Lightning Strikes (The Almeida Brothers Trilogy #3) (4 page)

Jack finally met her eyes.

“I promise I won’t violate you in your sleep.”  She fluttered her lashes at him.  “I’m offering you a soft bed to cuddle into for eight hours so you can recharge your robot batteries and get the hell out of this town come morning.”

“We can also have a first aid kit sent to the room within the hour.” The receptionist handed Nina the room key while giving Jack a knowing smile.

Nina backed away from the podium, waving the key.   “What do you say, Aries?  Eight hours of sleep?  A nice hot shower? A bandage for that ugly gash?  Maybe even some hot pancakes and eggs, come morning?”

Jack’s stomach growled.  Both girls heard it, and they tittered together.

He leaned one arm on the desk while meeting the receptionist’s smiling eyes.  “If housekeeping finds me castrated tomorrow morning…” He nodded his head toward Nina, who was still slowly backing away.  “It was this one.”

The receptionist giggled again.  “Duly noted, Aries.”

He faltered.  “Jack.”

“Duly noted, Jack.  Please, enjoy your stay.”

***

The walk to the hotel room was quiet, and Nina found herself peeking over her shoulder every now and again, just to make sure he was still there.

He was, every time, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his gray slacks.  Every time she looked, he was trailing a little farther behind, turning away whenever she snuck a peak, gazing at the elevators at the end of the hall as if he hadn’t yet decided whether or not he was going to make a run for it.

The allure of a bed, a hot shower, and a bandage won over, even up against that stubborn-as-a-mule Aries psyche.

She found herself smiling as his fresh scent engulfed her at the door of the hotel room.  She breathed it in, that soapy scent, and wondered how it was possible he still smelled so good after the hell they’d endured.

When the plastic keycard disagreed with the lock, flashing a red light, she smiled sheepishly over her shoulder, catching his eyes.

Not expecting the look, he returned her gaze but didn’t have a hint of a smile to give in return.

No one would ever guess this Adonis had just been in a plane crash, even with that oozing cut on his head.  He was one of those unicorns that could walk across fire, crawl through mud, swim in his own
sweat
and still be utterly fuckable.

She bit her lip when her pussy surged with warmth.

It had been too long.

And he was way too handsome.

After several swipes, the door lock finally gifted her a green light, and they both sighed in relief.

The handle clicked, and the worn door creaked as she eased it open.  Nina peeked one eye inside.  The moment she did, she turned back to Jack, who’d yet to run for his life, though he seemed to still be contemplating it as he gazed longingly at the elevators.

A long moment passed before he turned his head to meet her eyes.  The yellow hallway light flickered over his head as his eyebrows flew up high, giving her periodic gleams of the annoyance still present in his brown orbs.

“It’s bad,” she whispered, cocking her lip.

“You mean to tell me this substandard hotel just sold us a substandard room?  Color me shocked.”

“Is there ever a word that comes out of your mouth that isn’t completely patronizing and condescending?” She curled her lip at him as she pushed the door back open and stepped into the room.

Jack stepped in behind her, and when he caught sight of the room, he laughed.  The door slammed closed behind him, and his laughter grew.

“Told you it was bad,” Nina said, crossing the room and flicking on the lamp that sat on the desk in the corner.  The bulb was weak, leaving them standing across the room from each other in semi-darkness.  Their shadows loomed deep against the peeling floral wallpaper.  “It smells a little moldy, too.”

“And they’ve made sure none of these lights will shine bright enough to explain where that vile smell is coming from, and why.” Jack circled the room, flicking every switch and engaging every light.  Once every light was on, including the bathroom, the room was still dim.

They held each other’s eyes across the room.

Jack was the first to look away, eyes falling to the double beds.

Nina looked at the beds, too, wondering if he was thinking the same thing she was—that the off-white bedding probably hadn’t been off white when it was first purchased, but had gotten that way after years of abuse.  She looked back to him and found him playing his fingers together.

Another moment passed, and then he raised his eyes back to hers.

Nina crossed her legs at the ankle, holding his gaze.  Her own fingers met, and she twiddled her thumbs.

“You don’t have to do this,” Jack said.  “You don’t know me.”

A smile bloomed on her face.  “Did you just initiate conversation? And with gracious intent?”

“I could be a mass murderer.”

She chortled.  “Which would require the kind of arduous commitment you will never have to give.  To murder me you would have to care…” She held up her thumb and forefinger, spreading them an inch apart.  “At least, this much.  And you don’t.  So I think I’m good.”

He squinted at her and then shook his head with a small smile.

“Plus, I have great instincts.  And you, Aries, are no killer.”

The smile on his face began to vanish.

A knock on the door sent a start through both of them.  Nina breathed out a laugh, hurrying across the room and pushing her curls out of her face before pulling the door open.

“First aid kit?” A pale teenage boy with a face full of acne raised his eyebrows, offering Nina a noisy white tin.

Jack moved to the bed closest to the window and sat on the edge, watching Nina thank the kid, and tip him.

“You tipped him $20 for bringing you a first aid kit?” he asked.

She closed the door, shooting him a look.  “I used to be a cocktail server.  It physically pains me not to tip.  I over tip.  I have to do it.  It’s in my bones.  I wouldn’t expect an Aries lawyer to understand, so no worries.”

Jack pushed a hand into his hair and then pulled it back out.  His palm was covered in blood.

Nina cringed.  “Doesn’t it hurt?”

“I can’t even feel it.  I keep forgetting it’s there.”

“That can’t be good.  Maybe we should get you to a hospital.  It’s really a lot of blood.  And it hasn’t stopped since the crash.”

“I’m fine,” Jack stood from the bed and moved to the bathroom.

Nina followed, lingering in the doorway and watching as he turned on the sink, caught sight of himself in the mirror, and breathed deep.  Turning his head to get a better look at the gash, he winced at the sight, holding his fingers just an inch away from the bloody mess.

“It looks kind of bad.”  She winced as if the cut was on her own head, backing away from the doorway when he turned off the sink.  Keeping the light on in the bathroom, he followed her back into the sleeping area where she began hurriedly laying out disinfectants and adhesives on the edge of the bed.

She motioned to the mattress.  “Let’s get a look at it.”

“I’m a big boy.  I can do it myself.”

“Before I was a cocktail waitress, I was a nurse’s assistant in a geriatric facility.  I know how to treat it so it won’t leave a scar on that face of yours.”

“This face of mine?”

“It’d be a real shame… that face of yours… all scarred up.” Her eyes fell.  “Will you just sit and let me help you?  God.”

Jack did what he was told.  He came to the edge of the bed and sat in front of her, running his palms along his thighs, watching as she hurried back into the bathroom and washed her own hands.  His gaze followed her when she came back to the tin.  She fished out a few things and proceeded to rub her hands with a disinfectant wipe, even making sure to get it under her fingernails before shuffling through the supplies she’d laid out.

“There was this one patient at the facility named Mr. Timbs.  We called him that because he refused to wear any pair of shoes except his camel colored Timberlands.  I guess it was his way of holding onto his youth.  He was ninety-nine, refused to use his walker, and was constantly,
constantly
falling flat on his face.  I learned pretty quickly how to hide the evidence so I wouldn’t get blamed.”

Jack made a noise but didn’t respond.

“Now that I think about it, maybe you could use a few scars,” she said, softly.  “You’ve got one of those faces.  The kind of face that’s pretty enough to put you in competition with any woman you date.  No woman wants to be in bed with a man who’s prettier than her.”

“I am
not…
pretty.”

She laughed.  “Sorry.”  He was pretty, however, and clearly in denial about it, so she let it go.  Ripping open a disinfectant wipe, she began wiping at the blood on his forehead, going through five packs before she gave up.  “You know what?  You should take a shower.  There’s so much blood I don’t even know where to begin, and I don’t want to use up all of our supplies.  Knowing this hotel, it’s probably all we’ll have to work with.”

Jack looked toward the door of the bathroom while a frown collected between his eyebrows.

She noticed.  “I’m sure you only shower in Evian, Aries, but you’ll have to make an exception just this once.”

Jack took the blow with a smirk.  A shower actually sounded amazing, even if it meant braving the unfiltered gunk that was sure to come sputtering out of the spout in that bathroom.

He stood from the bed, making his way to the bathroom.  “I’ll be right back.”

“Make sure you get that gash soaped up really good.  And Aries?”

He stopped in the doorway of the bathroom and turned back to her; eyebrows lifted high and bottom lip trapped between his teeth.

“Can you pass me a towel first?”  She wrung her hands together, biting her own lip.  “I saw a laundry room at the end of the hall.  I’m going to throw my clothes in, and I’ll need something to cover up with.”

“You’re going to traipse around this roach motel in a towel?”

“Are you showing concern?”  She covered her heart.  “I’m flattered, but no need to worry.  I’m a big girl.”

He held her gaze across the room but didn’t move.

She lifted her own eyebrows.

With a sigh, he stepped into the bathroom and reappeared seconds later with a large, white, terry cloth towel.  He held it out, waited for her to take it, searching her eyes for a second longer, and then moved back toward the door of the bathroom.

“I can wash yours, too,” she said.  “If you want—”

He slammed the bathroom door closed before she could finish.

***

Nina jolted when he slammed the door closed in the middle of her sentence.  She found herself watching the door with wide eyes.  Never in her life had she met such a relentlessly,
insufferably
rude person.

With a huff, she grabbed the bottom of her tight cami top and swept it over her head.  Behind the bathroom door, she heard the shower water start and had to bite her bottom lip at the thought of him getting undressed on the other side, too.

Rude, yes.  Insufferable, absolutely.  Running away from something that was eating him alive, without a doubt.  But she’d be damned if she’d ever met a man more easy on the eyes.  He was heart-stopping with that dark, captivating gaze, those plump, unsmiling lips, those long, strong limbs, and most of all…that mind.  Every other word that left his mouth left her itching to reach for the nearest Merriam-Webster, even as she pretended to understand what he was saying.  Yes, the most attractive thing about that Aries lawyer was his amazing mind.

Of course, like most brilliant men, he was broken—probably beyond repair, and Nina knew better than to give in to the idiotic side of her that wanted to help him.  To fix him.

“You should know better, woman,” she mumbled to herself, shimmying out of her leather pants.  “You can’t fix a man.  You sure as shit can’t fix a man who has no interest in being fixed.  And you
damn
sure can’t fix an Aries lawyer.  He could be a psychotic murderer for all you know.  He said so himself.”

When the door of the bathroom creaked open, sending the room flush with light, she yelped and snatched up the terry cloth towel that she’d thrown over the edge of the bed.

But it was too late.

As she tugged the towel over her baby blue bra and panties, Jack’s mouth had already dropped open from where he stood in the doorway.

A towel was wrapped around his bare waist, hanging onto the V at his hips by the grace of God, because the knot he’d tied in it was so loose it seemed all but useless.

His hand was full with every piece of that complicated gray tuxedo, and the fabric tightened under his hold as his eyes took their second voyage of her body.

Nina tightened the towel at her breasts with one hand, crossing one thigh over the other as she stroked her hand over her curls.