We drive the three hours from Brooklyn to Deodate, pulling into the motel at the same time. Lewis is still smiling as he follows me inside, and I can tell it’s not going to take much for me to crack. I mean, I just spent the whole drive here picturing him naked in my bed—if he grins at me like that one more time, he’s going to end up with his T-shirt in shreds and bite marks all over his chest…
Enough, already!
I listen as he deals with the receptionist, my heart skipping a beat when he asks the guy for a shared room, like that’s normal for us. I don’t know whether my raging hormones are playing tricks on me, but it feels like Lewis is standing closer than normal—like he keeps sneaking glances at me, too.
We get led to the same room we had yesterday, which is good news for Lewis. It opens right onto the parking lot.
I drop my bag by the foot of the bed and perch on the mattress, easing off my shoes while Lewis shrugs off his coat and sneakers. He peeks out the window, and I get it—it’s going to take him a while to feel comfortable letting the Dodge out of his sight again.
“Don’t tell me you’re planning on spending all night on lookout? Because the chances of it getting stolen a second time in three days are pretty slim.”
“That would be one hell of a disgrace.” He nods. “But you never know…”
He turns back to the parking lot, and I can’t tear my eyes away. Jocks have never been my thing, but Lewis’s body is fine as hell, especially with that tee clinging to his shoulders and arms, the way his ass…Oh my God—stop.
I rub my eyes and fall back onto the bed. I should’ve gone harder on Tyler—punched my way through all this pent-up energy.
I can hear Lewis’s footsteps draw nearer as he pads over to join me.
Did he just clear his throat?
I bet he’s staring at me right now; I bet he’s checking out my bare midriff, wondering what it would be like to lick his way down my…Stop it, Amy!
I keep my eyes shut tight, and it takes him a while to break the silence.
“So… You wanna shower first?”
“Excuse me?” I scramble up onto my elbows.
“Do you want to shower first, or should I?”
Oh…
“I think I’ll grab a drink first.”
I nod at the chips and vodka we picked up today.There go my clean-eating plans.I’m glad he thought to pick up some booze, though, because that’s exactly what I need. I lean over and swipe it up, cracking open the cap and swigging straight from the bottle, coughing on the burn as it slips down my throat. Holding the chips out to Lewis, I dive in for a second gulp, watching him watch me as I swallow hard, his fingers brushing against mine when he reaches for the packet. I’m steadying myself for a third swig when he frowns at me.
“Hey, share the love, lady.”
He grabs the bottle off me and crawls onto his bed, propping himself up against the headboard, spreading his legs and settling the chips between his thighs. He takes a long, deep drink of vodka, and when he pats the space beside him, there’s no way I’m turning him down.Stay strong, Hitman!Except the old, badass Hitman seems to have left the building, and her stand-in is some lame-ass tween I’ve never met before in my life. I hop onto the bed and snuggle up next to him.
By the time he passes the bottle back to me, it’s half-empty.
I raise an eyebrow. “Feeling better?”
“My heart’s still going a hundred miles an hour, but… yeah.” He smiles down at me. “That waswaytoo much for me to handle.”
“You need to toughen up! Aren’t you used to that kind of vibe, what with basketball and stuff?”
He thinks for a moment. “It’s not the same. When you’re playing a game, you’re in control—even when you don’t exactly know what your opponents are going to pull next. Tonight, though… I had to just let go. Like free-falling, you know?”
“And you didn’t like it?”
My voice sounds thin. I sense him shift in his seat and look down at me, and he’s rattling me, but I hold his gaze.Fuck…There’s something different about the way he’s looking at me now. I guess vodka and adrenaline make for a pretty potent cocktail.
“I was definitely stressing out,” he says as he scours my face.
It feels like the mattress is sagging in the middle, pushing us closer than we should be.
