Page 38 of Inarticulate

“Everything all right?” Spencer’s voice was distant, a fading whisper being drowned by the whoosh of blood in her ears.

“I’ve gotta go.” She didn’t want staff to put a face to the owner of the used condoms from her room. “I’ll speak to you tomorrow.”

She slammed the receiver down and rushed to the lobby on the toes of her pumps. Her focus caught him immediately. His formidable frame was near the hotel entry, his gorgeous face impassive as their gazes collided.

She continued toward him and chanced a cautious glance at the receptionist. Kelly was on the phone, her face bowed, her attention occupied. Apart from a couple seated on the leather sofa, engaged in conversation with suitcases at their sides, there was no one else in the lobby.

She was thankfully flying under the radar, even though her heels sent a deafening tap through the room with each step.

Please go.She implored Keenan with a look of dismay and shooed him with a hand movement. His brows knitted together, the sting of dismissal hitting his features before he could school his expression. He turned toward the entrance, keeping a steady pace as she came to his side and they walked into the cold night air together.

“Why are you here?” She continued down the steps leading to the sidewalk and didn’t stop until a hand clasped hers and pulled her up short. She turned to him, her gaze flicking from the lobby to his penetrating eyes as she breathed fog between them.

He pulled out his cell from the inside pocket of his jacket and showed her the messaged he’d sent earlier.

“Shit.” She placed a hand over her mouth and fought to control a shiver over the vastly differing temperature from inside. “I forgot to reply.”

His eyes raked her in concern, bringing with it a dose of overwhelming exhaustion far greater than what she’d already been experiencing. The only thing prepared for excessive exercise was her heart which beat at a lust-starved pace.

“Today has been a nightmare.” She hung her head and massaged the bridge of her nose. All she wanted to do was go home to San Fran and sleep in her own bed. She was sick of drama, tired of playing Whack-A-Mole with all the staff problems, and the buzz of delirious energy he’d left her with the day before seemed to have transformed her into a clump of nonsensical putty.

His hands slid up her arm, over her elbows, to grip her shoulders. He stepped into her, the white wisps of his breath drifting between them in the freezing air. She tilted her mouth toward his, so close, so tempting.

She needed to tell him to leave, the words were already poised on the tip of her tongue, yet her lips parted with other movements in mind. This close she was senseless with the need to kiss him. To taste him.

“I can’t be seen with you.” She was trying to convince herself, attempting to break the spellbinding way his eyes seduced her.

His brow furrowed in confusion, but he didn’t loosen his grip. They remained toe to toe, thigh to thigh.

“One of the housekeeping staff went through my trash,” she said breathlessly. “Apparently, the number of times I got laid the other night was hot gossip.”

His hands fell. His face, too. Fury took the place of his concern and he glanced back at the hotel with a narrowed stare.

“The shift manager fired the housekeeper in question, but my sex life is still the topic of conversation.” She placed her hand on his stomach, stealing back his attention. “It’s not the type of scrutiny I can afford. Especially when I don’t know what position you hold within the company.”

She was digging for information to appease her vanity, but the jut of his chin and the thinning of those sensuous lips said she wouldn’t receive what she was searching for. He was ashamed of his job, and she was even more ashamed for repeatedly bringing it up.

“I don’t know what to do,” she admitted.

He scoffed as he tapped into his cell screen and then turned it to face her.It sounds like you’re looking for excuses to stop seeing me.

“I already have numerous.” She stepped back, needing space from the palpable annoyance ebbing from him. “But when I’m with you, the reasons are hard to remember.”

He wasn’t convinced. His chin remained high, his jaw tight. He typed into his screen again and held it up between them.When you figure it out, let me know.

He lowered the device and slid away. Each foot of distance he placed between them made her heart ache. It wasn’t right. She didn’t ask for this. It was meant to be sex, and she’d stupidly tripped over the line of passion and stumbled into something unfamiliar that seemed a lot like infatuation.

“Keenan, wait.”

He didn’t pause. Those rugged shoulders of his kept drifting further away.

“Keenan.” She took off after him in a huff.

She should be running in the opposite direction, endeavoring to place more space between them. Only, the need to have him stare at her in appreciation was killing her. The desire for it was a living, breathing thing, clawing up her throat and cutting off her breath.

She reached his side, the streetlight bathing them in a warm glow, and gripped the crook of his arm. He swung around and peered down at her with disdain.

“Don’t look at me like that.”

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