1
ROB
Pain explodedin my head as I peeled my eyes open. Blinding light streaked across the dim room from the tiniest spot in the blinds, illuminating exactly the one corner of the room I was in.
I couldn’t remember ever feeling this shitty, aside from that time I’d been captured and tortured in Kosovo. I’d had nerves of steel and held out until my unit rescued me. I was pretty damn sure no one was coming to my rescue now. I was on my own.
My fingers slid over what felt like crumpled sheets, but how could that be when it felt like a jackhammer was going off in my head? Was I being held in a luxury prison? Was someone trying to torture me with pleasure?
Because this bed was damn comfortable, and that was about the only thing easing the ache in my body.
A feminine groan wrenched through the air, and my eyes flew open, working past the pain slicing through my head. I jerked my head to the side, wincing as the stabbing feeling nearly severed my eyeball from its socket.
Through the pain and misery, all I could make out was a mess of long brown hair spilling over a very naked back.
“Shit,” I murmured, scrubbing my hand over my face. I squeezed my eyes closed, hoping I was seeing things, but when I opened them, not much had changed.
She was still there, still very much lying next to me. And still very much naked. I carefully lifted the sheet wrapped around her lower back and took a peek at the rest of her.
Damn nice body.
“And that’s my cue to exit,” I muttered, sliding toward the edge of the bed.
After taking a moment to regain my balance, I snatched my clothes off the floor and quickly dressed.
“Fuck, everything hurts,” I muttered to myself.
I had no fucking clue where I was. Steadying myself against the wall, I stared in a floor-length mirror at my reflection, willing my memory from the previous night to come back.
But the longer I stared at myself, I realized I didn’t remember much of anything since…
“The airport,” I whispered. “I was coming home from the jungle.”
That couldn’t be right. If I was coming home from the jungle, then the guys would be with me. And there definitely weren’t digs like this in the jungle.
I ran my hand down my face again and stared at my reflection. “Just get the fuck out of here. You can figure the rest out later.”
I realized that talking to myself wasn’t a sign of good things to come, but when no one else was around, who else was I supposed to figure shit out with?
With a glance back at the woman in bed, I headed through her house, surprised at how absolutely wrecked it was. Did a bomb go off in here? Fuck, this woman was either the worst housekeeper ever, or we destroyed this place last night.
Heading for the door, I flung it open, only to be shocked by the frigid air smacking me in the face. “Holy shit!” I griped, slamming the door shut.
Okay, I was definitely not going out there in only a t-shirt. It was fucking freezing out there. And if I came here in this weather, then I must have arrived with a jacket, at the very least.
Searching the room, I found a neon blue coat with white fur lining the hood. It was fucking ridiculous and not something I would ever be caught dead in, but when in Rome…
Or wherever the hell I was.
I pulled it on, rolling my eyes when the cuffs strained against my forearms, cutting way too fucking short. Thankfully, the coat was slightly longer for a female form, which meant it at least hit my waist. However, the bulk of my chest made it impossible to zip the damn thing closed.
I could just go back to the room. That would make the most sense. But the thought of waking up that woman and going through the whole routine ofwho are youandwhere did we meetsounded exhausting. Not to mention, I really wasn’t interested in having the conversation about what last night meant.
Especially when I didn’t remember last night.
Better to just slip out.
Except when I stepped outside, my breath puffing out in large bursts, I suddenly realized something was very wrong.