into his chest. “Why the fuck did you do that?”
“You were going into shock,” he said, as calm as could be.
She looked down at her dripping clothes. Dodge was only too happy to follow her gaze to where the t-shirt clung to her breasts and waist. Persephone fixed him with a look of pure murderous intent and pointed at the door behind him. “Get. Out.”
“Change your clothes,” he said, trying to be helpful. “Don’t want to catch cold in those wet ones.”
She shrieked again and he took that as a clue to skedaddle. The door slammed behind him, practically bouncing off his ass. He shook his head as he wandered into the bedroom and tried to figure out how to defend it if anyone came looking for them. He’d lost his damn mind.
It wasn’t long before Persephone reappeared, looking furious but much more alert, in layers of pajamas that reminded him of armor. Good. Better that way. He couldn’t afford to think of what she might look like under the cotton and flannel and God only knew what else.
He held out a glass of water and a protein bar. “You should eat and drink. Keep your strength up.”
She scowled at him but took both before sitting on the edge of her bed. Dodge leaned back against the door to watch her, debating. Persephone made a face at the protein bar. “You can sleep on the couch, or you can leave.”
“Not safe for us to split up like that,” he said. “Not if the story is that we came back here to knock boots.”
“No one cares about this story but you,” she said. “And no one is getting into this apartment, so it’s not like –“
His eyebrows rose. “Confident, aren’t you? I broke into here earlier today, sweetheart. It’s not that hard. You haven’t changed the locks and they’re cheap.”
Her jaw went slack and she blinked at him. “You broke into my apartment?”
“This was the first place I looked for you,” he said. How could he make her understand the real danger she was in? “Just like this is the first place they’re going to look for you.”
The reminder of the fat greaseballs who might want to kill her made her tense. He could see her eyes go big and far away as she got caught up in her thoughts again. She still struggled with it, enough that she started following directions.
He let it go, since he needed her cooperative, until he’d bundled her into her bed and kicked off his boots so he could lay down on top of the soft comforter next to her. He listened to her breathe and fidget, and pondered how the hell he could get through the night without wanting to snuggle her close so she felt safe. Dodge couldn’t afford to relax, couldn’t afford to let her relax. If she got comfortable, it would be that much harder to get her moving again.
He needed her mad. Persephone muttered under her breath as she wormed around in the sheets, saying something about him behaving himself. Dodge stayed on his side facing the door, glad she couldn’t see him, and said, “Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. You’re not my type. Not even close.”
There was silence, followed by an indignant sound that made him want to roll on the floor. She sat up and glared at him, her hair sticking up, and he glanced back while managing to look confused. “What? I’m an ass man. Yours is nice, but... you know.”
Her eyes narrowed.
A hysterical laugh almost escaped as he watched her try to figure out how to be pissed off that he apparently didn’t find her attractive. He couldn’t help himself from poking the bear just a little more. “I’m looking for a ten. Yours is a solid six, maybe a six and a half.”
Persephone’s hands twitched like she wanted to strangle him. “My ass is at least a nine, thank you very much. I do two hundred squats every day, dick.”
She flopped onto her back, making disgruntled noises and kicking her feet around to make it clear how pissed off she was. Dodge just hoped she didn’t notice the mattress shaking from him trying not to laugh. Her ass was a perfect ten. He’d tell her in the morning, if he managed to keep his hands off it all night. But he needed her mad, ready to fight, not wallowing in fear. Hysteria and exhaustion meant making mistakes, and neither of them would survive even one.
The