I’ll have to make sure I have a knife close by.
Abort Mission
Olivia
Rhys leads the wayalong the river bank back to Alex and Theo, Harlow and Bean hot on my heels.
The guys have already started a fire and have their freshly washed clothes hanging in various trees close by to dry. Theo and Alex sit next to the fire, steaming pots of food already in hand while two other pots sit in front of them, close to the flames. They both look up as we approach.
“You good?” Theo asks, his eyes running over me as if assessing me for injuries.
I nod. “Yeah, now that I’m clean. You’re looking better.” And he does. He doesn’t look as dead on his feet, his eyes are no longer red-rimmed and he probably smells a hell of a lot better, too.
He smirks. “Are you saying I looked awful before?” he teases, his grey eyes dancing with amusement.
I return his smile. “Yes. Yes, I am.”
His jaw drops and he gasps with mock horror. “How dare you!” He presses a hand to his chest. “You don’t have to be so cruel, princess.”
“I do if you keep calling me that.” I hang my wet clothes over the fire like the guys have, not caring that my clothes will smell like smoke.
Alex chuckles next to him. “Keep giving him hell, Ollie. God knows the guy deserves it.”
“What the fuck? Is this ‘gang up on Theo day’ or something? I’d have thought almost dying would have made you people nicer to me.” He huffs like a toddler that got told he couldn’t have chocolate before dinner as his eyes shine with mirth.
“We can’t be nice to you after your almost death, otherwise you’ll be throwing yourself at danger left and right,” Alex says before pointing toward the two pots sitting next to the fire. “I made you both something to eat. It’s nothing fancy, just some re-hydrated chilli.”
I pause and gaze down at Alex in confusion. “You made me food?”
He nods. “Figured you’d want something hot to eat after diving into that freezing river.”
Well shit. I shake my head. “Thank you, but you didn’t have to do that. I have my own supplies, and I don’t want to eat into yours.” Even if my supplies are dwindling fast. Something I’m going to need to figure out soon.
He waves me off. “It’s fine. We brought more than enough and don’t think I haven’t noticed how low your rations are getting.” He points to the pot again. “Now, sit. Eat,” he orders, his commanding voice sounding similar to Rhys’s.
I want to argue, but three sets of eyes stare back at me, all wearing the same stern expression. Reluctantly, I take the pot while trying not to show just how weird and unsure I feel.
No one has ever made me food—at least no man has—and I don’t know whether I like how it makes me feel. Okay, Ilikethe warm and fuzzy feeling that blooms in my chest, but I shouldn’t be having that reaction, right? Not around these three men, not when I’m trying to keep my distance from them. Maybe if I don’t examine it and just ignore it, it’ll go away, right?
Yeah, right. Because that’s worked so well in the past.
Echoes of heartbreak slam into my chest and I try not to show it on my face as I struggle to breathe. You’d think after over a year, I’d have got over what Gale did to me, but that shit really fucked me up. So much so that a simple gesture is enough to send me into a tailspin.
Holy fuck. Get your shit together, Ollie. It’s just food, I tell myself as I dig into the food, humming at just how good it tastes.
“Who made this?” I ask around a mouthful.
Alex clears his throat. “I did.”
Well shit. The giant can cook. Who knew? “It’s amazing.”
“Oh, thanks,” he mumbles around a spoonful of chilli and it takes me a moment to realise that the guy isblushing. “It’s nothing that special or hard to make.” He shrugs and ducks his head to hide his pink cheeks.
My lips twitch, but I suppress a smile. If it’d been Theo, I’d have teased him mercilessly, but I don’t want to do that to Alex. Even though he’s the biggest guy out of them, he seems to be the most sensitive of the group. I don’t want to push his boundaries when I don’t know him all that well. Last thing I need is to have two of the three guys pissed at me.
“Well, I still appreciate it.”
“What about you, princess? Do you cook or are you useless like me and have someone else doing it?” Theo asks as he sets his empty pot on the ground in front of him.
