With a towel wrapped around me, I walk out and head straight for the bags on the bed. It isn't until I'm bent over, digging in the bag that I realize Bear has taken up his position in the chair in the corner of the room. He's leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, openly staring at me.
“I'm sorry, I forgot to take my bag into the bathroom,” I tell him.
His gaze goes down my body all the way to my pink toes and then back up again. I wish I could see what he's thinking. His face is completely guarded. He grunts something, but I can't make out what it is. I almost ask him to repeat it, but I can’t get past the thickness of my throat. He has me all turned on because he keeps watching me. I don't think it's my imagination or maybe it's just hopeful thinking on my part, but my whole body comes alive underneath his gaze.
I grab a pair of panties and a sundress and hold it up, then drop it quickly, realizing I'm showing him my panties. I barely resist smacking my hand across my forehead. You are such a fool, Samantha. That’s it, just show the man your panties. Geez, you’d think I’d never been around a good-looking man before.
I walk quickly away back into the bathroom and shut the door. I dress quickly, take a few breaths, and then walk back out into the room, hoping that we can disregard and forget everything that just happened moments ago. As soon as I’m back into the bedroom, he stands up, and for a second I think he's walking toward me, and I suck in a breath and hold it. But he doesn’t come to me. Instead, he goes to the bed and grabs his bag and walks past me, completely ignoring me.
Bear
My hand is on Samantha's back as I guide her to the table for dinner. We are in the restaurant at the resort, and I'm making sure to stick as close as possible to her. Usually I can handle these things in stride and take notice of everything without it being obvious, but not now. Not with Samantha’s safety at stake. She leans toward me. “Are you okay?”
I nod and help her to her seat, holding the chair out for her. I release her long enough to go to my seat and sit down next to her. I stretch my legs out until my knee touches her outer thigh.
The server comes to us immediately, and we order our drinks.
“Are you ready to order also or should I come back?”
I don’t even think Sam looked at the menu and am about to send the server away when Sam starts to order. “I’ll take the salmon and rice. Side salad with honey mustard on the side.”
“Very well, and you, sir?” the server asks, turning to me.
“Filet, rare. Baked potato, loaded, and I’ll take a salad too. Smother it in ranch.”
The server doesn’t even flinch, simply nods and takes the menus.
“Smother it in ranch? Really?”
I resist leaning toward her with my elbows on the table. “Yeah. If I’m going to eat healthy, I need to balance it out a little.”
She smirks, and her eyes light up. Fuck, I love making her smile. Especially since it seems that most the time, I’m pissing her off.
As if realizing she’s let her guard down, the smile falls from her face, and she sits back in the chair, putting distance between us. There's an uncomfortable silence, and I know I can’t just sit here and stare at her, so I let my gaze sweep the room. I know that I'm looking at everyone as if they're a threat, quite possibly because they probably are. Sam leans across the table. “I don't know why you insisted on coming. You're going to ruin the whole operation,” she hisses under her breath.
I press my lips together. And here I thought it was going so well. “I’m sorry.”
She just shakes her head. “I don’t know how Nash thought this was a good idea.”
I lean up, and we’re so close that to others, it probably looks like we’re just whispering sweet things to each other, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. “Is it so unbelievable that someone like you would be with someone like me? I'm sorry if me being here instead of Logan offends you so much.”
She leans back in her chair and looks at me as if she's just seeing me for the very first time. She crosses her arms over her chest, making it obvious how mad she is. And then as if realizing what she's done, she releases her hands, leans across the table, and puts one hand on top of mine. She’s gritting her teeth, and I know we may not appear to be the perfect couple, but at least she's trying. I probably need to do the same.