
There they are. Suit jackets off, looking mean. They were waiting for us, just like Declan said. Dec throws his arm across my body and pushes me toward our room. “Cara. Go. Now.”
I open my mouth to argue, but the determination in his eyes and the tension in his face convince me to back up. He moves with me, never taking his eyes off of those guys until I have the key in the door and swing it open. I back in and try to pull him in with me.
He gently shakes me off, nudging me in. “You don’t open this door for anyone but me or the owners of the motel.” He pulls the door shut. “Lock it, Cara,” he orders, his voice carrying clearly through the wood.
I obey numbly, which is totally not me. But flashes of that night are playing behind my eyes. Echoes of Bree’s screams run through my ears. I don’t think I can be tough. The men out there want to hurt him. Maybe hurt me. Tyler wasn’t as big as them, and still, when he came after me, I barely managed to get away. Against both of them, I wouldn’t stand a chance.
I’m a woman. Walking through the world, there’s always a niggling feeling at the back of my mind that I’m vulnerable. That some men still see me as prey. Daddy drilled it into us to be smart, to protect ourselves, but he didn’t really understand what it’s like to live with that low level of fear all the time.
There are so many things I should have done differently in the last couple of months. The second I met Kade’s woman and heard about her self-defense class, my ass should have been there. How was I so stupid, living in this little bubble of protection? I work with large, protective, alpha men. At Brash and at my club, I depended on them and trusted them. And when it came right down to it, at the moment I needed protecting the most, it left me vulnerable.
I have no skills here. Compared to a lot of women, I’m a handful. But against those two guys out there, I’d have no chance. I should stay right where I am and pray somebody notices what’s happening. Someone who can actually help. But as I watch Declan turn towards the danger approaching, I know I’ll never leave him to face this alone. But my feet feel frozen to the floor. I can’t go out there. Yet. For now, I peek at the edge of the curtain and pray this doesn’t escalate and that he can talk them out of this testosterone-fueled stupidity.