“What?” he asked, pulling his arm away and putting the car in drive.
“Your accent, New South Wales,” I said with a laugh, “It gets the girls every time doesn’t it?”
“It definitely helps,” he replied with a chuckle.
Half an hour later we were pulling into the Windsor Court Hotel parking lot. My eyes widened as I looked at the building in front of us. Obviously this was going to cost him a pretty penny.
“This ... looks expensive,” I said.
“It is Ms. Riley. But in the end it will be worth it. Now wait here; I’m going to go check in and then I’ll return to collect you,” he said, getting out of the truck.
I nodded and watched him reach into the back of the SUV and grab a hooded jacket. He pulled it over his head and gave me a small smile, before walking into the extravagant hotel. I sighed and undid my seat belt. Check-ins didn’t usually take very long so it knew it would be no time before Jax was back. I pulled down the visor and flipped open the lid to the small mirror and looked at myself. I wasn’t quite sure what it was about me that commanded his attention as much as it did, but he seemed to be attracted to me for some reason.
I mean I didn’t think I was bad looking, but I knew I wasn’t “hot” either. I had a bad habit of dying my hair to hell and back, so I had threw a box of black into it and called it a day. I was also tired of cutting it so much; now it sat past my shoulders. My face was a little fuller than most and I had maybe an extra five or so pounds on me.
What the hell is he seeing? I wondered, squinting at myself.
I rolled my eyes and closed the visor. I turned my attention to the people who were walking to their cars on the other side of the parking lot, when a strong hand went over my mouth. A small pin prick of pain into my neck followed. It all happened so quickly that I never had a chance to fight back.
And that was the last thing that I can remember.
Seven
I wasn’t sure how long I had been asleep or what the hell had actually happened. The headache that was radiating throughout my head was absolutely blinding, but past it all I could almost swear that I smelled the ocean somewhere.
That’s ... weird. There aren’t any oceans near Cheyenne.
I opened my eyes finally and put my hand to my forehead. The blast of sunlight that crept its way through the wooden shuttered windows caused me to grunt in pain and close my eyes tightly.
Maybe I had fallen and hit my head. That had to be it, right? I’d never felt such a horrible headache before in my life. I forced myself off of the bed and looked around the room, completely unfamiliar with my surroundings. I looked down and saw that I had been dressed in a light blue, delicate over shirt that hung open with no way of closing it. Underneath it was a white bra, a pair of very short white denim shorts, and not much else. I felt naked honestly.
I decided to get to my feet and walk over to the window to take a peek outside and inhaled sharply. The beautiful white sandy beach and the crisp blue waters were rolling gently on the shore. I was dressed like the scenery outside. I felt like in a way, I was meant to be a reflection of the Utopia outside the window. What are the chances that I’ve died and gone to Heaven?
I heard the sound of deep laughter suddenly ring out through the house somewhere and I jumped. I obviously wasn’t alone. I took a deep breath and walked barefoot across the softly carpeted floor toward the door of the enormous bedroom and slowly opened it. It was already slightly cracked so I was able to easily slide my fingers around it and pull it back toward me. Another boom of laughter wafted up the stairs toward me. Yes, I was upstairs; that much was obvious from the view I had when I looked outside.
I bit my lip tentatively. I didn’t recognize the laugh but if this person wanted to hurt or kill me, wouldn’t they have done it already?
Stop being such a chicken, Riley.
I chuckled quietly at my inner heroine as I liked to call her and walked out of the bedroom. Wherever I was, the house was kept extremely neat and the hallway seemed never ending for some reason. I moved as quickly as I could, my feet muffled by the same carpeting that was in the bedroom. It was weird honestly but it helped me quietly navigate toward the staircase, which by the way did not have the same carpeting. Instead they seemed to be made of some kind of expensive stone. Marble? Limestone? Does it matter?
I put a hand to my mouth to stop myself from giggling. My inner heroine could be so sarcastic sometimes.
My feet slapped against the cold, hard stone as I made my way down the steps. I heard the sound of what I assumed to be the television lowering as I continued down. Even the stairs seemed never ending for some reason, but soon I was standing on the main floor, which was as cold as the steps.