Page 77 of Burn

Voids

Enclosed portions of a building where fire can spread undetected.

I’m not going to ask Caleb where this is going.

I won’t do that because for once in my life, I’m okay with it going where it’s going. It’s pleasure between my legs is what it is. No definition. No way of a letdown because it’s a whatever.

But then there’s part of me that’s giddy and smiling like a fool as I walk into the hotel.

These unicorn tummy tickles he gives me is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. It’s new, it’s whatever but then again, it’s so much more. Like I think of his touch, and my knees weaken and I get all flushed. Let’s just say it’s bad.

“Are you wearing the same thing you wore yesterday?” Scarlet asks when I’m heading up to my office that morning. She’s in the hallway with her cart full of towels and shampoo, two things I probably need this morning. Maybe I’ll sneak into a room and shower real quick.

“Yes . . . no.” My shoulders slump. “Maybe.”

She grins and ties her hair up in a high ponytail. “I think I’m proud.”

Just as I’m about to tell her what happened with Caleb last night, my phone beeps and I see it’s Willa. I totally forgot about Shade checking out last night.

Willa: Shade’s sorry about the room. Charge him for whatever the damage is and I’ll call you later. He’ll be back in March for a freestyle event at Safeco. He’d like to stay at your hotel, if you guys will allow him back.

He’s sorry?

My heart races in my chest, a heavy beat thumping wildly against my ribs. I don’t even want to know.

There are strict orders that no one goes up to the penthouse suite. Guess who can ignore those orders?

My father.

The last person I want to find out about the damage is him because he’d fire me for allowing Shade to get away with this shit. What kind of hotel manager would put up with this? I don’t even know why I do, aside from the fact that he pays for it without complaining.

In the twenty years my father’s owned this hotel, I’m sure he’s had guests like this, but he’d never tell me. If everything’s running smoothly, why tell him?

Tucking my phone in my back pocket, I grab Scarlet by the arm. “We need to go check out the penthouse suite before my dad sees it.”

I want Scarlet with me because I fear having a heart attack and if I do, you can be your ass I will have her call my hot firefighter fuck buddy for some resuscitation in hopes he knows how to do that.

“Your dad isn’t here today.” I’m not surprised Scarlet knows this. She knows everything that goes on in this hotel before anyone else. And then her eyes widen a bit, and she’s trying to fix her hair as she shoves her cart in my office out of the way. “Is Shade up there?”

“No.” Her face falls, immediately replaced with anger. “He checked out this morning.”

Inside the elevator, she stops her foot. “Goddamn you, Mila. You said you’d hook a girl up.”

I press the button on the wall to the penthouse suite. “He wasn’t in any condition to meet you. Next time. He’ll be back in two months.”

“Well—” She pauses and considers something internally, then tells me, “At least I’ll have time to tan my ass. I bet those bitches he sleeps with are all perfectly tan ass cheeks and bleached assholes.”

I’m not even paying attention to what she’s saying. I’m biting all my nails off because I’m thinking about the repair bills and hoping like hell my dad doesn’t see them and be like, “Mila, what the fuck is this?”

Remember when Willa said Shade did some damage to the hotel? Her text lied.

My dad is going to kill me. That’s all there is to it.

I mean, honestly, I think an F5 tornado would do less damage than Shade Sawyer when he’s pissed off. You’re probably thinking, who could possibly do that much damage, Mila?

Well, take a hyperactive man with destructive tendencies mourning the suicide death of his “not girlfriend” and combine that with an adrenaline rush, lots of money, lots of alcohol and unsuspecting hotel staff and this happens.

Among the various broken objects around the suite, that chair I tripped over was thrown against the wall near the door and is actually stuck in the wall. I’m not even sure how that’s possible.

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