“We have to be paranoid right now.” He motions to a sheet hung up like a shower curtain, though I’m not sure, considering we’re in a cave. “There’s a portable toilet back there.”
I glance at the sheet in surprise and then back at him. “You really thought of everything.”
“Right before I went undercover with the Devils, I knew how dangerous the mission would be. I prepared for a moment like this one and hoped it wouldn’t come.”
And I can’t help but wonder what role his brother Alex played in this, but I give up on seeking answers. He’s not ready to talk. I can see that. I want him to know I get it, I understand, even if it’s killing me. “Adrian—”
He stands and strips his wet T-shirt over his head, his hard, tattooed body now on full display, my words lost, my mouth dry.
“You wanted to say something?” he asks, but his tone is as cold as him commanding me to undress. I have the impression he’s just used that tone and his state of undress to distract me, even manipulate where my head is right now. Despite truly understanding why he might do so, why he’s so worried about the question I might ask, I don’t like this. I don’t like how he’s making me feel.
Suddenly needing the same space his words and actions declare he needs, I scoop up the clothes. “I’ll use the bathroom and change,” I murmur, rotating as I stand. In a couple of steps, I’m behind the curtain and I’m not sure if that is good or bad. I’ve basically just told him that I won’t undress in front of him.
I don’t know what is happening between us right now.Chapter SevenPRI
Standing behind the sheet, I draw a deep breath and bring the makeshift bathroom into view. There’s a portable toilet, a trashcan, and even a mock sink made from a bowl with soap and bottled water. A small box of supplies sits beside it and includes toothpaste and brushes. The man has covered it all, I decide, and I wonder what it was like to be undercover, in a situation so dangerous you needed a hideout in a cave. There are layers of torment to this man hidden beneath all of his jokes. This cave proves it.
I quickly dry off and change, after which I feel a ton better just wearing dry, albeit excessively large, clothes. As for my discarded, soaked items, my bra included, I hang them on the clothes rack—yes, there is a portable folding clothes rack. This place is like a well-stocked apartment.
Ready to rejoin Adrian, I’m nervous when I’ve never been nervous with him, thus my deep, calming breath, before I step into the main cavern. I find Adrian fully dressed in fresh, dry clothes, sitting on the mattress, his back against the cavern wall, his long legs stretched in front of him, his booted feet crossed. His body is perfect. His dark hair is damp, his handsome face schooled in an unreadable expression.
His eyes, those warm brown eyes, slide over me, lingering on the pucker of my nipples beneath the white tee that I’ve knotted at my waist. Heat and a mix of confusing notions stir in my belly and when his gaze lifts and collides with mine, there is a charge in the air that is as electric as it is familiar and welcome.
“I’m making hot chocolate,” he says, indicating the camping stove where a pot sits on top.
“How is that even possible?” I ask.
His lips curve, the hint of a smile easing the tension between us. “You don’t camp much, do you?”
“Once,” I say. “When I was twelve. All I remember is waking up with about a hundred mosquito bites on my forehead.”
He laughs. “That many, huh?”
“Yes!” I assure him. “I’m not joking, but,” I add, holding up a finger, “we did make s’mores on an open flame. I remember that fondly.”
“Now we make hot chocolate with propane.” He pats the mattress. “Come sit, Pri.” His voice is as warm as cocoa while our connection has somehow become as sticky as the marshmallows on that fire so long ago. Proven by him adding, “If you want to.”
That very statement or question, I’m not sure which, drives home the stickiness between us that was not present before Deleon showed up. In mere minutes, that monster built a wall Adrian and I must now tear down. Me changing behind that curtain added bricks, made it wider and taller. I don’t like it. I don’t welcome it. We’ve given Deleon too much power.
I want it back.
We need it back.
I join Adrian, sitting down on the edge of the mattress, not right next to him, but not on the opposite end of the inflated cushion either. “I can’t believe you were prepared enough for this to have hot chocolate in a cave.”