Panic crawled up Lily’s throat. She backed away from the glass doors, nearly pulling the curtains off the wall. The balcony thumped as whatever—or whoever—scrambled over the railing and dropped from sight.
Released from some invisible hold, she turned and rushed for the exit. But it would take her straight outside. Who knew what was waiting for her out there? Dashing across the carpet, she unlocked the door to Ethan’s room. She wrenched it open and stumbled inside.
“Ethan?”
She scanned the tiny room: the bed, the sofa, the TV stand. Did he take Molly for a walk?
“Ethan? Where are you?!” Her voice grew squeaky, throat tight with panic.
Near the edge of her vision, something dark moved in the shadowy corner. She slowly backed away, but her feet grew heavy, as though she wore concrete shoes—or maybe that was all the crime boss talk. When it rounded the bed, sliding over the carpet, a scream built inside of her.
The dark shape leaped to attack, to bite off her kneecaps or snack on her toes. However, the soft kisses and pawing on her shin made her groan with relief. She’d figured the dog would be with Ethan, wherever he was.
“Molly.” She picked up the puppy and hugged her. “At least I have you. Shall we start the guard dog training?”
The pup snuggled tightly against her chest as if to say Yes, please. Lesson one: protect me.
Feeling braver with company, Lily turned for her room to investigate. She’d barely taken two steps before a door beside her opened, and light blinded her.
She tried to leap out of the way, but fear tripped her up. Or else it was those concrete shoes.
The door whacked her. She yelped and fell backward. A figure silhouetted by the light darted forward.
Arms wrapped around her, and she automatically clung back. Her skin slipped over wetness. Then gravity, concrete shoes, and her own clumsiness took over. They both went down.
She landed on top. They struggled for a moment, all tangled limbs, wiggly pup, and her cheek squished against something … wet.
Lily blinked. She was staring at a man’s nipple. Raising her head, she took in the view of a nice, firm pair of pecs.
When she met Ethan’s gaze, she gasped and tried to push herself up. But her hand accidentally landed on more of him. Much, much more.
She snatched her hand back. “You’re wet and … naked.” Oh, so wonderfully naked.
With a scowl, he yanked out his earbuds that were still playing music. “Yes. That sometimes happens in the shower.”
She clamped her eyes shut and carefully inched her way off his body, trying to minimize contact. “I’m sorry. I–I came in here to find you, and I … Sorry.” Well, sorry-not-sorry.
Setting Molly onto the floor, she faced the wall as he stood up. The swishing of fabric told her he was slipping into a pair of trousers.
“Can I help you with something?” he asked.
Of course, when the man could make hiking sound like a sexual innuendo, his words now sounded like the opening scene to a freaking porno. Her imagination took off like a rocket. She straightened, suddenly remembering why she’d come in there.
She spun to face him, just in time to see him pull his jeans up. They hung low on his hips, giving a hint of those little dips on either side. And here she’d thought those were only a thing photoshopped onto models in men’s health magazines.
She shook her head to clear the lingering sexual thoughts. “Right. Yes, of course. There was somebody on my balcony, peeking into my room.”
“What? Are you sure?” He brushed past her and slipped into her room.
Without hesitation, he unlocked the sliding door and shoved it aside. Lily grabbed her phone and stepped out after him, Molly at her heel.
Turning on the flashlight function, she shone it over the railing, running its beam over the shrubs that hugged the building. Seeing nothing, she flashed it out across the parking lot. But if there was anyone out there, there were too many cars to hide behind.
Something rustled in the bushes to their left. Twigs snapped, leaves trembled. Molly skidded over to it and jammed her head through the bars. She erupted with a burst of angry barks.
The bush shook violently for a second before something flew out of it. It skittered across the pavement and scrambled on top of a car hood.
Lily followed its progress with the light. Two eyes flashed bright yellow, peering back at them with as much surprise as she felt.
Ethan’s tense body sagged. “A raccoon.”
“No. It can’t be.” She shone the light around. “I know it wasn’t an animal. At least, I don’t think …”
“Well, whatever it was, or whoever,” he added, “is probably long gone by now.”
She frowned at the animal again. “I swear …”
“What happened today has me on edge too.”
With one last scan of the parking lot, she turned off her phone and went inside. “After we saw the poachers at that petrol station, I guess I got a little freaked out. What if they’ve followed us here?”
He closed the curtains, rearranging them so there wasn’t a gap. “We’re a couple hours away in a different state. Plus, we passed a major fork in the highway. Even if they drove all night and checked every hotel along the road, they’d never find us. And there’s no way they would have followed us all the way here without us noticing.”
She hugged herself. “You’re right.”
But the memory of the silhouette hunkered outside whirled through her mind as her imagination added more details, like a red hat and a goatee. The image wouldn’t leave her, and she was afraid nothing would make her feel safe enough to sleep that night.
Distantly, she was aware of Ethan approaching her, but she jumped when his arms suddenly wrapped around her. She stiffened before she relaxed against him, laying her cheek on his chest. Okay, so that might make her feel safer.
After a moment, he said, “You know what? I’ll have a peek around outside. If nothing else, it will help us sleep better.”
After watching how he’d leaped into action earlier, she knew he was capable of handling his own. She suspected he was doing it to help her sleep better.
“Are you sure? You don’t have to do that. I’m just being silly. It must have been the raccoon balancing on the railing. That would explain why it looked so tall. He was probably scavenging our crumbs from dinner.”
“It’s not silly.”
Wasn’t it, though? She’d hoped to prove herself capable and independent by flying across the world and breaking out on her own. And here she was clinging to someone who was offering to take care of her. However, she couldn’t pull herself away. And as his hands began to run over her back, she knew it wasn’t only because he made her feel safe.
She grew overly aware that he was still half-naked, and she wasn’t wearing much more. Self-consciousness gripped her, and her mind raced. They were alone in a motel room together, far away from everyone she knew, from all the demands and the expectations of who and what she was supposed to be. She recalled Chloe’s advice to her when she gave her the Live Boldly book.
You can leave Old Lily behind.
She wanted to be the kind of girl who would grab Ethan and drag him into bed to have wild holiday sex. As she stood there, enveloped in his arms, the memory of his naked body still fresh in her mind, she couldn’t deny she was tempted to throw the old her out the sliding glass door and obey Step Fourteen: Make the First Move. But how far could she really follow the book? Could she really do that?
All too soon, he pulled away. “Why don’t you stay here with Molly? I’ll go look around the parking lot.” He hesitated in the doorway between their suites. “Lock this door. I’ll be back soon.”
Lily picked Molly up off the floor again, mostly for her own comfort, and went to lock it behind him. While she paced the room, she peeked through the curtains now and then, straining to catch glimpses of Ethan moving between cars.
Her first assumption of him had been wrong. He was caring and thoughtful. He’d gone out of his way to show her a good time that day. Sure, he might not have been there for his family in the past, but he could have changed. He’d certainly been there for her that day.
There was a knock. She jumped before she realized it was the door between her and Ethan’s room.
She gripped the lock. “Ethan? Is that you?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
She unlocked the door and whipped it open. “Did you see anyone out there?”
“No. I didn’t see a green truck, either.”
She blew out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding and carefully handed Molly to him. The little furball had fallen asleep in her arms. Clearly, she wasn’t the least bit worried.
“Thanks for looking,” she said.
“Sure thing. Good night.” He smiled and turned for his room, but then he paused with his hand on the knob. “Just in case, we should leave this door open for tonight. It would make me feel better.”
And by that, she knew he meant it would make her feel better, but he was too much of a gentleman to say so.
She smiled. “Well, I wouldn’t want you to lose any beauty sleep.”
“Not with the day I have planned for you when we get to Shady Cove.” He smiled. “Good night.”
A few moments later, she could hear the rustle of sheets as he slipped into bed, and she did the same. She relaxed, knowing he was barely a whisper away.
He’d given her exactly what she needed without making her feel like a child about it. If it had been her mother, she would have patted Lily’s head and reminded her that she needed her, as though Lily wasn’t enough on her own.
Ethan treated her like an adult, like a woman. She recalled step eight in her book that told her to surround herself with people who lifted her up instead of put her down, like her own personal fan club of sorts. And Ethan raised her to new heights. If she wanted to discover herself before she returned to England, her best chance was with him.
As she laid there, her brain brought forth the memory of his naked body. Like they had a mind of their own, her fingers crept over her silky PJs and beneath the waistband of her shorts. She could still feel the way his bare chest warmed her cheek and how firmly his hands ran over her back …
“Lily?” His voice drifted from the other room.
Her breath hitched, and her fingers froze. “Yes?”
Was he thinking about the same thing? The air hummed with potential. If another chance arose between them, she wasn’t sure she could hold back again. It would only take a little nudge, and she’d fall right into his arms. Her hands drifted even lower.
“Were those gorillas on your pajamas?” His voice held a tinge of amusement.
A disappointed sigh escaped her. “Orangutans. They’re completely different.” Okay, so that was a nudge in the wrong direction. “Thanks for noticing.”
He chuckled. “It was hard not to.”
Again with the vague flirting. “Because they were so sexy?”
“Sure,” he said, “let’s go with that.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. It wasn’t how she’d fantasized about going to bed with a smile, but it was better than nothing. Rolling over, she tried to imagine what he had planned for her the next day.