Page 43 of The Anti-Bachelorette (The Anti-Bachelorette 1)

Chapter 12

Iwake up the next morning and can feel Alaric pressed up close to my back. I can still hear him breathing heavy, so he must still be asleep. In my half awake state, I scooch back toward him and cuddle up to his chest. His arm comes around and wraps around my stomach. I freeze in place. It’s like Alaric feels my body tense, and it wakes him up. His body slowly moves as he wakes up. Then suddenly his arm pulls away from my body, and he scoots back like I burned him.

He doesn’t say anything, so I just slowly turn toward him like I just woke up and didn’t notice the way our sleeping bodies cuddled up to each other.

When I open my eyes, his are staring intensely back at me. I blink a couple of times, but his eyes never waiver. I just grin at him. “Are you always this intense in the morning?”

He doesn’t smile back at me. “Sorry. I’m not used to having someone sleeping in my bed.”

I just laugh. “Trust me. We’ve already established your relationship history. Or lack thereof I mean.”

I sit up in the bed and stretch my arms over my head and arch my back. I pull the covers back and place my feet on the ground. Then I glance over my shoulder. “You really should reconsider your stance on kicking your booty calls out right after sex though. You’re a natural cuddler.” I give him a little wink, and then stand and walk into the bathroom to get ready for the day.

The rest of the day is pretty boring. I spent most of the morning just watching TV in the room. Alaric took me to pick up lunch, which we brought back to the room because Alaric didn’t want to be out in public if we were going to stay here a few days. Alaric had to make a bunch of calls after lunch to figure out more details about what was going on with his brother, so I headed down to the pool area. I didn’t dare go swimming. Not that I brought my suit. I just decided to lay out and get a tan until dinner time.

I headed back to the room, but Alaric was on the phone again with someone else. He stepped out of the room, so I turned on the TV again. Luckly, one of the channels was playing a movie, so I decided to watch that until he was done. He came back in a little while later. “You want food?”

I glance over to him. “Yes please. I’m starving.”

He rolls his eyes at me. “You’re always starving.”

I just narrow my eyes at him. “Well, let’s get on it then. Where are we headed?”

Alaric frowns at me. “I’ll pick something up. I need to get some supplies anyway. You stay here.”

Now it’s my turn to frown. “I’ve been here all day. Why can’t I come with?”

Alaric just continues to stare back at me. “The less people that know I have someone here with me, the better.”

I breathe out a frustrated sigh. “Fine. Can I at least pick the food? Because I want wings.”

Alaric finally smiles at me. “I can do wings. I’ll be back soon.” Then he turns and leaves.

After about 10 minutes, I start to grow stir crazy. I am sitting on the bed bouncing my leg up and down trying to think of something to do. I glance over to the small desk they have in the room. It probably has been used more for sex than to write on I’m sure. I see the empty ice bucket sitting there. I guess I can go fill that up. It will give me something to do until Alaric gets back with the food.

I make sure I have the room key in my pocket, and then I head out to fill up the ice bucket. The ice machine is located in the middle of the rooms in a small area with a few vending machines. I take note of what’s in there for later. Maybe I can come get a candy bar for dessert.

The ice bucket is almost full when I hear a voice behind me. “Hey you.”

Alaric’s voice sounds kind of funny. I start to turn toward him. “You’re back quicker than I thoug-...” The man in front of me is not Alaric. “Oh sorry. I thought you were someone else.” I focus in on the man who was talking to me. My heart rate picks up, and my hands turn sweaty. I immediately know why I thought the voice was Alaric’s. The man in front of me looks like an older, much thinner version of Alaric. Kind of like if Alaric was strung out on heroin for a while. I imagine that’s exactly what happened to this man. I know right away it is Jeremy.

I give him a small smile and try to play it cool. I grab the ice bucket and start to walk toward my room. “Excuse me.” I nod and take a few steps away.

I am yanked back by an arm being wrapped around my waist and hand over my mouth. I try to kick and scream, but even though the man is much smaller than Alaric, he is still too strong for me to overpower. I try to scream again when I feel the metal from a knife being pressed up against my neck. “Not another sound.” He grits out into my ear as he presses himself up against me, pushing me into the vending machine.

He runs his nose up along the back of my ear. “So you’re the little whore Alaric has been spending all his money on.”

He pulls his hand away, so I try to act like I don’t know what he is talking about. “No. That’s not me. I don’t know any Alarics.”

He grabs my head and pushes it into the vending machine again. “Don’t lie to me bitch. I already know everything.”

I try a different tactic. “What do you want Jeremy? I can get you money if that’s what you need.”

I feel him smile against my ear. “Ahh so Alaric has told you about me has he?” He chuckles. “Strange. Alaric never tells his sluts anything. What makes you so special?" Then he presses his hips up against my ass. “Maybe I should find out.”

I try to stay calm, but my heart is beating through my chest. I try to push back against him again, but he just grabs my head again and slams my face against the vending machine. All I can focus on is the sharp pain shooting through my head.

I hear a clicking noise behind me, and then the most perfect sound I think I’ve ever heard. “Let her go. Now.”

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