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Stretching up on her toes, she presses a simple kiss to the corner of my mouth. It would be so easy to turn and make it more. To cave and take from her what everyone else seems to already have had.
But that’s not what this is about. It never has been.
We want it to be though.
Paradise.
What we’ve always planned.
That’s when we’ll get to have the kind of relationship she’s always deserved. When we’re away from here and the pain of the past. Just the two of us against the world.
“I’m going to dry my hair. I’ll meet you downstairs, yeah?”
“Really?” I grunt as she takes a step back, her eyes dropping down my body, lingering on the towel a little too long to be polite.
“Really. And do you know what else?” she asks, her playful eyes meeting mine.
“No, but I suspect you’re about to tell me.”
Her smile starts slow, but it spreads wide. The sight of it makes my heart sing. I want to believe it’s the prospect of our future that gives her that hopeful look in her eyes, and not the two assholes downstairs. But while she might be saying the right words, I can’t help but wonder if they’ve had more of an impact on her than she’d like to believe.
I guess only time will tell.
“You’re going to play nice.”
“Doll,” I complain.
“Trust me,” she says with a playful wink. “It’ll be worth it.”
Before I manage to think up an answer to that, she’s gone, leaving nothing but her addictive floral scent in her wake.
Play nice with Reid Harris. Yeah, when hell freezes over…
* * *
It’s a nice thought, but the second I emerge from the bathroom, after making use of the brand-new toothbrush that had been left on the side, I find a neat pile of men’s clothes waiting for me.
I don’t need to ask who they belong to. I know the second my eyes land on them.
My teeth grind, my irritation growing. But what the hell am I meant to do? Refuse to make the best of this situation and starve?
If Alana is right, and this is the chance we’ve been waiting for it, then wearing his clothes, eating his food, laughing at his shitty jokes—assuming he knows how to crack one—should be easy enough. After all, I’ll have her by my side. It’ll be worth it. I have to believe that.
With my borrowed clothes on my weak as fuck body, I prepare to navigate enemy territory in search of the scent of food that’s made its way up here.
The hallway is quiet when I poke my head out. It would be easy to snoop, but that’ll have to come another day when I have more energy.
With my hand locked around the rail, I make my way down. I’m slow, pathetically slow. It’s just more evidence that Alana is right. I need to do this, build my strength back up and then throw myself into whatever Reid is planning. I just have to hope it’s enough, because if it isn’t then we’re all fucking dead and our fathers will be dancing on our graves.
A shudder rips through me.
Among the three of them, they’ve already taken enough from us. It’s time the tide turned.
The rumble of deep voices float up to me as I continue on my painstaking mission of getting down the fucking stairs.
My stomach knots as I think about walking into a room to find Reid Harris watching me like, well… a hawk.
Shaking my head, I finally hit the ground floor, their voices getting louder.
