1.1 The Chronicles of Us - Vice & Virtue

Chapter eighteen

I'm surprised we actually managed to make it all the way to the hotel. The ten minute walk took us twice as long. Every other minute, we stopped to kiss and grope. That is, until we reached the parking lot. Once Tex caught sight of the entrance, he grabbed my arm and dragged me along with big strides.

"Wait!" I try to steer him in the direction of the parked bus. "I need my bag."

He doesn't slow down. "Our bags are already in our room. I asked Elijah earlier to bring them up."

I try to keep up with half a jog. "How did you know I would stay the night with you?"

I stumble into his back when he slows his pace to get through the sliding doors. Once in the foley, he halts and turns to me. "I didn't, but I wasn't gonna take no for an answer." His hand moves to his nape, scratching awkwardly. "Not in a rapey kinda way, of course."

I chuckle. "Don't worry, I fully consent."

His head tilts, playful smirk showing. "To what, exactly?"

Good question.

I get on my tiptoes and bring my lips close to his ear. "Anything."

He groans in my neck. "Wait here. I'm gonna go get the key."

While he's at the lobby, I glance around. The hotel has a blue and white marine theme going on. An orange lifesaver hangs on the wall behind the desk. Pictures of marine animals decorate the other walls and a very strange-looking stuffed seagull stares at me from the corner.

I break eye-contact and return my focus to Tex. With the key-card in hand, he comes my way. "We're on the second floor."

I follow him into the elevator. We stand next to each other, shallow breaths and air-humming tension. Going to a hotel room with the sole purpose of having sex should feel a little sleazy, but it doesn't. It feels very normal to be around him like this.

The elevator bell dings when we reach our floor. He leads me to the room with his hand on the small of my back. After three seconds his fingers are on my butt and when the door swings open, his tongue is in my mouth.

I claw at his shirt and kiss him back with equal eagerness. All my senses tell me to move our bodies to the bed. All my senses but one ... I wrinkle my nose when I smell musky lake water on my skin. "I really need to take a shower first."

He sniffs my hair with feigned disgust. "Yeah, you do."

As tease-punishment, I suck in his bottom lip before collecting my toiletries from my bag.

He slaps my butt. "Don't take too long or I'll come and get you."

I can't stop the nervous giggle that escapes and then quickly disappear in the bathroom. It's small but clean. There's a toilet, sink and a glass shower stall. Two soft towels hang from the door-hooks.

I turn the shower on and haste out of my clothes. The hot water soothes my muscles nicely. Touring can be little dirty, but they've been very thoughtful of having a woman on board. I'm fairly sure William has been on the look-out for pitstops where I can either shower or wash up.

Since I don't have a lot of time, I shampoo my hair and clean my body simultaneously. After that, I shave my legs and pits.

I look down at the hairs between my thighs. Should I shave my privates too? Sexually active woman probably do that. Once my lady-parts are shaven—more of a chore than I imagined—I step out of the shower and towel-dry my hair.

Wrapped in the same soft fabric, I leave the bathroom. Tex lies on his back, arm behind his head. A rush of butterflies steals my breath. Does he even know how good he looks?