Chapter Seven
Hours passed, and Diego had come back. They’d made some sandwiches, and Beau had tried to coax Jayla from the bathroom, or at least open the door enough so they could slide a plate of food in. She didn’t make a peep.
“Jesus, how long can a person sit in a small bathroom?” Diego asked in frustration. He’d come to the conclusion he’d have to apologize and knock his shit off. It wasn’t Jayla’s fault he was messed up, and she shouldn’t have to take the brunt of his fury at himself.
Beau shrugged and shifted a log in the fireplace. “We hurt her pretty bad. I wouldn’t want to be around us if I was her.”
Diego walked to the bathroom door and pressed his ear to it. “Beau, I can’t hear a damn thing. I think we need to take the door off the hinges.”
“I was thinking that same thing.”
Within a minute, they had the door off and stood looking down at a sleeping Jayla. She’d made a bed in the bathtub with all the towels in the bathroom. She was wrapped in the blanket again with the heater on high.
“It’s damn hot in here. How can she handle it?”
Beau shook his head. He couldn’t take his eyes off her.
“She doesn’t have a lot of muscle, so temperatures affect her more than us.
” He bent and picked her up and walked over to the bed, setting her down, and slowly pulled off her jeans.
His brows snapped together at how tight the jeans were.
He didn’t understand how someone packed things that didn’t seem to be hers.
He’d discuss it with Diego later. “Damn, she’s a hard sleeper. ”
The men stood over her, lost in their own thoughts.
“Let’s get some sleep. You’ve got to be beat. You didn’t get any sleep last night.”
Diego rubbed at the stubble on his chin. “I think I’ll shower and shave first.”
Beau pulled off his shirt, shed all the weapons he kept on himself, shoes, and socks, but left his jeans on and lay down beside her.
He reached out and twined a long strand of her hair around his finger.
She was so damn beautiful. Her hair was straight and silky.
Her skin was slightly tanned, and a few freckles were scattered across her nose.
It was her eyes that got to him. They were the lightest colored eyes he’d ever seen. But it was the compassion and general sweetness that pulled a person in.
Beau watched as Diego came out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist and rubbed another towel over his head. His eyes slid closed.
A distant chattering woke him in the middle of the night, and the movement on the mattress was because Jayla was trying to get out of bed, but she was shaking so hard.
“Where are you going?”
Jayla didn’t look over her shoulder, just kept trying to scooch her way to the side of the bed. “Bathroom.”
“Why?”
“It has the b-best heat.”
Beau reached out and captured her arm. His brows drew down when he felt how cold her skin was. “Why are you so cold?”
“M-my body t-t-temperature p-plummets at night w-when I’m st-still. I usually have a heating b-blanket on high.”
“Come back here. We can use my body heat.”
She wrenched her arm from his grip. “No, th-thank you.”
The commotion had woken Diego up on the sofa. “What’s going on?”
“She’s freezing cold, and she wants to use the bathroom heater to warm up. I suggested using my body heat, and she said no.”
Jayla ignored them and continued on her quest to get to the bathroom. Damn, this bed was massive. It was taking forever to move to the side. The blanket wrapped around her didn’t help, nor did her shivering or soreness.
Diego stood. “You’ll get warm faster between both of us.”
She shook her head. “N-no, th-thanks.”
“Jayla, stop being stubborn and get back here.”
Jayla looked back at him and narrowed her eyes. “Y-y-you think I’m b-being s-stubborn?”
Beau’s concern rose. Her teeth were chattering so fast she could hardly talk. “Yes.”
“I’d r-ratherer die than ask either of you for h-help.”
Frustration raced through Beau. “Goddammit, Jayla. You look close to hypothermia. If we don’t get you warm fast, it might just kill you.”
Jayla had made it off the bed and was slowly making her way to the bathroom. “No, th-thanks.”
Diego came behind her, swept her up into his arms, and put her back in the bed. He climbed in after her and pulled the other blankets over them, making a hot cocoon for her. Already, he felt a drop of sweat roll down his back.
Jayla tried to hit Diego, but she was too weak from shaking for so long. “I-I-I don’t l-like your f-fucking games.”
Diego nodded. “I’m sorry. We’ll explain more in the morning. Right now, we need to get you warmed up. The color is already coming back to your lips.”
Jayla bit back a moan as the heat from their bodies soaked steadily into her pores.
Within a few minutes, most of the shivers were gone, and lethargy started to pull her back into sleep.
Jayla tried really hard to stay awake, but she was too exhausted.
“I’m not going to care what you say...” her words slurred.
“I wouldn’t either, honey,” Diego said and tucked the blanket around her neck as she slid into sleep. “Will I be able to be around her, be nice to her and want her so bad my teeth ache, and not get her? Am I going to be able to stay sane in this situation?”
Beau looked at Diego over Jayla. “I’m in the same boat.”
“Yeah, but it’s not you who’s holding us back. It’s me.”
“And you have good reason. Stop beating yourself up. We’ll get through this.”
Diego lifted a chunk of her hair that was twisted in the blanket. “I don’t think I can go without her.”
“If you decide to put your fears away, do it. But you can’t go back again. We’ve already fucked her up enough.”
Diego nodded. “Hell, she might not even forgive me.” He brought the group of hair to his nose and inhaled. “Let’s get some sleep. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”
Beau nodded and relaxed back on the pillow. The last thing he saw was her beautiful face, and he wanted so badly to be able to see that every night for the rest of his life. One way or another, it would be decided tomorrow.