Chapter Twenty-Five
––––––––
OAKLIE WAS STILL SHAKINGon the inside after almost being captured by the men who’d ambushed them.While she was stronger and faster than normal, she didn’t have any combat training.Taking on two foes at once had been challenging, especially after she’d been knifed in the arm.
“Can you fortify the doors?”Arkas asked when they darted into the motel.
“Sure,” she replied, determined not to fall to pieces.Placing her hand on the doorframe, she sent her magic into the structure.All of the windows and exits became fused and impossible to open.“We’ll be safe here now,” she said.“Someone can smash a window and climb inside while we’re sleeping, but the noise will give us plenty of warning.”
“We’ll need a room with two beds, so I can keep you close,” the knight said.She wasn’t about to argue with him.No longer in her home, Oaklie felt vulnerable and frightened.They’d already run into one disaster and they still had a long way to go.
Arkas forced open the closest door and glanced inside.It only had a queen-sized bed.So did the second room.The third room had two singles.“I’m too tall for a bed that small,” he said with a grimace.
“We can use a room with a queen bed,” Oaklie said.“I’m too tired to jump your bones tonight,” she joked.
His pale blue eyes flared with instant desire and he quickly turned away.“This room will do,” he said huskily, backtracking to the room next door.
Snickering beneath her breath, Oaklie followed him inside.He’d taken a seat on a chair in the corner of the room.A lamp stood beside it.It was so dark she was having trouble making anything out.She dropped her bags next to his, then shut the door.Once again, she fused the wood together.“Let me know if you need to leave the room,” she said, then covered a yawn with her hand.“I’m going to eat some food, then go to bed early.”
“Do you need some light?”Arkas asked, taking his flashlight out of his pocket.
“Thanks,” she said and crossed to take it from him.She rummaged in one of her duffle bags and pulled out snacks and a bottle of water she’d stashed inside.Arkas moved the chair closer to the window.He shifted the curtain aside so he could watch the storm raging.Oaklie sat on the bed and switched the light off so no one could spot it from outside.
“We should only travel during the day,” Arkas suggested.“It would be too easy to drive straight into an ambush at night.”
“Good idea,” she agreed.“I don’t want a repeat of what happened today.”Her wrist had healed, but the memory of her agony remained.
She ate her makeshift meal and washed it down with water, then took her brush out of a duffle bag.Arkas switched his attention to her when she took her hair out of the bun.
“I’ve never seen hair as beautiful as yours before,” he murmured, pulling the curtain shut so no one could see in.
“It can be a pain to look after, but I’ve always had long hair,” Oaklie said.Her hair was tangled, so she wrapped it around her hand to tug the bristles through it.
Arkas crossed to the bed and sat next to her.“May I?”he asked.
Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness.She saw his expression was vulnerable rather than demanding.“Okay,” she said with a flutter in her belly.“Don’t pull too hard while you’re brushing it,” she requested.
“I’ll be gentle, female,” he replied, taking the brush from her.
Oaklie turned her back to him.Her body tingled when he ran the brush from her scalp down to her waist.“Ouch,” she said with a wince when it got caught in a tangle.
“Lean forward so I can unknot your hair,” he requested, placing his large hand on her back and pushing her forward lightly.
Obliging him, she tensed when he wrapped the tangled hair around his hand.This time, he freed the knot without tugging on her roots.He was sitting so close that she could feel the heat of his body.Desire rose as he systematically untangled her hair, brushing it with long, slow strokes.Occasionally, he ran his hand down her hair all the way to her butt, stroking her like she was a cat.
