16. Thea

"A hotel?" I ask once Dom kills the engine and parks.

"I'm not sure you can call this place a hotel," he laughs. "Motel from hell, maybe. Still, they rent rooms by the month for the most part. I grabbed a room a month ago and paid three months in advance."

"Um, why?"

"Because I need to pull my head out of my ass and keep it clear. Other than a beer here or there, I haven't had a drink. I've also sworn off women."

"You going to become a priest now?" I smirk, trying to digest everything Dom is saying.

"Fuck, no," he chuckles. "I think I just lost who I am. I needed to find myself again."

"Have you succeeded yet?"

"I'm getting closer," he responds, but his voice turns somber. I slide off his bike, standing still while he follows suit. He reaches out for my hand, and I stare at it a moment as if it is a snake, coiled and ready to strike. Carefully, I put my hand in his and let him lead me toward the motel.

It's a large brick and cedar wood building that lines up along the side of a hill. There's a neon sign by the corner of the building where the office is. It proclaims in large, deep blue neon the words, Lake Vista Motel. The vacancy is halfway lit up, but the A's are out and dark. I guess someone forgot to buy a vowel. I smirk at the corny joke I made. I think seeing Raze and Liliana together has fried my brain. I mean, it hurt a little. I can't lie about that. I'm sure, however, that it didn't hurt like it should have. Maybe that's because things have been cooling down with Raze and I. It could be because as much as I enjoyed the distraction he gave me and heavy make out sessions, I never saw our relationship as going anywhere special. I can admit that my pride is stung, though.

I bring my attention back to the motel. There's an office at the end and then a straight line of rooms. The doors are brick red in color and have black metal numbers above a peephole. I quickly count that there are thirteen doors. They have the heating and air units where half of it is outside, just under the double glass window. They're all running, and the sound is distracting, to say the least. Dom leads me to room number nine. Once he gets the door open, he steps back, letting me enter first.

The cold air hits me at once. I was expecting a dark seventies motel vibe, but I'm pleasantly surprised. The walls are paneling, sure. It's also definitely paneling from the disco era. Still, it has been painted a bright white, which makes the room appear bigger and at least more than a little updated. There's one large king size bed in the middle of the room. A decent sized flat screen television and dresser are directly across from it. A desk area is on the other side of the room, with a small microwave, coffeemaker, and a door. I can only assume that it is the restroom. As I walk toward that area, I see there's a mini-fridge under the desk.

"Soooo…" I breathe. "You're living here."

Dom laughs. "What's wrong, Princess? Not swanky enough?"

"Um… it's… clean?"

"You always were a smartass. Anyway, it is clean. You were right. Plus, you can hide out here and lick your wounds for the night."

"I don't really need to lick my wounds. I mean, my pride was a little damaged. I can admit that."

"It shouldn't be. Raze is an asshole."

I smirk at him. "I thought you two were close."

"Doesn't mean I'm not aware he's an idiot. He'd have to be to fall back into Liliana's clutches. Especially when you've been together for a while now."

"I don't know that you could say we're together," I respond, crossing my arms at my waist. I'm nervous and have no idea why.

I kick off my shoes and sit on the edge of the bed. I feel totally exhausted.

"Babe, you spent the night with him often. You forget I know you. You aren't the type of girl to do that unless you are serious. He's a fool for throwing that away."

"You make it sound like we were sleeping together, moron."

"You're not?" he asks, and I see the disbelief on his face.

"Well, technically, I guess we were, but only with my clothes on. I just got out of a relationship. I wasn't ready to give myself that way yet."

I cringe as I explain myself. I don't even know why I am! I'm insane. That's the only explanation. Dom and I have only been working on our friendship for a brief time. Why am I blabbing everything to him? I should cut out my own tongue. I need to remember he's the same asshole that put Gabby before everything, even his own brother. The thing is, I'm having a harder time of doing that lately. The Dom I've been spending time with isn't the same guy that I used to think myself in love with.

"Well, that's the problem right there."

"Huh?" I ask because I'm completely lost.

"If Raze was the right man for you, you wouldn't want to wait. You couldn't wait."

"Yeah, right."

"How long did you wait for Mr. New York?"

"I'm not discussing my sex life—or the lack thereof—with you, Dom."

"Why not? If we're going to make this friend thing work, we need to be open. Are you going to tell me you and T never discussed sex?"

"Not once. Other than me telling him he needed to kick Gabby out of his life."

"Seems you told both of us that," he mumbles, scrubbing his face with his hand before he looks me directly in the eyes.

"The difference is that Thomas never cut me out of his life."

His lips thin out in a grimace. "I should have never allowed that to happen."

I snort. He's trying to make it sound like he wasn't the one who did it. "Are you trying to lay the blame on me?" I huff.

"No, although I think you should admit that you didn't make it easy on me, either."

"What's that mean?"

"It means you left town and when you came back, you wouldn't talk to me."

"You avoided me, too, Dom," I point out.

He shakes his head. "I let myself be distracted and talked into shit I shouldn't have. I've made a lot of mistakes, Thea. I hurt my brother, and I missed out on a relationship with you. You probably won't believe me now, but I regret both of those equally."

We're silent for a bit. Truthfully, I'm not sure what to say to him. I take a breath, trying to calm my nerves, realizing that I'm being silly. This is Dom. We've worked hard the last few weeks to build a friendship. The past doesn't matter anymore. I can't let it.

"Um…Dom?"

"Yeah?"

"I can't stay here."

"Why on earth not?" he rumbles.

I slap my hand down against the surprisingly soft mattress that is covered in a soft blue coverlet. "There's only one bed," I point out.

"So?"

"So, I can't share a bed with you, Dom." My body seems to flush with heat at just the thought of it.

"It's a huge bed, Thea. Both of us can lie on it and never touch. You're totally safe."

"I don't think it's a good idea. What if Raze finds out and gets the wrong idea about us?"

"What the fuck do you care? He's the one who fucked another woman while he was out on a date with you."

I wince at that reminder. Maybe I was wrong because it does hurt a little more when Dom put it like that. "I don't care," I deny. "I just know he's your brother. That is important, and I don't want to come between it."

"I doubt he'll find out?—"

"Mattie might. This is just a bad idea." I watch as Dom pulls out his cellphone. "What are you doing?"

He holds up a finger to shush me and I snap my mouth closed, more than a little annoyed. "Yo, Breaker. Thea is with me tonight. She needed a break from Raze and Lilianna's bullshit." My eyes grow round as saucers. It almost hurts. I'm about to lose my mind. I didn't want Dom to tell Mattie about any of that. "Yeah, I figured you knew. Tina was behind us," Dom adds, mentioning one of the servers at the bar. Shit! Did she see it all? I might not have been in love with Raze, but I don't want other people to know what happened either. "Pretty much. We'll handle it tomorrow. I'm taking care of her tonight and then, tomorrow, you and I are going to talk about why in the fuck you think you can warn Thea away from me."

"Dom!"

"I don't give a fuck. You know I'd cut off my left nut before I'd hurt her."

I lose my breath for a second. "Dom!" I snap again.

"Yeah, you're damn straight that we'll talk about it tomorrow. I don't appreciate you feeding me bullshit and then going behind my back to sabotage it all."

"I want to speak to my brother," I hiss. I hold out my hand, snapping my fingers as if that will force him to hand over the phone. Dom ignores me completely. I'm not even sure if he heard me at all.

"Well then, you need to make that clear to her, motherfucker."

"Don't you dare yell at my brother!" I huff, standing up, and preparing to give him hell.

Dom finally looks at me then and he gives me a big grin that makes his eyes sparkle in a way I haven't seen in a long time. It's enough to send goosebumps skittering across my skin. My body actively betrays me because I can feel desire flush through me at the sexy look he is delivering.

No. No. No! This can't happen. It can't!

"I need to tame a wild foal. We'll have this out tomorrow. Yeah, you, too, brother." He hangs up the phone and puts it on the desk.

"Did you just compare me to a horse?" I ask, scrunching my nose up in distaste.

"A wild, skittish one, to be exact. Your brother won't be an issue. I could not give a fuck about Raze. He lost the right to bitch when he disrespected you tonight. So, are we good?"

"I'll just go back to Mattie's I don't have anything to sleep in and I'll need my toothbrush and things. This was just a bad idea. I wasn't thinking clearly."

He goes over to the dresser that the television is sitting on and opens a drawer. Then he tosses me a worn T-shirt. "You can sleep in that. I keep spare toothbrushes in the medicine cabinet."

"So, you just keep them lying around for all the women you entertain," I grumble, ignoring the feeling that I don't like the idea of him plowing through women to the point he keeps spare shit lying around for them.

"Don't like the idea? We're just friends. Family, right?"

"Dom, quit being a dick," I growl. I refuse to admit that I might be a little jealous.

"Go get ready for bed, Princess. You've had a rough night."

I think about refusing him, but in the end it's not worth it. I am worn out and tired of worrying about it all. "Fine," I hiss, grabbing the T-shirt and stomping off into the bathroom.

Then I hear him laugh, and I want to go kick him in the balls.

"Stupid dumbass," I bitch under my breath.

I just wish I knew if I was calling Dom that… or myself.