Page 5 of Riding Rough
“I have to pee.” She leans into my ear. Her warm breath settles where the cool breeze had blown in. I’m thankful the heat has finally broken. The past few weeks have been hell. I’d bet tonight it’ll be down near sixty, which is much more reasonable for a summer up here.
“Can you hold it ten minutes? We’re almost to town. Otherwise, it’ll be a side of the road thing.”
“I’ll hold it.” There’s a smile in her voice and holy fuck, I’ve missed it. I’ve missed every god damn thing about her. The way she laughs, and questions everything. The way her lip pouts out when she doesn’t get what she wants. The way her curves sway when she walks as her hair falls onto her shoulders.
Fuck.
I shake my head and focus on every passing tree until the lights from the festival give me something else to look at. In a small town, the noise from my bike rumbles through the streets like a devil scraping his scythe against the pavement. Everyone stops to look like they haven’t seen a motorcycle before.
“That’s the hotel I was thinking.” Amber points ahead and to the right where a quiet little inn sits surrounded by folks who look to be partaking in some magic herb while they dance to music being played in a nearby field.
I cut through the crowd of hippies and park outside the lobby of the inn. Something tells me we might be out of luck. This place is jumping.
“I’m sure there’s a bathroom in the lobby. Why don’t you go ahead while I see what they have available?” This still feels like a dream. The two of us alone, forced to snuggle up on my bike for days.
She climbs off and I follow her toward the cheerfully colored hotel. If this place were any brighter, it would belong down in the Florida Keys somewhere. Thankfully, the scent of pine from the mountain reminds everyone here that they still have something to live for.
I hold open the door while Amber passes inside, and my hand lands on the small of her back instinctually. She doesn’t seem to mind, but I make a note to never do it again. I’m not here for my own selfish reasons. I’m here to keep Amber safe. That’s all.
Inside, the inn is even brighter than the outside. Tropical plants sit behind the front desk and the chairs are designed with large floral prints that are meant to transport you away from Colorado.
I don’t get it. People come to the mountains for an escape. They want a lodge experience with bears, moose, and deer. If someone wants a beach, you can find one. They’re literally everywhere. Now, a mountain… is special. There are only so many real ones. So why the hell would you taint it with a beach theme?
I rap my knuckles on the reception counter and wait for the attendant to make her way to the front desk. She’s an older woman with bright blue eyes and a scarf wrapped around her silver hair. Her eyes widen and a friendly smile lifts her face. It’s refreshing. Usually, I get side eyes or death stares at my tattoos.
“Looking for a room, dear?”
I nod. “Preferably two.”
She sighs and taps at her computer. “Two… two rooms. Well, that’s going to be a problem. We have that festival going on out there and the one room is all we have.”
I know without a shadow of a doubt that I can’t be trusted in a single hotel room alone with Amber.
The bathroom door opens behind me, and I glance back to see my beautiful girl. Just looking at her is like a body slam to the concrete. Air is nowhere to be found.
“How is everything?” She glances at the old woman, then back at me. “They have rooms, right? I’m exhausted.”
“No. They have one room.”
She shrugs and brushes her hair back from her face. “Oh.One?One room?”
I knew this would be a problem. I glance back at the attendant. “Thank you, but we’re going to keep looking.” I move away from the desk, but Amber grabs my arm.
“We can sleep in one room, Kane.” She looks toward the woman. “I’m sure there are two beds in the room. There are always two beds.”
The woman squints and adopts a voice of sorrow. “One king bed. I’m sorry. It’s all we have left, but I can send a roll away cot up if you need it.”
“We do,” I grumble. “Thank you.”
The woman smiles as though she’s in on something I’m not a part of, then slides a key across the counter as she takes my credit card.
Amber looks up at me. Her sweet honey eyes are like pretty little gems picked from the best mines in the world. How does one woman get to bethisbeautiful? “Thank you. If you hadn’t come out today, I don’t know where I’d be right now. I shouldn’t be thinking about it, but do you think Jed is okay?”
For the life of me, I can’t figure why she’s still so worried about this asshole, but I check my phone for an update. “One of my guys got there an hour ago, and he was gone. They’ve collected your things, but he’s on the run.”
“Here’s your card back, dear. There’s a welcome basket in your room. We made it up for a couple on their honeymoon. They couldn’t be here tonight, so feel free to enjoy it.”
My brows rise and the word‘great’makes it through my teeth, though none of this is great.It is, in fact, terrible.I stand rooted in the lobby of the inn for far too long. Long enough that Amber turns back and laughs.