Chapter 37 SOMETHING HOTTER
THANE
All the way to the room, I had only one mission.
Whatever the hell I needed to do to survive the night… None of it could involve entertaining the desperate urge to imagine Rachel in my bed.
Truth was, she had no idea how badly I wanted to kiss her when she innocently gave me that annoyed look at the doorway.
She already hated me for kissing her earlier. If I actually slept in the same room with her, I’d lose my mind. I didn’t trust myself not to slip under her blanket and do exactly what I’d been imagining since the drive here. Then, I'll probably earn myself another face wrenching slap again.
I’d met plenty of girls before. Even now. But I’d never sat around imagining one of them in my bed.
I never needed to.
They were always available when I wanted them, and since Nina and I started hooking up, I hadn’t even bothered with anyone else. Nina had always been enough.
Except Rachel wasn’t like that. With her, it wasn’t just about wanting my hands on her. I wanted her. And that feeling… that thing twisting inside my chest… I hadn’t felt it in a long damn time.
I dropped into the only single chair in the room with a heavy sigh and leaned back.
Rain slammed against the windows outside.
My mind drifted back to her again. I wondered if my shirt was even enough to keep her warm tonight.
It was ridiculous how my thoughts kept circling back to her… like she’d cast some kind of spell I couldn’t shake.
Honestly, I still hadn’t figured out what exactly pulled me toward her this hard. Maybe it was the fact that every time I thought I’d figured her out, she turned into someone completely different.
I pushed myself up and pulled off my singlet and trousers, about to head for the shower when a knock sounded at the door.
Strange. I grabbed one of the folded towels from the cupboard and wrapped it around my waist before walking over.
When I opened the door, a man’s head popped into view. Wrinkled face. Thick beard. Late forties, maybe.
His gaze dropped on my waist and then back to mine. “I’m guessing you’re about to use the bathroom, sir?” he asked with a polite smile.
I nodded slowly, eyeing him from head to toe. “Yeah. Why?”
“I’m the cleaner here,” he explained. “The water on this floor isn’t running yet. You’ll either have to wait about an hour… or use the bathroom downstairs.”
I frowned slightly. I hadn’t even noticed there were rooms downstairs.
Sleeping in this cramped room was already hell enough. Now I had to walk halfway across the building just to take a shower.
“Alright,” I said patiently. “Where’s the bathroom?”
He pointed down the hallway, explaining the directions. I wasn’t even sure I caught everything he said, maybe the exhaustion was messing with me, but I nodded anyway.
“Okay.”
I went back in, pulled my trousers back on and headed down the hall.
The place was dark, the lights dim and flickering in some spots, but I eventually found the bathroom.
Under the shower, I tried to clear my head. But it didn’t work. Rachel kept slipping back into my thoughts.
Not that I expected her to text me… but somewhere deep down, I kept hoping she would. At least then I’d have an excuse to check on her. Maybe ask if the room was okay.
I exhaled and tilted my head back, letting the water run down my face.
That would just sound creepy. Just let the night pass, Thane.
After a minute, I shut the water off and pushed the door open, still trying to shake off the thoughts.
I barely stepped out before something soft slammed straight into my chest.
“Aw!”
I looked down. Rachel stood there in nothing but my oversized shirt, most of the buttons undone. The fabric had slipped open, revealing the soft, full curve of her breast and the smooth skin beneath it.
Fuck.
“Thane?” Her eyes shot up to mine, wide in shock. “What are you doing in the women’s bathroom, you creep?”
She rubbed her forehead where she’d bumped into me, completely unaware of the way my body had gone tight at the sight of her.
Those breasts moved under the loose fabric with every breath she took. I dragged my gaze away with effort, but the image was already stamped in, the way they would feel heavy in my palms, the way her nipples would tighten under my thumbs if I let my hands slide inside the shirt.
“Do you want me to check that?” I asked, nodding at the spot she was rubbing.
“No. I need you to get out.”
I bit down on my lip and swallowed hard. She had no idea what she looked like right now. Her cheeks flushed, half-dressed in my shirt, hair still messy from the rain and the long night. Before my brain could convince me to do something I’d regret, I reached forward, grabbed the shirt and started buttoning it up.
“Shit!” She tried to pull away. I caught her wrist instead, gentle but firm.
A sudden wave of jealousy and protectiveness burned through me. “Did you seriously walk down here looking like this?”
The thought of anyone else seeing her like this, exposed, vulnerable — made my jaw clench. She was already driving me crazy, and she wasn’t even trying.
I couldn’t believe she’d been walking around looking this vulnerable.
“Just stop fighting me,” I muttered. “I’m not doing anything, okay?”
She blinked at me, clearly unsure of what to say. Then she stopped resisting.
I was almost done buttoning the shirt, but it felt like time itself stopped for me to drag it out. My fingers deliberately brushed against the soft swell of her breast more than once. Each time my knuckles grazed her warm skin, I imagined sliding my hand fully inside, cupping her, feeling the tenderness of her with my palm, hearing the little gasp she might make if I dragged my thumb across those nipples standing firm.
When I was done, my hand lingered a second too long, palm resting just below the curve, feeling the rapid rise and fall of her breathing.
Fuck.
It took everything in me not imagine holding her there, slide lower enough to push the fabric aside completely and see how she would react if I touched her properly.
“Thane?” she called softly.
I looked up. Our eyes locked. My breath went uneven. Then she leaned closer. My heart kicked hard against my ribs. For a split second, I was sure she was about to kiss me.
Her lips brushed past my cheek instead, her warm breath grazing my skin as she leaned toward my ear and whispered, “I doubt you know this, but you look like shit right now. What are you thinking about?”
Just like that, every rational thought left my head. I had no idea what answer she wanted. Or maybe she wanted me to say the thing we both kept pretending wasn’t there.
I stepped closer, but she didn’t move. Not until I took another step. Then she slowly backed up until her back met the door behind her.
My chest rose with each breath as I closed the distance between us until her back met the door behind her. Carefully, I lifted my arm.
She squeezed her eyes shut instantly, pressing her lips together.
God, it was hard not to kiss her right then. Instead, I reached past her and turned the lock on the door behind her. To pick up exactly where we’d left off in the car, to taste her again, to feel her melt against me.
Then I lowered my mouth close to her ear, close enough to feel the heat rising in her cheeks.
I whispered softly, “Be careful when you get under the shower. The water’s pretty cold.”
Her eyes snapped open. Annoyance and embarrassment flashed across her face, mixed with something hotter
Before I could say anything else, she pushed past me, rushed inside, and slammed the door in my face.