“Why won’t you just admit it?” he asked, his tone teasing and testing.
“Admit what?”
“That you enjoy watching me.”
“I—” Reaching for detachment, I found only desire. “You forget yourself, sir. I am a lady.”
He angled his head, mischief bright in his eyes. “Even ladies have…needs.”
My breath caught. I summoned a scowl and lied, “Not I.”
“Sure.” His grin widened.
He reached for his belt. Mav unfastened it in one swift motion, pulling it free from the loops of his trousers.
Every muscle in me locked. “Good sir!” I blurted, retreating as though the forest floor had opened. “We are not—this is not?—”
Mav lifted a brow, entirely untroubled, and deadpanned, “Relax, princess. I’m bundling the wood.”
I stared at the length of leather as he looped it neatly around the freshly chopped logs.
Then at his face. His eyes gleamed with triumph poorly disguised as innocence. He let the moment linger long enough to graciously allow my composure to combust.
“Although,” he added, “I’mverycurious to know where your mind went just now.”
My cheeks burned hot enough to light kindling. “It did—you—you took off your belt!”
“To secure the firewood.”
“Your intention was not known to me at the time.”
“Mm.” He hoisted the bundle to his shoulder, crooked grin on full display. “Perhaps someone needs to work on her deductive reasoning.”
I turned before sense could betray me into honesty. “I am going back to camp.”
“It’s this way,” he called.
I stopped, ground my teeth, pivoted, and marched past without granting him the grace of eye contact. “I knew that.”
“Of course you did.”
He fell into step, wholly pleased with himself.
The path back was quiet, save for the soft crunch of moss and twig beneath our boots. My cheeks burned the entire way. No amount of stern self-lecture could unspool the memory of his hands closing over mine, the timbre of his voice in my ear, or the curve of that wretched, wonderful smirk.
I lamented his ability to unsettle me so.
Moreover, I despised the intoxicating desire flooding through my limbs.
And worst of all, I loathed the part of me that did not wish the moment to end.
By the time we returned to camp, the sun had fully fled the sky. Mav and I deposited our armfuls of twigs and logs. It took only a moment for the others to realize Mav was without certain items of clothing.
Vesper raised a brow in Mav’s direction. “Does being shirtlessmake your swings more effective? Or was your shirt getting in the way of showing off your abs to Quinn?”
I stifled a laugh beneath my palm as Branrir and Thistle chuckled openly.
Mav glared at the cat. “You know, with all that firewood chopping, I didn’t have time to hunt…maybe I should roast you over the spit.”
