Blaze waited behind me as I drove out, another gentlemanly gesture, I suppose. He trailed behind me until I pulled over to the hotel, a fancy little bed and breakfast where I’d stayed overnight once before on the drive back home when I’d wanted to decompress before seeing my father. I waved as I pulled into the parking lot, and he returned the gesture before disappearing down the road. I shook off the twinge of disappointment I felt at his not wanting to join me here.
No matter, I thought. I didn't even know him, and it was a side of the road quickie. I didn't need any more shit right now. Anyway, I think I only wanted him to distract me from what had happened with Billy.
I settled into my room, opened a bottle of wine, and poured a glass, letting it breathe. I’d sprung for a suite- well, my father had sprung for a suite, and I figured a treat was in order. It was a gorgeous room- four poster bed covered in pillows, expansive balcony overlooking the cliffs. I had a suite in a perfect hotel, a glass of wine, jazz on the radio, and a bubble bath running in the tub built for two. Well, it was only for one tonight. Still, I was pretty lucky, despite everything.
I dropped my clothes in a pile on the floor. My phone vibrated on the table, and I realized I had cell reception. I’d forgotten about the phone. I tapped the screen to open a text from a number I didn’t recognize.
Bitch.
Where are my phone and my fucking wallet?
My heart racing, I tossed the phone on the bed as if it were radioactive. Billy. I gulped from the glass of wine, grateful for the warmth of the liquid as it slid down my throat. I glanced at the door, irrationally thinking he may have followed me here.
No, I reminded myself. He doesn’t know where you are. He’s just being an asshole. Besides, Billy is too lazy. He’ll get distracted by someone else. He won’t give you a second thought. He was just pissed about his stuff. Calm down, I told myself, taking a few deep breaths. Relax. It’s no big deal. Nothing was going to happen.
I gulped more of the wine until I started to feel calm, warmth spreading through my chest. I grabbed the phone, typing a message.
In the trash. Fuck you, Billy.
Then I deleted it. Screw him. Let him wonder if I was combing through his phone for information to blackmail him with. Damn it. I wished I would have thought of that before tossing his phone in the dumpster. That would have been a lot smarter than throwing away all of Billy's shit.
A bath is what I needed to distract me from all of this. I turned toward the bathroom, and the phone in the room rang. The shrill sound nearly gave me a heart attack.
“Hello?” My voice shook. Billy is not here, I thought. He doesn’t know where I am.
“Ms. Arias? This is Roberto at the front desk.”
I exhaled. It was only the desk clerk. “Yes?”
“There’s a-" Ahem. "A gentleman who says he’s here to see you.”
Oh shit, I thought. “Who is it, Roberto? I’m not expecting any company.”
“He’s uh-” Roberto cleared his throat. “He says his name, is- Blaze, ma’am. He’s a rather large biker.” He spoke the last word softly, barely above a whisper, as if he were trying to conceal it. This was not the type of place where they saw a lot of bikers, I imagined.
Blaze. Not Billy. Blaze. My heart beat wildly, but not out of fear. “It’s okay, Roberto, you can send him over.”
“Yes. As you wish.”
I hung up the phone. “Shit.”
I’d been impulsive before, with the invitation. Stupid. I wasn’t actually prepared for him to show up here. A robe, I needed a robe. I barely had time to throw it on, pulling it up around me as I glanced in the mirror. My neck. Crap. The welts were dark, angry looking. I hadn’t thought this through.
I grabbed the scarf, starting to pull it around my throat, then stopped. I’d look like an idiot, in a bathrobe and scarf. He’d think I had some weird fetish. And my wrists were just as torn up. He was going to see them.
But not if we do it in the dark, I thought. The robe covered my wrists, and I pulled it up around my neck. You couldn’t really see the bruising if I just didn’t let it fall away from my neck, and if I dimmed the lights, maybe he really wouldn't be able to see it. I raced around the room, kicking the clothes toward the wall.
The knock startled me, even though I knew he was coming. Breathe, Dani. Breathe. I steadied myself before pulling the door open.
“Hey,” Blaze said. He leaned against the side of the door, crooked grin on his face, looking at me with those blue eyes. “So is that offer to join you still open?”
“I thought you had to get back,” I said, grinning despite myself.
“It can wait,” he said.
“Then the offer is still open.” I let the door swing back, and he walked inside. I clutched the robe around me, pulling it toward my neck. It was silly. I’d just screwed him on the side of the road, but I felt suddenly nervous.
Blaze stopped, looking around. “Nice place,” he said, letting out a low whistle.
Great. Now he really did think I was some spoiled rich girl. So what? What did I care what he thought? This was a one night stand with a biker, something to get rid of the bad taste Billy had left in my mouth. Like wiping a hard drive on a computer.
Blaze turned, sliding his cut off and laying it over the chair, then peeling off his shirt. I swallowed. Yeah, he was as hot as I’d imagined. Better, even. Hard chest muscles, washboard abs. Tattoos snaked up his arms, a piece over his bicep and shoulder, and an assortment of tattoos on his chest.