Yours Forever (Reign 3)
Page 38
“I’m going to bed,” Jack said, using one hand to unfasten the top two buttons on his shirt, giving sight to that chiseled chest and what I knew to be rock hard abs even lower. He stared at me while he unbuttoned the third, then the fourth…
I shook my head and looked away, only to find Cal faking a yawn and stretching. Reaching back, he pulled his T-shirt over his head and off, revealing muscles and tattoos and…damn them both.
“Yeah, I’m going to bed too,” Cal said. Keeping his gaze on me. “Are you rethinking topless Tuesdays?”
Before I could answer, Jack peeled his shirt off, showcasing all those perfectly ripped muscles coated in olive skin.
“Based on the way you’re staring,” Jack said to me. “That’d be my guess.”
I forced my gaze away. With a deep breath, I knew I only had one option. I walked past Cal, into his room. I saw him gesture at Jack with a victorious smile. But before either of them moved, I grabbed Cal’s bag, carried it across the hall, shoving past Jack, and tossed it on Jack’s bed.
Dusting off my hands, I went back into Cal’s room and looked at both men, standing in the hallway, staring me down.
“Since you two are both tired, you can sleep together. Sweet dreams.” With that, I slammed the door.
Chapter 12
“Okay, thank you anyway,” I said and hung up the phone.
Two days had passed and I’d spent every hour calling banks in the Colorado area asking about their lockbox keys. So far, no luck in finding a bank that matched the mystery key my father had left.
“Still nothing?” Cal asked, coming into the living room, bag of mini doughnuts in hand, popping one into his mouth.
I looked at the papers spread out over the couch and me sitting in the middle with no answers. The list was long and I’d only started in the Colorado area. There was a chance it wasn’t even in this state, but I hoped it was. Hell, I didn’t even know if the bank would still be open.
“No. And all the banks are closed for the holidays now, so I have to wait.”
Cal held out the bag of doughnuts, offering me some. I took one and smiled. “Thanks.”
He nodded and chewed on another. The way his jaw worked with a light dusting of stubble was hypnotic. A fresh blanket of snow was outside, and no one would ever know it was cold because Cal look so comfortable in well-loved jeans, a white T-shirt, and bare feet.
“We’ll find the bank. In the meantime, try to relax.”
I scoffed around my mouth of doughnut. Relaxing was something I wasn’t good at. Though the setting was perfect for it. The seclusion was nice. Just being away from the city, from anyone like Brock or Anita was very freeing. Still, I was holed up with the only two men who had the power to change my world, and had proven they could wreck it within seconds.
“You okay?” Cal asked, as if reading something on my face.
“I just feel a little off.”
“It’s because you haven’t eaten real food today,” Jack said, walking in from the kitchen, holding a bowl of salad and roll. It smelled amazing and looked even better. He was a good cook and master salad craftsman. The thing looked more like art than food. He set both in front of me on the coffee table, then stood to look me over as if to assess me.
“What?” I asked.
“I don’t like how you look,” he replied matter of factly.
I frowned down at my simple jeans and sweater and tried not to cry from the insult. These were the clothes I’d found in the bag Jack brought.
“You’re the one that packed this crap and—”
“No, baby, I mean your expression. I don’t like how you look so sad.” His words were laced with his own kind of sadness, and it made me choke on a deep intake of air. He sat next to me and put the salad in my hands, gesturing me to eat.
I glanced at him, then at the food.
“You really think I’d ever say I don’t like the way you look?” he enunciated the last word and his fingertip trailed down my throat. He could burn through ice, much less my skin. Every nerve jumped beneath his touch, begging for deeper contact.
I picked up my fork and started stabbing at the salad. I couldn’t face him. Not when he was being kind. Not when Cal was being casual. Not like that. I was so close to giving in to the heat and warmth they provided that I needed to get out of this moment.
“Your salad isn’t cheering her up,” Cal said, taking a purposeful bite of his doughnut. “You want something sweeter, Kitten?”