Page 6 of Koda's Love

When her head popped up and she looked at me with sad onyx black eyes, my heart stammered. She was a fucking sight for sore eyes. She had smooth mocha skin, with full lips. Her long lashes blinked when she realized I was talking to her.

“It’s good. I just have a lot on my mind.”

Her sultry ass voice was like melted chocolate—warm and captivating, and it made my dick twitch. I felt bad that my body reacted like that toward her because clearly something was bothering her. Even her tone was sad. I wanted to pry, but at the same time, I didn’t.

“I’m sorry you aren’t having a good day . . .” I trailed off because I didn’t know her name.

“Avalon.” Even the way she said her name was sultry.

“Like the car?”

“Yes, like the car.” She smiled and giggled, and I wanted to hear it again.

“There it is. I just wanted to see that beautiful smile, and now I feel accomplished.”

Her cheeks flushed despite the sadness in her eyes. I could even feel that shit radiating off her, and I wanted to find the person who made her sad and do something to them.

“Thank you. Are you going to tell me your name?”

“Koda.”

“It was nice meeting you, Koda.”

I liked that she didn’t know who I was, or it just didn’t faze her. That wasn’t to say that everyone had to know me, but I’d had plenty of women come through the hotel to try and get my attention. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t.

“Nice to meet you as well.”

She nodded and offered me a small smile. Silence fell over us. I wanted to say something else to keep her talking, but she looked like she wasn’t in the mood for company. Plus, I noticed my food at the bar, so I needed to get it before it got cold.

“Well, Ms. Avalon, I hope your day gets better and that the food is to your liking. Enjoy the rest of your night.”

“Thank you. You as well.”

We stared at each other for a few seconds, before I could tear myself away from her.

I grabbed my food, and before I left, I took one last glance at Avalon, and she had her head down again. That same sad expression covered her face. Whatever was on her mind was heavy.

When I got to the elevator, I pressed the button and rode up to my penthouse.

After I finished eating my dinner, I showered and relaxed as I read a book. Sometimes I liked listening to books while I walked, but when I was home or at my office, I liked to read a physical book. My preferred choices were mysteries and biographies. Every once in a while, I picked up a romance book. I realized those books gave the cheat code on how to treat women. I already knew how to be a gentleman and romantic, because my father never hesitated to romance my mother on a regular basis.

My current read wasAdversity for Sale by Jeezey, and it was interesting. Unfortunately, I had trouble focusing on it because visions of Avalon kept popping into my head. I had never been that concerned with a stranger’s sadness, but the look in Avalon’s eyes really bothered me. She was too damn pretty to be looking as sad as she was. I thought about finding out if she was staying at the hotel and doing something for her. I wasn’t sure what I would do, or even how she would perceive it, so I gave up on that idea.

If she was a guest at the hotel, I would surely see her again. Since I was no longer interested in reading, I closed the book and went to sleep.

Last nightafter I finished dinner in the restaurant, I went to my room and immediately pulled out my journal. The food was good, but I had a hard time eating because of the sadness that filled me. I knew I needed to finish it, so I did. Knowing that the chicken fried steak was Miles’s favorite meal, I shouldn’t have gotten it. The meal wasn’t the reason why I had to write in my journal, though. Nope. It was Koda. I knew who he was because of an article I read about him, but I’d never met him in person. The article wasn’t anything personal, either; it was just about the hotel. He had only shared that it was his family’s, but that was all. I only asked his name because I didn’t want him to think I’d been following his career, or like I was trying to be funny orsomething. I was sure women had come to the hotel in hopes of hooking up with him.

Something happened in my chest when I looked up at him. Through the sadness, I could feel my blood rush as my body heated up. Any picture I had ever seen of him did him absolutely no justice. In person, that man was fine as fuck. Multiple tattoos covered his thick ass toffee arms. He even had a tattoo on the side of his face. A diamond earring glistened from one of his ears, along with a small silver hoop in one nostril. Don’t get me started on the brown glasses he wore over his chestnut-brown eyes. His bow-shaped lips were covered by a mustache that connected to his full beard. When he opened his mouth and his throaty voice hit my ears, my nipples pressed against my shirt. I hadn’t felt that attracted to a man since the day I met Miles. Of course, I crossed paths with some nice-looking men, but Koda was in a league of his own. His presence commanded the attention of everyone in the room. The mustard-colored T-shirt he wore fit over his bulging chest perfectly. His fitted black jeans looked good as hell on him. Everything about him looked good. I might have been sad, but a bitch wasn’t blind.

I hated that I felt so sad yesterday that I couldn’t fully hold a conversation with him. Since I’d be at the hotel for a few days, I was sure I would run into him again.

The morning had gone well, so I was on the right track. I woke up in a much better mood, wrote in my journal, then got myself together for the day. I didn’t have plans, but I wasn’t trying to lie around all day in my pajamas. More than likely, I would end up relaxing on the beach with a book.

I picked up the remote to turn on the television, but it didn’t work. I waited a few minutes, then tried again. I even unplugged it and plugged it back in, and that didn’t work.

Exhausting all my efforts, I grabbed my phone and room key and headed to the lobby. Besides the TV, the room was great, sohopefully, it was a quick fix. The television was only going to be on for background noise, but I didn’t want to wait all day to have it fixed.

It only took a minute to ride the elevator to the lobby. Luckily, there was no one checking in, so I went straight to the counter.