“A burger and fries are good, but you shooting the check-in girl may have to wait until we come back here for a vacation and not work. For the record, I don’t mind sharing a room or a bed with you, but I can take the floor or the chairs.”
She ignored his comments on the sleeping arrangements, “Right, this is work. A neverending trip that ends with me being fired.”
“At least, it’s an all-expenses-paid trip to unemployment.”
"Ha, ha," Tara threw a pillow at him, "I really would like to come back here, though. Not specifically this khaki calamity, but I’d love to see LA.”
“I think you’d like it, most east coasters do. I know a few spots you can eat at.”
“Is that an offer for a guided tour?” Tara’s curiosity in Ben piqued. The longer she stared at him, the more she wanted to know the man behind the handsome face.
"I can do that for you," Ben said with a much more severe tone than she anticipated.
Excited anticipation filled Tara, right before she caught a glimpse of the large black metal case. It called to her as a subtle reminder of why she was sharing a room with the hot bodyguard in the first place.
“I need a shower,” she said more to herself.
“You’re right-”
“Wow, I know we had a nice rapport building a few seconds ago, but I didn’t think we were in a place where we agreed on me needing a shower.”
Ben stifled his laughter, "I only meant that we agreed on stopping here and booking the room for that exact reason, Tara. Still, we should eat and relax. You hop in the shower, and I can have food brought up."
“Okay, I can do that.”
6
Ben watched Tara with infatuation and lust building inside of him as she headed into the bathroom. The sound of the water followed by billowing steam from under the closed door propelled him to his feet with images of her wetness pulsing through his mind. He wanted to feel her wetness wrapped around him in ways he hadn't felt in a very long time. To have her fingertips tracing the contours of his torso, running through his hair, pulling it back for her mouth to play along his neck, it called to his more primitive urges.
The very idea of him slipping inside of her, every throbbing inch, sent him practically running from the room. He had to get out of there to stop him from breaking into the bathroom like a sex-crazed lunatic. Instead of having food brought up, he opted to clear his head to refocus on the job he’d been paid to do. A short elevator ride to the lobby helped a lot, especially when he noticed the young lady behind the counter.
Tara was right, she’d been staring at him the entire time. The closer he got to the desk, the more she tried to be sexy, but it came off unappealing. One hair flip too many made him want to go the loner route he was used to and order food through an app. After a deep breath, he pressed on, forcing himself to socialize.
“Hey, I want to grab some good burgers and fries. Anything good around here? A diner or something?” he asked her.
“Oh, there’s plenty of good things to eat around here,” she said with an obnoxious wink.
Ben didn’t realize how tired he was until that statement. He wanted to be in the shower. He needed to be back in the room to make sure nothing happened to those priceless artifacts. He tried to curb his irritability, "I mean, is room service available? Can I place my order with you?"
“Sure,” she forced a smile to greet her rejection, “Just so you know, you can order room service from your room. The phone or the tv remote allows you to do that.”
“You know what? You’re right. I’ll take your suggestion for the next time, but since I’m here, can you have two orders of burgers and fries, and three large salads brought to our room? You can apply it to this card.” The woman took the credit card he pulled from his wallet. He understood that Tara, well MoVA, was supposed to take care of food and incidentals, but he had a company card while he was on the job too. It didn't sit right with him, putting the food on the room's tab. He finished signing for the order and stepped away from the desk, wondering if he should give the hotel a preliminary assessment.
However, as Ben walked away from the counter, something caught his eye. There was someone outside of the hotel. They paced around the parking lot like they were lost. He’d brought his bag with his weapon upstairs already and wanted to kick himself for walking around unarmed.
The nagging feeling in his gut returned to him, forcing him to explore his instincts. Ben kept to the shadows like a predator stalking its prey. He watched diligently while trying his best to sneak out of the lobby without being spotted. He wasn’t sure how much time went by, but the longer he surveilled the stranger, the more he suspected him. There weren’t any indications of any threat level other than his gut.
When a car packed with kids, and a woman behind the wheel, pulled up alongside the stranger for him to get in, it slammed Ben with insecurity. He’d trusted his gut for a long time, but maybe something was wrong with him. He pulled out his phone with thoughts of reaching out to Tate or Tork, even Dr. Alvarez at this point should be able to get him straight. He hated second-guessing himself.
Ben retreated from the lobby, chastising himself the entire way upstairs to the khaki calamity. He laughed, remembering that Tara was waiting there for him. Tara and the priceless artifacts worth hundreds of
