She giggled again.“I saw you in the moonlight and thought Michelangelo’s David had appeared in my bedroom.”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” he argued, his cheeks blushing.
Her sigh was redolent with satisfaction.“I would,” she murmured, and then continued with a dose of tension in her voice now, “Will you sleep with me, Marc?H-Hold me if another nightmare comes?”
He pressed another kiss to her temple.“It would be my honor, sweetheart.”
Chapter 6
“Won’t you come out, sweetheart?We all really need to get to know one another.”
Marc’s easy tone had her lips tightening.Maybe she was being childish by locking herself in here.
Well, not exactly locking herself in.It wasn’t like she was making them talk to her through the bedroom door, for God’s sake.But it seemed like Marc had been allotted as the male to handle her because Ryan and Trip had stayed away.
Perverse creature that she was, that pissed her off.
“I’m not ready yet,” she murmured, not looking at him and keeping her focus on the window where she could see a couple of Lions playing together in the distance.
It was like living on a safari ride or something.At any given moment, she could hear roars as the beasts that roamed here made their presence felt.
It was surreal, while also being totally cool.
“When will you be ready?”
“I don’t know.”She bit her lip.“Where’s Shawn?”
“Staying here in one of the spare rooms.”He paused.“Why?”
“I wondered if he’d left.”
“Well, he hasn’t.”
Didn’t that just fill her with relief?
Blowing out a breath, she whispered, “I just need to process things.That’s all.”
“I’m sure you do, but you’ll feel better if you hang around with us.The bond will ease some of your confusion.But, it won’t be allowed to flourish if you’re hiding up here.”
She turned back to shoot him a glower, damning him for being so handsome and put together while she felt like an emotional wreck.“I’m not hiding.”
“No?That’s what it looks like to me,” he stated calmly, folding his arms across his chest.His broad, very sexy chest.Dressed in a light blue linen shirt and navy chinos, he looked smart and redolent.Like a wealthy man who knew exactly how attractive he was, but had no need to let it go to his head.
“Well, you’re wrong.Because I’m just coming to terms with the fact a man I was friends with betrayed me.Then, he was murdered in front of me.My date turned into a cat.And I have this mystical bond with not just one, butthreedudes.
“If you don’t think that deserves some breathing room, well, I don’t know what to tell you.”
He sighed, relenting enough to say, “I’ll be back in the morning with breakfast.”
Only when she heard the door squeaking open, did she whisper, “Thank you.”
She’d been wearing the men’s clothes since she’d arrived, and had grown quite comfortable in their overlarge shirts.In the breast pocket she’d taken to storing her cell, and reaching for it she began to roll through her contacts list.
It wasn’t the first time she’d done this since her arrival, but calling anyone just seemed like… How could anyone understand?How could they help her so what good would sharing all this insanity do?
Still, Marc was right about one thing.She wasn’t hiding up here, per se, but she was definitely going to have to come out sometime.
Connecting the call to a woman she considered a close friend—but in her life, a close friend might as well be an acquaintance—she sucked down a breath and hoped Persia would pick up.
