Free Camouflaged (Hiding From Love #0.5) by Selena Laurence

me.”
    “Uh, no?”
    “You’ve never slept with a girl without having sex?”
    “Hell, I’ve never slept with a girl at all. I, uh, I always go. You know, afterwards.”
    The look of horror that crossed her face would have been funny if I hadn’t felt like such an ass. I’d never thought about it before, but her reaction told me I’d made a wrong turn somewhere in my sexual past.
    She lay back down on the ground, staring up at the ceiling. “My God,” she muttered. “You’re more of a Neanderthal than I thought.”
    “Fuck, it’s not that big of a deal,” I mumbled as I stood up and paced across the cave to the far wall.
    She sat up and spoke to my back. “I’m sorry. That was rude of me. You’re not a Neanderthal. You’ve been a perfect gentleman since after that first day we met, but your experiences have been different than mine. It’s not your fault you’re really hot and have women ready to screw you everywhere you go.”
    I turned around and looked at her, incredulous. “Did you just say I’m ‘really hot’?” I asked, a grin breaking out across my face.
    She pursed her gorgeous ruby lips. “Don’t let it go to your head, soldier boy. But yes, all the UN girls are always asking me about you and saying how hot you are.”
    “All the UN girls, huh? And what about you? You think I’m hot?”
    “Um, I’ve got a boyfriend. Let’s just leave it at that.”
    “Okay, babe , if that’s how you want it.”
    I felt my grin grow even bigger. She thought I was hot. She didn’t want to admit it, but she did. My chest swelled a couple of sizes and I thought maybe getting shot at had been worth it after all.
    “So, back to the issue at hand,” she said, breaking me out of my lustful celebration. “You’re going to try something new tonight. You’re going to sleep snuggled up with a woman you are not having sex with. And we are going to stay warm and not have to lie in the dust. How’s that?”
    I walked back to her. “Sounds like a plan,” I said.
    After we got the bottom blanket laid out, Alexis and I awkwardly settled in with the other blanket over us. At first we both lay side by side on our backs. I didn’t know how to handle the accidental touches. I didn’t want her to think I was trying to initiate something I shouldn’t. As I lay staring up at the ceiling, feeling like I was on a bed of nails, she whispered, “Gabe?”
    “Yeah?”
    “Even though we’re not going to . . . you’re allowed to touch me. I mean, not, you know . . .“ she sighed.
    “So, I can’t feel you up, but I can touch you, right?” I grinned in the now dark cave.
    “Something like that, yeah. If the point is to share body heat, our bodies might need to touch somehow, don’t you think?”
    “Okay. But since you’re the expert on this whole ‘cuddling with guys you’re not screwing’ thing, maybe you better coach me on it.”
    I held my breath, waiting for her answer. I’m not sure what I was hoping for, but my limbs were tingling with anticipation for something almost tangible yet still out of reach.
    Finally, she said, “Come here,” as she reached across my body and pulled on my arm.
    I rolled toward her, onto my side. “Like this?” I asked, my voice oddly husky.
    “Yeah,” she answered, so quiet I almost didn’t hear her. Then she rolled onto her side and wiggled back into the curve of my body. Spooning . The word flashed in my mind. I kept my free arm at my side, still too unsure to touch her of my own volition. Then she reached up behind her and found my hand. She pulled it over her and wrapped my arm around her waist. Once it was there, she kept ahold of my hand. I inhaled, her soft hair tickling my nose and filling it with the scent of wildflowers.
    “Am I doing it right?” I whispered, trying hard not to think about her incredible ass right up against my crotch.
    “Yeah,” she answered, sounding sleepy. “You’re doing it perfectly.”
    I swallowed, astounded by how incredible