Free Grounded by Constance Sharper Page A

another hotel room. This time, she wasn’t with Nate and she absolutely lacked the confident swagger he had. Worse, Mason had also picked one of the classier hotels in Seattle, located near the very edge of the city and immersed in a more rural, wooded area. To Avery, that meant only one thing: more scrutiny to her identity. She was waiting for the clerk to call her out on being under-aged.
    “This isn’t going to work.” She hissed to Mason when her harpie companion strolled back to her side. His eyes were on the crimson carpet and his mind clearly clicked over something else. He did focus a bit more at her words.
    “It will. I’m not under-age.” He mentioned. Avery wasn’t entirely sure how old Mason was but this wasn’t the time or place to quiz him on it. She rubbed her arms, despite not being cold.
    “Then cough up some harpie ID with a picture and a number or I’m gonna be busted. Or worse, my mother will find out and that means my brother Chase will kill me.” She hissed. The clerk had disappeared into the back room with her driver’s license and her credit card, presumably making photocopies. Every second the clerk lingered was another second he had to figure it out.
    “If we picked a cheap hotel I wouldn’t be having this problem. They’d take ten bucks and shoo me off. But nice hotels care about age.” Avery reminded him of the logic. While the interior of the hotel was beautiful, equipped with a fireplace and golden chandelier, Avery would have gladly given it up to feel more comfortable.
    “It’s the only hotel close to Samuel’s compound. I can’t put you across town in case I need to get to you quickly. Patrick would have had enough time if he decided to come straight here. We can’t take that chance.”
    Avery opened her mouth to respond but the hotel clerk finally shuffled out of the backroom. He gave them a long look.
    “Avery Zane.” The clerk slid her identification card back over the desk. “And Mr. Zane,” He nodded toward Mason, “Enjoy your stay.”
    “Whoa, wait. Mr. Zane?” Mason lifted his eyebrows. Avery elbowed him before he could get out another word. She hit his ribs hard enough to earn a gasp. Reaching across the table, she snatched the papers from the hotel clerk and grabbed Mason. Giving the harpie a rough shove, she sent him down the hallway.
    “Trying to bust our cover?” She griped. Her face still burned pink and she couldn’t help but be more embarrassed than mad. It wasn’t an unfair assumption for the hotel clerk to make when two people showed up renting one room. But knowing Mason, he wouldn’t let it go.
    “Mr. Zane? Is that some human custom? Like we are married?” He said as expected.
    Even though Avery knew the awkward onslaught was coming, she couldn’t deal with it. It felt like all the air had been sucked from the room and Avery struggled to breathe right. She’d have given anything to have Mason leave the subject alone. She needed a distraction and she needed one quickly.
    “You know what, we should get food. I’m hungry. Food. That’s right.” Her eyes went to the rotating glass doors of the hotel and she hurried for them. She remembered a coffee shop across the street.
    “Even if we did get married, I wouldn’t be taking your surname. That’s not how it works with harpies. Besides, you would be Mrs. Mason--”
    “Are we really talking about getting married right now? That guy just made a stupid assumption.”
    “We’re not talking about getting married. But it was better than focusing on the assumption that we were shacking up. And you have to learn not to be so jittery about things. It’s a compliment if he thinks you’re actually my wife.”
    He cracked a cocky smile and Avery couldn’t look at him any longer. Mason got too much enjoyment from messing with her head. Cheeks still on fire, she refused to look at him.
    “I hate you.” She shot at Mason, sticking her tongue out for a fleeting second, and then she turned her