What is she thinking?
“Seriously?” Erik asks. I turn to him, my expression innocent, but he just rolls his eyes.
He cups his hand around his mouth and calls to her. “Hey! Margot!”
I glare at him, my pulse picking up. What is he going to say?
Margot looks at him, arching a brow. “Yes?”
“You can go. Stellan needs to concentrate on his workout and then he’s going to bed early. We have to get up super early tomorrow for our hunt.”
Her eyebrows rise. She glances at me but I refuse to meet her eyes. Instead I just go after the ball and dribble it, shooting it toward the basket. Margot gathers her coat and stands, coming over to me.
The way she looks at me feels strange; it’s the work of half a minute to realize that this is the first time I’ve been dressed down since New York. Usually I wear my button ups and Briony dress slacks like they are a kind of armor, keeping my shields up and everyone else out.
But just now, as she’s walking over, I realize that I’monly wearing a black t-shirt and black athletic shorts. It’s weird, but I feel just the tiniest bit vulnerable.
She stops a few feet from me, jogging her tote bag on her hip, her coat over her arm. She scrunches up her face. “Am I needed tomorrow?”
I keep my eye on the ball as much as I can, catching it when Erik throws it to me. “I would rather you stayed at home, if that’s what you are asking.”
Her eyes narrow. “It isn’t. When is super early? And what are you hunting?”
Shrugging, I shoot another basket. This time it goes in the hoop. Erik whoops.
“That’s what I am talking about!” he crows. Then he turns to Margot, wearing a smirk. “Five thirty. That’s what time we’re going. If you’re going to come, wear clothes you can get dirty.”
Margot scrunches up her face, her gaze sliding to me. I lock down my emotions and keep my face smooth; it’s almost second nature to me, even though Erik just flat out lied to Margot about what time we start.
“All right,” she says at last. “I’ll see you both bright and early, then.”
She turns, heading out of the gym. I can’t help but watch her ass sway in that short black dress; there is a hole in her leggings on the back of her thigh that gives me all kinds of dirty thoughts.
For instance, right now I’m thinking about slipping my fingers inside that hole and ripping the thin black fabric. Revealing the rest of her pale, creamy thigh to my view…
“Stel!” Erik barks.
I straighten, my neck heating, and look at him. “What?”
He looks back at her disappearing through the gymdoors, waiting until they close. Then he cocks a brow. “Once wasn’t enough for you?”
I shoot him a look. “What do you mean?”
He pushes his cheek out with his tongue. “I mean, does Margot have some kind of spell cast over you? Because you can have anyone in the world… anyone but her.”
I stiffen. “I know that.”
“Do you want me to call some ladies over? Maybe we should have a private party.”
Shaking my head, I start walking over to the wall where a cooler full of water bottles is stashed. “Have I ever in our history wanted your help to get dates? If I wanted, I could have thirty women naked in a pit, fighting over me.”
He shrugs. “It’s just an offer. I just saw the way you looked at her. The same way that you looked at her back in New York.”
Grabbing a bottle of water, I roll my eyes. “What, like a person I find interesting?”
“No.” He folds his arms over his chest. “You look at her like she’s a fucking filet mignon and you’re starving to death.”
“As long as I don’t touch her, I can look at Margot any damn way I please.” I uncap the bottle, taking a long pull of the chilled water.
