“Here. Put that on. It’ll be more comfortable than that thing.”
As if Stella’s comfort had anything to do with my need to cover her with one of my T-shirts.
Hurt flickered in her expression, catching my half-functioning brain by surprise. I didn’t get the chance to analyze the look because she whirled around and returned to the bathroom.
Stella
I clutched the clothes to my chest, stunned by the wave of disappointment I felt. At first, when I’d realized I’d have to wear my mother’s ridiculous negligee I had been embarrassed, but after putting it on, I’d secretly been excited about Mauro’s reaction.
I hadn’t expected him to look almost appalled. Trying not to take this to heart was difficult, even when I should have been relieved. Mauro’s reaction was normal. Mine wasn’t. He acted like a stepbrother should.
I peeled out of the negligee and got into Mauro’s clothes. The shorts hung very low on my hips and the T-shirt reached mid-thigh. Taking a deep breath, I emerged again, determined to get a grip and stop seeing anything more than family in Mauro.
I couldn’t read the look Mauro gave me. It was only a few minutes past seven, but I felt tired. I’d barely slept last night, and I wasn’t sure if I’d get any sleep tonight. It had been silent above our heads for a while now.
“Do you think they are gone?” I asked as I headed over to Mauro’s bunk where he sat hunched over a semi-automatic from the rifle cabinet behind the ladder, putting it back together after dismantling it.
He glanced up, his eyes dragging over my body in a way that sent a little shiver down my spine. Did his gaze linger on my bare legs?
Do not go there…
“I doubt it. They could be taking apart room after room in search of something useful. Like the code to this room.”
My eyes widened.
Mauro shook his head. “It’s not written down anywhere. Only Father and I know it, as well as a few trustworthy men.”
I sank down beside Mauro and his body became taut. I mourned the fact that he’d put on a shirt. Our eyes met, and I held my breath, not even sure why. Something in Mauro’s brown eyes sent a spear of longing through my body.
“Aren’t you tired?” he asked. His voice held a strange note.
“I am,” I admitted. My eyes burned from lack of sleep and the dry air down here.
“Why don’t you take the bed over there?” He nodded toward the bunk across from his.
“Do you want to get rid of me?” My joke backfired because Mauro didn’t laugh.
He focused on the gun, and his lack of a reply was all the answer I needed. “I need to check the remaining guns to make sure we have enough firepower.”
I stood. I didn’t want to push myself on Mauro when he obviously wanted to be alone. Hiding my disappointment, I slipped under the blanket in the narrow bunk. The coarse material was cold and smelled faintly of disuse. I rolled over, away from Mauro, needing privacy.
The click of him working on the guns rang in the panic room. It wasn’t what kept me awake, not even the light—which he dimmed a bit later. My thoughts whirred in my head. Thoughts about Mauro, about my feelings for him, about the men in the house, about their horrible motives. And worry that Mauro’s and my relationship would be even worse off after this. It felt as if something was shifting between us—again.
I stared at the gray concrete, listening to Mauro until he, too, seemed to have lain down. He turned the lights off except for a faint glow, probably the lamp he’d prepared for use in the afternoon.
I wasn’t sure how long I’d been lying motionless in the bunk before I couldn’t take it anymore. “I can’t sleep. I keep thinking about them upstairs, waiting for a chance to get to us. And it’s freezing down here.” The blanket wasn’t very thick.
Mauro sighed. “I can’t turn the heat up. I don’t know how long the generators can keep up all the essential facilities and we need to stay for three days unless someone checks on the mansion sooner.”
I shivered again and turned around, peering over to Mauro in the bed across from mine. He was facing my way as well. The dim gas lantern on the floor between us threw shadows on his face that made it impossible to read his expression from where I lay. “Can I come under your blanket? I’m shaking so bad.”
Even as I said the words, alarm bells rang in my head. Considering my feelings for Mauro, sharing a narrow bed with him seemed like a dangerous option.
Don’t be stupid.
Mauro only saw me as his little stepsister. I wasn’t a woman to him. He probably didn’t even realize I had breasts and a vagina.
Mauro tensed. Not only did he have to babysit me and was now stuck in a panic room with me, now I wanted to intrude on his personal space.
My cheeks burned at the resulting silence. I was glad for the dark that hid my mortification from his vigilant eyes. Why couldn’t I stop acting like a stupid kid around him?
When I’d given up hope that he’d reply, his low voice sounded. “Sure.”
I scrambled out of my bunk, shivering when my bare feet touched the cold stone floor, and hurried the few steps over to Mauro. He lifted the covers, and I crept under them. The bunk was small, and our bodies brushed despite my butt dangling over the edge. Mauro shifted back until he bumped against the wall, allowing me to lie down more comfortably.
Suddenly I was caught in the reality of the situation. Mauro looked down at me with a tight expression. He was lying ramrod straight, his arm resting awkwardly on his side. Our faces were close enough to kiss, and I wanted nothing more, but I wasn’t insane. I wouldn’t make a fool out of myself again.
I cleared my throat, which was the equivalent of an explosion in the silence of the room. “I’m going to turn around.” Mauro didn’t say anything. I quickly rolled over and my ass bumped against his crotch.
His low exhale made me swallow. God, this bunk was too narrow for two people who weren’t intimate. “You can wrap your arm around me.”
What was wrong with me?
But I wanted him to wrap his arm around me.
He shifted again and hesitantly touched his palm to my hip. It was warm and big, and more distracting than I thought a touch like that could be.
Mauro was almost… shy? Though maybe shy was the wrong word. He was careful. Maybe he was worried to scare me? He knew I’d never been in bed with someone. Heat washed over me.
He finally wrapped his arm around me, his heat singeing my back and stopping my trembling. I released a soft sigh, snuggling closely against him. His palm against my belly felt perfect.
“You’re so warm and strong.”
Had I just really said that?
Mauro let out a strangled sound that might have been a laugh.
Of course, I couldn’t shut up because when I was nervous, and for some reason, Mauro suddenly made me very nervous, my mouth always ran free. “I’m glad we’re family so nobody can construe any crazy rumors when we share a bed. It’s not like something could happen between us. I mean, we’re practically sister and brother.” But damn it, my feelings weren’t sisterly in the slightest.
“But we’re not,” Mauro said in a low rumble that made me melt.
“No, we’re not,” I agreed quietly.