Attending to my tangled strands, I give him a nod of thanks, which he doesn’t acknowledge. Instead, he points to a brand-new tube of toothpaste and a toothbrush. Then he goes to the door and exits.
I almost call after him, tell him to come back, that I’m not ready to do things on my own.
But he doesn’t shut the door. He simply stands a few feet past it, facing Ridge so that I can see his profile and not be in the way. It’s not exactly like there’s a ton of space in here, I suppose. If I take over his spot at the counter, he’d have to go stand on the wet floor where I showered. So, he’s giving me space to do what I need. Space, but not too much.
Is that man psychic?
If so, he should charge. He’d make bank.
A wry grin lifts my cheeks, and I’m relieved to feel more like myself again, at least enough back to normal to make quippy little statements in my head.
After my hair and teeth are finished, I’ve managed to scrape together enough courage to step out of the bathroom and enough humility to say, “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. I already told Luka his cologne made you run,” Kylian says from his seat at the tiny round table across the room, which now holds five very full trays of food.
His smile is warm and inviting and helps dissipate the nervous energy trampolining around my stomach. Of course, his bare chest and tattooed arms send it right back into a frenzy of an entirely different sort. In his pants and boots, with those abs onfull display, he looks like he’s ready to go pose for a firefighter calendar.
“It was your crazy eyes, not me,” Luka counters from a seat on the opposite side of the table just before he takes a bite of an oversized burger.
I measure his expression because I unintentionally rejected him too.
But he gives me an easy grin as he chews.
A lump forms in my throat.
They’re going to let me off that easily?
Really?
I glance over at Ridge, and he pats the side of his bed, inviting me to come and sit.
“How good are you at trivia?” he asks.
My brow furrows as I shuffle forward on bare feet, very aware of how cold the tile is and how quickly my heart is beating. As if my body is just waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“Terrible. Why?”
“Perfect. We’re about to watchJeopardy. One rule: wrong answers only.”
A tiny chuckle escapes from me as I slide two fingers over a wire running from him to his machines before I carefully perch next to him. “Shouldn’t we…talk?”
My brows rise, and I can’t help the nervous twang that thickens my tone.
His expression softens, and he gives me a look that I’m aware is quite rare for him. “We’ll talk after. Promise.” He dips his head down and lets his eyes narrow. “But this isimportant.”Ridge’s tone is so utterly mock serious that I can’t help but be suspicious. “And we need your help.”
“Why?” I ask hesitantly.
“Because it pisses Luka off,” Kylian calls out from where he’s sprawled in his chair, legs spread wide. His naughty grin would melt my panties if I were wearing any. “He’s the only one who’s good at thisJeopardyshit, so we made up a version he can’t win.”
The rest of Alpha Team X chuckles as I glance over to see how Luka likes this game. The alpha rolls his eyes.
“Har-har,” he comments, but there’s amusement in his expression, and I get the feeling he might actually enjoy this razzing.
Turning back to Ridge’s warm blue gaze, I say, “Wrong answers. I think I can do that.”
“Excellent. Colter, get this woman a bowl of gelatin cubes.”
“What?” I blink.
