in.”
He waited until I was hidden in the trees before he stomped off.
I spent the whole time he was gone writing spells and trying not to spin around at the sound of every cracking twig. Vampires were out there somewhere. I didn’t know if they were close or not, but the last night we’d been near them … a shiver ran up my spine as I recalled the vamp who’d attacked the van.
A hand clamped down on my shoulder and I spun, light shooting from my palm as my heart leapt into my throat.
“It’s me,” Andros said, clasping my wrist and twisting it just slightly, so that I didn’t continue to blind him.
I turned off my light and took a deep breath to calm my racing pulse. “Sorry. You startled me.”
He jerked his head toward the building. “Come on. Let’s get inside before someone thinks you’re out here shooting S.O.S. signals.”
“Shut up.” I whacked his arm.
He just grinned as he bent and grabbed a saddlebag from the bike. Then he led me to a set of metal stairs. We clomped up to the second floor and Andros used a key, an actual key, not a key card, to unlock the door at the end of the hall. He pushed it open and then held it there with one hand, like a gentleman.
“Ladies first.”
“I’m dreading how nasty it’s gonna be inside.”
He glanced in and a grin spread across his face. “Oh, I think you’re gonna be impressed.”
I shook my head as I walked past him. I stopped short. Hideous was an understatement. There were cheesy murals of ocean waves and ships on the walls that looked like they belonged in an elementary school instead of a hotel room. The carpet was a dark brown with several worn spots and several more suspiciously dark spots. The bedspread was dark blue, no doubt to better hide all the nastiness it had collected over the years.
I seriously considered whether or not I’d be better off sleeping in the woods.
Andros locked the door behind me and turned to look at the room. “Not bad,” he commented, going toward the old box television set.
“Don’t touch anything.” I held out a hand. “Just, wait a second. Actually, come over here and hold my stuff, would you?” I gave him my helmet, then shed my knife and my weapons belt. I unzipped my jacket and handed it to him, then dug around in my pants pocket for another of the disposable traveling wands Gray had given us.
I wrote a quick spell to disinfect the room because while I wasn’t a complete germaphobe, this place looked like it was the petri dish where gonorrhea got its start. When the magic faded, Andros gaped. “It’s a different color.”
He was right. The bedspread was a deeper blue, the carpet was four shades lighter, and the walls, now free of decades of grime, showed off the hideous mural even more. An otter who’d been smudged away over the years, now peeked out at the bed happily floating on his back.
I breathed out a sigh of relief. “Okay. Sorry to be all squeamish about that. But, obviously, it needed it.” I glanced over at Andros, whose hands were piled with all of my things, plus the saddlebag. He looked like some romantic comedy boyfriend stuck on a warped weapons shopping spree. I dug into my pocket and pulled out my burner phone. I snapped a quick pic.
“What’s that for?” Andros asked as he dumped everything on the bed.
“Just letting the guys know we’re safe.” I smiled to myself as I sent the text.
-Andros and I are safe and he’s having fun.-
Grayson, aka, Shrinky, sent back: -Good. All’s well. We’ll meet up tomorrow.-
Andros took the phone out of my hand once it was sent. “I’ll go destroy it outside, so it doesn’t smell.”
“Thanks.” I looked up at his soulful blue eyes, which gazed at me steadily for a second, before he headed to the door. “Hayley?” He spoke as he turned the knob.
“Yeah?”
“Get ready for bed while I’m gone.” He was out the door before my jaw could drop, but drop it did.
Did he mean what I thought he meant? His voice had dropped an octave and it had been so gruff, so commanding.
My nipples tightened. But then I waved them off. No. He couldn’t. He hadn’t even kissed me. I was just still reeling from my date with Z getting cut short. Still, nervous anticipation tickled my skin as I moved my things