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He’d called her that before. Mostly to annoy her. But tonight, he meant it. Those littleEat at Flo’s Masterson DinerT-shirts were driving him mad.
Marin had had to know they would drive men crazy when she’d designed them. She had witchy powers, after all.
“Well, I see you’ve emerged. Hunter and Nikki were in the dining room earlier. Practically wrapped up in each other, closer than plastic wrap. I almost had to use the fire extinguisher to get them apart—we have child guests here tonight and are completely G-rated. I gave her your message to leave her alone.”
“I appreciate that.” He didn’t want to talk about his sister with her. They could talk about something besides Nikki. Anything but Nikki actually. “How did the night go? Get rid of your little friend who was drooling over you?”
“Kody went upstairs with Daisy for the night actually. I think he’s taking turns with us or something.”
“I wasn’t talking about Maggie’s dog. I was talking about the guy in the suit. He liked how you looked.”
“He might have liked how Marin looked, if it’s the same man I’m remembering. We had four men check in tonight. Two are together, I think. One US marshal and two FBI actually. And one salesman, I think.” She frowned, arms full of folded towels. “I asked the FBI guys if they knew anything about PAVAD, and I think I confused them. Which is weird. Miranda says everyone knows about PAVAD. It’s talked about in basic training videos even.”
“Probably selection bias. Miranda thinks everyone should know about that specialty unit she works for, but that doesn’t mean everyone does.” Ben didn’t care about her cousin who worked for the FBI out of St. Louis. He wanted to snuggle up to Dusty. They could spread those towels out and he could seduce Lady of the Inn Dusty right where they were.
He was always so pumped up after he wrotegoodwords. Of course, the juices flowing through him now weren’t the kind he’d want to work off in a dojang practicing taekwondo. No. They were the other kind.
For her.
He coughed and forced himself to step back. Before he suggested they skinny dip in the indoor pool behind her. It was after pool hours. That was when she and her family had always used the pool, if he remembered correctly. No one would be in there with them. They had a button that darkened the windows to the pool, too. It would be just them.
He’d have a wet, naked Dusty all to himself.
“So what are you down here looking for?”
Oh boy. She didn’t know what she was doing to him, asking him that. Not by a long shot. Ben just stared at her for the longest time.
Until that same damned guest came wandering in. The man shot Ben a decided frown. Hmmm. Guy had a problem with Ben. Well maybe Ben had a problem with that guy looking at Ben’s demoness likethat,too. “I’m here…for food. I missed the dining room closing.”
“I can make you a sandwich. In the family wing. I’m just about to go to my room, as soon as I finish this.” She bumped the towel cart with one foot.
Not going there. Not even going to think about Dusty’sroom.Nope. He was better than that. Maybe. He thought. His mother had certainly tried to make sure he was anyway.
“Yeah, I’m good. I’m going to junk food it. I’m celebrating almost sixty pages written in five hours. My hands are shot, but…I need sugar.” And he wasn’t going anywhere until that guy was gone. Ben had his cavewoman to protect, after all. “Tell me something, you have a security guard on duty at all times right? You really need two of them actually.”
“We have someone. He’s probably off walking the grounds now. He usually does this time of night, why?”
“It just occurred to me. Most of the inn’s staff, women, right? And with you girls living here…and take your little cousin at the counter, for instance. She’s what? Twenty and one hundred fifteen pounds and quiet and sweet? Honey, you all are like dessert to the bad guys out there.” He watched the man as he crossed to the vending machines. “This place is a damned buffet to the wrong type of guy.”
He was almost certain the guy was trying to be unobtrusive, but he was watching them.
Watchingher,most likely. Ben wasn’t stupid. He’d been a cop in the military before. He knew when someone was watching.
Wars had been fought over enchanting demonesses like this one, after all.
Demonesses needed big, strong thug-type warriors to protect them. At least in urban fantasy they did. Or was that paranormal romance? Ben wasn’t fully up on the differences. But he’d be Dusty’s thug, as long as she needed him to be. “And there’s what? You, the front desk clerk, and the security guard around here, right now? What if someone tries something? What would you do?”
“Scream like bloody murder. Then the front desk clerk will call for help. Marin’s in the back office, too.”
So then the bad guy could get little sweetie Jacy, Demoness Dusty,andWitchy-woman Marin, too?
“I’m being serious. What if someone wanted to rob the place? I’m surprised your cousin Miranda doesn’t throw a fit. Or your uncle, for that matter.” Ben didn’t like this setup at all. Now that he thought about it, it could be bad. Real bad actually. “Someone could go after one of you girls. Hotels can be dangerous for women.”
Ben watched a lot of crime dramas and forensic science shows for inspiration. Hotels could be very dangerous—especially for women. People didn’t always realize that. But some predators saw hotels as their happy hunting grounds. And the female staff as their prey.
“It’s been this way forever, Ben.” She was looking at him like she usually did. Like she thought he was being a bossy butthead.
It wasn’t that he was telling her what to do. Far from it. He just didn’t like the idea of how alone she would have been if he hadn’t come downstairs. Alone with that guy who couldn’t keep his eyes off of her.
