Without realizing it, they had moved closer to each other. She was now only a foot away from him, challenging him to continue. The last time they’d been in this position, on the boat,she’d ended it by kissing him. This time, kissing wasn’t an option. And frankly, with the way he was talking to her, she didn’twantto kiss him.
Not really.
“You need to call this whole thing off,” he said.
Thisagain?
“No.” She glared up at him.
“No?” he asked, putting his hands on his hips. “Do you think you actually look menacing right now?”
“Do you think you can intimidate me into leaving? I told you: back off.”
“You’re the one who came to me yesterday.”
Miri had no response. But when they’d found the stone table, her body had naturally reacted to his, pulling him close even when her mind told her to stay away. And at the fire, he’d bewitched her with his eyes and his sexy smile. She’d missed his laughter. Missed his touch.
She needed him to back off, because she wasn’t sure she could trust herself to do it.
“That’s…that’s because…” The right words escaped her. “That’s because I can’t focus when I’m around you. You’re a distraction!” she blurted out.
He laughed again and took another step toward Miri. So close she could smell the scent of his aftershave from the day before, even through the alcohol. So close she could feel the heat from his body.
“And I think it’s funny that you thinkI’mthe distraction,” he said with a devilish look in his eyes.
Miri gaped, her mouth like a fish out of water, unable to formulate her thoughts into words. “I…I…” She bit her lip, hating to reveal her cards before he revealed his, but it didn’tlook like there was any way around it. “Yes, a distraction. Look, this expedition is important to me and…and…you’re getting in the way.”
“I’m a distraction?” he repeated. “You look at me with those hungry eyes. Taunt me by biting your lip as you stare at me. Those same lips thatyoukissedmewith, lips I desperately want to kiss again. And now you stand here, challenging me, wearing those cutesy, ridiculously thin pajamas that have the nerve to say ‘Sweet Dreams’ when there was nothingsweetabout my dreams last night, and you want to callmea distraction? Pringles, you are the very definition of a distraction.”
She could sense the wetness building between her legs, soaking through that ridiculouslythinfabric. She fought to keep from covering herself. From showing any weakness.
“Don’t worry, it won’t happen again.” She forced the words out, despite not wanting to say them. But she needed to. She took a step back. “I want you to know, I asked Anissa this morning about sending you home,” she continued.
Rafa straightened up. “What? You can’t fire me,” he said.
She scoffed.
“I know. That’s what Anissa told me,” Miri said, looking away. “Some crap about how it could impact whatever story you end up writing. And the fact thattechnicallyyou were hired by someone else, so I’d have to convince them to convince your boss to pull you off the job. But you being here? You’re interfering with the expedition. You’re supposed to be a casual observer and…and…”
“I’m a distraction.”
She took a gulp, and then her face turned bright red as she turned her head to both sides, checking to make sure no one was watching.
“No one can see us, if that’s what you’re worried about,” he said.
“I know. I just…I just don’t want people talking, is all. Last night by the fire…that was…that was embarrassing. People are already wondering if I can hack it, and if they think all I’m doing out here is fucking around with you, then they’ll be even less inclined to view me as a leader.”
“They were only teasing.”
“Teasing or not, it’s not okay. This is my job, Rafa. They are supposed to respect me. But regardless, nothing you can say is going to stop me, even if everyone else bails, yourself included.”
“Nothing? What if I told you os protetores know where we are and are on their way to hurt us?”
“That story is completely made up. There are absolutely no accounts of os protetores harming anyone.”
“What if that’s because they hold on to their secrets?”
Miri rolled her eyes. “Now you’re taking me for a sucker who believes in boogeymen and ghost stories. It’s not going to work, Rafa.”
