“Frankie! You’re going to get us kicked out of here. I told you not to bring him.”
“Well, it would’ve been fine if your man hadn’t shown up. You know what a hussy he is when males are around,” Frankie countered as she tried to corral Brat. I cringed with every thump, rattle, and bump I heard.
“I’m torn. I don’t know if I should ask why there’s a pig running around your hotel room or ask why you’re calling it a brat first?” Bronze teased.
“Brat, short for bratwurst, is Frankie’s pet pig. Brat loves men. Loves them. So, until she gets that sassy little ham back into the other room, you’re better off in here.”
“Okay, it’s safe to come out,” Frankie called.
“Why did you let him into the room in the first place?” I asked curiously.
“You think I did that on purpose? Bitch, please. I was going in there to put him in his crate for the night. Then, he almost sent me ass over teakettle when he got a whiff of your man and barreled into the room.”
“How did you two manage to sneak him into the hotel without getting caught?” he asked and made himself comfortable on the bed.
“Frankie put his crate on the luggage cart and covered it with a blanket. We rolled him in through the back door when no one was around.”
Bronze burst into laughter, surprising both of us. “Y’all smuggled a pig in a blanket!”
I joined in with him while Frankie rolled her eyes and tried not to crack a smile. I wasn’t having that. All it took was one well-timed snort from me and soda shot from her nose when she laughed while swallowing. “Damn it, Demon! Why must you always do that to me?”
“At least you weren’t near your desk this time,” I pointed out.
“This is my cue to return to my room. Please keep the fucking to a manageable noise level. And if you could wait, eh, say thirty minutes for my sleeping pill to kick in, that would be stellar.” She turned and pointed a finger at Bronze. “She has places to be and things to do tomorrow. Do not keep her up all night. She gets these bags under her eyes, and they show up in the pictures, and then—”
“Good night, Frankie,” I said sharply and started escorting her to her room. “I've got my alarm set for eight o’clock. I’ll be ready to head out by nine.”
“Did you hear that, mister man? We have to leave by nine in the morning to have time to set up. We cannot be late. The queen has spoken. Good night,” she said theatrically and closed the door behind her.
"And that's Frankie," I said and joined him on the bed. "So, what’re you doing here?"
He shrugged. "Josie told Layla about your book signing this weekend, and Layla insisted on keeping Blue so that I could surprise you.”
“That was so thoughtful of her. Please thank her for me.”
“You can thank her yourself the next time you see her,” he countered.
“But I don’t know when that’s going to be, and I don’t want to be rude.”
He slipped his arm around my waist and pulled me against his warm body. “Thought maybe you’d want to come back to Devil Springs with me after my fight next weekend. I have to work Monday through Friday, but you could use one of the extra rooms at my house or my office at the gym to write,” he offered.
A smile from deep within my soul slowly appeared on my face. “Could I sit at one of the tables in the bookstore and write?”
“Yeah, but can you work with Josie staring at you the whole time?” he joked.
“Oh, stop. She was totally relaxed around me after five minutes. Actually, I would like to spend some time with her. She has a genuine love for books, and I’d like to get her thoughts on a couple of ideas I have,” I explained.
“Sloane,” he rumbled and rolled me to my back. “I need an answer.”
I arched an eyebrow. “To what? You haven’t asked me a question.”
He buried his face in my neck and rubbed his beard all over my sensitive skin. “Stop it, you big bearded brat!”
We both heard an unidentifiable sound and froze. “Thanks for yelling his name, Demon!” Frankie shouted through the door.
“Sorry!” I yelled and slapped my hand over my mouth to stifle my giggles.