Chapter 4

4

LORELEI

W aking up in Grey’s arms felt surreal. It was difficult to believe everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours. My holiday vacation with my best friend had turned into a quasi-kidnapping by a sexy biker. One who I made out with last night—talk about getting a Christmas present I never would’ve thought to wish for.

And I shared a bed with him all night long because the hotel only had rooms with one bed left. Which made no sense at all when there had been barely any other cars in the parking lot.

Not that I was complaining. Being cuddled up against Grey for hours on end—even though I’d slept through most of it—was an experience not to be missed.

I felt a little guilty over benefiting from Karina’s ordeal, but I knew my best friend would tell me to go for what I wanted, especially since Grey was the first man who’d caught my interest.

I only hoped that her hot biker was taking as good care of her as Grey was with me. Maybe we’d have some interesting stories to share about the guys watching over us once we could safely see each other again.

Grey’s arms tightened around me, and his beard scraped my neck as he murmured, “What’re you thinking about so hard?”

My cheeks heated as I considered the direction my mind had gone. No way in heck was I going to admit that I’d been looking forward to all the girl talk about him that I was going to have with Karina. “Nothing, just trying to wake up. I’m not really a morning person.”

“Good, I’m more of a night owl myself.” Twisting around to grab his cell phone off the nightstand, he grumbled, “But we’re both outta luck today. Need to get an early start so we can make it to my house tonight.”

“Ugh,” I groaned, pulling a pillow over my face. “I feel like I could sleep for a dozen more hours.”

“Then I guess it’s a good thing you’re not driving.” He tugged the sheet lower, and my cheeks burned when his gaze darkened as he stared at my naked legs. The shirt he’d lent me had ridden up, showing off my white cotton panties. Grinning, he patted my butt, sending a jolt of need straight to my core. “You can nap for as long as you need while we’re on the road.”

Lifting the pillow, I squinted up at him. “Do we at least have time to grab coffee and breakfast?”

“Long enough to go through a drive-through if we can find one open and eat in the car.” He got to his feet, and my gaze landed and held on the impressive bulge in his boxer briefs. “But if you keep staring at me with that hungry look in your pretty green eyes, we’re not going to have time for any pit stops because I’m going to use it all up in that bed with you.”

I’d never had a man look at me the way Grey was right now—as though he wanted nothing more than to devour me in place of breakfast. And his hard-on was growing bigger.

Knowing that I had such an impact on my sexy biker was a heady feeling. I was sorely tempted to see how far I could push him, but I wasn’t sure I was ready for what would happen when his control snapped.

“Then you should probably put on some clothes”—I waved my hand toward him—“and cover all that up because there’s no way in heck I can stop staring while your…umm…uhh…hard-on is right in front of my face.”

“Fuck, you’re cute.” Pressing his fist into the mattress, he leaned forward and pressed his mouth against mine. When my lips parted on a gasp, his tongue swept inside and stole my breath. I melted against him, my hands gripping his shoulders as the kiss went on and on until I could barely see straight.

I let out a whimper of protest when he lifted his head, and my eyes blinked open when he rasped, “Don’t worry, baby. I’m nowhere near done kissing you. Just gotta get you to the safety of my place before we go any further. Plus, I don’t want to spend my first Christmas with you in a random hotel on the side of the highway.”

“That coffee you promised me better come in the form of a latte.” I puffed my bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout. “I deserve a treat for being a good little hostage.”

He chuckled as he padded across the room to grab a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt from his duffel. “That should be doable.”

I heaved a deep sigh, glancing at my outfit from yesterday which was folded up on the dresser. “And since I’m stuck wearing the same clothes today, I feel as though it should come with a baked good of some kind.”

“Works for me.” He patted his six-pack abs. “I could use something almost as sweet as your mouth this morning.”

My cheeks heated, and I fanned myself with my hand while I watched him stride toward the bathroom. I dropped my arm when he glanced at me over his shoulder, but his smirk told me that he knew exactly how his words affected me.

“I have more shirts in my duffel.” He jerked his chin toward the bag. “They’re all gonna be way too big for you, too, but you can use one of them if you want.”

I didn’t care if I swam in it, I liked the idea of wearing something of his all day. “Yes, please.”

“Have at it, baby. I’m gonna hit the head and take a quick shower. Can you be ready in thirty minutes if it only takes me about five?”

Since I didn’t have any of my toiletries, there wasn’t much I could do to get ready, so I nodded. “Uh-huh.”

“Good, pick out which of my shirts you want and I’ll be out soon.”

I flopped back against the mattress when the door shut behind him and let out another whimper when the shower turned on. After seeing Grey in his underwear, it was way too easy to picture every inch of his muscular body while the hot water poured down on him. I daydreamed about it and almost missed the telltale sound of the water shutting off.

Scrambling off the mattress, I grabbed my clothes from yesterday and dashed over to his bag and pulled the closest shirt out of it so I was ready when the door swung open. Then I ducked my head to hide my hot cheeks as we swapped places.

With my promise to be quick in mind, I hurried through my shower. Then I brushed my teeth with the plastic toothbrush we’d bought at the sundry shop before I dried my hair using the blow dryer provided by the hotel. It only took me another minute to pull on my clothes, my lips curving into a grin as I tied the hem of his shirt into a knot at my hip.

Heat flared in his dark eyes when I stepped out of the bathroom. “Like I said last night, looks a fuck of a lot better on you than me.”

“Thanks.”

We put on our boots and gathered the rest of our things, heading out the door only a few minutes later. Grey made good on his promise and stopped at the drive-through for a local coffee house to grab coffee and breakfast. It was surprisingly busy for Christmas morning. After enjoying my mocha latte and slice of gingerbread loaf, I reclined my seat back and curled up on my side, watching Grey drive until my eyes drifted shut.

I slept for almost five hours, all the way until he had to stop for gas. Then Grey made me eat and drink something before we started the next leg of the drive. I stayed up for a little while, but the monotony of the scenery had me napping on and off until Grey finally shook me awake.

Stretching my arms, I peered through the windshield at the house in front of us before he pulled into the garage. The brick, ranch style home with pristine landscaping and pretty green shutters wasn’t what I was expecting from a biker, but when we got inside, the bachelor pad vibe was more fitting. Between the black leather couches and the huge flat-screen television, I could easily picture Grey relaxing in the living room.

“Nice.”

“Glad you like it.” I was acutely aware of the heat from his palm against my lower back as he guided me through the house. The kitchen was awesome, with top-of-the-line appliances and granite countertops. The guest bedroom was neutral in shades of tan and green. Right next door, the primary had a giant bed smack-dab in the middle of the room. “You’re gonna stay in here.”

“Umm…this is your room.”

“Yeah.”

I jerked my chin toward the wall separating us from the guest room next door. “But you don’t want me to sleep in there instead?”

“Nope.” He shook his head. “I need to stick close to protect you.”

His explanation sounded reasonable, but the gleam in his dark eyes made me wonder if he had another motive for wanting me in his room. One that matched the reason I wasn’t going to argue when I probably should have—because I wanted to spend my nights wrapped in his arms. “Okay.”

“Good girl.” My inner walls clenched at his praise, and his eyes heated. But just as he dipped his head toward me, his cell beeped with a notification. Pulling the device out of his pocket, he glanced at the screen and grumbled, “Shit.”

My heart started to race as I considered all sorts of worst-case scenarios. “Everything okay?”

“Your girl is fine, but I need to look into something to keep it that way.” Lacing his fingers through mine, he tugged me out of the room. “C’mon.”

I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting when Grey led me down the stairs to the basement, but it definitely wasn’t a man cave lined with so many high-powered computers and monitors that any movie superhero would be envious. “What in the world?”