Through the Fire (Daughter of Fire, #1)(53)
I pulled my hair out of its usual ponytail and let it fall around my shoulders. I gave it a little shake, trying to inject some extra life into it. I would have to put it back up again before we left, but I’d just wanted to see what I could look like if I was allowed to be normal for once. The person who stared back at me from the mirror almost belonged in the world of opulence that this hotel offered—it was someone with a life that was miles apart from my own.
Picking up the clothes I’d been wearing, I folded them together ready to pack—a habit in my life that was hard to break.
I took one last look in the mirror before turning to leave the room. As I placed my hand on the doorknob, self-consciousness overtook me. What would Clay think of what he saw? Would I be as attractive as any other woman that he’d taken out at one time or another? I took a steadying breath and opened the door before stepping out to find him.
The first thing I noticed was that he’d changed as well. He still wore his faded denim jeans, but he’d slipped off his leather jacket and traded it for a tailored suit jacket.
“Wow, Evie, you look . . .” He swallowed audibly. His gaze traced the length of my body and scorched a trail as if he were the one with the ability to ignite. It was enough to leave me exposed—as if more than just my skin was revealed. I wrapped my arms around myself.
“We really need to get out of here,” he said, but instead of making any move to go, he moved toward me and kissed me again. “Before I do something really stupid, like change my mind and stay here all night.” He pulled away with a smile as he traced his fingers along my collarbone, sliding over the thin dress strap that rested on my shoulder. “You’re going to be trouble, I can tell.”
Clay grabbed the pile of clothes I had in my hand and pushed them into the top of my backpack. He gave me the shoes and clutch that matched the dress that I wore. I threw the clutch onto the bed and grabbed the wedges to put them on.
“Is there anything breakable in here?” he asked, holding up my bag.
I shook my head. “Just clothes.”
Walking over to the window, he slid it open before tossing my bag out onto the rooftop.
“I’ll be right back,” he said before squeezing himself out behind it.
I watched as he walked to the end of the roof and dropped my bag onto the ground below.
“It’ll be easier if we don’t look like we’re going anywhere,” he explained when he returned. “There’s a loading bay down there, and I’ve dropped it behind some of the bins so no one will spot it.”
It was starting to aggravate me that he’d only just walked back into my life and already assumed he knew best. For the last few years, I’d managed to keep myself alive and well. Okay, there had been some near misses and stupid choices, but I was still here. In fact, I could recall exactly which place he was talking about from my own assessment of the hotel before booking the room.
“I do know what I’m doing,” I said, perhaps a little too sharply.
Placing his hand on my arm, he comforted me. “I know you do. I also know it’s harder for two people to pass through unseen. We need to blend, at least until we get the hell out of Dodge.”
“What do you mean?”
He sighed. “I didn’t want to scare you, but it’s extremely dangerous here at the moment. There are some wicked things going down, the convention is actually a rare meeting of three covens of witches. My father and some other members of the Rain are in town, amped up and ready to kill anyone appearing to be with them. That’s why I was at the museum—research.”
Stepping behind me, he wrapped his arms around my waist, crossing his hands at my belly. His lips slid tantalizingly over my collarbone. “I won’t let anybody hurt you, Evie. And I’m not going anywhere without you. I walked away from you once; I don’t have the strength to do it again.”
Relaxing into his hold, I allowed my head to tip back against his chest. “All right, what’s the plan?”
“The crowds are already starting to come in, that’ll give us some coverage. We’ll skirt through the lobby, around the edges of the party and slip out the front door. Then we’ll grab your bag and get out of here.”
“Wait,” I said, pulling instantly out of his hold. “The party is here? At this hotel?”
“Why do you think I want to get you the hell away from this place?”
“Wouldn’t it be easier for us both to sneak out that window?” I asked. It would mean changing out of the beautiful new dress he’d coerced me into, but I would probably be more comfortable in my jeans anyway. Then I remembered my jeans, my bra, everything I had was in the bag he’d dropped out the window.
He reached for me and brushed his palm against my cheek. “We can’t. There are four scouts in the park across the road, and the roof out there is lit up like a Christmas tree. I just signaled them to let them know it’s all good for the moment, but they’d know something was wrong if I tried to get off the roof. All of the entrances are being watched, they have been since last night.”
“There’s no other way out of here, is there?”
He closed his eyes as the edges of his mouth turned down. Then he shook his head slowly. “I can’t see one that won’t flag us as being out of place. We have to risk the lobby.”