by Payton Rome
I moaned and wrapped her legs around my neck before thrusting my cock inside her.
She screamed out, “Yes Yes Yes!”
I couldn’t hold back any longer. I pumped harder and faster, her screams echoing around me. Her pussy was tight, almost taunting me to come. As I had so many times that night, I felt her body tighten and her muscles contract. The warmth of her juices flooded my manhood. I allowed myself to explode, filling her up with my come. She screamed “yes” the entire time. I wanted to stay inside her, but my stamina was waning.
I lay on the bed next to her and pulled her into my arms. “You’re amazing, Echo.” I whispered in her ear.
She giggled. “You had something to do with that.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t call.” Something about climax always made me lovey.
“I’m sorry I walked out on you earlier.” She wrapped her arms around me and kissed my chest.
I never wanted to let her go.
Chapter 4
Echo
My mind and body were completely at peace when I woke up. Troy Cross was an amazing lover, and though I knew that didn’t mean I was in love with him, I was certain it meant something. Although I didn’t know a damn thing about him, I was confident that I was safe with him. I had never let a man order me around like that before. Not only was it arousing, it was exhilarating, and I couldn’t wait to do it again.
I peaked my head over his shoulder to see the clock. “Shit!” I yelled, waking him up. “I’m going to be so fucking late.” Panic filled my mind. I didn’t bring any clothes with me and I did not have time to go back home.
“Call in.” He flashed me his sexy smile and spoke calmly. “I’ll tell Autumn I need a day to acclimate.” He patted the bed next to him. “I’d much rather play with you all day.”
“Troy!” I shook my head in disbelief. “Tonight is the Angels Charity Masquerade Ball.” His offer definitely sounded much more appealing. But seriously. How could he not know how important this ball was? “We are going to be crazy busy today, there’s no way either of us can call in.”
I grabbed my phone and did the only thing I knew I could do. “I need clothes, stat.” I lowered my head and shook it in shame before clicking send.
Laugh face emoji. “SERIOUSLY?”
“Please Savannah!” There was no way I was telling Autumn about this. Plus, Savannah was my size.
“Just stop on your way in, I’ll cover for you.” Shrug emoji.
“I’m already in. Kind of. I’m in Troy’s room. Please, just bring me clothes.” Angry face emoji.
“Who are you texting?” His voice interrupted thoughts of smacking the daylights out of her.
“Savannah.” I let out a heavy sigh. “I need clothes and she’s my size.”
He chuckled. “You can wear my clothes.” He pulled me back down and wrapped his arms around me. “Or you can just wear me.”
My body quivered at his touch, and my eyes closed. I let out a soft moan before my phone dinged.
“Alright. I’m on my way up.” There were so many emojis with that one, it annoyed me.
“We’ve got to get up and get ready for work, Troy.” I did my best to speak sternly. “The hotel is going to fill up fast and Autumn will be pissed if she finds out we bailed on her so we could fuck all day.”
His laughter filled the room. “You’re pretty amazing, you know that?”
I shook my head, surprised by his reaction. Before I could speak, I heard the elevator. I threw on one of his shirts and left the room.
Savannah stood outside the elevator with a smirk on her face. “I expect full details.”
I sighed heavily and grabbed the clothes. “I promise I will tell you everything later.” I turned and paused. “Thank you.”
She laughed loudly before getting back on the elevator. “I’m pretty sure this will be the highlight of the entire day.” Her laughter followed me to the bedroom.
Troy was sitting up in the bed when I walked back in. “You’re going to take a shower with me.” A look of expectation in his eyes.
“Is that an order?” The sultry tone in my voice surprised me. I wanted this man to control me. It was so unlike me and so different compared to the first time we were together. I moved to his side of the bed.
He pulled me down on top of him. “It is now.” His lips found mine and I let my body relax. “Text Autumn and tell her you’ll be late.” He rolled me over so that he was on top of me. “That’s an order.”
I let out a deep moan and spread my legs. I didn’t know what I was feeling, but I knew one thing for sure, Troy Cross was the man I wanted to be with.
I hurried off the elevator, hoping no one would see me. “Sorry I’m late.” I mumbled.
Autumn looked up and then looked around. “Wait, did you just come off the elevator?”
I threw a “help me” look at Savannah.
Autumn cocked her head to the side. “Isn’t that Savannah’s?” She pointed to the outfit I was wearing.
Savannah burst into laughter and wrapped her arm around her sister’s shoulder. “Sweet Echo here, spent the night welcoming our cousin to the neighborhood.” Her laughter started drawing the attention of other employees. “I’m so proud.”
“Shhhh!” I scolded her. “This is nobody’s business Savannah.” I glanced around to see that most everyone had gone about their business. “I promise I’ll give you details later.” I threw her a warning glance before logging into my computer.
Autumn let out a soft giggle and smacked Savannah on the arm. “Alright, you two. We have a busy day today. Let’s get to work.” Before walking away, she leaned over and whispered in my ear. “I also expect full details later.”
I put my head in my hands and let out a heavy sigh. All I wanted was to be in Troy’s arms again. There was no way it was love. Major lust, maybe. Love seemed so childish at this stage. But then, I remember Autumn and Savannah both saying how they knew right away that it was love or fate or whatever. They knew with their mates.
“Excuse me.” A chill went up my spine and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. “Do you have any rooms available?”
When I looked up, I was face to face with a vampire. He wasn’t from around here, and I was certain he wasn’t safe. “Let me check.” I did my best not to let him see my fear while I typed a message to Autumn to get back over there. For the first time, her insistence of having the messaging app always open made sense.
“Quinn.” Her voice called loudly behind me. “I’m surprised to see you here. Does Catalina know you’ve arrived?”
The man glared at me for a moment before turning his attention to Autumn. “It’s nice to see you again, Ms. Cross.” He shifted nervously. “I prefer the Solstice events in Coventon over those out west.” He smiled crookedly. “I’ve driven straight through and thought I would get settled in, perhaps, take a nap, before reaching out to Catalina.”
“Now Quinn,” she shook her head, “you know that’s not how it works around here. I’ll call her and let her know you are on your way. I’m sure she’ll be able to find suitable housing for your stay.”
He let out a gruff scoff. “Are you turning me away?”
Autumn clapped her hands together. “Oh, no, Quinn.” She took over my computer. “I am completely booked. Between the Charity Ball and Solstice, I simply have no rooms available.” She shrugged her shoulders and smiled softly.
He stared at her for a moment before walking away without another word.
“That’s an evil vampire.” The hairs on my neck were still at attention. “Why do you think he’s really here?”
Autumn watched him as he walked away. “Supes come from near and far when we have large events like this.” She shrugged her shoulders. “You know that, Echo.”
She turned to leave, mumbling to herself. “Hey, wait.” I turned and grabbed her arm. “Where is Paul? I thought he was working the desk this morning?”
“Oh!” She smiled warmly. “He’s running late.�
� She winked at me and turned to walk away again. “Found himself in bed with a stranger last night and needed to run home to change.” She was halfway down the hall by the end of her sentence.
“Nice,” I mumbled to myself, “real nice.” I watched to make sure the vampire got into a cab. Something about him was off. Maybe Autumn was too busy to realize it, but that was definitely an evil vampire.
“I thought you were like, the manager or something.” Troy looked around as though he was expecting so see someone else.
I nodded my head. “Yes, I am.” I looked around as well. “My staff is running late today.” I shrugged my shoulders. “I guess everyone had an eventful night last night.”
He winked at me. “I’m expecting an eventful night tonight too.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Oh, you’re expecting?” It really didn’t upset me though. For whatever reason, I wanted him to order me around. Hell, I wanted him to bend me over the reception desk and take it right there without protest. Fuck, he had me.
He laughed. “I am and so are you.” He leaned over the desk and stole a kiss. “So where do I report for duty boss lady?”
I chuckled loudly. “I’m hardly your boss, but I’ll find Leonardo.” I reached for the desk phone. “He’s the one you’ll report to.”
Troy’s phone rang just as Paul came rushing in, head down. “Sorry I’m late, Echo.” His voice almost inaudible.
I shrugged my shoulders. “Bad day to be late Paul, but I understand.”
Troy had stepped away from the desk and appeared to be arguing with whoever was on the other end of his call. The hair on the back of my neck stood up again. I looked around for the Vampire Quinn, but he wasn’t around. I turned my attention to Troy. His body language was suspicious. He kept looking at me and hiding his face, as if to ensure that I couldn’t hear his conversation. Suddenly, I realized I really knew nothing about this man. None of us did, not even Autumn or Savannah. For all I knew, he could be on the phone with his wife. Or what if he wasn’t even Troy Cross? Something was off. I could feel it. But why didn’t I feel it the night before? I’ve got excellent senses. I stared intently enough that I caught Troy’s gaze. A strange look came over his face and he hung up the phone.
He walked toward me, our eyes never losing the connection. “Sorry about that.” He smiled weakly.
“Who was that?” I tried to sound nonchalant. “Sounded pretty heated.”
He looked away and shook his head. “Just a guy I did some work for in California.”
Just then Leonardo came up. “Hey Troy!” He was such a friendly guy. “Good to see you, man. You ready to get to work?”
Troy threw a nervous glance toward me and nodded his head vigorously. “I sure am.”
“I bet you are.” I mumbled to myself.
“Did I miss something?” Paul wore a confused look.
I shook my head. “I’m gonna go to my office.” I moved swiftly and pulled out my phone, texting while I walked.
“Where are you?” Savannah was good at disappearing throughout the day.
“I’m dealing with Mr. Grant. Why does this man insist on staying here during our busiest times?” She had a way with people, and Mr. Grant had the sweetest crush on her. But he was annoying.
“I really need to talk to you when you’re done.” I knew Savannah would take the time for a good mystery.
“And I really need you to stop letting Mr. Grant book rooms when we’ve got underworld shit going on.” She could be such a bitch.
“Savannah! I need to talk to you. I’m serious.” It was best to hold your ground with her. I learned that once I got to know her after the wedding.
Her response was a shrug emoji and the thumbs-up emoji.
While I waited for her, I logged onto my office computer. “Let’s see what Google has to say about you, Troy Cross.” I said to no-one.
Of course there was nothing. And without all of his personal information, I couldn’t do a people search. Not that I wanted to pay for that anyway. I had connections.
“Gods!” Savannah yelled dramatically and fell into the chair across from me. “That man is never happy.” She gave me a smug look. “What do you want? It must not be that important if you want to talk to me and not Autumn.”
I let out an irritated sigh. “It is important.” I thought twice about confiding in her. “But if you’re too busy…”
She quickly interrupted me. “No, I’m not too busy.” She sat up straight in the chair. “I’m intrigued. Spill it.”
I leaned forward, clasped my hands together and rested my elbows on my desk. “Okay, so first off, Vampire Quinn from the West Coast showed up at the hotel earlier.” I waited for a response but got none. “He said he was here because he likes our solstice events better, but I’m pretty sure it was a bullshit excuse.”
She threw her hands up in the air. “So?”
I shook my head. “Okay, whatever. So then Troy took a phone call, and he was arguing with the person on the other end.” I nodded my head and gave her a knowing look.
Her laughter filled the room. “Really? This is important?”
I should have known she wouldn’t take me seriously. “Never mind.” I looked back at my computer and fought back the tears. “I have a bad feeling and I thought you’d help me figure it out. Silly me.”
She sat in silence, staring at me.
“Whatever.” I motioned for her to leave. “I’ll get to the bottom of it.”
“You’re a shitty story teller Echo.” She stated bluntly. “So let me see if I understand. You have a bad feeling and you think Troy isn’t telling us the truth?”
“Exactly!” I clapped my hands. “And the Vampire Quinn is bad.”
“Duh, yes, of course the Vampire is bad.” She rubbed her chin and looked around my office. “Did you ask Troy who he was talking to?”
I nodded my head. “He said he was talking to someone he had done work for in California.” I raised my eyebrows. “But I don’t believe him. His body language was nervous. Guilty almost.”
“Are you sure this isn’t simple jealousy talking Echo?” She leaned forward and her voice softened. “I know it really hurt you when he didn’t call before. Could you be projecting to protect yourself?”
It made sense that she might think that. “Savannah, I promise you, this is a feeling I have.” I knew I wasn’t wrong. “You and Autumn are always telling me I need to follow my gut because that’s my best talent.” I stood and leaned on my desk. “Something isn’t right and I’m going to figure out what it is with or without you.”
She stared at me for what seemed like hours before speaking. “I’ll have Marcus run a background.”
I let out a squeal and ran around to her side of the desk. “Thank you Savannah.” I grabbed her and hugged her because I knew she hated it. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
She let out a dramatic sigh. “You are the bubbliest sleuth on the planet.”
Chapter 5
Troy
Work around the hotel was pretty easy. In fact, by mid-day, I was certain Autumn asked me to come out of guilt or pity. Maybe she was feeling guilty about never looking for me after my father cast me out. Or maybe she thought she was doing me a favor. Either way, I wasn’t happy about it.
“Tell me about yourself, Troy.” Leonardo was annoyingly friendly. He had been attempting small talk all morning. And I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why he was tagging along. I knew more about maintenance work than he would ever know.
“Not much to tell.” I shrugged my shoulders and focused my attention on the wall I was patching.
He let out a long sigh. “Autumn tells me you ran away when you were young?”
I stopped and gave him a death glare.
His eyes widened, and he shook his head. “She wasn’t supposed to tell me?” He chuckled. “I have a big mouth. Sorry. I won’t tell her I brought up if you don’t.”
My body trembled with anger. “So that’s the story they tell eve
ryone? That I ran away?” I forced my energy on the drywall putty.
“Whoa!” Leonardo put his hand on my shoulder. “That’s the story she was told, man. Calm down, no one is out to get you here.”
I paused, focusing on my breathing. “That’s what Uncle William told her?”
He shook his head and narrowed his eyes. “That’s what your father told her.”
My head spun. Of course that’s what he told everyone. The coward didn’t even have the balls to admit that he cast me out. All those wasted years. Angry at my uncle. Angry at my cousins. No wonder they never came looking for me. They thought I didn’t want to be found. Gods!
“You okay?” Leonardo seemed genuinely concerned.
I nodded my head. “Why are you hanging out with me today?” Was it possible that everyone here really was nice and had my best interests at heart?
He chuckled. “My work doesn’t require me to go to an office, so I offered to show you around and try to make you feel at home.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Didn’t mean to fuck that up.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “You didn’t.” Maybe I’m the one that had them all wrong.
He extended his arm out. “How about I leave you alone and we’ll catch up later?”
I shook his hand and nodded in agreement. “Thanks for hanging out with me.”
He nodded his head and walked toward the lobby. Nice guy, Leonardo.
“Have you come up with a plan?” Sadie’s voice sounded tense.
I looked around to make sure no one saw me on the phone again. “I’m working on it, but you have to stop calling me.”
There was a moment of silence. “Why?” I could hear her body shift. “Why should I stop calling?”
“Because you’re making me look suspicious, Sadie.” I shook my head and let out a heavy sigh. “I can’t earn their trust if I’m always taking secret phone calls.”
“Oh…” the tone in her voice told me she hadn’t considered that, “… I suppose you’re right. But you need to check in with me every day so I know what you’re doing.” I could almost hear her dismissing me with her hands. “Call me tonight and tell me your plan.”
