“Cross my heart, hope to die.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her relax in the seat, and her smile returned.
He was grateful she didn’t protest when they reached their destination. Not only for his sake, but it was another reason to be relieved he interrupted the restaurant conversation when he did. If she was this pliant, he didn’t want to imagine what Arrogant Asshole would have gotten away with. He could imagine it. Hell, he had dozens of sites devoted to the various kinks associated with the consensual version, but that didn’t mean he wanted the thought.
She leaned into him on the elevator ride up. She was soft. Warm. Smelling like sugar and vanilla. They made it down the hallway to his room, and he let her inside. She stumbled toward the bed and collapsed without another word.
Within seconds, her breathing evened out. She had to be sleeping. It gave him a better chance to study the faded T-shirt, the jeans with strategic tears along the thighs and calves, and the battered Converse. She was built like Mercy—narrow waist, subtle curves—but nothing about the way she held herself resembled her sister.
“Shtaring is creepy.” She sounded drowsy.
“Sorry.”
She tried to toe off her shoes and failed.
“Come on.” He helped her sit up, untied the sneakers, and tugged them off.
She settled her palm on his face and used her thumb to trace the scar that ran under his eye.
He couldn’t feel the contact, but he swore it burned down to his skull.
“What happened?” she asked.
“Nothing important.” He helped her slide under the covers. “Old wounds. Doesn’t matter.”
The explanation seemed to appease her. “Okay. Thank you.”
Moments later, soft snores floated from the bed. Holy fuck, it was going to be a long night. He glanced at his phone. It was only eight. Wonderful. How long until Mercy got back to him?
He settled into the chair by the bed, turned the TV on low volume, and waited. With any luck, Susan would be out of here and in a guest bed at Mercy’s before she woke up and freaked out about being in a stranger’s hotel room. The night was about fifty-fifty in his favor so far. He’d hold out for one more miracle.
The story continues in Chapter Two
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Also by Allyson Lindt
3d20
3d20 Box Set (Books 1-3)
Game for Cookies
Seduction Games
Control Games
Hacking Wonderland
Reagan Through the Looking Glass
The Hatter and The Hare
Love Equation Box Sets
The Love Equation Box Set #1 (Books 1-3)
The Love Equation Box Set #2 (Books 4-6)
Love Hack
Breaching His Defenses
Sheltering His Desire
Securing Her Surrender
Love Hack Box Set
Love Hashtagged
Too Goode to be True
Graphically Novel
Ridden Hard
Hard Flip
Hard Pack
Riding the Wave (Coming Soon)
Romance Shots
Unconventional Fling
He Said, She Said
The Love Equation
The Rival and The Billionaire
The Geeks and The Socialite
The Second Chance and The Auctioneer
The Virgin and The Kingpin
The Nerds and the CEO
The Boyfriends and the Matchmaker
Ubiquity
Uriel's Descent
Uriel's Betrayal
Version 2.0
Denial of Interest
Standalone
Paranormal and Loving it!
Toeing the Line
Room for Love: A Roommates Contemporary Romance Box Set
Over Exposed
Watch for more at Allyson Lindt’s site.
About the Author
USA Today Bestselling Author Allyson Lindt is a full-time geek and a fuller-time contemporary romance author. She likes her stories with sweet geekiness and heavy spice, because cubicle dwellers need love too. She loves a sexy happily-ever-after and helping deserving cubicle dwellers find their futures together.
Read more at Allyson Lindt’s site.