My eyes blink open.
Low guitar music is playing on the sound system. The lights are dim and daylight is starting to fade outside the
large windows. Neon lights blur with movement.
I see him then. Colton Maddox. We’re still on the road. We’re in a bus and he’s driving me to L. A. We talked
for hours and then I sl ept for what felt like a hundred years.
I sit up a little and he notices. “Hey, sle eping beauty.” I’m a little embarrassed that I crashed out so hard.
“How long was I asle ep?”
“Maybe six or seven hours.” “What? Wow.” He grins at me with his full-wattage smile. Damn. “You were
tired.” “I really was.” “Feel better?” “Much better. Where are we?” “Just outside Roanoke, Virginia. Only around
three miles from our hotel.”
“Oh. But why are we going to a hotel? We have an RV.” “That’s mainly so we’re comfortable on the road.
Our RV, however, does not have a hot tub. Or a five star restaurant. Or a view out over the
mountains. Or a bar.”
It seems unnecessary. “But we have everything we need right here.” He takes the exit. “Get used to it,
sweetheart. You’re traveling with a Maddox now. We like to do things in style.”
I guess it’s not worth arguing with him. “If you say so.” “Oh, I say so.” I feel amazingly well-rested. “I can’t
believe I sl ept for so long. I haven’t sl ept that de eply in a long time.”
“Yeah, you were completely out.” Yikes. “Sorry about that. I was supposed to be your co-pilot. And ke ep you
company.”
“You did ke ep me company. You looked so peaceful and beautiful I almost crashed a few times because I
couldn’t stop staring at you.”
I don’t mean to blush from his flattery or kindness or his gentle joke or whatever it is. “Stop,” I murmur. It’s
this side of him that will get me into de ep trouble if I’m not careful.
He takes a right turn into a tree-lined driveway that leads into some kind of estate. There’s a small, beautiful
lake. Rolling meadows are dotted with trees in peak foliage, glowing red and orange in the golden dusk. In the
distance, on a low hill, I can see a stone building that looks like a huge, upmarket castle. The windows are lit,
giving it a grand, romantic appeal. “What is this place?”
“Our hotel.” Wow. As we pull up, there’s a fountain in the middle of the circular driveway, spraying
rainbow-flecked water into the twilit air. A restaurant to one side of the castle has large windows and an extended
deck with yellow umbrellas and a stoked fire pit. Well-dressed diners are eating by candlelight and enjoying the
view.
“Are you sure we can—” I was about to say afford this—my default mode—but then I remember who I’m
traveling with. And it suddenly feels very... uneven. Because I can’t afford this and there’s an unspoken offer here,
that he’s going to pay for everything and I don’t know if I want that. “Colton.”
“Yeah?” He pulls the giant RV into a side parking area where it takes up at least three parking spaces.
“I might stay in the RV.”
He kills the engine, not even reacting to my pronouncement. “You are absolutely not staying in the RV,
gorgeous. You’re going to accompany me to our presidential suite where we’ll be ordering room service, helping
ourselves to champagne on ice and availing ourselves to the balcony hot tub. You should know better by now than
to argue with the Terminator. Continued refusals will only get you thrown over my shoulder and carried inside.”
I glare at him. “You wouldn’t dare.” “Try me.” His blue eyes glimmer with the challenge. There’s more to this
than the bill, of course. There’s a lot of logistics packed into that description. Sle eping arrangements, to begin
with. Sitting in a hot tub with Colton Maddox. Getting wet and being completely alone with him. Not that we
haven’t been alone in the RV, but that’s different. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Picture it. All those people out there, enjoying their dinners on this beautiful night. And one wild woman,
kicking and screaming as she gets carried to her luxury suite because she’s so upset about being offered
Michelin-star rated food, French champagne and a jacuzzi under the stars.”
“Very funny.” “How about this,” Colton says slowly, his voice low and laced with that smoky husk that makes
the tiny hairs on my arms lift and gets my panties wet. Help. “We’ll go to the room. We’ll order room service
because we’ve hardly eaten all day and I’m fucking starving. We’ll sit in the hot tub because we’ve had a long day
and it’ll feel good. Then, if you want the room to yourself, I’ll come down here and sle ep in the RV. Deal?”
He holds out his hand to shake. I know better than to shake hands with this devil but I can admit his offer
doesn’t sound too awful. I am hungry. And my hangover is completely gone. And, now that he mentions it, a hot
tub does sound... tempting.
At least he hasn’t mentioned lessons. And why is a small part of me wishing he would? So I take Colton’s
hand, staring into his eyes, which are the exact same color as the darkening indigo sky. “Deal.”