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“I’m confused why a trip to the basement comes with a question about a ladder,” I admitted, but started to follow him down.
Were Jill and Janet in my ear right then, ranting and raving about how stupid it was to follow a strange man into a basement in a random building? Yes. Yes, they were.
But Cain had proven himself trustworthy so far. And there was a whole party of people just one floor away if something went wrong.
So down I went.
“What, is this where you put the prospects when they’re in trouble?” I asked as we moved into a space much like the prospect room. Only smaller and darker. But it had bunks, storage cabinets, foot lockers. And there was a bathroom off to the side.
“This is more for emergency-type situations. Alright. Put that bottle down. We’re going up.”
He stopped next to a steep ladder leading to a hole in the ceiling above it. Then… darkness.
“Is this where you kill me?” I asked, only half joking.
“Only if I wanted it to be public.”
Curiosity piqued, I ignored the voice in my head (that was a combination of Jill and Janet still), grabbed the rungs, and started up.
I felt Cain coming up behind me and had a momentary surge of insecurity at the angle before reminding myself that my butt was probably my best feature, next to my face, and kept climbing.
When I emerged, I was surrounded by the night sky—little diamonds of stars peeking through all the blackness.
This was a glass room.
The one on the roof, I realized.
But then Cain was behind me on the ladder, his wide, warm body brushing my back, making me want to lean back into it, into him.
I let myself enjoy the feel of him for just a second before I forced myself to climb into the room—a task that required me to crawl on my hands and knees for a second.
The room itself wasn’t set up with chairs, just several blankets and pillows stacked on top of a small fridge.
The space was cozy but tall enough to stand if your legs got tired of sitting.
“I bet sleeping up here would be amazing.”
“The sunrises are pretty intense, though,” Cain agreed, still standing on the ladder. It was almost as if he was trying to gauge my comfort level to see if I wanted him to join me or not.
So I scooted to the center of the space and sat crisscross, leaving the space next to me open.
Taking it as the invitation it was, Cain sat beside me, his arm and knee brushing mine, and I pretended not to feel a pleasant warmth in my chest at the feel of him.
“Do you spend a lot of time up here?”
“The guys all take turns being up here if we feel the need to keep an eye on the property. Other than that, not a whole lot.”
“Why not?”
He glanced over at me, his eyes somehow bright in the dark space, his smile feeling like a secret meant to be shared. “Because I’m not as young as I used to be,” he admitted. “And this floor gets hard quick.”
“I can see that. I think I’d need one night where I set it up like a bed and just fell asleep looking at the stars, though.”
I glanced up, feeling Cain’s gaze on my profile.
I couldn’t explain how badly I wanted him to lean over, to press his face into my neck, to run his lips up and over my jaw until he reached my mouth, then—
“Knock knock,” a man’s voice called from the bottom of the ladder, making me jump as my face flushed hot at the direction of my thoughts. “Our turn,” he added.
