Page 45 of Being Bold
Last night had surprised her. She wasn’t sure what had come over her to beg him like that. Or what had made him give in to her request. But, boy, was she glad he did.
She’d never dated a bearded guy before, and she’d been missing out. The scrape of his beard against her was . . .electrifying. She’d never come so quickly or easily. The hair had tickled and teased her as it rubbed against her sensitive skin. It was simply another layer of his incursion—one she’d welcomed with absolutely no regrets.
He can storm my castle any day.
With a soft chuckle, she stretched like a contented cat. Then a thought intruded. She hadn’t meant to drift off without taking care of him, but the sleep eluding her had drifted over her like a fog. She’d welcomed its dampening blanket, closing her eyes as she’d slipped into its embrace.
Where is he?
Lifting her head, Selene saw Bo gatekeeping at the cabin door. He spoke to someone—no, more than one person—as two sets of unfamiliar voices met her ears.
Who would be here?
Her heart started to beat faster when her brain jumped to the likely answer to that question. It had to be Mr. Dao. Or someone he’d sent after her. She told herself to get up and hide in the bathroom, but her legs refused to move. What if they saw her when she passed by the door?
Worrying about that possibility, she curled into a ball and pulled the covers over her head.
Please go away. Please. Please.
She wasn’t sure how long she’d been cowering when Bo’s deep voice broke through her invocation. “Selene? Some of my team’s here. You probably want to get dressed.”
Her breath rushed out in a massive gust of relief.
Not Mr. Dao.
As the tension left her body, she sat up, pulling the blanket together to hide her nakedness. Although why she bothered when he’d seen her bare on more than one occasion, she wasn’t sure. But a sudden shyness swept over her, heating her skin. “Hi,” she breathed like an idiot.
His eyes took her in, lingering on the fists she’d made around the blanket clutched to her chest. Something flickered in his gaze, and she prayed it wasn’t regret before he backed away from her. “Morning.” She thought she saw heat flare in his eyes before he looked away. Then, he cleared his throat and said roughly, “You should get dressed.”
Selene chewed her lip. Was he mad she’d fallen asleep on him? Ready to apologize, she opened her mouth.
“Last night can’t happen again.”
Deflated at his statement, tears sprang to her eyes. She blinked furiously to keep them from falling. She wanted to askwhy not, but she gathered what remained of her pride and stood up. “Fine. If you’ll excuse me?” Brushing past him, she hurried to the bathroom.
When she made it inside, she collapsed against the door. Losing her battle with the tears, they streamed down her face. Dropping the blanket, she hugged her arms around her middle. His rejection made her sick to her stomach with humiliation. He had no right to make her feel this way.
Damn him!
And damn her! As anger surged, she swiped the tears from her cheeks and took a deep breath. She was a mess because she cared about him. He deserved so much more than he gave himself credit for. But with his past haunting him, how could they ever have a future? Falling for Bo would be hopeless.
Despair weighed her down, nearly pulling her to the floor. She stumbled to the sink and leaned against it. Physically, Bo wanted her, but emotionally . . . his trauma was a third wheel, preventing their relationship from going anywhere. Lifting her eyes to the mirror, she cursed. Crying had made her skin all splotchy. She let the water warm up, then cupped her hands and splashed it onto her face.
Pull it together, Selene.
If he wanted to push her away, perhaps she should let him because having her heart crushed as the alternative wasn’t the least bit appealing. If she were to weigh the pros and cons, that one tipped the scales.
Hearing male voices, she quickly brushed her teeth, then put on another of the outfits Yumi had packed for her, more jeans, a sweater, and a pair of hiking boots.
Oh God, Yumi.
She hoped her friend didn’t run into trouble when she returned to Saber Tech today. Combing her fingers through hershoulder-length hair, Selene tried to ignore the worry stewing in her gut. Yumi would be fine. She was a freaking CIA agent.
Unreal.
She shook her head. Her life was unrecognizable. It was as if she’d fallen into a Tom Clancy novel. But there was no going back.
Determined to appear calm and utterly unaffected by Bo’s brush off, she squared her shoulders and placed her hand on the doorknob.
