AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Safe house. I shot from sleepy to alert in the time it took my eyes to spring open. I felt a faint steady drumbeat against my palm, which pressed against a muscular downy man chest. My head rested on a broad shoulder. My leg had insinuated itself between masculine thighs. The weight of a heavy male arm had been thrown around my shoulder.
What an ass! Or, as a Copan would say, what an ishta! With two other bedrooms and four other beds to choose from, he’d picked mine? Was that why he’d suggested I take the room with the big bed? Of all the nerve. What is he trying to pull?
I inhaled. God, he smells good. Sleepy warm man with a touch of alien spice. I discovered I was unconsciously caressing the hard muscles of his pecs. My stomach fluttered with sensual awakening, my heart thudded with alarm, and my brain chewed my ass. I must have lost my mind. It was a toss-up who deserved a slap upside the head more—him or me.
Maybe both of us. Him for his audacity and the assumption he could share my bed. Me for my foolish reaction.
And yet I still lay here.
Move, move.
I’d have to climb over him to leave. Unless…wasn’t there a sliver of space between the foot of the bed and the wall?
I eased my leg from between his then wiggled out from under his arm. I rolled away and then got to my knees. Victory! I crawled toward the foot.
A hand closed around my ankle. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“What are you doing in my room?” Had he been awake the whole time I’d been trying to extricate myself?
“Keeping an eye on you.”
“What are you afraid of?”
“Nothing—because I’m keeping an eye on you.” He sounded amused.
He still had a hold of my leg. “Let go of me,” I ordered.
He complied, and I jumped from the bed, smacking into the wall with a thump. “Sonofabitch.”
I spun around and bumped into a bare chest. “Are you all right?” he asked.
“Peachy. Get out of my way.” I wasn’t in the mood to be nice or polite. I felt grouchy.
He gripped my upper arms, and I became aware of the strength and gentleness in his big, five-fingered hands. Half human. I was disgusted with myself for missing one of the most obvious visual clues.
“Where are you going?” he demanded.
“Geez. To the bathroom, all right?”
He moved out of the way as much as he could in the modest-sized room with the huge bed. In the darkness, I saw his hulking form reach for the lamp on the nightstand. The room flooded with light.
I didn’t wait around to chat but stomped out. Why did I feel so flummoxed? So discombobulated? We’d shared a bed. Purely platonic, plus, I’d been unaware of it for most of the time. I’d been sleeping.
Outside the bathroom, I discovered he’d followed me. “You are not coming in with me.”
“I hadn’t intended to. I’ll wait in the hall.”
“Fine.” I went inside, shutting the door harder than necessary. I did my business, washed my hands, and ran a comb through my hair, wishing I had more to do so I could make him wait longer. Petty, but the small act of rebellion allowed me to feel like I had some control in a powerless situation. And it gave me time to get my racing heart under control.
Out of ways to stall, I reentered the hall.
“I’ll just be a minute.” He brushed past me.
So you trust me that much? I retreated to the bedroom and the inevitable. He wasn’t going to let me out of his sight for more than a minute. I have to pick my battles. There’s no sense antagonizing him.
I crawled into bed and scooted to the far side. I could smell him on the sheets. I resisted pressing his pillow to my face. Pathetic much? He’s not a kidnapper, he’s LOP—I’m 99.99 percent sure. Call me a protectee, but if I’m not free to come and go, I’m a prisoner.
I empathized with Maxx’s mother. She’d made the best of a bad situation, but I knew exactly what she’d gone through. Been there. Done that. Forgot to get the T-shirt.
