"I don't think so," Kaden replied. "They probably tracked down the car somehow. I should have changed it out when we split up from the others."
When we reached the town limits, I nearly sighed in relief. There wasn't much to look at, just a sleepy little pit stop in the mountains off the side of the road. The buildings looked like something out of an old Western movie, but they had a gas station at least. Hopefully, they had somewhere where we could rest for the night—and shower. And forget that this day ever happened.
"There's a motel or something this way," Kaden said, looking at his phone. "I think. Reception is terrible out here."
We continued walking until we came across what looked like an old Victorian house, painted in pastel colors. All the outside lights were on, and a wooden sign read, Cascade Bed and Breakfast.
“Looks like this is our stop,” I said, and we walked up the steps together.
No one was in the lobby when we entered, and I went up to the counter and rang the little bell, feeling like I'd gone back in time. A back door opened, and an older woman with a cheery face and red cheeks bustled out. Despite the late hour and the fact that we still had traces of blood on us, she beamed at us. Top-notch customer service skills, I thought wryly.
“Good evening. You need a room?” Before we could answer, she unhooked a key from the wall behind her. “I only have the one left, but you folks got lucky. It’ll be the perfect room for you.”
Her eyes twinkled merrily as Kaden reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He flipped his card onto the counter, and the woman ran it. “What a lovely couple you are. You will make such beautiful babies.”
I looked down at my feet, a denial ready on my lips, but I didn’t speak it out loud. A pang went through me as I thought about how that would never happen.
Kaden frowned and held his hand out for the card and the key. “Thank you.”
“Your room is right up the stairs. Enjoy your night, dears.” She waved from behind the desk. “And if you need any food, feel free to ring me. We have some leftovers from supper."
“Thank you,” I managed past the lump in my throat from her earlier words. "Food would be great."
We hauled ourselves up the creaking wooden stairs to our room, and Kaden unlocked the door with the big brass key. When he pushed the door open, he just stood there, staring into the room.
“What?” I peered inside. At first, I didn’t see anything wrong. The room seemed perfectly nice, though very outdated, and the king-sized bed had a cacophony of pink pillows on it, but it looked comfortable enough—
“Oh,” I said.
There was only one bed.
Kaden closed his eyes briefly as if steeling himself, before walking inside. “I’ll take the floor.”
“The hell you will,” I said, shutting the door behind us and throwing the lock. “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s a king-sized bed. There’s plenty of room for both of us. We can even put pillows between us if you’re worried about me being a cover hog or something." I paused to look at the sheer amount of pillows. Really, why did people feel the need for so many? "There’s definitely enough of them."
Kaden turned to face me, his eyes blazing. "We both know if we’re in that bed together, we’re not going to be sleeping."
I swallowed as the tension that had faded between us made a sudden and valiant reappearance. "Would that be so bad?"
I took a step forward, and to my surprise, Kaden didn’t move back. His eyes smoldered as they took me in, and I waited with bated breath for whatever he was going to say next.
Then a knock came at the door.
“Who is it?” I asked, but my voice came out breathless. I cleared my throat, embarrassed that my reactions were so telling.
“I brought you up that food,” the lady’s voice said, just as cheerful as she’d been downstairs.
Kaden shook his head and turned away. Whatever he’d been about to say, he wouldn’t do so now.
I opened the door to find the woman standing outside, a tray of food in her hands. At the sight, my stomach growled, and I gratefully smiled at her. “Thank you so much."
She arranged the tray on a wooden desk with spindly legs in the corner, then headed for the door. “Eat up,” she said, waggling her eyebrows with a nod to Kaden. "I think you'll need it."
I blushed, realizing she probably thought we’d spend the night making good use of the bed and all those pillows. I didn’t have the heart to tell her we weren’t together when she seemed to be our biggest supporter. “Have a good night,” I said as I closed the door.
I sat at the desk, and Kaden joined me after a brief pause, pulling up the other chair. Together, we tucked into the meal—chicken with potatoes and Brussels sprouts. I normally hated Brussels sprouts, but tonight I loved every bite, I was that hungry. I didn’t stop to think, just stuffed my face until my stomach was sated.
Once we were done, there was nothing stopping us from going to bed. We both stared at the thing, neither one of us ready to take the first step toward climbing into it. I swallowed hard, suddenly very aware of how close Kaden was, and how much I wanted him even closer.
Kaden's eyes raked over me with obvious hunger, but then he jerked his head away. "You can have the first shower." He stood and moved to the window, pulling aside the thick, flowery curtain. He peered out as if making sure no enemies waited outside. "Get yourself cleaned up."
"Good idea." I tore my gaze off of him. A shower. Yes. I did need to wash the blood and sweat off my body before I got in bed. My last real shower had been before I tried to escape the Leos, and since then I'd only had a dip in a lake and some quick bathroom cleanups.
I slipped into the bathroom and closed the door. Looking at myself in the mirror made me cringe. I had blood dried all along one side of my face, and my red hair was a tangled, stringy mess. Why the front desk woman hadn’t turned us away on sight, I didn’t know. I bet I smelled as good as I looked too. No wonder Kaden didn't want to fuck me.
I turned on the shower, which looked more modern than the rest of the house, thankfully. Of course, it still had that 1950's pink tile everywhere, but at this point, I'd take whatever I could get. At the first touch of hot water on my aching body, I couldn’t help the moan that came out of my throat. I closed my eyes and tipped my head back, allowing the water to sluice through my hair and along my skin. I reached for the provided shampoo and lathered my hair up, rinsing out the blood and dirt that had accumulated over the last few days. Then I did a quick wash of the rest of me, already feeling a thousand times better. I couldn't wait 'til we rejoined the Ophiuchus pack wherever they were hiding and I could have regular showers again. Other wolves didn't care as much as I did about cleanliness, but—
The shower curtain jerked open, and I screamed like someone in a horror movie. The sound cut off when I saw Kaden standing there, staring at me with hunger in his eyes. He didn’t have a shirt on. Typical.