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I move away from him and lean against the car door, my head pressed against the cold glass. Immediately, its chilly surface soothes my skin. “That was a very jerk-ish thing to do.” I mumble, my eyes locked on the concrete ledge of the highway as it blurs by.
Samuel’s voice softens. “My apologies for beingjerk-ish, sweet Jane.”
I jolt back to consciousness with a start, my body slick with sweat. Something surrounds me, and it’s tucked tight, morphed around my legs like a silk web. I kick my feet, but it’s too dark to see what’s confining me. Am I still dreaming? Has someone trapped me?
In a flash, I remember everything. Joey’s attack. His gruesome death. Samuel storming in like a knight in silver armor. Leaving my old life behind for the second time.
Footsteps sound behind me, and I roll to face the noise. The light flicks on a second later.
Samuel is hovering near a door a few yards away, his arm still raised to the light switch. When he looks at me, his eyes show a hint of concern– but that emotion quickly fades as he scans my appearance from head to toe.
I blink, allowing my body to catch up with the frenzy of my mind. “Where are we?”
He takes a slow step towards me. “A motel.”
A quick glance down confirms that someone has swaddled me into the generic patterned blankets, and I shift myself to loosen to covers. “What time is it?”
He creeps closer. “Only noon. You should sleep longer. We can’t leave until sundown.”
I push myself up, examining the room.
It’s very… quaint.
The room features an old, retro wallpaper with orange and brown stripes that appear to have been installed in the 1960s. The only furniture is a heavy wooden dresser across from the bed and a single chair. On top of the dresser there’s an old-fashioned box television, one I doubt still works.
Windows concealed by a set of curtains line the wall beside the front door, and I frown at them. “The sunlight?”
“The curtains are enough to keep me going. I’m drowsy, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.” Samuel’s voice is deep; gruff. He takes the last step toward the bed before lowering himself onto the mattress, sitting just beside my feet.
His nearness heightens my awareness of myself. I sit up taller against the headboard, tucking my hair behind my ear and praying I hadn’t drooled too badly in my sleep.
“Did I fall asleep?” I frown. “How’d I get into bed?”
His lip curls on one side, expression sheepish. “I carried you.”
My eyes widen.Carried me?On a good day, I weigh two hundred pounds, although it’s probably more after my obsession with chocolate last month. Trying to imagine this lean, masculine, god-like male model cradling my sleeping body in his arms is impossible.Had he held me to his chest?
My cheeks burn as his smile grows wider, his eyes flashing at my reaction.
“Um, is there a bathroom in here?” I push the blankets away from my flushed body, hoping to put distance between myself and Samuel as soon as possible.He touched me. Held me.
Samuel lifts his thumb, pointing toward the other side of the room. There’s a door tucked into an alcove, nearly invisible from my angle against the wall. I slide away from the bed, careful not to bump into Samuel.
“Be right back,” I mutter, feet shuffling as I speed toward the only private place available.
I secure the door with a click before facing the mirror.
Holy Hell,I look like shit.
My makeup must have run while I was in the shower yesterday, and Joey yanked me out before I had time to cleanse the dark smudges beneath my eyes. Mortified, I glower at my reflection, realizing the restaurant workers had seen me like this. I turn on the faucet, splashing away the evidence.
My air-dried hair is a wild, wavy mess that hangs around my face, adding to my state of disarray. Blonde locks frizz out of their natural part, creating a halo around my lightly freckled cheeks. I rake my fingers through the tousled strands in a desperate attempt to tame them, but without my brush, there isn’t much I can do.
I keep the sink on as I use the toilet, a little too aware that Samuel has ultra-sensitive hearing.
As I sit there, I think back over the last twenty-four hours.
Discovering the presence of vampires wasn’t the most terrifying experience; it was watching someone die.
