Chapter 24
Chapter
Twenty-Four
NATHAN
The moment the doors to the van open and I see Thea, alive and unharmed, I’m met with instant relief.
I knew that she was, courtesy of the audio, but being able to actually put eyes on her has eased some of my worries.
Especially after what I had to listen to once she was swept into motion at Harrison’s table.
On more than one occasion I stood up, prepared to leave the van and burst through the doors of the gala, but constantly had to be reminded why I couldn’t.
She hops into the back of the van with a disgruntled look on her face. “Thank god that’s over. I need a hot shower to burn away their presence.”
My mood sours again as I growl, “Did they touch you?”
She refuses to meet my eyes and I know that they did. “Where, Thea?” I don’t care that we have an audience right now. If they touched her, I’d go in there and kill them right now.
“Not like that…” she finally whispers.
“Then what was it like?” I snap.
Dyer stands in between us, holding his hand up to me. “You two can have this conversation later. We have what we need.”
I glare at him, but nod.
“Can we just go home?” Thea asks as she sits down next to Claire.
Dyer mutters something underneath his breath as he gets out, closing the door before walking around to the front to steer us away from the gala and back to our hotel.
We took security measures by not bringing our own vehicle in case it was tracked leaving.
The van jerks forward as he speeds away and I try to cool off, but my blood is boiling.
It doesn’t help that Thea won’t look at me.
I refuse to let her deal with this on her own, though.
When we pull up to the hotel, the girls waste no time in getting out and rushing toward the door.
Before I have a chance to get out, Dyer stops me from where he sits behind the wheel. “Keep your phone on, got it?”
I nod and follow after the girls without another word.
We got two hotel rooms with the intention of Thea and Claire sharing, but I need to get Thea alone before she has a chance to lock herself away from me.
The elevator is just closing as I come through the door and I curse, heading for the stairs and taking them two at a time.
I breach the doorway on the third floor as soon as they’re getting to their room. “Thea.”
She keeps walking but I know she can hear me. “Thea.”
Claire looks back at me over her shoulder before eyeballing Thea, but says nothing and does nothing to stop their pace. Jogging to catch up, I catch their door with my foot right as it starts to close. “Thea, please just talk to me,” I croak.
She opens the door fully, irritation written all over her face. “What do you want me to say, Nathan? I knew what I was getting into.”
“Can you just come to my room so we can talk?”
She studies me briefly before responding. “Like I said, I want to shower. Need to shower.”
I lean into the doorframe, not letting this go. “I can wait.”
“Nate—” she starts, but I cut her off.
“Give me ten minutes. That’s all I’m asking for.”
I can see her hesitation in the way her form begins to relax and then stiffens again. She looks behind her, where Claire is perched on the edge of her bed. “I’m staying out of this,” she mutters and walks into the bathroom, closing the door.
Thea has a retort on her tongue, likely because that was her avenue of escape from me.
She looks at me with defeat in her eyes.
“Guess I don’t have a choice now.” I smirk, wondering if Claire did it on purpose, knowing our feelings for one another, but shut it down when Thea shoots daggers at me.
She goes to her bag and grabs what she needs before strutting past me across the hall, waiting for me to unlock my own door.
I swipe the keycard and hold the door open for her as she heads straight for the bathroom. She doesn’t bother closing the door as she starts the shower and sets her clothes on the counter. I watch her for a few seconds until she catches me staring. “Can I get some privacy?”
“You’re the one who left the door open.” I shrug.
She approaches me until we’re chest to chest. “Which isn’t an invitation.”
“I never said it was. Do you want to shower first, or shower and talk at the same time?”
With enough force I’m caught off guard, she shoves me out and closes the door, engaging the lock.
That answers that. I walk to my bed where my duffel is parked in the spot I dropped it earlier, and pull out my own sleep clothes.
Before I get undressed, I remove my gun from my holster at my back, secure it in the hotel safe, and plug my phone into the charger.
Shooting off a quick text, I make sure that Claire is good by herself.
This is one of the first times that she’s really been on her own since she’s been staying with us and while I’m confident she won’t run off given the area we’re in, I can’t help but worry.
I’m halfway out the door by the time she responds—which was a ten minute wait—when I hear the water shut off in my bathroom.
I return to my bed, peace settling in my chest knowing Claire is good, but chaos rising once again knowing the storm I’m about to face.
I kick off my boots and socks, followed by my pants before pulling on a pair of gray sweatpants.
Just as I’m pulling my shirt off to change into a clean one, the bathroom door opens and Thea emerges wearing short sleep shorts and a tank top, her hair wrapped in a towel.
“Let’s get this—” Her eyes widen as she chokes on her words before clearing her throat. “Talk.”
Dropping the shirt in the pile with the rest of my discarded clothes, I sit on the edge of the bed. “Come over here.”
But she shakes her head and I know what’s keeping her rooted to the spot. “It isn’t like you haven’t seen me without a shirt before.”
“That’s not the problem,” she snaps.
“No?” I raise an eyebrow.
She shakes her head again. “No. I just don’t plan on sticking around long.”
We both know it’s bullshit and I’m determined to call her bluff, so I stand up and walk toward her, my gaze never leaving her own.
She backs up until her back hits the door behind her and I cage her in with both of my hands around her head.
“Come sit down, Thea.” My voice is gravelly and I don’t miss the way her chest begins to rise and fall with rapid succession.
She exhales sharply as her hands clench and unclench at her sides. “I came here to talk.”
“So talk.” I keep my hands where they are. If she won’t sit down, then we can do it right here.
She groans as she drops her head back against the door. “You’re so…Ugh.”
I lean in further, enough so she can feel my breath on her skin. “We’re not here to talk about me, sugar.”
“Don’t call me that.” But the way she says it doesn’t give off the bite I know she was seeking. Instead, it comes off as a whisper.
I finally push off the door, sweeping my arm out in front of me. “Come sit down, Thea. I won’t bite.”
She mutters under her breath as she stomps toward the bed and I’m just barely able to catch her words as she says, “That’s a damn lie.”
When she sits down on the edge, I lean against the wall across from her and cross my arms.
“Don’t look at me like that, either.”
“Like what?” I scan her form and I wish that she could see herself through my eyes, how unbelievably stunning she is.
“You know what.”
I put my hands up in front of me, feigning innocence. “I don’t.”
She scoffs, rolling her eyes, but I don’t miss the way her hands grip the comforter as though she needs something to hold onto. “Like you have ulterior motives for inviting me back to your room—I’m really not in the mood for it.”
I step off the wall and walk toward her until I’m standing above her, our legs touching.
“I think,” I say, tilting my head, “you’re trying to convince yourself that I do.
And I think you’re trying to convince yourself that even if I did, that you don’t want it. That you truly don’t want to be here.”
And I know I’ve got her when she doesn’t deny it. I don’t miss the way her breath hitches when I quickly leave her space, returning to the wall. “What did they do to you in there?”
Her eyes blaze at me, a hint of lust mixed in with her frustration. “Do you really want to hear about it?”
“When have I ever asked about something I didn’t want to know?”
“How would you react if I told you how their hands felt on my lower back, just barely grazing the swell of my ass? Or would you rather hear about how I had to smile and laugh when one of them pulled me down onto their lap, and how I could feel his erection press into me? Or maybe I should tell you how that same man’s hand slid along my thigh until he was dangerously close to grazing my pussy?
Is that what you want to hear? How I had to pretend to like it when really all I wanted to do was throw up?
How even with my shower I can feel their hands all over me?
You think I don’t know what went through their minds every second I was in their presence?
You think I don’t know what you’re thinking at this very moment?
That you should’ve done something?” She barks a bitter laugh.
“Well, guess what, Nathan? I know what I was signing up for, and I handled it. It doesn’t matter how much I wished to be anywhere else or that hell, maybe you would come bursting through the door at any moment.
But you couldn’t, and I have to deal with the consequences of what I signed up for because the odds are that much greater. ”
My jaw clenches and I’m sure steam is coming out of my ears as I let each of her words soak into my psyche.
She stands up and walks closer to me until we’re only a few paces apart. “What? Nothing to say?”
“Careful, Thea,” I growl as I grapple with getting a hold of my emotions.