“This sounds like a good story,” I remarked.
It turned out it was a good story. Good, but terrifying. He relayed everything that had happened as we walked back to the hotel. The car was still there, so walking was really our only option. We could have tried using my rideshare app, but Nate wanted to make completely sure we weren’t being followed.
His story made me sick. He’d come so close to being killed.
“You really stared down a lion?” I gaped at him while we waited in the shadows to cross the road.
“I did. Not the safest thing I’ve ever done, or my most brilliant moment, but I felt pretty badass afterward.”
Back at the hotel, we walked the full border three times. Nate sniffed the air and peeked in the window of every car in the parking lot. Finally, assured that no one was lying in wait, he took my hand, and we went inside.
“If they were going to track me back here, they’d be here already. Looks like we’re safe,” he said, though his eyes still roved around, checking for danger.
“Good evening.” The front desk clerk smiled at us. “Late night?”
“Something like that,” Nate grunted. He tugged me to the small snack-and-drink selection they had for sale. “Want something? I’m starving.”
I nodded.
After grabbing snacks and drinks, we headed upstairs, eating on the way. My body ached, and my eyes burned with exhaustion. It felt like someone had poured sand into my eyes. It was well past one in the morning by the time we were safely back in the room. Even though we were exhausted, Nate still had to shower. He smelled like the zoo.
“Are you ready for bed?” I asked as he strode out of the bathroom, dressed in fresh boxers and drying his hair with a towel.
“Absolutely. I’m beyond exhausted.”
He wedged a chair beneath the door handle, then joined me in bed. He snuggled next to me, and I sighed as my body relaxed. I could get used to a life like this—not the danger and running, but falling asleep with Nate’s arm around me and his breath cascading across the back of my neck.
A faint smile formed on my lips as I slipped into unconsciousness.
45
Nate
Sleep fled slowly the next morning, like sand through wet fingers. As my dreams faded and reality returned, I noticed a light pressure on my chest. Blinking away the last vestiges of sleep, I glanced down and saw Cameron asleep on my chest. Her mouth was slightly open as she breathed deeply and steadily. A tiny bit of drool coated the skin below her mouth. Staring at her, I couldn’t help but grin at how adorable she looked.
I could get used to this.
The words gave me pause. Could Ireallysee myself with this woman? Settling down and being hers? Domestic life had never appealed to me. It had always seemed boring, trite, banal. Until now.
I watched her sleep until she finally stirred. Stretching and wiping at her mouth, Cameron groaned and then yawned before looking up at me. She blinked in surprise.
“Were you watching me sleep?”
“I was. You drool when you sleep,” I said, lifting an eyebrow and giving her a cocky grin.
“Oh,God,” she hissed and wiped her mouth again, a red flush rising to her cheeks.
Chuckling, I sat up and rubbed a hand over my messy hair. “Come on. Let’s get ready. We need to get on the road.”
Before I could pull myself from bed, Cameron clutched at my arm. Turning, I found her gazing at me, a playful smile on her lips. Excitement and anticipation stirred in my stomach.
“Do we have to get going so fast?” she asked, then licked her lips. “Don’t we have a few minutes?”
A hungry growl reverberated through my chest as I pulled her against me. “I think you might be right.”
Our lips met, and the heat of her mouth surged into my own as her hand drifted low, fingertips playing along the waistband of my boxers. Taking my cue from her, I let my fingers drift over her left breast, my thumb grazing her nipple. When Cameron gasped and arched her back, desire flooded through me. My cock throbbed, straining against my boxers.
Cameron drew her fingers across the bulge of my underwear, and I let out another growl. She broke the kiss and grinned at me.
