Survival ( Book 2: Stronger Series )

21. Business

I woke up entirely too hot, and I felt like I was being crushed into the mattress. I lifted my sweaty head from the pillow to find that Darren had practically rolled over on top of me. Lying face down, I pushed with all my might to roll him off me, but he was too goddamn heavy. Bit by bit, I slowly inched myself away from him, and just as I turned my back to him, both his arms came sweeping over me and pulled me right back in.

"Mmm ..." he said, nuzzling into me. "Where do you think you're going?"

"You're smothering me with your overactive body temperature. I don't feel like dying of heat stroke just yet," I groaned as he squeezed me tightly.

He mumbled his sleepy chuckle as he kissed my hair and then reached over to the side of the bed. He fiddled with it and then a few seconds later I felt the mattress becoming several degrees cooler.

"Better?" he asked.

"Thermal mattress covers?" I said looking up at him.

"That's not what I asked you."

"Yes, better, thank you," I quickly corrected myself.

"Good, you should always remember to answer my questions first."

"Okay." I nodded.

Darren then rolled me over, laid my head on his chest, and draped my right leg over his while he kept a tight arm around my back. He kissed my forehead and began gently rubbing my back, but it just felt so wrong. I wanted to be lying with Jason, not this monster.

For a moment, we just laid there, and I took the time to quietly study his body while he busied himself feeling up mine. He was solid, yet soft enough to lay on. Smooth lightly tanned skin covered layers of thick muscle, and for some odd reason, I wanted to trace my fingers along the edges of those masculine curves. I hadn't realized it before, but Darren actually sported an eight pack rather than the typical six, and it made me jealous as fuck. I had to give it to him – his body was impressive, even with all the obvious battle scars.

As my eyes secretly wandered, I realized I had a better view of the eagle tattoo on Darren's forearm. The symbol on the shield hanging from the eagle's talons contained an intricate design of interlocking obtuse triangles, revealing the badge of Darren's life as a criminal leader – the same badge he wore on his right middle finger.

A few short seconds later, Darren's phone went off with an almost urgency to it. He reached over to the nightstand and grabbed it.

"Yeah?" he said, answering it.

"We've got a situation," I heard the male voice on the other line say. I pretended to hear nothing as I kept myself relaxed, but I wondered what the "situation" was.

"Give me five minutes," Darren replied and hung up. "Sorry, princess," he said, scooting out from under me. "I'm going to have to postpone our morning plans until later."

"Am I allowed to ask where you're going?" I said, sitting up and pulling the sheet to my chest.

"I'm not leaving the estate. That's all you need to know," he said as he pulled on a pair of dark gray track pants and a black tank top.

He walked into the bathroom and came back out two minutes later looking fresh and awake. I wish I could get ready that fast. I looked over at the clock and realized it was only 8:35 a.m.

"And what about me?" I asked as innocently as possible. As far as I knew, I was still bound to his room.

"You can go anywhere you want in the house except for the places you already know are off-limits. What would you like for breakfast?" he asked as he laced up his Adidas.