Page 56 of Nemesis
Still keeping his distance, he said, “When you’re done, wrap this tightly around your hand. If you need help, I’ll be in the kitchen, cleaning up.”
He looked at me one more time, a yearning look in his eyes before he turned on his heels, opening the bathroom door and leaving me.
I don’t know how long I stayed stuck in the same position he left me in, when I finally shook myself out of it and moved to turn the shower on before stepping under the hot spray.
CHAPTER23
THEO
What the fuck are you doing, Theo?The voice in my head scowled.
Sighing, I walked back into the kitchen. I turned the kitchen faucet on and splashed cold water on my face, running my wet fingers through my hair.
Every time I was alone with her, it was getting harder and harder to keep my distance. I was toeing a dangerous line; one I had no business being near.
She was married and her husband was none other than the person who’d hired me to protect her. I shouldn't,wouldn'tcross that line.
But…
There were these moments when I was with her that I didn’t see Sofia, their images starting to blur together in my mind. I knew it was wrong, and no one could ever replace her, but Olivia made the loss a little more bearable. The constant pain crawling under my skin dulled whenever I was with Olivia.
Shaking my head, I looked around the kitchen, trying to figure out what Olivia was previously cooking.
The huge stewpan with chickpeas, herbs, and meat inside gave it away immediately. I pulled out the small blender and finished up the tomato sauce before straining it into the pot. I refocused my attention on the vegetables she was attempting to mince. Attempting being the key word. I had never seen worse cut vegetables in my life.
Not since my attempt to teach Sofia how to do so.
Pushing that thought aside, I went back to cutting, adding the rest of what was needed into the pot. I closed the lid firmly and let it cook while I stood on the island with my laptop open, sifting through the new information Noah had sent me this morning.
It was roughly an hour later when the sound of a door opening followed by soft footsteps drifted through the cabin, slowly approaching. I paused my typing and turned in their direction right as she stepped into my line of sight.
My mouth immediately went dry.Fuck me.
My eyes widened at the sight of her in a T-shirt that seemed familiar, the hem grazing her mid-thigh, leaving my imagination wondering what was underneath. The shock of seeing her in such little clothing cleared long enough to make me realize she was wearingmyshirt.
The sight of her wearing something that was mine made my heart twitch, but I couldn’t tell if it was out of anger for seeing another woman in it or if it was because I’d secretly wanted to see her in something of mine for a while now.
“What are you wearing?” I blurted out. Heat immediately scorched my face when I realized how stupid my question was. I felt the tip of my ears burning, the flush slowly crawling down my neck.
Asshole. Why did you ask that?
She cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes at me, glaring. “Do you know where I can find a glass?” she asked, dismissing my previous question.
I followed along, pretending I never asked it in the first place. I cleared my throat and pointed at it. “Um, yes. The top cabinet on the far left.”
She padded barefoot into the kitchen, and her arm brushed against my back as she headed toward it. I tore my gaze away from her but kept watching her from my periphery, pretending I was still focused on the information displayed on my computer screen.
There was something about seeing her like this, bare and stripped down of all her protective layers, where I could feel her guard lower, her defenses at bay. These were the moments when she reminded me of Sofia the most.
Comfortable. Carefree.Beautiful.
I was still watching her, this time more openly, when she caught my lingering gaze, breaking the spell I was in. Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I shut my laptop and walked to the stove, needing to occupy my hands with something,anything, to keep me from marching up to her and discovering for myself what she was wearing underneath my shirt.
I was reaching for the wooden spoon to stir the soup, when I heard her frustrated sigh. I glanced over to see what was wrong, finding her standing on her tiptoes, struggling to reach for what she needed. The motion caused her shirt to ride up, exposing more of her bare thigh, gray cotton shorts peeking through, and my mind drifted to the idea of those long legs straining under different circumstances.
Bent over on the island, a pleasurable sigh replacing her current frustrated one as I played with her.
Before she could break anything, I closed the distance between us, stepping right behind her and reaching over her. I grabbed one of the tall glasses and set it on the counter next to her.
