Page 36 of Stripped

I snorted and hung the shirt back up. “I think I've got enough. I'm just going to try everything on.”

Zane followed me to the dressing room and sat on a chair just outside. “Show me the good stuff,” he said, with a grin.

I smiled back. Even happy-go-lucky Rixton would be complaining about the hour and a half Zane and I had spent shopping, but Zane hadn't said one word of protest. “Why aren't you telling me to hurry up?”

“I'm hoping I'll be rewarded for my good behavior later.”

I sighed. “I explained-”

He held up a hand. “You did and I said we shouldn't worry about the future, we should have fun now.” He stalked toward me. I should have run for the safety of the dressing room, but I was frozen in place by his hot gaze on me and the sinuous, sure way his body moved. He stopped in front of me, so close our bodies were a hair away from touching. “Don't I deserve a reward?”

He was teasing and I knew I could shove him away and he'd laugh. He wasn't Leopold, he wouldn't get mad if I turned him down. I bounced onto my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his. He kissed me back without touching me, a sweet, tender kiss.

When he broke away, he smiled and slapped my ass. “Hurry up and try on those clothes, I'm starving.”

“I kissed you too soon, didn't I?”

His grin widened. “Don't give the reward too soon or the good behavior won't last.”

“How about if I offered you another kiss for a bit more good behavior?”

He sat. “I'll consider it.”

I tried on the clothes quickly. It was my last trip to the dressing room, I hoped. I'd already found undies, bras, jeans, t-shirts, a heavy coat, hat, and gloves. I just needed a couple long-sleeved tees and a sweatshirt or two. Just enough to get me through until I moved to Denver.

Clothes chosen, I rejoined Zane in the dressing room area. I paid for the clothes and we carried them back to the truck and piled the new bags in the back with the other bags. I yawned as I buckled in. I'd gotten a bit of a nap on the way to the outlets, but it wasn't enough to really catch up on the sleep I'd lost, and I was starting to feel it.

Zane rubbed my shoulder. “Tired, honey?”

I stretched. “I'm okay. I know you're hungry.”

He shook his head. “Why don't we get take-out? We can curl up and eat in bed.”

I looked at him, the cab lit by the lights in the parking lot. “You need to eat before we make the drive back.” Mesa Bluff was a decent-sized town with an over-sized assortment of outlet stores, and it was about a two-hour drive from Mule Creek.

“I think we both need to sleep before I make the drive back. Axel has to travel a lot for pack business and we've got a pretty good supply of hotel points built up. We can get a room. You can put on those fuzzy pajamas you got, we can curl up with a movie, and eat… What do you want to eat?”

“Pizza. I'd be happy with simple pizza. We can have it delivered to the room.”

“I like the way you think.” He started the truck and pulled out of the parking lot. I must have drifted off, because when I opened my eyes we were parked in the lot of a mid-level chain hotel and I was alone. Before I started to worry that Zane had forgotten me, I saw him jogging back toward the truck. He opened my door. “Grab your stuff, sweetheart. I've got us a room.”

I grabbed my convenience store bag that held my new toothbrush, toothpaste, and hairbrush, and a bag that held my new pajamas and followed him into the hotel.

I'd only stayed in a hotel once before on the only vacation I'd been on with my parents, a trip to a lake in a town I couldn't even remember the name of, but I remembered the hotel. I remembered how happy we'd all been, my parents so in love, not yet angry or bitter. One four-night stay had been enough for me to develop an unfettered love affair with hotels. I loved the smell of hotels, the friendly, welcoming atmosphere, the whir of the elevator, but most of all, I loved the amenities that made me feel like a princess with a staff at my disposal.

I breathed in deep in the lobby, lavender with a faint undertone of bleach, mm-mm paradise. “What room are we in?” I asked Zane. It hadn't occurred to me to ask him to get us separate rooms. Most hotel rooms had two beds, so I figured it wouldn't matter.

“Room 304.”

I bounced on my toes. “Can I push the elevator button?” Okay, yes, I was acting like a five-year-old, but riding on elevators wasn't something I got to do often.

He patted my head. “Yes, Abby-gabby, you can push the elevator button.”

I ignored his patronizing tone and skipped to the elevator. I pushed the button and watched the floor numbers light up above us. Finally, the doors opened and we stepped on. The doors closed and—

“I'm getting that you—”

“Shh,” I said. “Just listen.”

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