“But I’ve got something that might work,” he said. He dug in his backpack again and brought out a pair of dry, thick socks, then gently slid them onto my feet. They felt so good I nearly wept. Then he brought out some waterproof bags and put one over each foot, tying them in place with a cord around the bottom of my ankle and again at the top.
I tried a few experimental steps and they were great: warm and so much more comfortable than walking barefoot. “Thank you,” I said with feeling. Then I looked down at myself and laughed. I was in a billowing ivory dress, torn in places and stained with dirt, topped off with a plaid shirt that was far too big for me. There were pine needles in my hair, my calves were muddy and I had plastic bags on my feet. “I look ridiculous.”
And then I looked up and caught my breath, because I saw the way he was looking at me.
His gaze started on my face and traveled slowly down my body. As it rose again, I could feel the heat of it, as surely as if he was running his hand over my flesh. I felt it going all the way up my bare leg, where it was revealed by the split in the dress. Then higher, tracing the contours of my thigh where the thin ivory fabric was plastered to my leg by the breeze. Up and round and—my breath tightened—right up to my groin. Then up over my waist, up to the low-cut neckline and the pale valley it revealed, and finally back to my face, where it stayed.
The look said, very firmly, that I didn’t look ridiculous at all.
13
Cal
Look away. I couldn’t. Look away. My gaze wouldn’t move, lost in those brown eyes. Look away, goddammit!
I finally broke the gaze and stared into the fire. “We should get some sleep,” I muttered. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her look startled for a moment, then look at the ground and nod.
I didn’t want to keep pushing her away. God knows, all I wanted to do was pull her close. But she deserved better than the likes of me. The sooner I got her to Tucker’s, the better. Those bastards in the mansion could go to jail, she could go back to the city and I could go back to being alone.
I lay down on my side of the blanket. The ground beneath us was mossy and springy and the fire made it pleasantly warm.
Bethany hesitantly sat down, then lay down on her side, her back towards my chest. Both of us were almost at the edges of the blanket, but it was really only designed for one. The gorgeous curves of her ass were maybe six inches from my groin. I could see strands of her hair move when I breathed and smell the exotic scent of her shampoo: some fancy city stuff, pomegranate and honeysuckle or some nonsense like that. It smelled amazing. And underneath there was another, subtler scent. Her, feminine and sweet. A scent that drove me crazy, that had my cock swelling in my jeans. I gave a silent sigh.
Rufus came and stood over me, then tilted his head, confused. Normally, when we sleep in the open, he cuddles up against me. He looked at Bethany, then at me, then at the cold, inefficient gap we’d left between us. Why aren’t you cuddling up together? he seemed to be asking.
I silently shook my head. That’s not happening.
Rufus hesitated, then stepped over me, over Bethany, and stopped in front of her. He turned around three times, then curled himself up and cuddled into her front. Traitor, I thought. But I was glad she’d be warm.
I lay there staring at her. I was rock-hard, now, and there was an even more maddening side to it, an ache in my chest that I didn’t want to think about, a need that went way beyond sex.
I was sure I wouldn’t be able to even doze. But it had been a long day of hunting, followed by hours of walking. As the fire died down, I slept.
14
Bethany
I WOKE UP CONFUSED, opening my eyes and then screwing them shut again. Bright light was trying to force its way under my lids. Did I forget to close the blinds? I groped for my phone to check the time. When my hand found only leaves and twigs, I woke up fast.
The first thing that hit me was the silence. I hadn’t realized how used I had gotten to the constant hum of traffic and the whir of air conditioning. It was just so...still. The fear I’d felt the night before crept back: I was so tiny, out here in the vast wilderness.