This place is creepy as fuck, though. I'm not used to hotels like this. Is anybody? I haven't traveled much, but when I've gone on trips with my father, we stay in luxury hotels with soft, silky sheets, ample space, and pillows so soft it's like sleeping on a cloud. This is such a far cry from the luxury I'm accustomed to, it isn't even funny.
I'm tired. So tired. I close my eyes, and allow myself to rest in the knowledge that he is here to protect me.
He wouldn't just take me for no good reason. He would never take advantage of me. I know he wouldn't.
He wouldn't.
Just as I fall into a deep, dreamless sleep I hear a door open on the other side of the wall. Someone's coming into the room next to us. My eyes fly open, but Nicolai just stands, arms still crossed over his chest. I hear a high-pitched giggle and the sound of a man's growl, then the bed squeaks. I stifle a groan. We can hear everything.
Muffled conversation, the jingle of a belt buckle, soon followed by lewd moans and groans and suckles.
Oh, God. The people in the next room are going at it hot and heavy and I can't hide from this. We're going to hear everything. Together. It's like someone's playing cheap porno flicks on a widescreen TV in a continual loop.
I want to die.
Every creak of the mattress, every moan of delight, they're going at it like rabbits and I can practically see them. With a groan, I pull the covers up right over my head, and I swear this time I actually do hear Nicolai laugh, but I don't remove the covers to confirm. My body heats with the knowledge that all six foot two of muscled, raw, Russian alpha male complete with formidable shaved head and tattoos galore stands on the other side of these covers. Hearing the groans of pleasure. As submerged in this lewd slice of carnal indulgence as I am.
The man who just kidnapped me and spanked me.
"Go to sleep, Marissa," he repeats, though this time the command is less harsh.
"I'm trying," I tell him, and thank God the horny little couple next door doesn't last long, as soon the sounds fade and I hear the unmistakable sound of a cigarette lighter, followed by the scent of cigarettes.
And then I wonder... if I can hear the people next door so clearly, did anyone hear what he did to me? Did anyone hear him punish me? I would absolutely die. These people next door weren't in yet, but there are other rooms on this floor.
Great.
It's hot under here and I'm sweating bullets, so I take the blanket off my head, and accidentally catch Nicolai's eye. He actually looks amused. Though his lips are pulled tight, his eyes twinkle in a way that's rare for him.
"Sounds like they're done for now," he says, with obvious disdain. The smirk on his face leads me to believe he's not so impressed with our neighbors' stamina.
"You could do better?" I blurt out before I can stop myself. His eyes widen in surprise before he actually smiles at me.
Aw, hell. Did I just say that?
"Fuck yes I could do better," he says with a laugh. "I lasted longer as a seventeen-year-old boy."
He laughed.
I've never seen him laugh before, and it warms something deep inside me. And then my mind's on Nicolai and... um, lasting... and I imagine what it would be like to be beneath him while he straddles me from above.
I close my eyes, feigning exhaustion, but I'm really just trying to get my shit together.
"Marissa, get some sleep before our neighbors get a show of their own."
I feel my jaw literally drop. Did he just say—did he mean—no way did he—
But he shakes his head at me. "I mean a repeat of what happened earlier, little girl, and nothing more. Now sleep."
I close my eyes so I don't have to look at him again, and also to hide the way I am literally dying of embarrassment. I can't believe he thought that I thought he wanted to fuck me, or was threatening to fuck me, or—oh God I have no idea.
It takes me a long time to settle. I hear him walk about the room a few times but then he's quiet. I feel him standing over me. Watching. Protecting. And I settle in the knowledge that I'm safe with him.
Finally, after what seems like hours, I fall to sleep.
When I wake the next morning, I can't remember where I am at first. I look all around me, but I don't recognize anything, and quickly, panic overtakes me at the unfamiliar curtains, bedside table, and bedding. I blink at the vibrant red numbers on the alarm clock on the bedside table. 5:00.