“You should have seen him,” Chase says quietly, tying a knot to secure his horse. “He was scared shitless, Elena.”
“Why?”
“You were lost.” His green eyes pin me. “When I caught up with him and you weren’t with me, he lost it. I am sorry for that. I didn’t see you take the wrong turn, otherwise I would have come after you.”
“It’s okay,” I touch his arm, hoping to ease his misplaced guilt. It’s a sixth sense, the way I feelwhen his eyes are on me. They burn, and sure enough, when I turn to look at him, he’s glaring in this direction, namely at the hand I have on Chase’s bicep. I don’t move it.
I hold his eyes, and I don’t falter.
If he wants to play, we can play, though I’m not sure he truly understandswhohe is playing with.
“Sweetness,” Chase fidgets uncomfortably, “As much as I like your hands on me, I don’t want his wrath.”
“Leave him to me.” I mumble.
“Oh shit,” He chuckles.
I let my hand fall from his body, ensuring I drag my hand in a motion that looks like a caress.
“All for it,” Chase laughs, “Gotta kick him, ya know?”
“We’ll see.”
Silence falls on the campsite as we all set up to settle in for the night. The horses graze at their stations, and the guys set up where we will sleep and a fire while I stand and watch. I offer a hand, but I’m told there’s nothing to do.
There’s a tension fizzling in the air that makes my skin feel too tight, so I step away, following a trail on the east side of the camp. It’s a short walk, but I come up on a lake, fed by a stream that flows off the side of the mountain. The water is clean; the surface rippling as it ebbs and flows against thebanks.
With nothing to do and only so much daylight left, I strip off my clothes.
Pebbles bite the bare soles of my feet, my nipples peaking to the cool mountain air, but the water isn’t as cold as I thought it would be.
The sky is that dusty blue of twilight, the time when the sun hasn’t quite given up and the night is clawing to take over, and I wade into the water. My clothes, underwear and all are left in a pile on the shore, and I walk until the water hits just below my breasts, breathing deeply to allow my body to adjust to the temperature change.
When I’m comfortable, I lift my feet from the pebbly ground and allow myself to float, dipping my head back to soak my hair.
The water is like silk as I push myself through it, staring up at the sky, a couple of stars already able to shine in the blue. It washes away the sweat and the dirt, takes the heat clinging to my skin and once I’m further into the lake, I turn and allow myself to wade in the water, the silence and peace breathing life into me.
A branch snaps ahead of me, and Knox steps onto the shore.
He glances at the clothes, namely the bra on top, and then at me, a muscle in his jaw ticking.
“Don’t be shy, cowboy,” I call to him, “Come in with me.”
I expect him to roll his eyes or curse under his breath, but when he reaches for his shirt to take it off, my breath stalls.
He throws the shirt down next to mine, showing off his hard muscles that flex and roll with his movements as he goes for the buckle of his belt.
He strips down to his boxers and then wades into the water until he can no longer stand and then swims out to me.
His rough fingers whisper up my sides.
“You drive me fucking crazy.” He rasps.
“I guess we have that in common,” I admit.
“Do you like Chase?” He asks, a vulnerability coming over him I haven’t seen before.
My eyes bounce between his, “Are you jealous?” I repeat his own question.
