North, who barely touched her. Who didn’t seem to like her much.
He stared down at her, studying her.
“North, easy,” Jared warned.
“She really doesn’t see it, does she?” North asked Jared.
“No, she doesn’t.” Jared rose and stepped behind her, not touching her but close enough for her to feel his warmth. To know that he was there for her.
She wanted to lean back into him but she couldn’t do it. He wasn’t hers to lean on.
So she stood there between the two of them, feeling the heat of their bodies, wishing that she had their strength and power.
“She can’t see that she’s one of the strongest people we know,” North said.
If anyone else had said it, she’d have scoffed. But this was coming from North. She couldn’t imagine him making this up in order to make her feel better.
“How do you figure that?” she whispered.
“Because you’re still here,” North told her. “You’re still fighting. You could have just drifted away. You’re a fighter. You have nightmares, bad days, things you’re frightened of . . . but you still get up in the morning. You still keep going.”
God.
Was she strong?
“I’m not sure that’s strength. Pretty sure it’s just stubbornness.”
“That too,” North agreed.
She swayed slightly and Jared lightly placed his hands on her hips. Damn, she liked him touching her. “You look exhausted. You need to rest properly.”
Yeah, well, she hadn’t been sleeping that well. It was six days since she’d been kidnapped. Even though they’d sent Zander that message, she was worried about Keira.
And she was also worried about how much she liked being around these two. Of the fantasies she kept having about being caught between the two of them.
It was all so wrong.
“Come on, come with me,” Jared told her.
“W-what?” Go with him? Go where?
“We’re going to take care of you.”
“Take care of me? Why? What do you mean?” She stared up into his gorgeous face. The extra lines around his eyes that only added to his appeal. The hints of gray in his hair and beard.
The man was going to be the ultimate silver fox in a few years. God, it was unfair that he looked like this while she felt like a ragged old crone. Worn down and aged before her time.
“We’ll have dinner together, watch a movie. No cares. No worries about the future or what you should say or do. You don’t have to do anything or be anyone but Angie. In whatever way you want to be.”
It sounded like heaven.
Jared lightly touched her chin, turning her to face him. “What do you say?”
This felt like dangerous territory. She was already in deep with these guys. They were messing up her brain, her intuition.
She shouldn’t do this.
She should most definitely say no.
