AllFreeNovel
Share Us
4
MONTY
Kayla’s face was something for the books as she looked between the hostess and me, horrified. “Are youabsolutelysure you only have one room?”
“Yes, ma’am, I’ve checked and double-checked.”
“No suites or anything?”
“No. Just a room with a double bed.”
A lesser man might have been offended by the look of abject horror on Kayla’s face, but I wasn’t. Instead, I was intrigued. In general, I knew there were several reasons why a young woman might not want to share a room with a strange man. I understood that much, but her expression didn’t have any fear. It was a combination of caution and…something else.
Something she quickly shielded as I leaned in and winked at her. “Don’t worry, darling. I know I’m irresistible, but you can try to keep your hands off me for a few hours.”
She shot me a brief glare, then turned back to the hostess. “Are you sure you don’t have anything else? A spare space, a broom closet, anything?”
The hostess shook her head with a sidelong glance at me, and interest peeked through in her gaze. I knew what she was thinking. I wasn’t vain, but I knew I was a pretty good-looking guy, the type who had women throwing themselves at him often. The woman was trying to ascertain the nature of my relationship with Kayla so she could see if it was alright to send me an invitation. I stepped a little closer to Kayla, cementing our relationship. The woman covered up her disappointment well as she looked away. It was just as well she thought Kayla and I were together because I couldn’t take her up on her offer anyway, not with my self-imposed celibacy. That and the woman currently standing in front of me, of course.
Kayla frowned in thought for a few seconds before she finally sighed, apparently resigned to her circumstances.
“Fine,” she said. “It’ll only be a few hours anyway.” The last part sounded more like she was trying to convince herself.
“Lead the way,” I said to the hostess. She nodded and came out from behind the desk with a key card in her hand. She began walking down the hallway, and Kayla and I followed, eyeing the motel interior with characteristic watchfulness. The place wasn’t so bad for a motel that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, but I took note of all the back doors and escape routes, just in case.
Finally, we got to the room at the end of the hall. The hostess scanned the keycard to open the door, walked in, and then turned to us.
“This is it,” she said cheerily, although I didn’t have the faintest clue what she was so happy about. For something called a honeymoon suite, it was fairly miserable.
The room was small, with just enough room for a bed and a dresser. A small TV was mounted up on the wall, but even that wasn’t enough to draw away from the dreary grey walls and depressing atmosphere of the room.
I watched Kayla’s head turn around as she took it all in.
“We would have set it up better with rose petals and given the whole honeymoon experience if we’d had more time to prepare,” the hostess explained quickly. “As it is, this is the best we can do. Did you need anything else? Champagne?” The hostess seemed fidgety, probably eager to get back to her post. Or most likely eager to get out of sight before we changed our mind and got out of here.
I shared a look with Kayla, who gave me a wry glance. I shrugged in response. It wasn’t much, but it was all we had for now.
“No, that will be all,” I told the hostess, and she high-tailed it out of there before I could even finish my sentence.
“Looks like we’ve been had,” I commented. “This room for that price is some type of highway robbery.”
“Well, maybe we shouldn’t have stopped in the first place,” she grumbled.
“Nah. Bertha has been with me for a long time, and the only reason she has lasted this long is that I listen to her and give her a break when she asks for one. Push her too hard, and she starts getting wonky.”
“Then maybe it’s time for you to get a new car.”
“Perish the thought.” I gave her a look of mock outrage which she rolled her eyes at, but I could see the corner of her lip turned up with the beginnings of a smile.
It was the first one I was seeing from her, and I had the sudden urge to push, to see if I could drag some more out of her. She struck me as someone who didn’t smile much. She had been melancholic that night too, but I remembered the few times I got her to laugh…the sound of her tinkling laugh, with a slight snort that was endearing and sexy all at the same time.
“Then why can’t we wait it out in the car?” she asked now.
I shook my head. “The highway in a car is not a safe place to be at night. Especially since you look so tuckered out, and Lord knows I need some rest after our little scuffle.” Also, because I had been driving for several days now without rest. “We’re better off resting here for a few hours, and then we’ll be on our way.”
She sighed, but she couldn’t refute what I was saying. She did look exhausted, especially with that aura of alertness about her that told me she didn’t trust a single word I said and would try to end me if I made a wrong move. Keeping me in her line of vision, she went and grabbed two pillows from the bed, tossing them onto the floor. Still watching me, she sat down and began arranging her body on the floor.
It took me a few seconds to realize what she was trying to do. I was appalled and, frankly, a little insulted.
