CHAPTER 20
Scarlett
What was that all about?
I’d woken as Travis left the bed, rolling into the huge dent his body had left in the mattress. My body still ached in both pleasure and pain from the wonderful night before.
But as soon as he’d returned with coffee, his cold façade had returned. He looked troubled and conflicted, making me want nothing more than for him to talk to me. He had to know by now that he didn’t have to keep everything bottled up in that scarred handsome face of his.
My mind flashed back to the view of his face between my legs. I groaned audibly at the memory, reliving the way his tongue had teased me.
After finishing my coffee, I rose from the bed and headed for the shower. I was ready about twenty-five minutes later, having applied a little makeup and dressed casually.
Time to see where my bodyguard-turned-lover has disappeared to, I thought, hoping he hadn’t jumped off the balcony.
I found him sitting in the living room, staring at the desk with a blank expression.
“Guess they’ll charge us.” He gestured at the cracked vase, broken telephone, and other various items on the floor. He grunted. “It was worth it though.”
I smiled and put my hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry. With the amount we paid for these rooms, all I’ve got to do is kick up a stink and they’ll be offering us a discount.” I rubbed his shoulders through his black t-shirt.
He sighed, but then froze suddenly.
I looked down at him. He was staring at the phone that had been knocked off the desk during the heat of our passion. Abruptly, he lifted his finger to his lips and strode over to it, gingerly lifting the wrecked receiver with one huge hand.
My eyes widened as I saw a small circular black object that had been crudely taped to the inside of the mouthpiece. Two wires led from it to a small device that had a watch battery attached.
Unfazed, Travis winked at me, causing my fear to dissipate.
“Guess this phone is busted, right?” He looked at me, blue eyes sparkling. “Shoulda been more careful.”
He spoke in a measured and steady tone, and I played along. “Looks like you broke it, you heavy handed oaf. There’s a trash can in the kitchen. We’ll tell housekeeping when we check out.”
He nodded and headed towards the kitchen, where I heard him stomping on something. Then he reappeared in the kitchen entrance. “Well played,” he said. “Probably broke when it hit the floor, but you never know.”
He looked so calm and nonchalant, I wondered what was going through his mind.
“You spoke to your dad before we left for dinner, right? Did you tell him anything important? Think, Scar,” he said, staring at me intently.
“I don’t know. I mean, yes…I called my dad when my cell was charging. The guy on the desk said we got free international calls.” I glanced worriedly at Travis, noting his frown of consternation. “We talked about Prague,” I continued, “and that the girls might be coming home early. I didn’t give away any…Oh, shit. We did talk about the flight. And where we were going. Shit…” I looked at him, worried. I had given my dad all the details of our impending trip to Prague over the phone. “I mean, it doesn’t matter, right?” My voice rose to a panicked pitch.
“Fuck,” Travis said.” They needed details. They didn’t know your next destination.” He walked towards me. His face was cold and calm. Professional. He placed a reassuring hand on my lower back. “Sit down. Tell me what you told your dad.”