AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oakland. You?’
“San Francisco.”
We exchange a glance, but none of us says anything, just looking away, imagining the possibilities. Ten minutes’ drive between our cities. Yeah, moving to the U.K. seems like less and less of a good idea.
Anna
The hotel lobby is packed. Every inch of the lush carpet seems to be covered in duffle bags, roll-on suitcases, and all sorts of carry-on luggage. More than half of the people from our flight stand in a semblance of a line behind the reception desk. Children’s cries cutting through the brouhaha of the crowd. I look around and meet the same red-rimmed eyes, messy hair, and disheveled clothes as mine and Jake’s. Except, the travel-exhausted vibe looks sexy on him.
All this is so weird, like a scene from one of those catastrophe movies.
I turn a questioning gaze to Jake. “What happened?”
“They made announcements while you were sleeping. Sent a bunch of us here overnight. Families with kids, seniors, people traveling together.” He says softly, brushing a lock of hair away from my face. I instinctively want to lean into the gesture. Rest against his hand for a minute. Feel his warmth, the strength of his big palm. But, I don’t. I manage to push down the impulse.
“People traveling together?”
He nods with a sheepish smile.
“Jake, what did you do?” I ask, with much less of a reproachful tone than the situation warrants.
“You were sleeping…” Is his response! Paired, with a lift of his broad shoulders, palms up in a ‘what was I supposed to do?’ motion, and the cutest apologetic smile ever thrown my way. “I saw a bunch of families and seniors go. So, when they called for couples and groups, I thought it was our chance to finally get some rest.”
I watch him with suspicion. All ‘five feet, nothing’ of me, staring sternly at the colossus facing me.Fuck, he’s hot.Baseball cap still firmly in place, lustrous hair poking out in, now, tangled curls, and falling over his strong, corded neck. White cotton t-shirt, that’s gotten all wrinkled. And is it me or are his sweatpants hanging lower than earlier, revealing a patch of bronze skin? This man appears to be the embodiment of my naughtiest fantasies, and it would be stupid to share a suite with him. But, the dark circles under his eyes give me pause. Maybe, just maybe, I can give the guy a break and play along with his sneaky plan.
“Where are they sending the people flying solo?”
“You heard the woman at the airline desk, she didn’t even know yet.”
Another brush of his fingers. This time, he traces the contour of my face in a slow, lingering, hypnotic gesture. His dark eyes half-closed, watching me intently. The caress is so intimate, so familiar. I take an abrupt step back.
“We can share the suite, Jake. I kind of understand why you made it look like we’re flying together. And thank you for waking me up. But nothing can happen between us.”
His eyes bore into mine for a few seconds, taking the measure of my seriousness, then he nods.
“Okay, I can respect that.”
“Thank you. And stop touching me.”
“Stop eating me up with your eyes,” he retorts instantly.
My cheeks burn with the heat of mortification, and I don’t even deny it. Simply turn away and begin people watching. I feel a bump on my shoulder and hear a low chuckle coming from above my head.
“Just teasing you, sweetheart. I’m definitely the one eating you up.”
I turn back to face him.
“Can we please not talk about who’s eating up who?”
Another short, deep laugh.
Jake
“Thank you. Enjoy your stay with us.”
The hotel receptionist hands us key cards to our suite, and we head towards the elevators he indicated.
Anna’s gripping the handle of her bag so hard, her knuckles strain under the tension. She’s been avoiding my eyes since I made that stupid joke about us eating up each other.Fuck, she was starting to relax.I could feel her warming up to me. And now, she’s all tight and closed-up.
