Vain (The Seven Deadly, #1)(45)
And he knew it. I could feel it in the intoxicating charge in the air. He knew it.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
I tossed an extra two dollars on the counter as we left the restaurant and the woman waved at us emphatically in appreciation. Ian and I walked silently toward his jeep, both pondering, I guessed, about the bombshells we’d just laid on one another. It was the first time we had ever been vulnerable to one another and it felt overwhelmingly powerful.
As we walked, I suddenly felt a whoosh of air as Ian pulled me toward him violently just in time for me to avoid the bicyclist who’d lost control and was barreling toward us. Ian grabbed me by the waist, swinging me away and rushing me back onto the sidewalk and against the outer facade of the restaurant we’d just been inside of. As he pressed me against him, that same flush-inducing heat creeped up my neck and face and one of his hands traveled to the back of my neck while the other rested on my hip. My heart beat into my throat but not from the narrowly missed collision. I was losing control of my reaction and that had never happened to me. I was always methodically in command of the way I let a boy affect me and had their reactions to me checked as well. Always in control. Proximity to Ian Aberdeen was my kryptonite.
“Are you okay?” he whispered.
Far from it, I wanted to say, gazing into his breathtaking face. “I’m fine, thank you,” I said quietly instead, afraid of blemishing the moment.
We were walking a razor’s edge and my blood pulsed dangerously in my veins, pooling at the skin where his hands rested, heating me up from the inside. He backed away slowly, but the muscles in his arms bunched as he forced his hands to leave my body. I felt alone too quickly, but there was nothing I could do. In my past life, I would have dragged him back to me, but I was no longer that Sophie so I followed his very delicate lead.
We hurried to the jeep and he opened the door for me before rounding the front and settling in himself. He started the engine, but I grabbed his arm before he could put it in gear.
“Wait,” I told him.
“Yes?” he asked, breathing unusually hard and whipping his head my direction.
“I should call Pemmy for an update.”
“Oh,” he began before clearing his throat and facing the windshield, “of course.”
My heart beat rapidly at his obvious disappointment. I watched him for a second as I pretended to dial Pemmy’s number. Kiss me then, I kept ordering him silently, but he never obeyed. Instead, he gripped the steering wheel with such ferocity I believed he might bend it. I dialed Pembrook in earnest and got him on the second ring.
“Sophie!?” I heard on the other line.
“Pemmy! Yes, it’s Sophie! We charged the phone, so it’s got a full battery. If I use it sparingly, I think it could last a few days. Do you have any news?”
“Good...hear...the doctor...I’ve arranged a plane,” he said, breaking in clearly. “They should be in Kampala in forty-eight hours with everything you need. I could only get clearance for medical supplies, Sophie, so let Karina know I couldn’t include food or clothing this drop. I’ve arranged for armed escorts...delivery to Masego.”
He broke out at this point and we lost connection. I tried again with no luck. I turned the sat phone off and tucked it into its canvas carrying bag before looking Dingane’s direction.
“Did you hear him?” I asked.
He nodded. “Forty-eight hours,” he spoke solemnly. “We’ll have to quarantine in three sections. Confirmed cases, suspected cases and children showing no signs of illness.”
“What are the odds we can keep most of them clean?” I asked.
“I’ve no idea.” Ian turned to me. “It’ll be you and me with the sickest children.”
“We don’t even know if any of them will be ill, Ian.”
His face softened. “Sophie, that’s an inevitability.”
Ian put the jeep in gear and we sped off in the direction of Masego and into a pinkening sky. The sun would be leaving us soon, making me nervous for some reason I didn’t know.
An hour after we’d left Jinja, the tension in the truck was palpable. So many emotions swirled around us and I wanted so badly for Ian to pull over and cut that tension with his mouth. I stared out my window, my elbow resting outside the window. I felt strands of hair whipping against my face. My braids had started to fall out. I checked the mirror to see if it needed to be let down or if I could just tuck in the strays. It was a mess.
I swallowed knowing the simple act of releasing my braids was more intimate a moment than I’d experienced in even my most vulnerable moments with other men. I looked over at him and brought my hand slowly to my left braid sliding the tie off painfully slowly. I wanted him to notice.
Ian’s eyes flitted my direction, his breathing grew deeper and deeper, and I could feel the heat of his gaze pool in the pit of my stomach. I dropped the band in the seat next to me before lifting my hand to release the braid but Ian’s warm, callused hand stopped mine. He slowed the truck a bit before threading his fingers over the top of my belt and sliding me closer to him. My eyes lidded and my breath rushed out of me. He turned me to face him and with his free hand, he undid each plait much like he’d done during the lesson. When he was done, he slowly lifted his fingers and cupped the side of my face, before turning his head toward me. I couldn’t stop myself from placing my hand on his forearm and closing my eyes, reveling in his scorching touch. I took three steadying breaths and tried desperately not to melt into him.