Chapter Three
The next morning, I woke up sweaty and surrounded by a naked man. My mouth was so dry that my tongue felt like jerky. Oh, and my bladder was screaming at me to get the hell up right that second before I made a mess in the bed.
It was difficult to slither from beneath Elijah’s arm with my thighs clenched together, but I managed it. He grunted and buried his face in the pillows as I scurried into the bathroom. Once I took care of my desperate need, I washed my hands. My head ached a bit, but, overall, I felt a lot better than I had any right to feel considering how much tequila I drank the night before.
I glanced at the bed as I reached out the bathroom door to grab one of the complimentary bottles of water next to the coffee maker. I couldn’t believe Elijah had stayed the night. I’d honestly expected him to sneak out as soon as I fell asleep. We hadn’t talked about it before we passed out, but the impression I got from his attitude was that it would be a one-time thing.
And I was okay with that.
He was incredibly attractive, but I knew he was at least a decade older than me. He radiated confidence and competence. I had no idea what he did for work, but the clothes he wore were obviously custom made, and his watch was an Omega. Whatever he did, he made good money. He commanded attention wherever he went.
Meanwhile, I worked in human resources at a smaller company. I’d stayed for as long as I had because all my friends worked in the same building and I got to have lunch with them several times a week. That didn’t happen much now that Lucy no longer worked there. I didn’t hate my job, but I didn’t love it either. It paid the bills and gave me some disposable income. Other than that, it wasn’t that spectacular. I had no major career goals. Most of my aspirations were centered around building the family I’d never had.
I spent several years in foster care after my grandparents died. My mother dropped me off with them one summer day when I was five and I never saw her again. I didn’t remember much from my life with her, but I did recall enough now to understand that she had mental health problems and that she’d likely been self-medicating with alcohol and drugs.
When I’d gone into foster care at twelve, I knew I was lucky because the family I lived with wasn’t much different than my grandparents. They were sweet, caring older people who’d lost their only child years ago. They were long gone now, too. Other than the family I’d created with friends I’d collected over the years, I had no one left.
Elijah and I weren’t just in different places in our lives, we came from different planets. This could never be anything more than a one-night stand. If we were in his room, I would have gathered my clothes and done the walk of shame while he slept. Unfortunately, we’d come to my room last night so I had no idea how to handle this situation.
I decided to do the basics in the bathroom before I even tried to figure out what to do the morning after. This wasn’t some guy I hooked up with in college. We had mutual friends, and we saw each other regularly. I didn’t want to make things weird so it was important to be composed rather than my usual awkward self.
Before I did anything, I needed to drink something. My mouth was gritty and dry. I cracked open the bottle of water I’d grabbed and drained half of it. After I showered, I took sips from the bottle between brushing my teeth, drying my hair, and patting on my usual tinted moisturize. I kept the rest of the make-up to my usual minimal with brow gel, blush, and mascara. I didn’t bother to cover the hickey on my neck. I wasn’t sure why, but the idea of hiding it made my stomach tight.
Since Elijah was sleeping, I hadn’t bothered to dig through my suitcase for clothes, so I settled on slipping into the robe that hung on the back of the bathroom door. I took a moment to study myself in the mirror before I cracked open the door.
I half-expected Elijah to be gone, taking advantage of my time in the bathroom to sneak out. Instead, I was greeted by the sight of a shirtless man lounging beneath the blankets on the bed with one hand behind his head and a cup of coffee in the other. My feet stopped moving as I took him in.
God, he looked the cover of a romance novel. A really steamy one. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the muscles of his arms and chest as he moved to set the cup on the nightstand.
“I ordered a pot of coffee and some breakfast,” he said as he threw the blankets back.
I blinked as he walked toward me, the thick muscles of his thighs flexing. They almost distracted me from the fact that he was still completely naked. Almost.
He stopped right in front of me, and I tipped my head back to look at his face.
“You need to quit looking at me like that because I don’t want the room service guy to hear me fucking you when he brings everything up here.”
I froze, completely unable to breathe or move as he tugged the neck of my robe aside and ran his lips down the side of my throat, stopping directly over the hickey I’d been staring at in the mirror a few moments before. I shivered when I felt the brush of his tongue against that spot. When he lifted his head, his expression said he liked seeing his mark on my skin.
“I made you a cup of coffee. It’s on the counter,” he said before he stepped around me and disappeared into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.
I turned to watch him, blinking rapidly as I tried to handle the sensations careening through me.
I fought to ignore the tendril of hope that curled through my belly. Hope that I was wrong about last night and that rather than a one-time hook-up, it was the start of something special.
Something that would give me the family I’d so desperately wanted since I lost my grandparents and then my foster parents—a chance to feel something other than incredibly alone.
I heard the shower turn on in the bathroom and knew I’d have a few moments to gather myself. I needed them.
I’d just picked up my cup of coffee when there was a knock on the door. I wandered over and put my eye to the peephole, hoping it was room service and not one of my friends. I released a quiet breath when I saw a man holding a tray of covered dishes and an insulated pot with two cups.
I opened the door and stepped back, smiling at him. “Good morning.”
“Good morning. Where would you like this, ma’am?” he asked as he came through the door.
“The coffee table in front of the sofa is fine.” I grabbed my wallet out of my purse and pulled out some cash to tip him. “Thank you.”
He took the money with a smile and left the room. I decided to put the “do not disturb” sign on the doorknob before I went to see what Elijah had ordered.
