About That Night.... Scarlet Wilson

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СКАЧАТЬ opened the back door of the minibus and nodded to Evan. “Give us a hand with this, please.” Evan grabbed the other side of the case and between them they tossed it into the back of the minivan. Maybe a big suitcase hadn’t been such a good idea after all. But at the time she’d been packing everything had seemed like an essential.

      The journey flew past. Violet could barely keep her eyes open as they sped through the city suburbs. It was immediately apparent that poverty was an issue—just like in so many other cities throughout the world.

      She felt a sharp nudge on the ribs. “Wake up, Violet, we’re here.”

      Her eyes shot open. When had she fallen asleep? The last thing she remembered was staring out the window at a group of children playing football in the street.

      Somehow she’d fallen asleep with her head on Evan’s shoulder, and the heat from his body in the air-conditioned van had been comforting. She pulled herself up straight and rubbed at her cheek. Great. She could feel the creases of his shirt embedded in her face.

      She looked out the window as Amos opened the door and let the heat flood inside again.

      She’d had a little handheld, battery-powered fan in her suitcase. Too bad she hadn’t thought to put it in her hand luggage.

      She jumped down onto the street and immediately pulled her sunglasses down from her forehead. She glanced at her watch. It was still set to Atlanta time. Lagos was only five hours ahead, but the jump between time zones had totally disorientated her. It felt as if it should be the middle of the night.

      Amos hauled her case up the front steps of the building and pushed open the glass doors. Air-conditioning again. Bliss.

      A woman in traditional dress met them at reception. “Dr. Hunter? Dr. Connelly? Welcome to headquarters.” She gestured toward the rear of the building. “If you want to head to the lifts, I’ll give you a key to your rooms. You’ll have a chance to freshen up, but we need you back down here later to meet the members of your team and have a safety briefing.”

      “No problem.” Evan obviously wasn’t suffering from the same travel effects that she was. Right now she just wanted to lie down on some cool cotton sheets.

      Evan glanced at the number of the key and pocketed it. Both of them stood for a few more seconds, waiting for the second key to appear.

      It didn’t.

      The lady looked back up. “Oh, didn’t someone explain? We’re a little short of space. You’ll be bunking up together. That won’t be a problem, will it?”

      Her manner was so relaxed it almost disarmed Violet. What Violet really wanted to do was scream and shout and stamp her feet on the floor. Her patience and fatigue was at an all-time low.

      “No problem at all.” Evan’s cool voice cut through the strop she was currently throwing in her head and he headed off toward the lift.

      She bit her tongue and tugged her case after him, struggling to pull it over the seam between the floor and elevator door. Evan’s hand slid over hers and he gave it a final tug, sending her hurtling backward into the lift. She landed against the back wall with a thud.

      “Thanks.” She couldn’t hide her sarcastic tone and wasn’t even going to try.

      “My pleasure.” She could hear the edge of amusement in his voice and she really wasn’t in the mood at all.

      He pressed a button and the elevator slid smoothly upward, opening onto a brightly lit corridor with a procession of identical brown doors.

      “Can you manage?”

      “Of course.” She tugged her case with both hands, smiling as his foot came into contact with one of the wheels. It really did feel as if she had a dead body inside.

      He flinched. “We’re in here.” He slid the card into the door and pushed it open, revealing a regular-sized room with a large white bed.

      One large white bed.

      Silence.

      Who would react first?

      It was Violet. It was the final straw.

      “You have got to be joking!”

      Evan’s eyes swept the room, obviously looking for somewhere else to sleep. No stowaway bed. No pull-down couch.

      One bed. Or nothing.

      Violet stomped over to the bathroom and stuck her head inside. Clean. Functional. White bath and a separate shower.

      “What are you looking for, a secret bed?”

      His voice made her jump, his warm breath tickling the hairs at the back of her neck. She spun round. “Don’t do that!”

      He smiled and it caught her unawares. The sun was streaming through the window, lighting up his face. When had been the last time she’d seen him smile? She couldn’t remember.

      One thing was for sure. Evan Hunter should smile more often.

      There were little lines around his blue eyes but they didn’t detract from how handsome he was. They only added character. And he was so close she could see little flecks of gold in them.

      She was so tired right now. All she wanted to do was lean forward, bury her head in his firm chest and go to sleep. The bed in the middle of the room was practically shouting her name. But there was no way they could share a bed.

      Especially after what had happened a few months ago.

      The kiss had been steamy enough. But the two of them in a bed?

      No. The picture that was conjuring up in her brain was too much. This fatigue was stopping any rational thoughts whatsoever.

      Evan folded his arms across his chest.

      “I don’t know about you, Violet, but I have no intention of sleeping on the floor.”

      He was right. She knew he was right.

      She glanced around at the floor. There wasn’t even as much as a rug to lie on.

      Sharing a room in close proximity to Evan would be hard enough. But sharing a bed? It didn’t even bear thinking about.

      There was a small table and chairs in front of the window in the room.

      “How about we sleep in shifts?” She moved quickly, crossing the room in strides and jumping onto the bed. “I’ll go first.”

      Her head sank instantly into the pillow. Perfect. She didn’t care what he thought. She needed to get some sleep. Now.

      Evan sat down on one of the chairs, leaning forward and pulling a thick wad of papers from the zipped pocket in his case. His eyes ran over her body as she shuffled her shoes off and kicked them to the floor. Was he looking at her curves? Was he thinking about the last time he’d had his hands on her body?

      That sent a whole new sensation prickling across her skin.

      “Cranky СКАЧАТЬ