by Lisa Lace
“How long will you be staying with us, Ms. Fletcher?”
“I have no idea. I want to say I’m leaving in two weeks, but I don’t know for sure. Why don’t you use what I have from the program? If I exceed my credits, go ahead and charge my card for the balance.”
“Certainly. We keep a copy of Mr. Sheen’s special requests saved. We have already adjusted the room to seventy-eight degrees, and we will have all the usual items sent up to your room as soon as possible. Will there be anything else you require from us?”
“It will just be me tonight.”
“Oh. I see. In that case, maybe I can upgrade you to our Ivory Suite. It has a splendid view of the Caldwell Mountains.”
“Thank you so much. And if you could please ask someone to send up these bags to my room as well, that would be fantastic.”
“Right away, Ms. Fletcher. Have a lovely evening.”
I walked towards the lobby, meeting Michelle halfway. The sides of my mouth sagged when I saw the look on her face. Her eyes looked red and swollen, and exhaustion had discolored her face. “Michelle, are you okay? What are you doing here?”
Michelle blinked at me, the wooden expression on her face unchanging. “Technically, I suppose I’m moving in here for a few weeks while I find a place of my own. Tate and I broke up,” she said tersely, drawing in a sharp breath.
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah, me too. I don’t want to be rude, but I don’t feel like chatting right now. I just want to get to my room.”
As I looked down at her bloodshot eyes, I wanted to sweep her into my arms and take her pain away.
“I haven’t slept in over a day, I’m a fucking mess, and it’s a miracle I’m standing up right now. I can’t do this anymore. I just want to lie down, pass out, and not have to feel anything.”
“Aye. I’ll let you go.” I stepped aside and let her through.
As she passed, my shoulders slumped forward. I struggled to breathe from the squeezing pressure in my chest. The peculiar sensation had come out of nowhere. It faded away the further Michelle walked away from me, completely vanishing when the elevator doors closed and removed her from view.
Wetting my lips, I headed for the elevators with a light feeling in my head. I had disregarded the connection I had with Michelle at the lounge bar as a fluke, but this was beyond my comprehension. I hadn’t just read her thoughts. It seemed as if I had somehow gotten a taste of what she was feeling. I had intruded on a private moment when she was vulnerable. Although I couldn’t understand what was happening, I vowed it would be the last time I invaded her personal space again.
When the elevator opened in front of me, I decided not to take it, making my way out of the hotel for some fresh air instead.
Chapter Thirteen
MICHELLE
“Michelle! Thank God you picked up the phone. Honey, please come home.”
“Listen to me, Tate. I just wanted to tell you to stop calling me.” I held my phone tightly to my ear, sinking deeper into the stack of pillows behind me. “I woke up this morning to forty missed calls from you. That’s borderline harassment. If you don’t quit this bullshit, I’m going to have to call the police.”
“Michelle, listen to me. If you’d let me explain, I think we can fix this.”
“What’s there to explain? I may be slow, but I’m not stupid.” I rolled over onto my side and squeezed my eyes shut. “I’ll have some movers come to your place and pick up the rest of my things. I’m going to hang up now.”
“I know I’ve made some mistakes, but you can’t just leave me, Michelle. You weren’t supposed to see any of that.”
“Well, that makes it all better, doesn’t it? Thanks for confirming that the cheating has been going on for quite a while now.”
“Please, baby, can’t we work this out?”
“I have to go, Tate. I’ve got a whole night planned with some people from work. There is an itinerary and everything, and I need to start getting ready. Good-bye.” I hung up, tossing my phone onto the chaise longue next to the bed.
Of course, everything I said was a lie. It was five in the afternoon, and I was still lounging around in a hotel bathrobe and stuffing my face with apple crumble. I had tossed and turned in the luxurious comfort of the king-sized bed until seven o’clock this morning. It was only then that I finally showered and started to head downstairs to cruise around the free breakfast buffet. But I soon lost all interest in changing into clean clothes, so I fell back into bed, napped for two hours, and proceeded to order room service. It had been a productive day.
And now, here I was, surrounded by half-eaten plates and glass bowls of dessert as I mindlessly watched a Korean movie without subtitles. It was the only thing I could find playing that didn’t have Tate’s face threatening to pop into the frame at any moment. I didn’t have a clue what the movie was about, but I couldn’t help but sob along with the crying female on television. The lovely woman was hanging onto door frames and furniture around her house, crying her heart out. Heartrending pain twisted her eyes and mouth as tears stained her cheeks, but her immaculately painted face remained perfectly intact.
I forced myself upright and grabbed the remote control, switching off the TV. After clearing off the plates and piling them back onto the cart, I stumbled back into bed and slithered up to my pillows once more. I had cashed in some of my vacation days to get away from my life for a while, but I was starting to realize being alone with my thoughts wasn’t doing me much good either.
After what I had done with Cas, I had no right to be upset, but the resentful part of me was pleased with myself. I wasn’t sure how I had avoided the truth of my life for so long, but now that I knew Tate had never been faithful to me, all his ‘late night’ meetings, extended business trips, and other signs of cheating were in a different light.
I was a fool, but at the end of the day, I was a cheating fool, and I was no better than Tate. There were no winners here, just two depraved and damaged individuals who stuck together because it was easy and didn’t have the guts to leave until one day their lives blew up in their faces.
As burnt out as I was, so many thoughts filled my mind that I couldn’t get myself to fall asleep.
I sat up and crawled over to the foot of the bed, reaching for the only thing that had effectively put me to sleep this afternoon. Not even bothering to get off the bed, I see-sawed over the edge and reached over to the black drawstring pouch peeking out of my unzipped suitcase. Before sliding back onto my pillows, I reached for the room remote and activated the blinds, sealing the room in darkness. Another click of a button turned on a small lamp on the nightstand, filling the room with a faint white glow.
I made myself comfortable on the bed, extracting an eight-inch silicone dildo and a bottle of lube from the pouch. The veined, lifelike cock felt oddly calming on my palm. Shrugging off my bathrobe, I spread open my legs, prepping my sex with the flavored lube. With my pussy pleasantly tingling from the cool gel, I set up my phone next to me, playing one of my favorite scenes.
As the well-endowed man on the video started to wash under the shower head, I settled back and reached for my dildo. I rubbed the head up and down against the lubricated lips of my cunt. I watched as the suds slid down the man’s strong back, curving past every sculpted hollow and muscle. He began to handle the fully erect muscle between his legs, soapy fingers squeezing his pole in slow, tender strokes.
I pushed the full length of the toy inside me, my toes scratching at the sheets restlessly. As the man defiled himself, his face scrunched up in pleasure. His grunts echoed in his bathroom, nostrils flaring as he jerked his cock with faster, more powerful strokes.
I bit down on my tongue, toying with my clit as I pumped the dildo in and out of me. Little jolts shook my thighs. The more pressure I exerted on my throbbing bead, the less I could feel my legs...
Just as I was slipping further into the sweet, amnesic pleasure, a pair of knuckles rapped roughly against my door.
�
��Who’s there?” I cleared my throat. “I think I put the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the doorknob.”
“It’s Cas.”
“Just a minute!” I stopped the video on my phone and hastily yanked the dildo out of my body. Stumbling out of bed, I wiped the toy on the towel hanging over the side of the chaise longue. As I tied the sash on my robe with jittery fingers, Cas knocked on the door again.
“Is everything alright in there?”
“I’m fine, just give me a second!” I paced around the room with my dildo in the air. Frazzled, I quickly wedged it under the mattress before rushing to answer the door. “Coming!”
“Evening, Michelle. Is this a bad time?”
Cas leaned against the door with one elbow. He crossed his burly arms over his chest. The defined muscles on his tattooed arms were naturally flexed in this position. I glanced at the paper bag in one of his hands, frowning.
“I was trying to get some sleep, but I guess it can wait.”
“Don’t worry. You can get some rest. I missed you at breakfast and hadn’t seen you all day yesterday or today, so I thought you might be camping out in your room. I wanted to make sure you had something to eat.” Cas passed me the bag.
“It’s chicken noodle soup. I’m not sure if it’s any good, but the girl downstairs recommended it.”
I sniffed as I took the bag from him, the fragrance of onion and celery broth kindling my appetite.
“Thanks. That was sweet of you.”
As Cas nodded and turned around to leave, I stopped him. “Would you mind staying for a minute?” I placed the bag on a table behind the door. “I could use someone to talk to. But of course, if you’ve got other things to do, don’t let me stop you.”
Cas dusted off his shoes by the doormat before shutting the door behind him. I put away the clothes on the chaise longue and zipped up my suitcases, storing them in the closet. As he looked around my spacious suite, I pushed my black pouch under the pillow and switched on the lights.
“Not a bad deal for a free room,” said Cas, lifting his scarred eyebrow. “I thought my room was nice.”
“Tell me about it. I spent three hours in the stone tub yesterday.” I sat at the foot of the bed and pointed to the lounge. “Have a seat.”
Cas sat down on the edge of the long Grecian sofa, resting his arms on his legs.
“Do you want to tell me what happened?”
“Let me try to keep this short. After what happened with us the other night...” I looked down on my lap, rubbing my knuckles in circular motions. “I was a guilty wreck. I decided to run down to Tate’s office yesterday and asked him to come home for dinner so we could talk. When I went into his office, I found out the real reason why he hadn’t been answering his phone all day. One of his interns, I believe the lovely lady’s name is Candice, was on the floor, between his legs.”
“I’m sorry you had to see that.”
“The revolting image is now permanently burned into my retinas.” I hung my head, pressing the back of my hand to my blushing cheeks. “I had planned on ending it that night at dinner. I was going to be civil about everything and hopefully part on good terms. Of course, nothing happened like I planned. I went straight home and packed as many things as I could before Tate came back. I stayed at a friend’s place for the night before I ended up here.”
“I don’t think it’s fair to compare what you did with Tate’s actions,” Cas remarked softly, relaxing against the stuffed back of the sofa.
“Why not? Do you know what? Never mind. It doesn’t make sense to point fingers. We were both wrong. I knew the relationship was over a long time ago, but I still can’t help but feel a sense of loss.” I inhaled deeply, unable to finish the rest of my sentence.
“Would it be okay if I sat there?”
I nodded, holding back tears before they could escape from my eyes. Cas sat down next to me, and the mattress sank under his weight. He wasn’t even touching me, but I sensed a consoling warmth begin to loosen the stifling feeling in my chest.
“What were you were saying? How did you feel?”
“I don’t know. Not good, I guess.”
“I know you put up a facade when you’re with company. Even aliens do it, if you can believe it.” Cas stretched out his arms behind him, leaning back as he looked at me. “I understand, but you don’t have to do it around me. It isn’t healthy to keep your emotions bottled up inside you. Trust me. Let it out and you’ll feel better.”
“I am letting it out,” I answered him stonily.
“If you say so. But understand that if it’s judgment you fear, there won’t be any from me. And what does it matter what I think? I’m from a different planet, and I’ll be out of your hair in a matter of days.”
“Okay, you have a point. I guess I did say that I wanted to talk. You’ll have to bear with me. I’ve never been good at expressing myself.”
“No problem. We can start there if you like. Why do you think that is?”
“I don’t know.” I rolled the sheets between my fingertips as I started to think. “I guess it could have started when we found out Mom had cancer. I was everything to her. I don’t think I’ve ever shed a tear in front of her. I couldn’t let myself. I had to smile and be brave for both of us, especially when she no longer had enough energy to do it herself. I guess I became used to dealing with my problems without emotion, and it’s how I’ve handled everything since then.”
“As I said, this is a judgment-free zone. The floor is yours. Do you want to give it another shot?”
Cas had a point. The reason I had trouble filling in the gaps in our conversations was my fault, not his. He was a fantastic listener and was even better with eye contact. It felt like he cared about what I had to say.
“Half of me is relieved that everything is over. It’s what I wanted, right? I know I’m done with Tate. But I can’t believe it’s over, if you know what I mean.”
“I’m not going to pretend to be an expert on human behavior, but that sounds normal to me. It was a long-term relationship. You’ve been through a lot together. If you felt nothing after leaving someone you’ve shared your life with for over three years that might be some cause for alarm.”
“I know. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I don’t know how to deal with any of this. I’m giving myself two more days to get my act together. Then I have to get back to work.”
“I think you should take it easy for a while, but do what you have to do.”
“I’ll calm down when I’ve found a place of my own and when I’ve figured out a plan for my future.” I swung my legs up onto the bed, hugging my knees. “How do you know so much about relationships, if you’ve never had one of your own?”
“It’s always easier to interpret things when you’re on the outside looking in, I suppose.”
“You just don’t believe in monogamy, is that it?” I tipped my head to the side, resting my cheek against my knee. “Is it you or is it a Yarian thing?”
“Yarians believe in flaura, lifelong mates meant to spend the rest of their lives together. It’s more complicated than that, but most Yarians of my generation think it’s a sham. One theory suggests the idea was fabricated by the Yarian kingdom centuries ago to brainwash us all, ensuring the steady growth of future generations.”
“What do you know? Government conspiracy theories are universal.” I chuckled softly to myself. “In other words, these flaura are soul mates?”
“Aye.”
“What do you believe? Do you think your flaura is somewhere out there waiting for you, or is that too sappy for a big scary warrior?”
“I don’t have much of an opinion on the matter,” Cas stated simply, shrugging.
“Well, that’s new.” I sat up, lowering my legs to the floor. It felt good to smile. “Other than Twanda, you’re telling me you’ve never entertained the idea of being committed to someone else?”
“To tell you the truth, there was someone else. Losing her has always been one of
my greatest regrets.”
“Tell me about her,” I urged softly.
“To start off, she was already taken. But I knew no matter what he had, I could have given her more.”
I gulped, running my fingers against the white silk of my robe.
“Then what happened?”
“I knew it was impossible. We were worlds apart. It would never have worked out. But let me tell you, when I first saw her, I knew I wanted her for the rest of my life.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“I got over it eventually.”
“You did?”
“Aye. It was Ameda Lang, one of the top-selling Yarian record artists of the century. I knew it was over when she married Dix Wynder, a champion sportsman. I probably should mention that I was eleven when all this happened.”
I burst out laughing. “You must think you’re clever.” I breathed out in relief. “For a second, I thought...”
“You thought what?” Cas grinned, wriggling his eyebrows.
“I thought nothing. You’re a jackass, that’s all.”
“Jackass. That must be what humans call funny aliens. I enjoy the way that rolls off my tongue.” Cas’ growing grin was as cocky as it was sexy. But slowly, his smile faded. “About what you said earlier. Do you think what we did was a mistake?”
“What?” I licked behind my teeth, taken aback. “Yes. I mean, no. I don’t know. Do you?”
“Definitely not.” Cas turned toward me. The glittering green of his eyes burned into mine. “Hold on a second. I’ve been sitting on this lumpy thing under the bed for a while now, and it’s starting to dig up into my ass.”
“Oh my God. Don’t!”
I smacked a hand over my mouth, my eyes as wide as they could open. Cas wrenched the dildo out from under the mattress. Our eyes dropped to the tip of the silicone cock flopping in his hand.
“And what do we have here?” Cas laid the dildo next to me, his narrowed eyes glinting. “I’m guessing this isn’t a free gift from the Beaumont?”
I scratched the side of my nose, looking away from him. “I was putting myself to sleep when you showed up.”
