Chase Me

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Tension

Bellona

I bought dye. Brown hair did not suit me, not one bit. I had placed the dye in my hair as instructed and now was rinsing it off. It wasn't going to be exactly like my original hair, but it would be close and soon, my natural hair would grow out. I stepped into the shower and let it wash off remnants of the dye but also the sweat that was clinging to me. It was my first day back to my workout routine, I did not last anywhere near as far as I used to. That was bad, but nothing I couldn't fix.

I washed in the water and just stood there, letting the droplets hit me and then slide off. Last night was nothing but sleep-drunk words and actions. Nothing prominent, nothing important. But something, I knew, something was going off in my head about Amo. It was strange. It was new. It was somewhat... comforting.

I got dried and changed after I applied lotion to myself. I had to take a few breaths to relax. My whole body would get tense out of nowhere just at the thought of the brown-haired man that slept beside me all night. I closed my eyes and let out the breath slowly, imagining it taking my tension with it, and then opened the door.

Speak of the devil.

I rammed straight into him and an oomph sound came from me. His hands came out and gripped my shoulders, steadying me. That touch was both the first and last thing I needed. I looked up at him as he towered over me with the few stupid inches he had. He gave me a confused look. "Are you okay? You seem..." His words were lost once his eyes trailed to my hair.

His hands moved from my shoulders, slowly into my hair. The sensation of his fingertips against my scalp was a familiar touch from last night that sent a shiver down my spine. Something I never wanted to admit out loud to him. I had closed my eyes. I quickly opened them just in time for Amo to slide his fingers down to the base of my neck and pull back slightly. "You dyed your hair."

I swallowed the weird feeling in my chest, shoving it down, down, down along with other feelings I did not want to admit. I just gave him a quick, "Mm-hm," since I did not trust my voice.

Amo slid his fingers out and I nearly stumbled forward from the loss of touch if I had not braced my hand against the bathroom door jamb. He stepped back, his hands in his pockets again. His head tilted. He was already dressed in his signature white button-down and black slacks. He noticed me staring and I tried to play it off cool. "Do you own like thirty white shirts? Because that is literally all you wear."

That earned me a crooked smile. He shrugged. "If I like one thing, I'll stick to it." He looked down at himself. "Why? You don't like white and black?"

Whether I liked it or not was not the problem. The problem was how much I liked it. I crossed my arms, feeling awkward with them just hanging. "Where are you headed?"

"I'm going to my hotel."

Something sunk in me a bit. He continued, "I'll be back, don't worry." He winked. "I just need to go remove some stitches."

Stitches? That's the first he'd mention them.

"You've never told me who had stitches." For some reason the fact that he never mentioned this bothered me.

He looked over his shoulder, his hand resting on the handle. "You hold as many secrets as I do, Bellona Maeve." He pulled his hand back and came towards me. His hand closed the door of the bathroom behind me, then pushed me against it so abruptly, I gasped.

He leaned down so his mouth hovered right over my ear, his breath hot on my skin. "And I intend on finding every single one of yours."

No, one side of me shouted.