Chapter 63

Breathing hard with his skin burning hot, Nathan fell back against Sasha’s door as soon as it closed behind him. Something choked in his throat but he would not let it rise. He wasn’t that weak.

Walter was there beside him, saying his name, asking, “Couldn’t you hear me, Nathan?”

“Leave me alone, Walter,” Nathan said, and turned away.

He didn’t look at Jim when he returned to their room. He didn’t respond with more than a grunt when Jim tried to talk to him. He crawled into bed and faced the wall, longing even more for morning and for all of this to have been a bad dream he could somehow forget. 21

Twenty-one

Hands. Soft hands. Lips. Definitely lips. And skin. Everywhere skin. And yet Nathan knew there wasn’t nearly as much skin as there could be.