My breath caught just slightly, heat singing over my skin. Deliberately, I took the corner of my bottom lip between my teeth, drawing his gaze to my lips. I wanted to see if the color of his eyes would change, darken. He didn’t disappoint. I lifted my eyes, meeting his, seeing the flecks of darker green in his light eyes, and my heart fluttered.
His gaze flicked to my mouth, and I relaxed deeper into him. Gravity suddenly ceased to exist, and the world stopped. It was a feeling I’d only read about or seen on TV but never experienced. “Are you going to let me up, or do you plan on keeping me prisoner all day?”
I tilted my head, pretending to consider it. “Depends,” I said. “Are you going to tell me why you were following me?”
He smirked. “Not a chance,” he whispered as he leaned in. He aligned our lips, and my eyes fluttered closed. His hot and sweet breath caressed my mouth, causing my blood to hum with excitement and anticipation.
Oh, God. He’s going to kiss me.
Someone cleared their throat, and Maddox’s eyes jerked past my shoulder, the spell between us broken. His body stiffened as he pulled away from me, and I thought he might toss me to the ground, but he groaned instead.
Mason grinned down at us. “Well, this is an unexpected sight. Smooth, brother, smooth. For a moment, I thought something hot and nefarious was going to happen, but sadly, you disappoint.”
It might have if he hadn’t interrupted. I cursed Mason silently in my head.
Or maybe I should be thanking him. Had I wanted Maddox to kiss me?
Maddox glowered. “Shut up, Mas. You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Mason folded his arms. “Enlighten me? I’m all ears.”
“I bet you are,” Maddox grumbled, his hands flanking either side of my hips as he basically lifted me off him, setting me on my feet before he stood.
Disappointment didn’t begin to describe what was happening inside me, and it grew as Maddox created more distance between us. I hated that I noticed. Hated even more that a part of me had wanted to see what would have happened if we hadn’t been interrupted. What would Maddox Corvo’s lips taste like? Feel like?
I brushed dirt and grass from my hands. “I was just showing your brother that not all girls are helpless.”
Mason’s sleeves were pushed up to his elbows, revealing forearms corded with muscle and decorated with tattoos. “I caught the tail end of his demise. Impressive, but perhaps it was luck. You caught him off guard. What happens when your opponent knows what you’re capable of? Could you still take them down, Freckles?”
I couldn’t possibly turn down the opportunity to wipe the smug smirk off Mason’s mouth. “Why don’t you find out?”
Maddox chuckled. “Yeah, Mas. Give it a try. I’d like to see you flat on your back.” Somehow, his confidence in me boosted my boldness.
Mason arched his brows at me. “What do you say, Freckles? Want to give the fun twin a try?”
I crooked my finger at him.
Taking down Mason was easier than Maddox had been. I didn’t waste time or savor the hard lines of his body but went straight in for the kill, figuratively, not literally.
I wasn’t my mother.
So I kept reminding myself.
When Mason was lying flat on his back, the idiot burst out laughing. Straddling Maddox had been a conscious choice, an unnecessary one, and I didn’t give Mason the same close contact treatment simply because I had no desire to.
I loomed over him, smiling. “Was that fun?”
His light-green eyes sparkled under the canopy of trees. “You have no idea how much. Want to do it again?”
“We don’t have time.” Maddox scowled, giving his twin a hand and hauling him to his feet. “We’re going to have to bust ass as it is to make it back in time.”
Mason shook out his dark hair, pieces of broken leaves twirling to the forest floor. “What were you doing out here anyway? Besides apparently waiting to assault people?”
“I could ask you the same thing?” I countered.
“Coach has us doing conditioning, which includes two-mile runs. You didn’t answer my question, Freckles.”
My bullshit meter was tingling despite them actually being in comfy sweats and tees. Their attire wasn’t cut out for kidnapping girls in the woods. Shrugging, I responded, “Yoga.”
