Standing outside Emme’s room, he hesitated. Should he check on her? He’d left her less than an hour ago. Would he’ve heard her if she’d woken up? What if she was having another nightmare and wasn’t crying out? He’d been stuck in those dreams, screaming in his head, but not making a sound while he slept.
Screw it. They were all excuses to watch her sleep. Pushing open the door, the light from the living room spilled across the foot of the bed. Enough light reached in that he could see her lying on her back. Her hair had fallen out of its bun and spilled across the pillow.
He was fucked.
He stepped back and pulled the door closed again. He needed his head checked. She wasn’t his girl and he needed to remember that.
Still trying to catch his breath, Jordan inserted his key into the lock of the hotel door and pushed it open. He guzzled the last of his water and crushed the bottle as he walked into the suite. Hell, it wasn’t even that. It was a goddamned penthouse apartment in one of the most expensive hotels in Abu Dhabi. He shook his head in disbelief for the umpteenth time since they’d arrived. Private security sure as hell paid well.
He stopped dead in his tracks as Emme left the bedroom dressed in tight fitting jeans and a blousy, long-sleeved shirt. A large sling held her arm close to her body.
“Hey.”
He swallowed hard. “Hey. How do you feel?”
“Human.” She toyed with the end of her braid. “Fatima helped me wash my hair.”
Had helping been an option? “Oh. Have you eaten yet?”
“A little while ago, after Dr. Tuska left.”
He nodded at her shoulder. “He fit you with the sling?”
She looked down at her arm. “Yes. I have to wear it for a least two weeks, but I shouldn’t need surgery.”
She was adorable when she scrunched her nose like that.
“Why are you smiling?”
He tried to hide his smile at her accusatory tone. “I just remember, as a kid, you always scrunched your nose whenever you didn’t like something.”
“That was usually because you and Doug were doing something gross.”
“We were boys. Everything we did was gross.”
“Exactly.” She walked past him and he caught a whiff of the soap she’d used. Something soft and floral. He’d never been one for perfume, but somehow he always seemed to notice her scent. “What’s the plan for today?”
Shit. He’d tried to talk Westin out of this on their run. Give Emme a few more days to recuperate. He took a deep breath. “Jared wants to ask you some questions about what happened.”
She handed him a cold bottle of water and pulled another one out from the crook of her elbow in the sling. “Okay.”
“Okay? That’s it?”
“Sure.”
He played with the bottle cap. “You good to talk about it?”
She shrugged her good shoulder. “Won’t know till we try.”
He took a drink of water. Was she being too blasé about the whole thing? She was holding up better than some guys he knew. Or appeared be, at least.
“Are you going to shower?” she asked.
“What?”
“Shower. That thing that has pipes that brings water up through the wall and releases it in a spray. Although my shower has steam too. It was awesome.”
Do not think about her naked in the shower. Do not think about her…Too late. “I see someone flipped their sarcasm switch to on.” He angled his body away from her and headed to the bedroom on the other side of the suite.
