AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ransom
Sunlight, Camera, Action
By the time we finished with the cases, it was well past midnight. And that was only with a quick pizza break in the kitchen. Both of us were beyond exhausted by the time I pulled my truck out of the dark parking lot.
The cases of cider were safely tucked into the back. I’d keep them in my garage until it was time to bring them over to the lodge.
Chaos was asleep before we’d even gotten out of the orchard.
I didn’t mind the silence now. Talking with her had straightened things out in my own mind. I truly believed she’d been a project at the start of things. The messages she’d gotten from the various accounts could be just a bunch of different degenerates having a laugh, but I didn’t think so.
He was escalating. Coming out of his cave was bold. He might be untouchable on the internet, but he was just a man the minute he walked into my world.
The ride to my place was a little slower with my precious cargo. I couldn’t stop glancing over at her. I understood her spell. Even watching her videos, I’d felt the pull of the excitement she exuded. She made you feel as if she was in your living room talking to you.
What made her unique also made people think they were entitled to be in her space. I saw it in her comments and the demands people made on her time. As if she wasn’t a person who had a life outside the realm of the internet.
I backed into my driveway, taking care against the pitted drive as I got closer to the garage instead of under my carport. The bumps stirred her beside me.
“Sorry,” she said with a yawn. “I didn’t mean to blink out.”
“It was a long day.”
She stretched her arms above her head, arching her back. I tried not to look at the sweet curve of her chest. She might think they were small by societal standards, but I loved every bit of her body.
Her body.
Not her.
I quickly got out and hustled to the back of the truck.
She slipped out, rubbing her eyes as she met me at the tailgate.
“You can go on in.”
“No, I’ll help.” She lifted one of the cases before I could push her away.
Quickly, I unlocked the garage and disengaged the security before grabbing two cases of my own.
“So, this is the bat cave?” She set down the case beside her mattress and the end table still at the front of the garage. “Dammit, I still didn’t go to Rachel’s to get my stuff.”
“We’ll get it tomorrow.”
“If I wasn’t so tired, I’d make you bring up that mattress tonight too.”
“Chaos, there’s no chance you won’t be sleeping next to me tonight.”
“Do you really think it’s a good idea we still do this…whatever it is?”
I set down the cases and turned her toward me. “Everything about us is a good idea.”
I was shocked I actually believed that. Pretending to be in a relationship with her was no longer a job—if it ever was.
She frowned. “We’re just in this weird limbo with the wedding. It’s not real.”
“Is that how you feel? For real?”
She pushed my arms away from her. “It’s the smart thing.” She tried to turn away from me. “We barely know each other.”
