“I see someone coming,” she said, and pointed. “Over there.”
Jaden stared at the vehicle for a long moment.
The tension was so thick inside the vehicle Laruen struggled to breathe. And then the SUV pulled away.
“It’s fine,” Jaden reassured.
“When can I see my brother?” Would she look at every SUV differently now? Would she check behind her every time she took two steps on the street?
Jaden glanced at his watch. “It’s too late tonight. We’ll go in the morning. Since Menendez’s people seem intent on finding you we should probably change your appearance.”
An urge to see for herself that Max was still okay gripped Lauren. She didn’t want to wait. She was tired of waiting. What if his injuries were too great and he slipped away in the night? “What if Max doesn’t—”
“He will.”
She would argue the point, but Jaden had been spot on so far. “Did Gunner say he’d let us know if anything happened to him?”
“Yes. But nothing’s going to happen. He’s in good hands,” Jaden said.
Lauren wished she possessed the tiniest bit of his confidence.
Why did everything and everyone in Lauren’s life feel so fleeting?
Jaden’s home was two blocks from Laurens and had no unnecessary furniture. The living room had a couch and TV. The kitchen had a small table and chairs. There were a few dishes in the sink. The bedroom housed nothing more than a bed, and a TV tray for a nightstand. A handful of change had been tossed on top. A cord lay draped across, which looked to be a charger for his phone.
“You can put your stuff in here,” Jaden said. His blue eyes darkened. “The shower’s in the next room. I’d like to dress your wounds again when they’re clean.”
Lauren put her bag in the bedroom and moved to the bathroom where she took a hot shower. It was nice to have some comforts from home, like a razor and shaving cream.
Home?
Home had been destroyed. Like so much in her life recently. She felt emotionally wrung out and drained from inside out.
“There’s food in the kitchen,” Jaden said, after knocking on the door. “I made a few phone calls. We can see Max in the morning. They’ll expect us around nine.”
“Did they say how he was doing?”
“Better than expected.” His voice, soothing and calm, shouldn’t make her feel like everything was right with the world.
It did.
The knob twisted.
“Lauren? You okay?”
“No. I’m fine,” she said, allowing his deep baritone to wash over her for another minute. She was tired of fighting her feelings for Jaden. “I’ll be right out.”
She finished dressing in her nightshirt and pajama shorts and joined him in living room. When Jaden’s gaze landed on her, appraising, heat flooded through her, and her heart stuttered.
Jaden’s pulse hummed when he saw Lauren standing there in her sleep clothes, her fiery hair silky and flowing down her back. He was becoming painfully stiff, so he readjusted his length.
The rosy hue in Lauren’s cheeks brightened.
God, she looked beautiful. He moved to her and leaned close, breathing her in. She smelled like fresh flowers and sunshine and everything good about a summer day.
When she didn’t step away, blood flooded south. He smoothed his palm over her flat stomach before lowering it to grip her waist as he pulled her tightly against his bare chest. They were skin pressed against life-giving skin.
“You’re beautiful,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to her chin and then her lips. He dropped a hand around her hips and squeezed. “And incredibly sexy.”
“Keep that up and I won’t be able to stop you,” she said as her bright eyes twinkled. She had eyes that he could look into for days.
She took a step back. “Jaden. We should think this through. There are probably a thousand logical reasons as to why we shouldn’t sleep together.”
“Who said anything about sleep?” His joke brought out the smile that sent a bolt of lightning straight to his chest.
“Do you want this? Me?” was all he asked.
A pink flush rose to her cheeks. Her gold-brown eyes darkened with desire. “Yes.”
“I said we were going to finish what we started yesterday and I meant every word. But you tell me to stop and I’m hands-off.” He closed the gap between them and she didn’t back away. He was close enough to feel her chest rise and fall when she breathed. He felt good in this space.
Kissing the top of her shoulder, he guided his lips up the nape of her neck, across the smooth skin of her face. He feathered a kiss on the small freckle above her mouth, until his lips found hers. She parted hers and teased his tongue into her mouth.
He moved them to the bed, undressing her along the way.
His tongue, hot and needy, pressed into her mouth as she pulled him on top of her. He instinctively reacted to her movements. His passion heated with the kind of fire that had been shelved for years and finally set free.
Jaden took his time, tasking every inch of her neck, her jawline. His heft covered her, and she trembled beneath him. Her back arched and her hips shifted, her soft skin pressed against his erection.
She was perfection.
He brought up one of his hands and smoothed it across the exposed skin of her breast. Her nipple beaded and she wrapped long, lean runner’s legs around his midsection.
With Lauren’s naked and warm body pressed against him he noticed that she fit every part of him. The feel of her bare silky skin was enough to drive him to the brink. He thrust his tongue deep inside her mouth.
He pulled back enough to take in her body, letting his gaze linger on every curve of her incredible figure. He watched as full breasts rose and fell with every deep breath she took.
With one arm wrapped around her waist, he pulled her body tight against his before letting his hands wander over her sweet skin. He touched every inch of her stomach
