“Just a little cold,” she said.Coward.
He easily shifted their bodies so they were lined up properly in the bed and pulled the covers over her back, cupping her head to his chest, and gave a contented sigh. “Better?”
“Yes, thank you.” She felt warm and safe and cared for inside their postcoital bubble. Happy even.
For now, it was enough. It had to be.
Jason let himself have a few minutes of holding Emma in his arms, her naked body decadently draped over his. They both deserved this.
But when he glanced over at the clock to see that it was nearly eight, he sighed and kissed the top of her head. “As much as I’d love to stay like this all day, we need to make some plans. Todd’ll be expecting a call soon too.”
She buried her face in his chest and mumbled, “Okay.”
“Want to join me in the shower?”
Rising up onto her hands, Emma pinned him with an amused look. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Not if you want to get moving.”
“I promise to keep my hands to myself,” he lied.
She slid off of him, taking all of that soft heat with her. “It’s not you I’m worried about.”
He grinned, wishing they were on vacation, not hiding out from ruthless killers, and had all the time in the world to explore each other’s bodies. “It should be.” He slipped out of bed and was rewarded with a playful slap on the ass that made him want to turn right around and slide back in. Into the bed, inside her hot, sweet body.
With every ounce of restraint he possessed, he kept walking toward the bathroom.
Twenty minutes later, they’d both showered and used the toothpaste Emma kept in her bag. Jason also filled her in on his and Todd’s musings the night before.
“You think we’re being attacked on two fronts?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Possibly. It would explain the contradictory behavior.”
“Yeah.” She sat heavily on the sofa. “It could even be multiple people within Renfro’s circle who have their own agendas or aren’t cooperating.”
Jason couldn’t resist grabbing a glimmer of hope. “You mean like Byron wanting information, but someone else in his group wanting Viktor silenced?”
She nodded, but frowned. “Still doesn’t explain why they came after me and Natalie at the condo, though.”
“Maybe to give you time to upload the virus?” He sighed. “Shit, I don’t know.”
Any vestiges of the bliss he’d been feeling were banished at the first stark reminder of yesterday’s events and how little they understood about the attackers’ motivations.
A knock at the door signaled Todd’s arrival with breakfast.
“Hey,” he said, as the door snicked shut behind him. “I extended the room for another night, so there’s no rush to get out of here.”
“Thanks.” Jason took a tray with two paper cups from him.
Todd set a brown bag on the low table in front of the sofa. “I have pastries and bread. Sorry it’s not more substantial, but I didn’t want to take too long.”
“This is great,” Emma said, eyeing the redhead warily as she unwrapped a couple of flatware sets with napkins that were tucked into a tray on the small dining table. “Thank you.” She sat on the couch and handed napkins to each of them.
“I already ate,” Todd said, waving her off. He pointed to the bag and caught Jason’s eye. “There are a couple chocolate croissants in there, and the twisty things are also sweet.”
Jason couldn’t help but smile. His friend knew him well. “Thanks, man.”
“Got a sweet tooth?” Emma asked.
“A bit,” he confessed. When she’d known him before, he’d been much more regimented about his diet.
