As if he could sense her reluctance to part with her hard-earned money, the dragon man ran his hand down her back again. He leaned in and whispered softly in her ear. “I’ll make sure you get it back.”
Terra just snorted out a soft laugh and shook her head, amused. Somehow, she knew that once they had answers, he would do his best to keep his word. She leaned into his side, a silent show of gratitude.
After a few minutes and some paperwork, the clerk handed her a key card. “You’re on the fourth floor.” He pointed to the elevators at the other end of the lobby.
Thanking him, Terra led the way back to the car to park it and get their things. She was so ready to curl up in a nice, warm bed and crash for the night.
“You have got to be kidding me,” Terra growled as she stood in the entryway and stared into the room.
It was a nice room. There was even a small fridge where they could stow the few slices of pizza they hadn’t eaten. But it was the single, small bed that had Terra stopping in her tracks. One bed? One! And a full-sized bed at the most! There was no way they could both sleep in that bed together. Okay, so she had seen her dragon man naked on more than one occasion, but that was a long shot from curling up next to him in the same bed. Especially a small bed!
A chuckle sounded from behind her as the dragon man looked over her shoulder to see what had made her stop. “Don’t worry about it.” He leaned in and kissed the top of her head before moving around her and into the room. “You take the bed. I’ll sleep on the floor.”
Terra stood rooted to the floor. What! Did he just kiss me? The thought ran around her brain, shorting it out. Finally, the rest of what he’d said filtered in. That moved her feet.
“You can’t sleep on the floor!” She went over and dumped her shopping bags on the bed next to where he was rummaging through his stuff.
“It’s not a big deal.” The man shrugged. “It’s not the first time I’ve ever slept on the floor. Probably won’t be the last.”
Pulling the leather bag off her shoulder, she dropped it on the bed and turned towards him. “No.” She pushed on his side so he would turn and look at her. “You’ve had a hard day and need a good night’s sleep. Besides, this floor is probably disgusting. You take the bed. I’ll sleep in the chair.”
The dragon man stared at her for a long moment. His gorgeous eyes locked with hers. “I can’t let you sleep in the chair. You’ve had a hard day, too. You take the bed.” His hand came up to her hip as he spoke. The movement drew them closer together.
“I won’t sleep, knowing you’re on the floor,” Terra said, staring up into his face. Desire pulled at her body as the tip of his tongue slipped across his lower lip, dampening it.
“Fine,” he breathed the word softly.
Terra’s pulse skipped as he raised his hand to the side of her face, drawing her closer to him. Her eyes dropped to his mouth—so close, so kissable. God, he would be wonderful to kiss. She nearly leaned in to taste him, when he spoke again.
“We’ll share the bed.”
A zing of excitement raced through Terra’s insides, making her gasp. It might be dangerous to her sanity, but yes, she would share the bed with this man.
“Yes.” The agreement slipped from her lips in a breathy whisper.
Her hands settled on his hips, pulling him even closer. Terra wasn’t a loose girl by any meaning of the word, but there was just something about this man that made her want to give in without a fight. Even if it was only for one night. She had a feeling this would be the best night of her life. Pressing into his front, she tilted her head back, clearly offering herself up for his kiss.
A shiver raced through him as he pulled her harder against him. The evidence of his arousal was pressed between them, and she could feel his desire racing through him like electricity tingling across his skin. He paused just millimeters away from her lips. His body temperature shot up as he held her, almost panting. Warm puffs of air caressed her face as he breathed.
Closing her eyes, Terra tilted her head and moved to take his mouth. She met with… nothing. Opening her eyes, she found that he was gone. She could still feel the heat from his body, but he wasn’t there anymore.
The soft click of the bathroom door drew her attention. She stood there, staring at the closed door. Had he really just escaped to the bathroom? After she had left herself so open for him? Embarrassment raced across her skin. How could she be so stupid? How could she have read the signs so wrong! Of course he’d run. He was way out of her league.
Alex leaned against the bathroom door, trying to catch his breath. Shit! He’d almost kissed her. And he wouldn’t have stopped at just a kiss. He would have had her, in every way he could. And she would have let him. Then, his goose would really have been cooked. His dragon was already on the verge of claiming her. Had he given in to both of their desires, it would have been impossible to stop a bond from forming. He could feel scales rubbing against the inside of his skin, driving him to go out and claim what was his. No! He couldn’t… wouldn’t do that to her.
Had he known who he was, his situation in life, he could have let things go on. But, as it was, he couldn’t drag her into his life not knowing what he had to offer her. They were already on the run from some strange men that had broken into her house and shot at her. And they were most definitely after him, not her.
No. The best thing for him to do at this moment was to beat down that instinct driving him to claim her. Just the fact that he had left her hanging, so obviously ready to take that next step, would drive some bit of a wedge between them. But that was okay. Tomorrow, after they had both calmed down, he would explain the situation to her. Even if that meant he had to admit that he liked her.
Drawing in a deep breath, he closed his eyes and listened to the sounds from the other room. The rustling of plastic and banging of the fridge led him to believe she was well and truly pissed at him. Even the water rushing in the sink as she brushed her teeth sounded bitter. It was her right to be angry at him. He was kind of angry at himself for leaving her like that.
Pulling off his clothes, Alex folded them neatly on the back of the toilet and twisted on the water in the shower as cold as he could stand. Right now, he just needed to get a grip on his hormones, and a cold shower would go a long way to chilling him out. He nearly squeaked when he climbed into the frigid spray.
Grabbing up the hotel soap, he lathered up a washcloth. Maybe a little pain added in would help. He scrubbed himself as hard as he could, but it didn’t really do much for his mental state. Well, at least he was clean again. Cutting off the water, he climbed out and dried himself off.
What the hell am I going to do now? The cold shower hadn’t done much to relieve his arousal. And now he was supposed to go out and face Terra. He thought about her out there in that bed—soft and warm, just waiting for him to come out. Heat raced through his body, making him need another cold shower. Yeah, there was no way he was going to make it through this night.
Alex glanced at his clothing. He could put it back on, but that wasn’t much of a barrier. And if his dragon had anything to say about it, the clothes wouldn’t stay on very long. A smile slipped across his face as an answer came to him. He would let his dragon win this one.
Hanging the towel up, Alex cracked the door open and let go of his control. Scales rushed over his skin as he shifted into his lesser form. Yes, his dragon would push him to get closer to Terra, but in this form, there was no way they would be tempted to finish what they had started.