I’ve been through all this paperwork at least once. Some of the stuff I haven’t seen in years, though, and some of this stuff isn’t nearly as relevant as we wished it would be.
“How did he even find anything in all this?” Stone asks, sighing. “They brought over ten plastic containers. This is just the first one.”
I sense his frustration, and it reminds me of listening to my dad over the years. He always felt like he had all the pieces to find the exact location of the treasure, but he just hadn’t put them together in the right places yet. I smile. “My dad used to say that searching for treasure was seventy-five percent research, twenty-five percent actually hiking the Superstitions.”
Stone crinkles his nose. His family doesn’t agree with that sentiment because they’ve gone all over the Superstitions with their technology. Mapping everything. Searching. Everyone knows what they do because it’s broadcasted on the news and podcasts. My father just loved to hear about the new thing they were trying so he could laugh at it, and I have to bite my tongue before I do the same thing.
He sighs. “I just don’t know how we’re going to find it.”
I turn my gaze toward Stone. It’s the first time I’ve heard him sound anything less than uber confident. It’s disconcerting, actually. I reach over, placing my hand on his. “We’ll find it,” I tell him, speaking to the boy who looks lost and scared over what’s going to happen to his family. I know about those same feelings where family is concerned. I’m sure we’ll find the treasure because we need to. I keep holding out hope that the note I was given is true. The guys are less convinced, but I’m not going to let go of that. Just like Stone won’t let go of finding his mother.
Stone stares at my hand on him, and my cheeks heat. I slip it off him, not knowing why the hell I even did that, but he stops me. He drops the papers in his hand and covers my hand with his, holding me there. Our gazes connect, transferring a pulse of electricity between us. It’s like a homing beacon calling to me.
He sits back, relaxing into a reclining position as he eyes me. Without thinking, I move forward, crawling up the crescent bed close to him. It’s like I’m caught in his orbit again. When he moves, I do. His gaze trails down my body, hitting all the places where this outfit hugs me instead of swallows me. His stomach rises with a breath, his shirt riding up to show off that peak of taut abs he’s sporting underneath. Maybe it’s the thought of that sexy stepbrother romance I’d just been thinking about, but I’m suddenly so taken by him. Enough that I have to look away. “Thank you for the clothes,” I say.
His jaw locks. “I was brought up to take care of people I—” he cuts off. “They suit you.”
I cock my head at him, wondering what he was going to say. The thought lingers between us still, making me bolder. I like thinking I can get through his defenses. I like thinking that even though Stone is an asshole, I can help him not to be, too. Maybe I’m just pushing it, seeing how far I can take him. It’s like playing with the devil and people do that every day just for fun.
“What are you doing?” Stone asks as I swing my legs over his hips, straddling him. Instead of forcing me off, he clutches my hips with a bruising grip. His eyes show that he’s grappling with a decision. He simultaneously wants to throw me off and bring me close. I know it because I feel the same way too.
I shrug. It comes out coyly, but I only did it because I couldn’t think of anything to say. I don’t know why I’m doing this. He calls to my body, and for once, I’m letting it act on its own volition.
He moves his hands up my arms, grazing my bare skin. A muscle jumps underneath his touch, like every part of my body is ready to get closer to him.
“Can I ask you a question?” Stone asks, fixing his gaze on me. Like usual, he doesn’t wait for me to say yes. “What was it like growing up the way you did?”