First Comes Like by Alisha Rai
Author:Alisha Rai
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Avon
Published: 2020-11-29T00:00:00+00:00
Chapter Fifteen
âSORRY, WE only have one room left.â
Jia should have expected that one. One room left at the inn in a ghost town, why . . . that was exactly how her luck was shaping up.
The bar was on the first floor of the hotel. The place was only two stories, a half-dozen rooms max. It was completely empty, save for her, Dev, and the bartender slash hotel clerk. Who on earth was occupying these rooms? âOne room,â Dev repeated.
The woman snapped her gum. Her skin was as weathered as the mechanicâs son theyâd met a mile away. Jia hoped they were wearing sunscreen in this desert sun. âPest control guy is doing routine treatments in our other rooms. We only got the one free.â
Jia rubbed the bridge of her nose. Dev had gone ramrod straight next to her. His brain was probably breaking at the impropriety of them sharing a room.
But this wasnât the worst thing ever. She trusted Dev in a way sheâd never trusted any other guy. He wouldnât so much as touch her. Heâd accepted her body against his on the beach while heâd been having his attack, but as soon as heâd come back to himself, heâd gently rebuffed her.
Itâs because he doesnât want to touch you. Youâre fine to pal around with, but he has no romantic interest in you. Youâre too much.
Sheâd tried not to take it too personally. Sheâd never had a panic attack herself, but between Sadia and Katrina, sheâd been around for a few of them. She understood anxiety and the pressure it could place on the human brain. Or in Devâs case, what appeared to be hugely unresolved grief.
Sheâd wanted to crawl into his lap and wrap herself around him like a vine until it passed. And then after, too, when heâd looked so embarrassed. Only the fact that she knew it would horrify him had kept her touch somewhat platonic.
âAre there two beds?â she said, taking initiative since Dev seemed to have lost his ability to speak.
âItâs a suite. Thereâs a queen-size bed and a foldout couch.â The woman snapped her gum again. Her name tag said Jenny. Jenny seemed remarkably unbothered over whether they took a room or not, though Jia imagined it must be hard to get business out here. âItâs cozy,â Jenny added.
That was code for small. Jia glanced around. That would track with the rest of this place. It was dark, from the dim lighting to the dark wood. Signed dollar bills were tacked all over the walls and ceiling.
âSay, do I know you?â Jenny suddenly asked. She leaned closer, scrutinizing Dev.
Oops. Jia may have been wrong. There might be some foreign film fans in this place after all. That would teach her not to stereotype.
âI donât think so,â Dev said politely.
âOh, youâre British,â Jenny said, and about twenty years seemed to melt off her as she leaned against the counter and batted her lashes. âWe donât get many British people here.â
âIâm notââ
There was
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