A Beautiful Nightmare

Chapter 2

Swallowing a lump in her throat Dawn thought about the mesmeric man two walls away from her. The man had only asked to have one room for one night. Most residence never did stay long. She had worked for the hotel owner for three years and Dawn had never known someone to stay longer than five days.

She issued his room key while he filled signed the visitors book. She kept her eyes down so embarrassed that she had coated herself in her breakfast and her stupidity.

But it wasn't the duration of his stay that had Dawn thinking about him. It was the personal questions he asked.

"Do you live here?"

Lying, she muttered a "no". She lived in the basement of the hotel but embarrassment painted her cheeks. His eyes had burned her cheeks even harder. Dawn had focused on his glove covered hands while he penetrated her comfort zone.

"Do you enjoy this place?"

That one had left her exposed. It felt so broad that Dawn couldn't answer. She excused herself to remove her coffee cover clothing and when she came back he was gone.

Dawn shifted from one foot to the other and ran her hands along the wooden reception desk. Who is he to ask those questions. What a peculiar man. but Dawn had never seen anyone like him. His eyes were a light brown around the iris and then a dark brown ring circled around the eye. They looked so soft underneath his strong straight brows. They captured you.

She didn't even know what his name was. Frowning and shaking her head when realisation hit her. Looking down, without hesitating, Dawn pulled out the visitor book. Putting it down on the counter, Dawn didn't bother looking around for people before following the admissions. She ran her fingers over the last name on the list; Sirius. She ran her fingers over it a couple more times, not realising she was looking at it so intently she could of melted the paper.

"Isn't that a breach of privacy?" a deep husky voice stated.

Frightened, Dawn threw her body back to look up at him, but fell off her chair and landed on her butt in the process. Even though it sounds like it hurt, she actually just closed her eyes and felt the blush rush to her face. She felt so clumsy around him but normally she wasn't, she was very balanced and calm.

Sirius' arm folded out from his side and he stretched his hand out for her. Slowly she looked at the hand, almost as if it was going to leap out and attack her, but it didn't. She found hers sliding into it. She thought she was going to fall back again but the strength in the arm pulling her steady lifted her with ease. The stark difference from her hand to the black gloved hand sobered her.

Dawn lifted her eyes to meet the strangers. "Thank you"

His head bobbed, recognising her composure but he didn't release her hand. He just took his gaze from her face to her hair, past her neck down to their hands. Then he began a friction along her hand. It was cold outside, but Dawn's skin rose with goosebumps of a different kind.

"You have a habit of falling" he remarked. His expression was still impassive.

Dawn's lifted mouth slightly as she thought about how she must've looked falling in such a spectacular fashion. She opened her mouth to reply but then Sirius' hand started to trail up her arm and her heart got caught in her throat.

She wasn't a weak woman, but she also never been touched by a man like this. Never a touch that she welcomed. Sometimes the residents at the hotel had gotten too frisky and she had to pry herself away from being man handled. Other times the owner had patted her shoulder a little too hard when she fixed something without asking. But never by a handsome and serene male with enough sex appeal to melt Medusa.

Dawn swallowed. Where did all of her saliva go?

Sirius let a breath sigh and the warm air floated down her body. She also let out a deep breath she didn't know she had been holding in,but hers came out like a big puff and it squeezed her lungs tight. She tried to swallow the cough, but instead of it being silent, it came out as a chocking noise.

Ugh.

Sirius's mouth lifted a little on the side as if he was smirking at her struggle. Then the gripped hand on her upper arm tightened.

"Let's go for a walk" Sirius said.

Dawn couldn't determine if it was threat by the way he was gripping her, but as he pulled on her arm and her feet followed, she couldn't help but wonder were her brain had ventured off too.

VOTE AND COMMENT ~ KaTe''