Page 62 of Ink and Ashes
“Thank you, Mary. Me too.” I swallow roughly. “Jimmy doesn’t know if the fire was started on purpose, but with everything going on lately…” I trail off, letting her fill in the rest.
“It’s too much of a coincidence.”
“I think so.”
She hums. “They haven’t caught the person responsible?”
I shake my head.
“I hope they catch the bugger soon, whoever they are.”
I smile, but it’s fake.Me too.
“Come on in, let me make you some tea,” she says, gesturing toward the dining room.
But I shake my head. “I’m okay, really. I kind of just want to go lie down.”
Mary tilts her head down. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” I tell her. “Thank you, Mary. I’ll see you for breakfast in the morning?”
“Of course, Holland.”
Then I turn and head inside my room, finally letting the tears fall.
I’ve only been backat the inn for half an hour before I hear that raspy voice I’ve come to recognize so well—the same one that causes a chill to rush up my spine and goosebumps to rise on my flesh.
How is it that his voice alone has this effect on me? He’s been nothing but a dick to me since I arrived, yet at the first sign of kindness from him, my traitorous body changes its tune. I’ve never denied my attraction to him, but my hatred toward him has always outweighed that. At least it did.
But today, I saw a side of Colson I haven’t been privy to so far. A side that was soft, kind, and protective. A side that literally asked me to move in with him, even though he doesn’t know anything about me—even though we don’t know much at all about each other. And I’m not too sure what to do with that information.
I have a feeling he didn’t mean it. He probably just feels guilty for being such an ass since I arrived, even though with each day that passes it’s looking more and more like I’m right. I’m sure his offer to have me stay with him was his way of apologizing for not believing me until I was put in a dangerous situation—one involving fire, no less.
We all know he has a hard-on for anything involving a blaze.
Confused as to what he’s doing back here, I place my laptop on the bed beside me and stand, making my way to the door. Pressing my ear to it, I try my damnedest to hear what he’s saying, but it’s muffled, as if he’s speaking lower than usual.
Quietly, I crack the door open to let the voices filter in.
“—in case anything else happens,” are the first words I hear him say.
“Emmett and I are going to stay here tonight, so she won’t be alone,” Mary’s soft voice returns. My heart cracks knowing they’re planning to stay so they’re nearby in case something happens.
“Great. We can all be close then,” Colson argues, and my brows pull together.
Mary hums softly, and even though I can’t see them, I’m certain she’s assessing him. She must approve of whatever she finds though, because a moment later she says, “Okay, Colson. Room two is yours. Don’t make me regret this.”
My eyes widen and I gasp—louder than I intended to.
Hold your breath. With any luck, he didn’t hear?—
“You eavesdropping on me, Rhodes?” comes trickling in from the lobby, and I let my forehead fall against the door.
Damn it.
Giving up the safety of my room, I open it wider, revealing myself. Colson smirks back at me with a duffel bag hung over his shoulder. But the thing that really stands out is the way his eyes scan my body.
I’d changed into a pair of emerald green—just like his eyes—silk pajama shorts and matching button-up top when I got back, and I’d completely forgotten just how little I was wearing until just now. Not that the outfit is revealing, but under Colson’s watchful gaze, I feel stripped bare.
