Never Letting Go

by Tory Baker

  This isn’t the first time I’ve had to clean up someone’s night of debauchery. And that’s the only word that could sum it up in a nice manner. You would think, at the rates that this hotel goes for a night, the clientele wouldn’t treat their room like a frat house. Yet, at least three times a week, it’s my lucky job to clean up after them. I don’t get the luxury of getting another girl to help me either. Nope, I’m stuck doing it on my own.

  “Get it over with, Cam,” I grouse. Talking to myself is something that comes normally, probably because I’m always alone. My parents are gone, and I’m an only child. It made for a lonely life, being shuffled around to family members' houses at the age of sixteen. I so badly wanted to emancipate myself, but at that age, it would have been so hard. Plus, I wanted to graduate. So, I stuck it out until I graduated and lived with my dad’s sister and her husband. It was rough, but I pushed through. I went to school every day, got a part-time job after school, and saved every penny I could. They left me alone, for the most part, until it came time for dinner. Then, it was like who could hurdle the most insults at me. It got so bad that I started eating outside of the house.

  The day I graduated high school, I was done. I couldn’t handle it anymore and left in the middle of the night, the same day I received my diploma. Sure, times were tough, but I was tougher. I worked two jobs at one point and had three roommates in the beginning. I quickly got tired of that and found a tiny house to rent close to school and work.

  Now, here I am at twenty-one, six months from completing my college career, and doing it all on my own. I wanted to go full-time, but I needed a job to pay for the roof over my head in order to go to said school. Not to mention, I did it without financing a single penny. That in itself is hard to do, but not many people will loan money to a single woman with no credit.

  I walk back in, mask firmly in place, and look around. “Yep, gloves it is.” I pull them out of my uniform pocket, tackle taking the sheets off the bed, and get grossed out every minute of my time spent in here. Used condoms are sandwiched in between each layer of sheets, some even by the pillow. I try not to gag behind my mask, but it’s not an easy task. I strip the rest of the bedding and throw away the trash. Then I work on all of the liquor bottles and cigarette butts that they left everywhere.

  “So much for our no-smoking room policy,” I say to an empty room. I finish cleaning the room, then tackle the bathroom. “Oh my freaking goodness. You have to be kidding me,” I say to the nastiest bathroom I’ve ever had to clean. I walk out and make a call back to headquarters to let them know this room needs an extra night to air out before someone can occupy it. Then I tackle the bathroom. It’s in worse shape than the hotel room itself. I mentally count down the number of months, then weeks, and even days until I’m through with this job. When I finally finish and head to the next room, I’m thankful it’s in much better shape. Right now, my life is as follows, rinse, wash, repeat. At least, today, I got to feast my eyes on a drop-dead gorgeous man. Maybe that will keep my mind active for the rest of my shift.

  Chapter Three

  Easton

  I do something I hadn’t planned on doing on my stay here, while not working. I hack into the hotel employee database. There’s something about Cam that sets my blood on fire. Her brown hair looks lush and soft with fiery red undertones, and the way she bit on her bottom lip when she was nervous, I wanted to be the one to nip it, not her. She’s an enigma that I want to solve.

  It only takes a few strokes of a key, and I’m back to doing what I do best, being the eyes behind the computer screen. Someone should really beef up their online security. It took me less than ten minutes to get inside their database. Going through the names is the hard part; the rows of names continue on and on until I get to the letter C. Thank God, there aren’t too many employees with a name starting with Cam.

  After the second one, I hit pay dirt. Cameron Ann Greene comes to life on my computer. She’s been an employee for two years, slowly moving up from cleaning the lobby to cleaning the hotel rooms. Now, she’s one of the head housekeepers.

  I get her name, date of birth, and address before I exit her file, making sure I don’t leave any footprints of me hacking into their system. Then I run her name in my own background database. It’s something I built for Nighthawk Security, but I own the copyright. Slade knew he couldn’t keep me from taking it with me. So, I made him his own, with a few modifications he’ll need. I knew, after only a few minutes with Cameron, there’s something more that I need to explore.

  When I bring her up in my own system, it hits everything, every social media source, how long she’s lived at her current address, all of her living arrangements beforehand, where she’s going to school, and her family background.

  “Fuck,” I grumble out. It shows the only living relatives she has are an aunt and uncle. Her parents passed away when she was a teenager, and even then, she held a job while in high school. I’d like to wring the necks of her aunt and uncle. It shows me how she moved out before the ink was dry on her diploma, but that didn’t stop her from pursuing her dreams. I smirk to myself; my girl is goal-oriented.

  Next, I look her up on Instagram. “God damn,” I hiss out a breath. Nothing is locked down. Her profile and everything she’s posted is public, and that pisses me off more than anything. It’s wide open for any Tom, Dick, or Harry to see. Not that I wouldn’t hack into it, too, but this makes it that much easier.

  I shake my head in disbelief. Some of the images show her on the edge of the water with her camera pointed at herself as she snaps the picture with the sun going down in the background. One, in particular, she’s wearing a skimpy black and white bathing suit that leaves little to the imagination, and something tells me I’ll be using it for my spank bank material tonight. Other images are of places she’s explored around the state, all of which she’s by herself. There’s no one else in any of her photos—no friends, no family, hell, not even a pet. It makes my chest hurt to know she’s been all alone for such a long time now. I have to walk away from the computer before I do something stupid, like pick up my phone and dial her number.

  Instead, I find a sandwich, some chips, and a beer. I take it out, slamming it on the counter in disbelief at how much this girl has me sucked in. A couple of sentences, a lingering touch, and a few glances. That’s all it took for me to become this crazed person who’s now almost stalking her.

  Once I sit back down in my chair with my food, I continue my perusal until night falls along the shore. Only then do I go inside. Not wanting to leave what I’m doing, I take all of my work with me and keep digging. I should close all of this out; I’m basically stalking a twenty-one-year-old girl.

  Shit, I’m thirty-two, way too old for this beautiful girl. But something has me walking toward the counter where a business card is placed. Her name is written with a phone number at the bottom. I wish like hell this was her actual phone number. I’d call her and ask her out to dinner, but I can’t, and I for damn sure can’t call her and act like she left her number for me when she didn’t.

  I fist the card in my hand, crumbling it at first. Why am I even thinking she’d want anything to do with me, let alone talk to me. I take a deep breath, exhale it, and do it again until I’ve calmed down and can unclench my fist. The card is a mess now. I smooth it out before I put it back down on the counter. With nothing else to do, I make my way to the refrigerator, hoping another beer will calm my crazy ass down. I for sure don’t want to call room service or leave my room. Something tells me I’d get a lot of looks after the state I’m in from scouring every image Cam has on her social media sites.

  I head for the shower, hoping that maybe it will cool me down some.

  When I walk into the bathroom, I swear I can smell her scent surrounding me. The smell of coconuts lingers in the air, much like what I smelled when I was holding her body. The shower starts, and for this alone, I’m glad I upgraded to the penthouse. If I wanted a dinky ass shower, I would have stayed my as
s overseas in a desert. The bathroom fills up with steam as I strip out of my clothes, letting them land where they fall. I step inside, letting the water sluice down my body. Bringing my beer in here probably wasn’t the smartest idea, but it was necessary. I need something to calm my ass down before I do something stupid, like show up at her house.

  An image of Cam appears in my head, this time more lifelike than ever before. She’s here in front of me, her hair falling behind her shoulders, her body on full display for my viewing pleasure. I wonder what her skin would look like glistening wet, warm from the hot shower. Would her nipples pebble from me looking at her? Would they be the same color as her deep cherry-tinted lips, or would they be a lighter color? What would her skin taste like? Would I taste the coconuts she smells of? I want to lick every delicious inch of her body. I wonder if she’d moan out her pleasure, or would she sigh with delight? All of these questions keep playing in my mind. I rest my forearm on the tile in front of me, letting the water beat down on my back. Grabbing the soap, I palm it in my hand before rubbing it down my body until I make my way to my hard as nails cock. I wrap my fist around it tightly, envisioning Cam on her knees before me, slowly licking me from base to tip, teasing me by barely sucking in the head before she releases it to lick again, only going further as she continues to tease me.

  My own grunts take over the room as I glide my hand down my length, working it up and down. Prolonging my own orgasm, another fantasy takes root as I imagine her pressed up against the tile, her back arched as I take her from behind, her ass moving with me, making those rhythmic noises as our thighs meet. Would she let me inside that forbidden entrance? “Fuck,” I grunt, wishing like hell it was Cam’s hand and not my own. My mind switches back to Cam on her knees. The water would slide down her face as she looked up at me, taking me to the back of her throat, and in this fantasy, she swallows me down, taking every inch and every drop as I come in her mouth.

  “Ugh!” I beat on the tile as I come in long arcs, decorating the wall. I vow to myself, the next time I come, it’ll be with Cam. I wash myself off again, guzzle the rest of my beer, and turn off the water. I briskly dry off before wrapping the white towel around my waist, my eyes staring at myself in the mirror. I should be sated, not ready to go again, but here I am, standing in front of the mirror, sporting another hard-on for a woman I just met, yet my body already knows she’s mine.

  Tomorrow, I’m coming up with a plan to see her again, and maybe this time I’ll man the fuck up and ask for her phone number. I brush my teeth before turning off the light, and then I leave the bathroom. My eyes are slowly getting heavy, and I know if I don’t get some sleep now, I’ll be up all night long. That’s something they don’t warn you about in the military. Once you get used to sleeping a short amount of time, you never get out of the habit. I only need four to six hours on a good night; any other time, it’s even less.

  I slide into bed with Cam on my mind and a smile on my face. Yeah, that beautiful woman will be mine. One way or another.

  Chapter Four

  Cameron

  I’m so glad I have today off. Sure, it’s not a day off from school, but it is a day off from my day job, and I need it desperately. I went to school this morning like I do every morning. The early bird gets the worm and all that jazz. Truth be told, I’m an early bird, so it doesn’t bother me too much that classes start at eight o’clock in the morning. At least, this way, I’m done by noon. I can head home, do some homework, work around the house a little bit, and then head down to the beach.

  Which is where I’m heading now. I have my e-reader in my beach bag along with a towel, sunscreen, and my phone. The only thing I want to do is lie around and read the latest romance novel I downloaded. I’ve been sucked into reading since I was a young girl, something my mother and I used to do together before she passed away. Half the time, Dad would come into their room and find me passed out asleep while reading with my mom. He’d just wake me up or carry me to my bed. Those were the best days ever; I never knew that one day I’d wake up to them being gone from a car crash. It turned my world upside down, but I’d be damned if I would let it swallow me whole.

  My home is within walking distance to the beach, so as soon as my bathing suit and shorts are on, I slide into a pair of flip flops, put my sunglasses on, and walk toward the water. My home is on the smaller side—a one-bedroom, one-bathroom house. The rent is ridiculous, which is why I have an older but paid-off car, and no credit cards to my name. I traded in one luxury for the other. I think it was the right decision to make.

  I’m down at the beach in a matter of a few minutes. I lay my towel out, get everything ready the way I want it, and dive into my book. I don’t even notice a shadow looming over my head until the clearing of a throat gets my attention. “Ahem.” Only then do I look up.

  “Mr. Reid? Well, this is, umm... different.” Did I mention my home is within walking distance to the hotel? It’s a quick ten-minute walk to work. Half the time, I choose to drive because I’m coming from school, but if I’m not, I’ll walk if the heat isn’t too intense.

  “Hello, Cam. Do you mind if I join you?” Easton asks.

  “Hi, I’m not so sure that’s a great idea. The hotel looks down on fraternizing with its customers,” I tell him. He’s only wearing a pair of black board shorts and sunglasses. I get my first full-fledged view that is Easton Reid, and I’m sure drool is pooling around my mouth. He is ripped, with strong arms, a lean torso, and he didn’t forget leg day, thank goodness. His abs are showing me he has a full six-pack with that delicious “V,” and I am totally drooling now.

  “I won’t tell if you don’t.” He smirks, then goes the extra mile, licking his bottom lip. I kid you not, my whole-body shivers when he does it.

  “I guess, if you won’t, then I won’t either. But, seriously, I can’t afford to lose my job. I’m this close to making all of my dreams come true.” I show him with my thumb and pointer finger just how close together it is.

  “No problem, I couldn’t stand staying in the hotel another minute and figured I’d go for a walk along the beach. Imagine my surprise when I saw you out here. I thought you’d be working today.” He sits beside where I’m lying on my towel. It makes it hard to look up at him with this awkward angle. I’m in a two-piece bathing suit, and it’s decently modest, but let’s face it. Even at my age, when lying flat on your back, gravity tends to do indecent things to your boobs. With that thought in mind, I sit up, mimicking how Easton is sitting.

  And damn both of our sunglasses; I want to see his eyes so badly, yet I can’t. “I’m off today, thank goodness. After yesterday. I need it,” I breathe out.

  “About that, I never got a chance to apologize to you. I don’t like being caught unaware, and you shocked the shit out of me,” he replies.

  “Oh, that didn’t bother me too much. I mean, sure, it surprised me, but it was work that has me needing this day off more and more. I keep telling myself, six more months then I’m home free,” I babble.

  “Oh yeah, what are you going to school for?”

  “An ultrasound technician. I’m hoping to get on at the hospital. If that doesn’t happen, I’ll look at a few private practices. I want normal hours, something that isn’t so hard on my body, and that I know will keep me safe and secure.” I seem to be telling Easton every damn thing about myself.

  “It sounds like you’re heading in the right direction then.” He stretches his arms over his head. I watch every move he makes, and when he settles back down, I notice he’s getting red on his back.

  “Hey, do you want some suntan lotion? You’re getting red.” I offer him my tube.

  “Sure, that would be great. I’ll do your back if you do mine.” He wiggles his eyebrows, something I can see even with his sunglasses obscuring my view. I can’t help it; I fall back on my towel in a fit of giggles.

  “Fine, fine. We can do that. Let me do yours first,” I offer. I get up on my knees and balance myself as I make my way toward Ea
ston.

  “Tell me about yourself, where you’re from. I feel like you know so much about me already, yet I know nothing except your name.” I rub my hands together with the suntan lotion before applying it to his back. When my hands come into contact with his sun-kissed skin, it blazes a path through my own body.

  “I’m thirty-two. Did a few tours in Afghanistan as an Army Medic before coming home three years ago.” He stops talking, and I think it’s because he doesn’t want to talk about his past, but nope. Not at all. His head drops back, and he lets out a guttural moan. I didn’t even realize what I was doing until now. I’m basically massaging his back; I felt the knots in his shoulders and went to work on them.

  “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to basically feel you up,” I mumble out.

  “Cam, if that’s how you feel me up, please, for the love of God, keep doing it.” I get back to work on smoothing out the suntan lotion on his back, making sure it’s completely rubbed in.

  “I think that’s it,” I tell him as I sit back down on my towel.

  “My turn,” Easton says, and he does what I least expect. He comes and sits behind me; I move my hair to the side of my shoulder, so he won’t get lotion in it. Easton’s hands are so different from mine. His are hard and calloused, and they make goosebumps appear on my skin when he starts to rub the lotion into my skin.

  “What else have you been doing since you’ve been back in America?” I question, trying to keep things going. The hard part is all I feel is the sexual chemistry between us.

  “I worked with a buddy for the past few years doing security. I was tired of the harsh winters and long hours and decided to branch out. That’s why I’m here.” This time, it’s me taking in a sharp breath of air as his hands move to the sides, where my arms are lifted up by my knees. He grazes the sides of my breasts.