I’m not going anywhere with you, Wolf.”
He leaned down in her face and they locked shades. “We’re getting a room and working through this shit, or would you rather do it right here on the side of the fucking road, Crystal?”
She huffed out a breath. “Fine.”
“Do not make me chase you down this road again, babe.”
“Okay, Wolf, I said fine, didn’t I?”
She put her car in gear as he headed back to his bike. He followed behind her, making sure she took the exit, before he gunned the throttle, zoomed around her and took the lead. Turning off the ramp, he led her to the motel.
It was a small place, maybe a dozen units in a horseshoe shaped layout surrounding a blacktop parking lot with a tiny pool off to one side, surrounded by chain-link fencing. A sloped roof overhung the concrete walkway that ran past each unit’s door and curtained window.
Parking his bike in front of one of the nearest units, Wolf yanked off his helmet as Crystal pulled into the parking space next to him. He walked back to the tiny office set just off the street, and a few minutes later, he returned with a key.
Walking back toward where Crystal sat in her car with her door open against the heat, he slid the key into the lock of unit number one, conveniently right in front of where her car and his bike sat. He pushed the door open and glanced in at the double bed. The air conditioning unit rattled in a poor attempt to cool the place. The room was a far cry from the luxury suite they’d shared in Vegas last night, but it was going to have to do. He walked back to her car, yanked open the back door as she got out, and then he grabbed up her overnight bag.
“What are you doing?” she asked with a frown.
“Carrying your bag.”
“I agreed to talk to you, nothing more.”
He continued on past her. “Well, it’s gonna be a long talk, sweetheart.”
“Wolf!” She followed him inside as he tossed her bag on the bed. She glared at him as he walked back past her to slam the door shut. She swiveled to look at him, her hands landing on her hips. “What is your problem?”
He advanced on her then, until she felt the need to take a step back. “My problem? My problem is I woke up alone in an empty hotel suite. My problem is you have a habit of forgetting to say goodbye. My problem is I’ve got a woman who seems to think any of that is gonna fly with me.”
“I’m not your woman, Wolf.”
“Keep tellin’ yourself that, babe.”
She ignored that and moved on. “You’re pissed about me leaving? Really, Wolf? But it’s okay for me to wake up alone every time you sneak out the door?”
He frowned. “What?”
“You do that to me all the time, Wolf!”
“Babe, you know how the MC is. I get called out, I have to leave. You know that, Crystal.”
“God, you’re so infuriating.”
He shook his head. Christ, she’d talk him in circles if he let her. But there was one question, by God, she’d answer. “Why’d you run, Crystal?”
“We had a night together. Why are you trying to make it into something it wasn’t?”
At that, his chin came back. “Something it wasn’t? Just what the fuck are you tellin’ me?”
“Wolf, nothing’s changed.”
“Crystal, everything’s changed. I thought I proved that to you last night.”
“We had sex. That proves nothing.”
“That wasn’t just sex, Crystal, and you know it. You fucking know it.”
She turned away from him then, apparently not able to meet his eyes. And he knew why, too. It was because she knew every word he said was true. At least she gave him that much. He watched her eyes move around the room, taking it in. He could almost hear what she was thinking.