The Camp (Chateau 2)

She had more scars than I did.

I pulled back the sheets from the head of the bed and got underneath.

She was at the foot of the bed, and she turned over to look at me. “That better not be it.” She crawled up the bed, her ass in the air, her nice tits shaking as she came to me. She pulled back the sheets and lay beside me.

I’d come inside her three times. I couldn’t do it again—at least, not right now.

She immediately snuggled against me, her arm banding over my chest, her leg hugging mine. She closed her eyes like she intended to sleep there.

I got out of bed then scooped my arms underneath her.

“What are you doing?”

“Taking you to bed.”

“This is my bed.” She moved away from my hold and shifted back.

I let her go and straightened.

She stared at me, visibly confused by the sudden change in atmosphere.

I turned to walk out.

“What are you doing?”

“Sleeping in another bedroom.”

“What the hell, Magnus?” She came after me and grabbed my wrist so I would turn back to her.

I looked down at her hurt face. “I don’t like to sleep with people.”

“You sleep with me all the time.”

“Only because I don’t have another choice. But I really don’t like it.”

She released my wrist when she understood it wasn’t personal. Naked, she crossed her arms over her chest, making her tits even perkier, the nipples hardening because she wasn’t surrounded by my heat or the sheets. “You slept with me at my apartment.”

“That was…different.”

“Why?”

I stared.

“You said you would let it go.”

“I did—”

“Not all the way. You trusted me then, and I need you to trust me now.”

“You asked me to forgive you. Nothing about trust was ever mentioned.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You do trust me.”

“Not yet.”

“You wouldn’t have taken me out of there if you didn’t. I could have just screamed and made a scene. You’ve left me alone with your laptop, and I could have gotten online and told everyone about the camp and asked them to trace my location. You know I would never compromise you, so stop acting like you think I would. Your life is my life—and I would never risk it.”

I believed her when I shouldn’t.

“I bluntly told you I was going to the police when you released me. You didn’t care.”

“I didn’t think you were going to liberate the camp—”

“Then you underestimated me,” she snapped. “I never told you I wouldn’t do everything I could to destroy that camp. I didn’t give my word and take it away. I’m giving you my word now—and that means something.”

My body was still coated with sweat from the time we’d spent locked in the heat of passion. It was like a vacation, a moment away from reality. But now we were back to the real world.

“You aren’t telling me something…”

I dropped my gaze slightly.

“Why won’t you sleep with me?”

I kept my eyes averted, reliving a horrible night that was so vivid in my memory, it felt like it had happened yesterday.

She studied me, her hand gently moving to mine, like she could read the emotion in my eyes.

“I just…don’t like being unconscious when other people are around.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m afraid someone is going to shoot me in the back of the head.” My eyes turned back to her.

She was motionless, her hand still holding mine, and she looked at me like she didn’t know what to say. “That’s very specific…”

“It is.”

“Well, we both know that’s not going to happen with me—”

“I still don’t like it—”

“We’re going to go back to the camp and have to sleep in that tiny bed together, so it’s unavoidable. You may as well get used to it, may as well embrace it, because if someone really came in to harm you, it would be two against one…not one against one.” She came closer to me, close enough for a kiss. “I’d die for you, and you know that.” Her arm moved around my neck, and she brought our foreheads together, making me give and receive affection that I never had before. “Now, let’s go to bed.” She kissed me before she pulled away, her hand giving mine a gentle squeeze.

I hesitated, standing my ground.

Then she gave me a subtle smile, a comforting stare, and another tug.

This time, I joined her.

When I woke up the next morning, she was gone.

I immediately stiffened in panic because I’d never set the alarm, and if she left hours ago and took the cash out of my wallet, it would take forever to find her. I sat upright in bed and felt my heart pound.

Then she stepped inside, carrying a mug of coffee. “Oh good, you’re awake.” She gave me that bright smile and affectionate gaze as she carried the coffee to the nightstand. Steam erupted from the surface, immediately filling my bedroom with the aromatic smells of freshly brewed coffee. “It’s not hot chocolate with marshmallows, but I have a feeling you wouldn’t like that anyway.” Her hair and makeup were already done, so she’d been up for a while. She was in one of my t-shirts, which she must have taken out of my dresser, the one with a loaded revolver inside.