Chapter 12
“How far are we from the cabin? And how do you even know which way to go?” I haven’t seen him look at a map. He did pull a compass from his pocket every now and then yesterday.
He winked at me but kept quiet. After a while, he asked, “Are you going to tell me where you stashed our rifles?”
I winked at him but kept quiet. Two can play this game.
He chuckled and lifted me over a fallen tree.
We walked in silence for a while. I had opted for only one walking stick this time.
We had packed up our things pretty quickly before continuing our hike back to the cabin.
In all honesty, I couldn’t wait to get there.
A warm, soft bed and good food was waiting for me.
And I would especially enjoy a nice, hot shower.
Maybe the cabin hadn’t been that bad after all.
Maybe I really was just acting like a princess.
I let my senses explore the beautiful world around me to pass the time.
Lush green everywhere, even at the precipice of winter.
But Autumn’s colours swilled throughout the green, creating the most beautiful kaleidoscope.
We only camped here in summer, so I’d never experienced the forest like this.
The birdsongs were lovely but awfully loud this time of the morning.
It helped to concentrate on just one bird’s song.
I breathed in deep the smell of pine and wet earth. The best smell in the world.
“So, what is it that you do when you’re not being kidnapped?” Grayson walked beside me, keeping in step with my slow pace.
A smile crept onto my face. “An answer for an answer?”
He grimaced at me but relented. “Sure,” he sighed.
I nodded, satisfied. “I’m an herbalist. I have a shop that sells alternative medicine. What do you do when you don’t rob or kidnap people?”
He smiled and pulled up his shoulders. “This and that. Some fun here, some traveling there.”
I frowned. “That’s nice. I would’ve thought there was a lot of hiding involved. Like now.” I stopped to pick at a cluster of Wood Sorrel, placing most of the delicate leaves in my pocket, and keeping some to chew on. They were a wonderful anti-inflammatory.
The sides of his lips pulled up as he dropped to pick a Wood Sorrel leaf, inspecting it. “That’s the thing about being ghosts. We don’t have to hide. We’re just hiding you.”
“Ghosts?” He made no sense.
“I’ve told you. The old-school bank robbery wasn’t our usual MO.
” His gaze shifted to me quickly, then away—a touch of tension in it, like he had said more than he was comfortable with.
He rolled his shoulders back. “So, what will you give me for the incessant headaches I keep getting?” He peered, intrigued, at my lips while I chewed on another little Wood Sorrel leaf.
“It depends on what causes the headaches?” I wanted to know more about their robbing activities, but I kept it in. I wouldn’t want him to shut down on me.
He shrugged and smiled. “Hunter believes it’s because I think too much.”
I smirked at the affectionate look he had when speaking of Hunter. It was so different from the cold, guarded expression he always had around me. “I don’t know. You don’t look like the thinking type to me,” I dared to tease.
Grayson clutched at his chest. “You wound me, Princess,” he mocked.
I grinned at him, feeling a little lighter. I gave him a mock sympathetic pat on the shoulder. “No worries, I’m sure you have other attributes to make up for it.” Why was I being so bold? I just touched him.
Mischief sparked in his eyes. “I’d say I’m rather proficient at keeping my hostages warm at night.” He smirked at me.
Was this the real Grayson? I tried my best to scowl back at him, concentrating hard to keep the corners of my mouth down. I’ve been grinning like a damn fool the entire morning.
But so is he, so… shut up.
“Proficient? That’s a big word!” I praised him, like I would a toddler.
He raised an eyebrow at me, shaking his head, but didn’t respond.
“So… you and Hunter grew up together?” I changed the subject.
He gave me a quick glance and stepped around a thorny bush. I recited the name of it in my head.
“Yes. An… odd pairing, but inseparable.” A small, adoring smile tugged at his lips.
I found my own treasonous lips pull into one, mirroring his. With every word that he uttered, he’d become more human, less monster in my mind. “Tell me,” I urged, thirsty for every drop of himself he was willing to give.
He shrugged, as he always did. As if the subject of him was boring and uneventful.
“Hunt was a scrawny kid with a big mouth. Made himself a lot of enemies.” His smile widened at the memory, pulling on my heart.
“And I was the unhinged one. I fought all his battles for him. At least the ones that’d resorted to fists.
” His smile didn’t falter, but his eyes grew darker.
“And sometimes he would start fights just for me. Have you ever heard the sound of someone’s nose breaking? Very satisfying.”
A shudder ripped through me. And just like that, the monster was back. His eyes were fixed on me, gauging my reaction, searching my face.
He opened his mouth to say something but walked right into an enormous spiderweb. Too distracted by looking at me that he hadn’t noticed it.
He ripped at his face; a string of curses flung from his lips.
A large spider was swept from his face onto his chest. It skittered over his shoulder and disappeared into the neckline of his t-shirt.
In a move so fast that I almost missed it, his bag and shirt were off, flinging the spider to the ground. It scurried off into a small shrub.
The sight of his wide eyes and muscled chest heaving up and down, snapped the too tightly wound strings in my body, and I laughed. I held on for dear life to my walking stick, doubling over as I laughed. This large, scary man, who enjoys the sound of noses breaking, was bested by a spider.
But with one look at Grayson, I quickly tried to swallow that laughter. His expression was unreadable as he glared at me.
One shouldn’t laugh at your captor.
He didn’t look angry, but not knowing what to expect next was worse.
“You should laugh more,” he said quietly, shocking me. He pulled his shirt back on and eyed me slyly, a smirk spreading across his lips. “It’s pulchritudinous.”
I frowned at him as he pulled spiderwebs from his face, and continued walking. “Did you just make that word up?” I teased. I had no idea what it meant.
He shrugged and pulled on a strand of hair that had come loose from my braid.
I swatted at his hand, and he flicked my nose in retaliation, which I decided to ignore to prevent a war. “So, if you’re that smart, why didn’t you become an engineer or doctor or something?”
He lifted his head and watched a flock of birds flying high above us, migrating to warmer places.
“I am a doctor,” he said absentmindedly, adjusting the bags on his shoulders.
“I have a PhD in Astrophysics.” He shifted his attention back to me.
“I had a normal life, Ava. But white picket fences are not for me.”
I gawked at him, my feet stopping involuntarily. He stopped too, and waited, expectantly. I shut my gaping jaw and started walking again, Grayson following suit.
“Would you tell me about it?” I peered up at him, giving him puppy eyes, as much as was socially acceptable for a grown woman. The weirdness of how comfortable I had suddenly become made me take a step to the side, widening the very small space between us.
He smiled and licked his lips, the action distracting me for a second. “There’s not much to tell. I went to university, got my PhD and was a professor for three years. Was bored out of my mind and then turned to a life of crime.” He shrugged nonchalantly, while my jaw was on the ground once more.
“A professor? You?” I tried my best to keep my tone polite.
He stopped and turned to look at me, amused at my disbelief. Seems like I’d forgotten to walk again.
“Poor kids,” I grumbled and walked on.
“Poor kids? You mean the half-witted, hormone-filled morons that practiced the art of whining like it’s part of the curriculum?” He scoffed. “I had to grade their papers. It was excruciating,” he breathed as if in pain.
I rolled my eyes at him as I passed him. “You are very dramatic.”
It was his turn to gape at me. “One kid handed in an assignment that was about three hundred pages thick.”
“That’s impressive.”
“Yeah, I thought so too. But when I opened it, it was a flip doodle of him crashing into the sun and burning up.”
I laughed. “So, you failed the poor guy.”
“No. I gave him a B.” Grayson shrugged. “There was an astronomical element, and the drawing was factually correct. The kid was toast.”
I snickered. “Then I take it back. You were a great professor.”
Grayson grinned mischievously. “Yeah, but I’m a better thief.”
“I wouldn’t brag about that.” I pulled my face as if embarrassed for him, which had him throwing his head back, laughing.
It should be illegal for a man to be that sexy. I looked away, in hopes of regaining my sanity. Gods, I couldn’t be thinking of him like that.
My walking stick caught on a root as I was about to lean on it for stability, and I lost my balance.
I could do nothing but close my eyes and brace for impact.
But I never hit the ground. Grayson had caught me in one arm, pulling me up against him.
His body was warm and firm where it pressed against mine.
I looked up to see him grinning down at me, his face closer than I expected.
He didn’t move away or let go of my waist. He reached up and brushed the hair from my eyes. “You good, Princess?”
I stared back at him, a little dazed, a little breathless. “Yes, thank you.”
His eyes drifted to my lips and my stomach made flip-flops.
I cleared my throat and pushed away from him, only to stumble again, to which Grayson caught me. It was impossible for my cheeks to get any redder.