Page 39 of Revel
Crap. He noticed. “I do not.” I fumble over words, clearly trying to backtrack. “I just don’t think I would have kissed you.”
He stands and makes his way over to me but stops about a foot away. He runs his palm along his jaw. “Why?” he asks, clearing his throat.
“Why what?”
“Whywouldn’t you have kissed me?”
I think of how his mouth might feel pressed to mine, the expression on his face now as he watches me with parted lips. “Because I’m not that kind of girl.”
His shoulders shake with laughter, but it’s his eyes that remain hard and critical of me. “What are you, in third grade? It’s a fucking kiss. It’s not like we fucked.”
My entire body breaks out in flames and my armpits itch. Wrapping my arms around myself, I attempt to hide my discomfort. Shaking slightly, I bury my chin in the sheet and hide my lips beneath the fabric. “When did we, uh, kiss?” I can’t even make eye contact with him.
Licking his lips, Revel traps me between the dresser and the door. One fur-covered arm lifts up, his palm pressing to the wall behind me. “We didn’t.” He winks and raises the hand that isn’t holding his cigarette to my face. Running a finger along my jaw, he makes a humming noise, stepping closer. “I just want to get a reaction out of you.”
Playfully, I shove against his chest. “You’re such a jerk.” My pulse quickens when I realize I’m touching him. I drop my hand.
“Yeah, probably.” He nods, bringing his cigarette to his lips again. Drawing in a heavy pull, he angles his head to blow the smoke up into the air above us. My eyes drift to his jaw, his throat, his collarbone, everywhere I’m itching to touch. His jaw is tense and his lips press into a thin line. “But, Red, I’m the only one who was looking out foryoulast night.”
My heart feels weak against the protectiveness his words hold. His proclamation tears at my nerves, words blurring together, confessions so bright they burn. He’s looking out for me. He’s not pushing me away or telling me I can’t do this.
I nod, bubbles of regret filling my stomach. “Could have fooled me,” I say lamely.
He watches me carefully, backs up, eyes assessing, and then moves toward the door.
You know when you’re watching a horror movie, and the girl hears a noise in the basement followed by breaking glass? You’re genuinely disappointed in her when she sneaks downstairs in her too-revealing nightgown holding a toothbrush as her weapon instead of calling the police. Girl, I get it. Me too. You’re thinking to yourself, Christ, sister, call the freaking police. But it’s too late by that point because the moment she descends those stairs, the door slams shut and bam, throat slit. Well, you know, I totally feel for the dumbasses in those movies now because guess what I did last night? I went and checked out the noise and that guy, the villain in the story? He slaughtered my heart after one night.
Didn’t think that was possible, did ya?
Totally. Possible.
You were there on that stage with me. You saw all the moves. Rock stars have game.
I have every reason in the world to stay away from him, but damn it, his mystery draws me in. Every time I’m in a room with him, I want to shake him and demand for him to tell me everything.
Just before he opens the door to leave the room, he looks over his shoulder at me. “Hey, Red?” There’s an emotion that appears behind heavily guarded blues, tempting me to the edge. My chest hurts, suddenly alive and aching for more.
“Yeah?”
“I had the opportunity last night, and I didn’t. That should tell you where my loyalty lies.”
Gulp.
You know inBatmanwhen Jack Napier fell into the acid bath and turned into the Joker? Do you remember what he said?
I’ll refresh your memory, because it’s one of my favorite movies once Christian Bail took over. . . but that’s beside the point. The Joker said:“Jack? Jack is dead, my friend. You can call me. . . Joker. And as you can see, I’m a lot happier.”
Taylan Ash? You can call me Red. As you can see, trouble makes me a lot happier.
After leaving the hotel room, I don’t find Bella anywhere in the hotel. And as it turns out, this wasn’t my room anyway. It was Revel’s.
In the lobby, I call Bella, only to get her voice mail. “Some kind of assistant you are!” I yell into the phone, then hang up. I call my security next, only to find them outside the hotel waiting for me.
Ben, the head of my security, smiles at me and opens the door to a black Tahoe. “It’s nice to see you this morning, Ms. Ash.”
Sighing in relief, I toss my hair up in a bun and head toward the SUV. “Sorry about last night, B.”
Knowing exactly what I like, he hands me a coffee as he’s closing the door. “It’s no problem. I wasn’t far away.”
