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She snorts.
"I know you don't believe me, but it's true," I say quietly, pulling my credit card out of my wallet and sliding it across the counter to her. "Everything got fucked up that morning, but I didn't just check out and leave you there."
Her gaze flits to mine, doubt creeping into her expression as she reaches for my credit card. I don't let it go though. Instead, I grab her hand, needing to touch her again. She startles slightly, and I know she feels the same thing I do…the pervading sense of peace. The electric shock of desire. The piercing need. The sense of homecoming. For the first time in two months, I feel like I can fucking breathe again.
"I meant every word I said that night, pretty baby," I rasp, clinging to her hand. "Every fucking word. I didn't check out and leave you there."
"I…" Her gaze dances over my face, confusion swirling through her eyes. And then they fall to the credit card caught between our fingers. She flinches, her body going taut. Whatever progress I just made vanishes in a puff of smoke as she pulls away, taking my credit card with her.
What the fuck?
"Cortez Blake," she says.
"Yeah, your man."
"You said you work for Blake Industries," she says, her voice soft. "You never told me that you are a Blake." She shakes her head, dropping her eyes to her computer. "Whatever game you're playing, I'm not interested."
"I'm not playing a game with you, Piper."
"How long will you be staying?"
"Until you talk to me."
"We have nothing to talk about."
"Bullshit," I growl.
"Checkout is eleven tomorrow."
"No. Longer."
She flicks hers gaze up to mine.
"Longer," I repeat. If I have to haunt this fucking hotel until she agrees to talk to me, so be it. Jillian can rearrange my schedule. After I'm sworn in on Monday, I'll work from here until Piper agrees to give me a chance because I'm not leaving here without her.
"How long?" she asks, narrowing her eyes on me.
"What's the longest reservation you have available?"
She reluctantly taps on her keyboard for a moment. "A little over two months."
"Book it," I say.
She gapes at me like a little fish. "You cannot stay here for seven weeks!"
"I just spent two months in hell without you," I say, holding her gaze. "Haunting this hotel for two more is infinitely better than that, pretty baby. At least this way, I get to look into those pretty green eyes and remember what heaven felt like."
"Cortez," she whispers when I snag her hand again.
"I'm not leaving."
The same panic from earlier drifts through her expression, only she isn't as good at shaking it off this time. She doesn't want me here, and I don't think it has anything to do with her being afraid to give me a second chance. She's hiding something.
"What are you hiding, pretty baby?" I ask, searching for any little hint of what she doesn't want me to know. Whatever it is, it's big.
"Nothing," she snaps, her eyes flashing molten fire at me. She rips her gaze from mine, focusing on the computer. Her long nails tap against the keys, every keystroke acting like punctuation at the end of her frustration. That probably shouldn't turn me on, but it does. Feisty Piper is sexy as hell. "It's a standard suite."
"Pretty baby, I'll sleep in a fucking closet if it means being close to you."
"Too bad. We're fresh out of those."
"Put me wherever you want," I murmur, not willing to press my luck here. I don't give a fuck what type of room she puts me in. I prefer space, but I'm not going to argue about it with her. She's rattled and stressed and mad as hell right now. The last thing I want to do is give her another reason to think I'm some rich asshole playing games. She opens her mouth to say something, and I quickly amend, "Except for out of the hotel."
This earns me a tiny smile. It's not much. But it's something. It's hope.
I'll take it.
