Page 76 of Wraithwound

“I’m sorry, I just wanted to get a look at that,” she said pointing in the direction where she thought his arm might be.

She could see in her periphery that he turned to look behind him.

“I’m dressed,” he said, his voice still edged with amusement.

Lena sucked in a breath and pulled herself together before she turned and met his gaze.

“Your arm,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady, nonchalant, while trying not to stare at the sculpted muscles of his chest and abdomen. Cross turned his arm to give her a closer look. But she wasn’t looking at his arm. EverGods, he hadn’t even had time to dry off. She watched as a single droplet of water trailed down his pectoral, over the ridges of his abdomen, and into his trousers via the defined “V” of his obliques.

“Needleworms,” he said slowly, tracking her gaze.

She snapped her head up to find him staring at her, eyes falling to her lips.

“I heard those stings are . . . exhilarating, uhm, excruciating,” Lena said shaking her head to dislodge the thought about what it might feel like to trace the exact path of that water droplet with her fingertips.

“I can think of a few other things that might be more exhilarating,” he said, eyes lifting from lips to meet hers.

Oh.

“What about those?” she asked in an attempt to change the subject, and yet she found herself taking a step closer to him.

He held out his arm in invitation, and she finished closing the distance between them. She lifted his arm, examining the inflamed pinpricks on his wrist, and was fascinated by the little zaps of current that ran from his skin into her fingertips. She looked up, searching his face to see if he felt it too, but there was no sign he’d detected the phenomenon. She chalked it up to the numbness in her hands.

“Those are from the bracil. Some potions you use independently like red, but others require access to the bloodstream. I used boost yesterday,” he said.

“Is it painful?” she asked, rubbing her thumbs across his skin on the periphery of the swollen pinpricks.

“Nothing is as painful as red,” he said, amusement returning to his voice. Mesmerized, she watched the mirth dancing in his eyes. EverGods, he was stunning. Lena had to fight the urge to run her hands down his chest.

“Have you ever mixed any of the vials?” she asked.

“No. We’ve specifically been advised not to do that. There’s no telling what could happen, but it’s likely to be worse than liquified remains,” he said with a smirk.

“Killjoy,” she said, gently releasing his arm from her grasp. It was her turn to stare at his mouth. His lips parted slightly, and her stomach flipped. Lena tore her gaze away, returning her attention to the arm with the needleworm stings.

“Let me know if you want me to treat that,” she said.

“There’s no need to waste your supplies on it,” he said.

“All right,” Lena said casually before stepping around him and heading to the spring.

She briefly considered throwing herself in to ease the throbbing between her legs but settled for splashing her face with the cool water instead.

Lena and Cross collected their things in silence. Once the horses were tended to and packed, they led them outside. Thick, heavy clouds hung low in the sky, obscuring the sun, and Lena was happily surprised to learn that it had snowed overnight. The absence of the emerald broach on her cloak was painfully evident as she pulled it on along with her gloves.

“Are you sure I can’t accompany you on your journey?” Cross asked, the muscles of his jaw tense.

“I think I can make it there on my own,” Lena said, meeting his gaze.

For a long moment, silence filled the space between them, but then a screech rang out from a tree nearby. It wasn’t a warning screech though, more of a protest. When she didn’t respond, the eleuth scampered down and sat on its hind legs facing Lena.

“Don’t think I haven’t figured out what you did,” she said, coming down onto one knee.

The eleuth turned to look at Cross and then screeched again, more softly this time.

Lena looked up at Cross, who shrugged his shoulders.

“You must have seen him from up there,” Lena said, pointing at the sky, “and you didn’t tell me.”