| |
Alessandra’s eyelids drooped, and her right leg ached. She had been driving a little over twelve hours, and the Washington, DC traffic had nearly done her in. Hunter slumped in the passenger seat. He had slept most of the drive. The lack of conversation between them wasn’t exactly ideal, but at least he hadn’t brought up the argument from this morning.
She had only stopped for gas, paying cash from Hunter’s stash. And at each stop, he woke and asked if she’d like him to drive. She had needed to concentrate on the road, otherwise all the thoughts and feelings bottled inside her would overflow, and she had no idea what that would bring.
“You need to let me drive.”
She jumped at the sound of his voice and the car swerved, narrowly missing the truck in the next lane.
“Jesus!” she snapped, as her heart pounded in her throat. That pleasant lull of hypnotic driving had disappeared at the sound of his voice.
“Why don’t we get off at the next exit, grab some food, and then I can drive for the next stretch,” he said, in that perfectly reasonable tone that made her want to growl at him, despite her stomach being in full agreement.
“Fine,” she said.
He raised his eyebrow at her. “You’re the one who insisted on driving,” he said, picking up on her irritation.
Alessandra took a deep breath. He was right. Her foul mood really had more to do with her internal reflection over the last twelve hours.
“Maybe we should find a place to sleep for the night.” She didn’t want to try to sleep in the passenger seat. While Hunter could drop to sleep almost anywhere, she could never sleep soundly in a car.
“I’ll be good to drive for a while.”
“I need a bed, not an uncomfortable bucket seat.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I slept just fine.”
“You could sleep anywhere. I can’t.”
“Fine,” he said, and shifted in the seat. “We can find somewhere off the next exit. If we’re going to just hang out for the night, I may go out for a bit.”
“Why?” she asked, giving him a sideways glance.
“Once I fully wake up and eat, I’m not going to be able to fall asleep right away. Not after sleeping for this long. I’ll have too much energy and I’ll need to burn some of it off.”
“How?” she asked, keeping her eyes peeled for an exit sign.
“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll go for a run. Or maybe I’ll find a bar and get drunk.”
She snapped her head in his direction and the grin that he tried to hide surfaced. He was needling her on purpose.
“Fuck you,” she muttered.
“That’s another way I can release some energy,” he said.
“Stop it.” This obviously was the end of her peaceful drive.
“We need to finish our conversation from this morning,” he said, and stretched in the passenger seat.
Alessandra glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. All things considered, she’d ended up with a protector who was very easy on the eyes. She shook her head, trying to clear that thought from her mind.
“Was that a no?”
His voice carried a challenge she wasn’t ready to deal with. She also wasn’t ready to deal with the truth of his words this morning. She’d had a long drive with him sleeping. A long time to think about the chemistry that had always seemed to exist. She just mistook it as some strange brotherly-type over-protectiveness.
Hell, he had dated, even flaunted his girls to the pack. She had always been highly skeptical of the women he brought to meet them. None of them were ever good enough for him. Not in her mind, and now that she looked back, it seemed to stem more from jealousy than her alpha scrutiny.
She had dated as well, and he had been just as critical of the guys she’d introduced to the pack. Jeremy was a gross misjudgment, and Alessandra was sure if she had introduced him to the pack, they would have picked up on his dark intentions. Jeremy had stripped her of any trust of the male population, including Hunter.
She wasn’t sure she’d ever find that trust again, despite any attraction that might be there under the surface.
Instead of answering his question, she took the next exit and followed the lodging signs. She pulled into a seedy looking motel on the main strip, and grinned at the sign, trading a glance with Hunter.
The Hunter Motel in Newington, Virginia certainly wasn’t the type hotel she would normally stay at, but it had a little restaurant attached, and it was the only place visible on the strip.
Hunter’s dimples appeared when she pulled up next to the office. He went to step out of the jeep.
“Maybe I should go in,” she said. “You look the same as your wanted poster.”
“And you don’t?”
“No. Not like you do.” Alessandra took her long hair and rolled it into a bun. Hunter raised an eyebrow at her when she sent him a smile. She glanced in the mirror and secured the tight bun. With her hair pulled back, she looked less like the girl in the poster. “I’ll be right back,” she said and grabbed a handful of bills from the box hidden in the console.
She strode into the office and stifled a yawn with her hand. A pimply guy sat at the desk, intently looking at something she couldn’t see. She cleared her throat and he jumped.
“I need a room for the night. Preferably ground floor near the restaurant, if possible,” she asked.
“The only one I have on the first floor near the restaurant has a single king. Is that okay?” he asked, as he pushed aside whatever had captivated him.
Alessandra glanced out at the car before she gave a nod. As much as she would prefer separate beds, the location of the room was more important. “That’s fine.”
With the key in hand, she slid back into the jeep. Hunter glanced at her and she studied his beard and shoulder-length hair. He looked exactly like the wanted poster and she had never seen him without scuff on his face or a short haircut.
“You need to change your look,” she nodded at him as she pulled into the parking space in front of their room.
“What’s wrong with my look?” He sent her a sideways glance before he slipped out and opened the back.
She waited at the door while Hunter grabbed the oversized suitcase. He followed her inside and she closed the door before he could comment on the accommodations.
He set the suitcase down on the dresser and flipped it open. “I need a shower before we eat.” He didn’t even glance in her direction; instead, he grabbed clothes out of the suitcase and disappeared into the bathroom.
She needed to clean up as well, and stepped to the bag to see what he’d packed in their emergency exit kit. She pulled out a sundress and spaghetti strap sandals, smiling. It wasn’t quite warm enough in Virginia, but Florida would be perfect for this. Jeans, shorts and t-shirts were the only other things left in the suitcase, along with night clothes. She pulled out a second pair of jeans and a plain blue t-shirt that matched Hunter’s eyes. He had packed underwear and a couple of bras for her as well. His stash was mostly the same. Jeans and t-shirts, but under it all, he’d also packed a suit and dress shoes. The dichotomy of the different clothing tickled her.
She climbed on the bed and switched the television on while she waited. Another yawn caught her off guard, especially with the accompanying stomach rumble. The shower had gone off a while ago and Alessandra wondered what the hell he was doing in there. She needed food and sleep, and if he didn’t come out soon, she was going to march in there and take over the bathroom.
She stood up to do just that and the door opened. The man standing there didn’t look at all familiar. His short dark locks were slicked back and his clean-shaven cheeks glowed in the dim light. His bright blue eyes sparkled under the frame of deep black lashes. He was stunningly handsome.
“Hunter?” she couldn’t help but ask.
He smiled. “Better?” He waved at his face.
“Holy shit,” she said, and before she could stop herself, she crossed and ran her hand down his cheek. It was as smooth as she imagined it would be.
He captured her hand, holding it in place as he stared down at her. “I gather you like the new look?”
The heat from his breath tickled her wrist and she pulled it from his grip.
“I may have ruined your razor, though,” he said as she slipped past him.
She closed the bathroom door and leaned on it, trying to catch her breath. She had never seen him clean shaven. Nor had she ever seen him with short hair. With long hair and a beard, he looked more like a free-spirited hippie, but with what he looked like now, he could easily walk into a modeling agency in New York and be given a contract on the spot.
Her gaze landed on the sink and the stray hairs he had missed in his attempt to clean up. The scissors from the first aid kit sat on the edge of the sink, along with her razor. She huffed a laugh, hoping the razor had a little sharpness left, but she doubted it.
She undressed and peeled off the bandages on her shoulder. The bullet hole was gone, but the stitches were still there. Alessandra wrapped a towel around herself and opened the door.
“Did you want to take these out before I jump in the shower?”
Hunter’s gaze jumped from the stitches to the towel wrapped around her before he gave a nod and climbed off the bed. He took a seat on the closed toilet and grabbed the scissors from the sink before pulling her close.
“And you couldn’t do this because?” he asked as he snipped each stitch.
“Because, it freaks me out a little.” She met his gaze and then looked at the ceiling. The pull on her skin sent a chill through her and she shivered.
He shifted her closer and continued to remove each thread. When he finished, his hands landed on her waist, pulling her gaze from the ceiling to his. Warmth radiated through her.
“All done,” he said, but he didn’t move from the spot and she didn’t move from between his knees.
The moment stretched as she searched his eyes. There was no denying the attraction that lived between them, but it terrified her. His hand cupped her cheek and the fondness that filled his eyes brought a lump to her throat.
“Do you feel it?” he whispered with such desperation that her heart ached.
She leaned into his hand unable to say yes, and unable to deny the electricity flowing through her entire form. He slid forward and pressed his lips to hers. The soft contact set her heart on overdrive, and broke through her paralysis.
She stepped away, grasping at the towel to keep it in place. Hunter leaned back and took a deep breath before the hardness returned to his features.
“Clean up. I need food just as much as you do,” he said, and left the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.
Alessandra stepped into the shower and dialed it to the coldest setting her skin would allow, staunching the heat that had encompassed her the moment Hunter’s lips found hers.