He raises an eyebrow.
I stare him down.
“Get. In. The. Car.” The corner of his lip ticks upward for the briefest moment. “Or I’ll force you into it.”
He seems serious. And a threat of being manhandled is worse than giving in, so…
I do it. I circle to the passenger side and reach for the door handle, and it flashes under my fingertips.
Locked.
“What the fuck?”
He’s followed me, a towel in his hands. “Strip and sit on that.”
I hold his gaze and do it.
And I feel a bit rebellious, actually, letting my soaked jeans and boxers fall around my ankles. His gaze flicks down, then back up. His expression is amused, and I am wholly unsettled. I grab the towel, wrapping it around my waist. When we get back to my car, I’ll…
I don’t have anything extra.
Whatever. It doesn’t matter.
A pair of briefs hits me in the face. I catch them and glare at Kade. Humiliation coats my skin like another layer, and my face burns.
He smirks. But instead of staring, he leaves me be. He circles around and gets in the driver’s seat, and I slowly loosen the towel enough to pull them on. I keep the towel, positioning it over my lap as I sit.
I need to hide my suddenly erect dick.
Why is it malfunctioning?
He doesn’t so much as glance over. He asks where I parked, his smile widening when I tell him Bow & Arrow. By the time we get there, the sun has dipped below the water, and the line for the restaurant disappears around the corner. He finds a parking spot halfway down the block and shuts off the engine.
Kade whistles. “We going in?”
“To…?”
“Talk to Artemis? That’s why you came here, right? And maybe you couldn’t get in or reach her so you…” He hikes his thumb toward the water. “Decided to go for a four-mile swim.”
Shit. Was it four miles?
I thought it was shorter.
He chuckles. “I wouldn’t mind using you to talk to her anyway.”
“To do what?” I eye him. “She’s…”
I can’t say fragile.
I can’t do that to her, not when she’s helped hide my self-destruction from Jace.
“She might not want to see you,” I finish.
“Obviously.” Kade reaches over and unclicks my seat belt. “I think I have pants that will fit you.”
He does. My freak boner has luckily subsided. I throw the towel at his face and quickly pull the sweatpants into place. He offers a shirt, but I decline. My car is just around the block, and I retrieve the rest of my clothes. Shoes and socks, shirt, sweatshirt. Wallet, keys, phone.
I have a missed call from Reese, but I ignore it. I’ll call him later, when I’m on my way back to the condo.
