His to Take (Wicked Lovers #9)(113)
Author: Shayla Black

“We’ve got time, right? It can’t be that late.” Bailey looked toward his nightstand and found the clock. “Ten fifteen? I slept that long?”

“Yep. I guess that means I wore you out.” He looked damn proud of himself.

She swatted his arm. “You’re impossible . . . but maybe you did.”

“Then my day is complete. Well, except the part where I’m supposed to save you from the bad guys. I’m still working on that.”

“I appreciate it.” She sobered and sipped at her coffee, trying not to choke. “Oh, that is shit.”

“Sorry.”

Bailey shrugged. “Not your fault. Can I see that map?”

Forcing another sip of coffee down, she picked at the muffin as Joaquin rearranged the map so she could get a better view. But nothing registered with her. She couldn’t recall seeing any sign that said they’d left one state or entered another. There seemed to be a big, black hole in her recollections of that trip.

“If I had to guess, Viktor drove north. The Great Lakes would give you lots of possibilities for docks and signs by water. But he might have taken you east to see some sights. There are quite a few lakes along the way if he did that, too. Did you go to D.C. maybe?”

She shook her head. “No. Every place he took us seemed off the beaten path. There weren’t many people. None of the places even seemed as if they got a lot of campers. I don’t remember seeing a lot of amenities for them. Then again, I was five, so maybe I just wasn’t looking.”

Joaquin took her shoulders in hand. “I need something to follow. There’s no way we can drive around aimlessly until we find something that looks familiar. That’s a fucking needle in a haystack. Anything you can give me would be helpful.”

She looked at the map again, but all the little lines representing the highways and roads just blended together for her. Frustrated at herself, she sighed. “Maybe I should . . . This will sound crazy to you, but if you can find me a place I might be able to spread out and dance, that might help. It focuses my mind and centers me.”

“Dance?” He blinked.

Yeah, she’d known that would sound nuts to someone who didn’t spend their life en pointe. It was tough to explain the way she could let her thoughts just flow as her movements did. Sometimes, when she focused too much on something, nothing happened. But releasing the tension and clearing her head seemed to make her unconscious mind work in her favor. It couldn’t hurt to try now.

“Please.”

“All right. I think I saw a place when I was downstairs. Let’s pack up and head out. I’ll even try to find you some protein once we blow this joint.”

Bailey sidled up to him and wrapped her arms around the strong column of his neck. Heat flared in his eyes again. Would he ever stop looking at her that way? Gosh, she hoped not.

“That would be perfect. Thanks.”

Without a word, they gathered up their stuff and packed it all back in Joaquin’s backpack. He opened the door and scanned the parking lot in both directions. It must have been empty because he motioned her out. Sure enough, she didn’t see anyone in sight.

Joaquin guided her to a hallway beside the front desk. A variety of meeting rooms shot off from the main walkway on both the left and the right. Some doors had been shut. Voices rose from behind them. Signs in little brass frames standing nearby proclaimed those rooms to be in use.

Joaquin continued leading her farther down until they came to a ballroom. He yanked the door open. It stood perfectly empty except for some tables on their sides, a few stacks of chairs, and a pile of white linens.

“I saw an electronic sign in the lobby earlier. Some sales group is having an awards dinner here tonight, but it doesn’t start until six thirty.”

“They’ll start setting up long before then, but we’ll be gone. Can you leave me alone for a few minutes?” Already, she was looking forward to the moment she could turn on her music and become one with it, clear her thoughts and just be.

“No.” His denial was immediate and whiplike. “We have no idea who else might be here. I’m not leaving you alone, especially if you’re about to put yourself into a state where you’re not really paying attention to your surroundings.”

“I doubt anyone will think to look for me here,” she argued.

“Maybe not, but I’m not willing to take that chance.” He shrugged. “Your choice. Either you dance while I’m in the room or you don’t dance at all.”

Bailey frowned. She knew he’d seen her before. Dancing wasn’t generally a private activity. She did it for audiences. But connecting with her thoughts and using her movement to let go of every pretense and simply breathe? She never willingly did that in front of anyone.