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Austin rewarded me with one of his genuine grins that made my heart flutter. I knew I’d made the right call.
“So you had an ulterior motive for saving my life?” he asked, his voice hitting that low vibrato that made me squeeze my thighs tighter together.
If you died, I’d never see those gorgeous stormy eyes again.Was what I wanted to say. But instead, I went with, “You owe me an expedition, Mr. Cooper. I’m not letting anything happen to you until I’ve cashed in.”
Austin laughed at that and shook his head.
His eyes met mine, and something inside of me snapped, like a loose wire clicking into place.
The door burst open, and in walked Nicole flanked by a handsome man and Cora, who pushed her way in front of Nicole and sank to her knees in front of me, grabbing my hands.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,chica,” I said in a low whisper. “It was Austin who almost died.”
“What happened?” Nicole asked. The man behind her grasped her shoulders as though keeping her grounded.
“The tube malfunctioned again,” I said. “Only worse this time. It nearly killed Austin and anyone else who would have been unlucky enough to be beneath it.” I stood on cold, shaky legs and decided I was angry enough to go with some snark. “I guess there must’ve been an extra sun flare.”
Nicole cut her gaze to me like a knife, but it only lasted a second before she regained control and fell into damage control mode.
“We have a team of engineers on it. In the meantime, we’re bringing the backup elevators online. Thank goodness you are both okay.”
Austin stood as well, clutching the blanket tucked around his shoulders. “It was Rosi’s quick thinking that saved me. If I hadn’t had those few seconds on the hover disks, I would’ve hit too hard and fast.”
“Well thank you, Ms. Sanchez,” Nicole said. “We are all lucky you won the trip. Now I suggest you both go to your rooms, take a hot shower or bath, and relax. I will have dinner sent up to each of you and throw in a massage at the spa, on the house.”
I plastered on a smile and waited for Nicole and her shadow to leave before turning to Austin again. “You should almost die more often. Free room service and massages are totally worth it.”
Cora backed up a little with a funny grin on her face. “I hate to mention it, but since you’re going out for a massage, I was hoping to have the room tonight.”
The banter I’d gotten so good at dried up on my tongue. “What? Why?”
“I met someone. He’s part of the band that plays down at the Polar night club. I kind of have a date.”
Where the fuck was I supposed to go? I was freezing and dripping wet, and okay, maybe more than a little stressed.
“Why don’t you go up to Austin’s room?” Cora asked, eyebrows raised in his direction like a dare to defy her.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I blurted. “Austin has better things to do than entertain me after a near death experience. Why can’t you go to this musician’s room?”
“He shares it with his brother, who has dibs tonight. Besides, Austin’s used to near death experiences. He thrives on them, don’t you, Austin? You don’t mind Rosi hanging out, do you?”
“You have two bedrooms,” he answered.
“Actually,” I said, recalling the last time I had a “girls” weekend with Rosi and she ended up having an orgy in the cabin we rented, “she, um…” I almost choked on the words as I tried to explain the way some of her friends had decided it might be nice to roll into my room and fuck on the floor. Or how when I ran out to the main room to find her, I’d instead been confronted with a group of no less than five people bent in ways that made me assume they were part of the circus. I’d ended up camping in the woods that night, pretty sure if there were any cryptids they’d been scared off by the noises coming from the cabin.
“I tend to like things on the wild side,” Cora said in an attempt to save me the explanation. She winked and bit her tongue. “We may need use of the entire premises. There may also be others involved. If you want to join us you’re more than wel—”
“It’s fine,” Austin said, his voice so soft I almost didn’t hear him. “You can stay with me. I have two bedrooms and tons of extra clothes. We can order the room service Nicole promised for dinner, and you can go to sleep early. I know I could use a good night’s rest after that.”
Cora clapped and fled the room before I could get a hold of her. But I’d catch up to her eventually…after spending the night in Austin Cooper’s room.
