by Jillian Neal
“Ok.”
“Before you leave the suite you’re in now, I want you to either use the phonebook or your phone to pick another hotel in the city. Don’t say it out loud, ever, and don’t call me and tell me where you’ve picked. I’ll just trace your phone. Get a room once you’re at the hotel that you’ve picked. Don’t call to make a reservation, and use a fake name at the desk.” Vindico commanded. “Stay there tonight. Now, tell me, is there a public restroom in the lobby of the hotel you’re in now?”
“Yeah, I saw one in the bar.”
“Perfect. I want you to take the key card to your room and wedge it in one of the toilet paper dispensers in the very last stall. Make sure it can’t be seen.” Vindico ordered.
“Ok.” Rainer wondered what Vindico was planning.
“You said there was a TV. Did you turn it on?” Vindico asked.
“No, I knew something was up. I never even let Emily in the room.” He informed Vindico.
“Good man, Lawson, but can you turn on the TV in the suite you’re in now?” He asked.
“Uh yeah.” Rainer grabbed the remote to the TV and held it up questioning Fionna who nodded. He flipped on the TV and quizzed, “Ok, now what?”
“Can you access Adult channels?” Vindico asked as Rainer halted momentarily. He wondered why on earth Vindico would asking him that. After reminding himself that Vindico never joked around, he flipped to the menu and scrolled to the highest channel numbers.
“I think so.” Rainer informed him hesitantly.
“Make certain, Lawson. If I need to pick up a movie, I want to do that before I fly out.” Vindico demanded.
“Sir, I’m in here with Emily and Fionna Styler. I’m not turning on porn.” Rainer shot back angrily.
“Then ask them to leave Lawson, because I plan on catching a spy tonight.” Vindico ordered. Rainer ground his teeth and turned sheepishly towards Fionna who was staring at him quizzically and to Emily who still looked completely confused and now irritated about the channel that Rainer had highlighted.
“I just have to make sure the channel works.” He choked. “Could you just go in the bathroom a second please Em?” Rainer begged.
“I don’t think so.” Emily crossed her arms over her chest and planted her feet firmly.
“Rainer, I’ve seen plenty of porn. It’s fine.” Fionna assured him. Rainer drew a quick breath and highlighted one of the many adult channels available on the television. He pressed the button and braced ready to turn it off instantly. A picture of two bleached blonde, spray tanned women with enormous chests fawning all over a guy in a lounge chair displayed instantly. After hitting the power button, Rainer assured his boss.
“They work.”
“Ok, do everything I said, and I’ll be on the next flight out.” Vindico concluded.
“Wait, you’re coming here now? I thought you weren’t coming until tomorrow.”
“Well that was before someone tapped your room, and now I intend to lure whomever did this out. Only, when they arrive, I’ll be the one staying in the room not you and Miss Haydenshire. Just make certain that you scan the bathroom and that you block any of the cameras with the luggage.” With a chuckle, he added, “You and Miss Haydenshire are going to have a really wild night. I feel certain who ever did this is going to want pictures.” Vindico completed the plan.
“Ah,” Rainer stated his understanding. “The porn.”
“You got it,” Vindico laughed. “Hurry up. They’re going to wonder why you aren’t in the room yet.”
“Ok, I’ll see you in the morning I guess.”
“Yeah, I’ll call you tomorrow unless something goes wrong and I need you tonight.” After hanging up the phone, Rainer quickly explained what he and Emily were supposed to do.
“But how did you know that wasn’t a maid?” Emily quizzed curiously. After giving her a reassuring wink, Rainer sighed.
“She called me Mr. Lawson.” He explained. “She wasn’t even Gifted, and the room is registered to you via the Angels. My name is nowhere on it. Plus how many hotel maids know the names of the guests in each room?” Rainer tried not to revel at the pride filled, adoring gaze Emily was giving him.
“Wait, so Dan Vindico is coming here to stay the night?” Fionna restated the part of the plan that had intrigued her the most.
“Uh, yes,” Rainer hemmed. “But he’ll be trying to catch whoever bugged our suite.” He reminded Fionna gently. She’d had a thing for Vindico for quite some time.
“Right,” Fionna gave him a wide-eyed, dazzling smile. She looked as though Rainer had just made her entire evening. He turned back to Emily and gestured his head back towards their suite.
“You ready to do this?” He quizzed Emily. After drawing a steadying breath, she nodded.
“I think so. This would be kind of cool, if it weren’t my life.” She sighed as Rainer nodded his agreement.
The Performance
“Wait. Where are we actually going to stay?” Emily quizzed as they moved towards the door in Fionna’s room.
“I’ve got it taken care of.” Rainer assured her.
He’d been to Boston with his father the summer before his father’s murder. They’d stayed in several hotels while visiting the historical sites in Boston. His dad took Rainer to his lectures to Gifted people on how each states’ Governing board should be handled and how important the newly formed Constitution was. Then they would go out and have fun in the city.
Rainer remembered one hotel, in particular, from their trip. He hadn’t thought much of it when he was thirteen. He recalled that he thought it was odd that their suite had a fireplace and a huge Jacuzzi tub and that his father had commented that it was romantic.
He remembered the comment because his father had never said anything like that before. It had struck Rainer as odd on that warm, Spring day that his father had pointed out that a hotel room was romantic.
He realized now that his father had been attempting to teach Rainer a little about women. However, at thirteen years of age, though Rainer had been given the talk, complete with a book, his idea of romance meant that he’d taken a shower after playing paint ball with Logan, or that he and Emily were on the same team when they went to bowl with the Haydenshires. He’d had no idea how or why a hotel room would be romantic.
With a slight chuckle at his own childhood naivety, Rainer held Emily’s hand and slid the key card through the lock. He guided her into the room ahead of him as he closed the door. She turned and gave Rainer a nervous glance.
“See, I told you the room was nice.” He tried coaching her through her lines.
“Yeah, uh I just had to go to that meeting with Chloe. That’s why I wasn’t in here earlier.” She was overplaying her hand. Rainer moved to flip on the lights in the bathroom and pretended to inspect the room.
“The bath’s big enough for two.” Rainer flirted. He added a cocky grin to his expression as he walked in front of the outlet that contained the camera. Emily giggled and sounded more like herself.
“Yeah, but we should go out and see the city.” She was getting ahead of herself slightly. Rainer moved directly in front of the camera and pulled Emily into him.
“Ok, but there’s something I want to do first.” He hoped kissing might be better than talking as Emily was really a terrible liar.
“And what is that?” She sassed as her play-acting improved.
“This,” Rainer let his voice take on a lust filled thrum as he kissed her sweetly. He just brushed her lips with his. He wasn’t putting on too much of a show for whoever might be watching them. After a minute or two of fairly mundane kisses, a knock sounded on the door. Rainer pulled away and pretended to be annoyed that they’d been interrupted.
He moved to the door, opened it, and tipped the bellman for their luggage. With determination set in his jaw, he set the largest suitcase on the dresser beside the television and opened it to block the camera completely with the top of the suitcase.
“Here, baby, wh
y don’t you unpack? I need to run to the restroom. Then we can go out for a little while, if you want?” He moved to stand near the microphone. A second later, he walked to the bathroom and shut the door loudly. He summoned and scanned the bathroom twice. There was nothing in there that shouldn’t be, so he flushed the commode and made his exit. Emily drew a deep breath and began her part. She repacked their toothbrushes and clothes for the next day into her large purse from the bags that Rainer had placed in the bathroom.
“So, you want to go explore for a little while?” She managed; though, she was gnawing her lip nervously. Rainer nodded his approval.
“For a little while, but then I want to bring you back here and explore you.” Emily blushed violently but forced a sweet giggle. Rainer grabbed the key card, shoved it in his pocket, and then opened the door. “Let’s go, baby.”
Emily stalked out quickly as Rainer let the door bang shut. Air hissed from her lungs as utter relief to be finished with that part of the plan broadcast from her face.
They moved to the lobby and began the second phase. Rainer informed the concierge that they’d need a cab and that he planned on partying that evening. Then he excused himself to the restroom. After he’d hidden the key card, he emerged and led Emily outside to await the cab.
“Where to?” The cabby demanded in a heavy Boston accent.
“Uh, I’m sorry. I don’t remember the name of the hotel, but it had Roman numerals above the entrance doors?” Rainer stated hopefully.
“The Fifteen,” the cabby huffed.
“Yeah, that’s it!” Rainer urged.
“Nice place. My wife keeps harping for me to take her there.” The cabby rolled his eyes. Rainer nodded.
“Yeah, we’re not staying there, just eating.” He didn’t want anyone in the city to know where they would be as he held Emily’s hand tenderly in his own.
“Hey I hear ya. Place is outrageous. Outta our price range. Am I right?” The cabby drawled.
“Exactly,” Rainer pretended to scoff over the price of the suites. Everything that had been done began to sink into Emily’s heart as they rode through the streets of Boston. She laid her head on Rainer’s shoulder, and he wrapped her up in his arms.
Vile revulsion washed over him as he allowed the what-ifs to consume him. What might’ve been caught on camera for someone, had he not realized what was going on, made him sick and clearly terrified her.
“No one will know where we are, baby.” He soothed in her ear. He made certain the cabby couldn’t hear him. “I will always keep you safe, Em. Ok?”
She shrank into Rainer’s chest with a slight nod.
“All right The Fifteen Beacon. Enjoy your meal. Hope she’s worth it.” The cabby commented crassly as he pulled up to the entrance of the hotel restaurant. Rainer tossed a twenty through the window, in the divider of the cab, and helped Emily out.
As the cab pulled away, Rainer guided Emily down to the doors of the hotel. He moved to the desk, smiled, and asked for a suite, which he paid for in cash and placed under the name Joseph Henderson. He used his father’s name and Emily’s last initial so he could remember his alias.
“Did you need help with your luggage, Mr. Henderson?” The concierge glanced around for Rainer and Emily’s bags.
“Oh no. We’ve got it.” Rainer shook his head and led Emily quickly to the elevators. As soon as the doors shut, Emily furrowed her brow.
“How did you know about this place?” She asked.
“I stayed here once with my dad. It’s pretty cool.” Emily looked pleasantly surprised. She smiled and clung to Rainer’s hand. His phone chirped in his pocket, and Rainer retrieved it to read the text.
‘I’m landing, and nice choice Lawson. Keep her safe,’ was the message from Vindico.
“Vindico’s here.” Not certain how Emily would feel about Vindico knowing where they were by pinging his cell, Rainer decided not to mention the rest of the message to Emily.
The Fifteen Beacon Hotel
The Fifteen Beacon was a small, quaint, eclectic hotel that held a mix of old world Boston elegance with modern decor. It suited Emily perfectly. Rainer placed the key in the lock and opened their door. He was thankful for the fact that more than just a key card, that could be easily duplicated, would secure them.
He issued Emily inside, closed the door, and locked it back. He watched her closely. The suite was much the same as he remembered it. He and his father had been given a different suite, but he supposed they were all similar. This suite held only one bed. The other had two, but they did both indeed have a fireplace. There was a large, king-sized, four-poster bed complete with heavy white fabric draperies that could be pulled to enclose the space. Dark, wood paneled walls and thick plush carpeting gave the space a peaceful, intimate feel.
Emily smiled and moved to the bed to run her hands over the down coverlets and the soft, thick curtains that surrounded the bed. There was a flat screen TV mounted on the paneling over the large fireplace and candles stood on several of the shelves and bedside tables in the room. A small writing desk was tucked in the corner by the windows that overlooked Boston Common.
“Wow,” Emily hushed. “This is so nice.” Rainer was still watching her take everything in. She took his breath away. He wondered if that would ever stop. He’d been in love with her his whole life, and she still just robbed him of breath and made his heart ache just to be near her.
She moved back to him.
“I know it’s crazy, but will you scan it, please?” She looked frightened again.
“Of course, baby.” Rainer summoned. He moved over every space in the room then moved to the opulent bathroom. He shot his radar cast over the large jetted bathtub, the shower, then scanned the double sinks and even the toilet until he was satisfied that there wasn’t anything in the room that wasn’t supposed to be there.
“There’s nothing here, and no one knows where we are except Vindico. I promise, sweetheart.” He pulled Emily into his chest and let her bury her head in his shoulder.
There had been a light, drizzly rain falling since they’d landed in Boston, but the storm was gaining in intensity. Thunder clapped in the distance, and Emily shuddered.
“Shhh,” Rainer rubbed his hands up and down her back as he cradled her tenderly. “I’ve got you, baby. I’m right here.” He swayed her slightly. Storms had so much violent energy, within their atmosphere; they typically deeply disturbed Receivers. Emily was no exception.
“Will you light the fire?” She was biting her lip again as a nervous grin spread across her face.
“Of course.” Rainer was pleased that she seemed to like the hotel as much as he did. “Why don’t you get ready for bed? I’ll start the fire, and we can just hang out, ok?”
He told himself that he’d be thrilled just to hold her in the bed and make certain that she felt safe and secure again. There were other things he would very much have liked, but he doubted she was up for much, after all that had happened.
“That sounds perfect.” She carried the purse she’d packed to the bathroom.
Rainer moved to the fireplace to inspect it. He turned on the gas and then summoned the radiant heat in the room and used it to light the fire. He lit the candles with his hand as well then pulled off the polo and jeans he was wearing and flung the covers back on the bed. After grabbing the remote, he flipped through the channels and tried to find something Emily might want to watch.
When Emily emerged from the bathroom, Rainer quickly shut off the TV. His eyes goggled as his mouth went dry.
“Uh, wow!” He felt his heart pick up pace as his breaths shortened. She was wearing a black satin, slip nightie with dark, cream-colored, lace detailing. The deep, v-neck, covered her voluptuous breasts, and Rainer panted as he took in her nipples puckered in dark cherry mounds that he could see through the antiqued lace. The gown barely covered her backside and the hems, covered in the same lace, cut up to her rib cage on the sides.
“Em, you are gorgeous!” He stood an
d moved to her with need and lust coursing rapidly through his veins. A soft, sultry half grin spread across her face. Her eyes were dark and hungry as she took him in. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her. She was mouthwatering. He wanted to run his hands and his mouth over her soft, sweet skin slowly and sensuously. He wanted to build a fire inside of her that would consume them both.
He forced himself to stop and use the head above his belt line, if only for a minute. He pulled her to him and whispered softly in her ear.
“Are you sure you want to do this, baby? I know the whole thing at the other hotel was awful. I completely understand if you just want to go to sleep.” He forced himself to make the offer. She lifted her head from his chest and studied him.
“I want you. Please.” She whispered hesitantly. Her brow furrowed as she tried to read him.
“Oh, baby, believe me…” He pulled her close enough that she could feel the effect she’d had on him as he pushed the steel hardened length of himself against her silk covered stomach. “I want you so badly I ache. I want to feel you around me. I want to bury myself in you until I fill you full.” His vows made her breath stutter as she trembled in his arms.
“Please,” whispered from her in desperate, pleading desire that drove him wild.
“Do you need me to set the cast, sweetheart?” He forced out quickly. She shook her head.
“I did it already.” She assured him. He nodded and forced himself to move slowly and to relish each and every part of her. He wanted to worship her body that she gave him so freely. He cradled her cheek in his hand and laved her mouth with slow, languid kisses. He reached deeper each time their lips met, until he slipped his tongue in her mouth and let it intertwine with hers as he consumed her.