I came across Creep Number Two?
While my brain charged after useless thoughts, David stooped down, pinched the key card laying beside his unconscious victim, and inserted it smoothly and unhurriedly into the lock.
The light turned green, and he opened the door, backing in and keeping it wide with the aid of his foot.
With an effortless yank, he pulled Creep’s body inside and left him in a crumbled heap.
I stared at the bloody man on the floor as the closing door hid him from view. “Don’t you think we should tell someone what happened? He might need a doctor.”
David didn’t reply.
Instead, he checked the door was locked, then in a flash grabbed my wrist with extremely long and exceptionally powerful fingers.
“Hey!” I tugged on his hold. “Let me go.”
All thoughts of thanking him for his help flew out of my mind. What the hell was he doing?
He cocked his head. “I’ve seen a lot of women in various states of undress this morning, but none as fine as you.”
I narrowed my eyes at his messy blond hair and the five o’ clock shadow bristling on his jaw. His eyes were rich—a blue that seemed depthless—like a puddle that led to hellish temptation. “I appreciate what you did for me and for playing along, but I need you to let go.”
“No.”
“No?” My heart bounced uselessly around in my chest. “What do you mean no?”
He scowled, striding down the corridor, further and further from my room. “I mean exactly that. No, I will not let you go.”
Shit.
I looked over my shoulder, willing another Good Samaritan to appear from the emergency exit and save me. This damn underwear. Never again. I would stick to tatty t-shirts and torn shorts.
“You can’t do this.”
He just kept walking, carting me away as if I were a balloon drifting demurely behind him.
Slowing, he pulled a key card from his pocket and slotted it into the reader. The instant the green light flashed, I snapped. Twisting in his grip, I used the element of surprise to break away and bolt.
“Fuck,” he muttered. The soft footfalls of his steps gave chase. I didn’t get far.
In a second, he caught me, yanking me to a stop and clamping his large hands on my shoulders. “Stop, will you?”
Breathing hard, I struggled in his hold. “Just because you saved me from that guy, you think you can get what he was after?”
His lips pursed, leaning over me until his face was mere inches from mine. “No, I’m not a fucking cunt like he was.”
I stopped breathing as ferocity rippled around him. I preferred it when that anger was directed at someone else. Taking a deep breath, I tried to stay calm. “What do you want then?”
His thumbs moved, tracing circles on my shoulders where he held me. “Do you want a truthful answer or a lie?”
I froze. What sort of response was that?
He watched me as if he could see past my smoke and mirrors. Did he sense I wished I had more of what he did? More of his confidence? His commanding control?
What does he want?
“The truth. Give me the truth.”
One hand fell from my shoulders, moving upward to sweep the messy hair that’d flopped over his forehead. His other thumb never stopped its ceaseless torment of caressing circles. “First, you can answer some of my questions. Then I’ll decide if you deserve the truth.”
I swallowed hard as he inched closer, his bare legs flashing beneath the wrap of his robe.
Oh, God. Was he naked under that thing?
Dropping his voice from angry to alluring, he murmured, “Where exactly were you running off to in your—I must admit—sexy as fuck underwear?” The corner of his lips twitched, showing a side I hadn’t seen. A side that had the potential potency to sweep the world from under my feet and deliver me into corruption.
“Fire alarm,” I breathed. Clearing my throat, I tried again. “You know—the loud shrieking noise that promised our imminent doom if we didn’t flee the building?”
His lips twitched a little more. “I heard it. And I get that part.” His eyes trailed from mine to my cleavage, a steely glint entering their blue depths. “What I was asking was, why are you practically naked?”
My mind went blank, eyes landing on the hotel emblem on his robe.
He followed my attention, his voice dropping to gravel. “It was hanging on the back of the bathroom door. I’m guessing every room has one.” The intense interest in his gaze pinned me to the floor.