Chapter 32 #2
My arm was outstretched and I was about to curl my hand around her perfect thigh when her hand shot out, smacking my arm away. I growled deep and low in my throat as my gaze traveled, maybe a bit too slowly, back up her perfect body.
I shook my head and gave her a lopsided smile. “Are you drunk?” I countered, and she sighed heavily.
“I’m not the one passed out in the mud-covered in my own blood. What did you do anyway? Break your nose?”
“I wouldn’t have broken my nose if someone hadn’t tied their tent in the public walking space.” I said annoyed, and she snorted.
“You aren’t on the walking path, Theo. You walked between the two tents.”
I glanced sideways, and another tent appeared next to me…
dammit, she was right. I must have tried to cut through and didn’t realize.
I frowned, trying to get to my feet and stumbled.
Cynthia caught my arm, and I held onto her, smiling down at her through hooded lashes.
Her face was so close to mine, I could count all thirty-eight freckles that brushed over her cheeks.
“Do you know where my tent is?” I asked on a breath and Cynthia’s cheeks turned pink as she stepped away from me again.
“You mean the one you are standing next to?”
I blinked again at her and laughed as I remembered I made her stay in a tent next to mine. “You found it!” I exclaimed, grabbing her and hugging her to my chest.
“Urgh—you’re covered in mud, Theo, get off!”
I released her and grinned, leaning in to whisper, “Want to know a secret?”
“Is it that you have a spare tunic to lend me?” she grumbled, wiping off mud that now clung to the front of her.
“Well, I do if you want one, but no, that’s not it.”
She glared up at me. “What Theo?”
“I stole a bunch of sandwiches and hid them under my cot.”
A small smile lined her lips. “Is that so?”
“Come on, I can share!” I grabbed her hand before she could argue and pulled her out from between the tents, and dragged her into mine. I dropped her hand and ran to my cot, crouching down and pulling out a small trunk.
I heard Cynthia moving behind me, and could have sworn I heard the tent flaps.
Fine, more for me.
I flipped open the lid and frowned. They were gone! No, I know I put them in here!
I lifted the trunk, shaking it as if I could make them appear. I threw it down, ducking back under the cot but nothing else was under there. They had to be in that trunk… I lifted it again, peering into the empty box and growled.
Laughter echoed behind me, and I turned to find Cynthia, grinning. She was holding something, and it took a moment for my vision to focus on what it was.
“You mean these sandwiches that I stole from you yesterday?”
The grin that was on her lips was diabolical, and my mouth popped open. She didn’t. She did! And the bag was half empty! I pushed to my feet, stalking toward her and grabbing the bag from her outstretched hands.
“Those were mine,” I snarled angrily, and my blood only heated further when no trace of guilt entered her gaze.
Her brown eyes danced with playful glee. “You need to find better hiding places.”
I closed the distance between us, and she had to tilt her head back to look at me. “I knew you were a spying thief,” I growled, but she only laughed in my face. The sound made my jaw clench, the muscle twitching like it always did when she irritated me.
“It really is all too easy to rile you up, Theo,” she said, batting her lashes up at me, as if she were just some innocent girl playing a prank. But I knew her. I’ve watched her, studied her, and there was nothing innocent about her.
Our gazes remained locked as she challenged me to react, to do something, punish her. And I should, she deserved it, but all I could focus on were her lips as her tongue darted out to wet them. I leaned down so that my lips hovered just over hers. Gravitating to them, unable to stop myself.
“That fucking mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble one of these days,” I breathed, the noise coming out as a gravely whisper.
Cynthia’s eyes darted to my lips, lingering there longer than they should.
“I thought you liked my mouth, seeing as you can never stop staring at it?”
Her words brushed over my lips, and her sweet, flowery scent filled my lungs. My blood heated for a whole other reason and a low rumble sounded deep in my throat. My gaze fixed on her lips.
This woman infuriated me to my core. Her relentless talking, taunting, her unique ability to constantly get under my skin. The last few weeks played out in my mind, and a shiver ran through me.
Perhaps it was the alcohol, or the looming possibility of our deaths, but I reached out, my arm encircling her waist and my other hand finding her collarbone, splaying across it. She didn't resist, simply waited as I gently moved my palm up her throat to cup her chin. My gaze rose to meet hers.
“Maybe I’d like to see what else that mouth can do besides talk.”
I smirked and her eyes flashed, but I didn’t allow her time to speak as I crashed my mouth onto hers. She leaned into the kiss, her hands moving up to rest on my chest, her nails digging into the fabric.
Fuck, how I’ve wanted this.
Ever since that day I saw her in that clearing, I’ve thought of nothing and no one else.
I wanted her. Craved her nearness, her annoying ranting voice, the way she scowled at me, bickered with me.
I loved the way her eyes lit up when snacks arrived, the way she relaxed when she was near me, how others seemed to open up and laugh whenever she was around.
She whimpered as our lips parted and my tongue swept into her mouth. She tasted like the sweetest sin, and I never wanted to taste anything else again.
Our kiss deepened, and I groaned as she clung to me.
My hand went into her hair as I held her closer to me, afraid she would slip away.
That this was somehow a dream, and the moment this kiss ended I would wake up, and I never wanted to wake up from this.
I could stay like this forever, just her and me and this kiss.
The moment seemed to stretch for lifetimes, and I cherished every second of it, not wanting to waste it, but our mouths slowed, the kiss becoming soft and lingering.
I kept my eyes shut, afraid of what I would find when I opened them.
Would she still be here? Or would I wake up in the mud, my drunken imagination on overload.
Cynthia pulled away first, and I took a shuddering breath. My forehead pressed to hers.
“Maybe if you survive tomorrow, I’ll show you exactly what my mouth can do.”
My eyes shot open, and I was met with her blazing gaze. Fates this woman.
Cynthia kissed my lips softly, her eyes burning with challenge. She took a step back, and my hand instinctively tightened on her lower back to hold her, but she shook her head at me. I loosened my grip, letting her slip from my arms. My skin burning where it had met hers.
“Goodnight, Theo,” she whispered and strode toward the exit.
I stared after her, my eyes drifting down her curves to her ass, to her bare legs, and I practically purred, a rumble vibrating in my chest. It took all the will I had not to run after her, to grab her and throw her on my cot and have my way with her.
Cynthia looked over her shoulder, pausing at the tent's entrance. She leaned over and plucked a shirt that had been hanging over a chair and winked before disappearing into the night.