Page 1 of Between the Lines

CHAPTER 1

CHARLOTTE

The water pressure in this hotel shower is fantastic.

The cost of a night here is worth every penny for the hot water alone, as I wash away my earlier hike. I’m already looking forward to ordering the best pasta dish the hotel restaurant has to offer and falling into bed early.

It’s the perfect end to a day of exploration on my solo road trip from Chicago to Los Angeles. An entire week all to myself, with new parts of the country to see.

I lean against the tiled wall behind me and turn my face toward the spray of warm water. This is one of my favorite places to be. The in-between state, with one city and ghostwriting job behind me, and another looming. It’s freedom of the best kind.

There’s good water pressure here. I wonder…

I turn on the handheld shower nozzle and wash my back, my stomach. Move the showerhead down between my legs and shift until I find just the right angle.

That’s good. That’s really good. Closing my eyes, I think about nothing but pleasure. Shadowy figures from my past flash through my mind. Not the specific men I’ve been with, but rather the situations. Like the time I had sex standing up against a camper van in the middle of a national park in Arizona. I’d onlyseen Simon for a few weeks while working on a book down in Tucson. He’d been a hot commitment-phobe who liked to laugh. Perfect for my tastes.

I don’t date. I don’t stay long enough in one place for that, and even if I did, I doubt dating is for me. Casual and noncommittal work best. Fun, until it stops being fun, and where I can’t get hurt.

I change the angle a bit, and pleasure flows through my limbs. It’s slow and syrupy, growing with every passing minute. My mind shifts to another fantasy. One I’ve had but never fulfilled. The idea of a man tying my hands to the headboard, my legs on either side of his head. He bends me in half and goes to town.

I moan. The sound echoes through the bathroom, and I let it. There’s no one but me here, in this large hotel room. For some reason, I was upgraded to a suite when I checked in, and I’m not one to complain.

I reach out to rest my hand against the glass shower wall. My eyes close, and I imagine someone inside me, filling the ache...

“Hello?” a voice rings out.

I only have time to open my eyes. Then he comes into view, stopping in the open doorway of my ensuite bathroom. Tall. Dark hair. Leather jacket. A keycard in hand.

Staring straight at me.

I scream. The shower nozzle falls out of my grasp, spraying water in every direction. I cover my breasts and shove my now-free hand between my legs.

The man closes his eyes. There’s a flush of color on his cheeks as he reaches out blindly for the bathroom door I’d left open. He shoves it shut.

“What are you doing in here?!” Embarrassment runs through me, hotter than the water still flowing. It chases away the high of my near-orgasm.

“I could ask you the same thing.” The voice, even through the door, is deep. Almost a bit hoarse. “I checked into this suite earlier today.”

I shut the water off and step out of the shower. Wrap a towel around my body. Water drips from my soaking hair and onto the stone floor. “I was just given this suite an hour ago!”

“Must be some mix-up.” He curses, loud enough for me to hear every syllable. “I’ll… leave you to it.”

My cheeks are flaming. I can’t remember if anyone haseverseen me masturbate. It’s not something I’ve done in bed before.

My hand hovers on the doorknob. Should I ensure he leaves? Tell him off? Right now, I don’t know if I can look him in the eye.

I don’t know if it’s better or worse that the man is handsome, too.

Still doesn’t make this his room.

“Bye!” I call.

I hear the heavy front door of my suite open and then shut with a finalsnick.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I look over at the mirror. My entire face is red, and I don’t know if it’s from the hot water, the pleasure, or the shame.

Probably all three.

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