Page 43 of Hiding for the Holidays
“Do I?” Leo asks as he turns to face me fully.
“Do you what?” I ask nervously as he takes a step towards me.
“Do I tempt you?”
I inhale sharply, realizing he heard what I said.
He stops with a mere foot of space between us. His warm green eyes stare deeply into mine. His head tilts to the side as he waits for an answer. I swallow heavily as I rack my brain for an answer.
“Leo,” Grant says in a warning tone. I turn around to find both men in the doorway with narrowed eyes on Leo. I glance back and forth as they all seem to be having some sort of silent stare-off.
“Uh… Is there a washroom I can use somewhere?” I ask, trying to break the strange tension.
Grant’s face relaxes as his eyes turn to me. “Of course, it’s right here.” He motions me to follow him and points to the door next to my new bedroom. “You can use anything you like in there. There are new toothbrushes in the third drawer. Help yourself to shampoo, towels, whatever you need.”
I glance around the bathroom. There’s a little toothpaste on the counter, some marks on the mirror and what looks like a dirty wet towel on the floor in the corner. It makes me smile. It looks more lived in then downstairs and I like the reminder that I’m not alone here.
“Oops, sorry about that,” Grant says, pushing past me to grab the wet towel. “Leo’s always forgetting to hang his up.” He steps across the hall and throws it in the open doorway. “That’s his room, by the way.” He points to the one further down the hall. “That’s me.” He points to the one on the other side of mine, closer to the stairs. “And that’s Asher. You let us know if you need anything, okay?”
I nod, and he places his hand on my shoulder, giving it asmall squeeze. “If you don’t need anything, I’m going to try to get some sleep.”
“I think I’m good, thank you for letting me stay here.”
“Of course, sweetheart.” He smiles warmly, squeezing my shoulder once more before turning and heading to his own room.
I close myself in the washroom and take care of business, then find the toothbrush and brush my teeth. Even though I'd already done it earlier this evening, my breath is probably gnarly from sleeping.
When I come out, Leo and Asher are whispering angrily at one another, but they both stop the second they notice me.
“Hey, shortcake. You got everything you need?” Leo asks, turning to face me.
I nod and I eye my bedroom. I wasn’t exactly keen on being alone, but they are my bosses, and it would be weird to ask them to stay and chat. Just because they asked me to stay here doesn’t mean anything has changed.
Although I don’t know what that was with Leo before. That definitely wasn’t something a boss would say or do.
“I’m just across the hall; let me know if you need anything.”
“Thanks, Leo.”
He gives me a tentative smile and nods before turning to Asher and narrowing his eyes at him. “Remember what I said.”
Asher rolls his eyes as Leo disappears into his room, leaving just the two of us in the hall. He simply stares at me. The silence starts to make me feel uncomfortable, and I cross my arms over my chest, only now realizing I’m not wearing a bra. At least my shirts not see-through, but I’m sure they got a decent view of the outline of my not-so-perky c-cups.
“I guess you need to get to sleep, too?” I ask to break the silence between us.
“Are you going to sleep?” he asks, surprising me.
“I—” I cut myself off, unsure how to answer. “I should.”
“But you don’t want to? Or you don’t think you can?”
Asher is too perceptive sometimes, so I shrug in response. “A bit of both.”
“I’m not really that tired. I was going to watch a movie, do you want to join me?”
I haven’t had a TV since I’ve been on the run, and the thought of watching something to distract me makes me nod eagerly. “Sure, I’d like that.”
“Why don’t you get comfy and climb into bed? I’ll join you in a minute.” He gestures to my room, and my eyebrows raise in surprise as my stomach tightens in anticipation.
