Page 43 of Forged in Flames (Made of Steel 2)

V glared at him.

"How's your leg?" I asked.

"It's been better." He glared back at V. "But I've had worse. I'm fine."

"Okay. Well, I'm just going to..." I pointed to the bathroom over my shoulder. This was probably the most awkward start to a day I'd ever had. I disappeared into the bathroom and closed the door before anyone could say anything else. Neither one of them had even tried to hide the fact that they were staring at me. God, what on earth did they have planned?

Spend my days with Eli and my nights with V. I rolled my eyes. I'm sure that wasn't their plan. What was I even thinking? I pulled the t-shirt off over my head and threw it onto the tiled floor. I turned on the shower. It only took a second for the water to get warm. This was definitely a hell of a lot nicer than my dorm.

I stepped in and immediately opened up the body wash. I was right. It smelled just like him. I quickly washed up, trying not to focus on how arousing V's scent was. Or the fact that I was completely covered in it now. I rinsed off, stepped out of the shower, and wrapped one of the fluffiest towels I had ever touched around me. V clearly lived a life of luxury. So where had his soft spot for the poor come from?

I opened up a drawer in his vanity. It was completely empty. As was the next. And the next. The only thing in the bathroom were one toothbrush, a small tube of toothpaste, and a roll of floss. Luxury on the cheap, I guess.

After running my fingers through my hair, swishing some toothpaste and water around in my mouth, and pulling on my dirty clothes, I was ready to walk back out there. I pressed my ear against the bathroom door. I couldn't hear a thing. If they were both still sitting in the kitchen, they weren't talking. That thought didn't surprise me. But I hoped that Eli had left for class.

I opened up the door and stepped out. V was standing at the sink, still in his disguise, doing dishes. He turned and shut the water off when he spotted me emerging.

"I'll pick up a few things for you," he said, as if reading my thoughts.

"I wasn't planning on spending the night here again."

"You didn't sleep well?"

"Actually, I slept really well. Probably better than I have in years." I walked into the kitchen and sat down at one of the stools. "There wasn't much in your bathroom."

"Then I'll pick up a few things," he repeated.

I shook my head. "You don't have to do that." I looked around the room instead of pouring myself a bowl of cereal. "It doesn't even seem like anyone lives here. You have nothing in your drawers. There isn't a spot on anything." I stared at one of the gleaming glass separators.

"I'm not here all the time. And I rarely ever sleep here."

"Where are you usually?"

He wiped his hands off on the front of his sweatpants and walked over to me. It took me a second to realize he wasn't wearing his gloves. I couldn't seem to look away from his hands. It wasn't that there was anything unusual about them or anything like that. But I wondered if they'd feel like fire if they touched me.

He cleared his throat and I looked back up at his face. "I don't live here is all that I meant."

"So where do you live?"

He sat down next to me.

And I couldn't even control myself. I reached out and grabbed one of his hands. They were warm, but not hot. They didn't burn me at all. Actually, the feeling of his skin on mine felt soothing if anything.

I thought he might pull back, or get upset. Instead, his fingers curled around mine. His hands were rough and I could feel the calluses on his palms. Everything about him emanated strength. He made me feel safe.

He turned my hand over and ran his thumb down my palm.

My breathing hitched.

He looked back up at my face. "I'm sorry about last night."

I swallowed hard. "Which part?"

A smile spread across his face. "About what I said. No, we don't end up together. I can't change that. It doesn't mean we have to stop whatever this is."

"And what do you think this is?" It really felt like my heart was going to explode.

He continued to rub his thumb against my palm. "A way to breathe a little easier."

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