𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐚 | ✎

𝐱𝐯𝐢

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𝐇𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐬
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When we reach the motel it's packed, and I know there will be very few rooms left. Everyone's trying to find cheap shelter from the storm. I try to wake up Phoenix before I get out of the car, but she's knocked out, which worries me a little.

I thank the driver and run from the shelter of the car to the reception desk inside, while trying to shield Phoenix from the rain. The door bell jingles behind me as it opens and closes.

Thunder booms outside as the lady at the desk looks up at me and then down to Phoenix in my arms and raises and eyebrow. She says something in Greek to me but I furrow my brows in confusion.

"I'm sorry, I don't speak Greek." I step up to the desk.

"τουρίστες." She mumbles rolling her eyes. That I do understand because it sounds a lot like tourist in English.

"We barely have any room left." She starts, her Greek accent prominent, "All the bigger rooms are taken and only the smalls ones are left."

"I'll take whatever you have." I tell her. I really don't care.

I pay her and she hands me a key to room 204. I walk back outside, and quickly up the stairs to the second floor. I struggle getting the key in the door with Phoenix still in my arms. I'm surprised she hasn't woken up yet.

I walk inside the room and the lady at the desk really wasn't kidding when she said they only have small rooms left.

I look around the room and 'lo and behold...there's only one fucking bed. Suddenly I do care. But when I turn around to go back to the reception desk, I look down from the balcony and see the long line through the door.

Fuck.

Sighing I walk into the room and put Phoenix on the bed finally giving my arms a break. I take off her heels because her feet have to be killing her from having them on for a couple of hours.

I quickly text Aspen and Aziel, updating them about our situation and they text back immediately.

Aspen: u should have told us sooner we were freaked out

Aziel: no we weren't we were watch Greek TV

Aspen: ok tru but like still

Aziel: you and phoe alone in a motel together?? that should be fun.

Aziel's text is followed up by a smirking emoji and I send him the middle finger emoji back.

Aspen: LMFAO pls don't kill each other

Aziel: i bet phoe would win

Aspen: truuuu

Me: wtf guys

Aspen: ok but seriously make sure she's ok, if she comes back hurt i'll beat ur ass

Once I reassure them that we'll be fine (which they have a very hard time believing) I get in the shower, hoping Phoe will be up when I get out.

♚♚♚

••••
𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐱
••••

I wake up in a groggy daze. Groaning at the headache pounding on the right side of my head. My other sense start to wake up and I hear muffled water running to my right. I feel blankets surrounding me. I must be in a motel because I smell that weird motel scent. I try to rub the sleep from my eyes, and my arms feel so heavy as I rub my eyes. Finally I open my eyes and see that, I am, indeed in a motel room.

Why didn't he just take us back to the ho-

I don't even get to finish my question before a loud boom of thunder crashes over the room.

Ah, I see.

I move from bed with a struggle because my body still feels heavy, stars dance in my vision as I slowly stand up. I look down and see that I'm still in my dress. There's no way I'm staying in this. I see Hayes' clothes piled neatly on the dresser so I take off my dress, leaving me in just my underwear, and then pull on Hayes' shirt.

And I hate to fucking say it but damn, it smells good.

I stand there for a few seconds still trying to wake up from the sleep the drug put me in. Then suddenly I feel lightheaded, I try to reach for the dresser before I fall back, but my stupid arm still feels heavy and my movements are too slow. I wince as I fall getting ready crack my head open on the hard wood floor but instead, I fall into something firm but soft, arms wrap around me to catch me. I look up to see Hayes looking at me with worry. Which was a weird sight.

"What the fuck are you doing up?" He asks.

"Changing out of my dress." I mutter as he sets me up right again, but still standing close in case I fall again. I think that's when he realizes I'm wearing his shirt. And then that's when I realize he only has a towel wrapped around his waist.

Water -which I assume is from his shower- is dripping down his toned chest and abs and down to his deep V-line, making me subconsciously lick my lips.

Well, shit.

"You're wearing my shirt." Hayes states, thankfully not realizing my thirsting because his eyes are on his shirt.

"Yeah." I say with a 'duh' tone. "There's no fucking way I'm sleeping in that dress." I gesture towards it on the floor. His brows unfurrow in understanding, but he still stares at his shirt on my body.

There's an awkward pause of silence.

We both start to speak at the same time, but I gesture for him to go first.

"How um, how do you feel?" He asks, his gaze on the floor.

"Groggy. But it's slowly going away." I say and he nods. "Nothing happened though...right?" I ask as my stomach sinks at the thought.

"No, nothing happened," Hayes murmurs his eyes bore into mine.

I nod and mumble, "Thanks, for...you know...that."

"Phoenix, it's basic human decency to not let anything happen to you." Hayes says his eyes burning into mine.

"Well, yeah, I know but..." I trail off awkwardly. "Still." I shrug. He just shakes his head at me.

"The shower's all yours if you want." Hayes reaches past me to get his clothes, his breath fanning across my cheek and I move out of the way from the closeness.

I mumble a quick thanks, heading into the bathroom and starting the shower. I make the water burning hot. I slowly peel off Hayes' shirt and look in the tiny motel bathroom mirror. I catch a small bruise on my hip and one on the outside of my thigh, most likely from their roughness before Hayes got in the room. I turn my head away from the mirror before I think to much about it.

I quickly jump in the burning shower. I feel the need to scrub off Adras and Damian's touch. Even though they barely touched me compared to what they've done to other girls. I take the wash cloth and rubbed at everywhere they touched me until my skin is red. My hips, my waist, my ass, my neck, my arms, and thighs.

I let out a shaky breath trying to release all the stress and anxiety from tonight out of me.

Your in control now Phoe. It's all good... right?

♚♚♚

I walk out of the bathroom rubbing my hair with a towel to dry it off. I see Hayes on the bed on his phone in only his boxers. I see the outline of his dick through them, dark thoughts going through my head, but shake my head getting rid of them. Hayes curses groaning out loud. Feeding into my thoughts even more.

"You good?" I ask folding the towel onto the dresser.

"My fucking phone died." He sighs putting it on the nightstand.

"Aww, poor baby can't live without his phone for a few hours." I pout at him. He rolls his eyes at me giving me the finger. I look over at the clock suddenly feeling tired. It's three in the morning.

But there's the whole bed situation.

Hayes having read my mind says. "Don't worry, I'll stick to my side of the bed. I'm not sleeping on the cold hardwood floor and with what just happened to you, there's no way your sleeping on the floor."

I nod my head at him sighing. I walk over to the bed and sit down pulling the covers over me. I turn off the lamp and sink down into the crunchy motel sheets.

"Good night." I hear Hayes mumble tiredly beside me. I feel so tense. This is so weird. The bed feels so small, there's barely five inches of space between Hayes and I. And these pillows are so uncomfortable. They feel like paper. I move to get comfortable. But that doesn't work so I turn on my other side. Still not working I shift again.

After a minute,I feel the need to sleep on my other side, but mid shift Hayes puts his hand on my shoulder.

"Stop moving." He mutters. I look over at him and he's on his stomach the expanse of his back full of muscles on display for my eyes. I look at his face and he looks really tired. He probably is after having to carry me back from the club, into a car, and to here.

"Sorry." I whisper. I lay on my back looking up at the ceiling.

After about five minutes Hayes says, "Phoenix you're so stiff, I can feel it from here."

"Sorry." I say again.

"Relax." He says under his breath, voice groggy, probably about to fall asleep again. "I'm not gonna try anything."

I turn to face him on my side. "Isn't this weird though. Like..."

"Yes, but I'm too tired to give a shit." He gives me a tired smile.

"Okay...sorry." I wince. "Night." He hums in response and not even a minute later, light snores leave his body.

I sigh as quietly as I can. Sometimes I wish I had my paints and a canvas. Painting always calmed my mind and body.

My mind goes through every possible thing I need to worry about. It goes through what happened tonight. Where Mom could possibly be. What Andrey's next move is. How Cole is doing.

Uncle Cole. I could call him, he would put me to sleep in seconds with his boring Director management shit. And he's probably worried sick about how the mission went...oops.

I reach for my phone on the nightstand. I press the on button but it gives me the dead symbol.

Are you fucking kidding?

My mind continues to race through all my worries. I need something to distract myself. The room is so dark I can barely see anything. I don't want to wake up Hayes again so I just stare at him. Hoping that won't wake his complaining ass.

My eyes trace all the curves and sharp edges of his face. My gaze follows the curve of his nose, his sharp jawline, his parted plump lips, and up to his high cheekbones. Eyelashes fan over his cheeks, a light dusting of freckles on his cheeks that I haven't noticed before. His dark messy hair falls on his forehead.

I feel my worries start to fade away and my eyes start to droop. Before I know it, sleep is taking me into it arms.

♚♚♚

I wake up to a kick in my side. I grunt in pain. I pull my head up from the pillow and see the bed blankets are in a mess, pulled to Hayes' side.

"What the f-" I start but Hayes is asleep. But his brows are furrowed in distress and he's breathing heavily.

This same thing happened on the plane. Before he was mumbling incoherent words but now that he's right next to me I can make out what he's saying.

"No." He whispers under his breath. I feel horrible for eavesdropping on his nightmare. I should definitely wake him up.

"Mom." His voice was so quiet I just barely heard it.

I can just blame the agency for my eavesdropping...they taught me to listen into stuff like this.

"Mom." His voice was a mumble now.

Okay, I should definitely wake him up now.

I'm about to push his shoulder lightly to wake him but then he says something else under his breath. "Phoenix."

Me?

I wait for him to say something again, knowing I'm a bad person for not waking him. Hell, if the roles were reversed, I'd want him to wake me up so I don't have to relive my nightmares. All of a sudden Hayes goes completely stiff. His fists clench the bed sheets so hard his knuckles turn white.

Deciding not to let this go on any longer, I shove Hayes' shoulder. He still doesn't wake up. If anything he gets even stiffer.

"Hayes." I say. Nothing. "Hayes." I say it louder. His brows furrow even more. "Hayes." I say again touching his shoulder. Finally he shoots awake almost hitting me in the face.

"Woah." I raise an eyebrow. He's laying on his back now, still panting from the nightmare. His chest is covered in sweat and he runs a hand through his hair seeming to be in his own world.

"Hayes?" I whisper scared to startle him. His head quickly turns toward me and relief washes over his face (thought I think he tries to hide it) confusing me. He turns on his side, still panting and looking at me. "Are you okay?"

He doesn't answer, just staring at me and taking in my state. It looks like he's trying to reassure himself of something but I don't know what. So I stay silent letting him take me in.

Tentatively, he reaches out a hand toward my face and I look at it with wide eyes. He places it on my cheek and I let him. I know how much I need a reality check after some of my nightmares. I once had I nightmare that Andrey killed Cole too and woke up sobbing. At first I couldn't tell if it was real or not and then Cole came in my room having heard my crying. I don't think I've ever hugged him harder than in that moment. After that, he took the day off work and we spent the whole day in my room having a Disney movie marathon.

His thumb caresses my cheek and I bite my lip hating the feeling it gives me. His eyes track the movement. He moves his hand down to my neck and strokes my jaw. He starts to relax a little more. His warm breath fans across my face. He runs his hand through my hair toying with the stands and then pulling gently. Finally he exhales a breath of relief, but keeps his hand in my hair.

"You're okay." He whispers, his voice scratchy. It isn't a question but I nod anyway.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" I whisper. He shakes his head no, seeming to still be in a daze. "You said my name."

"Hmm?"

"In your dream- or nightmare... you said my name." It's not a question but he knows I'd like to know why.

But all he mumbles is, "I'm aware." His thumb strokes my hair sending my teeth biting down on my bottom lip. Again his gaze track the movement. His hand leaves my hair, only to pull my lip from my teeth. His thumb strokes my lip as my thighs clench together.

This is very bad. I tell myself but my body loves it. I feel my nipples harden as his thumb keeps rubbing my bottom lip, pulling it slightly. His eyes moves down to my (his) shirt, seeing the peaks through the material. His gaze moves back to mine again and I see a slight smirk pull at his lips, barely visible, but I see it.

He starts to lean towards my neck, removing his thumb from my lip. His hand goes back to my hair again exposing my neck to him.

Holy shit, this is dangerous territory.

My thighs clench as his lips latch onto my neck. I let out a breathy moan and he chuckles against my skin, sending vibrations through my body. I bite my lip to keep my curses in my throat. He sucks lightly on my skin his tongue peaking out and licking my skin.

I don't know what came over us. Maybe Hayes didn't like feeling vulnerable to he's using this as a distraction. Or maybe it's all of tonight's nerves and anxiety coming together in a ball of lust. But either way, Hayes' lips are on my neck.

Never, did I ever think something like this would happen.

"Oh fuck." I whisper. I'm on my back now and he's leaning over me. He nibbles lightly on my skin, soothing the sting with his tongue again. He moves his lips to a different -very sensitive- spot on my neck and sucks on it sending my hips arching against him. I feel him smirk against my skin. He bites the skin there harder this time, making me moan out. "Hayes." His name on my lips is a warning and a plea. He groans against my skin and I feel something hard start to poke my inner thigh.

Fuck, he feels so big.

I want to move my hands down and touch him there. I want him to feel as out of control as I do right now. I arch my hips against him rubbing on him.

His voice is right by my ear when he moans, "Phoenix." The sound has one of my hands gripping his hair as he starts to suck on the skin behind my ear.

We should definitely stop now.

I think he knows when I'm about to push him away because he starts to suck on my earlobe and fuck if that doesn't send all the common sense out of my body.

I moan as his tongue flicks my ear. He gently nibbles on my earlobe, his heavy breath crashes against my ear. I buck my hips up again, and his hand grips my hip tighter. He rolls his hips into mine, his hard on hitting the heat beaten my legs. We both let out sounds of satisfaction into the quiet motel room.

Hayes moves his lips to the arch of my neck again, his tongue lapping at my skin, enhancing my pleasure. My hands grip his soft hair as he rolls his hips into mine again. Hayes lets out a curse under his breath.

Just when I'm about to bring my lips to his, the phone in the room starts to ring loudly, making us crash back into reality. The loud noise rings through the quiet dark room, ruining the mood. Hayes rests his head against my shoulder probably hoping the ringing would stop. It does...for five seconds before it rings again. Hayes breathes against my skin k
one last time before reaching over and answering.

Maybe it's for the better.

"What?" He sounds aggravated when he answers. I look over at him and his jaw is clenched. Weather it's from the disturbance or from him loosing control, I have yet to figure that out.

"What?" He says again, confusion written all over his face. There's a pause before he says, "Okay, we'll be out in five minutes." He hangs up on whoever that was.

"Who was it?" I ask.

"Aziel and Aspen." He rubs at his face probably trying to shake away the lust. "They're outside the motel right now to pick us up."

"Oh...ok." I start to sit up. Hayes gets out of bed and stretches cracking his back. I see the outline of his boner through his boxers. My thighs start to rub together again, looking for friction to release the ache down there.

He sees the movement and smirks at me. "Sorry chérie. Maybe another day."

"More like in another life. Because this-" I gesture to him and my neck, "Was a one time thing."

"Mhm, won't happen again." He's still smirking.

I flip the middle finger at him. "Don't you need to take a cold shower for that boner of yours?" He rolls his eyes at, flipping the birdie back at me and walks into the bathroom. Once I hear the shower turn on, I sigh running a hand through my hair.

I get up and walk towards the mirror by the dresser and look at my neck. Small hickeys decorate the skin there.

Son of a bitch.

♚♚♚

This was a really fun chapter to write. I think we needed something lighter from the past 3 chapters <3

Anyway I don't know if the spice came to early or not but oh well

What's your favorite song right now?

Mine is Cupid's Chokehold bc I'm in the middle of reading Duplicity and that book has me in a chokehold

thank you so much for reading i love you all <3