Once Bitten (14 page)

“I’ve
never been on a road trip before,” she said.

“Really?
I hadn’t noticed.”

“It’s
fun!”

The
entire trip ended up taking them over nine hours. They stopped two more times,
once for dinner and again so they could stretch their legs. By the time they
pulled onto Main Street in Long Lake, the novelty of going on a road trip had
worn off for Lila. She was tired of being confined to a car.

Considering
what little physical activity she had gotten that day, she was surprised to
note how the muscles in her legs ached and how exhausted she was. It was dark
out, so she couldn’t even enjoy the beautiful views of the Adirondack
Mountains. It would have to wait until morning.

When
Gabriel pulled into the parking lot of a seedy looking motel, Lila thought he
had to be playing some sort of joke. Where was the Hilton she had been
imagining?

“We are
not staying in a crack motel,” she told him as he parked in front of the
office. There were three cars in the parking lot and a drunk man in front of
the old dilapidated ice machine that she was pretty sure was trying to put his
penis into the hole where the ice came out.

“Sorry
to break it to you, but this is our stop.”

“You’ve
got to be kidding me.” No way was she staying here.

“We’re
in someone else’s territory. This is where we check in and where we stay.” Then
he added as an afterthought, “They don’t cater to too many humans.”

“I can
see why.” She squinted her eyes when the drunk man began waving his dick at
her.

“Don’t
worry, it’ll be fine,” he told her, shutting off the car.

“I
better not get crabs from the sheets.” It was a legitimate concern.

He
laughed. “They’re really clean once you get inside a room. It’s only the
outside that looks like this.”

“You’ve
stayed here before?”

“Only
once a couple years ago when I came down with my uncle. It was before he was
elected as a council member and still only a district leader. It’s nice, you’ll
like it.”

She had
a hard time believing that. “If you say so.”

“Let’s
go inside and get a room,” he told her. “Just follow my lead, understand?”

“I hear
you,” she said, opening her door and making sure to lock it. Luckily once the
drunk man caught sight of Gabriel, he shoved his dick back in his pants and
walked away from them.

Gabriel
walked into the small office first and she stayed close to his heels. The room
was dank with shag carpeting and peeling wallpaper complete with what she
assumed was a large urine stain. The smell of mothballs and dust assaulted her
nose as she caught sight of the only person in the room. A pretty woman, around
Lila’s age, was sitting on a stool behind a counter watching sitcom reruns on a
small black and white television.

She
looked up when the door opened, her small nose lifting to smell the air.
Jumping off her stool, she looked at Gabriel expectantly.

He
spoke first. “We need two rooms.”

Two
rooms? It took her a second to realize she had heard him right. The thought of
staying alone in a crack motel didn’t sit well with her, but she held her
tongue. Go with the flow, she reminded herself.

“State
your business,” the girl said, her dark eyes narrowing on Lila. She didn’t know
how to answer the woman, but luckily she didn’t have to.

“We’re
checking in. We need a meeting with the district leaders tomorrow, if possible,”
Gabriel said, taking the woman’s attention away from Lila.

The
small woman sighed and pulled out an old, large leather-bound book that looked
like it weighed twice as much as she did. She dropped the book on the counter
with a loud thud that shook the room. Flipping toward the back of the book, she
pulled out a ballpoint pen and left it hovering above the page.

Gabriel
didn’t wait for her to ask questions. “Gabriel Azarov. Werewolf. District one,
Cantor territory.”

The
woman wrote as he spoke, pausing when she was finished and looking up at him. “Azarov?
Are you related to Malcolm?”

“He’s
my uncle.” Her thinned brows rose in surprise. Lila could only guess that his
uncle was well known, even in these parts.

“Oh.”
Obviously it wasn’t a response the girl had expected. “Are you here on official
council business then?”

“No,
but I am here at my uncle’s wishes.”

Nodding,
the girl turned her attention to Lila. “I need your name—”

“Lila…Blackburn,”
Gabriel interrupted. “Witch within the Cantor territory. No coven affiliation.”

She was
glad he had taken the reigns otherwise Lila probably would’ve blurted out her
real name, date of birth and social security number.

“We don’t
get a lot of witches in these parts.” The all-knowing glare that the girl gave
Lila made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. This was one little
werewolf she did not want to piss off.

“I bet
not,” Lila said, trying to sound confident and chipper, a wide smile on her
face. She’d rather have the girl think she was a bit slow than a threat. And
she had the feeling that any misstep on her part would land her and Gabriel in
hot water. She almost blew out a sigh of relief when the girl turned back to
Gabriel.

“I’m
going to need to search her bags.”

Uh-oh.
Perhaps packing her gun may not have been the best idea after all.

“That
won’t be necessary. She’s here at my request,” he told her. The girl looked at
Lila and then back to Gabriel.

“It’s
procedure.”

“I
understand that but I assure you, she’s not carrying anything that would be
considered a threat.”

If only
he knew. The girl hesitated, obviously unsure of what she should do.

The
room was quiet for a moment, but when she finally made up her mind, she spoke
to Gabriel, “Since you’re Malcolm’s nephew, I’ll take your word for it. Just
keep in mind that they’ll search her tomorrow before she goes into
headquarters.”

“Understood.”

Nodding,
the woman turned around and pulled two keys off the hooks behind her and handed
them to Gabriel.

“You’re
in 115 and 116. Drive around the building and you’ll see them at the far end,”
she instructed.

“Thank
you.” He turned toward the door and Lila stayed close behind, not wanting to be
left behind with the werewolf girl.

“Welcome
to Lake Territory,” she called after them, a malicious grin on her lips.

Lila
didn’t waste time getting back into the Jeep. The drunk man had disappeared and
she was happy to be away from the nosy werewolf and her cramped, dirty office.

Gabriel
drove around the building as instructed and parked in front of room 116.

“They’re
watching us,” he said in hushed tones, dropping one set of keys into her palm. “Take
your stuff inside, lock the door and turn on the TV. I’ll be over as soon as I
can.”

“Why
are they watching us?” She felt dumb for asking. Maybe they watched everyone,
although she doubted it.

“They’re
watching you, and me because I’m with you. It’s not every day a witch from
another territory checks in. They’re going to be suspicious.”

“Oh.”

“I’ll
be over in a few minutes. I’m hoping there’s a connecting door between the
rooms. Unlock your side if there is. I don’t want them to see me if it’s
avoidable.”

“All
right.”

Lila
climbed out of the Jeep and grabbed her bag from the back. She unlocked the
door to her room and let herself in before turning around and relocking it. Not
that the flimsy door would ever be able to hold off anyone determined to enter,
but just the simple gesture made her feel better.

The
first thing she saw when she turned around was that the room was blissfully
clean. Maybe Gabriel had been right after all. A king sized bed took up the
majority of the space and there wasn’t a speck of dust in sight. There were no
smells of stale beer or urine, and the lush bedding looked almost brand new. It
had certainly been washed since the last guests left.

Even
though the location sucked and from the outside it looked like they rented
rooms by the hour, inside it was better than any place she had imagined staying.

After
closing the blinds, Lila stripped off her clothes and tossed them into a ball
in the corner. The drive had left her feeling icky and smelling like a pine
tree air freshener.

They
were in luck as there was a connecting door between the rooms. She unlocked it
as instructed and went into the bathroom where she found an assortment of
exotic miniature soaps, shampoos and lotions. Turning on the shower, she jumped
in, anxious to try out the rosemary mint shampoo.

She was
just rinsing off when she heard the bathroom door open. Gabriel pushed back the
curtain a second later and climbed into the shower with her. He was nude, his
erection jutting out as his darkened gaze traveled down her body, lingering at
the apex of her thighs.

“My,
you are presumptuous,” she commented, grinning at him as she stepped out of the
spray.

He
stepped toward her, his large hands coming up to cup her face. His dark brown
eyes fixed on hers, his thumbs stroking her cheekbones. “I’d tell you that I
could leave, but I’m not going to. I’m not going anywhere.”

The low
timber in his voice and his choice of words started a fluttering in her chest.
She was desperately trying not to read too much into it, but she found herself
utterly caught up in him. The way he looked at her, the way he too had the
lingering scent of pine tree air freshener clinging to his skin, the way he
touched her…

 
Tiny drops from the spray caught on his
long dark eyelashes as he stared into her eyes. She slid her fingertips over
the hard ridges of his chest, marveling at the brute strength that was just
below the surface.

He
leaned down, brushing his lips over the bruise on her cheekbone. She sucked in
a breath, her eyes closing as his lips traced the shape of her jawline. Her
nails lightly raked over his shoulders as he finally brushed his lips over her
slightly parted ones.

He
nibbled at her bottom lip and she felt the small yearning moan escape her mouth
before she could stop it. His teasing left her quivering where she stood, her
legs weak.

“Gabriel…”
she started as his mouth traveled down her neck, licking the beads of water
from her rapidly overheating skin.

He
released her face when her head fell back. His hands skimmed down over her
back, her skin burning where he caressed her. “I’m right here,” he breathed
against her neck. “I told you, I’m not going anywhere.”

His
hands slid over the contours of her backside, stroking the crease at the top of
her thighs.

Sweet
Lord, she was dripping with need. His mouth traced over her collarbone and she
couldn’t stand anymore.

“I
need…”

She
felt him smile against the skin between her breasts. “Tell me what you need.”

She
couldn’t, but she could show him. Reaching down, she grasped his cock in her
hands and shuddered when she heard him groan. He took one of her nipples in his
mouth, his tongue rolling against the tight peak.

Moaning,
her hands stroked his cock in the same slow, delicious manner he was using to
torture her. His control snapped.

Releasing
her breast, he stood up to his full height. He tightened his grip on her bottom
and pulled her up with him. She let go of his cock to hold onto his shoulders,
wrapping her legs around his waist.

He
pushed her back against the warm shower wall, his cock sliding easily through
her slick folds as he buried himself inside her tight channel. Groaning her
name, he pulled back slightly only to impale himself inside her again.

“Yes,
oh yes,” she cried against his chest as he fucked her. His cock stretched her,
hitting every nerve ending over and over again until she couldn’t take it.

She was
spiraling out of control. Her nails dug into his shoulders as she held on to
him, unwilling to let him go. He felt so good, the raw masculine smell of his
skin lured her in until she was kissing his chest. Her lips and tongue traced
the hard muscle over his pounding heart.

 
Her muscles clamped down on his cock,
holding him inside her as she cried out against his skin. Before she knew what
she was doing, before she could stop herself, her teeth clamped down on the
skin of his chest, holding on without breaking the skin.

His
loud growl shook her, his chest vibrating against her mouth. Lila felt the
delicious spasms of his cock inside her, setting her off again. She bit into
him without meaning to but when she tasted the metallic tang of his blood on
her lips, she instantly released him.

She
froze, sure she had accidentally crossed a line. She didn’t know what had
possessed her, she had never bitten anyone during sex before but all of a
sudden it had been as if he was everywhere and there had been no stopping it.
Praying that he wasn’t angry, she held on to him to keep from falling, not
meeting his eyes as she waited for his reaction. She waited for him to put her
down and step back.