Chapter 8

EIGHT

Jack

I needed to get back up to the room. I'd wasted enough time, and if I didn't relieve Matthew's teammate soon, someone would call security. There was only so much walking around the man could do in a fancy hotel like this before someone thought he was staking out a room. We didn't need to draw attention to ourselves. In fact, I should never have left the room in the first place but it kinda felt like Shannon maybe needed the extra space.

I rode the elevator up and was met by Josh as soon as I turned the corner.

"Any problems?" I didn't think there would be considering Josh had explicit instructions to get Shannon out and then call me. As far as I could tell, neither happened, but I asked anyway.

"Nope. Your girl didn't even pop her head outside."

Shannon wasn't my girl, but I wasn't about to tell Josh that. Things were complicated enough.

"Thanks. I appreciate you coming over."

"Anything for Matthew. If you need me, just text. I'll just be outside." Josh was gone before I could formulate another response.

One of the first things my brother told me when he texted was that someone would be watching the hotel around the clock until further notice. Why he hadn't said anything in front of Shannon was beyond me but maybe it was for the best. Her hiding in the bathroom for over an hour was a clear indication things weren't okay.

I just didn't know how to make things better. This was uncharted territory for me. Not one-night stands; I had plenty of those over the years. I even had a few casual relationships but none of them made me feel this overwhelming need to protect the person I was with. I couldn't put my finger on it but Shannon was different. My heart knew it the second she stepped with me into my room last night. It was my head that was fighting it off.

When it was clear I had spent too long lingering in the hallway, I walked up to the door and used the key card to scan myself in. I expected Shannon to still be hiding away in the bathroom. Instead, I found her waiting for me with her legs crossed underneath each other in the middle of the bed and her hands resting casually by her side.

"Hey," I said.

Really? That's the best I can come up with?

"I think we need to talk."

The words no man ever wanted to hear. I approached the bed slowly and took a seat on the edge. Shannon was sitting directly in the center so there was plenty of space between us.

"Is everything okay?"

When I first realized she was hiding in the bathroom, I planned to joke with her when she got out. The joke lost its appeal at the hour mark and was nonexistent at this point.

"No," Shannon said with exasperation in her tone. "That look right there is the problem."

Well, now I was really confused. I had no idea what look she could possibly be talking about. I was worried about her. Worried that I did something wrong. Maybe pushed her too far too fast. We’d known each other for barely twenty-four hours and now she was stuck with me for the foreseeable future. That could be a lot on any person.

"What look?" I realized I sounded like an idiot. And the confusion probably wasn't helping matters, but I couldn't fix something when I didn't know what the problem was.

"The look of defeat. Like someone walking the plank with no hope of being rescued, or maybe someone on their way to the guillotine."

"Wow. That's a very morbid picture you painted there. Not sure I like where your mind went."

I hadn't thought I looked that bad but maybe I needed to look in the mirror or find a way to fix my face. Neither of those scenarios was how I felt, although maybe defeated was an accurate description. I didn't want Shannon to regret trusting me and her hiding away had bruised my ego a bit.

"Yeah, well, your expression is a bit morbid. I know I spent longer in the bathroom than necessary, but I just needed some time to come to terms with some things."

If Shannon thought she was making me feel better, she was sadly mistaken. Every word that came out of her mouth only made the rock sitting in my stomach grow bigger and bigger. But I let her continue before I interrupted and said something just to fill the space.

Shannon filled her lungs with air a few times and let it out slowly. It reminded him of those breathing exercises people used when they were having a panic attack or maybe needed to calm down. I didn't have the slightest idea which it could be. I was in remote waters with rocky seas and no life jacket in sight.

"I think you can agree a lot has happened since we met in the bar last night." I nodded even though I didn't think she was asking a question of me. "We agreed on one night and here we are the next day, in a new hotel room and not having gone our separate ways. That's fucking with my head a little."

I opened my mouth, but Shannon stopped me with a finger to my lips. "Let me get this out before you say anything." I nodded again.

"Yes, we agreed to one night, but I think I knew even before I tried to slip away this morning that this would be more than that. I felt something with you that I've never felt before. That scared me, so running away sounded like a pretty good idea. Then you insisted on being a gentleman and escorting me to my room. Selfishly, I didn't fight too hard because what could a few more minutes with you hurt? And now this. My head knows letting you help me is smart. My heart is conflicted because the last time I let a man close to me, I ended up here. So yeah, I'm one big ball of messed up and I needed a minute to stall. Not that it helped."

That was a lot to take in. I was glad she wasn't having regrets, but I wasn't sure if how she felt was any better. Shannon wasn't staying with me because it was what she wanted. She didn't wake up and choose me. She was there because her life was in danger and I just happened to be able to help her. Was that a strong enough foundation to start something on? But first I had another question for her.

"Why didn't it help?"

Shannon sighed. "Because the first thing I saw when I came out was an empty room. All I could think was that this was all too much, and you left. That stung, and yeah, I can admit it made me sad. I didn't want you to leave which is also fucking with my head. I don't do relationships. Davis was my first and we see where that got me. I don't know what to do with these feelings I have for you."

That was a better start. I could work with that.

"But you can admit you do have feelings for me?"

Shannon threw her hands up in the air in frustration before dropping onto her back on the bed with an equally frustrated growl. It was kind of cute. "See, I'm screwing this all up. All of those words I spewed out and you couldn't even tell that, yes, I have feelings for you? Why do I have to be so sociably inept?"

I didn't think that last question was for me, and considering she was lying back on the bed with her arm slung over her eyes, I was pretty sure she was doing her best to hide.

Too bad I refused to have any of that.

I scooted farther up the bed until I was sitting next to her. My ass was firmly planted next to her hip but even my movement didn't get her to look at me.

So I grabbed her arm to cradle it in my lap and forced her to meet my eyes.

"There is nothing sociably inept about you. I didn't want to assume that was what you meant, so my question was a clarification. You're right. A lot has happened since we met. We don't know each other well enough yet for me to feel comfortable making assumptions. That doesn't mean I don't want to though. I would just prefer you were here because it's what you want and not because it's an obligation. I can still protect you without all the other stuff. But if you want the other stuff, you need to be clear about that."

Now who sounded a little inept? Seriously? Other stuff . What the hell was wrong with me? Oh, that's right. This woman. She had my stomach in knots.

"By ‘other stuff’ do you mean the sex? Because I'm not going to lie, that was pretty damn great."

I dropped down onto the bed so that I was lying next to her. I let the laughter take over and the stress from earlier just melted away. It took a few minutes, but finally, I calmed down enough to roll my head so I was looking at Shannon. She was mirroring my position.

"Yeah, other stuff means the sex. It would be a shame to give that up considering it's rare that I find someone so willing to be as adventurous as me."

Shannon scrunched her nose up and damn was it adorable. "I find that I don't like you talking about your sex life before me. Makes me feel jealous and that's not an emotion I'm familiar with."

"Duly noted, but just to clarify, I wasn't referring just to sex. I want other things as well. I want to know what makes you smile. I want to know what makes you happy or sad. I want to learn all about your favorite foods. I want it all."

Maybe it was too soon. Maybe in a week or a month, this feeling would lose its appeal, but I didn't think so. There was something about Shannon that called to me and I would regret it if I never gave whatever this could be a chance.

"I might be bad at it."

The uncertainty in her eyes was a kick straight to the gut. I wanted to banish that look and never see it return. I also wanted to kill Davis for even putting it there in the first place. I could only assume he was the reason.

"I might be as well. No one knows how they’re going to be, but we take a chance anyway. We do it together. Figure it out together. That's all I'm asking. Give us a chance and see how it can be together. You never know, it might be something great."

I held my breath. Shannon was the first to talk about feelings, but I was the one putting myself out there. I was asking her not only to trust me but to give me something she probably swore never to do again. Would I be enough? Would the connection we both felt be enough?

When her hand slid down to mine so that our fingers tangled together, I knew I had my answer even before she said the words.

"Together."