Heedless (The Hellbound Brotherhood #4) - Shannon McKenna Page 0,42
big glass double shower stall was opulent, too. She luxuriated in the strong stream of hot water, using all the bottles of perfumed goop that the hotel had provided. Afterwards, she dried off and dried her hair with the hair dryer, always a lengthy proposition. She stared at her own naked body in the mirror. She was rosy pink from the heat.
She wished she had a little makeup. Her eyelashes were long and dark naturally, and God knows her eyes were shadowed enough right now without more help, but she’d let her eyebrows get thicker during her flight. Gil never liked them that way, despite the fashion shifting in favor of thicker brows. Gil had preferred a more delicate look.
But some cover-up, blush and lipstick would have been great right about now.
She hadn’t felt the urge to primp in such a long time. It was so different, with Nate behind those doors. She’d made an effort for Gil, certainly, but always with a sinking sense her best efforts would never be enough. Gil had never been pleased.
But Nate was. Intensely pleased, even when she did nothing in particular. And right now, he was out there, helping her while she snoozed and washed and anointed herself with scented lotion and scrubbed her teeth with minty toothpaste.
It felt sensual, and self-indulgent, being naked, with Nate right behind that door. Breathless anticipation built inside her.
She pulled on Nate’s T-shirt. It was black, and it was huge. It draped off her shoulders and hung down to mid-thigh. Which was lucky, since she’d taken the opportunity to wash out her one pair of underwear in the shower, as one did when on the run. It was now hanging on the heated towel rack to dry.
She was utterly bare down there, and intensely aware of it. Nate had said that sex wasn’t part of the equation, but that was bullshit. He’d showed her how good it could be. He’d let that genie out of the bottle, and he’d set the bar unimaginably high.
Now, he just had to deal with what he had created.
The floor planks in the bedroom were exquisitely smooth and cool against her bare feet as she went to the door and leaned on the doorframe.
She instantly recognized the video Nate was examining. It was the third of the TV interviews, the last one in which Josh appeared. She’d caught it in a motel lobby TV near Spokane. By now, she’d seen it hundreds of times. She knew every second of it.
In this video, Josh sat with his arms folded on the desk, and Gil stood behind him, his hands on Josh’s shoulders. An attractive redheaded journalist conducted the interview. She was simpering and flirting, not that Elisa blamed the woman. Gil’s manner was very charming and seductive. At least at first.
“…such a comfort,” Gil said. “Like he’s my own brother, and the only one who knows how special and unique Louisa is. I don’t know what I’d do without him.”
Elisa was motionless, and didn’t make a sound, but Nate must have sensed the stifled rage Gil’s words ignited inside her. He turned and looked at her, and then glanced back to the laptop to pause the video. “Hey, you,” he said. “Good nap?”
“Must have been,” she said. “I don’t remember any of it. Not even any nightmares, which is unusual for me these days. How long was I out?”
“Must be about ten hours.”
She gasped. “Holy crap, I’m sorry! You should have woken me up!”
“Hell, no,” he said. “I was glad. You needed that sleep. Don’t feel guilty. You have to power down regularly. It’s not a selfish thing to do, just practical.”
“Thanks, but I don’t think I’ve ever slept that long in my life. Certainly not since my troubles began.” She snorted. “Which is to say, the day I got engaged.”
His eyes flicked down over her body. Her awareness of her nakedness beneath the T-shirt intensified. “You’ve been watching these interviews the whole time?”
“I’ve watched everything the guy ever said that was archived online,” Nate said. “There’s a fuckton of it. The dude loves the sound of his own voice.”
“That’s the truth.” She gestured toward the screen. “Let the video finish.”
Nate tapped the touchscreen. “…you could say anything to your sister, what would it be?” the interviewer asked Josh, a soulful look on her eyes.
Josh’s face tightened, and he slapped his chest with his hand. “I just miss you so much, Lu,” he said, his voice shaky. “I’m just sitting here, night and