I can see she’s affected by it. Her beautiful face shimmers with emotion and she struggles to swallow before she speaks. “Why didn’t you speak to my father’s security detail?”
“I planned to. But when I saw the men talking to your father’s head of security later on, I couldn’t be sure who was involved and how deep the conspiracy went.” I hold her gaze. “My experience told me there was more to this than two men discussing a half-assed plan. I couldn’t risk it. I couldn’t risk you being hurt.”
“What about the police? You could’ve gone to them.”
No, I couldn’t.
Because they would’ve slapped handcuffs on me and hauled my ass off to jail.
Not that I was going to share that little detail with her.
“Mirror Lake is a small town, Lauren. I’ve heard things. Heard how law enforcement can be paid off. Like I said, I didn’t know how deep this conspiracy went and I wasn’t willing to risk it.”
Which is the truth.
Her face softens and a truce seems to settle between us.
But only for a moment.
Because seconds later, a look of hurt washes over her and my chest tightens, because I can’t imagine how it feels, knowing someone had plans to kidnap you.
“I’m not making this up,” I say gently, because right now this is what she needs. A bit of gentle.
She nods. And I can see she believes me.
“I need to speak to my father,” she says.
It makes sense.
“Tomorrow, I will take you to town and you can call him.”
“You don’t have a phone?”
“There are no lines out here. And we’re too deep in the mountains to get cell service.” To my surprise, she doesn’t look frightened. “But there is a public phone booth in town. We’ll leave at first light.”
Her eyes widen a little. “You mean, we’re going to spend the night here?”
Her tone tells me the truce between us has ended.
I stand up. “Relax. You’re a lot safer in here with me than you are out there.”
She goes to argue but stops herself. She is shivering. Her clothes are damp. She’s cold.
“You can put your clothes in the dryer,” I say. Yes, I have a dryer. Living deep in the mountains where the sun only shines six months of the year, it’s a necessity. “I’ll get you something to change into while they dry.”
I disappear to my bedroom and hunt for something suitable to give her to wear. There aren’t a lot of options. I’m a jeans and t-shirt kinda guy, with flannel shirts and beanies thrown in. It’s supposed to get colder overnight, so I grab a long-sleeved t-shirt and a pair of socks. When I return to the living room, Lauren is huddled near the fire, staring into the flames. I pause. Christ, she’s beautiful. And I feel her beauty bleed deep into every fiber of my dark heart.
A floorboard groans beneath me and she looks up, and something tightens in my chest.
I have to clear my throat as I hand her the clothes. “You can change in the bathroom.”
She accepts them with a nod, and I can see the sadness in the deep lavender of her eyes as she disappears into the bathroom to change.
In the kitchen, I take some aspirin to dull the pain of my arm, and when I walk back into the room, she is standing by the fire, holding her clothes.
My first thought?
My oversized t-shirt looks good on her.
My second thought?
It barely covers her thighs.
My third thought?
How the hell am I going to survive tonight?
Trying to keep my eyes off her and the tantalizing way the t-shirt falls over the soft curves of her body, I show her where the clothes dryer is in the small laundry behind the kitchen.
“You promise we’ll call my father in the morning?” she asks.
After setting the timer, I stand and a wave of fatigue washes over me.
It’s almost two in the morning.
“Yes, but first, we need some shut eye.”
She glances around the cabin. “But where do we sleep?”
I lead her up the small flight of stairs to the top floor that overlooks the first floor of the cabin.
“But there’s only one bed,” she says.
“The bed is big enough for two.”
Her eyes dart to mine. “You can’t be serious.”
She’s trying to look mortified. But I can see the heat in her eyes.
“Oh, I’m serious.”
“Can’t you take the couch or something?”
“Why, when the bed is big enough for two?” I close the distance between us. And yeah, her eyes are bright with excitement. That fatigue I felt a moment ago? It’s gone. Replaced with a racing heart and a sudden need to toy with her just so I can see the color of her eyes deepen to a dark shade of purple like it does when she’s mad. “You worried you won’t be able to keep your hands to yourself?”
Indignation replaces her look of horror and she raises her eyebrow. “Oh, I assure you that isn’t the case.”
I sit down on the bed and pat the space beside me, grinning wickedly at her. While she stands across the room and murders me with her eyes.
“I’ll take the couch,” she says.
I shrug. “Suit yourself.”
She folds her arms. “You’d seriously make me sleep on the couch. So much for chivalry.”
“I’m not making you do anything.” I pat the bed again. “There’s plenty of room.”
Her arms fall to her sides as she gives in. “Fine. But I’m building a giant pillow wall between us.”
I can’t help myself and laugh. For something so little, she sure has a lot of spunk.
I stand up and take a step toward her.
“Knock yourself out. But look at me, darlin’, I’m a big man. You should know I can huff and I can puff, and I can blow that giant pillow wall down.”
My voice is gravelly. Rough. And flowing with the lust I’m feeling coiled in my belly. The push and pull between us is turning me on, and I’m aching to give in to the hunger and take her mouth with mine.
Again, her throat works hard as she struggles to swallow.
Yeah, she’s turned on. Mortified, yes, but turned on, nevertheless.
Her eyes sharpen on mine. “You should know, I’m a light sleeper and did martial arts for six years.”
“Good, I like it rough.”
She raises her chin. “Don’t be fooled by my size. I may be small, but I can kick ass.”
“Rougher the better.”
It is a war of wills now. And it’s making me fucking hard.
“I know what part of the body to aim for to cause the most impact.”
I take a sweeping look up and down her beautiful body. “Ditto.”
My innuendo isn’t lost on her and she narrows her eyes. “I’ll escape while you’re sleeping.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Maybe I’ll tie you to the bed.”
It was meant as sarcasm.
But I can see the affect it has on her when her eyes fill with heat and desire shimmers on her lovely face.
She cocks a challenging eyebrow at me. “You wouldn’t dare.”
I’m not sure why, or how, or what the fuck is happening, but before I can get any understanding of the situation, I back her up toward the bed and she has no choice but to sit down. She looks up at me, her eyes blazing.