It was true, yet Shan frowned, like he’d taken a bite of a familiar food only to discover an unexpected flavor. “Why did you put him in our pack, then?”
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” She gestured at his head. “You’ve still got some in your hair. On the left. No, your left.”
Shan made an ineffectual pass with the disintegrating paper towel. “Better?”
“No, you’re just spreading it around.” Pulling more paper from the dispenser, she went over to him. “Here, I’ll get it for you. Bend over.”
Shan hesitated again, then bowed his head. She popped up on her toes, but it was still an awkward stretch to reach the pudding plastered above his ear. Without thinking, she braced her free hand against his shoulder.
She hadn’t meant to lean on him. It had just seemed natural. She was used to friendly, casual physical contact at camp—exchanging high fives with kids, or giving a fellow counselor an encouraging pat on the back.
Now, she was abruptly all too aware of the intimacy of their position. She was right up on her toes, body almost pressed against his. Heat rushed to her face…and also lower down.
Oh, no.Most shifters had keen senses even in human form. She froze, praying the lingering scent of chocolate would mask her arousal.
If Shan was experiencing a similar involuntary reaction, he didn’t show it. He supported her weight stoically, not moving. In fact, he didn’t even seem to be breathing. She might as well have been leaning against an unusually attractive brick wall.
Oh God, hecouldsmell her. He was only trying to do his job, and here she was draped over him, radiating pheromones like a cat in heat. No wonder the poor manseemed to be trying to astral project his consciousness to a different plane of existence.
She wanted to apologize, but that would only have made the situation even more embarrassing for them both. Since Shan was clearly trying to pretend this whole thing wasn’t happening, she attempted to do the same.
This is fine,she told herself as she dabbed at his head with the paper towel.Nothing weird about this at all. Just helping a colleague.
A very muscular, handsome colleague.
Who smells good.
…Reallygood.
“Huh.” She sniffed the air, trying to decipher that rich, enticing blend of chocolate and spice. “The cooks must be trying a new recipe.”
“What?”
“Nothing. Just that normally the chocolate pudding tastes of brown and regret. Maybe Conleth increased the kitchen budget.” She wiped the last of the dessert from his neck with the paper towel, repressing the urge to use her tongue instead. “There you go. All clean. Or at least, clean enough for now. I’ll get back to the kids while you change your shirt. And I’ll make sure to have a word with them about their behavior.”
Shan straightened, his right hand dropping from his sunglasses. “There is no need.”
“Nonsense. We can’t have you dodging flying pudding for the rest of your stay.” She tossed the paper towel into the trash. “Don’t worry. I’ll put a stop to this.”
There wasn’t much opportunity to confront the guilty parties about Shan that evening. After dinner and Zephyr’sspeech welcoming everyone to camp, the campers relaxed around the bonfire, catching up with friends they hadn’t seen since last summer and making new ones. Watching Finley, Beth, Estelle and Archie chatting with the others, Leonie decided against pulling them aside just yet.
No matter what else is going on, you have to make sure they all have a good time at camp, she reminded herself. Telling the kids off on their very first evening would hardly set the right tone for the rest of the summer.
Still, she’d promised Shan to put a stop to the constant ‘accidents.’ At bedtime, she decided to tactfully broach the subject one-on-one.
“Beth,” she said, as the girls were all climbing into bed. “Before you go to sleep, I want to talk to you about Shan.”
Beth instantly sat bolt upright, as if spring-loaded. “Do you like him?”
“What?” Leonie said, somewhat derailed by the unexpected question. “Of course I do. I wouldn’t have asked him to work with me if I didn’t.”
Estelle’s head appeared over the side of the upper bunk, upside-down. “Yeah, but do youlikehim?”
This was not where she had expected the conversation to go.
“I just said I did,” she said, pretending to misunderstand. “He’s a very diligent and capable man.”
From the look Estelle gave her, she was not fooled. “Yeah, but do you think he’s sexy?”
