And that's the most dangerous thought I've had all week.
Chapter 6
Pressure Points
January 26 | Day 3 Anguilla | T–5
West
Jane has turned herself into a burrito.
Sometime during the night, she claimed every available blanket—the duvet, the throw from the foot of the bed, what looks like a decorative pillow she's folded into the mix—and cocooned herself into a fabric fortress on the far edge of the king-sized bed. All that's visible is a tuft of brunette hair and one bare foot sticking out the bottom.
My first thought: That's adorable.
My second thought: She's fleeing. From me. The distance between us isn't measured in feet anymore—it's measured in layers of Egyptian cotton and self-preservation.
Smart woman.
I lie there studying her blanket fortress, trying to decide if this is her subconscious protecting her from reaching for me... or protecting herself from me reaching for her.
Whatever happened last night stays last night.
Which is exactly what I should want.
Except I don't want it at all.
My body responds predictably. Enthusiastically.
Three years of discipline, gone. By a woman who has literally wrapped herself in armor to avoid morning-after contact.
I should be relieved. Should respect the boundary she's literally constructed.
Instead, I'm irrationally angry at blankets.
Get a grip, Prescott.
I slide out of bed carefully—she doesn't even stir—grab my workout gear, and escape before I do something stupid like dismantle her defenses.
And bury my face into the burrito.
The resort gym is empty at 5:30 AM—nothing but the hum of air conditioning and my own ragged breathing as I attack the treadmill like it personally wronged me.
Mile one:You came in your pants like a teenager.
I crank the speed higher, feet pounding the belt in steady rhythm.
Mile two:With a woman you met three days ago who's lying to nearly everyone here.
My breathing evens out. Muscle memory takes over. This I can control.
Mile three:Including, potentially, you.
The doubt spirals. I push through it, legs burning.
The thing is, I know she's lying. That's the whole point. She's here under false pretenses, hired to honeypot Blake, playing a role for money. Those are facts. Neat, manageable, easy to file away.
But her reactions last night?
