Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
Bennett
A s I pull a pair of jeans over my swim trunks, I hear a gentle knock at my door. It’s too timid to be anyone other than Cat. Fastening the button, I walk to the door and open it to find her looking up at me like a wild animal caught in a trap. She glances down the hall, then pushes past me and hurries to close the door.
“This was a terrible idea,” she says as she begins pacing. “The whole time I was getting dressed, that’s all I could think. This is the worst thing we could do.”
“Then we’d better do it quickly before anyone comes looking for us.” I move closer to her, but her hands spring upward and land on my bare chest.
“No, not the fucking, though that’s horrible too. I mean partnering up.”
“I don’t think we have enough time to fuck, anyway.” I dip my head and run circles on her neck with my tongue.
“You only needed fifteen seconds last time,” she says on a breathy moan. “Do you really think this is a good idea?”
“Fucking you is always a bad idea, but I want to do it anyway.”
“No, not that!” She swats my chest and glares up at me. “You seriously have a one-track mind. Focus! I mean us partnering up on this activity. What if you slip up and call me kitten?”
I smirk against her skin. “Then you’d better cover for me and pretend to be angry instead of turned on.”
Her body relaxes for a split second before she stiffens and steps away from me. “I’m being serious, asshole. Stop trying to overpower my anxiety with yourcock.”
“Was it working?”
She huffs and looks down at her feet. “Yes.”
I chuckle and go to the closet to retrieve the rest of my ensemble. The Henley was too thin for whatever hell they’re about to put us through, so I pull a thick sweater from the depths. I also grab both coats I brought.
“Here, put this on,” I say as I toss the better of the two to her.
She catches it, then studies it like it’s a bomb. “Why? I have a coat.”
“A cheap coat that won’t do shit to bring up your body temp once you need to warm up again. Just wear the coat I offered and say thank you.”
“Not all of us can afford name brand, jerk.” She tears herself out of her fluffy pink coat and slides into the earth tones that will actually keep her comfortable. “This is pretty warm, though. Thanks.”
What she said strikes a nerve. My brother and his fiancée have enough money between them, but I’m currently struggling to rub two pennies together, thanks to my employers icing me out. It’s a problem I’m trying to forget while I’m at this retreat.
“I’m not rolling in cash, if that’s what you think,” I say. “I took the coat you’re wearing off a dead guy last winter. Figured he wouldn’t need it in hell.”
She recoils and looks down at the coat like she might die in it next.
“Don’t worry,” I say, “I scrubbed the blood out.”
She studies her hands as I pull on my boots. “My pink gloves are going to look fucking stupid with this color combo. Did you happen to pull a spare set of those off a dead guy too?”
I return to the closet and pull my gloves from my bag. “These should match enough, though I’m sorry to say they aren’t off a dead guy.”
“What will you wear?”
I shrug. “I used to make snowmen with nothing more than socks on my hands, so I think I’ll be okay.”
She shoves the gloves into my hands and shakes her head. “You take them. I can wear the pink ones.”
“Suit yourself.” I cram the gloves into my pocket, and we start toward the door.
As we step into the hallway, voices from down below reach our ears. Cat freezes and grips my arm, forcing me to do the same. Her eyes widen as she looks at me for a solution.
“Let me go down first,” I whisper. “They won’t mind waiting on you if you’re running late.”
“You’re right,” she says with a nod. “They’d just leave you behind.”
I roll my eyes and leave her in the dark hallway as I descend the stairs.
Ezra, Kindra, Grim, and Maudlin Rose stand near the entryway. Grim looks over and gives me a wave as I reach the bottom of the staircase.
“Are you excited to test your physical limitations today?” he says as I step closer. It’s the sort of thing you’d expect to be said with a smile, but Grim doesn’t do that very often.
“In Bennett’s mind, he has no physical limitations,” Ezra says. “Isn’t that right?”
“I’m not that arrogant.” I turn to Rose and give her a nod. “Morning, Rosie. Have you been enjoying this weather?”
She purses her lips and shakes her head.
“Me neither,” I mutter.
“Where’s Cat?” Kindra asks. “We’ve already sent everyone else ahead, and we need to get moving as soon as the sleigh shows up again.”
I shrug. “I don’t know, and I don’t care. She’s probably up there playing with her pussy.”
“She has been masturbating an awful lot on this trip,” Kindra says as she peers up the staircase. “Unless you meant Shorty, her actual cat. Maybe I should hurry her along.” She takes a step forward, but I step into her path.
“No! I mean, I’m sure she’ll be down any minute .”
I put extra emphasis on the last two words and hope Cat hears me. I can’t hold Kindra here forever, and the last thing we need to explain is why Cat is standing around in the upper hallway’s shadows. Thankfully, she materializes seconds later.
“Sorry, I couldn’t decide which coat to wear,” she says as she shuffles down the stairs. “Then I decided on this one and couldn’t find the matching gloves.”
“Isn’t that Bennett’s coat?” Ezra says.
Shit.
“No, it’s definitely mine,” Cat says with a little too much confidence for someone who’s wearing a coat with the name CARTER embroidered across the right front pocket.
I gave her the wrong fucking coat.
“You sneaky little bitch!” I rush forward and grip the coat’s collar in my hand so that I can pull her ear a little closer to my mouth. “Play along,” I whisper, but her idea of playing along is to look up at me with wide, terrified eyes.
I’m on my own.
“It’s another bet we made,” I say. “I told her if she could sneak into my room and steal something, she could have it. At least she has good taste.”
She licks her lips as her brain catches up with the fake scenario I’ve conjured. “Right! I thought I was being slick by taking his only coat, but he brought two.”
“Cat, why are you playing his stupid games?” Kindra asks as she steps closer. “This isn’t like you. You’ve always said the quickest way to get him to go away is to ignore him.”
“Oh really?” I look down at her.
“Yeah, well, it wasn’t working, so I thought I’d try a different tactic.” Cat snatches her shoulder to the side and wrenches out of my grip. “Turns out, he’s the human version of herpes and will never go away.”
“Herpes, huh?” I whisper. “That isn’t what you said earlier.”
Cat ignores me and steps toward the door with a bright smile on her face. “Well, now that that’s settled, let’s get going!”
Everyone gives me one more reproachful glare before turning and filing out of the mansion. I’m getting a bit sick and tired of being the butt of every joke. I understand why Cat wants to keep this quiet, and I agree with her, but something has to change. The closer I get to Cat, the further I get from everyone else. If things keep going as they are, I’ll be banished to Jupiter by the end of the trip.
After we finish this activity, Cat and I need to have a long talk. She might not like some of the questions I’ll ask, and I might not like some of her answers, but things can’t keep going as they are.