Chapter 15
CHAPTER 15
“ W hat did you really do this morning?” Damian’s gaze flicked to Thorn as she sat across from him. She’d been gone for over an hour, leaving him to stew in his own frustration. After his shower, there was nothing else to do. No laptop to work on, no internet, and not even his damn cell phone.
He’d paced the small room like a caged animal, his mood darkening with each passing minute.
“I told you, I went for a run.” Her voice was steady, but it didn’t do much to calm the storm brewing inside him.
He didn’t respond immediately, taking in the way her cheeks were flushed from the exercise, her hair slightly tousled from the wind. She looked so damn sexy, and it was driving him crazy. He had to physically restrain himself from reaching across the table, grabbing her, and pulling her against him. Even now, with the sun casting playful shadows in her hair, she took his breath away. But it didn’t matter. She’d made it clear she wasn’t interested.
It was like a switch had been flipped. The woman who’d kissed him like she was starving for him had turned cold, distant. A perfect professional mask. It was going to be a long, torturous week.
“Okay, while I was out, I scouted the town,” she admitted, reaching for her coffee. “In case we have to leave in a hurry.”
He arched an eyebrow, trying to tamp down the frustration gnawing at him. “You found us an escape route?”
“Actually, yeah. I think so. We’re pretty isolated here. There’s only one main road that goes over the mountain, and most of the access roads lead to that.”
He nodded, though his thoughts were still on her, still on how close she’d been to him last night. “What are we going to do here for a week if you won’t let me go out?”
She frowned, and he could see the wall she was putting up between them. “I didn’t say you couldn’t go out. That was a one-off. I had to know you were safe.”
He couldn’t hold back his frustration any longer. “I’m a big boy, Thorn. I can look after myself for an hour. I don’t need to be locked into a goddamn hotel bedroom like a child.”
Her expression hardened, a defensive shield snapping into place. “It was for your own safety.”
“Bullshit. You just don’t trust me.”
Before she could respond, Clara, a younger version of their hostess, approached with a fruit salad, bread, cheese, and more coffee.
Damian sat back, trying to rein in his temper, but his stomach chose that moment to remind him that they hadn’t eaten since the previous day. The growl from his belly was loud enough for Thorn to hear.
“This looks great, Clara,” Thorn said, her tone deliberately casual.
Damian glanced at her in surprise. “How do you know her name?” Then it clicked. “Oh, right. You met her this morning.”
Thorn didn’t reply, but he could see the calmness she was trying to project, and it only irritated him more.
“What’s got into you?” Thorn asked after a long, tense pause.
He took a deep, steadying breath, trying to control the growl in his voice. “Nothing. I’m just hungry.”
She shot him a look that said, “Really?”
He turned to face her fully, leaning in slightly. “Okay, if you must know, I’m really fucking confused. One minute, we’re all over each other, and the next, you turn into an ice queen. I thought we had something. I thought that kiss meant something.”
“I explained that,” she said icily, though her voice wavered ever so slightly. God, he wished the sun wouldn’t play those tricks with her hair. The copper tones danced like fire in the beams of light, and he could barely keep himself from reaching out.
“No, I don’t think you did, otherwise I wouldn’t be sitting here wondering what the hell I’ve done wrong.”
She sighed, but it didn’t soften the tension between them. “You’ve done nothing wrong. It’s all me. This is all my fault. I’m the one who crossed the line. Right from the start, I’ve let my emotions get in the way of this assignment. It was unprofessional, and I apologize.”
“You apologize?” He couldn’t hide his shock. How could she be so detached about the whole thing? “That’s it?”
She shrugged, her gaze hardening. “I don’t know what else you want me to say.”
“I want you to be a goddamn human being and acknowledge there was something between us. I want that sassy, fiery, passionate woman back.”
“That’s not who I am,” she hissed, leaning over the table, her eyes blazing with anger and something deeper, something she was trying to suppress.
“That’s where you’re wrong,” he challenged her, his voice low, almost a growl. “That’s exactly who you are. You’ve just chosen to suppress it under layers of official bullshit. Undercover agent?” He laughed bitterly. “That’s just an excuse so you don’t have to be yourself.”
Her eyes flashed with anger. “Don’t presume to know me, Damian.”
“I know when you’re lying to me.”
“Is everything okay?” Clara appeared at their table, and Damian had to physically lean back to calm himself down.
Thorn cleared her throat, quickly masking the tension between them. “Yes, everything is great, thanks, Clara.”
Clara hesitated, glancing between them before offering a polite smile. “Tomorrow is market day. You can buy lots of nice things in the square. Also, the church at the top of the hill is very nice. You must go and see for yourself.”
“We will,” Thorn replied smoothly. “Thank you.”
Clara nodded and hurried away, leaving an oppressive silence between them.
Damian tried to eat, but the hunger that had gnawed at him moments ago was replaced by something darker, something more primal. Thorn was driving him crazy, and not just with her mixed signals. It was her, the way she moved, the way she looked at him, the way she tried so damn hard to keep that wall between them.
Eventually, Thorn looked across at him, her voice more measured. “We could hike up to the monastery. I saw it on the map.”
He stared at her, his anger and desire churning inside him. What he really wanted to do was drag her upstairs, show her just how wrong she was, kiss her until she couldn’t remember her own name, let alone her excuses.
Shit.
He exhaled, trying to push the thought from his mind. If he kept on like this, he might actually act on it, and that would ruin everything.
“That is, if you want to,” she added, her tone softening slightly. “We’re supposed to be backpackers, so it wouldn’t be that strange if we explored the area.”
It was a peace offering, of sorts, but it did nothing to ease the tension thrumming between them.
He nodded stiffly, forcing himself to keep his tone neutral. “Yeah. Sounds good.”
“Okay, then.”
He grunted, turning back to his meal, so she couldn’t see the desire in his eyes.