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I was still facing Orin, so I saw that same smile as before. “No. I’m just taking her to see some of my favorite places while her brother is away. We don’t often have the freedom to see each other without keeping it secret.”
“Hmm,” Blakely agreed, then asked, “Fallon, would you like a sandwich? Best to have one now before Orin eats them all.”
I was still trying to process the lie Orin was spinning, so I wordlessly accepted the plate she was holding out to me and took a seat at the table opposite him. I ate my sandwich, chewing and swallowing without taking my eyes off him while he spoke to Blakely. After eating, I drank the rest of my tea and set the dishes into the sink.
“I’m going to head up to bed,” I announced.
“Sleep well, and it was nice to meet you,” Blakely said, putting her cup into the sink too. “You’d better hug me now before you disappear from my life again, Orin.” She held out her arms, and although he rolled his eyes, he did step closer and let her hug him. Once again, he was stiff in her embrace. When they broke apart, Orin caught me watching.
He approached me, reaching out to rest his hand on the small of my back. “Let’s go to bed,” he said, giving my ass a playful slap.
I glared at him over my shoulder but walked back the way I’d come. As soon as we were out of Blakely’s sight, he dropped his hand and put a good foot between us. In the bedroom, he shut and locked the door behind us and then sat on the edge of the bed, his hand wrapping protectively around his side.
“You’re in pain.”
He looked at me from under his lashes. “I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine. Let me take a look.” I stepped toward him, pushing his hand out of the way. I was shocked when he let me do it but didn’t dwell on it for too long. Lifting up his shirt, I pulled away the gauze. There was a bit of fresh blood, but otherwise it looked fine.
“I might as well change the dressing while I’m here, too. Here, hold this up.” I transferred the end of the shirt to him, then stopped when a thought dawned on me.
“What’s wrong?”
“Left the first aid kit in the car.”
With a grunt, he jerked his chin in the direction of the bathroom. “Check under the sink. Blakely started keeping one in there after my first visit.”
I raised my brows at his statement, but he ignored my unspoken question. In the bathroom, I found the first aid kit that was packed with fresh gauze and new bandages. Bringing it back into the room, I drew to a stop when I saw that Orin had removed his shirt completely. Even though I’d seen his body before, it didn’t stop me from gawking at it for a moment. His muscles were chiseled, and I wanted to ask about his tattoos. I realized with a jolt that I wouldn’t mind doing other things to those tattoos, too, and the thought pushed me back into motion.
Since he was sitting on the edge of the bed, I kneeled in front of him, placing the first aid kit beside me on the floor.
“What are you doing?” he suddenly croaked. My head jerked up to see why his voice had sounded so strange, and what I saw both thrilled and scared me.
Orin’s already dark eyes had swelled—his pupils blown out. He looked as if he was in pain. His jaw was tight. His mouth pinched into a firm line.
“Does it hurt worse than before?” I asked, reaching for the gauze to see if I could see anything, but he reared back.
“Don’t touch me right now, Fallon.”
I sat back on my heels. “Why not?”
He stared at me like he was a hungry lion. “Because I told you not to.”
Brushing off his comment, I leaned in to peel the gauze all the way off when I noticed a large bulge behind his pants zipper. He was hard and thick, and my gaze darted to his. I was so close to his body that the scent of his body grew thicker. I swallowed.
“You’re … you’re …”
He shut his eyes. “Don’t say it. And for fuck’s sake will you get up off your knees?”
Frowning, I did as he asked, dragging a chair over to the side of the bed instead. “Happy now?” I asked him with venom in my voice.
“Very,” he snipped back. “Just change the fucking dressing, then we can get some sleep. We have to be out of here in five hours.”
FOUR
ORIN
I stayed up long after Fallon had gone to sleep, knowing that the hours were dripping away from us. I should’ve rested, but the truth was, I was terrified of the reaction she had stirred in me. When she’d been kneeling in front of me like that, all I could think about was her bare skin, creamy and warm, begging for my touch. I’d often wondered what she looked like naked, and I shouldn’t have because the fact of the matter was, she was off-limits to me and my fucked-up version of sex.
