“Someskill?” he repeated, pouring warning into his voice.
“Oh dear, is that what I said?”
“I guess I’m going to have to teach you the difference between some skill and master skills. As you’re a novice, your ignorance on the subject can be overlooked. We’ll get on to those lessons here very soon.”
She nodded. “I think that’s a good thing. I wouldn’t want to make any mistakes. Although I did want to talk to you about your knife skills. It is for your safety. That’s important. We could make it interesting by placing small wagers on the outcome.”
Her eyes met his, and there was definitely a sensual teasing light there.
“What do you have in mind? And bear in mind, I grew up throwing knives in the circus.”
She nodded solemnly. “I have taken that into consideration, but you like to hit the center of the target. We aren’t going to do that. We’ll call other spots on the target for each other to hit. I think that’s fair. No money, by the way. The bet has to be more inventive than that.”
Jonas considered the look in her eyes. “If I win, I get to have you at my mercy for as long as I want for the rest of the day. I like to play, honey, and I can keep at it for hours.”
“I see.” She rubbed her lower lip. “That sounds... interesting. If I win, you have to teach me how to give you a proper blow job. The mind-blowing kind. In light of what you just said, it might take me a little while before I get the hang of it.”
Jonas groaned and pressed his fingers to the corners of his eyes. He’d never thrown a game in his life. Win or lose, he supposed either way he was going to come out on top, but her bet sounded very promising. Still, he couldn’t cheat. That just wasn’t in him.
“I think you have a bit of the Tasmanian Devil in you, Camellia Mist,” he accused.
She laughed. “You think?”
15
Jonas woke on alert, his warning system flaring to life. The sun had already climbed into the sky, telling him it was midmorning. Camellia was on her side, and he was curled protectively around her, his arm draped possessively around her waist.
“Wake up, honey. We’re about to have company. You’ve got enough time to wash your face.” He sat up and immediately tugged her up with him, glancing out the long bank of windows. He hadn’t pulled the privacy screens, and he could see into the forest.
A Great Gray owl skimmed about three feet off the ground, flying silently past with soft, slow wingbeats. Jonas paused at the bathroom door, watching its progress into the forest before following Camellia inside.
There was no wasted motion in anything Camellia did. He couldn’t help but admire the fluid way she moved and found himself smiling as she struggled to braid her hair. The wild massrefused to be tamed no matter how hard she tried to gather the silky strands and twine them together.
He stepped up behind her and took the dark fall of waves and curls and braided it for her, his gaze on hers in the mirror. “I believe our company are members of Team Two, honey. We haven’t even had our coffee yet. Do you want to go into the kitchen and make that for us while I talk to them first?”
Gossip traveled fast, especially when it came to something as huge as a healer in their midst.
Teams Three and Four had both psychic healers and doctors. One and Two didn’t have a psychic healer and they desperately needed one. He had made it clear that no one was to talk about Camellia. Ryland had made it clear. He was certain Kaden had decreed it as well. Jeff and Kyle and Gator had all been in the room with them. So had Tansy.
Damn it.
There was no doubt in his mind that Tansy was the one who’d blabbed.
“You need a better sense of humor.” Her voice was very soft. She leaned her body against his after he looped the little tie at the end of her braid.
“I have a sense of humor.”
“You need a better one. Or maybe you’re all snarly and grumpy in the morning because you didn’t get much sleep. We had a great day yesterday and a really good night together. We’re not going to let them spoil this.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist and rubbed his chin on top of her head. “All of those things could be true, but I’m admitting to none of them. Did the owl warn you? Is that why you’re already so prepared?”
“He warned you too. You just weren’t listening.”
The trace of amusement in her voice and the dancing mischief in her eyes sent heat rushing through his veins and happiness spreading through him. “I listen. I think he just likes you more than me. He didn’t even look at me.”
Her laughter bubbled up, just like he knew it would. He couldn’t help himself. He leaned down and tasted the temptation of that smooth skin on the side of her neck just below her earlobe. He loved the way she smelled. The fragrance was so subtle. One had to be very close to catch it. His lips wandered to her ear, and then his teeth caught her earlobe and tugged. Her breath hitched but she didn’t pull away. Her eyes met his in the mirror, darkened with desire, with something else he hadn’t expected to ever see from a woman.
The connection between them was growing stronger, deepening into something far more intense than he ever thought possible. The burn of physical lust was stronger than ever.
