His to Take (Wicked Lovers #9)(112)
Author: Shayla Black

“Morning, sunshine.” He looked clean and put together, like he’d already showered and dressed to take on the day.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?” she groaned.

“Too restless. I’m thinking about where Viktor might have taken you to hide what I sure hope is his research. I’m looking all around this map, but there are so many damn lakes.”

Grabbing the sheet, she sat up with a grimace. Sitting next to a hot guy with the sweat of their sex still coating her skin and just knowing she had morning breath was something she wanted to correct ASAP.

“Be right back.” She hopped up, grabbed the backpack, and headed for the bathroom.

After quickly using the toilet, she hopped in the shower. Ducking her head under the hot spray of water and letting it sluice through her hair and down her body felt like a necessary comfort. She moaned.

Suddenly, the shower curtain whisked across the rod, and a cold blast of air pelted her skin. She opened her eyes. Joaquin watched her with a burning stare that questioned how quickly he could have her in bed with his cock deep inside her again.

She flushed and tried to cover herself with the curtain. “What are you doing?”

“Besides enjoying the view?” he quipped, tugging the curtain out of her hand. “You moaned, and I wondered if you were having fun without me.”

She tsked at him. “The water just felt good on my skin, you perv.”

“Uh-huh,” he drawled, staring up and down her wet, naked figure.

“It did! And now you’re shamelessly peeking at me like you’re the big wolf and I’m your prey.”

“I like that analogy. Let’s roll with it.” He reached out for her.

Bailey lurched back, wagging her finger at him. “No more until I’m clean and you’ve fed me. Otherwise, I’ll have to call the U.N. or something and complain that you don’t follow Geneva Convention rules.”

He gave a hearty laugh that bounced off the bathroom’s little walls. “Geneva Convention? You’re not a prisoner of war, baby girl.”

“I’m sure the same rules apply to kidnappers turned sex gods.”

“Sex god? I like that even better.” His grin widened. “It’s your lucky day. I already have some coffee in the little pot near the TV. It’s shit, but it’s coffee.”

“That’s enticing,” she said, tongue-in-cheek.

“Yep. And I’m sure you’ll really love the cardboard muffins I found in the breakfast area downstairs when I grabbed the map.”

“Not so much. Who eats that crap every day? You have something against protein?”

He shrugged. “I’m at the mercy of this hotel since I didn’t want to leave you for more than a minute.”

Bailey sighed. He was right. The choices sucked from a nutrition standpoint, but she wouldn’t starve. “Fine. So you’re using the map to try to figure out where Viktor took me as a kid?”

He nodded. “Do you remember any landmark you visited on that trip? If so, I should be able to at least pinpoint whether he drove you north, south, east, or west. Right now, I’ve got nothing.”

“Can you give me a minute alone? Your Peeping Tom impression is distracting me.”

“Because you don’t want me to look at you?” He scoffed. He knew better.

“No. Because I don’t want to jump on you before breakfast. I’ll get sidetracked and we’ll never figure out where to go next.”

“Fair enough.” He nodded her way, grinning. “I’ll get some coffee and muffins together for you so they’ll be ready when you’re out of the shower. Don’t keep me waiting too long or I’ll have my wicked way with you again, Geneva Convention be damned.”

Bailey shook her head and laughed. “Go. You crazy man.”

Joaquin left reluctantly, and she finished her shower, threw on some clothes, then brushed her teeth. With a towel wrapped around her wet hair and her skin scrubbed clean, she felt relatively human again.

As soon as she stepped out of the bathroom, he handed her the prefab breakfast he’d thrown together. “Here you go.”

“At least I know you don’t mean to starve me for answers.” But the muffin sure looked as if it had been mass-produced out of recycled paper products. She might grumble, but she appreciated him trying. Giving him a hard time was simply fun.

“So . . . anything yet?” she asked him, nodding at the map on the bed.

“Nothing. I won’t be able to do much until I get a sense of which direction Viktor traveled when you all packed up and left this town. I need to figure it out quickly. Checkout time is at eleven.”