Page 48 of Submit

He pulls into his garage and turns in his seat to look at me. “Is that where you want to stay?” He’s back to snarling and I don’t know why.

“No. I want to stay with you,” I say honestly yet timidly, looking in his eyes for any sign of happiness or relief at my confession.

There’s nothing. “Then you’ll stay with me.” He gets out of the car and grabs my small pile of clothes from the back. “Come on. I’ll give you a quick tour. You can get settled while I talk to Richard.”

Casper leads me into the house from the garage. We enter what looks like a mudroom: tile floor, small washer/dryer combo, and two pairs of identical boots next to the door. The thing that hits me first is how it smells. Just like him: Coconuts and gun oil – Hoppe’s 9 to be exact. It’s faint but it’s there. From the mudroom we enter a small, but organized kitchen. The floors are those vinyl floors that look like hardwoods, his cabinets are stained wood to match the color of his floors and the walls are gray – almost reminding me of Johanna’s. The counters are bare except for a small basket with fresh fruit…and a vase of beautiful hibiscus flowers.

Unable to resist, I arch an eyebrow. “Fresh flowers?”

“Beatrice tries her best to domesticate me,” he says in response. “Living room is here.” He waves a hand at the open space off the kitchen. “These blinds are to stay open at all times. You can open the window, but never close the blinds.” When I furrow my brows this time, he explains. “When people break into a space, they’re likely to close blinds out of habit if they’re hiding. They tend to feel too exposed with them open. If I ever show up to this house and the blinds are closed, I’ll shoot first and ask questions later.”

Okay, then. Blinds open. Got it.

The living room has a gray sectional, a navy rug, and two wooden end tables. The floors match the kitchen and run throughout the hallway as well. It’s sparsely decorated but very well kept…and manly. I follow him down a hallway and notice the lack of pictures or personal effects. I guess every personal item you display tells something about yourself and I’m sure that Casper never wants anyone to know anything about him.

“You don’t entertain much, do you?” I ask, not realizing how judge-y it sounded until it was already out of my mouth. I was aiming for light but definitely missed the mark.

“That’s a joke, right?”

“Yeah, I guess it was.” I hate whatever is passing between us right now. Just as I’m finding myself, Casper pulls away.

“Your bedroom is here.” He stands to the side and lets me enter the room.

“There’s no bed in here,” I observe. It’s an office. In fact, there’s a large desk with three monitors on it - reminding me of his car - a plush chair, three bookshelves, and an overstuffed chair with a floor lamp behind it. Not even a loveseat or futon like Johanna had. But hell, I’ll get used to the floor. At least I won’t be sharing a roof with Will.

“True. I should have said yourroomis here and yourbedis farther down the hall.” He deposits my clothes in the office and then continues down the hallway, opening the door at the end revealing a bungalow style bedroom.

A screen door sits behind a glass one that opens to a patio. The house must sit in a small, flat divot in the hill because I can see all the way to the water which is also visible from Beatrice and Richard’s kitchen.

What captures my attention more than anything is the king-sized bed in the middle of the room. Gray comforter - of course. No fancy pillows - didn’t expect any. It’s made - mildly shocking although not so much after seeing the rest of the house. This room looks lived in with a pair of black athletic shorts thrown over the back of a chair in the corner. A phone charger on the nightstand next to a half-drunk glass of water.

“It looks like someone’s already claimed this room,” I say, wondering if he shares this house with any of the security team.

“Someone has. Me.”

I swallow audibly.

He continues, as it sinks in that he’s offering to share his bed with me, “I can ask Beatrice for something to make an extra bed out of and I can sleep on the floor, or the couch in the living room if you prefer?”

“No!” I say a little too loudly…and quickly…and emphatically. His smirk tells me he knew I wouldn’t object. “Ass.” I hear him chuckle to himself as he heads through a doorway. I guess my little speech in the car got to him and he figuredwhat the hell?

One can hope.

Besides, Will already accused me of fucking Casper. If I’m going to be sentenced anyway, I might as well be guilty.

“Bathroom’s in here. Make yourself at home. I need to go discuss a few things with Richard.” As he passes me, he hands me a small bracelet. “I’m not going to track you against your will or keep it a secret. But it would give me some peace of mind until we’ve resolved some of ourproblems, if you would wear this. It’s secure and the signal is encrypted. It goes to my phone and will let me know where you are.

I take it without hesitation. Now is not the time for me to play strong, independent woman. I’m scared shitless and in way over my head. I have trouble fastening the clasp with only one hand. Casper watches me struggle for about twenty seconds before he takes my small wrist in his large palm to offer assistance. After easily fastening the clasp, he brushes his thumb over my pulse making my stomach muscles clench, forcing a ragged exhale from me.

He immediately drops his hand as if my reaction to his touch pained him in some way and I feel my shoulders sag. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to share a bed with you and pretend like I’m not affected,” I tell him honestly. For all I know, Will is gathering a small army and is coming up here to kill everyone on this property. The time for keeping my thoughts to myself has passed. “Since our meeting with Bea, you pull away every time I respond to you, even if it’s involuntary.”

“That’s because this is complicated enough withoutfeelings.” He spits the last word.

“Then why not just let me stay with Bea? Surely you’re busy enough and this place is big enough that you could totally avoid me. Wouldn’t that make thislesscomplicated?” I argue, even though completely avoiding him is the last thing I want.

My words have venom behind them and when he turns to walk away from me, my hand shoots out, grabbing his wrist and stops him in his tracks. My next words come out calm but strong. “Answer me, damn it.”

The ice in his green eyes matches the name he was born with when he spins around. He walks me backward so the backs of my legs hit the bed which knocks me off balance and causes me to lean back, catching myself with my hands thrown out behind me. Casper towers over me, hands planted on the mattress next to mine. I feel the heat radiating off his body when he’s this close.

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