Chapter 52

 

Ava

 

 

JAYCE SEEMED TO be in a much better mood, which was a relief. I had a feeling that he was still angry with me, though, but at least we were on speaking terms.

When we reached the gas station, we talked about getting a room for the night and both agreed it was the best solution. We looked online and found a hotel room not too far away, with two queen beds available, and booked a reservation. It wasn’t anything fancy, but both of us were too tired to care.

Thirty minutes later, we walked into the room and both of us collapsed on separate beds.

“Not bad. Better than that shithole you were staying at in Jensen, huh?” he asked, stretching his legs out and looking over at me.

“Very much so.” I kicked off my tennis shoes. “This place is actually… clean.”

“Speaking of clean, I could definitely use a shower,” Jayce said, rolling out of bed and then removing his leather jacket and cut.

“I’m taking one right after you,” I replied, watching him pull his T-shirt out from the waistband of his jeans. He raised it above his shoulders and took it off, leaving me a little breathless as I stared at his hard muscles and medieval tattoos.

“Would you like to go first?” he asked, not noticing the effect he was having on me.

I swallowed. “No. It’s fine,” I said, staring again at some of the artwork on his body. Although I’d caught a quick glimpse at the studio, it was nothing like seeing him without a shirt. “Sorry, I’m just in awe of your tats. They’re incredible.”

He looked down and ran a hand over his six-pack “Thanks. It’s become an addiction. The more you have, the more you want.”

“I bet.”

“How’s yours healing? If you want, I can take a look.”

“Great. In fact, I’d still really like you to finish it for me sometime.”

“Sure. If you ever make it out to St. Paul, look me up.”

“I’ll be around,” I replied. “I can pay you for what you’ve already done, too. Anytime.”

“We can talk about payment later.”

“Sure,” I replied, noticing glint in his eyes.

He turned around and began walking toward the bathroom. “I’ll be out soon. Unless,” he looked back at me with a grin tugging at his lips, “you’re in a hurry? There’s room for two in there.”

His words startled and excited me at the same time. I stared at him, wondering if he was joking or serous.

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist,” he said, grinning. “Anyway, don’t run off.”

“I won’t,” I replied.

He disappeared into the bathroom and shut the door. Hearing the water turn on, and knowing that he was getting totally naked, made my mouth dry.

Heart pounding, I crawled out of bed and went over to the mini bar. I opened up the refrigerator and saw that there were cans of soda, water, and beer. There was also a small bottle of red wine. I grabbed the bottle, removed the cap and took a few sips until a new kind of heat began spreading through my veins. I took several more sips and then set the wine bottle down on the dresser. Taking a deep breath, I began removing my clothes. For once in my life, I was going to go after something I wanted, even if it scared the hell out of me.