Page 29 of Saint

Okay, that was a lie. He was far from helpless, but he’d liked every wet, thrilling moment. The way their mouths had fused together made his pulse leap.

He clamped his jaw shut, attempting to clear his thoughts. Time to get his wet clothes off. The fire felt good, but he needed a shower and to rub one out. Because his damn cock was so hard, it ached.

The soft pad of Mia’s bare feet pulled his attention, and he turned as she knelt down beside him in front of the fire, laying her wet clothes—including her black bra and panties—out on the brick hearth. The jogging suit was way too big on her, but at least she had clothes on now. Yet all he could see were those pretty puckered nipples, hard and perfect beneath her wet bra when they’d been in the tub.Fuck.

He jumped up as though the fire had burned him and mumbled, “Warm up. I’m going to take a shower.”

She didn’t say anything, and he hurried into the bathroom and closed the door before she could comment. If he didn’t get some goddamn relief, he was going to blow his wad in his underwear like some inexperienced kid.

???

Mia stared at the fire, lost in thought. Nik’s rejection stung bitterly and doubts plagued her. Yeah, okay, maybe she shouldn’t have pulled him in for that steamy kiss, but her basic instincts had taken over. She had so many doubts when it came to her desirability and she’d never felt the kind of raw attraction he stirred up. He made her want to cast her inhibitions aside and get naked with him. Which was insane because she was a good girl. And Nik Valentine? He was a very, very bad boy.

It didn’t matter what she wanted, though, because he’d made it clear he wasn’t interested.

“You’re not my type, Mia.”

She’d be willing to bet she knew exactly the kind of woman who drew his attention—women like Nadia.

Her thoughts returned to the town square, where she’d made a wish while rubbing the nose on the bear statue. A wish to be more like Nadia—fierce, tough, strong. A woman Nik would be attracted to.

So much for that,she thought sourly.

What the hell was wrong with her? The man had taken her against her will and admitted his awful plan—to use her against her father. Clearly, it was a plan he and his team hadn’t thought out very well, because Chadwick didn’t give a shit about her.

Rubbing her temples with her fingertips, she knew she had no reason to be angry at Nik’s brush-off. She’d thought there’d been something there, a chemistry, but she was wrong. Now she felt like a desperate, stupid virgin.

It was embarrassing.

The cabin was small and she heard the water turn on as Nik began to shower. Images of his big, wet, naked body covered inendless ink filled her head and she let out a shaky sigh. She’d never met a man more rugged or brutally handsome. All grit and hard edges, and she knew he’d be a demanding lover. Not the kind of man a woman should want for her first time. He’d be rough, unrestrained and wild.

So why was the idea of Nik fucking her such a turn on?

“Wake up, Mia,” she chastised herself. She couldn’t trust Nik no matter how attracted she was to him. He planned on using her, so she had to be smarter and stay one step ahead of him. Standing up, she turned and looked over the small living room. Her attention fell on his leather jacket, and she walked over and slid her hand in the pockets. An empty pack of cigarettes, his lighter, a Swiss Army knife, spearmint gum…and the small key that opened the handcuffs.

Mia plucked the key out and tucked it into her sweatpants pocket. Just in case. She had no intention of being locked up again. From this point forward, she was going to stay one step ahead of Nik Valentine at all times.

???

After showering and relieving his hard-on, Saint pulled on the plaid pajama pants he’d found in the dresser and took a deep breath before walking back into the living room. It was late and he was tired. He abruptly stopped when he saw Mia curled up on the floor in front of the roaring fire. It was much warmer out there than in the bedroom and he’d planned on sleeping on the couch. He supposed he could let her sleep on the couch if she wanted to stay by the fire.

Saint leaned down, scooped her up into his arms and laid her down on the couch. She didn’t even wake up, just sighedsoftly then drew her legs up to her chest. He reached for the blanket and covered her up. She looked so damn pretty and he studied her for a moment. Long lashes fanned her cheeks and her chest rose and fell with even breaths. Forcing himself to turn away, he went into the bedroom, grabbed the comforter and a pillow then returned to the living room.

After laying the bedspread on the floor, he stretched out on his back, scrunching the pillow under his head, and stared up at the ceiling. The fire crackled, lulling him to sleep, and it wasn’t long before he drifted off, dreaming of a beautiful blonde with eyes the color of a summer sky spread out beneath him.

Every couple of hours, he got up and added another log to the fire, making sure the room stayed warm. He also checked on Mia and she barely moved.Good girl.She needed to rest after the adventure they had earlier.

Saint had never been one to need much sleep and he was wide awake by five o’clock. He got up, used the bathroom and wandered over to look out the window. Flurries whipped around and the sky warned of an approaching storm. The last thing he needed was a damn blizzard. He had things to do today, starting with sneaking into Anton Petrov’s lair.

If Nadia had told him the truth—and she had no reason to lie—then Zaitsev and Alexei, one of her men, should be down in Petrov’s subterranean cells. Somehow, Petrov had found out about the Novichok and captured the former Russian chemist. Saint couldn’t let the Bratva get their hands on the deadly neurotoxin. The consequences would be disastrous.

Perm was twelve hours ahead of San Francisco, so Saint decided to call Braxton and fill him and the team in. Wandering into the bedroom so he wouldn’t disturb Mia, he hit Brax’s number.

“Saint,” Braxton answered in his no-nonsense voice.

“Hey, Pharaoh, we’ve got a problem.”

A heavy sigh filled the line. “What now?”

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