TENACITY

CHAPTER EIGHT

Upon reaching their previously shared bedroom, Trey got sweatpants and a hoodie from his closet for her to change into, dumping them on the bed. He went into the bathroom and Alexandra could hear him rummaging through cabinets while she stood awkwardly in the middle of the bedroom.

He returned with a big, and new fluffy towel which he added to the clothes. Folding his arms across his broad expanse of chest, he leaned against a wall and said, "Strip."

"What?" she sputtered, wondering if she'd heard right. And she was also wondering how he could make her flush all over with the utterance of a single word. Clearing her throat, she looked up to see him smirking. She looked him square in the eye. "Why should I?"

His lips curled in bemusement, knowing full well what she was thinking. "Since you never care for your health, as usual, I'm doing it."

"Oh," she murmured, her face still burning from the wild assumption she'd made.

He cocked his head to the side, and eyebrow going up as he regarded her with cold amusement. "Did you think I'd want to bed you?" She felt her cheeks grow hotter from the embarrassment.

His sardonic chuckle only intensified her mortification, and she wished the ground would swallow her up. "Take the wet clothes off and put these on."

He disappeared into his walk-in closet, where she took the liberty to dry off her hair with the towel. She lifted her head when he came back, jaw slacking when he lifted a scrap of lace—a freaking thong. "You left this."

'In your closet?' she thought with a scoff. 'Yeah, right.'

She looked at the thong, sure she had never set eyes on it ever. Had he... She shook her head. No more assumptions.

She noticed he was still standing in front of her, looking as imposing as ever. She looked from him to the clothes and back, asking, "You want me to change in front of you?"

Trey thought she looked so surprised. "Don't worry your head. I've seen it all before, haven't I?" He asked, affecting the look of nonchalance when what he actually wanted to do was— He swallowed. "Hurry up. I'm not letting you out of my sight."

Bewildered, she asked, "And why is that?"

"For all I know, Ethan sent you here to take from me again, or worse, bug this place," he said with a shrug. He dropped his hands from his chest and walked over to the desk in the bedroom, leaving her fuming.

"Are you serious?" she questioned, surprised he thought she could do such a thing. When he looked over his shoulder at her and shrugged, something snapped inside her.

"You know what?" she murmured with a deathly calm, dropping the towel onto the bed. "You can keep your clothes. I don't want them."

"Don't be stupid Alexandra," he said emotionlessly. And when she ignored him, he turned to see her on her knees, pulling out two cuboid-shaped boxes from under the bed.

She straightened sharply—perhaps too fast, for the room spun and her vision blurred, making her lose her balance. She shook her head to clear the dizziness and realized Trey was holding her up; that she was leaning heavily on him.

"What is wrong with you? Are you alright?" Though the question made him sound like he cared, his facial expression and tone were void of any emotion.

She stepped away from him. "I'm fine. Please don't touch me." His touch made her yearn for him. But she was determined to stand her ground. To do that, she needed a clear head.