Sins and Scarlet Lace

chapter TEN

Declan knew Sophia was trying to figure out a way to shorten their time together. He could tell by the way she kept glancing at him from the corner of her eye, her cheeks flushing pink, while she bit her lip in contemplation. If he wasn’t very careful, she’d start looking for a way to ditch him and try to go out on her own. And that wouldn’t end well for anyone.

She wanted him. That kind of need wasn’t something she could hide from him, and the little taste she’d gotten the night before was only the beginning of her rediscovering who she’d once been. He’d seen the surprise on her face when she’d climaxed, and he’d felt how hard she’d fought to keep from achieving it.

Kane had damaged her. But he hadn’t broken her. The fact she’d had the guts to stand up to him and make him leave after he’d threatened her was testament to that. Kane’s death had only made him realize what was important in the grand scheme of things. He loved what he did and he loved his country. But he loved Sophia more. And if his past ever caught up to him he’d deal with it with her by his side. The problem was getting her to trust him again—with her heart and her body. He’d had easier missions.

The lobby of the registration area was rustic and smelled strongly of Pine Sol and fish. The lights were dimmed and there was a bell sitting on the counter, but no one was sitting behind it.

Declan went up to the counter and rang the bell once, but there was no answer. “Hello? Is anybody there?”

“I’m here, I’m here,” a voice called out.

A whirring sound came from one of the back rooms and a cherry red motorized scooter sputtered down the long hall. The woman riding it had to be at least a hundred years old.

“Some folks like to sleep around here, eh?” she muttered.

“I know we could use a bed,” Dec said. It didn’t bother him when she stared at his scar. Everyone stared at his scar the first time.

“Two beds,” Sophia piped in.

“One room, two beds,” he told the lady.

“What are you crazy, girl? You got to be in the same bed for it to work right.” The woman turned rheumy eyes back toward Declan. “Girls don’t know anything when they’re that young, eh? Men need older women to teach them what’s what.”

“Yes, ma’am.” His mouth quirked in a smile and he would have laughed out loud if Sophia’s face wasn’t already as red as the woman’s scooter.

“My name is Janice, but people around here call me Marge,” she said, maneuvering her scooter behind the counter and opening the fat registry book. “And the problem we’re going to have is that I don’t have one room with two beds left. It’s fishing season, and there’s a tournament tomorrow morning at the lake. The only reason I’ve got the one room left is because Wally Scroggins died last night. He didn’t even get to make a good cast before he keeled over from a heart attack.” She took a key attached to a giant letter 5 off the hook on the back wall and laid it on the counter.

“I’m sorry to hear about Wally,” Dec said, remembering the woman’s pension for conversation from the last time he was there. “But we’ll take the room.”

She clucked her tongue and pushed the registration book toward him. “It’s sixty-two dollars a night with tax. Your lady looks like she’s about to fall over.”

Dec looked at Sophia and could see the exhaustion etched in her face, but he could tell she was just as uneasy about the thought of sharing a bed with him. She was wound tight, and her arousal was a palpable thing.

“She’s tougher than she looks.” He pulled out cash from his wallet and signed the registration book under a fake name, pushing them both toward her.

“Ayah. Maybe she is. But she still don’t know anything about men. You look like a man with plans, eh? Ha! Two beds. Better watch out for this one, girlie.”

Sophia looked at him and quirked a brow. “I think you’re probably right, Marge. Maybe he should sleep outside with the fish.”

Dec rolled his eyes and grabbed the key and their bags. “Thanks, Marge. Sorry to disturb your sleep,” he called out as he opened the door to go back outside, but Marge had already motored back down the hallway.

“Maybe they’ve got a sofa,” Sophia said as they made their way to number five.

He knew good and well there wasn’t much room for anything inside these rooms but a bed and a bathroom the size of a closet, but she was wound taut as a bow, so he didn’t disabuse her of the notion. She’d find out soon enough anyway.

He put in the key and turned the old fashioned doorknob of their cabin and then pushed the door open to reveal a room of knotty pine furniture and fish carved from wood up on the walls. It didn’t take Sophia very long to glance from one side to the other and see there was nothing but an enormous king size bed in the middle of the room.

“Do you really want me to sleep somewhere else? Because as turned on as you are I’d think you’d get a lot more benefit from sleeping next to me.”

Sophia swallowed and stepped inside, and she jumped as the door closed behind her and the deadbolt clicked into place.

“This is probably going to be a mistake.”

“Only if you don’t come.”