Page 16 of Spark
Chris put his big, very warm hand on her shoulder, and urged her forward. “C’mon, let’s go.”
Sophie cast a sideways glance at the closed door to the bathroom as she walked past it, and felt a sneaking sense of relief that she wouldn’t have to venture in there, after all.
When both of them had rejoined Ariela in the corridor outside the room, Mr. Ornelas fixed Sophie with a stern look that made her want to hide behind Chris.
“If you haven’t already seen it, there’s a whole section on our website that talks about the history of this resort. Now, if you’ll excuse me…” He turned on his heel with military precision and stalked towards the elevators.
Ariela, Chris, and Sophie watched his retreating back in silence.
“Whew. That was a close call!” Ariela said with a crooked smile after a ding announced the closing of the elevator doors.
“I hope I didn’t get you in trouble,” Sophie said with a sudden pang.
Ariela shook her head, still smiling. “My great-uncle growls a lot, but he doesn’t bite…often. But please don’t let this discourage you from writing your article. If you can find out what's really going on here, perhaps we can find a way to stop it. Or at least, stop anyone else from getting hurt.”
“She’s right,” Chris agreed, putting his arm around Sophie. “Don’t give up now.”
Still cold and feeling more than a little shaky in the aftermath of her encounter with Mr. Ornelas, she couldn’t help slipping her arm around Chris’s lean, hard waist and leaning into his side.
He drew her in, holding her firmly against his side. Reassurance soaked into her, along with pleasant warmth.
“But Mr. Ornelas doesn’t really want me here,” Sophie protested. "I don't want you to lose your job, or anything."
“Yeah, don’t worry about that,” Chris said blithely.
Ariela nodded agreement.
Chris continued, “I swear to you that Eddy’s really a nice guy. Plus, there are a few other people working here who have had weird stuff happen to them. You want to talk to them before you leave, right?” He paused and smiled down at her.
Once again, she could swear he was flirting with her. But this wasChris. Who only liked sporty shifter girls.
She told herself that she should probably stop clinging to him, but his arm around her and his body against her felt so good.
“We should probably go back downstairs now,” Ariela said, sounding apologetic. She began to head towards the elevators.
Sophie took a step, and was surprised to find Chris holding her back. “Hold on a sec.” He raised his voice slightly. "Ariela, we'll catch up to you in a sec."
He let Ariela get halfway down the corridor before he spoke again.
“Hey, so, I wanted to ask you,” he said, a little too casually. “Are you doing anything tonight?”
* * *
Chris was pleased to hear Sophie reply, “Nothing. Why?”
She looked up at him with an adorably quizzical expression.
He kept his arm around her shoulders as they started to follow Ariela towards the elevators.
Back in the hotel room, he’d seen the goosebumps all over the smooth skin of her bare shoulders and the tops of her cleavage, and his cat had instantly urged him to warm her up. His human half liked the way that her soft curves felt against him, and the way that her scent rose to surround him.
In addition to the routine fragrances of her shampoo and deodorant, he detected the tang of fresh strawberries and the rich perfume of chocolate.
He guessed that before driving out to the hotel, she’d eaten some of the special birthday dessert he’d made for her yesterday. It had ended up being boxed up and sent home with her after her birthday dinner ended early.
I wonder if I’d be able to taste those strawberries if I kissed her.
Based on how she’d reacted every time he’d touched her in the past twenty-four hours, he was pretty sure that Sophie wouldn’t mind kissing him.
