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“Will you stay with me while I sleep?” he signed to her.
“No, I need to get up and move. I’m going to run,” she told him with her hands.
Staying in bed with Cap was a luxury she could not afford.
He didn’t respond, and she found her way out of the massive amount of covers and away from Cap’s body to get out of the bed. She refused to look at him, too afraid he’d give her that look that never failed to move her. Instead, she went to her backpack and pulled out some running gear. Melody had thought of almost everything. The only thing the pack didn’t contain was a formal dress.
Not that she’d have anywhere to wear it.
She made her way out of the bedroom and closed the door behind her. She’d gotten out of there without looking at Cap. She’d call it a win.
Ava walked down the hall to the stairs. She met Holland coming up them.
“Where’s the gym?” she signed.
“It’s the big room off the living room. Take a left once you get downstairs and you’ll run into it.”
She found the gym, and bless his heart, Cap hadn’t been lying to her. There were two treadmills sitting in front of a massive window to look out. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail, stretched and then set up her run on the treadmill.
She hit the zone around her third mile—that space where everything faded, and she was just running. The last time she’d run she’d ended up running from people trying to kill her. And that got her wondering: if they wanted information from her why were they shooting at her? To maim and not kill? She’d ask Cap later.
Ava pushed through tired legs and lactic acid buildup to hit the zone around the sixth mile. She missed Caesar and she concentrated on that as she finished up her seventh mile. She lowered her miles per hour so she could jog another mile or so. By the time she reached nine miles she was over it. She hit stop on the machine and got off.
She turned, looking for a towel, and almost ran into Kyle, who smirked at her. Ava found a towel and wiped her face, ignoring the other woman who got on the other treadmill and started to run.
Ava wanted a shower but was too chicken to go back to the bedroom just yet. She was hungry. It was nine in the morning. She’d cook enough for everyone.
She made her way to the kitchen. They had the makings for pancakes and eggs, so she settled in and got busy. Within thirty minutes, she had a huge stack of pancakes and a platter of scrambled eggs. Surely anyone who was hungry would smell her cooking. She had no way of announcing she’d cooked.
She shrugged and fixed herself a plate, taking it to the bar to eat. She’d polished off her third pancake when Scope came in, followed by Ray and Marshall. Again, Ray smiled at her, but Marshall seemed to look through her. She wondered what his issue was but put it in the back of her mind when Scope signed to her.
“Did you cook for everyone or just yourself?” He was laughing.
She signed back, “Anyone who wants to eat.”
He nodded and filled a plate with pancakes and eggs before sitting beside her at the bar. Ray and Marshall fixed plates and Holland came in and did the same. They all stood as they ate.
It wasn’t uncomfortable necessarily but Ava wished she had her ears in so she could participate in the conversation. She finished her breakfast and looked at Scope.
“You can clean,” she signed and laughed when he looked grumpy at the idea.
She headed back upstairs, needing a shower but still reticent about seeing Cap. She shrugged off her discomfort and opened the door. He was still sleeping. Good. Ava grabbed some clean jeans and another t-shirt along with some panties and socks and made her way to the bathroom.
She made sure she locked the door and then set about taking a bath. She could use the soak. Thirty minutes later and the water was lukewarm. She felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up.
She turned and saw Cap leaning against the door with a smile on his face. He wore only his boxer briefs, and goddamn but the man was fine. Two could play that game. She stood up then, and watched his face harden as the water sluiced down her body. She reached for a towel and wrapped it around herself before stepping out of the tub.
Ava stepped out onto a plush mat and sank her toes into the fabric. What was her next move? Kick him out? Jump him?
“I want you,” he said, and she read his lips clearly.
She held up her index finger and waved it back and forth. He looked tired. “You need to get back in the bed,” she signed to him.
He nodded and waggled his eyebrows.
She laughed, as he’d no doubt intended, and her anxiety was broken in two. He wasn’t going to push her and that was a relief for her. It allowed her to do what she did next.
She released the towel and began drying off. His eyes darkened, and his cock went hard. When she finished drying off she wrapped the towel around her again and winked at him.
