AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No one?” he asked, his voice a hoarse croak.
“No. Not a single soul. I haven’t exactly had a bunch of opportunities. Guys aren’t exactly beating down my front door to date me.”
“They would if they …” She dropped her hands from her face. The glare in her eyes made him pause.
So, apparently, it wasnotthe time to say he would definitely beat down her door if it meant he could justtouchher.
“We probably shouldn’t be hugging,” she said. “I just feel … vulnerable. Exposed. I don’t like it.”
“I’m standing here sporting an erection like a teenager. I’m right there with you.”
She giggled. Tried to stifle it. But then, she was laughing and not able to stop. Nero watched her for a second before joining in.
He didn’t know why they were laughing, but he thought it better to laugh. Better that than kissing her … again.
ELEVEN
VALENTINE
He’s seen me naked.Nero Greenlee has seen me naked.
She wouldn’t continue the thought with the fact that he had also gotten an erection from her little show.
That was too much for her.
It’s not like she had been doing a striptease or doing anything that would’ve warranted that kind of male reaction. She’d just been standing there, doing her grooming like a normal person.
And boom.
Nero Greenlee and his erection were there.
And, sure, okay. They were laughing about it like it was the funniest thing in the world, but really, Valentine was only laughing to keep from crying her eyes out.
Of course, the first man who would see her naked would be by complete accident.
Valentine laughed and laughed until she was breathlessly bending over to stop the cramp in her side. Tears rolled down her cheeks, but they were simply because she was too busy laughing to breathe.
“This whole trip might have been a terrible idea,” she finally said as the laughter died down. “If we’re going to have to share bedrooms and all that.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” he said with a grin that was way too dangerous for her. No man should be allowed to grin at her when she was in nothing but sleepwear. Especially not when the man was Nero Greenlee.
The only man to have seen her naked.
“We have no clue where Lilliane could be. All this could be for nothing. Literally. And if I’m just going to spend the whole trip humiliating myself, maybe it’s best if we just turn around.”
“You don’t mean that.”
Valentine sighed as she sat on the edge of the bed. “No. I don’t mean it. I’m just overwhelmed.”
Nero sat beside her, careful to leave a couple inches between them. She was grateful for that. If he had brushed up against her, she wasn’t entirely sure how she would’ve reacted.
“We just need to be smart about it. The council could have left the country, but not your sister. It stands to reason that she is still with your father. Wherever he is.”
“Yeah. I know that’s logical. I’m just …”
“Overwhelmed,” he repeated. “Makes sense. The world you’re used to is a little different now that you’ve lost your best friend.”
She nodded. “Exactly.”
