He wasn’t quite sure how it happened, but when he lowered his hand, it brushed against hers. He liked to think she’d reached out to him, but it was more him who clasped her hand and slid his fingers between her delicate ones.
He braced himself for her to tug her hand free; she didn’t. Instead, a small smile played at the corners of her mouth as her eyes met his.
That smile caused a shift inside him as something primitive, possessive, and lethal slithered to the forefront. He wouldn’t mess with her head, and he wasn’t going to let her go.
Chapter Nineteen
Lucien pushed openthe glass door and stepped into the dimly lit interior of the motel lobby. It felt like it was two o’clock in the morning, but the hands on the clock on the wall behind the counter read ten.
The office, with its wood-paneled walls, pictures of rivers, dear, and bear, was straight out of the seventies. The red carpet looked old and had a worn path to the main desk, but it was still in good shape.
On top of the Formica counter was a bell. Next to the small metal bell was a sign reading “Ring for service.” He released Callie’s hand as he walked up to the counter and hit the bell.
The tiny ding echoed throughout the small room as he rested his elbow on the counter and waited for the clerk to arrive. Behind the counter, he spotted a glass case full of supplies. A shaving kit sat amid the toothbrushes, toothpaste, mouthwash, hairbrushes, deodorant, and assorted other necessities a traveler might forget to pack.
Callie wandered over to a rack full of brochures. She fingered some of them before pulling a couple free and flipping through them. Most of them were for places to hike and raft in the area, but others were for nearby caves and a casino.
Lucien watched her every move like a hawk. He didn’t know what it was about the woman, but she increasingly intrigued him. He stepped away from the counter and prowled closer to her.
His chest brushed her shoulder as he stopped behind her. He gazed at the brochure for whitewater rafting in her hands. She stiffened a little but didn’t move away, and after a few seconds, she relaxed and lifted her striking eyes to his.
Before she could speak, a noise drew his attention away from her as a pretty young woman emerged from the back room. She smiled when she saw them.
“Welcome to the Mountainside Motel,” she greeted as she rested her hands on the counter.
Callie shoved the brochures into her back pocket as Lucien returned to the counter. An uneasy feeling grew in her stomach as she studied the pretty woman. Her silky blonde hair, pulled into a knot at her nape, fully exposed her neck. Her blue eyes shone as they ran appreciatively over Lucien before shifting to Callie.
However, the woman only glanced at her before focusing on Lucien again. Her smile widened. He was still thinner than he should be, but his beard and lean body couldn’t hide how handsome he was.
Jealousy burned like acid in her belly when she realized he planned to feed on this woman. And then self-loathing blazed inside her. She shouldn’t be jealous of this woman; she should feel sorry for her and try to stop what was about to happen, but what could she do other than shout a warning for the woman to run?
And she couldn’t do that. He hadn’t hurt the other people he fed on, and he wouldn’t hurt this one. She hated what was to come, but he had to eat to regain more of his strength. She couldn’t deny him that, no matter how much she’d prefer not to see what was about to happen.
“Would you like two rooms?” the woman asked.
Lucien smiled as he rested his hands on the counter, and Callie found herself holding her breath. Would he get her a different room so he could feed on this woman in private?
The idea of sharing a room with him was almost as petrifying as the Savages finding them, but she didn’t want to be alone.
She almost slapped herself upside the head as confusing feelings battered her. He hadn’t messed with her mind, she was sure of that; she wouldn’t remember any of this if he had, but he was messing with her head in other ways.
Maybe they were better off in separate rooms.
“Just one room,” Lucien said; he had no intention of parting from Callie.
“Oh,” the woman said.
He caught the note of disappointment in her voice as she turned to the computer behind the desk. Keys clicked as her fingers flew across them.
“That will be one hundred dollars for the night,” she said.
Lucien allowed his power to well up inside him as he studied her. “No, it won’t,” Lucien said. “Look at me.”
Her head rose, and her blue eyes met his.
“You’re not going to put us into your computer,” he said.
Her brow furrowed. “I’m not?”
