Page 59 of Strangers in Love

As if thinking about it had given my body permission to remember, all the aches and pains of the past week made themselves known. Not only the scrapes and bruises from my captivity but the dull throbbing between my legs that confirmed I had, indeed, had sex with Eoin.

I managed to get out of bed without waking him, every inch of me hot with embarrassment as I hurriedly grabbed clothes and dashed into the bathroom. I washed up as best I could without taking a shower and then dressed. The simplicity and normalcy of doing those things helped me get my head together.

Yes, I’d lost my virginity to a virtual stranger, but it had been a conscious, sober decision and one that I refused to let myself regret. I’d never held onto any romantic notions about my first time, wanting only to be sure that I’d made a clear decision rather than it being a mistake. I’d been more fortunate than a lot of women, having had someone who hadn’t been after only his own pleasure, and who had the skill to make it enjoyable for me.

Enjoyable didn’t seem like a strong enough word for how he’d made me feel.

Once I decided not to be ashamed of what I’d done, every other reason I had to be ashamed came rushing forward. My relief that I was safe. The fact that I was thinking about anything other than rescuing the others. My willingness to shower and eat and have sex and sleep while horrible things could have happened to my friends. They could be being tortured at this very moment. They could be dead. And here I was, thinking about how amazing Eoin had made me feel.

I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t stay here one more minute and do nothing. Even if I couldn’t find the others and rescue them myself, I could put things in motion to shorten the amount of time they would still be held captive. Eoin had warned me not to use the phone, but we would be leaving soon. A phone call to my parents to let them know I was safe and to ask them to start looking into the ransoms for the others would take only a few minutes. And we’d be gone before any call could be traced.

The fact that I knew I had to leave the room so Eoin wouldn’t overhear, however, made me admit that he’d absolutely hate what I was going to do. In fact, I had no doubt that he’d have forbidden me to step foot outside the room, let alone call home.

Except this was the right thing to do, even if it upset him. He’d just have to understand that. He’d been a soldier, and it was clear he’d experienced some awful things. If anyone could be able to understand doing the right thing even if it meant putting yourself at risk, it should be him.

At least, that was what I told myself as I slipped out of the room and left Eoin asleep in bed. It was just a little phone call.

Nothing bad was going to happen.

Forty-One

Eoin

“Eoin!”

Fuck, I loved it when she screamed my name. Nothing else sounded so good, and it wasn’t something I would ever get used to. Just like I’d never get used to the way I felt when I was inside her. How good sex was with her. How perfectly we fit together.

Her body tightened around mine, and I followed her over the edge. “Aline!”

I jerked awake all at once, suddenly remembering that I wasn’t supposed to be sleeping in the first place.

Shit.

I was supposed to be keeping watch over the woman I’d been sent here to rescue. Not fucking her and then falling asleep next to her in bed.

Bed.

Next to her.

The room was almost too dark for me to see well, but it was enough for me to be able to tell that I was alone. I rolled over and fumbled for the bedside lamp. The sudden burst of light made me wince, and I was forced to squint into the shadows.

“Shit.”

Blinking rapidly to clear my vision, I mentally berated myself the entire time. I had one fucking job. Stay awake. Keep her safe.

Okay, technically, that was two jobs, but the second one relied on the first. I couldn’t keep her safe if I didn’t stay awake.

I scrambled out of bed, scanning the room even as my vision adjusted. Unless she was hiding in the closet, Aline wasn’t here. The bathroom door was only open a crack, but the light was off, so I assumed it was empty.

“Dammit.” I grabbed my clothes off the floor and pulled them on. “Where are you, Aline?”

Pulling up the edge of the mattress, I grabbed the gun I’d stashed there. I shoved it into the back of my pants, the waistband holding it in place as I tugged my shirt down over it.

I needed to find her, but I needed to be smart too. If I freaked everyone out because I had a gun, it’d cause more harm than good. No matter how much I wanted to run out there, yelling her name, our cover was still important. Until I learned otherwise, I’d keep playing the part.

I shoved the key card into my pocket and headed into the hallway. I didn’t really need to know her destination to know where to start looking for her. The exit had to be her first step.

One of the best side effects about being so tall was that I could cover a decent distance without needing to run. A brisk walk was as good as the average person’s jog. Looked pretty natural too, for the most part.

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