Chapter 756 Chapter 756
“I’m finally warm.”
Zain opened his eyes and looked at Oaklyn. They’d both showered and hit the swimming pool to get rid of the smell. Now, they were soaking in the big hot tub. “Think I can fit one of these in my apartment?” He smiled. “I really like it.”
She smiled at him. “I think you’ll have to upgrade to a larger apartment.”
He sat up and wiped the sweat from his forehead away. “At this point, my future is up in the air. I don’t know if I’ll be back at headquarters or where I’ll be.”
She slid across the seat so she was closer to the side he was on. “New starts aren’t all bad, Zain.”
He shrugged. “I know. I’m just a creature of habit. I like routines, I like…”
“To organize your food before you eat it.”
He grinned. “Yes. Yes, I do that too.” He let his arms float out in front of him. Even his wolf seemed settled.
She touched his arm. “A little chaos and surprise aren’t bad things.”
He looked at her and watched a bead of sweat roll down her forehead. “After the last few weeks, I think I’ll have had my fill of those.”
Oaklyn smiled at him, and his wolf was closer to the surface. He didn’t know why. All he could smell at this point was the chemicals in the hot tub. Oddly, that was more comforting to him than the bath bomb scent. “You’ve done well.” She said it softly. “You don’t even look surprised when things happen.”
He snorted. “I think my face freezes while I’m thinking, ‘Oh shit,’ and it must cover up the surprise.”
She laughed quietly. “You don’t give yourself enough credit.” She moved her hands back and forth in the water. “Everyone knows you and trusts you, and I can’t even count how many times I’ve heard one of them say something about how Zain always has it covered.”
He sat up straighter. “Ordering supplies and kits for them or arranging a new ride isn’t exactly the same as what the teams do.”
“Maybe not, but without you, they wouldn’t be prepared to do what they needed to.” She sighed and then looked at the door. “I think we should get out. Otherwise, I’m going to sleep right here.”
He nodded. “Yeah. Although, I plan to do this every night until we’re done in Chicago.” He stood up and got out. Going over to their hotel robes, he picked one up, turned around, and held it out for her to put on.
“I could live here.” She tied it and smiled at him.
He looked around. “In the pool room?” He put his robe on and slipped his feet into the complimentary slippers.
“No, silly. Some place like this hotel.” She laughed. “Anywhere with space to move around is my dream.”
Zain turned around and studied her. The white robe pulled up to her chin, highlighted her face, and made her hair seem brighter. His wolf was very alert. He could lie about some things, but her beauty wasn’t one of them. Smart, beautiful, and compassionate. Their mate.
“Did I lose you?”
He blinked. “No.” Clearing his throat, he motioned to the door. “It’s been a long day.”
She nodded. “We’ve saved six of our kind in the last few days—” She walked out into the hall. “—Bill. That’s somethin’.”
She was right. He’d never directly been involved in it before. Helped organize it. Listened on the comms during it but had never been present. They went through the hall door, and an employee stopped and watched them. They were smiling at them in a weird way.
Oaklyn slowed down and walked closer to him. “Is my hair standing up or something’?”
He shook his head and watched the staff at the front desk both smile at them in the same way.
“Mister Jeggins,” The manager smiled again. “I must apologize. If we’d known, we would have given you the bridal suite.”
Zain slowed his steps. “That’s…”
The woman beside the manager nodded. “If we’d known you were on your honeymoon, we would have prepared your room differently as well.”
Zain looked at Oaklyn. She just smiled back at her.
“You didn’t seem, uh…”
The woman nudged the manager. “It’s plain as day when they look at each other.” She smiled at them both again.
“Is fine.” Oaklyn moved closer to Zain. “I’m very shy about public displays. You understand?”
The woman nodded. “Yes. Congratulations to both of you. There’s champagne and fruit in your suite right now, and we’ll send up a complimentary breakfast in the morning.”
Oaklyn hugged Zain’s arm. “Ah, thank you. That is very sweet.” She looked up at him. “Isn’t it, Bill.”
Zain held her look for a moment. Illias. This reeked of Illias, and he was going to cuff him in the head the next time he saw him. There had been no mention of being newlyweds in their files. “Indeed.”
“Enjoy the rest of your evening.” The manager inclined his head to them.
“Thank you.” Zain put his arm behind Oaklyn and guided her toward the elevator.
She leaned against him. “Did you…”
“No. I suspect Illias is behind this.”
She giggled and looked over her shoulder back at the desk. “Did you put our stuff away before we came down?”
He nodded and leaned his head down on hers. “Yes.”
“Oh good.”
He made sure nothing was left out anytime they left the room. Despite having asked for no maid service during their stay, he still packed up any weapons and the earbuds when they left the room. It was a good thing his paranoia and neatness prevailed. The elevator door opened, and then both hurried in. When it closed, he looked down at her. “Don’t say anything.”
She gave him a curious look but nodded.
He didn’t trust that someone wasn’t listening to them on the elevator. Staff members weren’t his only worry. If they’d managed to put a program on his laptop in the Alliance Headquarters—tapping into cameras at a hotel wasn’t an improbability.
When the doors opened, he took her hand and started down the hall. It wasn’t until they reached the door did he realized he’d done that. He looked at their hands and then at her. She smiled, her eyes sparkling with mischief. Releasing her hand, he opened the door and then went inside and inhaled slowly.