AllFreeNovel
Share Us
In fact, with each second that ticks by, it’s becoming increasingly clear that this woman regrets ever coming back to this motel room with me in the first place.
Well, that sucks.
I know for a fact that my ‘performance’ earlier definitely wasn’t the problem. Mere minutes ago, I had Ms. Tough Girl gripping the headboard and howling up at the cobwebby light fixture like a wolf under the full moon.
So I won’t take it personally that she doesn’t want to stick around. Because this place is a dump. God, it smells awful in here. And what's that brown stain on the pillowcase?
I bolt upright on the scratchy motel sheets and swing my legs over the side of the creaky bed.
“Just so you know, I don't do one-night stands,” she informs me. “I’m not that kind of person. I just…I…yesterday, I just…” She gives up with a heavy sigh.
I get up and approach her like you’d approach a wounded animal. Slowly. Cautiously. “You know what? I get it.I'm not that kind of person, either. I haven't had a one-night stand since...since ever.”
“Never…?” she asks timidly, all that spunk of hers momentarily subdued.
Rubbing the back of my neck, I give her an embarrassed half-smile. “Never,” I confirm. “I’ve never had a one-night stand. I've always been a relationship kind of guy.”
Our eyes hold.
Something inside her loosens and she seems slightly relieved to discover that she didn’t just spend the night with some douchebag who’s going around, randomlyslingin’ itall over the state of Iowa.
Ending up in a dirty roadside motel like this with a complete stranger was definitely never part of my five-year plan.
Look, I'm Mason Westbrook.I-always-have-a-planshould be my middle name.
I skipped so many grades in school that they named a fast track for child geniuses after me. The Westbrook Track, they call it now. I zoomed through college, managing to fit right in despite being years younger than my peers. Then, as planned since my fifth birthday, I finished med school, got my doctorate, and moved back home to be near my family and humbly serve my community.
All of that matched the grand outline for my life precisely.
But sometime when I wasn’t looking, my plan stalled out. I’d expected to be married by now. To be moving up in my career at the medical clinic. To be building my future in Honey Hill.
I didn’t even notice when my life veered off-track. All I know is, I woke up a few weeks ago and had to admit to myself that none of it was working anymore.
My ex-boss was a prick who made me have to jump through hoops just to get a few days off for my cousin's wedding. My on-and-off relationship morphed into a toxic loop with a woman who didn't appreciate me. I needed a change. So for once in my life, I went off-script.
And now, here I am, in a seedy motel room with a random naked stranger who's in the middle of a wheezing panic attack.
All righty, then. Looks like this new life path of mine is unfolding swimmingly.
My hands fall to her hips, squeezing gently. “I don't know what's going on in your life. And you don't know what's going on in mine. But the good news is, after we walk out that door, we never have to see each other again. Right?”
She nods. “Right.”
Her breathing evens out. Her gaze softens. Her brilliant blue eyes coast over my face. God, she's stunning.
When she first walked into the bar, I had to do a double-take. I swear, her pitch-black hair and ice blue eyes made my heart stop for a beat too long. Now, in the pale light of the morning after, I think she’s even more gorgeous.
“Sorry about the black eye,” she mutters quietly. Her fingertips come up and graze over the bruised, delicate skin where she clocked me in the face last night. I probably deserved that.
Long story. Don’t ask.
“You're forgiven.” My gaze tracks down her throat to the bite marks and the hickeys I left all over her skin. “I consider us even, Tough Girl.”
I must have asked this woman for her name a dozen times already. And each time, she stubbornly refused to give it to me. So, ‘Tough Girl’ it is.
I half-grin and gently pluck a cobweb from her messy hair before allowing my gaze to explore her face again. Damn—this girlreallydoes it for me. She’s so fucking beautiful. I mean,reallybeautiful. All over.
My eyes skim down her body.
