AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“There must be some mistake.” She’s not interested in acknowledging our shared history, only in our hotel arrangements. “They told me at the front desk that I had room 812.”
It’s amazing she can talk, squirming like she is. “They told me the same thing. But they were pretty busy down there, so I guess—”
Before I can finish, she’s already on her way to the phone, jamming her finger against the button for the front desk. She stands with her back to me, arms folded like she wants to protect herself.
Considering how my entire body reacts to her, maybe she needs protecting. I can’t take my eyes off her ass, her legs, and the way she fills out her dark blue suit. Buttoned up, all business, and something about that has always turned me on. My dick twitches, and for one perverse moment, I consider staying uncovered so she can see the effect she has on me.
“I don’t understand. How can you give the same room to two different people? What are we supposed to do?” She throws a quick look over her shoulder, one full of resentment, and I can’t help but remember the girl I used to know. A bookworm, a complete nerd, somebody who took her schoolwork more seriously than anything else. And I should know since we did a project together in the spring semester of our senior year.
I wonder if she’s ever asked herself how different things could have been if she’d gone out with me instead of turning me down. She must know how well I’ve done for myself—I remember how people talk back in our hometown. There’s nothing else for them to do.
Has she wondered what life would be like if she hadn’t made that mistake?
It’s only now that I understand how it sticks in my craw. Of all people, she turned me down. Me. I didn’t have all my money then, but I was a fucking god in that school. Much more popular than anyone she’d ever been out with. If she ever dated at all.
I suppose she must’ve had an effect on me if it all comes back so easily, so clearly.
She hangs up the phone before turning partway, glancing at me before going to the window. “You’d better put something on. Somebody’s coming up to try to work this out.”
“It might not be that bad. It’s not like we’re strangers, Harper Adams.” Yes, it must still be Adams. Her left hand is empty.
She doesn’t register surprise at being recognized. “Yeah, well, that doesn’t mean I feel like sharing a room. I was sort of looking forward to spending the night by myself.” So, she’s changed physically, but that’s about it. The coldness in her voice is as familiar as the scar on my knuckles from the time I punched a wall and hit the stud underneath. She’s so far above it all, isn’t she?
Hunger stirs to life deep in my gut, and I realize I don’t want to write her off, far from it.
I want to melt her down. No, I need to. She got away from me in high school, and I’m still not sure how, but she’s not getting away from me tonight.
I grab one of the complimentary bathrobes, but it’s too small for my frame, so instead, I settle for wrapping a towel around my waist a moment before there’s a sharp knock on the door. Harper turns from the window while I open the door to reveal an extremely anxious middle-aged man.
“Mr. Pierce, I’m Thomas Ford, the hotel manager,” he announces. “May I come in? We want to do everything we can to make things right.”
“Be my guest.” I step back to give him room. “But short of moving one of us to another room, I’m not sure how this problem can be fixed.”
“Unfortunately, there are no other rooms available this evening—or anywhere else in town,” he continues while I glance at an unsurprised Harper. “I can only chalk it up to how hectic things have been all week, Mr. Pierce.”
“You know I spend a lot of money at your hotel.”
“Yes, sir, and ordinarily, we would have given you a much larger suite, but as a last-minute reservation—”
I hold up a hand, already tired of hearing the well-practiced excuses spilling from his lips. “This is unacceptable. Do you realize how much worse this could have gone? What if it was Miss Adams in the shower while some man came wandering in here? Is this how you do business? This is how you protect your guests?”
The guy looks close to tears, wringing his hands and everything. Probably imagining lawyers and lawsuits. “We’d be happy to comp the room charge for both of you, plus free stays for the future. Otherwise, I’m afraid there’s not much more I can do.”
“This is ridiculous,” Harper whispers, and in the dresser mirror, I see she’s going through her purse to pull out her phone. “There’s got to be somewhere else I can stay.”
“You’re fortunate neither of us is considering getting our lawyers involved.” I jerk my chin toward the door. “We’ll figure this out on our own. No thanks to you.”
“Sir, please, how can we make this right?”
“Make sure your employees don’t screw up like this in the first place.” I open the door for him and wave an arm. “Go. I’m sure you’re busy.” I make it a point to close the door harder than I need to once he’s gone while Harper taps away on her phone, grunting.
As I lean my back to the door so I can watch her grunt, growl, and mutter her way through this, I realize I’m not upset. Not even close. Was I looking forward to spending the night in town? Especially in this basic hotel room? Not even a little.
Now it looks like I’ve found just the diversion I craved without knowing I craved it.
“You’re wasting your time,” I murmur after a few minutes. “It’s New Year’s Eve. No way is there an available room anywhere. What brings you here, anyway? You’re a long way from home.”
“How would you know where home is?”
