Was he thinking the same thing? His eyes filled with smoke and then went wide with shock.
“I didn’t mean together,” he said, embarrassed. Was he blushing?
Jason stepped back, putting space between us, and a scowl twisted his expression. It was the same one he’d had themoments after our kiss, and my heart thudded to a stop. I sensed what was coming.
“Look,” he said, “maybe you need to forget about what was said in that back seat.”
I kept my voice controlled, even as emotions jangled inside me. “Why’s that?”
“Seeing the car under attack with you and my partner in it... I wasn’t thinking. I said things I probably shouldn’t have.”
I took a breath in through my nose and pushed it out through my mouth, the same thing I did before auditions to calm myself. If he wanted to be like this, fine. If he wanted to claim I was a job and no more than that—fine.
Eventually, I’d have to believe him.
I forced myself to sound indifferent. “Okay.”
“Okay?” His expression was skeptical.
“Yeah, okay. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take my shower.”
Alone, the voice in my head added.
14
JASON
The thoughtof joining Laurel in the shower burned so hot, the fire of it made my mind go blank.
My brain was already a fucking mess. The last thing I needed was the image of her wet, gorgeous body underneath my hands kicking around up there. I’d tried to retract my statements from the back seat, to get my professionalism back on the rails. It seemed to have worked, but she hadn’t reacted the way I’d expected.
I was so distracted by her I had to shampoo twice during my shower because I couldn’t remember if I’d done it the first time. How the fuck had they found us at the gas station? No one had been following us when I was driving; I was damn sure of it.
I shaved and dressed and left Derrick in charge while I went to procure lunch for the three of us. There was a restaurant within walking distance of the motel, and I hurried inside, only to realize I’d forgotten to ask Laurel what she wanted.
Fuck, I was worthless.
“Give me an order of the healthiest thing on your menu,” I said to the host.
It came out more aggressive than I’d meant, and I was sure I wore the same dark and menacing scowl I’d learned from my mother, because the welcoming smile drained from the young man’s face.
I felt bad about that. It wasn’t this guy’s fault I was an asshole. I’d been shot at. My partner had been shot at. And Laurel...
The moment the two men in the sedan had sprayed bullets across the side of the SUV, I felt real panic for the first time in a very long while. I was sure she’d been hit when I jumped in on top of her, and the relief that swept through me in the moments after had disabled my ability to control my emotion.
While I waited for the order to be prepared, I watched as the host directed the waitstaff to rearrange the main dining area. There was a banquet room in the back, and one by one they dragged the heavy tables squealing across the hardwood floor.
It did absolutely nothing to improve my mood. A headache was forming at the back of my skull, making my eyes burn, and I snatched up the plastic bags of food as soon as they were offered to me, ready to get the hell out of there.
Of course, that meant returning to her.
I wanted to groan when she opened the door to her room because she looked so good. Her hair was still damp from her shower, but she’d twisted it up into a bun. The bruise around her neck had faded significantly since I’d last noticed it.
Soon that evidence from Frey would be gone, and it couldn’t happen fast enough for me.
“Lunch,” I said, depositing the Styrofoam container in her hands. “Bill’s going to want to take our statements when he arrives, so if you could eat quickly, that’d be helpful.”
“Got it.” She nodded and the door swung shut in my face, leaving me standing there with my own lunch in hand. I’d assumed we’d eat together, but no.
