“You’re right—” I’d started to agree when his lips came down on mine, stealing my words.
He pressed his body against mine. I dropped the lighter as I leaned into his touch. Needing more, wanting more.
His tongue dipped inside my mouth, and he swallowed my moan. He rested his hand in my hair, tilting my head for better access as he tasted everything I willingly gave.
My body heated. Need flamed to life. A familiar feeling that I’d only ever experienced in my astral state made my blood come alive.
I was lost in his taste and his touch. I was drowning, and he was the only one who could save me.
He broke the kiss. His erratic breath matched mine as he stared down at me. His gaze was filled with a clouded confusion, and a bit of anger stared back at me.
“Shit,” he said, releasing me and stepping back. He scrubbed his face as if trying to wake up from a nightmare. “You…”
I shook my head. “You kissed me, not the other way around, but don’t worry. I won’t let you do it again.”
I retrieved the lighter, then sidestepped him into the room, trying hard not to show just how much that kiss had frazzled me.
Starting the fire, I glanced over my shoulder to find him watching me from across the room.
“Do you have any clothes in this place? If so, you might want to put some on.”
“Why? Is my grandmother’s robe turning you on?”
Hugh cursed beneath his breath and left the room, probably looking for some place to wait, far away from me.
Ten minutes later, he reappeared with blankets he’d pulled off the bed. He laid them out in front of the fire, left and returned again, this time with pillows. He lay down, resting the gun by his side, and gestured for me to join him.
“Yeah, no. That’s a bad idea.”
“Relax, Honor. I’m not going to let anything happen. You need sleep.”
My eyes searched his to see if he was telling the truth. Determination stared back at me.
“And you think I’ll be able to fall asleep next to you?”
His lips twisted in a grin. “No, but your sisters will be less likely to shoot me if you trusted me enough to fall asleep in my arms.”
Self-preservation made sense. I lowered to my knees and relaxed back into the pillows he’d brought out. “You sure you won’t asleep?”
“I’m sure,” he answered. “I’ll wake you if I need to.”
I turned, giving Hugh my back, snuggling into the pillow and the blankets. For the first time in my life, my astral projected form stayed in my body and my nightmares were non-existent.
I slept better in the rain; the sound of water hitting the windows helped drown out noises from my house. I snuggled into the warm hold and ran my hand over a hard chest.
I stilled and slowly lifted my lids.
Hugh had his arm beneath my head, and I rested in the crook of his arm, snuggled against his warm naked body.
“Sleep well?” he asked. His voice held a tint of amusement. A huskiness lingered in the tone, making the sound even more sexy.
“Sorry,” I said, lifting my hand to roll away from him. He rested his hand on top of mine and moved it back against his chest.
His hand covered mine in warmth and strength. My palm rested against the hard planes of his chest and heated skin.
A tense silence enveloped the room, only starting to melt when he spoke. “No need to hurry. You’re keeping me warm.”
I lifted my head to find the fire had gone out. “How come you didn’t add some logs?”
“If I’d moved, it would have woken you up. You were kind of wrapped around me.”
I looked up into his eyes, knowing better than to trust him. I didn’t know him at all. “My sister didn’t show?”
Chapter Twelve
“We didn’t have any visitors,” Hugh answered. “The rain is starting to let up a little.”
I sat up and wiped the sleep from my eyes. A blanket of deep blue had settled outside. “The sun is going down.”
“That’s what happens when your sleep schedule of days and nights are mixed up,” he said, sitting up next to me. “I guess in our case, it’s good that you’re more awake at night, since it’s probably the best time to go to the storage locker with less chance of being seen.”
“Right,” I answered, shoving to my feet. I turned in place, reacquainting myself with the provisions and moving to the window. My sister hadn’t shown up. The only reason she wouldn’t have is if she were in some kind of trouble or if she wasn’t physically capable.
Even on high ground, the water on the property had collected enough so that it melded and merged like one big puddle over the lawn. The pool had crested the concrete, and the wind was blowing some of the water down into the drainage anchor that had been installed for just this purpose.
“I don’t suppose there’s a car on the property that still runs?” he asked, rising from behind me and securing a blanket around his waist.
“No. The car was totaled in the accident,” I answered, walking to the light switch. I flicked it once and then a second time, a little more impatiently.
“The power never came back on,” he said, answering my unasked question.
“Perfect,” I said, walking to the linen closet. I grabbed the weather radio and used the hand crank to get it going. It didn’t work. No matter what I tried.
“You said your grandmother lives next door?” he asked.
“Sort of. Her house is next door, but she lives in the retirement home.”
“But does she have a car?” he asked. Moving to the window he stared outside while shoving his gun into the back of his jeans.
“Yeah.”
He grinned and glanced over his shoulder. “Can you get access?”
“Of course. I just need to knock on the door.”
He raised a brow. “She still maintains a staff?”
“She has a live-in groundskeeper who looks after things.”
“Great. We should go.” Hugh sounded excited by the prospect.
“I should wait for my sisters,” I said.
“The more time we waste, the closer Victor’s thugs will get. We should go now. Leave your sister a note or do whatever you have to, but we should leave.”
“I’m not wearing this robe out in public and you certainly aren’t going out dressed like that. We need to dry our clothes first.”
“And then we leave,” he said.
The clothes were nice, dry, and warm as I dressed. The thought of getting wet again send an expectant shiver down my spine.
I left Mercy a quick note telling her where she could find me and explaining my need to give Hugh the ledger just to get him to go away. She probably wouldn’t agree with my decision, but I was slowly running out of options, and the more time I spent with Hugh, the harder it was going to be to convince myself that I didn’t need him in my life. I not only didn’t trust him, but I didn’t trust myself around him. Any relationship would be a train wreck in the making.
I grabbed the umbrella and a coat from the closet and slid into it. Hugh wasn’t as lucky. I didn’t have any of Teddy’s things here. I’d never brought him here. My parents’ house was something I hadn’t shared with anyone outside of my sisters. It was sacred like that. Well, it had been sacred.