Chapter 18
“Holy shit. Damn. I haven’t come like that in…” His deep, breathy tone assures me he enjoyed that as much as I did.
He slips out, and I close my eyes, breathing deeply to slow my heart rate. His rough, warm skin soothes the tender parts of my ass. The dresser is sticky beneath me, and the hard edge digs into my hip bones. I need to go pee to avoid getting a UTI.
I push off the dresser and, on wobbly knees, make my way to the bathroom. The door closes with a loud bang that makes me jump. I turn the shower on before sitting on the toilet, just in case he’s still in the bedroom. I don’t want him to hear me pee.
Showered, lotioned, and teeth brushed, I pause for a moment in front of the rectangular mirror, taking stock of my flushed skin and resting heart rate. That was fun. And healthy.
The orgasms he gave me were far more powerful than the ones my battery-operated devices give, or that various lab partners over the years have given. Orgasms provide stress relief, something we both needed after breaking and entering. Maybe he’ll want to do that again before we leave.
I swing open the bathroom door and freeze. The light from the bathroom spills into the bedroom, so it’s not like I can’t see. I just don’t know what to do with what I’m seeing.
I assumed he would go to his bedroom.
But no, he’s in my bed.
I should not have assumed. He didn’t shower, so he’s in my bed with sweat-dried skin. Ew.
“What’re you doing?”
“Waiting for you.”
“Did you shower?”
“No.”
Yuck. “Well, I guess I can sleep in the other bed.” Although that doesn’t seem quite right. This is clearly my room. My duffel bag and suitcase are right here.
He pats the mattress where he’s pulled back the cover and sheet and there’s space. He spreads his fingers as he pats the sheet, and I zone in on the two fingers that were recently inside me. And then a visual of him using that hand to stroke himself hits, and my hormone levels rise above a healthy range.
“Come on, beauty. It’s going to be daylight before you know it.”
He pushes up on his forearm. In that position, his bicep flexes, and his pecs stretch. The sheet drapes over his muscled abdomen.
“What’s the matter?”
“I don’t sleep in the same bed with other people.” I like to sleep on the same side of the bed every night, and I like for the sheets to be cool, crisp, and clean.
“You’ve never…you know what? I’m too exhausted. Get your skinny ass in bed. After what we just did, I’m going to hold you, and we’re going to fall asleep. We can dissect everything tomorrow.”
My eyelids are heavy. I am tired. The adrenaline levels from earlier have clearly declined, although I remain suspicious of my hormone levels. I let the towel drop to the floor and slide a leg against the cool cotton, then shift so my other leg fits. A palm flattens across my waist, then rough skin presses into my hipbone and I’m tugged across the bed into a wall of muscled heat.
He settles the sheet over me, and I roll onto my side, facing the wall, on my side of the bed. He inches forward, placing his long body next to mine once again.
I let out a frustrated sigh. “Are you a cuddler?” I’ve read about those people.
“Not necessarily, but after I fuck the brains out of someone, I do like some skin-on-skin time. Especially when I want them close in case we do it again.”
“Again? In the same night?”
“Yes.”
Something warm presses onto my shoulder. I think it’s his lips. My arm drapes over my breasts protectively as I assess. I do kind of like him near. He doesn’t smell like I thought he would. Well, he doesn’t smell bad. He’s got this manly scent, and there’s still a hint of sex in the room.
The rough pad of a finger glides down my ribs. It tickles, and I squirm forward. Now, that, I do not like.
“Damn, girl. We’ve got to get some meat on those bones.”
“I’m not usually this skinny. It’s because of?—”
“Shh.” The sound is indistinct and, well, soothing. “Shush. I know exactly what it’s from. And if you can’t tell, too skinny or not, I’m still very much attracted to you. I don’t remember the last time I wanted someone so much.” His fingers tangle in my hair, and cool air tingles my neck. Warm, soft lips press over the sensitive skin, and my thighs squeeze together. If he wasn’t lying behind me, I would press my fingers into me and make myself come. “I have a feeling you could gain fifty pounds and I’d still want you. Still think you were the sexiest thing. It’s that mouth. The best kind of unexpected.”
I don’t have any idea what that means, but… “What you’re experiencing can be explained.”
“Yeah?”
He nuzzles below my ear, and I close my eyes, reveling in the sensation. His chest radiates heat, warming my back, his arm comes down along my side, and his fingers slide between my arm and chest. Those fingers twist my nipple. Oh, my. I like that.
“You were saying?”
Right. I was. “God, you can be distracting.”
“Right back at you.”
I let out a huff and try to get my brain to focus on the scientific explanation instead of the physical evidence at hand. “When you’re physically attracted to someone, it’s a sign that your body’s chemicals and hormones are aligned. More research is needed, but it’s conceivable that one day we could submit a blood sample and find a list of chemically compatible subjects.”
“If you ever get around to creating a match making service based on this premise, I recommend you hire someone else to handle the marketing.”
“Are you making fun of me?” His fingers tweak my nipple again, and even though he’s behind me, I let my fingers drift between my legs.
“I would never.”
He nuzzles my neck and shoulder. Something thick and hard presses against my back. His powerful thighs curl up beneath mine.
“And when you have a physical reaction, especially like the kind we had…” The tip of my finger presses into the top of my fold, and it feels… I squeeze my thighs to increase pressure against my finger and in turn on my clitoris.
“You were saying?” His teeth clamp down on my earlobe.
“Dopamine is released. It’s the body’s reward.”
“Huh. So, each time my dick slips inside you, our bodies release dopamine.” He’s pumping his hips against me, and combined with my hand, it feels good, especially with his palm warming my breast. “So, every time we fuck, we get a dopamine hit.”
“Not a hit. More like a surge.”
“Surge. I like that word.”
“The surge of dopamine is released by the nucleus accumbens,” I’m panting now, and my breaths are coming faster, “which is a cluster of nerves near the hypothalamus.”
“Sloane?”
“Hmm?”
“Can you reach for that condom that’s on the dresser?”
I blink my eyes open and see the foil pack.
“Yes.”
There’s something about Max that has me chanting that three-letter word over and over during the night.
* * *
Light pours through the windows. I listen but hear nothing. Max’s side of the bed is empty. I run my fingers over the rumpled sheets, and they’re cool to the touch. He’s been gone for a while.
I throw on a t-shirt and long pajama pants. In the doorway, I listen. The door is open to the bedroom across the hall. The gun cases and Max’s bags are still in there.
“Hello?” I call.
“Hey, beauty.” Max’s deep intonations travel up the staircase, and my muscles instantly relax. My body moves forward of its own accord. “Get your butt down here. I’ve got breakfast for you.”
Out the back windows on the ground floor, the ocean twinkles bright slivers of yellow and white. Rolls of water lap the sand. There are no waves in this protected cove. It feels almost like you could walk from the sand onto the sea and continue walking all the way to the horizon. Which is silly; obviously, you can’t.
“Coffee?” Max asks, causing me to blink away the bright sun and focus on him. He’s bare-chested and wearing worn jeans that are slung low on his hips. The faded denim is one sexy notch above the worn cargos he’s been wearing. And those bare feet on the tile floor?—
“How do you take your coffee?”
“Ah, sugar.”
“No cream?”
“Well, do we have almond milk?”
“No. I used it all in this protein shake, which I want you to drink.” He pushes forward a glass with a thick, greenish brown liquid in it. Ew. “Drink it. Your body needs it. High calorie, high protein.”
“Why do you say my body needs it?” I’m not sick.
“After the night we had, you need replenishment.” There’s a sizzling sound and a burning scent. He holds a spatula out and turns his attention to a pan on the stove. “Plus, you need to gain some weight.”
I sniff the liquid. Then glance at the black coffee. Then dip my tongue into the greenish-brown shake. It’s sweet. “It’s not bad.” But that color. And it’s a little grainy. “What did you put in here?”
“Mango. Bananas. Kale. Lots of protein powder.”
“Vegan protein powder?”
“As a matter of fact, yes, it is vegan.”
My stomach rumbles as if to yell that yes, it is starving. I loop my tongue into the goop, but it’s like dipping my tongue into cold sand.
He scoops a ton of slimy eggs onto a plate. Ew.
“This is a scrambler. Are you vegan?”
“Sometimes.”
“What does that mean? If you’re in the mood?”
“No. If I like it and it’s not gross.”
He looks at me like I’m not making sense. It’s been a long time since I had to spar with anyone over my food choices.
“Do you eat eggs?”
“If they’re not slimy.” The ones he made have a slightly yellow runny stream. I am not eating those.
“Well, I also made blueberry oatmeal. I noticed you hadn’t eaten meat that I’ve seen, so in case you were vegetarian…” He opens the oven and removes a bowl of mush with blueberries sprinkled across the top. “What’s that face?”
“No one makes food for me.”
“Why?”
“Well, I’m particular with food.”
“Yes.” He pushes the bowl of light brown mush closer to me, along with a small ceramic dish filled with an amber liquid that looks a lot like syrup. My gaze travels from his golden, oh-so-happy trail up his tight abdomen to his plentiful pecs, and I glimpse a smirk. A really sexy smirk.
“If you keep looking at me like that, I’m going to be tempted to bend you over the kitchen table, and I can’t do that because you need to eat.”
As if my stomach can hear him, it growls, and this time, it’s so loud Max hears it, and he chuckles. “Eat. I was going to surprise you with breakfast in bed, but you’re here.”
The stool legs scrape the tile as I pull it out. Syrup covers the taste of anything. This, I know from experience. It can even make something that’s a little too slimy palatable. And…it works. I can eat this.
“What was wrong with the smoothie?”
“Too grainy.”
“Ah. I get that. My mom and sister don’t like it when I put too much powder in it either. Next time, I won’t use so much.”
For several minutes, we eat silently, as if neither of us has eaten in days. When the hunger is satiated, I push the bowl of oatmeal back and reach for the coffee mug.
“So, what’s the plan for today?”
“I’ve got a call in an hour with the team to review logistics. I think we’ll fly out tomorrow.”
“Why not today?”
“Well, that private plane we flew in didn’t stay here with us. It’s a company plane and they’re scheduling the return to pick us up.”
“We can fly commercial.”
“We’d rather not send your identity through customs, so we aren’t going to do that.”
“I have some alternate passports in that duffel. I could use one of those.”
“You know, we haven’t really talked about it. Did you think it was odd he created alternate identities for both of his sisters?”
“He was cautious.” I push away from the kitchen and jog up the stairs to grab the laptop.
“We also have weapons. Can’t easily fly those commercial,” he says as I’m halfway up the stairs.
When I return with the laptop and the list of passwords, Max is at the sink washing a pot. “I should do that, right? You cooked.” Those were the rules at my house.
“Nah. I got this.”
“Thank you.” I open the laptop and set the passwords aside to see what I can access without being on the employee network. He slides a plate of cubed cheese my way. I’m not hungry, but I do like cheese. I pop one in my mouth and tap on the laptop.
“Don’t go accessing anything from here.” He adds green grapes to the plate of cubed cheese.
“What? Why?”
“You’re not protected. If they’re looking for you, you could lead them straight to our door. Let’s wait. Let me find out from Erik what we should do.”
“If I can find that report, we can share it. If you’re right, and all of this is over keeping that report hidden, then sharing it means there’s no reason to come after me.”
“Who would benefit from that report not seeing the light of day?”
It’s a question I’ve pondered. “I know you think it’s someone at Origins Labs, but I think it might be the investors. My report showed that a viable alternative could significantly improve black market transplant survival rates. Maybe some investors have more to gain from existing options…” But that makes little sense. The circular debate goes nowhere.
“You realize your boss has to be in on this, right?”
“She’s not.” My response is immediate.
“It’s the only thing that makes sense. She’s the one you mentioned the report to.”
“But I accessed databases from multiple sources and had to login with my username to do so. If anyone was monitoring those databases, they’d know who accessed it. Just like last night. Someone knew we had entered that building. And besides, if you knew Dr. Kallio, you’d agree with me. She’s trustworthy.”
“People can surprise you. Even people you think you know well. But there’s no point in arguing. The only thing that will change your mind is evidence. I get that. I’ve been there.”
My big toenail is bordering on too long and needs to be clipped, and I can’t stop looking at it. “You know, you’re wrong about Dr. Kallio. And she’s still missing.”
“True. Once we get that laptop to our team, they’ll discover all the secrets on it.”
“Isn’t there a way we can use a VPN or something so no one can trace us?” If I could get on?—
“I’ll ask the team.”
He disconnects his charging phone and turns it on.
“You charged it down here?”
“This morning when I woke up, it was dead. I got a little distracted last night.”
“We probably shouldn’t have done…you know, what we did last night.”
His attention is on his phone. I’m not sure he even heard me. Or maybe he did, and he agrees. We each live by our own rules.
“Well, look at that,” he says. “Anton Solonov went through Heathrow customs using an alias. Picked him out with photo recognition on a delayed screening.”
“Huh. Where do you think he’s going?”
“Who knows, but he’s no longer here.”
“Maybe they aren’t looking for me after all.”
“Don’t forget what happened in the hospital.” My gaze falls back to my too-long toenail and the tile. His tone feels like a reprimand. “I’m not trying to scare you. But we’ve still got to be smart.” He wipes down the counters with a rag. “I’m gonna go move the car from the empty villa down the street.”
“Do you think we could stop by the market? Buy some stuff for lunch, if we’re still going to be here? We’re out of fruit.” They had stocked the villa with basic nonperishables, most of which I don’t like, but fruit is my favorite. And cheese. And pizza. I feel antsy. What I really want is to get on Dr. Kallio’s laptop. If I can see that data once more, maybe something will jump out at me. “It’s just right down the street.”
“You want to get out of here?” he asks, hands pressed on the counter.
“Some fresh air.”
He pinches the bridge of his nose. “After my meeting, we’ll ride bikes down to the market together. Or we’ll take a car to a real grocery store to hunt for your favorite foods. Together. We’ll get more cheese.”
“I like pizza.”
“I can work with that. As for now, if you want fresh air, we’ve got a nice stretch of sandy beach right out our back door.”
He’s right. We do. But first, I need sunblock.