Chapter 14

An answer wasn’t necessary.

Hayden moved over beside her and immediately rested his head on her thigh, lying down at an angle.

Because he’d deliberately positioned himself so they were facing each other, dizziness washed over her.

She couldn’t even breathe comfortably, afraid her breath might brush against his cheek.

His eyes lingered on the necktie tied around her waist before slowly lifting toward her face.

The sculpted features of his sharply shadowed face filled the corner of her vision.

Her entire body tensed, and her palms grew damp with sweat.

Even so, she remained where she was.

The warmth of his body against her thigh felt strangely… nice.

Summoning her courage, she looked down at him.

The blue eyes that had been watching her drifted toward the wall instead.

Almost as though he was deliberately avoiding direct eye contact in case she ran away.

A moment later, he slowly closed and reopened his eyes, as if intoxicated by her gaze.

His expression looked peaceful enough to fall asleep.

But the tension standing out in the muscles of his neck told a different story.

Even his long collarbone was clearly taut.

It looked less like he was resting his full weight on her thigh and more like only his cheek was touching it.

Compared to his broad shoulders, her thigh sat too low, making it seem as though one shoulder might sink into the floor.

Wouldn’t that be uncomfortable?

Wiping her sweaty palm on her jacket, Lee Soo asked,

“Isn’t it uncomfortable? My thigh’s too low.”

Hayden glanced up at her.

“It’s fine. I can’t feel anything.”

“Why can’t you feel anything?”

His answer stole her breath.

“Because I’m nervous.”

Lee Soo searched desperately for somewhere else to look.

But his shoulders, abdomen, and thighs were all bare, leaving her nowhere safe to rest her eyes.

Then she noticed black dust clinging to his shoulder and forearm.

His gaze followed hers.

Lee Soo became distracted by his thick dark-gray eyelashes before finally managing to speak.

“…You’ve got dust on your arm.”

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Brush it off.”

The way he lightly rubbed his cheek against her thigh looked almost like a spoiled animal asking for affection.

No…

“Beast” suited him better than “animal.”

As cautiously as if touching an unfamiliar wild creature, Lee Soo reached out.

Her slender fingers gently brushed the dust from his forearm.

Her cheeks turned as red as if she were drunk.

The firmness of his muscles was far beyond what she’d expected.

But what made her feel even more flustered was how the fine hairs on his arm twitched softly beneath her fingertips, like the delicate baby fur of a young animal.

She hadn’t even brushed away half the dust before pulling her hand back.

Hayden buried his face deeper into her thigh and closed his eyes.

A warm breath escaped through his slightly parted lips.

As that breath washed over her thigh, her stomach tightened.

Once again, Lee Soo’s gaze lost its anchor.

The fingertips resting on the floor trembled faintly.

Her hand lay only a finger’s width away from his.

If it shook the wrong way, their fingers might touch…

…and make him flinch again.

Unable to settle down, Lee Soo quietly curled her fingers inward.

Then she looked over him with trembling eyes.

His long, well-shaped thighs were rigid with tension.

Beneath the navy boxer briefs covering them, she noticed something long and thick extending beneath the fabric.

It rested neatly along one leg, held firmly in place by the underwear.

Its presence was far too obvious to pretend she hadn’t seen it.

Lee Soo covered her mouth with the back of her hand and took a small, shaky breath.

Hayden, whose eyes were still closed as if trying to sleep, gave a subtle twitch of his hips.

Just as her heart began pounding wildly…

…he suddenly sat up and walked outside.

With every step he took, the front of his boxer briefs swung heavily.

He looked aroused.

Nine inches… nine inches…

Lee Soo froze, both fists clenched tightly.

What on earth had just happened?

He seemed like the kind of man who would effortlessly toy with beautiful, seductive women.

So why had he become so tense…

…just because he’d rested his head on a woman’s lap?

Outside, he grabbed hold of a thick tree branch in front of the tent and started doing pull-ups.

Declan, who was dumping out a bucket of dirty water, looked at Hayden’s back and muttered,

“He barely eats anything, but I guess he’s still got energy to burn.”

A little while later, the football players gathered inside the shelter.

Declan looked around at everyone finding places to settle before frowning.

“The more I think about it, the more I feel this place is way too cramped for all of us to sleep here.”

Manuel folded his arms.

“Not much we can do about it.”

Declan didn’t look willing to accept the cramped conditions.

“Why don’t we move into that stone house near the beginning of the lake? There was one with a roof that wasn’t caved in.”

He seemed to mean the house near the cave where they’d showered earlier.

After considering it, Manuel shook his head.

“That place is about the same size as this one, so all of us won’t fit there either. Besides, I think we’re better off staying here since it’s closer to the beach.”

Declan still refused to back down.

“Then how about splitting into two groups?”

“…”

“Who’s moving?”

Nate raised his hand.

Declan forcibly lifted Manuel’s hand as well before standing up.

“I’m moving. I’d rather sleep comfortably. Let’s make mealtimes ten in the morning and nine at night. We’ll come back to the tent then.”

A loud thump came from the box where they’d trapped the snake.

Looking anxiously at the box through the wide-open doorway, Lee Soo asked,

“Are you taking the snake too?”

Declan shook his head as he walked outside.

“Nah. It’ll be easier if we just move ourselves.”

The rest of the football players followed him outside.

They gathered around the overturned box with the snake inside and looked down at it.

Declan nudged the box with his foot.

“We should give the snake a name.”

Standing beside him, Dehart asked,

“What’ll it be?”

“Sally. After my first love.”

Manuel frowned and rubbed his chin.

“The girl who took the signing bonus you got as a youth player and ran off overseas?”

“Yep. That bitch.”

Watching them, Lee Soo finally relaxed her stiff shoulders.

She was honestly relieved Declan had decided to move.

She still couldn’t forget that he’d seen her wearing nothing but her underwear, and his shameless attitude had left a bad impression.

The moment she let herself relax, Declan looked at her.

“Lee Soo, you coming too?”

She shook her head.

Declan was simply too shameless for her liking.

Living with Hayden was difficult and uncomfortable in its own way…

But if she had to choose between the two of them, she’d pick Hayden without hesitation.

If she’d been free to choose anyone, she would’ve chosen Jenna and Manuel.

But between Declan and Hayden—

“No.”

After unsuccessfully trying to persuade Jenna as well, Declan carefully picked up the laptop he’d left inside the shelter.

It was presumed to belong to Graham.

The laptop…

She wanted to borrow it.

She had a feeling it contained clues about her lost memories.

But she hesitated, certain Declan would demand something in return.

Besides, the battery was dead anyway.

Not wanting to start a conflict over something they couldn’t even use, Lee Soo silently watched him carry it away.

Declan left along the lakeside path with Nate and Manuel.

Manuel didn’t seem eager to go, but he kept it to himself.

Before long, night fell.

After hearing that Dehart and Jan had found a deck of cards at the new shelter, they headed over to Declan’s place to play poker.

Although only three people remained in the shelter that had once housed all eight of them, it didn’t feel much larger.

Jenna and Hayden still lay beside her in the same order as the previous night.

People naturally preferred sleeping in familiar places.

The spot beneath the window was also the darkest, so Lee Soo didn’t bother changing places.

Still…

Having Jenna beside her as another woman made her feel more at ease.

And Hayden…

He was the man who had saved her life.

She didn’t even want to imagine what would’ve happened without either of them.

Outside, a cuckoo called into the night.

The darkness deepened.

Sleep refused to come, and only her restless thoughts grew heavier.

She’d thought that after three days, she’d at least remember her own name.

But not only had her name failed to return…

Not even the faintest fragment of her memories surfaced.

Just what had happened to her inside that building…?

While those thoughts circled endlessly in her mind, the cuckoo eventually fell silent.

In its place, sleepless insects chirped one after another outside, as though carrying on a conversation.

Because Jenna’s back blocked her view, Lee Soo couldn’t properly see Hayden.

Even so…

She could still faintly remember the warmth he had left on her thigh.

Maybe that lingering sensation was why she couldn’t sleep.

Whenever she closed her eyes, she remembered the moment he’d rested his head on her lap…

…forcing her to open them again.

Lee Soo blinked her tired eyes.

Jenna shifted in her sleep and draped one leg over Hayden’s stomach.

Lying flat on his back, Hayden didn’t react.

Jenna turned over again and placed a hand on his chest.

Lee Soo assumed Jenna had unconsciously sought out someone who made her feel safe while she slept.

That assumption lasted only a few seconds.

Moonlight revealed Jenna slowly rubbing Hayden’s nipple with her index finger.

As she was using Hayden’s vest as a pillow, Lee Soo held her breath.

She felt she should wake him.

No one would appreciate someone touching their body without permission while they were asleep.

But…

What if Jenna simply denied everything?

Maybe she and Hayden had become intimate without anyone else realizing.

And what if…

…he suddenly responded and embraced Jenna instead?

If that happened, she’d have no choice but to stay perfectly still and watch the provocative scene unfold.

The thought alone made her dizzy.

Jenna’s finger slowly moved away from his flat nipple.

Her hand slid down over the steady rise and fall of his abdominal muscles.

After hesitating for a moment…

…it slipped inside his boxer briefs.

The silk fabric shifted visibly beneath the moonlight.

As if intoxicated by the warmth in her hand, Jenna lightly rubbed her breast against Hayden’s elbow.

Watching through barely opened eyes, Lee Soo felt strangely unsettled.

It was as though she’d been thrown into the middle of that sex video she’d watched earlier.

Her mind burned.

And for some reason…

…she felt like someone was stealing her lover away.

The irrational urge to push Jenna into the lake flashed through her mind.

At that moment, Hayden’s tightly closed eyes slowly opened.

Still hazy with sleep, his gaze immediately found Lee Soo.

Startled, Lee Soo narrowed her half-open eyes even further.

Feeling the hand inside his underwear, Hayden lowered his gaze toward his lower body.

His oversized boxer briefs—several sizes too large for his waist—rose and fell repeatedly.

There were only two possibilities.

If this had been something he and Jenna had agreed to, he would simply enjoy her touch.

If not…

…he’d spring upright in shock.

Hidden by the darkness, Lee Soo barely dared to breathe.

Then Jenna looked up at Hayden and whispered into his ear,

“Baby… you’re awake?”