Page 7 of Bunker Down, Baby

I roll my eyes. “Don’t be shy. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

His entire body tenses. He looks one second away from combusting. “Excuse me?”

I sigh dramatically. “You do sleep commando.”

He goes completely still.

Like a deer who just realized the hunter is right behind him.

His voice is slightly strangled when he finally speaks. “How long have you been watching me?”

I smile. “Oh, Evan. Long enough.”

Evan takes the burger with slow, measured movements, like he’s worried I’m going to stab him the second he lets his guard down.

Which is ridiculous.

If I wanted to stab him, I already would have.

Instead, I just watch, chin propped on my hand as he lifts it to his mouth, eyes locked onto mine like I’m a snake and he’s waiting to see if I’ll strike.

The first bite is small, hesitant. He chews. Swallows. Waits.

“I didn’t poison it,” I assure him.

His jaw ticks. “You drugged me.”

I sigh, waving that off. “That was different. I needed you to relax.”

He takes another bite. This one bigger.

He’s hungry, whether he wants to admit it or not.

God, even eating, he looks good. Sharp jaw, those full lips closing around the straw as he takes a sip of his soda, plain cola, his favorite, obviously.

“I still don’t understand what you want,” he finally says, voice quieter now. Not quite calm, but not outright hostile anymore either.

I smile. “I already told you. The world’s going to shit. Hospitals are full of disease, and I needed to get you somewhere safe.”

“Safe.” His brows lift. “Right. You chained me to a bed.”

“For your own good,” I say brightly. “You could have hurt yourself waking up confused.”

“Waking up confused because you drugged me,” he says.

God, he is really fixated on that detail.

I wave a fry at him. “You’ll thank me later.”

He exhales sharply, taking another bite of his burger, chewing like he’s imagining it’s me.

Which is hot, honestly.

I lean forward. “So?”

He pauses mid-bite, wary. “So what?”

“Do you like it?” I ask. “The food, I mean.”

---