Page 57

“A dead man.”

“Someone you killed?” she whisper-hisses.

“No. It’s just a name I found in the obituaries.”

“Oh.”

We grab the bags from the back seat, and when we enter the room, Annie sets hers down on the desk before digging through it. “Where are the clothes?”

“Here.” I place the three bags down and move the one with the sweatpants and shirts closer. “You can shower first.”

Her face falls, and it has me asking, “What’s wrong?”

“Well, besides the fact that you killed four men and kidnapped me, there’s no underwear.”

“Go without.” As I say the words, the thought of Annie not wearing a bra and panties makes heat spread through my body.

She lets out an indignant sound through her nose and goes to the bathroom, making a point of slamming the door shut behind her.

My mouth curves up into a smile for a couple of seconds before I walk to the window to pull the curtains shut.

“There’s no toothpaste!”

I listen as she grumbles something else, and once I’m sure she’s showering, I quickly step out of the motel room and jog to the front desk.

The woman who helped us peeks at me over her glasses. “What can I do for you, Mr. Korbell?”

“Do you by any chance have an amenities kit? We forgot to pack toothpaste and a brush.”

“Sure thing.” She pulls one out from behind the counter and hands it to me before looking at the computer screen again.

“Thanks.” I jog back to the room while checking the parking area and street. Not seeing anything out of place, I head into the room and lock the door behind me.

I walk to the bathroom and call out, “I got you toothpaste.”

“Really? Just give me a couple of minutes.”

“Okay.”

I stare at the door, aware Annie is naked and wet on the other side of it, and it has my cock hardening at the speed of light.

Something territorial in me rises fast, and it has my control slipping. Everything in me wants to go in there and claim Annie, to make her mine.

Luckily, my rational side wins, and I quickly turn away from the door before I traumatize Annie even more than I already have.

While I wait for her, I sort through the shopping bags, leaving one empty so we can put our dirty clothes in it.

My thoughts instantly go back to when I had Annie on the table in the laundry room. I think about every time we’ve kissed, and the way she looked at me the past two days.

She wanted a relationship with me. Past tense.

Once Annie gets used to everything, she’ll want it again.

I hear the water turn off, and after a minute or so, the door opens. I move closer, and when she takes the bag from me, my eyes flick down to the towel she’s gripping for dear life. Drops of water sit on her bare shoulders.

Christ, that’s not helping my self-restraint at all.

That’s all I get to take in before the door slams shut between us again.