Voracious - Alice Henderson [50]
He sighed. “No. I can’t. In fact, I think I’ll check them when you’re done checking them.”
“And then I can check them again.”
Noah smiled, then held her gaze for a moment in silence, his eyes still burning, his lips so kissable—
She turned away, stood up, and left the room. Noah followed her out, got clothes out of his pack, and returned to the bedroom, partially closing the bedroom door behind him.
Madeline couldn’t help but glance through the crack in the door. Noah peeled off his long-sleeved cotton shirt in favor of a black T-shirt. As the cotton left his body, her eyes took in the smoothness of his skin, his muscular sides and chest, his flat stomach. His bare arms, working now to pull on the T-shirt, were muscular and toned, his biceps alone as big as a calf muscle. He was perfectly proportioned, inviting collarbones accentuating his already fiendishly attractive chest. And then the T-shirt covered him up.
Madeline swallowed and looked away, feeling oddly embarrassed for gawking. She supposed constantly being on the move, constantly pushing himself kept him in shape. And what a lovely shape. Oh my.
“I think I’ll take the couch,” she said.
Noah appeared at the crack in the door. “No way! You get the bed.”
She shook her head. “You’ve done so much for me, paid for this place, even, and I would just be too racked with guilt if you slept on the couch.” He opened his mouth to protest, but she added quickly, “I insist.”
He shook his head hopelessly and gave a little smile. “Okay.” Then he turned away to resume getting ready for bed.
Madeline sighed and looked down at the couch, forcing her body to cool down. Parts of her ached for Noah, and she told those parts to cool it. Even though they’d been through a lot together, she barely even knew him.
As she took the cushions off the couch and pulled out the hideaway bed, Noah appeared from the bedroom. “Ready to go brush our teeth?”
Madeline started. “Out there? Again? Where that thing is?”
“I’ll go with you.”
“I think I’d rather be irresponsible and not brush my teeth tonight. Damn. Why couldn’t they make these cabins with bathrooms?”
“Too cheap?”
“Can’t I just use a cup and some water from your canteen?”
Noah relented. “Sure,” he said. “I’ll do the same.”
They brushed their teeth in silence, Noah doling out water from his Nalgene bottle, and Madeline just glad to stay indoors, away from the creature.
“Madeline,” he said when she was finished brushing, “help me catch the creature.”
She looked at him in disbelief. “What?” Her gut sank.
“Help me catch him. With your gift and my knowledge, we could stop him. I can feel it.”
She shook her head, her gut wrenching at the thought. “No. I’m just a college student. I’m no vigilante.”
“But how can you ignore your gift like that? Especially after you already caught one killer?”
“My gift?” she spat. “It’s no goddamn gift. It’s not some knitted handbag my grandmother gave me. It’s made my life hell. You think I wanted to see those terrible things the Sickle Moon Killer did to those men?” She threw her toothbrush and the little tube of toothpaste into Noah’s backpack and stalked away. If that thing weren’t out there, she would have stormed out of the cabin right then.
Fear. Plain old mind-numbing fear swept over her.
“Madeline,” he said. “I know you’re hurting. I know it’s been hard. I’m just saying that this is your chance to turn that ability around, make it work for you.”
She exhaled sharply, turning to look at him. “This is exactly what I don’t want. What I came out here to avoid. Don’t ask me to do this. That thing almost killed me! You can’t expect me to go up against it!”
He shook his head. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I asked too soon.”
“Too soon?” she raised her voice again. “No, please don’t ask me again. I’m sorry, Noah, but I just can’t. I came out here to try to scrape together a semblance of a normal life. Now my life is in danger and frankly … I’m terrified.”
He stared at her, then his eyes narrowed, and he went into the bedroom, leaving Madeline outside with her ghosts of Ellie