My eyes travel upward to his face. His thick, dark eyelashes fan across his cheeks. They’re impossibly long for a man. His jaw is strong, covered in dark stubble that makes him look rugged and dangerous.
His lips are full and slightly parted as he sleeps.
Once again, heat pools low in my belly.
No!
I don’t want to feel this way. Certainly not for him. I don’t want to be in this precarious position. What if he thinks I did this on purpose to try to sway him to trust me? To take me with him.
I didn’t.
I wouldn’t.
I’ve decided that I don’t want to travel with him anymore. I’ll be fine on my own.
His hand rests on my hip, large and warm, like he pulled me against him. Yes, I think that’s what happened.
I swallow hard.
Kakara help me.
I need to move. This is wrong and completely inappropriate. My heart is beating so hard I’m sure it’ll wake him.
I start to pull away, moving slowly and carefully, trying to slip out of his hold without waking him.
Please…stay asleep. Please.
Carefully…carefully.
Just when I think I’m in the clear, his fingers tighten on my hip, and he holds me in place.
I freeze again.
His breathing changes.
No, no, no.
Please.
His eyes open slowly. For a moment, he just looks at me, his gaze unfocused with sleep.
Then awareness floods his expression.
He sucks in a sharp breath and releases me, practically throwing himself to the far edge of the mattress. He sits up so fast he nearly hits his head on the low ceiling.
“I—” He runs a hand through his hair. “I apologize. Julienne and I decided it would be best if we rested before heading out. I didn’t mean to…” He gestures between us, his cheeks flushing slightly. “That is, I didn’t intend for us to… It…”
Good. At least he isn’t blaming me, which is what I expected to happen.
I sit up, shaking my head.
“It’s fine,” I tell him. “No harm done.”
He nods, but he won’t quite meet my eyes. The tension in the small space is suffocating.
Before either of us can say anything more, there’s movement above us. Footsteps cross the floor.
The animal skin is pulled aside, and the trapdoor opens. Julienne’s kind face appears in the opening, backlit by the soft light of morning.
