“Let’s just say you’re going to have to turn your back first.”
“Turn my—Buck, are younakedunder there?”
“Technically, no. But I don’t think I can crawl out of here while holding this blanket.”
Which meant that hehadbeen naked at the point where, for some unfathomable reason, he’d decided to take up residence under her bed. While she’d beensleeping.And now he was under there in nothing but her blanket, while she was dressed only in her nightshirt and—
Honey looked down at the underwear still puddled around her feet.
“Close your eyes!” she yelped.
A very Buck sigh drifted from under the bed. Even without being able to see him, she could precisely picture his expression.
“Woman,” he said testily. “Closingmyeyes is not going to stop you from seeing a lot more than either of us want.”
“I know that!” Hot from throat to forehead, she hooked her panties with her toes, sending them sailing into the pile of laundry in the corner. “I’mnot dressed.”
“Believe me, I am aware of this fact.” A pause. “Painfully aware.”
“Well then, close your eyes and face the wall.” She added, belatedly, “And make sure you keep that blanket in place.”
Another sigh, followed by shuffling sounds. “Fine. I’m facing the wall.”
Honey risked a quick glance under the bed. Satisfied that the shadowed, shrouded shape there did indeed have his back to her, she bolted for her clothes. She’d never gotten dressed so fast in her life.
“Okay,” she said, straightening her t-shirt. She went to the window, checking that no kids were in sight. “You can come out now.”
Rustling noises. She kept her gaze firmly fixed on the next cabin over until Buck said gruffly from behind her, “Okay, I’m decent. Safe to look.”
Honey turned, and immediately wished that she hadn’t.
Buck’s definition of ‘decent’ apparently included ‘naked from the hip bones up.’ He’d wrapped her blanket around his waist like a sarong, but that still left his entire torso on display.
Technically, she’d seen him entirely naked, of course. But that had been a brief, fleeting glimpse, and she’d been too busy freaking out over the wholegiant glowing winged wolfthing to properly appreciate the view.
Now she couldn’t look away.
Every inch of him was honed like a knife-edge, hard and dangerous. Her eyes traveled of their own accord down the taut planes of his chest to the sharp ridges of his abs. A line of dark hair started at his navel, disappearing under the edge of the blanket. Buck shifted position, adjusted his grip, and the soft material slipped a fraction of an inch lower.
He said something, but the words went straight through her head without making the slightest impression on her brain. He took a step toward her, and another, every muscle in his body in harmony. She could only stand there, frozen, as he leaned in close.
“Honey.” Buck’s hypnotic growl shivered down her spine, making nerves tingle all the way to her toes. “Honey.You’re in the way.”
“What?”
“The window.” He gestured past her. “You’re standing in the way.”
“What?” she said again; and then, as her brain finally caught up with her ears: “Oh. Right. Sorry.”
She took a step to the side, only to find that he’d gone the same way. They stared at each other for a second of profound mutual awkwardness before Buck dodged round her. He leaned out the window, back muscles bunching, and muttered a curse.
“Too late,” he said, pulling back into the room. He yanked the curtains closed as he spoke, shrouding them both in shadow. “The kids are starting to come out. No chance I can make it back to my cabin without being seen.”
Honey could hear the chatter of kids outside, punctuated by the occasional exasperated call from a counselor. A thunder of feet in the corridor signaled their own cabin group departing for breakfast. They both froze, holding their breath, until the noisy herd had streamed out.
Buck twitched the curtain aside, peering through the crack. “I’d better wait a few more minutes in case there are any stragglers. You go on ahead though.”
“Oh no.” Honey’s higher brain functions had started to return, along with a great many questions. “I’m not going anywhere until you explain what you were doing under my bed.”
