Given that they’d paid for those fries through pickpocketing, Kilian would rather have dealt with hunger pains, but he couldn’t compromise the mission. When Stephen did magic, he ate like a professional football player, which explained his emaciated form.
“Do you want me to glamour us so that the motel clerk doesn't recognize us if the Army has a description out?” Stephen asked.
“We’re not checking in. Motels, even ones as scuzzy as this one, always ask for credit cards, and I don't want to leave that trail.”
“I thought you said we were going to sleep here.”
“We are.” Kilian grinned at him. “I am going to use my superior sense of smell to decide which rooms don't get used, and then we're going to squat for the night.”
“And you think no one is going to notice?” Stephen sounded incredulous. Given the weeds sprouting up in the motel parking lot, the peeling paint, and the broken light bulbs on the sign, Kilian didn’t figure they paid for top-quality employees.
“Does this look like the kind of place where the night manager keeps close tabs on the rooms at the far end of the motel?”
Stephen scratched the side of his neck. “Probably not. But if someone does notice us squatting, this does look like the kind of place that would call the cops first and politely warn us never.”
Fear curled around Kilian’s spine and settled in like an old cat. However, it was a risk they had to take because they both needed rest, and neither of them could rest locked in a small space with each other. “It’s worth the risk to get some actual sleep. You’re using a lot of magic, and that requires more than fries. If you’re tired, you’re going to make mistakes, and I can’t walk into a cathedral when I’m running on fumes. It’s going to be rough to get Silas’s crypt open, even with your help.”
Stephen gave him a dubious look, but he didn’t argue when Kilian gathered his stuff together. “Let me do a quick glamour.” Stephen exited the van, muttering under his breath. Tendrils of magic danced over Kilian’s skin, sending cold shivers down his spine. Kilian couldn't see any change, but lots of magic was like that. Illusions didn’t work if a person knew the truth.
“I could sleep for a month,” Stephen said.
“You're probably not going to have that opportunity,” Kilian warned. He hoped they wouldn’t choke on the dust in the room, but given the outside, they didn’t have good odds. He would still take roadside motel filth over a hyperactive demon in a van.
“Not tonight, but hopefully we can figure this shit out soon and then head back to the base.” Stephen leaned against the van and looked across the front seats at Kilian. “Most of the time, I am supremely annoyed at the lack of things to do in my little apartment, but being bored in a small apartment is way better than being bored, terrified, and confused in a car.”
Kilian frowned.
“Oh, for the love of... turn the guilt down. You have your Judas vamp turned up too high.” Stephen slung a stolen backpack over his shoulder. “Come on, Mr. Super Sniffer Vamp. Come sniff an unused room.” He slammed the van door and headed through the trees, their bare branch fingers reaching up into the dark.
Kilian followed, stepping over the curb and wincing when his shoe sunk into something soft. The overly sweet and fetid scent of rotting apple bloomed. He hated the countryside. Stephen waited at the corner of the hotel, and Kilian moved forward, smelling cigarettes and an unwashed body near the corner room. The employees might be using it as a break room. Kilian skipped the next room and sniffed outside the third. A broken ice machine gave this door good cover, and Kilian couldn’t smell anyone. He was sure no one had touched the door in at least a week.
He reached for the knob, but Stephen slipped in front of him. “Let me.” Magic whispered over Kilian’s skin, and then Stephen was opening the door. Kilian slid in after him. “Leave the lights off. I think employees are using that last room, so they’ll see any light.”
“Well this is going to be fun,” Stephen said sarcastically. “It’s been a long time since I played pin the tail on the donkey, or in this case, hit the toilet with the pee stream without looking.”
Kilian’s sight required almost no light, but even he could see only vague shapes. There was one bed, and Kilian sat. Dust exploded into the air, sending Kilian into a sneezing fit. In the bathroom, it sounded as if Stephen had managed to find the toilet. He kept the faucet on the sink on low and kept quiet.
“Well, I guess we’re sharing a bed,” Stephen said from the bathroom door.
Kilian patted the bed next to him, and immediately regretted it. “Help me slide the bedspread off. Maybe that will minimize the dust.” Kilian folded it down so he could ease it to the floor without sending all the dust airborne. Stephen had to feel his way around a bedside table, and Kilian was almost finished before he groped his side of the bed.
“You know, when I had fantasies about sharing a motel room with you, this was not how I imagined it.”
“No? Are you not a fan of the horror-esque ambiance or the lack of cleanliness?”
“Both. Either.” Stephen stood beside the bed. “I fantasized about exploring your body, finding every ticklish spot, every secret joy. I wanted to press my lips to your throat, the small of your back, your lips. I wanted to know what your skin would taste like on the inside of your wrist and whether you would laugh or writhe in pleasure if I trailed my fingers over the inside of your thigh before peppering the skin with soft kisses.”
Kilian sucked in a quick breath. Stephen followed the bed around to Kilian’s side, stopping when his knee touched Kilian’s. “This is a bad idea,” Kilian said, his throat so dry that he sounded hoarse.
“Terrible,” Stephen agreed. “The only worse idea would be letting this moment slip away. I know Mia’s temper. We’re not going to have many chances for privacy in the future, and I am remarkably horrible at denying myself what I want.” Stephen ran his fingers down the curve of Kilian’s neck.
Kilian caught both Stephen’s hands. “We’re on a mission here.”
“Yep,” Stephen agreed, but even the obnoxious popping of the p at the end couldn’t slow Kilian’s growing lust. He did want Stephen. He wanted to soothe his pains and fears and hold him close. He wanted to show Stephen he was desired, and wallow in the pleasure of a lover who had such an endless wealth of lust for him. He wanted more than he should, but the demon was between them. Always between them.
“We need sleep.” Kilian struggled to keep his voice even.
“What do you sound like when you let go?” Stephen asked. “If no one is listening, if you’re not in the middle of a fucking military base, do you moan or scream or are you always so politely quiet during sex?”
