Page 45 of Out of the Dark

I laugh awkwardly. "That one looks really good on you too." She’s wearing a black bikini that accentuates her curves in all the right places. Her silver collar, which I don’t think she ever takes off, lays against her bare skin and makes me wonder again about the whole sex club thing. My curiosity has only grown over the past few weeks, but I’m still too afraid to ask them. "And, I mean, I guess I wouldn’t be unhappy about him noticing me…"

"Then let’s get these, find ourselves a dress or two, and give these men a sight they won’t be able to forget tomorrow." With a wink, she disappears back behind the curtain, and I take a deep breath as I imagine how Mark might react when he sees me in this.

But really, there’s only one way to find out.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

MARK

"You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me."

"What’s wrong?" Claire asks. I gesture to the room in front of us, and after a few seconds, understanding falls over her expression. "Ah."

Our bags have already been brought up courtesy of the bellhop, and they’re propped against the far wall under the window. I can’t make out the view past the window with it being so dark now, but I’d be willing to bet it’ll be beautiful when the sun is up.

"I’m going to go downstairs and see if they have a room with more than one fucking bed," I grumble. As much as I’d love to believe this was a simple mistake, I know in my heart that it was Shane’s doing. He’s always been too concerned about my love life, so here he is, trying to force me to share a bed with Claire.

Claire, who has never kissed a man before me. Claire,who’s certainly never shared a bed with a man. Hell, seeing me shirtless was scandalous for her; she had literally ran from the room when it happened.

No. There is absolutely no way can I share a bed with her. If not for her honor, then for the fact that I won’t be able to think straight lying next to her.

I make for the door when Claire’s small hand rests on my arm, stopping me. "No, it’s okay. It’s late, and we’re both tired. I can sleep on the floor."

I scoff. "You’re not sleeping on the floor. That’s ridiculous."

"Seriously, it’s fine," she argues.

Like hell I’d let her sleep on the floor. "No, it’s not." I go to take another step toward the door, but this time it’s the pained tone of her voice that stops me.

"Is the idea of sharing a bed with me really that awful?"

God damn it. Taking a deep breath, I turn to face her, and the hurt expression she’s wearing is a knife through my chest. "No, of course not, Claire."

"Then why are you so angry?"

"I’m not angry, I’m…"I’m already imagining how fucking difficult it’s going to be to control my thoughts with our bodies so close. I’m annoyed that my best friend has spent all day telling me about how great you’d be for me, but I’m even more annoyed that he’s right. I can’t stop thinking about how your lips felt when we kissed and how perfect your body feels tucked into mine."I just don’t want you to be uncomfortable."

"I’m not uncomfortable," she says. "If it’s still a big deal, just go down there tomorrow and ask to switch rooms. But right now, I’d love nothing more than to take a shower and get some sleep. And I’m sure you’re just as tired as I am."

"Fine," I concede.

Claire unpacks her suitcase, using up exactly half of the dresser space, and goes to shower. I dig sweatpants and a t-shirt out of my bag, grateful I decided to bring the sweatpants on a whim considering I usually sleep in just my boxers. Changing quickly, I throw my dirty clothes in one of the empty dresser drawers and lay on top of the blankets in the bed.

Ugh, I’m going to have to share a blanket with Claire too.

Once she finally emerges from the bathroom, I get up to take my turn and have a thought. I open the armoire near the door, and there it is—a spare blanket folded up on the highest shelf. Thank God. It’s a bit scratchy, but it’ll work. One blanket would have meant being even closer to each other with nothing between us. That could’ve been dangerous.

I toss it onto the bed and tell Claire I’ll use it and that she can have the comforter before making my way into the bathroom and taking a shower of my own.

The hot water is soothing after the long day of traveling and enduring Shane’s constant questioning sandwiched by his chattering about wedding details. I never thought I’d say this, but I think I’d prefer to hear about the wedding details.

Even when Shane and I finally started talking about something interesting, I could hardly stop wondering what sort of ideas Dani was putting into Claire’s head while they were shopping. Dani is Shane’s match in every way that counts, which means that if he’s been plotting to get me into a relationship, she’d be entirely too enthusiastic about making it happen.

I take my time washing myself, letting the water cascade down my large frame and pull away some of the tension in my muscles.

I also know that as soon as I crawl into that bed, the tension is going to come right back. I’m a big guy—I take up alot of room. Even with a king bed, we’re going to be way too close.

Fuck. This really shouldn’t be bothering me as much as it is, but it’s not that I don’t want to feel her body close to mine; It’s that I want it too much, and that scares the fucking hell out of me.

---