Kasey had helped her to her feet and she’d nearly died as evidence of what they’d just done started sliding down the inside of her thighs. He’d grinned at her as she darted past him to the bathroom. Turning on the shower, she’d climbed in, not even waiting for the water to heat up, shrieking silently as the cold spray hit her square in the back. Her own personal penance for her actions.
Grabbing a claw clip from the shower rod she kept it stashed on, she gathered her curls and pinned them to the top of her head, having just washed them several hours before. She scrubbed her body as the water slowly warmed, and just about the time that it was comfortable, she turned it off and climbed out.
Wrapping the towel around her body, she exited, crossing to the bedroom quickly, only to stop when she found Kasey reclining on her pillows, his phone in hand, scrolling aimlessly. The movement in the doorway must have caught his attention because he raised his eyes from the screen of his phone to hers and then that grin was back, his eyes mischievous.
“Now that’s a sight I could get used to,” he murmured huskily.
“Yeah, well don’t,” she snapped, striding into the bedroom and over to the dresser. Snatching open the drawer, she grabbed a pair of boy short underwear and managed to step into them and pull them up her legs and into place without giving him a show. Next, she took a black sports bra out and shoved her arms into it, pulling it over her head. That was trickier, getting thetight material into place with the towel still tucked around her upper body, but she managed, though it was a struggle.
The towel dropped to the floor around her feet and she sighed in aggravation, but didn’t bother grabbing it back up. She picked out a long-sleeved, olive-green shirt and tugged it over her head, then shoved her feet into the first pair of jeans she could find, tugging them up over her hips and fastening them. Turning, she braced her hands on her hips and glared at him, where he still lay in the center of her bed, one knee raised, that foot flat on the bed.
“Why are you here, Kasey?” she demanded.
He impaled her with that gray-blue stare long enough to make her squirm. Crossing her arms over her middle, she cocked one hip out defensively.
“You ran.”
She rolled her eyes and he growled from where he was, the sound skittering over her nerves and making her shiver. “And?”
He rolled to a sitting position, throwing his legs over the side of the bed, then stood. “And? I told you I’d follow, Shaun.”
“Do you understand how creepy that is?” she demanded, though her heart had started hammering in her chest as he took slow, measured steps toward her. “Kind of stalkerish, don’t you think?”
“If I thought you didn’t want this as much as I do, sure,” he murmured, shoving his hands in his pockets in that classic Kasey move. “But you do, don’t you, darlin’? You just don’t want to admit it.”
Chewing on the inside of her cheek, she raised her eyes to somewhere over his shoulder to avoid looking him in the eyes.
“Why is it so impossible for you to admit that you’re enjoying this? I am. I would like the chance to explore this further.” He stepped into her line of sight, and she brought her gaze back to his. “So can we just enjoy this? See what happens?”
Everything in her was screaming no. This was dangerous, and the reason she had run from him in Colorado in the first place. She didn’t do casual hookups… but she wasn’t sure she was ready to let anyone in yet, either. Especially Kasey.
“I honestly can’t think about any of this right now,” Shaun finally said, shaking her head. “I really need to get to the hospital.”
“I can drive you,” he said, motioning toward the door. She swung her eyes up to his.
“No, that’s not necessary, really,” she mumbled. “You don’t want to sit in a hospital waiting room for who knows how long.”
“I can keep you company while you wait, too,” he said quietly, shrugging. “I don’t mind.”
“Kasey—”
He took her shoulders in his hands, pulling her toward him and kissing her soundly, effectively shutting her up. “Do you have to argue about everything?”
“It would seem so,” she grumbled, rolling her eyes up at him.
“Get your shoes on, grab your purse, do whatever you need to do to get ready, and we will head over there so you can be with your friend,” he said gently, turning her and giving her a soft shove out the bedroom door. “No more arguing.”
Glaring at him over her shoulder, she disappeared back into the bathroom, rifling through the few cosmetics that were in the drawer, the rest still packed in her suitcase that she hadn’t taken the time to unpack. A touch of concealer under her eyes to combat the lack of quality sleep, a swipe of blush for color, and a quick flick of mascara on her lashes was enough to make her feel a little better. Her hair was a hot mess, having fallen asleep with it still wet earlier, but she twisted it into a knot at the top of her head and re-secured it with the claw clip. Tendrils framed her face, but there was no taming those.
Walking into the kitchen, she saw Steve standing on the counter, shamelessly purring and rubbing against Kasey, who was giving her all the attention she could possibly want.
“Steve, get your furry ass off the counter,” she snapped. “You bad girl.”
“You named your female catSteve?” Kasey asked, and his eyebrows rose in surprise.
“She was a rescue. I found her out by the trash bins last year when she was like three weeks old, and apparently, I wasn’t very good at telling the difference between a male and female kitten. I thoughtshewas ahe. I tried renaming her El but Steve had already stuck,” Shaun muttered, shoving her feet into her boots and then straightening, hands on her hips.
His answering grin annoyed the shit out of her.
