I kicked off my boots and pulled off my T-shirt, but I kept my pants on. I collapsed on the bed. I let out a long sigh and shut my gritty eyes. I took three long breaths and felt myself drifting into oblivion.
“Where did you go?” Her whisper jolted me awake.
“Blaire,” I warned.
“I woke up, and you were gone.”
“I had to take care of some things.”
“Like?”
I was desperate for some quiet. “Go. To. Sleep.”
“Did you go drinking?”
“What?”
She sounded slightly injured. “If you needed to find companionship I’m not going to judge, but I wish you would have told me you were leaving.”
“I wasn’t with a woman.”
“You don’t have to tell me anything.”
I shut my eyes and let out a long-suffering sigh. “If I tell you where I went, will you let me sleep?”
“Yes.”
“I was finding a way for us to travel to Vietnam.”
I could hear sheets rustle as she sat up. “You did? How are we getting there?”
“Blaire, when I’m tired, I’m not a pleasant guy.”
“You must be tired a lot.”
I wasn’t in the mood, and my tone bit. “Blaire.”
“Just tell me.”
“We’re taking a boat.”
“What time are we leaving?”
“Three hours.”
“Why do we have to leave so early?”
“I’m done warning you.”
“Okay, you don’t have to be mean about it,” she snapped back. I was glad the lights were off because I was almost laughing. Blaire Asterdam wasn’t afraid of me. I don’t know why that amused me so much, but it did.
I could hear her lie back down. Amazingly, within moments, she was asleep again.
Thank fuck. I was so tired. I shut my eyes and fell into a dreamless sleep.
CHAPTER EIGHT
BLAIRE
I woke up feeling hot and thirsty. Our portable AC unit had shut off during the night. The room was swimming in a darkness so thick I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face.
I also needed to pee.
I gingerly sat up and my feet found my flip-flops in the dark. Trying to remain silent and not get shot by Viktor, I shuffled noiselessly to the bathroom. Not wanting to wake him up, I silently shut the door before turning on the light.
Something small and fast zipped up the tiles.
I clenched my throat, strangling the scream that ripped out of me. I tore open the door and staggered back.
From the darkness, Viktor leaped over my bed. He kicked open the door of the bathroom, his weapon drawn, before he spun around.
“Don’t shoot,” I yelped, putting my hands over my head.
“Turn on the light.” He spoke in a calm voice.
With trembling fingers, I found the light switch and flipped it on. Before me, Viktor stood wearing only his cargo pants. My eyes couldn’t seem to look away from his broad muscular shoulders and corded torso. The guy looked like he’d stepped off the cover of a fitness magazine.
I wanted to apologize, but I was struck dumb by the beauty of his half-naked body.
He squinted in the light. His voice was rough from sleep. “What scared you?”
I pointed at the bathroom, shuddering as I remembered the lizard. “It moved so fast.”
I watched as he ducked back into the bathroom. “Are you talking about this tiny gecko on the ceiling?”
“It caught me off guard.”
He rubbed his face and then checked his watch. “It’s quarter after five. We needed to get up in the next fifteen minutes anyway. Get ready.”
He stepped aside so I could use the washroom.
I didn’t move. “What about the lizard?”
“What about him?”
“Aren’t you going to remove him?”
He stared at me for a good four seconds before he spoke. “No.”
“You won’t?” I tried to mask the wounded note in my voice, but it hurt my feelings that he wouldn’t help.
“Have you ever tried to catch a gecko? Just let it be. It will leave you alone.”
The thought of having to shower with the little lizard made my knees weak—my fear of reptiles bordered on a phobia. “Can’t you just shoo him away or something?”
He let out a long, impatient breath. “I can shoot it. Would you like that?”
“No!”
“Is this going to be a thing?”
“Maybe?” I whispered, hoping that would make him help.
He holstered his weapon and then disappeared into the bathroom. A couple swear words and several thuds, and then he reappeared with his hands cupping something. “Get the door.”
I yanked the door open. He crouched down and gently put the gecko down on the concrete floor of the hallway. The gecko sat there, stunned, staring back up at Viktor.
“Go on, boy,” he said in an almost tender voice.
Something visceral inside of me reacted to the sight of his broad, strong shoulders, his messy dark hair and his kindness. Something that made my stomach flutter. My fingers itched to touch his bare skin and see if it was as warm as it looked.
The gecko seemed to break out of his trance, and he raced down the hallway.
I peered around the door frame and watched it disappear. “Thank you for not making me shower with him.”
He stood up and looked down at me with an unfathomable expression before he swung the door shut. “You have five minutes.”
Twenty minutes later, he waited impatiently at the door. “What are you doing?”
I already felt rushed. I had showered and was trying to air dry my hair. I also had trouble deciding which top to wear. My hair was still damp, so I didn’t want to wear my hat, but not wearing it required me to repack my bag. And in the end, it didn’t fit in my bag, so I had been forced to figure out how to tie it to the back of my bag.
“Don’t rush me!”
“Let’s go, or I’m going to pack that bag for you.”
I glowered at him as I swung the bag over my shoulder. “I’m ready.”
“You sure about that?”
“Yup.”
“Where’s your hat?”
“Where’s your hat?” I parroted back at him.
He reached into his back pocket, showed me the borrowed baseball cap and put it on. The brim of the hat, pulled low over his eyes, only added to his mystery—which, for some reason, annoyed me.
“I don’t want to wear my hat yet.”
He stood there, not moving, obviously not buying my protest.
“It’s going to create a crease in my hair, and I don’t even have a flat iron here.”
“Put on the damn hat.”
“Why?”
He crossed his arms. “Just do it.”
I tossed my bag back onto my bed and wrestled with my ties, trying to free my hat.
He stepped forward, swatted my hands away and, within seconds, he held out my hat to me. I tried to imagine him in the dating world. Despite how attractive he looked in a baseball hat, I couldn’t imagine any woman who would put up with his grumpy impatience.