If I curled up into a ball, then maybe.
“We’ll figure it out later,” I say since I don’t want her to worry about my comfort after all that she’s been through.
Tonight, I just want to give Brayden everything she needs to relax and put the memories of the last few days of hell behind her.
Chapter Five
Brayden
The beachfront villa is nice. There’s just one problem — it’s so…romantic, like a quiet getaway I could imagine spending my honeymoon in with the man I marry. Standing in it with a man who I’ve known for a while but who has just spoken to me for the first time tonight is a little awkward.
I’m pretty sure Logan feels the same since he hasn’t moved a step after closing and locking the door behind us as we both take in the small living room and kitchen. Off to the left is a set of narrow stairs that lead to what must be the loft bedroom and bathroom. Straight ahead I can see that the sliding glass doors lead to a private patio that faces the ocean.
“Thanks for sharing a room,” I tell Logan. “I was alone for days and had no idea if or when I would be released. Being alone again so soon would send me right back there…” Honestly, I was starting to give up hope for anyone to come for me when Logan showed up.
“No problem. Sure, it’s…a little small, but we can make do.”
“Right,” I agree. He could take the bed and make me a pallet on the floor, and it would be amazing compared to trying to sleep sitting up on hard cement.
Still, neither of us moves, and my legs aren’t going to hold up my weight much longer.
“So, do you, um, wanna go take a bath?” Logan asks, sounding hopeful. My cheeks warm from either the embarrassment of remembering how disgusting I am or from my ridiculous thought that he asked the question in such a way that, at first, it sounded to me like he was coming with me. Probably both are explanations for why I’m blushing.
“Yes,” I answer as I start toward the stairs.
“Those stairs are pretty steep. I would hate for you to fall down them,” Logan says.
“I can make do,” I say, not wanting him to be so close to me again until I’m at least clean. Holding on to the rail, I lift one foot and then the other, and it’s like climbing Mount Everest. Okay, so maybe I can crawl them.
“Right,” Logan says before he sweeps my legs out from underneath me yet again and carries me up like I weigh nothing.
He finds the bathroom, which is the only room in the place with a door and sits me down on the closed toilet lid.
Logan even reaches into the tub and starts running the warm water before adding some of the hotel’s soap into it. He stays and checks the temperature until it’s full, then grabs some towels and hands them to me.
“Ah, so, um, call if you need anything,” he says before he finally leaves and closes the bathroom door, shutting me alone inside the small space. I almost call out for him to come back before I get a freaking grip.
Deep breath in, out through my mouth. He’s right outside and isn’t going anywhere, I tell my panic. I’d feel better if the door was left wide open, but that would probably make Logan uncomfortable.
Shaking myself out of the unnecessary paranoia, I place the towel on the counter and reach around to unzip my dress, sliding it down far enough that, when I stand up, it falls and puddles on the floor. Since I wasn’t wearing anything underneath, I climb carefully over into the tub and take a seat. Tilting my head back, I wet my hair and then sit up as I push the wet strands out of my face. Without thinking, my knees raise, and my arms wrap around them protectively as if it’s an automatic reflex, just like I did in jail.
That’s the moment when all the suffering of the last three days really hits me. I couldn’t hold back the tears if I tried.
…
Logan
As soon as I jog back down the stairs, forcing myself to give Brayden some privacy even if my protective instincts hate it, my growling stomach reminds me that I haven’t had anything to eat but airline peanuts all day.
Again, I almost turn around and march up the stairs, just to talk to