Opposites Attract by Michelle M. Pillow

Ethan chuckled to himself. She looked horrified by the idea. So horrified, in fact, he’d come to the conclusion that whatever pain he suffered in her presence for the night would be well worth watching her suffer alongside him.
    ‘Listen, the trip is young,’ he heard Susan say. ‘You don’t have a lot of money. Sharing a room is the best solution for that.’
    Ethan already guessed the woman was broke. She hadn’t eaten a thing all day. Maybe she should try selling her three hundred dollar designer dress. It only made sense. Many boutiques in New York would’ve given her a good price for it.
    ‘But, we don’t know him,’ Alexis said. ‘What if he tries to rape me?’
    Ethan rolled his eyes. Yeah, like he’d cast his line into that fishing hole. He’d have more fun trying to hump an iceberg on the Titanic .
    ‘You and Ted get your own room,’ Alexis said, sounding panicked. Ethan hid his grin. Oh, yeah, she was already suffering. Usually he wouldn’t take pride in a woman abhorring him, but with Alexis he was willing to make an exception. ‘I don’t want to share with him.’
    ‘Ted is paying for our room tonight,’ Susan answered.
    ‘Must be nice to have a man paying for everything,’ Alexis snapped. ‘What happened to wanting to make it on your own?’
    Susan actually looked guilty at that. Ethan watched them, not even pretending he couldn’t hear them. Since they were speaking loud enough to be heard, who was he not to listen to the conversation?
    Ted walked in the door. He’d been on his cell phone with one of his colleagues from work. ‘All set?’
    ‘Ah, not quite.’ Ethan pointed at Alexis and Susan.
    Susan said, ‘No, go ahead, we’re ready.’
    Ted came up next to him. Under his breath, he said, ‘You sure you want to spend the night in the same room as that barracuda?’
    The clerk giggled. Ted smiled. Ethan shrugged. ‘Yeah, we’ll try it out for a night and see if we can’t play nice. Susan was right about saving money where we can. If by some miracle the sleeping arrangements work, it’s the wisest choice. That is, if I can keep myself from raping her before the night’s over.’
    ‘She didn’t say that, did she?’ Ted asked, appalled. Ethan chuckled and nodded his head. He liked Ted. They’d gotten along almost instantly. ‘Man, she’s such a drama queen.’
    ‘You guys travelling far?’ the blonde clerk asked. Ethan again smiled at her. She was young, twenty perhaps. When she moved her whole body bounced with energy.
    ‘California,’ Ethan said, easing his voice so it dripped honey. She responded just as he knew she would. Her eyes cast down and her lips puckered ever so slightly.
    ‘Man, I wish I could go to California.’ Her sweet voice was almost a pout. Ethan swallowed. Maybe he should get his own room, then again, maybe he could get them a free room.
    ‘Yeah, I’m a tattoo artist,’ Ethan said. ‘I’m going there to open my own shop. You know, tattoo on movie stars.’
    The blonde’s eyes rounded. ‘Really? I so want a tattoo.’
    ‘Do you?’ he asked. Yeah, he really was the rock star without the music. Everywhere he went doors just seemed to open with those simple words: I’m a tattoo artist.
    ‘Uh huh.’ She leaned forwards. ‘Do you have your stuff?’
    ‘Yeah.’ Ethan leaned in.
    ‘You, ah, want to trade for the room?’ She leaned closer, glancing around. ‘My boss is gone tonight. So long as you’re out of here by eight tomorrow morning.’
    ‘Very cool,’ Ethan said. ‘What you want?’
    ‘A butterfly on my hip. About this big.’ She rounded her fingers to the size of a quarter.
    Ethan grinned. Two free rooms for a tattoo that would take him about ten minutes to do. Yeah, he’d definitely gotten into the right profession.
    ‘Are you finished flirting or should we just camp out here?’ Alexis asked.
    Ethan closed his eyes. To the clerk, he asked, ‘How much do the rooms usually run?’
    “Forty dollars with the coupon from