Her fading voice relayed my absence to the team. Exhaling a dejected breath, I lifted each foot and removed my boots in turn, then peeled myself off the floor. I intended to shower away the disgust that had me nauseous until the water ran dry.
Stripping and leaving a trail of discarded clothes as I headed for the en suite bathroom, my bra had barely hit the ground before another urgent knock on the door had me halting.
“Who is it?” I called.
“Shaun.”
“For fuck’s sake,” I breathed out, marching to the door and swinging it wide despite only wearing panties.
His eyes flared wide and all but bugged out of his head. He shoved his way into my room without invitation, then slammed the door closed behind him.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing opening the door like that?” He gestured up and down the length of my body.
“We all know why you’re here, so…” I looped my thumbs on either side of my panties and shoved them to the ground, then threw my arms wide as I stepped free from them. “Have at it, then. Because that’s my M.O. right? Hallie doesn’t have feelings because she fucks them away every chance she gets.” I set my jaw hard and dared myself not to cry.
Shaun’s mouth gaped, and he spluttered. “You think that’s why I came here? Really,Hallie? C’mon!”
I shrugged. “Might as well, right?”
“Fucking wrong!Mac checked in with me and told me what happened at the extraction point. She’s worried about you—we all are. So I said I’d stay here and keep you company. None of my intentions included taking advantage of you.”
He whipped his shirt over his head and thrust it at me. “Put this on.”
“I haven’t showered yet.” Despite me protesting, Shaun all but forced my face through the neck hole.
“That’s fine. While I didn’t come here to fuck you, I’m not comfortable having this conversation while you’re naked. It’s distracting.”
I laughed bitterly. “And my point is proven.”
“You didn’t prove shit, Hells. Now, get into that shower and when you come out, you n’ me are gonna hang whether you like it or not.”
I seared him with a disdained glower, hating that he was being so fucking bossy. If I wasn’t in a mood, I would have at least taken a second glance at his toned torso and bunched abs. As it was, I barely had it in me to turn on my heel and march my bare ass to the bathroom.
The steeled façade dissipated as soon as I shut the door. Shaun’s shirt fell to the floor at my feet, and I stepped under the streaming water without giving it time to heat.
I wanted to be numbed by the icy water, inside and out, though it failed to grant me that one favor. At least the cold jets forced my focus away from my inner agony to steadying each breath against the shivers.
Goosebumps covered every inch of my body as I soaped and washed the ordeal from my skin. My hair hung in wet tendrils and stuck to my shoulders before I tilted my head back to wash it, all while ghosts of the terrified screams carried on the water and silently echoed around the shower stall.
Unable to remain trapped with those shadows, I shut off the water and pressed a plush white towel to my eye sockets. If only the pressure that induced a kaleidoscope of colored stars took the horrific memories away too.
Shaun, as promised, was in the living area when I re-entered the suite, and I was both pissed off and relieved at his presence. His worried expression followed me from the bathroom to the bedroom, where I pulled on one of the complimentary robes without bothering to shut the door.
“Feeling a little better?” he asked when I emerged, scrunching my wet hair in the towel.
“Will you take no for an answer?”
He tapped the couch beside him. “Sure.”
I eyed him suspiciously until he rolled his eyes and thumped the couch again. “C’mon, Hells. I’m not gonna bite.”
“I’m not worried about that,” I grumbled.
“Or pester you.”
It took another flick of his hand before I put one foot in front of the other and sat beside him. He let out a little snort, then pushed at my shoulder.
“What are you doing?” I snapped, trying to keep my balance and stay upright.