Page 23 of The Swap Masquerade

Chapter 9

ELLIOTT

I stepped through the front door of the hotel at six fifty-five. It was surprisingly nice and clean, not at all the seedy kind of place I’d worried I might walk into, given the reason for my being there. Although, Tyrion didn’t strike me as the type to frequent No-Tell Motels.

There was no one else inside the lobby, but still, I was thankful the hotel Tyrion had chosen was far away from campus and anyone who might know me. I spotted the set of elevators as soon as I’d walked in and I made a beeline for them, smiling politely at the woman working the front desk as I passed by. I figured if I acted as if I knew what I was doing, she’d assume I was a guest there. It must have worked because she turned her attention back to her computer screen as soon as I reached the elevators.

I pressed the button and tried not to fidget with the car keys in my pocket as I waited for the elevator to arrive. When it did, I climbed inside and punched the button for the tenth floor. The doors slid closed, and I took a few seconds to check over my appearance one last time. After making sure I was thoroughly clean and shaved everywhere, I’d dressed in a brand-new pair of jeans and a gray button-up shirt. I’d considered wearing a tie with it for about half a second before deciding casual would probably be better.

As the elevator neared the tenth floor, I pulled my teal mask out of my back pocket and slid it on over my head, then made sure my hair was in place and sniffed my armpits to make sure my nerves hadn’t caused me to sweat through my deodorant. I still smelled okay, so I concentrated on my breathing as the elevator car came to a stop and the doors slid open.

I counted the room numbers I passed as I walked down the long, carpeted hallway until I was standing outside of room number 1082. I paused, giving myself a moment to decide if this was truly what I wanted, but I already knew the answer. I was sure, deep down, that if I changed my mind, if all I wanted to do was talk, he’d be okay with that.

Only that wasn’t all I wanted. I wanted the man on the other side of the door. I wanted more of his kisses and his touch and the crazy way he made me feel every time he looked at me. I wanted him to be my first, to show me all the things I’d been missing. The realization brought with it a certain level of calmness and before I knew it, I was reaching out and knocking on the door.

I could hear movement on the other side and then the door swung open. The man I called Tyrion stood there, looking even more incredible than he usually did. Wearing dark jeans and a light blue Henley, he looked like he’d stepped right off the cover of a magazine, and the scruff lining his sharp jawline made him look edgy in a James Dean sort of way.

“Hello,” he said in that deep, velvety voice of his.

“Hey.”

His smile was warm as he held the door open. “Would you like to come in?”

“Yeah, okay. Thanks.” I slipped past him and moved into the room. My eyes darted around, taking everything in.

The room was decorated in a neutral fashion with lots of tans and soft creams. The only splash of color came from the two pieces of artwork hanging on the walls. A tiny desk sat in one corner of the room while a loveseat and chair offered a comfortable seating area along the opposite wall. A large wooden cabinet with drawers underneath was home to a large, flat-screen TV and beside it, sat a small mini bar.

The drapes had been pulled back from the window, providing a beautiful view of downtown Indianapolis, but my attention caught and held on the king size bed in the middle of the room. Heat suffused my skin as my mind began to swirl with thoughts of what might happen on that bed. Would he throw me onto it? Rip my clothes from my body? Would he be rough with me the way he’d been with his partner the first night I’d seen him? Goosebumps pebbled my skin at the memory.

“Are you all right?” My head shot in his direction and I could see the concern in his gray eyes.

“I’m sorry. Did you say something?”

“I asked if you wanted a drink, but apparently you didn’t hear me. You seemed a million miles away.”

I felt myself blush. “Sorry. I was just thinking about…stuff.”

His eyes darted towards the bed then back to me, a knowing smirk lifting one corner of his mouth. “I’d love to hear what…stuff you were thinking about. I have a feeling it would be extremely interesting. But first, how about that drink?”

I blew out a breath, not even realizing I’d been holding it. “Yeah, that sounds great. Thanks.”

The clink of ice hitting the bottom of a glass filled the quiet space in the room as I made my way over to the window and looked out. Below us, traffic lined the streets and people rushed about, in and out of stores and restaurants. In the distance, the glow of stadium lights lit up the sky over Victory Field. The Indianapolis Indians were playing a home game which never failed to draw in a large crowd.

I turned my back on it all, preferring the view of the sexy man I was with instead. “Here you go.” He handed me a glass of what looked like scotch then tapped his glass to mine. “Cheers.” I stared at him over the rim as we each took a sip, the smoky flavor coating my tongue. “Care to sit?”

I nodded, following him over to the seating area. He sat down on the loveseat which left me to decide, should I sit next to him or on the separate chair? He must have read the indecision on my face because he patted the cushion next to him. Sinking down beside him, I took another generous sip of scotch, enjoying the warmth that spread through my belly when I swallowed and the relaxed feeling it gave me.

“Am I making you nervous?”

I peered at him, cocking my head to the side as I gave his question careful consideration. “Maybe a little. Well, it’s not so much you, as what’s about to happen.” My eyes sprang wide as I realized how presumptuous that must have sounded. “Not that anything is definitely going to happen. I mean, you have a say in this too and you may not even want that…with me. I just meant it could happen and…Oh, God. Now, I’m rambling.” Mortified, I set my drink down on the coffee table and covered my face with my hands.

I heard his soft laughter and then his fingers curled around my wrists, tugging my hands away from my face. When I looked up at him, he was smiling gently. “Listen to me, okay?” He waited until I nodded before going on. “First of all, there is no question as to whether I want you or not. I know you don’t know this about me, but I don’t make a habit out of this. When I want to have a little fun, I go to swap parties. I don’t exchange numbers with men or meet them at hotels. This is different for me because you were different.”

“Different in what way? Because I’m a virgin?”

“No. I mean, yes, that part was different, but that wasn’t how I meant it.”

“How did you mean it?” I knew I was putting him on the spot with my questions, but I needed to understand, to know I wasn’t the only one feeling the inexplicable connection between us.

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