Page 34 of Trick's Trap

Chapter 17

The pillow he put over the top half of his face had drifted over his mouth. Trick sat up, smacking his lips together, trying to clear his tongue of the fuzz he suspected came from accidentally licking the thing in his sleep.

He hadn’t meant to drift off. He’d been waiting for Tahlia to wake up, but she’d slept long enough for him to get tired.I was only going to close my eyes for five minutes.Somehow, that turned into over two hours of sleep on the suite’s couch according to his watch.

He glanced over the back of the sofa. “Hi.”

Tahlia spun on her heel next to the food-service tray. She had a fistful of French fries in her good hand.

Her hair was wet and her skin possessed the freshly scrubbed look of someone who just stepped out of the shower. She was also pale, and much frailer than he remembered. The only color on her face was from a bruise high on her cheek.

“Hi.” Her voice was muffled, her mouth half-crammed with cold food. She swallowed hastily.

Trick got to his feet, waving at the plate he’d ordered before her nap. “Don’t eat this. I can get something fresh and hot up here in less than ten minutes.”

Tahlia coughed, blinking. She reached for the pitcher of water on the cart and poured herself a drink.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said, putting his hands in his pockets before coming around the couch. “I was waiting for you to get up, and I accidentally fell asleep on your couch.”

Tahlia cleared her throat, her fine features tight and uncertain. For a moment, she stared, holding her injured hand against her chest. “I’m great with this burger, thanks. This isn’t your room? I mean, it resembles it, but it’s laid out differently…”

A corner of his mouth lifted. “All the suites on this floor are similar. I wanted to put you in my room, but decided it was too presumptuous. “

She blushed, much-needed color returning to her cheeks.

Trick pointed to an adjoining door. “My room is through there.” He cocked his head at her, gesturing for her to follow him so he could display the twin lock. “There is one of these on both sides. Both have to be undone to pass through. Yours is locked, of course. Mine will stay open in case you need something—just come on in, day or night. If I’m not there, I’m on the floor below in my office.”

Normally, that wouldn’t have been the case, but he was taking a break from his heavy travel schedule for the foreseeable future. Liam had agreed to take over the next series of on-sight visits to the hotels abroad, and his sister Maggie was handling their many conferences.

Tahlia’s lips parted, a slightly hunted expression flicking across her face.

Trick winced. “Unless you think that’s totally creepy. If you’d be more comfortable somewhere else, I can move you to another room,” he added hurriedly. “We have over two hundred of them.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s nice of you to put me up here. I’m just a little embarrassed that everyone knows.”

“That everyone knows what?”

“That I came up here with you the night we met and…”

He stepped closer, putting his hands on her shoulders. “We didn’t do anything. Just talked.”And made out for a few hours before going to sleep.

She toyed with the cotton of her sleep shirt. “I know…but no one will believe we didn’t sleep together.”

He walked closer, until he was close enough to touch her. Fingering an almost-dry strand of her hair, he stared down into her eyes, drinking in their startling silver-blue gleam. “I told Jason and Ethan you were here that night after the game, but no one else. I asked Juan, the security guard you met, not to mention it to anyone outside of law enforcement. Maia and Peyton have no idea. Neither do my siblings. The only reason I told Ethan was to make sure he would be able to retrace your steps that night. He’s also aware that nothing happened. I made that clear.”

Tahlia frowned. “Why?”

“Because I didn’t think it was anyone else’s business but our own. The agents will keep it to themselves—not that they’re in any position to judge. Trust me on that.”

“Oh. Um…thank you.”

He sighed. Her reaction was so telling, and she didn’t even know it. “You don’t have to thank me for that. I know you regretted coming with me. I knew it that night, as soon as the elevator doors closed on us.”

Startled, she met his eyes.

He inched closer, his hand lowering to wrap around her waist. “That’s another reason I told the agents. You came with me because you felt threatened, didn’t you? Even earlier in the alley, you were on edge. And in the lobby again, you kept looking over your shoulder. Maia said your family was in the habit of having you followed.”

He paused, savoring the feeling of her in his arms, wishing he could crush her against him. But she was still too fragile. “I wish I’d known about them that night. If I had, I wouldn’t have let myself fall asleep. And I certainly wouldn’t have let you leave.”

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