Page 6 of Forsaken Desire
“You’ll like working at the front desk, but like with every job, there are those entitled, shitty-personality customers. You speak Spanish, right? Ms. Zhao told me they were hiring someone with the language.”
I nodded, brushing the hair back again. The bun I had meticulously worked to pin on my head was already falling apart.
“If you can’t come dressed in your uniform, you can change in there.” She pointed at the opposite end of the seating areas, where there were curtains blocking it. “Changing rooms with privacy curtains.” Karol shuffled to the furthest row, closest to the changing area. I hurried as she disappeared behind the locker segment. Once I rounded the corner, I found her crouched and removing one of the locks. “Here, claim whichever one you want that doesn’t have a lock.”
I scanned the lockers, searching for an unoccupied one. In the far corner, there was one at the bottom. Crouching, I hooked the metal through the loop, clicked it shut, and stood.
“Done,” I announced, pulling my keyring out of my pocket slacks to slide the locker key on it. Now I had two keys of my very own. A loud beeping broke through from her pocket, and her eyes went round. She fumbled to grab her cell phone.
She frowned at the screen.
“I have to go pick up my daughter. She’s started throwing up at school.” Her wide eyes met mine. “She starts to shift when she doesn’t feel good, and she’s attending a human school,” Karol whispered before walking out of the employee area. “I have to go clock out and?—"
An alarm went off on her phone again, and she cursed some more. “Shit. The towels need to be delivered. Shit. Shit. Shit.”
I followed her out of the fluorescent light and into the main hall. Her chest rose and fell sharply. If she didn’t relax, she was bound to have a panic attack, and she was practically running down the hall. “What do I do?”
“I’ll help,” I offered, keeping pace with her. She abruptly stopped. I could tell she was deliberating briefly. Finally making up her mind, she waved me after her. “All you need to dois deliver some fresh towels. Set them on the bed and leave—” She lifted her beeping phone. “I’m out of time. I’m going to have to call Ms. Zhao. Elevators are in the lobby. Room 201.” She pressed a key card into my palm. “Wilbert will have them in a sealed pouch on the edge of the counter.” I followed her motioning hand toward the package on the ledge. “You’re seriously saving my ass.” She took off at a sprint in the opposite direction we’d been heading with the phone in hand, disappearing around the corner. There must be an employee exit that way.
My first duty in my new job, and I didn’t want to fuck it up. I exhaled and rolled my shoulders. Grab the package, take it to room 201, set the package on the bed, leave. It should be an easy task. It didn’t take me long to reach the package sitting on the counter. The clear bag was compressed to make the towels thin. When I breathed in, a potent vanilla scent came from them. To the point that it stung my nose.
Okay, then.
I hoisted the bundle in my arms, one that weighed more than it looked, and retraced my steps back toward the lobby. Even though I made sure to do daily push-ups, I wasn’t used to all the speed walking I’d been doing. Combined with the new-ness of the situation, my heart rate was through the roof.
The double doors leading to the back swung shut, and I entered the lobby. Tucked to the side and directly across the employee area were the elevators. Once I reached them, I jammed the button, taking the brief moment to catch my breath. The one on the left opened, and I hurried in and pressed the second-floor button.
A quick in and out, and then I would be in time to attend orientation. The ding was accompanied by the elevator doors swinging open. I shuffled onto the carpeted floor.
With the package in my arms, I made it to room 201 and fished out the key card. I pressed it against the black rectangle above the door handle. The three little lights turned green. Upon opening the door, a wave of intense vanilla slapped me across the face. I sniffed, aching to rub my nose.
A low drone of classical music hummed from a speaker. I entered, and the heavy door thudded shut, enclosing me in the dark room. A beam of light came from past the edge of the small hall. The bed was within distance. I hurried over and couldn’t help but eye the other items on the bed. Lotion and perfume in a vanilla scent. A diffuser ran on the nightstand. Whoever was in here loved the smell.
The classical music swelled and then came to a stop, allowing me to hear the spray of the shower.
Fuck. The patron was already here.
I dropped the package on the bed, but severely underestimated the weight. It hit the bottle of lotion and sent it skidding to the side, while the clear bag hosting the towels slipped to the edge of the bed.No!
I lunged for it, managing to capture it by the edge of the plastic. The mattress dug into my belly, and I exhaled with relief. Day one, task one, and I was messing up, but there was still a chance to save myself?—
A growl froze me in place. I squeezed my eyes shut. How would I explain and get myself out of this without losing my job?
“You’re early.” The deep, spine-tingling voice sliced through the silence, and a palm pressed on my shoulder, forcing my boobs flat to the bed. “I paid for you to wear a fucking dress.”
I sucked in a breath as something hard dug into my ass.
“W—”
“Silence,” he bit.
My words cut off as two large hands engulfed my sides, still over my clothing, as they dragged down the sides of my breasts.The plastic slipped out of my grip and thumped on the floor. The hardness pushed into my ass more insistently. Vanilla crept into my nose, but it was deeper, less artificial . . . it was coming from him. Butterflies started in my stomach.
“At least you’re wearing the scent I requested,” he growled in my ear.
Lust blazed downward, and my sex pulsed just from his words. Fuck. Fuck. He felt so good. Hesmelledso good.
But who was ‘he’?!
