Staking His Claim (Line of Duty #5)(7)

They’d ridden in the tow truck to the nearest garage, whose mechanic had informed him they could have a serpentine belt ordered for his car by morning. Which meant they were stuck overnight, still three hours from home, in a convenient motel adjacent to the garage.

Convenient. Right.

While they waited for the slow-moving motel clerk to wake up his ancient computer, he decided it would be safer to book her a separate room. He didn’t trust himself having her within reaching distance. Throw in a convenient bed and time to kill…he’d be screwed in more ways than one.

Right on cue, the clerk lifted his head. “One room?”

“Yes,” Sasha chirped.

“Two,” he answered at the same time.

Doing his best to ignore the way her tempting lips pursed in disapproval, he handed the clerk his credit card. When he saw the man eyeing Sasha with not-so-subtle interest, he nearly snatched it back. He didn’t like the look on the clerk’s face. In fact, it kind of bothered the shit out of him, especially since he’d brought it on by claiming they required separate rooms. So much for retaining his sanity.

“On second thought, just one room,” he said, holding on to the card until the clerk met his eyes. Hopefully, a room with two double beds and a decent enough cable hookup would keep him distracted. Matt almost laughed out loud at that. A teeming swarm of locusts couldn’t distract him from her. She stood beside him silently, chin set with unflagging positivity, enveloping him in that cinnamon-vanilla scent that seemed to get more noticeable with each passing minute. He wanted to mingle that scent with his own, drag her down onto a flat surface and smell every inch of her skin to determine where it radiated from the strongest. Then…God, then…he wanted to hear several screamed apologies, back to back, for making his cock hurt so badly.

You can’t do it. Remember the damage you’ve caused.

The clerk cut off his disturbing thoughts by handing him back his credit card. He stared at Sasha the entire time. “All set for room number fourteen.”

She smiled. “Thanks. Is there somewhere to eat around here?”

“Not within walking distance, I’m afraid.” His hands moved furiously over his desk before handing her a stack of glossy, colorful menus. “Lots of takeout choices. Or I could take you to pick you up something. I get off in—”

“Thanks, we’ll manage,” Matt interrupted. Apparently the clerk was as slow as his computer. Putting his hand on the small of Lucy’s back, he led her out of the office. A glance at a mounted blue sign had him turning right. “If you want something to eat, I’ll get it for you.”

She held up a Domino’s menu with a flourish. “I swore after grad school, I’d never order another Domino’s pizza. Didn’t even make it one full day.”

“I’ll let you pick the toppings.”

“Oooh. A humorist and a gentleman.” She grinned up at him, blissfully unaware of his sudden desire to hand-feed her, bite by bite, watching her mouth accept the food he offered. “Be careful or you’ll be stuck with me longer than a night.”

“Don’t jinx me.”

“I’m growing on you. I can tell.”

Matt bit back a sudden smile. How many times had he been required to do that today? As they walked, his thumb eased under her shirt of its own accord, finding a dimple at the base of her spine. He almost groaned out loud, wishing he could drop to his knees and explore the valley with his mouth. Bumps raised along the skin of her neck as he watched, telling him she felt it, too. It was alarming, how quickly the pulsing need had risen. He could usually keep it leashed until it came time to engage in the actual physical activity. With this girl, his leash had been pulled taut since the moment he laid eyes on her in the coffee shop. Now it threatened to snap. He desperately needed to keep himself in check, for the entire night. But in his current state Matt worried he might not even make it to their room.

He took a deep breath and removed his touch from her skin, wanting to feel the shifting warmth again instantaneously. Green eyes watched him curiously, as if she wanted to say something, but she held out her hand for the key instead. When he followed her inside, it was a struggle not to drag her down to the floor and erase that curiosity once and for all.

Donovan, you’re losing it. Reel it back.

Sasha set her purse down on the bed and picked up the telephone. “Pepperoni and black olives?”

He hated black olives. “Your choice.” As she placed the order, Matt was painfully aware that he paced the motel room like a starved lion. When she finished her call and flopped back on the bed, he came to a standstill. Jesus, he needed a distraction. Something to keep his mind off her exposed stomach. “So how do you know Lucy?”

She sat up slowly. “Right, Lucy. Um, we met skinny-dipping, actually.”

Perfect. Just the distraction he needed. “How’s that?”

“A group of my friends sneaked in after hours to the college pool. Illegally, I should add. We thought we were total badasses. Until we walked in and saw Lucy already swimming a naked breast stroke.”

Matt felt a tug at the corner of his mouth, even as his body reacted to the image of Sasha, dripping wet, emerging from a pool. “Sounds like the Lucy I’ve heard about.”

In what seemed like an absent gesture, she ran a hand over the comforter. “How come you’ve never met her? From what Lucy told me, it sounds like you’ve been friends with her brother for a while.”