Page 41 of Unhitched

Chapter twenty-four

Mya

“You don’t have to walk me to my room,” I say, rolling my eyes at Kace over my shoulder, making sure my irritation is still evident.

I realize it’s not a huge deal that he went all caveman when someone else kissed me, but trying to understand him is like trying to find your way through Ikea without the maps.

I mean, it’s not like he wants to kiss me–he’s made it clear we’re friends .

My daydreams of Kace coming to find me reading by the fireplace and pulling me to his room are trying to convince me otherwise, but the truth of it is, he’s had two distinct chances to kiss me that he didn’t act on.

I shouldn’t have taken our ‘Would You Rather?’ game in the direction I did. He has made it clear he doesn’t want to date me. And yet… he sure did play along with my questions and added some spice of his own.

“It’s not a problem,” he says from behind me. “It’s on the way to mine.”

Judging from the sign on the wall, our rooms are next to each other, so I don’t continue my fight.

It’s nice of him to carry my bag, but also, mixed signals much?

We walk down the hallway in silence, stopping in front of my room.

I pull the keycard from the pocket of my leggings and tap it against the black sensor.

It clicks, and Kace reaches for the handle, pushing the door open.

“Thanks,” I whisper, walking past him. I take a few steps, ready to explore my room, but freeze.

“Where do you want your–” Kace crashes into me with an oomph, then follows my gaze.

Staring back at us are two pairs of eyes belonging to a very naked couple. He’s leaning against the headboard and she’s riding him, seated on his lap–thankfully her body is turned away so we can’t see any parts we shouldn’t.

The moment we all use to take in the situation feels like it lasts forever. The man in front of us breaks the trance when he tugs the sheet sitting below the girl’s ass to cover her body.

“Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry,” I blurt. “They must have mixed up my room.” I cover my eyes way too late, turning toward Kace, who is standing with his eyes wide.

I push him with both hands on his chest. Oh my Lanta , his chest is so…

firm? Ripped? His muscles are evident under his thermal, but touching him has me wanting to slide my fingers down, exploring the ripples of his abs that I’m sure to find.

“Let’s go,” I tell him, and he snaps his attention to leaving, turning and leading me out the door along with our bags.

The lock clicks behind us, and I lean against the hallway wall, laughter bursting from me. “I can’t believe that happened,” I choke out. Glancing up to see Kace’s reaction, I catch a smirk, along with a shake of his head.

“Me either.”

“What a mix-up.” My laughter fades out. “Well then. I guess we should go talk to the front desk, so they can assign me another room.”

Kace cringes. He tugs on the back of his neck. His forest tattoo peeks out from the sleeve of his thermal that rises enough to show a sliver of his abs between his shirt and his snow pants. My eyes don’t know where to look. Focus. He has something to say.

“What?”

“We got the last two rooms, remember? Plus, I tried checking us in when I came in for a lunch break. They said they were running behind because they’re fully booked.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, that’s okay. I can just stay in your room, right?”

“Uhh.” The tugging on his neck continues. Jesus, he looks so stressed by the thought of being in the same room with me. It’s not like we aren’t already roommates.

“Or not. It’s okay. I’ll go talk to them. Surely we can figure out something. Or I can sleep in the truck. Nothing I haven’t done before.” I smile, assuring him it’s fine. I don’t want him to be uncomfortable or to make things more tense between us. I turn to head back down the hallway.

“No,” he says, and I stop in my tracks, turning to face him. “It’s fine. We’ll make it work.”

If he’s going to agree, he doesn’t have to make it sound like such a hassle. “Are you sure?”

“Yup.” He slaps his key card against the sensor on the other side of me, holding up his hand for me to wait before checking to make sure this bed is actually available. He pokes his head back into the hallway. “Good to go.”

I follow him inside, stopping in front of the bed with our bags on top of the white comforter.

The very small bed. Ironically, the size of my childhood bed–a double.

As if I wasn’t having enough trouble refraining from revisiting that vision over and over.

Kace hovering over me, claiming me in a way that totally makes me forget Ian Somerhalder’s face staring at me from the ceiling.

There’s a small chair in the corner, and a sliding glass door that leads to a balcony. Other than that, there’s hardly even room to walk around the bed. This should be interesting to say the least. Kace grabs his bag and sets it on the chair to dig through it.

“Are you sure this will be okay? I don’t want to invade your space.”

Without glancing over his shoulder, he says, “It’ll be fine, Mya. After a long day, I’m sure I’ll be out cold. I won’t even notice you.”

Ouch. “Okay.”

“I’m going to shower.” He turns around with a pile of clothes in his hands.

“Alright,” I manage, but he’s already walking past me to the bathroom.

I unlatch the sliding door and pull it open, stepping onto the balcony.

The sun is almost set, but I can make out the mountain, lift and trees.

The stars are starting to pierce through the darkness as it drowns out the day, and I love it.

It’s quiet and peaceful, and balances the loudness of the chaos swarming through my brain.

“Hey,” Kace’s voice comes from behind me. I didn’t even hear him open the sliding door. Dang. He showers fast. I’ve only been out here for like ten minutes.

“Hey,” I return the greeting as he joins me.

His forearms fall to the metal bar of the balcony, mirroring my position.

I glance over to check his proximity to me even though my heart rate gives away how close he is.

He’s wearing gray and navy plaid pajama pants and a navy Henley with the sleeves pushed up enough to see an entire layer of his forest tattoo.

My Lanta, Kace in pajamas is hot. How the heck am I supposed to get any sleep tonight with him next to me?

“I called the front desk. They apologized and refunded your room to your card.”

I glance at him. “Oh. I would have talked to them in the morning.”

“I wanted to make sure it was taken care of.” His gaze remains forward.

“Well, thank you. I appreciate it.”

He nods, but doesn’t say anything else. He doesn’t even look at me looking at him, so I draw my attention back to the sky. “The moon looks so big,” I finally say. It’s not that the silence is awkward. I just don’t know what to do with it. “It’s like Bruce Almighty got a hold of it.”

Kace chuckles next to me, and a surge of pride bursts inside me. I’ve realized one of my favorite things is being responsible for any sign of happiness in this man. “I can’t stop thinking about how we walked in on those people.” He shakes his head.

He’s thinking about sex? Standing this close to me? Do the two things overlap in his brain? Is there any way? A buzz races across my skin at the thought of him touching me. His arm is so close to mine, I swear I can feel the heat radiating from it.

Taking a breath, I turn toward him. I know he doesn’t want me, but I don’t know… What if…

“Me either.” I lock my gaze with his and run my tongue over my lips, wetting them.

His eyes follow the movement, and his breath heats my face.

Or is it doing that on its own? I want him to kiss me.

But what if he runs away again? Fear wins this round, and I clear my throat.

“I’m hungry,” I say, hoping to break the tension, but it has the completely opposite effect.

“Are you?” There’s a gleam in his eye, and I swear on my love for Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson acting together that he moves a few centimeters closer.

I nod.

“What would you like, Mya?” His voice is low and seductive, and my body heat overpowers the cool mountain air to the point that a bead of sweat forms at my temple.

“Umm.” There’s no innuendo here right? I’m imagining it. Yes. I have to be. “A burger sounds good. I think I saw them on the menu.”

“A burger?” He searches my eyes for confirmation.

I nod. “Mhmm.”

He hesitates. “A burger it is, then.” He holds his hand out for me to lead the way.

I walk past him, feeling more confused than ever.

“Wait for me by the door,” he says, and I turn back. “So I can put some jeans on.”

“Oh, all right.” I’m still in the same clothes I’ve been wearing all day–leggings, an oversized Roxy crewneck and my Uggs.

I don’t care what anyone says. These boots will always be in , and you’ll have to pry them from my cold dead feet.

I stand awkwardly by the door, willing myself not to look as I hear Kace shuffle through his bag.

Part of me is convinced he’ll change in the bathroom, but even I know better as I shift my eyes to the side.

I catch him with his flannel pajamas in a pile on the floor, and his jeans at his shins, the moment before he pulls them up.

His quad muscles flex with the movement, disappearing into the black boxer briefs tight against his thighs.

His jeans slide over his ass as his eyes flick to me.

Flashing me a smirk as he adjusts the pants around his waist, he tugs on the zipper and fastens the button.

“Alright, I’m ready.” He swipes his wallet from the chair and steps into his brown Oxford boots, lacing them quickly.