Page 30 of Stone Cold Bad
“You mean get him to show his face?”I asked.
He shrugged.“Might be able to put an end to this search fast if we give him a good scare.”I could see the gears spinning in Slade’s head.He thrived on this kind of shit.
“Maybe.But the man comes with his own army of pricks.We might start an all out war.We’ll need to make a plan.”I tightened my arm around Jade.“In the meantime, I need to hide my ten-thousand-dollar treasure.”
TWENTY
JADE
There were still a few kitchen utensils and pieces of furniture that had been left behind in the cottage after Noddy’s family had taken what they wanted.Colt had put his mattress and bedding into the truck along with an ice chest to keep food in.There was no refrigerator, but we’d make do.I’d spent some time sweeping the worn wooden floors, and Colt put in the two windows that had been next on his project list.
The bedroom still had an old nightstand and a pretty glass lamp with a frilly lampshade.Just from looking at Noddy’s things and knowing how she had looked after the brothers in her own quiet way made me think I would have really liked her.
Colt came in with some driftwood and a smile.I could tell he was liking the idea of staying in his own place.“The electricity is on because I need it for my drills and tools, but the gas is off.So, no heat.But even without it, I think I can get a nice fire going in the hearth with this seasoned driftwood.Once the marine layer settles in at night, it gets pretty cold out here.”He piled the wood next to the fireplace.Then he walked over and pulled me into his arms.“And, of course, there’s always my infamous body heat that you’re so good at stealing.”
I wrapped my arms around him.“I do love your body heat and your body ...for that matter.If I didn’t have a madman hunting me down, staying holed up here with you would be close to the best thing that’d ever happened to me.”
“Close to?”he asked.
“Well, the best thing that ever happened was me deciding to hide on your boat.A little decision that brought me straight into these arms.”
He pressed his palm against the side of my face and kissed me.“I’d say my luck began when you decided to use me as your human shield in that hallway.”He lowered his arms.“That reminds me.”He walked out to the kitchen and returned with a bag.“I bought this stuff on the way home today.”
I pulled out a phone.
“That’s for your safety.I put all of our numbers in it, and Amy’s, of course.Otherwise, I’d be hearing about it big time.”
I turned it on.“Thank you.It actually makes me feel part of the human world again.Of course, I’m still trying to decide if that’s a good or bad thing.”
“I’m still on the fence about that myself.But lately, I’ve been landing on the side of good.”He brushed a strand of brown hair off my face.It was strange seeing dark hair around my shoulders and face.
I reached in the bag.My fingers landed on silky fabric.I pulled it out.It was an extremely scant blue silk babydoll nightgown.“Hmm.”
“Uh, yeah, that’s got nothing to do with safety.That’s for me,” he said.
I held up the sheer confection of lace and silk and laughed.“You weren’t embarrassed buying this thing?”
I peered up at him.His confident expression assured me he hadn’t been.
“Right,” I said.“I’m sure you’ve never been embarrassed in your life.”
He dropped his gaze.“Not true.As a kid, on days like Halloween when everyone else was wearing their Superhero costumes and I had to go to school in the same ripped up jeans I’d been wearing all week, I was plenty embarrassed.”
I curled my hand around his neck and kissed him.“I’m glad that time is over for you.”I glanced toward the big picture window that had a great view of the ocean.Dusk was closing in fast.“The fog is rolling in.I think you should start the fire while I see how the gift fits.”
“I’m looking very forward to seeing that myself.”
I walked into the bedroom and changed.Without a mirror, it was hard to know how I looked, but the lingerie fit perfectly.I supposed after the marathon of sex, where we’d explored every inch of each other’s bodies, he had a pretty good idea of my size.The silky fabric was nearly transparent.Thin, blue ribbons held the lightweight nightie on my shoulders.The two panels parted like lace curtains just below the bra line, and the matching panties were no more than a triangle of sheer blue lace held on by a thin waistband.Heat swirled through me as I thought about Colt looking at me in the sheer lingerie.Even though he’d seen me completely naked, somehow I felt even more exposed in the nearly transparent nightie.
Colt was leaning into the hearth poking at the lit kindling with a long stick.He’d carried in the mattress and blankets and placed them in front of the small, stone hearth.He had his laptop on the floor playing music, and there were some potato chips and beer next to it.
“Looks like a very sexy picnic,” I said.
He turned around.His chest swelled with a long, deep breath.
I held out my arms and turned around once.“What do you think?”
“Damn.”It was just the one word, but it was the way he’d said it that sent a tremor of excitement through me.
