Chapter Twenty-Three Audrey
Chapter Twenty-Three
Audrey
The bedroom was warm and quiet, reminding me of the honeymoon suite back at the lodge but a little smaller. Same smell of fresh linen and pine.
The windows rattled from a strong breeze outside, like nature was cocooning us in the shadow of a snowstorm so we’d remain cloaked from danger.
I stared down at the pink duffel bag alongside the black one on the bed.
The one Alex had packed.
The other? Trevor’s doing.
I knew what Trevor had packed, but what had Alex chosen? I wasn’t sure if I should check with him still hovering protectively in the doorway. What if we wound up in underwear-talking territory again? Or, worse, while I held a pair in my hands?
I was so overtired and emotionally spent, I just might talk about my “drawers” again. I didn’t trust myself.
“You didn’t have to walk me to my room, though I appreciate the gesture.
” I slowly turned to face him. “Ryder and Reed are just doing a quick perimeter sweep because Ryder’s overly cautious, right?
They’ll be back inside soon.” It was too cold, snowy, and windy for them to be out in that mess.
At least we’d made it here safely before the storm had picked up.
He set his shoulder against the interior doorframe and quietly stared at me. “Mm-hmm,” he finally said.
“Not going to leave until someone is upstairs with me, huh?” I forced a smile, shocked I was still capable of such a thing.
Before he had a chance to answer, a text came through. I glanced at the lock screen to check who it was. Of course, there was only one person who had this number, so who else would it be? Ryder would get the messages from Mitch, not me. “It’s Trevor.”
Alex straightened at my use of his name, taking one step back, nearly into the hall. Was Trevor coming between us even when he wasn’t here?
Also, had Trevor really turned down leading a special group at Secretary Chandler’s request because he didn’t want to lie to me?
I had no clue what to make of that. Heck, I didn’t know what to make of anything I’d learned today.
I picked up the phone to open his text. He’d sent a photo of Chase curled under a blanket with a dog sprawled across the bottom of the bed.
Trevor: He’s asleep. Hope you get some too.
I sent back a quick message and a thank-you before returning the phone to the nightstand. “Chase is good. Sleeping with their dog. Now he’s going to want one, too.” Probably not a bad idea after what he went through this weekend.
“Trevor will move mountains to keep his son safe,” he said in a low voice. “And apparently do anything to protect his relationship with you—even turn down a job the majority of Tier One operators would kill for.”
There was something in that statement, something that went beyond the surface. He was trying to tell me Trevor wanted me back, wasn’t he?
But he doesn’t. I mean, I don’t think.
“I have a feeling you would move mountains, too,” was all I could manage, not sure if I should unpack the second part of his statement right now.
“Of course.” The tight nod he surrendered didn’t do wonders in helping me believe he was understanding what I’d been saying.
My eyes drifted to his side where his wound was currently covered by his shirt. That scar had been torn open today, a brutal reminder of the betrayal we both carried.
“So, who’s been in charge of texting my best friend?” I asked as I forced myself to look away from him, deciding to check the bag he’d packed even though he was still there.
I undid the zipper as slowly as I had cut the tape on Mitch’s box last Friday.
Who knew I’d be starting a game of Jumanji by opening that box? And now we had to keep playing until someone won, or we’d be trapped forever in this hellish world Mitch had sucked us into. Too bad I used to play that game with Chase. Never again now.
“Ryder placed Reed in charge of talking to her.”
I smiled—not that he’d see my reaction. “Chose the guy who doesn’t like people to handle my best friend, huh?”
“To talk to the only person who knows why you have so much lace? Sí,” he said in a husky voice. Was that a request for me to tell him why, too?
“Well, um, I can assure you that she won’t talk his ear off about what’s in my dresser.
She’ll just demand you protect me or else she’ll send her father’s security guards to do it.
” I peeked back at him. “Her father’s rich.
Old-money rich.” I focused on my mission of exploring what was inside, smiling at the fact he’d tossed in my perfume, along with a candy bar.
I wasn’t sure why the sight of both lifted my spirits so much with how high the stakes had been raised tonight, but sometimes the simple things in life were all you needed to push you back in the right direction of happiness.
“You found my secret candy stash I kept in my dresser.” Thankfully, I didn’t have a vibrator in there. If I had, and he’d packed it, I would have turned as red as a strawberry. “Thank you for packing my perfume and something sweet to eat, too.”
“Figured if you were hiding candy in your room, you had a sweet tooth and might want it.”
“More like keeping it from my son’s sweet tooth.” I held the bar between my palms and turned to face him. “I’d never get any chocolate if I didn’t stash away a little for myself.”
A handsome wolfish grin I hadn’t expected chocolate to produce cut across his lips. He even walked a step forward, eliminating the distance he’d placed between us moments ago. “I have to hide my stash from Reed. I get it.”
“You should do that more often.” I lowered my arm to my side.
“What’s that, exactly? Share my chocolate?”
“Smile.” I sighed. “A girl could get used to chocolate and smug smiles.”
He lifted his chin, making a tsk noise. “I don’t do smug. I do mysterious and charming.”
I couldn’t believe it, but I laughed. Some of the tension even evaporated. I could feel the edges of everything else, all the worry and fear, slipping farther and farther away.
There was an earnest depth to his tone that matched his eyes. “You know,” he began, his smile fading and a seriousness slipping back to his face, “you scared me today. Being out on that deck when we were shot at . . .”
“I can’t imagine anything scaring you,” I murmured honestly.
“That’s just an act. Una ilusión. The man behind the curtain is a mess.” The roughness in his voice shattered what was left of the wall between us that’d been fighting for its life.
“You’re not a mess.”
His eyes met mine as he came closer, and the room became smaller. Quieter. Only the howling winds outside.
He brought his fist beneath my chin. “All roads lead to disaster when it comes to me.” His forehead tightened, and my breath hitched at his anguished tone. “You need to remember that. The last thing in the world I want to do is hurt you. And yet, knowing that, I can’t seem to—”
“Keep away?” I gulped. “I don’t want to hurt you, either, because I’m a mess, too.” I leaned forward, our bodies nearly brushing up against each other. “I don’t know what this is. But there’s something between us, isn’t there? And I don’t think it’s dangerous.”
“It’s there.” He narrowed his eyes, like he was worried that if he blinked, I’d disappear on him. Become one of his father’s magic tricks. Vanish before his eyes and never be seen again.
Thing was, I felt exactly the same.
Had the same fear.
Gosh, we were a pair.
“I should go.” He pulled his fist away but didn’t move his body. “Good night.” Then he did something I hadn’t anticipated. Slanted his head, drawing his lips to my cheek for a kiss.
When he straightened, I couldn’t help but do the same. A whisper of good night from my lips, followed by a kiss to his cheek. Only when I started to pull away, I let my lips wander toward his mouth.
We remained there for a few seconds.
Just breathing.
Our lips close but not touching.
And then he brought his mouth to my other cheek and repeated his goodbye. Copied me as well after, drawing his lips toward mine.
His breath caught, and mine disappeared entirely.
Then he did it.
He kissed me.
Tilted his head and brought his hand to the back of my neck and lit me on fire.
“Dios mío.” His words vibrated against my lips as the candy bar fell from my hand.
Close-mouthed kissing that somehow felt erotic and sensual. I went as far as living out my fantasies in real time by slipping my hand under his shirt.
Touching his hard, hot skin, feeling the tight band of muscles clench beneath my palm.
My problems evaporated with his lips on mine, him holding me there with my hand on his body.
I nearly cried at the sense of peace he was giving me in this moment. Peace I probably had no business having, given what was at stake, but I couldn’t change the way I felt any more than I could turn night into day.
But like the final note in a performance, I could feel the end coming, about to close out. I even heard the lingering sway of sound dance between our bodies as his mouth went still.
Reality hit him, and he let go of me and stepped back.
Breathing hard, he continued to stare at my mouth as if in a state of shock.
“I have to go.” He turned for the door and nearly collided with the frame. He muttered something in Spanish, and I was pretty sure it translated to the same chaos echoing in my mind.
The door clicked shut behind him, and I stood there with my heart thundering, my lips tingling, and my knees questioning their purpose. And my heart? That was a lost cause.
I bent down, picked up the candy bar, and opened the drawer of the nightstand, hiding it, chasing some sense of normalcy. To pretend Chase was down the hall asleep in his bedroom, and no one was in danger because I’d trusted the wrong man.
I thought back to Alex’s orders about locking doors at the lodge, and obeyed that command now. Then I focused on the two bags.
To the one thrown together by the man I still trusted with my life, and to the colorful one packed by the man whom I was not only starting to trust . . . but also starting to fall for.