Page 8 of Protecting Her

Kevin had kept me up until dawn, and I sang along as I soaped up my hair. I could have cried I was so happy. I didn’t know if I’d see Mr. Kevin Thompson ever again, but I knew one thing. I’d never been loved quite like that before, and yeah, I wanted a repeat. Whether I’d get it was another matter altogether. I wrapped myself in a towel and sang as I exited the bathroom.

I’d developed a taste for odd songs that the pubs would play, usually really old rock songs that hadn’t quite made it to America but should have. I was a singer, I loved songs of all genres really, but this stuff from the 60s and 70s was sexy and also made me giggle a lot. A new song came on, and I smiled. This one had made it across the pond. Exile, Kiss You All Over. I sank down onto the bed and sang along as I replayed the night before in my mind.

Yeah, the song was accurate. I wanted to do all of those things we’d done, all over again, only I didn’t care if it was night or day. I just wanted to feel those things he’d made me feel, to explore him a lot more than I had the night before. Although, that second time, I’d done a little more. I’d actually managed to get my hand down between us, to wrap my fingers around him until he’d distracted me with kisses along my neck as he thrust himself into me.

It had been incredible. Every single moment from when I looked up to see he watched me as I sang, until I’d woke up this morning had been incredible. My future was still uncertain, but with some sleep, food, a hot shower, and some fantastic sex, I didn’t feel so lost. Yet.

I bit the inside of my lip as I thought about what the future might hold. I didn’t have many options, not many at all, and this wasn’t going to be easy. I glanced over at the things room service had brought in the night before and saw a note there.

“I had to leave early, my father is ill,” Kevin had written. I liked his handwriting; it was rather English from what I’d seen so far. “Call my brother, Mason. He’ll be able to help you. I’ve already called to tell him he’s to give you whatever you need. Thanks for last night, I hope to see you again.”

He hoped to see me again. Maybe not a one-night stand then? A knock at the door drew my attention away from the note. I went to the door and a staff member from the hotel was there. “These are for you.”

I took the bags from the young man, and he promptly left. I looked in the bags and found some clothes and a brand new phone. I smiled at the phone; it was the latest version of a phone I’d never been able to afford before. It would work outside of Britain and was unlocked so I could put a US SIM card in it when I got back there. I danced in place with glee. The man was so sweet!

I threw the clothes on the bed and started the process of getting the phone set up. Another knock at the door and a plane ticket was brought to me. For a minute, I wondered if last night had been that good. But then, I remembered Kevin had said he’d take care of getting me back home before we’d done the deed. This was just kindness, pure and simple. I looked at the date on the ticket. Tomorrow. I’d be going home tomorrow! Thank goodness, that was before my time was up!

I got the phone on finally and within seconds it vibrated. I had a call, but who would be calling me? “Hello?”

“Miss Jones, I presume?” a rather stiff, but almost familiar voice came over the line.

“Yes, who is this?” Always blunt, that was me. I pushed my hair out of my face and stared at the walls as I waited.

“I am Mason Thompson. My brother asked me to contact you. I’ve bought you a ticket for a flight that will bring you to our hotel in Charlotte, and have ordered the phone and clothes he asked for.” The voice on the other end was cold, uncaring, and I wondered how the two men could sound so different? “Is there anything else you require?”

“I… not that I know of.” I gulped and wondered if this had gone too far now. He’d arranged for me to have a room at the hotel in Charlotte too? He’d thought of everything then. Everything except a job.

“Good, then I wish you a good day, miss.” The line went dead, and I stared at the phone. My heart had raced the entire time I was on the phone, but I took a deep breath to calm it down.

Then I remembered Graham. Would he make it back to America? Would he hunt me down, even there? My heart raced at the thought. The man was such a bastard! He’d dragged me to a new country, tried to make me sell drugs, and I knew if he found me that would be the end for me. I bit the inside of my lip and stared at the door. He couldn’t find me here, never in a million years would he find me here.

I doubt he’d find me in Charlotte either. He’d expect me to go back to Alabama or to Kentucky, maybe, but not to North Carolina. I’d be safe, as long as he didn’t read my social media. Graham didn’t trust things like Facebook or Twitter though. It was just the man trying to keep tabs on us, he’d always said in a voice that made him sound incredibly stupid. I’d tried to ignore his obsession with conspiracy theories, but when he outright dropped the words from his mouth it was hard to ignore.

That was all done now, I counted my blessings. At least the way he’d dropped me had ensured I’d never go back to him. I wasn’t even that heartbroken over the end of it all, though I should have been. He’d been my first everything. I was sad, certainly, hurt that he’d treated me so badly, but he’d always been a jerk. I’d just overlooked it because at least someone had said they loved me. I didn’t have time for that now. I had to plan a new life, in a new city, with no car, no formal address, and no way of making money.

I decided to stay in the room, just in case, until it was time for me to go. I went through the bags again and found a backpack that would hold my meager possessions and a few other things I might need. Somebody had thought of everything I might need then. I still had the money that had been thrown into my guitar case before Kevin came along. That would cover bus fare to the airport. I could take lunch and a couple bottles of water from here for the wait at the airport.

That meant I had an entire day with nothing to do then. I looked around and couldn’t find much to do. My thoughts returned to Kevin, and I glanced at the phone. I could look him up. I picked it up, scrolled around, and typed Kevin’s name into the search engine. I found a few other Kevin Thompsons, but found him without any problems.

His smile separated him from all the rest. He actually had a Wiki page too! I scrolled through and saw his family was beyond my wildest dreams wealthy, and the endearing young man I’d met had quite the education. He’d been to the most prestigious boarding school in Britain, a place called Charterhouse, and had gone to university at Cambridge.

Holy shit! The man wasn't just kind and sexy, but he was also intelligent. Very, to have attended Cambridge! That intimidated me a little. I wasn’t stupid, but I’d barely managed to graduate high school. I’d had no illusions about college or a future when I was a teenager, and my grades had reflected that. Kevin had attended Cambridge though. A university in Britain that even I’d heard of!

Sheesh! Who was this guy?

I felt a smile tug at my lips when I saw he’d been in a band during his college years. He’d played guitar and the drums. I wondered what kind of music it was they played and went back to reading. Ah, they’d played music similar to that of the Lumineers. An odd choice for a band based in Britain, but then again, perhaps not. It was the new alternative music, wasn’t it? A mix of country and rock.

I wondered if he’d sung too. I could just picture a younger Kevin, his eyes closed as he sang along to a song. My heart gushed, and I fell back into the bed. I didn’t think I’d ever felt that emotion before, that sort of school-girl-crush that put me in mind of a word I’d never quite understood before. Squee! A made-up word, one that expressed something I’d only just been able to get.

Squee was the perfect word for it.

Damn, maybe I was taking this too far. It wasn’t like I’d ever see him again, not once I got back to America. I bet he dated models usually; I’d been nothing more than a moment of weakness. A walk on the wild side. I went through more web pages and found that Kevin had dated, and plenty, but not all of the women were models, or thin and blonde. Some were normal women with normal jobs.

He was a bit of a sportsman, which explained his well-sculpted body, and he spent a lot of time working with charities. So what he’d done for me wasn’t so out of character then.

I learned a little bit about his brothers too. Trent the eldest and a bit of a dick from what I’d read. Unapproachable and always in control, he took self-possessed to a new height. Then there was Mason, the one I’d talked to. He was, from all reports, a man who never turned down a chance to party. I couldn’t really find out how he fit into the hotel’s staff, but did he have to with that kind of family wealth?

Mason had sounded as cold as Trent was supposed to be on the phone, but I saw he was more like Kevin than Trent. He played sports too, rugby at one point, where Kevin played polo, but he hadn’t followed that career for some reason. Oh well, it wasn’t important. I flicked off the tabloid website and looked for a movie to watch. I didn’t need to know everything about these people, but I knew something about them now.