# Chapter 14: Under a Desert Sky, Between Two Beds
Hello everyone, it's me again! How are you all doing? Today I will continue to walk with you and review Chapter 14 of "Seduced By My Ex's Divorce Attorney audiobook free." This chapter is a slow-burn, tension-filled road trip into Roarke's past and Hannah's fears. It has eavesdropped secrets, creepy motel clerks, starlight, and one very dangerous offer.
We begin inside Roarke's SUV, where Hannah is only hearing one side of a phone call with his sister. And what a call it is. The sister insists, "Roarke, you don't understand. I know they were hers." Roarke's forehead is pressed against the steering wheel like the conversation is draining every ounce of energy from him. The sister throws more at him: since when does he believe in happily ever afters? Then she says, "Yes, I love him." She challenges him about trust, reminding him that few people in this world can actually be trusted. She asks who the girl he's bringing is. Hannah desperately wants to hear his answer, but she only gets silence and the sister's sharp reactions. When the sister learns he's sleeping at Mom's, she asks if the girl is a prude, her disgust obvious. She mocks the idea of Roarke being a gentleman and says she'd like to see what Olivia would say to that. Hannah pretends not to care who Olivia is, but of course she files the name away for later.
Then the sister snaps, "You're not my father." Roarke picks up his head, and his eyes meet Hannah's. The line dies. He climbs out of the SUV and asks if she got what she needed. Hannah holds up a bag of licorice and asks if he's a licorice guy, pretending she didn't just overhear everything. A smile tugs at his lips, and because Hannah knows what family drama feels like, she smiles too. He asks, "You thought of me?" She says, "I'm not rude." He takes the licorice and likes it. Then he takes her free hand, uncurls her fingers, and places the keys in her palm. He says he'll be right back.
While he goes into the shop, Hannah looks around the gas station. It's nine at night, pure darkness except for the station glowing like an alien UFO in the middle of the desert. She looks up and is stunned by a million bright stars. Instead of city horns and hustle, there are crickets and highway noise. She loses herself in the serenity until a hand touches hers. She jerks back, but Roarke's voice calms her. "Relax," he says. "First time out of the city?" He teases her, and she admits it's gorgeous. She asks if he misses it. His Adam's apple bobs, and he says, "No."
Back in the Range Rover, he opens the sunroof screen so the sky is visible above them. Before she can ask a follow-up question, they're back on the highway. Hannah can't help but wonder why he would bring her here if he doesn't want to be here himself.
Two hours later, they pull off the highway into a motel parking lot. Twenty white vans with the same landscaping business name are parked on the far side. Hannah eyes the peeling paint and grass growing through concrete cracks. She asks if this is where they're staying. Roarke parks under the awning beside the sliding glass doors and says he knows it's not The Drake, but trust him, this is the best around here. Hannah says it's fine, because she was raised better than to make someone feel bad even when circumstances are less than ideal. She notices the doors are on the outside, and Roarke admits Woods Parlor doesn't have a lot of crime unless you count domestic violence and public intoxication. She tightens her lips. "So, I'm safe you mean?" He says he'll get her settled, then track down his sister. He'll only be about twenty minutes away if she needs him. Twenty minutes? He can't save her if he's twenty minutes away. She imagines already being raped or murdered by then. But she straightens her back, reminding herself she's a Crowley and doesn't need any type of savior. Thank goodness she has pepper spray. Roarke says, "I love when you act like you can take on the world," and exits before she can reply. It's not usually an act, but it is right now.
Inside the small lobby, he presses a little bell. They hear someone grumble, then a loud boom. A short, round-bellied, bald man named Ted emerges, rubbing his eyes. He recognizes Roarke Baldwin. They exchange a handshake after Ted wipes his hand on his stained wife beater. Ted says Chicago did Roarke good, but he isn't looking at the three-piece suit or the Range Rover. He's looking at Hannah. At her breasts, precisely. He licks his lips, and her stomach clenches. Roarke steps in front of her, cutting off Ted's view. He introduces Hannah, saying she'll be staying here. Ted apologizes about booting Roarke out of the other room, but Wyatt's granddad and all. The two men speak in a language Hannah doesn't know. Roarke says he'll be at his mom's. Ted asks if that's all the way in town. Twenty minutes is all the way? For Hannah, twenty minutes could be one block during rush hour in the city. Then Ted points to Hannah like she's a dog or property and asks, "So, she's not yours?" Hannah's fists clench. She bites the inside of her cheek. Roarke glances back at her, a smile ticking up the side of his lips. He's probably guessed she's fuming inside. He says, "Not yet, but soon."
Hannah has had enough. She asks for the keys, then adds, "For future reference, I'm nobody's." She spins on her heel, exits the lobby, and waits in Roarke's car. Five minutes later, he returns to the driver's seat. Hannah says she's going to ignore the fact that Ted looked at her like he's on death row and she's his last meal. Roarke laughs and says Ted is harmless. They don't get a lot of her type around here. She says, "Hate to break it to you, but you're the same type as me." He starts the car, pulls five hundred feet ahead, and parks outside room one thirty-three. She cries inside that she's on the first floor. Roarke says, "You were born with money, I made my own money." He's got her there. She knows from her best friend Gwen that coming from nothing and gaining everything is very different from always having the security of money to fall back on. Still, she says, "I get that you grew up here, but you don't fit in here anymore. Just like I don't."
He chuckles as they exit. He opens the back of his SUV and pulls out her bag. With each step closer to the room, her stomach tightens. She really doesn't want to stay here by herself. He inserts the key and opens the door wide. Surprisingly, the room is decent. The linens look clean, and the décor could be worse. She half expected a dark wood headboard mounted to the wall with orange and brown linens and pictures of deer frolicking in the woods. Instead, a yellow, grey, and white room greets her. Roarke puts her bag on the luggage holder and shoves his hands into his pockets. He has her number. He'll be back tomorrow to pick her up. Just text him when she wakes up. They don't have anywhere to be until the rehearsal at four.
Her mouth drops open. She crosses her arms. "You dragged me up here for me to sit in a hotel room off the highway until four o'clock?" A smile tugs at his lips again, and she realizes her error. Now he thinks she wants to be around him. He steps closer and says he had no intention of leaving her there until four. He was simply letting her sleep in if she chooses to. She thanks him, saying she has no car and would rather not resort to a vending machine for breakfast and lunch. She sounds bitchy, and she knows it. She's purposely being difficult because she's scared. Fear makes her bitchy when she doesn't have the control she craves. She doesn't know if it's the unsafe feeling of the hotel or the fact that someone could kidnap her and drag her into the woods, never to be seen again. Ted's peeping Tom eyes didn't exactly leave her with warm and fuzzies. Roarke says he'll pick her up at nine a.m. and feed her. He rocks back on his heels. Other than loosening his tie after the call with his sister, he's still neatly put together like a Ken doll—only with salt-and-pepper hair.
"Perfect," she says. "Good," he replies. He heads toward the door, and the knob turns in his hand. Her gut clutches, and her heart races. It's do or die. "It's late. I'm not opposed to you sleeping in the other bed." His back stiffens, his hand on the doorknob. "Are you offering for me to stay here with you tonight?" He swivels around, and she can't tell by his face whether it disappoints him or makes him happy. She says, "As a courtesy, yes. Ted made it sound like it was far, and I'm sure you're tired. I would hate for a deer to run in front of you and ruin that nice SUV of yours." She hoists her chin in the air. His eyes flare with mischief. "Are you scared, Hannah?" "No." She opens her bag, placing clothes in the dresser and hanging up her dresses for the weekend, anything not to look at him. "So you're just being nice then?" "Yes." She keeps her tone calm and collected, as though she'd sleep here for a month by herself if she had to. Not a chance in hell. "You're sure you don't mind?" His hand lands on the doorknob again. "Yeah, it's no big deal." She shrugs while closing the closet door. "Two separate beds." "Okay, I'll grab my bags." He exits the hotel room.
She breathes again once the door is shut. She's totally setting herself up for failure, but having the safety of him in this room outweighs her missing picture being posted on every telephone pole from here to Chicago. There's no time to process her doubt because Roarke returns. He shuts the door, flips the bar over, and secures the deadbolt. Wasn't he the one who said no crime happens in Woods Parlor? "Can I sweet talk my way into your bed, too?" he asks, hanging up a garment bag in the closet. "You never know when to stop." She goes easy on him after his comment because she appreciates the way he's letting her off the hook in this scenario. The first time she showed this man any kind of vulnerability, and he didn't throw it in her face. "When it comes to you, no, I don't." For the first time, it dawns on her that maybe her odds of landing in Roarke's bed are significantly higher than her odds of being murdered tonight. That thought would have been handy about five minutes ago.
Then the chapter shifts into Hannah's meditation on perfection. The pressures of perfection are something she's familiar with. You're not raised under a microscope without being trained on how to stay calm and collected under scrutiny or high-pressure situations. With perfection comes willpower. Willpower to cut carbs. Willpower to work out. Willpower to bite her tongue when necessary. A piece of cake can sit in front of her for hours as she continues a conversation with someone devouring theirs. That's not to say she doesn't stop on the way home for a milkshake. That's the thing with being a Crowley. You only have to worry while in front of others. In the comfort of a room all by yourself with triple locks to keep prying eyes out, you can indulge in a whole cake if you want. As long as you don't go up a dress size. What would your personal shopper at Neiman Marcus think if nothing fit you when you arrive? Regardless, she tends to believe she's a strong woman who can look unfazed when her body heat is rising to dangerous temperatures.
When Roarke walks out of the bathroom in pajama pants and no shirt, she almost loses her cool. He has to be in his early forties, but his pecs and biceps bulge as he rounds the edge of the bed and slides in under the covers. He doesn't say a word as he makes his trip. The tension hangs there, electric and unspoken, and Hannah's legendary willpower is about to face its greatest test yet.
Reader's Impressions & Star Rating:
As a reader, I absolutely devoured this chapter. It's the perfect blend of quiet intimacy and sharp-edged tension. Roarke's phone call with his sister cracks open a window into his family wounds without giving us all the answers, and the mysterious name Olivia is now burned into my brain. The gas station starlight moment is unexpectedly tender, while the motel check-in with Ted is delightfully uncomfortable. Hannah's inner monologue is razor-sharp, especially when she admits fear makes her bitchy. The offer of the other bed, the deadbolt, the shirtless reveal—every beat builds heat and vulnerability. This chapter knows exactly how to tease without giving everything away.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4.8 / 5 Stars
Next Chapter Prediction:
With Roarke shirtless and sharing a motel room with Hannah, the next chapter is almost certainly going to test that willpower she's so proud of. I predict a tense, charged conversation in the dark, maybe a kiss that neither of them planned, or a near-miss that leaves them both aching. But I also think his sister will call again, or Olivia's identity will surface in a way that complicates everything. The rehearsal at four will force them back into public, where their private tension will have to be hidden. One thing is certain: Hannah's odds of landing in Roarke's bed are rising, and so are the emotional stakes.
To listen free the next reviews chatpers, please access website novelsaudio.com and search keyword: Seduced By My Ex's Divorce Attorney audiobook free or click the link in the description of this video or if you want to listen or read full the Seduced By My Ex's Divorce Attorney audiobook free please access website novelsaudio.com