“Mountain lions, of course.”
Jonah was English, from Canterbury or something. He knew nothing about Texas. “There’s nothing to worry about. Give me the keys, will you? I want to get my bag.”
He spun me around and continued walking me to our room. “You’re not going out in the dark alone. Don’t you know mountain lions? Pumas, cougars they’re everywhere and nobody knows. So mysterious. Invisible. People don’t see them.”
“I’m a Texan. I’ve never worried about mountain lions. I’ve never even seen one.”
We reached our room, and he slid the card to unlock the door. He held it open for me, but I didn’t go in until he nudged me. “You’re a city girl. And that’s why their called the little cat bigfoot. No one thinks there’s a mountain lion lurking until it’s too late. And you wouldn’t see one because they’re in hiding. Here in Texas, they can be trapped or shot with no penalties. There are no regulations as to how many are killed or how. Cats are too smart to reveal themselves to regular humans.”
“You seem to know a lot about them.”
“Not really. It’s in the brochures.” He tossed a stack of them onto the bed. He must have picked them up checking in. Next, he practically tossed me onto the bed. Looming over me, he was almost holding me down. “Now, where were we?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.
Saying nothing, I turned my head and held my breath.
He bit his lip. “Romilly, Romilly… what a name. I’ve dreamed about having you all to myself and here you are. What am I going to do with you… all night?”
Taking a glance at the room, I only saw one bed. I swallowed hard. This was it. I was going to lose my virginity tonight. Jonah tore his shirt over his head, revealing the chest of a rugby player, tanned and bursting with toned muscles.
“Your turn,” he said cocking his eyebrow, challenging me.
Oh, what the hell. I took him up on it and got to my elbows, enough to wiggle my t-shirt off. My unlined, pink, satin bralette with thin as hell straps barely covered my breasts. I’d worn it just for this moment. Jonah’s mouth twisted up in appreciation.
As his large hands reached down to unbutton his pants, my eyes followed. Soon he was in nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs. He filled them well, nothing new, since I’d seen him in his workout attire and in his uniform a bajillion times. I knew he packed the goods.
“Your turn. May I?” he asked, tugging at my waistline.
He didn’t wait for me to answer. I only had on short shorts, so they weren’t hard for him to shimmy down. Obviously, I’d worn the matching pink satin thong. Immediately, Jonah’s body covered mine. His skin warmed me. His teeth scraped my neck. It so contrasted the gentle kisses he had laid there before. My body trembled under him. Just as quick, he disappeared and was at the door.
What the hell?
“Did you hear that?” His voice sounded alarmed.
“No.” I sat up. I’d been too in the moment to hear a damned thing.
He turned around and gave me a stern look, his brow pinched and worried. “Stay put,” he ordered, seriously, his English accent almost gone. Before I knew it, Jonah had left the room closing the door behind him.
I rushed to the door. Instead of opening it, I stood on my toes to look out the peephole. Nothing. Getting wiser, I went to the window and pinched back the curtains a bit. The parking lot sat as empty and dark as it had been moments ago, illuminated only in circles shining under a few streetlamps. I could see Jonah’s Jeep parked in a dark spot.
Worried, I waited and paced a good five minutes until I got dressed. Well, I put on Jonah’s big shirt that came down well past my ass and slipped on my shoes. My feet were super sensitive, and I wasn’t about to go walking barefoot to find him. I thought enough to grab the keycard before I left the room.
“Jonah,” I whispered when I stepped outside, half expecting him to jump out to scare me.
Nothing.
Scanning the parking lot, nothing had changed. I walked to the lobby and went to open the glass door, finding it locked. Looking inside, the lights were still on, but no one was at the desk. I could see the clock hanging on the wall read, ten forty-five. The hours on the door said the lobby closed at eleven. Classic.
Walking to Jonah’s Jeep, I recalled his little speech about mountain lions. I was starting to get angry. What an elaborate prank. I banged on the Jeep’s door. “Jonah, this isn’t funny.”
That’s when I heard him call my name. “Romilly...”
Huffing, I followed his voice back the other direction and around the hotel. Possibly, there was a pool. Thoughts of skinny dipping with the hunk danced in my head as imagined Jonah waiting for me in the water. When I turned the corner, all those thoughts disappeared. Jonah flat on the ground held his bloody leg.
“Oh my god,” I shouted. “Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not.” Jonah sounded understandably destressed but also aggravated at my stupid question. “Help me up.”
I bent down, grabbing him, attempting to help.
“No, wait. Just go get help,” he grunted out.
Smart thinking.
Turning on a dime, I sprinted back to the lobby, to bang on the doors. If that didn’t work, I’d get to our room and call 911. Rounding the building, I saw it, the mountain lion. A motherfucking mountain lion right in front of me. It snarled, sounding like an overgrown house cat. I stopped dead in my tracks, trying to remember every nature show I’d ever watched, not many. Was I supposed to act big or run? No, acting big and shouting, that was for a bear. Obviously, I didn’t
