Devil May Care: Boxed Set (39 page)

“Room three oh five,” Rome told me easily, putting the car in drive and pulling around to the side of the building where there was a little more parking. “Let’s get settled and you can find something to order in—I think they have room service, but you can call for takeout instead.”

I smiled at him. This almost felt like a date—or a real vacation—instead of us acting like a couple of fugitives as we ran from some very scary people. It was a nice shift.

“Are you going to stay and eat with me?”

He thought about it a second, debating with himself. Finally, he shook his head and I was a little disappointed. “No. I’d like to, really, but there isn’t enough time. If I want to get to my guy today, I need to leave now. God knows how long it’ll take me to get there with this traffic.”

I frowned. “We aren’t far, are we?”

“A little. I wanted to put some space between us just to make sure no one tracked us back here, but I wanted to be close enough that there was a reasonable chance I’d make it through traffic sometime tonight.” He cracked a lopsided smile that was as devilishly charming as he’d been that first night we’d met at the bar. “It also means maybe I’ll get back to the hotel with a little time to spare.” He sent me a wink and I shivered.

I certainly hope so.

“You’ll be careful, right?” I asked, suddenly nervous that he wouldn’t come back at all. That something terrible was going to happen to him. We made it up the steps and I slid my keycard into the slot and jerked it out quickly, watching it turn to green. But before I could open the door, a strong hand grabbed me by the shoulder and spun me around. Rome closed the distance between us, forcing me back, and then he was kissing me. His body pressed tightly against mine, my back was squeezed tightly by the firm door behind me. He felt too hot, burning from the inside out, and his hands felt large as they found my hips and waist. They held me in place tightly, our hips pressed together until I could feel something hard growing beneath his jeans.

My hands planted themselves on his waist, because there wasn’t room anywhere else. I felt my fingers loop themselves into his buckle loops, tugging him closer, as if he could get any closer.

I groaned into the kiss, his tongue taking the opportunity to snake into my mouth and explore. He tasted like sweet soda and the minty gum we’d gotten at the last gas station. There was a little bit of scruff growing along his strong jaw and the stubble rubbed against my skin, probably leaving a slight rash from it.

I didn’t care.

In fact, I didn’t care about anything but him swallowing my breaths, holding me tightly against him. I wanted the door to open so that we could tumble inside. I wanted to fumble with his jeans and his shirt until we were naked, then fall onto the bed. I wanted to writhe in ecstasy until I called out his name. I wanted to hear him groan in the midst of his release.

These desires were visceral and, in that moment, all consuming. I wasn’t thinking about anything but him and me in the throes of passion.

Which was why it felt like falling when he finally broke the kiss, pulling away from me so quickly that I suddenly felt cold, despite the heat of the California day. Trying in vain to catch my breath, I worked hard to focus my lust addled eyes on Rome. It was difficult, and the only reason I could was because I felt him moving farther away.

I reached out for him, my hand just barely grazing his arm. “Stay?” I asked him.

He shook his head. “I’ve got to do this. We can’t run forever.”

I knew he was right, but it didn’t change that I wanted him. To stay. To do things to me. All of it. I just wanted him.

“I’ll be back soon. I promise.” With that vow, he kissed me once more, hard, but fast on the lips. Then he turned and walked away. It felt startlingly like goodbye. I stood there outside the door, watching him go, until the car pulled out of the parking lot and back onto the busy streets. When he was completely out of view, I finally went inside.

***

The first thing I did when I got into the room was strip. I piled my clothes on the floor and turned on the water to hot until the little bathroom was steaming. Then I slipped under the spray. It was a special little slice of heaven, that shower was. I even groaned a little in ecstasy as the water washed away the grime of basically living in that damn car for so long.

I took my time, partially because I knew there would be quite a bit of waiting involved once I got out and partially because I could and I felt really dirty. There were little shampoo and conditioner bottles in the shower, too, and they smelled pretty decent. I had to use all of the shampoo to wash out my long, thick hair and all of the conditioner after that, but it was worth it. I made a mental note to go down to the front desk and ask for more bottles after my shower.

Just in case Rome wants to wash his hair, too.

And that got me hot and bothered all over again. It was a lovely thought to imagine him here with me under the spray, his naked body glistening with hot water as it splashed down over his muscled form. And the thought of washing his shaggy blond hair was strangely erotic. I found myself wishing that I could do it for him. I wanted to drag my fingers through his long hair, my nails scraping along the scalp just a little bit.

Plus, being naked and in the shower with Rome sounded like an excellent idea in general. We could finish what we started outside before he left.

My thoughts were enough to cause my own hand to snake down between my legs. I found myself wet between my nether lips and not from the shower water, either. Sucking my lower lip into my mouth, I worried at it with my teeth as I slowly inserted my fingers into my warm body. It wasn’t what I really wanted, but given the circumstances it would have to do.

I plunged my own fingers in and out of my body several times and used my other hand to fondle a breast, pinching at the erected nipple. I let my eyes close, thinking of how Rome could be standing right behind me doing these things. Thinking of how I might feel his long member nestled between my cheeks, rubbing slightly to let me know how hard he was.

It was a nice thought and I let my thumb slide up to the small bundle of nerves above my opening. As soon as I touched it I let out a low groan of pleasure.

This is what I need.

I continued to touch myself until I found release, grateful that I could just wash the mess away in the shower without any clean up. I was too exhausted for cleanup, I thought.

After another ten or so minutes in the shower, I finally stepped out. I was a little pruney, but I felt so much better. And cleaner. And relaxed. It was a good feeling. After drying off, I went over to the little menu book that came with the room. It listed several options for both room service and restaurants in the area that would deliver. I decided on something simple but greasy and satisfying.

“Pizza it is,” I murmured, then went to my bag to dig for my phone. It was when I started digging into the pockets that I froze. “Damnit.” I’d forgotten that I hadn’t found my phone. There was a phone in the room, so I used that to order something to eat, but that didn’t change the fact that I couldn’t remember where my phone was.

I spent the entire time it took for the pizza to get there looking for my phone, but I didn’t find it. When the delivery guy dropped off the food, I paid him and tipped generously. When he left, I sat down with a slice and devoured it quickly.

When I’d satisfied that need, too, I started to think about where I’d left my phone. I had been getting texts from Tom, which was why it had been out. I’d looked at them to keep my phone from continuing to notify me that I had gotten a new message. And to make sure that it hadn’t been from someone important, like my boss. I told her I needed a little time, some personal stuff, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t try to get a hold of me. Before I could put my phone up, I’d gotten into an argument with Rome.

He’d been so pissed off about the messages. “Like it’s any of his business,” I muttered to myself. I’d accepted that I’d been a bit of a jerk to him about the whole
it’s your fault
thing, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t been overbearing when he’d insisted that I block Tom’s number. Apparently I was still a little sore about it. “Like he has any right to control what I do.”

And that niggling little thought was what got the ball rolling.

We’d been fighting over the text. And then we’d been fighting over everything under the sun. Rome insisted that I block the number without even considering why I hadn’t blocked it yet. Or that maybe I was going to block it and just hadn’t done it yet. He just starting barking out orders like some drill sergeant, not caring that I was a person with my own thoughts and opinions.

The more I thought about it, the angrier it made me. I’d tried to let it go, especially since we were going to be spending so much time together, but the more I let myself go over the conversation, the more I felt like I’d been in the right.

Which meant Rome should have apologized.

“Ugh!” I pushed back from the desk where I’d had my pizza and began to pace. All of the serenity I’d found in the shower and the satisfaction I’d gotten from the food seemed to dissolve. Now I was left with the sense that I’d been duped. How had I become the one to apologize anyway? “That’s just like a man!” I said aloud to the empty room.

As I continued to fume over how he’d just ordered me to do that, like it was his call the entire time and I was just some stupid little girl, I couldn’t help but think about my phone again.

How it had been on the seat.

How Rome had been so pissed off about it.

How, after that fight, I hadn’t been able to find it.

I froze. “He wouldn’t…” I said, but as I let that incomplete sentence fill up the space in the room, I wondered how true that was.

There are things you don’t know about me.
I had thought he meant other things, like a troubling past or a crazy ex-girlfriend or some kid somewhere that he timeshared with some floosy he knocked up. Normal things. Not necessarily great things, but things you could work with.

But what if he’d meant something else? What if he’d meant,
You weren’t listening to me like a good little girl so I forced your hand. I stole your phone and hid it, or got rid of it altogether and now you have to go through me if you want to make any decisions!

What if he’d meant that he was just as controlling as Tom had been?

The thought sent a shudder through me. Suddenly, the room felt chilly, like I had the air conditioning turned on too low, except a moment ago I’d thought it felt great. Not too long ago, I thought everything felt great. Now I was beginning to think I’d gotten myself into a lot more trouble than I had initially thought.

Is he the same? Is he just like Tom? Am I married to the same kind of abusive guy I was running from?

The thoughts came unbidden and were all the more frightening because they made sense. I didn’t know anything about this guy, but my instincts initially had been that he was trouble. Just because he was good in the sack didn’t mean that those instincts had been wrong by any stretch. He could be just as angry and controlling and obsessive as Tom.

I shuddered again.

Hadn’t he been possessive that first night at the bar? And hadn’t he come back, all but stalking me at work when I hadn’t even given him my name, much less my address? Hadn’t he insisted I take his number, unwilling to leave until I had? Hadn’t he insisted I pack and leave with him without even telling me where we were going? Hadn’t he convinced me to marry him without even talking to me about it first?

All signs were pointing to the same thing and I felt a burning sense of fear, embarrassment, and maybe a little shame at the thought that I had once again ignored all of them.

“What have I done?” I wondered aloud.

Shoving down fear to replace it with anger, because anger was better and felt more powerful and less helpless, I got dressed quickly in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. I had my sweatshirt out, too, slung over my bag, though I doubted I would need it. I made sure I dressed conservatively. No blouses or skirts or anything else that might give him the chance to have his way with my body again. Then I made sure all of my stuff was packed and ready to go. I needed to be able to make a quick, clean getaway when the time came. And I had a sinking suspicion it was going to come a lot sooner than I had anticipated.