Except, it wasn’t a dream.
Oh, fuck.I was spooning Nadya in the queen bed at the Ho Ton Inn.
For a long second, I just lay there, completely pinning her, one of my hands splayed over her stomach, and the rest of me flush along her back.Nadya was so tiny compared to me I almost completely engulfed her.And yeah, I was hard.
Then Nadya shifted in her sleep, burrowing deeper into the pillow, and that was enough to break the spell.I started a careful, millimeter-by-millimeter retreat.My hand peeled off her midsection, my legs unhooked, but it was too late.
Nadya grumbled something, then froze.So did I.
I cleared my throat, the sound volcanic in the quiet room.“Sorry.I didn’t mean to.”
Nadya was a statue for three heartbeats, then she rolled onto her back, blinked at the ceiling, and said, “It’s no big deal.”
I tried to read her face in the blue haze of early morning.Eyes wide open, lips flat and unmoving.A flush crept up her cheeks as she climbed out of bed, grabbed her backpack, and retreated to the bathroom.
As the door clicked shut, I let out a breath that left me hollow.I had promised myself I would keep it professional, no matter how badly I wanted Nadya.I couldn’t go there.I just couldn’t.
From the bathroom, I could hear water running, and I wished I could go in, not to creep on Nadya but to take a cold shower.
Instead, I dressed in a fresh pair of jeans and a black t-shirt.I checked my phone to find a text from Renat, asking if I wanted to go out for beers.The guy was working out of New York, but we had crossed paths a few times.He was about to go undercover, so he was soaking up the last few days of freedom before being shipped off to another state.
There was another text from the Bureau, just a standard check-in reminder.I ignored both for now.There was nothing in the world I wanted to do less than update the FBI on my latest failure to keep boundaries with my witness.
The bathroom door opened, and Nadya came out in a loose navy sweater and faded jeans.Her stomach growled loudly, but she pretended nothing happened, like I wouldn’t hear that.
She glanced at me, then away.“Shower’s open.”
“Thanks.”I ducked in.
The cold shower would have to wait for tonight because if Nadya was that hungry, I had to make sure we got breakfast ASAP.I splashed cold water on my face, ran a toothbrush over my teeth, and shaved as fast as I could without cutting up my face.When I stepped out, she was perched on the edge of the bed, scrolling her phone.She didn’t look up.
“You ready to eat?”I asked.
She nodded, still locked onto her phone.“The website says ‘continental breakfast’ is included.What do you think are our chances it’s any good?”
I grinned, grateful for the lifeline.“Maybe we’ll get lucky, and there’ll be a live omelet station.”
She put on her boots, zipped her hoodie, and finally glanced at me.“Let’s go before all the muffins are gone.”
This morning, the elevator reeked of burnt toast, which should’ve said enough about what to expect for breakfast.At the lobby level, we were dumped into a chaos of humanity.
Apparently, the basketball fans had multiplied overnight.Now the lobby was overrun with teenagers in matching blue-and-gold warmups, their parents, and at least two dozen little siblings who ran circuits around the sofa island in the center.It was a zoo.Nadya stood on tiptoe to see over the heads, then ducked behind me as we shouldered through.
Breakfast was in a cordoned-off space by the windows.Long tables, vinyl tablecloths, and several industrial-strength coffee urns that steamed like nuclear reactors.There was, as promised, a wide array of pastries and a mountain of bruised bananas.Nadya eyed the buffet with the clinical suspicion of a seasoned survivor.
“Do you see any eggs?”she asked.
I scanned the perimeter.“Over there, next to the hashbrowns.”
She came closer and made a face.“They look like they were 3D printed from soy.”
“I bet you a dollar they’re at least ten percent egg.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
I found the stack of Styrofoam cups and poured two coffees, then handed one to Nadya.
She took a sip, grimaced.“It’s water with a personality disorder.”
