Flynn looked down at her. “I barely touched you.”
“That’s the problem. You touched me at all.”
Flynn’s expression shifted from sheepish to irritated. “Most women would be flattered by the attention.”
“After you’ve bought them dinner?”
Flynn’s eyes narrowed. “The village where we’re spending the night is miles away.” It was a threat. He’d make her walk. We didn’t have time for that. But Haven didn’t know that.
Her cheeks blazed red. Her eyes filled with fire. She raised her hand and gave him the middle finger.
I’d had enough of her attitude. She couldn’t talk back or make obscene gestures or ignore my orders. “Shield!”
She ignored me. Of course she did. I ground my teeth. Why didn’t she see that her defiant attitude would cost her what was left of her life?
“It’s a long walk.” Flynn’s grin was mocking.
“Pretty sure Pierce or Teal will give me a ride if I get too tired.”
Pierce or Teal. Not me. She didn’t trust me. Didn’t like me. And she was right.
What had Flynn said? Or done? I wanted to kill them both. Slowly. Painfully. “I told you to ride with Flynn.”
She rolled her eyes. “Not happening.”
The fire in her voice, the way she stood her ground against all of us—it stirred something dangerous in my chest. Admiration. Desire. Things I had no business feeling for a shield. Things that could get us both killed if anyone noticed. “You don’t get to decide that.”
“How could I forget?” Her annoyingly plush lips twisted into an ugly snarl. “I’m a shield, not a person with thoughts or feelings, not someone deserving of even the tiniest amount of respect. Doesn’t matter if I saved his worthless life.” She jerked her thumb toward Flynn. “He can do what he likes.”
Fucking idiot. What had he done? I kept my gaze fixed on her—her blazing eyes, her flushed cheeks, the angry line of her mouth.
“Doesn’t matter if I gave you the sword you needed to killthe wyvern or protected Teal and Flynn from the wraiths. I’m just a shield.”
My jaw clenched involuntarily. Every word was true. Every accusation deserved. She’d saved us repeatedly, and we treated her like an object, not a person. Well, I did. My brothers seemed to be adapting. But admitting she was right would only make things worse for both of us. “Must you argue constantly?”
“Yes!” She practically vibrated with ire.
“Either you ride with Flynn, or you ride with me.”
“I’ll walk.”
“You can’t walk; you’ll slow us down. Make your choice, or I’ll decide for you.”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine. You.”
I’d expected her to pick Flynn.
The shield stepped closer to Caspian, taking a moment to stroke his neck.
My fearsome warhorse nickered as if the shield was his long-lost love.
“We don’t have all day,” I groused.
Caspian flicked his ears at me.
Without a word, the shield swung into the saddle, settling in front of me, her ass pressing uncomfortably against my cock. Her scent—cinnamon and sunshine—invaded my nose, and I forced myself to breathe through my mouth.
This was why I’d tried to keep my distance. Why I’d been harsh with her. Because when she was close like this, when I could feel her warmth and smell her hair, it was impossible to think of her as just a shield.
