The Scarlet Hunter

Chapter 20-1

"I'm telling you, the shower in my room is much nicer." Alec was leaning against the door jamb, looking into the guest quarters.

"I forgot my shampoo and conditioner. Do you have any?"

A smile crossed Alec's face, "Why yes, I do. In the shower in my room."

Isla rolled her eyes. "Fine." She grabbed a couple things from the drawers and threw them in her gym bag before crossing the hall. Returning to his private space overwhelmed her senses. His scent was everywhere, his style on everything. It felt more intimate today than the other night. Maybe it was because of what they had done on that couch.

She may have been a little giddy if she was being honest with herself.

"I mean, you'll be staying in here tonight anyway, right?" He led the way past the queen sized bed,

"What?" She turned towards his retreating back. "Why?"

"Maybe I want to keep an eye on your recovery for just one more night. Maybe I want to make sure no one is successful in breaking into the packhouse like they were breaking into the locker room." Alec looked over his shoulder at her as he walked into the bathroom, "Maybe I need my chest moisturized by a nice puddle of drool." Isla walked up to the doorway as he turned on the shower and then looked back at her. "Or maybe I just don't want to sleep alone, and neither do you."

Isla wanted to fight and protest all those things, but the truth is that sleeping next to him, or on top of him, had been one of the best feelings she'd ever experienced.

"I'll think about it," Isla replied, knowing fully well that she was, in fact, going to be sleeping in his room tonight.

"I'm going to stay in here while you shower," Alec said nonchalantly.

"You're such a perve." Isla shot back at him.

He walked up to her, running the back of his hand down the side of her face. "You were attacked while you were in the shower. Don't think I didn't notice your bad reaction to splashing cold water on your face. I'm not leaving you to fight your demons alone." A playful smile crossed his face, "Now strip! I want my underwear back."

Isla rolled her eyes but undressed. Alec looked over her form as she made her way towards the shower. She was more secure and stable than this morning. She also didn't ask for him to divert his eyes away from her nakedness.

She dunked her head under the warm water, hearing Alec's voice while she did. She didn't understand what he was saying with the water washing over her ears, but the baritone voice grounded her. It kept her from going back to the locker room shower in her head.

She pulled her head out and looked around for the shampoo. "I didn't hear what you said."

"It was nothing. Just talking about how I designed the shower with the two opposing heads," Alec replied. There are things he can do to help reprogram her reaction, but now is not the time. He'll settle for keeping his presence known while she repeats what she did before the attack yesterday.

A familiar bottle of shampoo was on the stone tiled shelf next to her. "You have the same shampoo as me." She looked to the bottle next to it, "And conditioner?"

"I like the smell of ylang-ylang." Alec teased.

Isla poured the familiar product into her hand and rubbed it over her scalp. Rinsing and following with conditioner. Alec talked about random things in the background, of which she hardly understood what he was saying. However, she knew exactly what he was doing. He was surprisingly attentive. This was straight from her daydreams to be around him all the time, waking up next to him every morning.