CJ
Domik’s presence behind her on the bike was reassuring. His solid frame warm at her back as the chilly night air whipped at her clothing. They quickly crested the hills they had seen from the gas station, and she paused the bike at the top of the rise.
“There should be a town down there,” she said, twisting on the seat to look at Domik.
Oh, wow.
Her eyes widened as she took in his disheveled state. His hair, that was usually pulled back in a thick braid that fell down his back, was loose around his shoulders. The thick strands having been whipped into a halo of black, giving him a dark and dangerous appearance when added with the shaved sides of his head.
He looks like a Viking.
CJ licked her lips and swallowed, her eyes dropping to his mouth. Barely registering that he had said something, she blinked. “Sorry, I missed that.”
Domik barely raised an eyebrow. “The EMP may have been powerful enough to knock out an entire continent.”
“Oh,” CJ said. Turning back to look at the town below.
Domik reached past and flicked the headlight off. “Let’s not draw too much attention to ourselves.”
CJ nodded, letting off the brake and letting the bike roll slowly down the hill. She moved to the side of the road, seeking the shelter of the scrubby bushes to not appear so obvious against the hill.
When they were approaching the outskirts of town, Domik pointed to a dirt track that ran off to one side of the road, and CJ pulled the bike off the road and parked it under a tree, out of sight. She turned off the ignition, and they dismounted.
Grabbing a bottle of water that he had stashed in the crate on the back, CJ took a swig and capped the bottle, tucking it into a pocket on the outside of her pants.
The motel was not large, comprising one long, rectangular brick building over one level. There was a big sign that would normally have been lit up in neon lights, eerie in darkness. There were no cars parked outside the rooms, the motel appearing completely abandoned.
CJ waited near the front of the building as Domik checked through the windows of the rooms, confirming there was no one about, before opening the door to the reception area. This time she waited outside until he reappeared to tell her it was clear.
A beam of light from a torch Domik had found behind the counter lit up the room, and she blinked to clear her vision. Whoever had decorated the reception area liked purple. A lot. Everything was purple, from the counter to the threadbare carpet under her feet. CJ blinked as she stood and turned on the spot. Even the walls were purple.
“It’s very…” she trailed off, lacking the words.
“Purple,” Domik supplied, one side of his mouth lifting.
Was that an actual dimple?
CJ froze, feeling bereft as the deliciously sexy dimple disappeared.
“No,” she murmured. Months. It had taken months to just get a lift of his lips. Not even a full smile and he had a goddamned dimple hiding all this time?
“It is purple,” Domik said, gesturing at the walls.
CJ shook her head and, skirting the counter, perused the board where a series of keys were hanging. No swipe cards for this motel, old school keys.
Well, at least the locks will work. I hope.
“Which room do you want, Dom?” she asked, reading the names printed in block letters on the plastic tags on which each of the keys hung. “Oh boy. You have a choice of—I really wish I had could make a drumroll here—the Daytona room.” She grimaced, imagining just what would be in that room. More power to motor sport fans, but a racecar bed was not her idea of fun. She dropped that key tag and moving onto the next one, “the Blue Suede room, a couple that I don’t think we should go anywhere near with a barge pole, and… oh, this one seems like it could be actually OK. The room with a view.”
Grabbing the last key, she lifted it off the hook and turned to face Domik. “I don’t want to be alone, so you’re coming with me, big boy.” She winked, faking a confidence she didn’t have.
Domik just grunted and followed her from the reception room and along the walkway until they reached the room. “I don’t see what the view would be—”
As CJ opened the door and let it swing inside, they both stopped, mouths agape.
“Oh, boy. Trust us to end up in some kind of sex motel.” CJ laughed, swiping at her eyes with the back of her hand.
They stepped into the room, Domik ducking to not hit his head on the door frame. Turning around, she took in what had to be the most mirrors she had ever seen in one room. They were behind the bed, which was draped in a leopard print coverlet. Looking up, CJ snorted at the mirror on the ceiling.
