Page 17 of Hidden But Not Safe

Naz took it from her, careful not to touch her.

‘Thank you.’

He liked her gratitude more than her apology, but it also confused him. She’d been the one to stop him when he would have continued beating on Miguel. She’d defended the shit Miguel had been saying. Naz didn’t believe for a second she hadn’t heard every word.

She’d even said she would enjoy what Miguel wanted to do.

He couldn’t wrap his head around her at all.

He shoved her note in his pocket, reminded that he had her others there as well. Each time he changed jeans, he shifted them into new pockets.

What the fuck was wrong with him?

“Can I ask you something?”

Her voice snipped his thoughts. Naz nodded, staring at the couch in front of him.

“Back at the apartment, you stared at my tits. You’d looked at them before, but it felt different.”

The hair on the back of Naz’s neck rose as he remembered liking the way her breasts had looked. His dick hadn’t twitched or anything, but he hadn’t felt disgust from checking her out.

“Have you changed your mind?” Her voice downshifted into a whisper. “Do you want to fuck me, Ignacio?”

He jerked away from her, his shoulder hitting the table in the corner before he could check himself.

Meg let out a surprised gasp and then started giggling. The startled, happy sound filled the trailer, letting his pulse slow and drawing his gaze to her.

She shook her head, trying to swallow the laughter, but changing it into snorting hiccups instead. “Okay, okay,” she said, holding up a hand. “You don’t have to run away. I take it back.”

He eyed her, wondering if he’d ever felt so pathetic before. She hadn’t been trying to force him into anything, and yet he’d scrambled away like a frightened child.

She patted the stained carpet beside her. “Come back. I feel safe with you again.” Her smile faded as she stared down at her jeans, rubbing at them with her other hand.

Naz eased a bit closer so he wasn’t pressed against the table. It was a rickety piece of shit. He was surprised it hadn’t broken when he bumped into it.

“I was more worried about you than I was about Miguel. I thought I was wrong about you.” She shrugged. “I suck at reading people. It’s better to assume the worst.”

Naz didn’t disagree. People were the fucking worst. Even the ones he trusted, Diego and Ramiro—well, sort of Ramiro—were assholes, but they were assholes that weren’t out to hurt him.

“I thought I’d been right about you, so it hit hard when it seemed like I wasn’t. I feel better now.”

Her words washed some of the tension in his body away. Even when she shifted closer, so close her arm pressed against his, his body didn’t become stiff. Her head found the place on his shoulder that felt like it was starting to belong to her.

The thought confused him. He should get away from her, but he didn’t really want to.

“I stopped you because I was worried you’d get in trouble. Killing Miguel would have pissed off Julio. He’s got a temper, one I haven’t quite figured out yet.”

Julio’s anger all stemmed from his insecurity. It would take way too much concentration to explain that.

“It would have been better if you just let Miguel do what he wanted.” A sigh leaked out of her. “Then if Julio got pissed, it would have been at Miguel, not you or me. But I get that you wouldn’t have been okay with that. Seeing people have sex bothers you. Sex itself bothers you.”

Naz was back to feeling pathetic.

“But you don’t really not have a dick, do you?” she asked.

His huff of breath surprised him. It almost sounded like a laugh. He shook his head.

“Good.” When he started to pull away, her arm wrapped around his. “No, not good because I want you to use it on me. I couldn’t figure out how you would take a piss without one.”

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