How the Hitman Stole Christmas - Sam Mariano Page 0,49
and looks at my sister. “Yeah. It was something like that.”
Chapter Sixteen
Autumn
When my eyes open, I’m lying on my side in a comfortable bed looking directly out the window at a big back yard. Everything is blinding white—the sky, the ground. There’s even more snow falling, but it’s a light, fluffy snow, not the crappy kind I had to drive in Monday evening.
Was that really only two days ago?
It’s crazy to think I only met Jasper day before yesterday.
I’ve spent every moment—asleep and awake—with the man since he walked into my life. We’ve already been through so much—more than I ever went through with Brady, and we saw each other for months.
Normally it takes me a while to get comfortable with a man, but I’m not even self-conscious or uncomfortable lying here wearing only Jasper’s T-shirt and a pair of panties, his strong arm locked around my waist. It might be crazy since he’s technically the bad guy, but I’ve never felt as safe as I do in his embrace.
I sigh with contentment, letting my eyes drift shut for another minute. I’m not ready to be awake yet, and it’s so nice to relax here with the feel of Jasper’s body pressed against my back. That must be why I’m so warm.
I must have shifted more than I realized. With Jasper cuddled up against my back the way he is, he’d feel even the slightest movement. Whether it was that or maybe just his keen senses, something wakes him up.
He leans a little closer, burying his face in my hair and inhaling the scent. “Why do you smell so goddamn good?” he grumbles.
His grumpy comment draws a smile out of me. “Good morning to you, too.”
He doesn’t bother responding, just tightens his arm around my waist and tugs me back against him a little harder.
I feel something pressed against my butt and start a little at the realization of what it must be.
Is he… aroused?
The thought makes my stomach twist, but rather than linger long enough to entertain any more thoughts about it, I lift his hand and roll off my side of the bed.
“I have to pee,” I lie. “I’m gonna take a shower while I’m in there. Did you bring in my white sweater?”
Jasper nods, not moving from the bed. “It’s right in the top of my bag.”
I blink at him in surprise, then hesitantly walk over to the chair he dropped it on last night.
I didn’t expect him to invite me to go through his things.
I steal a glance in his direction. He’s still on his side facing away from me.
Slowly, I unzip the black duffel bag and reach inside. I half expect him to stop me or at least roll over so he can watch and make sure I don’t snoop. When he let me use his phone, he certainly wasn’t comfortable.
Maybe it was only because I was a stranger then. Now I know him better, know more about him and what he does.
My cowl neck sweater is right there on top. I grab it, but curiosity tempts me to keep looking. Instead of taking the sweater and going to the bathroom, I reach deeper into the bag to see what else he packed.
My finger brushes something stiff. I pull the clothing aside to see what it is.
A passport. I frown, pushing back the clothes to see what else is in the bottom of the bag. There’s a thick leather pouch, zipped and locked, almost like a bank bag. Next to that is a cell phone with a rubber band wrapped around it, a green card and some papers attached behind it.
“It’s a go-bag.”
I jump, gasping as my gaze darts to the bed and I see him looking straight at me.
I didn’t hear him roll over. I would have at the motel, but this bed doesn’t squeak.
My face flushes. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have… My curiosity got the better of me.”
He shrugs, not seeming all that concerned about it. “I didn’t have time to pack a bag when I picked you up, so I grabbed the one I keep packed in case I need to get out of town in a hurry.”
“Has that ever happened?”
“A time or two.”
“You have a passport in here. You had to leave the country?”
He shakes his head slightly. “Nah, haven’t had to do that, but you want to be ready for anything. That’s the whole point of a go-bag. Whatever you might need, it has to be in there. Obviously, I didn’t