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The man grinned at her and shifted to the end of his seat. “You sure about that? I see the way he watches you.”
She waved away his statement and closed her eyes, if only to keep from looking in the direction she knew Mitchell was in. “I didn’t think they were serving alcohol this early in the day.”
His laugh made her smile but she refused to open her eyes. The light, muted though it was, burned her retinas and made her head throb. She really needed to lie down for a while.
“You sure you feel okay, Hope? You look like you’re in pain.”
She cracked open her eyes and shrugged as nonchalantly as she could. “Getting a headache.”
He rose and plucked her drink from her hand. “I’ll take care of this for you. Why don’t you head up and lie down for a bit? We have games again this afternoon.”
Hope rubbed the nape of her neck and nodded. “I think I will. Thank you.”
“Of course,” he replied, holding out a hand to assist her up from the chair. He dipped his head by her ear. “I’ll walk you to the stairs. Let him think there’s something going on.”
“There’s nothing between us. I’m sure he doesn’t care what I do.” But she couldn’t deny the small thrill that shot through her at the mere thought.
This wasn’t good. She and that man were merely roommates for the moment. Hell, technically, she could get some blankets and sleep down here. In fact, that would probably be the smart thing to do.
Alistair did as promised and walked her to the stairs, leaving her with a smile and assuring her he’d see her later. She slowly made her way up to the room. Mitchell wasn’t there and she noticed how chilly the air was, but she didn’t care. Her body felt too warm anyway.
At the edge of the bed, she toed off her shoes and pulled the blankets down before crawling in and tugging them up to her ear as she curled on her uninjured side. It didn’t matter how warm she was, the heavy weight of the bedding around her made it all better.
…
Hope stirred and opened her eyes when the smell of mint and lemon brushed her senses. The room was darker than it had been when she’d stumbled to bed. Her ears picked up on some fast clicking sounds.
Like someone was on a keyboard.
Hope pushed up, blankets sliding down to pool around her waist as she stared through the hair that had fallen over her eyes at Mitchell seated at the small table in the room, working on his computer.
“Tea is beside you. Mint and lemon.” He never looked away from the screen. His fingers flew over the keys and it was impressive how fast the man typed.
“Was I snoring and you need me out of the room because I’m disturbing you?”
“Drink your tea.” Even then, he didn’t lift his head or glance away from whatever it was he worked on.
Inching up until she sat pressed against the headboard, a pillow between her spine and the wood, she reached over to pluck up the ceramic mug. It was warm. Cupping both hands around it, she took a deep breath, allowing the rich scents to permeate. It soothed her nerves. She didn’t realize she was so tense.
“Thank you for this.” She took a small drink.
He sat facing her, so all he had to do was lift his gaze over the top of his laptop. Which he did and she nearly spit out the tea she’d sipped. Those brown eyes of his were killer. His blond hair hung forward, giving off this almost innocent vibe, but she knew better. So much so. Nothing innocent about this man.
And damn if that wasn’t a huge aphrodisiac.
No. No. No! The last thing she needed was to see him in any way other than a roommate. A temporary one at that.
“Drink.”
His eyes returned to the screen before him.
She listened and they sat in silence as she began to finish the tea. Really, how had her life come to this? Sharing a room with Mitchell Anderson. Not only that, but wearing his clothing and sleeping beside him at night.
Determined not to think about any of that, she focused on the tea and how it warmed her insides and calmed her nerves. Right? It was calming them.
Yep, it was. She was almost five percent sure.
When she finished, she placed the mug on the table beside her then flipped back the blankets.
He lifted his head and closed the computer lid with a click. Her insides tightened when he rose and walked toward her.
Predator.
Like a big cat, he moved with sinuous grace and danger. His gaze fixated on her and she gulped. Having been in the sights of an actual predator many times, she wasn’t sure she was safer now.
