Page 22 of Bruised MC Bear

10

Axe

“Really? Here? No way. I bet those rooms have bedbugs.”

Angel’s sweet, sultry voice got Axe’s attention, even if she was complaining. Axe had to drag her out of her house kicking and screaming after she had convinced him she couldn’t leave her dogs and had to give her keys to her neighbor so they’d at least be fed. While they were there, she had scrutinized every outfit she owned before he suggested jeans, t-shirts, a couple of sweat suits, and a pair of loafers would be more ideal than leather, lace and stilettos. They went back and forth until Axe ended up grabbing a backpack and shoving stuff from her chest of drawers to get them on their way.

Angel had pouted for a while during their thirty-minute drive on the I-15 south, but calmed down before they made it to Glendale, Nevada. But now, she took one look at the seedy motel and muttered her vehement disagreement to spending a single night there.

“You can always walk back home and take your chances with the men who are after you,” Axe told her, cutting off the engine. “We’re staying here,” he reiterated firmly, only slightly annoyed. For the most part, he was horny as hell after all this time with the gorgeous, feisty woman who’d been pressed up tight to him like a second skin for the entire ride.

“Christ.” She climbed off in a huff.

“I’ll get us the room,” he told her, pushing down the kickstand before getting off. “You watch the bike.”

He was at the motel office and back with the key in a few minutes, but Angel was still pissed. Her arms were crossed over her breasts, her nostrils flared, and her eyes narrowed as she glared at him. “I guess I parked in a good spot,” he told her, ignoring the tantrum in waiting. “Follow me.”

They stepped up on the pavement and only had to walk a few feet to get to their room. Angel pushed past him when he unlocked the door. “Just as I thought. I imagine I’ll need a shower before and after sleeping in that bed,” she said, dumping her backpack on the sofa and heading to the bathroom at the back.

“By the way,” Axe said from his spot at the threshold. “Only rooms with queen beds were available, so I’ll let you sleep in here. I’ll be outside.”

“Outside?” she called out from the open bathroom door. “Isn’t that stretching out the good guy thing a little far? You can take the couch. I won’t freak out.”

Axe’s jaw hardened. He wasn’t ready for an overnighter with anyone. Not now while his dreams were riddled with terror-filled nightmares. He struggled to come up with something to get himself out of this. Angel didn’t need to know.

“I’m fine with staying out there. Seriously. I need to keep watch.”

“Okay, sure,” she said reluctantly. “Are you going to do the bear thing too? I hear you shifters need to get back to nature often.”

“Yeah, that.”

“Well just know that the way it looks out there, nature’s going to include pimps and crack whores.”

Axe had to smile. Around this stretch of road, she wasn’t far off the mark. They were hardly in the best part of town, but the panthers weren’t likely to look for either of them here.

“I’ll manage. Are you hungry? I can get us some food from that little diner we passed about a mile up the road.”

“Can I come with? After I shower.”

Axe took a seat on the sofa and checked the time on his phone. “Sure, you can come along, but we need to go now. We can’t risk having them catch sight of the bike.”

“Okay, but at least let me change,” she said, returning to the couch for her bag. Angel stared down at him for a moment. “You look beat. Maybe you should go get us takeout.”

He got to his feet, dwarfing her as she stayed in the same spot with one hand on the strap of the backpack. That vulnerable look in her eyes had him so tight in the chest, he had to get out of there. “I’ll be back in fifteen minutes. Don’t open the door for anyone.”

* * *

“Hey, tomorrow morning, we’ll have to hit the road early to keep ahead of whatever’s in the rearview. Cool?” Axe pointed out after they had dinner.

“Fine with me,” Angel answered. “All right. Time for that shower. I’ll be back.”

“What were you doing while I picked up dinner?”

She got to her feet. “Waiting for you to get back. Haven’t you heard the saying never step inside a shower when you’re alone in a seedy motel that looks like a chainsaw murderer was the last guy to rent the place?”

“Nope. Never heard that saying.”

She hummed all the way to the bathroom. Angel was not shy. She left the door half open, turned on the shower, and stripped out of all her clothes, giving him a show, as if daring him to go in there.