Page 100 of Healer's Call

“I’m going to grab a towel.” I head over to the chair where I left my towel and tie it around my waist before heading backover to the food tables. It takes me a second to find Mav. He’s over behind some of the chairs, trying to get his wet shirt off. Finally, he succeeds and puts it on one of the chairs. Then he kicks off his boots that have to be absolutely waterlogged. I realize I’m staring, and yet I don’t look away. When his head comes up, he locks eyes with me. I don’t look away as he strides towards me. “Feel better?” I can’t help but ask with a grin.

He scowls down at me. “I’m still soaked, but this will have to do for now.”

I take in the beautiful markings on his chest over his heart, down his arm and over his right shoulder. I always forget about them until he takes his shirt off, and then I can’t seem to stop staring at them. Somebody bumps into me, and I startle. “You’re staring,” Sara whispers with a shameless grin. I feel my face heat, but I force myself to stay relaxed.

I shrug. “He’s nice to look at.”

Sara’s eyes widen comically large before she breaks into a loud laugh. “Are you both okay? I saw you go in.”

“Yeah. Who pushed us in anyway?” I ask.

“Somebody who’s going to regret it,” Mav says with a determined look at someone or something over my shoulder. I turn and see Eli walking towards us.

My eyes widen in surprise. “It was Eli?” My eyes take in the normally stoic pack enforcer.

He gives us a slight smile when he gets close. “How was the pool, Mav?”

“You were the one that shoved us in?” I can’t help but ask.

Eli turns guilty eyes on me. “Sorry, Rose. You weren’t my intended target. That was all him; he took you in with him.”

“Because I was going to flatten her,” Mav says with a scowl. Eli shrugs, looking completely non-repentant. “You know payback is coming,” Mav says. Eli chuckles, not at all looking scared.

I take a look at Mav’s face and grin. Eli is so going to get it. I meet Sara’s eyes, and she must be thinking the same thing I am because we both start laughing. “Come on,” Mav says with a scowl. “Let’s get food.”

“If you feed him, he won’t be so cranky,” Sabrina says in a loud whisper, joining our group.

“I mean if you bed him, he’d be a lot less cranky for the rest of us,” Sara adds.

I squeak and whirl around. “What is wrong with you?”

Sara’s eyes are twinkling as she laughs. “What? It’s true?”

“You know I’m right here,” Mav says dryly.

Sara grins. “Yep, Beta. I see you.” She dances away from him and gets a plate of food.

“Sorry about her,” Sabrina says with a shake of her head. “She was dropped on her head as a child.”

A laugh slips out of me as I grab a plate. I’m suddenly starving. The sisters keep a steady stream of conversation going as we fill our plates before heading over to one of the picnic tables.

“I’ll get drinks for us,” Mav says before I can say anything. I climb over the seat and settle myself on the picnic bench. Mav comes back a minute later with two bottles of water and a cup of lemonade. He places a water bottle and the lemonade in front of me. Sabrina and Sara sit with us and keep us entertained. I eat until I’m so full I can’t eat another bite. I lean back and push my plate away from me. “You didn’t eat enough,” Mav says with a frown.

“I can’t eat another bite,” I say with a groan.

“Don’t say that,” Sabrina says. “You know you want an ice cream sundae.”

“Maybe later. I can’t right now, or I’ll throw up,” I tell her, earning me a wrinkled nose from her.

“Well, I’m going to get ice cream,” she says, standing up.

“Me too,” Sara adds.

I watch them go with a smile on my face. “You look like you’re having a good time,” Mav says from beside me.

I turn my smile on him. “That’s because I am.” I take a huge risk and lay my head on his bicep. He doesn’t react in any way. I sit silently next to Mav, content to just watch the party continue on. Eventually, I get chilled.

“Come on,” Mav says standing to his feet. “Let’s go sit by the fire.”

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