His new captor stepped in front of his door, a dark look on his face as he jerked it open, effectively ending Fox’s internal debate. He’d hesitated way too long. He wasn’t just useless. He was also a fucking coward.
Fox took a deep breath as the vampire grabbed his arm and marched him through the automatic doors and to the elevator just past the oppressively silent lobby. He thought he’d smelled it earlier in their mad escape from Damon’s, but some kind of mint drifted from the vampire.
Not that he wanted to lean too close, because he was pretty sure he reeked of eau de rotten ass. His former captors hadn’t let him shower in a few days. He was lucky they’d let him empty his bladder a few times a day. Big Sexy didn’t need to get more of a whiff of him than necessary. Of course, smelling like ass might keep the vampire from using him as a snack.
Halfway through the winding hall on the fifth floor, the vampire swiped a little card and let them into an average hotel room with the most beautiful king-sized bed Fox had ever seen. Days on that stupid thin mattress had left most of his body aching. But that great big beauty with its fluffy pillow and goose down comforter looked like a wet dream. If he was trapped for a little bit longer, he could at least appreciate the improvement in comfort.
Fox looked back to see the vampire put the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the outside of the door before locking it. The guy looked dead on his feet—no pun intended. And in truth, Fox was starting to crash from his own adrenaline rush as well. Big Sexy, his magic, and the escape from the evil fucks had been enough to get his heart racing, but that run had already started to come to an end.
Standing there now, body trembling from a lack of food, sleep, and an overdose of fear, Fox had to wonder if he’d have had any kind of shot if he’d run in the parking lot. It was looking more like not.
“Man, I really hate to ask, but you got any food?” Fox asked. He stood in the middle of the room, his shaking hand on his empty stomach. “They didn’t feed me much over the past few days. Threw me an apple here and there like it was supposed to be a full meal.”
The vampire winced and shook his head. “Room service won’t be up and running for another few hours.” His eyes widened and he quickly crossed the room where he picked up a large basket filled with random junk food. “Can this hold you for two or three hours?”
Fox nearly whimpered. The damn thing was filled with every gloriously unhealthy food he could think of, and he wanted it all. “You sure? It’s a mini bar. This shit is expensive.”
“Kill it all. I don’t care. Just let me get a few hours of sleep; then we can order room service.”
Fox swallowed back a groan of relief. He did try to eat somewhat healthy, but after days of nothing more than fruit and the occasional granola bar, he was ready for empty calories, carbs, and so much sugar. He fucking earned this salt and chocolate heaven.
Accepting the basket from the vampire, he flopped down onto the bed. He should grab a shower, but he needed to put something in his stomach first.
Just as he was digging through it all, the vampire came to stand beside where he sat, and firmly grabbed his hand. Fox froze in shock, air becoming trapped in his lungs. The vampire lifted his arm to the light, turning it slightly as he inspected the rope burns on his wrists from where he’d tried to break free. Releasing his hand, the vampire carefully touched his chin and tilted his face up, moving it to the left and then right. Fox could only imagine what he was seeing. He hadn’t seen his own reflection in a couple of days, but there were a few sore spots on his face.
“Do you hurt?” the vampire inquired.
“Headache,” Fox managed to whisper. He was lucky to get that word out. There was something so intense about the vampire standing over him. His expression was fierce and angry, but it didn’t feel like those emotions were directed at him necessarily. “But…but that could just be from hunger.”
The vampire grunted and released him. He walked across