Quit stalling, Viv.Get in!
I try to psyche myself up but still, I make no move to climb in. Instead, I stand beside the tub with my towel clutched in my hands, shivering in the freezing winter air, staring longingly at the water. It looks so inviting with steam curling into the night, but I’m a nervous wreck.
I swallow when Kyle looks over, a smile playing on his lips, and my heart does a little flutter. “Coming in?” he asks, his voice a warm breeze that sends a shiver rolling through my body. “The water is nice, I promise you.”
Oh, I don’t doubt it.
I take in a deep breath, forcing a smile as I start for the edge. He’s watching me, and I can feel my cheeks burning as I get closer, my fingers trembling as I tug the towel off me. The idea was to jump into the water before he has time to see what I have on, but his gaze pins me in place and…
Even without glancing down, I know what he sees.
I didn’t pack a swimsuit, because I didn’t think swimming or soaking in hot tubs would be part of the itinerary on my “run for my life” trip. And surprisingly enough, a bikini wasn’t included in Pope’s duffel bags of supplies either.
So here I am. In my lacy underwear. Fighting the urge to cover my body from Kyle’s heated gaze. My nipples are hard, beading against my bra, and it isn’t all because of the chill.
“Viv,” he says, and I can’t tell if it’s in my head or if his voice really sounds a little hoarse. “It’s cold. Climb in.”
“Right,” I hum, dipping my toe to test the water. It’s so perfect that I shudder. Quickly, I step in and slide into the space acrossfrom him. My eyes flutter closed as heat spreads through my body and chases off the chill. “This is heaven.”
“Close,” he mutters, and there’s something in his voice that sends my eyes springing open. I flush when I find those dark green eyes locked on mine. I look away, turning to focus on the bubbles, on the steam…on anything but him.
“So, um, what’s it like working for the Steel Rebels?”
He smiles. “It has its moments.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, dipping lower into the water.
“How about we take turns asking each other questions?”
His words give me pause, and I brave a look up. “What if you ask a question I don’t want to answer?”
“Then you simply don’t answer, but to make things interesting, we’ll include a penalty for every question we don’t answer.”
“What kind of penalty?”
“The other person gets to decide.”
I bite my lip as I think his words over. There are things about my life I would rather not speak out loud. I know Kyle wants more details about why exactly I’m running from my mother and Rick, what they’ve done to me to make me so afraid, and I’m afraid that bringing them up will pull me back into a dark space. But there’s also a part of me that’s terribly excited by the prospect of penalizing Kyle, or even more exciting…being penalized by him.
“Okay then,” I say, slicking my hands over my hair and leaning back to stare at the man. “You go first.”
“How old are you?”
I chuckle. “That’s easy enough. I just turned eighteen a week ago. My turn.” My heart flutters as I push the same question at him.“I’m usually good with ages, so I had you pinned at twenty-five, maybe twenty-six.”
“Twenty-six.”
“I was right.” I beam. “Do they recruit people your age into a motorcycle club? I mean, all the guys I see on TV are usually kinda old with long beards and wrinkled faces.”
“I believe it was my turn to ask a question.”
“Right, sorry.”
“Have you ever ridden on a motorcycle before?”
“No.”
He grins. “Your turn.”
