Page 33 of Pieces Into Place

“No, I got that for you,” he says. “I can’t drink anything while I’m on the clock.”

I nod, feeling suddenly even more appreciative of his commitment to his job.

After lunch, Kane offers to take care of the kitchen clean up so I can have some time for myself. I thank him and rush to the bathroom with my towel, eager for a hot shower.

The water cascades over my shoulders, dissolving all the tension and worry that had accumulated in my body after the events of the night before. Until now, I hadn’t realized how much being dragged away from home in the middle of the night could affect me.

I stay in the shower until the water cools off, but when I finally emerge from the curtains, steam billows around me. In my mind, I can’t help but picture Kane standing in front of the same showerhead, his chiseled frame coated with soap suds as he scrubs away the day’s dirt. The thought makes me tingle in places I shouldn’t be while thinking about my bodyguard.

Kane is cocky and too sure of himself, but there is a certain kind of strength and determination beneath it all that makes him extremely attractive. He doesn’t need anyone else’s approval or support. He follows his own convictions and dedicates himself wholly to causes he believes in. It wasn’t something I expected to find in a man like him, but here I am admiring him.

When I exit the bathroom, he’s sitting on the couch holding a white bottle with a pink label, but as soon as he spots me, he pushes to his feet and smiles shyly, extending his arm and offering the bottle to me. “I um.. grabbed this for you. It must have fallen out in the truck, so I went to grab it when you were in the shower.”

I take it from him carefully as if afraid to break it, looking at him questioningly as I start unscrewing the lid. “What is it?” I ask with a slight amount of apprehension.

He shrugs one shoulder and looks away sheepishly before responding. “It’s lotion for your face,” he mumbles. “It gets pretty dry up here and I thought you’d want a moisturizer. It might not be the right kind though.”

My heart flutters at his thoughtfulness and my eyes begin to well up with tears as all of the emotions of the past few days come bubbling up to the surface. I can barely contain my emotional response to his sweet gestures today. A lump forms in my throat and my chin quivers as I look into Kane’s eyes, thankful beyond words for his kindness.

He instinctively takes a step back when he sees the tears in my eyes, his mouth agape as he tries to figure out how to fix what he thinks is broken. But then I move forward and embrace him fiercely, feeling his warmth and solid body beneath my fingertips and hearing the steady beat of his heart beneath my ear.

His arms slowly encircle me and pull me closer, and I can feel the softness of his sweater against my skin. His lips caressed the top of my head in a gentle kiss before murmuring words of comfort. We stay like that for several moments until I finally release him. His gaze finds mine and I see tenderness in his eyes, but then he breaks the mood with a joke.

“It was all they had and it will probably give you acne,” he says wryly.

I can’t help the laugh that rumbles out of my chest.

“Kane,” I say, returning his tone.

“Yes,” he responds.

“I’m going to beat your ass at Scrabble.”

Chapter seventeen

Olivia

It’s been snowing for six hours straight. At this point, even if we wanted to leave, we wouldn’t be able to. So instead, we sit across from one another with palpable friction emanating between us. I grab my Scrabble tiles and line them up on my tray, and Kane does the same.

He goes first and places his word on the board. SWAP. It’s decent, but I can do better. I look down at my tray and see the obvious answer. Placing my tiles on the board, I smile smugly as he looks at me. I use the P and spell out CREEP. Kane nods in acknowledgment and writes down the total. Then, with a sly smile, he puts his second word down. SHREW.

“I bet you think that’s clever, don’t you?” I ask, my eyes narrowing at him.

“It’s actually terribly clever,” he replies.

“Well, it’s slang, and you can’t use it,” I inform him.

He looks taken aback for a moment before speaking. “I find it interesting that you assume I’m using the slang definition of an unpleasant woman instead of the word for a tiny mouse-like mammal.”

“You’re a tiny mouse-like mammal,“ I say under my breath.

“What was that?” he asks, arching an eyebrow.

“Nothing.” I smile sweetly. We play for a few more minutes before finding short, low scoring words until my tiles line up, causing a smirk to cross my face.

I place my tiles down one by one, slowly, drawing it out, waiting for Kane’s response. C-O-C-K. I keep my face straight and raise an eyebrow, primed for retaliation.

Instead, he smiles ever so slightly and uses the ‘E’ in SHREW to create WET. Now I’m the one who is uncomfortable, and judging by the satisfied look on his face, he’s won this round.