Page 10 of Pretty

I listened again while the clerk muttered as she checked the records. “Sure, I’ll hold.”

I looked over at her. “They’ve asked me to hold. You can sit down and make yourself comfortable while we get this straightened out. You’ve been on your feet all evening; you must be tired.”

She smiled and sighed as she took a seat on the couch. I held for another two minutes before someone different came on the line and announced that she was the manager. She apologized for the inconvenience but explained they had no other rooms available due to the storm.

“What do you mean there aren’t any available rooms? I know that we both booked a suite, but you’ve got to have something else. I’ll take a regular room.”

I listened as she explained that was the problem: There were no other rooms at all. There were many conventions in town, despite the hurricane, and they had extra guests because residents decided to hole up at the hotel to ensure they had power since they knew their homes might be without power. The mix-up occurred because of new booking software. It enabled people to make reservations online but, apparently, didn't do a thorough job of researching reservations made by the staff at the front desk.

I looked up at Ms. Mercier when she asked, “What are they saying?”

“They have no other rooms. We’ll have to share, but they’re willing to refund our money.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me! This is so unprofessional. May I speak with them?”

“Sure.” I handed her the phone when she strode over to where I sat. She took the phone, and I smelled the delicate scent of her perfume again.The closeness of her body sent my mind into overdrive. All the things that I would like to do to her, the way that she tasted when I kissed her, and the way she moved in my arms and against my body as I danced created a heady elixir. All that led to one painful arousal.

I dropped my head in my hands, trying to eliminate those thoughts, just as I heard her say, “Yes. Yes, I understand. No, that won’t be necessary. Yes, please refund the money. Thank you.”

She tapped me on the arm, and I glanced up. She looked apologetic as she handed the phone back to me. “Any luck?” I asked.

“No.” She dropped down on the bed beside me. “The only thing they offered in addition to refunding our rooms was free room service and a free future stay. I accepted the room service on your behalf, and declined the free future stay—for me, not for you.”

“So, what are we gonna do? There’s a hurricane out there, and we can’t leave the hotel to find another one.”

“I know. According to their records, you booked the room just minutes before I did. I guess it’s yours. I’ll head to the lobby and rant until they give me covers and a pillow. I can crash in the lobby and head out early in the morning. The storm should be over by then.”

“You’re not going anywhere, and neither am I.” I gripped her hand that pressed against her thigh.

She looked at me. “I don’t understand.”

“We’re two adults who can work through our problems. We worked through one very well earlier this evening.”

She laughed, and I loved the sound of it. “We did. I apologize for pulling you into that.”

“I willingly stepped in to save the day.”

“I’m sure that you didn’t expect that to include kissing a damsel in distress.”

“I could only hope that it included that.”

Her eyes widened, and her chest heaved. She was no longer wearing the red-and-black mask she wore earlier, but she still wore the formfitting red satin evening gown and red, high-heeled shoes. She stared at me for a long time, and I took the opportunity to take in her delicate features: the sharpness of her prominent cheekbones, the natural arch of her thick eyebrows, and her small nose.

She briefly licked her plump lips as she pulled a hand through her chestnut-brown hair which hung to the middle of her back. The caramel streaks that I’d seen in her hair earlier weren’t as noticeable underneath the dim room lights. While I couldn’t make out her body shape in its entirety, I could tell that she was slim with the perfect amount of thickness.

She swallowed when she realized how intense my stare was, so I decided to let her off the hook.

“How about you go shower and get into something comfortable? I’m going to take them up on their offer of free room service. Anything in particular you’d like?”

“Whatever—I’m not a picky person.”

“Cool. Relax, and your food should be waiting for you when you come out.”

“Don’t forget a pot of fresh coffee. I love drinking coffee to unwind after an event.”

She hopped off the bed and darted to the bathroom. The sexual tension between us was thick, and I knew that we wouldn’t make it through the night without tackling it.

“I love that your parents took one look at you and decided your name would be ‘Pretty.’”