Page 37 of Fire in Stone

He looked up at me, one long eyebrow arched in a cheeky expression.

“I suggest you stay here and…” I tore my eyes away from him. “Well, take the matter into your own hands. Just please, don’t get caught. We really don’t need to deal with the police right now. Meanwhile, I’ll go to the town and get us food and hopefully some clothes for you.”

I turned to leave.

“Amber…” Even with my back to him, I sensed his movement. It was like the air shifted around me as the warmth and the scent of his body moved closer.

I froze as he placed a hand on my shoulder. He now had my permission to touch me in any way he wished. It’d been unwise to give it to him. At the same time, I didn’t want to revoke it, either. I felt trapped between what I should and what I wished to do.

He gently squeezed my shoulder, staying behind me.

“Be careful. Please.”

I released a breath, feeling both relieved and disappointed that it was only my shoulder he touched.

“I will,” I promised.

Without looking back, I hurried along the path toward the town.

Judging by the French language spoken in the first shop I entered, we had landed in France. It could also be Belgium. But since Elex was aiming to pass north of the British Isles, I assumed Switzerland stayed far south from here.

Either way, I didn’t try asking what country this was. I didn’t want to raise any suspicions or to leave any lasting memories of me here.

Going from store to store on the main street, I bought a cheap backpack, then filled it with some snacks and groceries. In a clothing store, I found a pair of gray sweatpants and a large dark-red t-shirt for Elex. They had t-shirts of every color, but the rich garnet shade of red somehow fit him the best, I thought.

I didn’t risk buying shoes for him. Without having him here to try them on, I feared I might get the wrong size or an uncomfortable style.

When I returned to the woods on the outskirts of the town, I found Elex relaxing under a tree. He smiled at me, getting up.

“You’re back.”

“Did you get some rest?” I couldn’t help a glance down at his crotch.

He lookedrelaxeddown there, too, now. I refused to think about how that state had been achieved. The last thing I needed was the image of Elex touching himself under a tree in the French countryside, his head tilted back, his mouth slacked open in ecstasy as his hand pumped along that hard, veiny length of his…

Shit, I did not need that image in my head. Not at all… Not when he was coming to me, placing his hands on my shoulders, and drawing me closer.

“It’s good to have you back, safe and sound,” he murmured. “How did it go?”

“Um… In town, you mean?” I shuffled an inch or two away from him, even as everything inside me begged to come closer.

A part of me wished he’d remained a lust-crazed asshole. It was so easy to resist an asshole—I’d had lots of practice in that. But I had little experience when it came to kindness. His kind words and the warm look in his eyes proved so hard to resist. They drew me in.

I cleared my throat, digging my heels in where I stood to keep the distance between us. “Good. All is good. I got us some food. And some clothes for you.”

Clothes. He needed to cover up, dammit. ASAP.

“Here.” I yanked the sweatpants out of the backpack. “Hope they’ll fit.”

He wrinkled his nose, surveying the shapeless garment before touching the material.

“It’s soft.”

“And warm.” I nodded. “And stretchy, with some room to expand. You’re not exactly the average human size, you know.”

He dragged the pants up his muscular legs, then pulled the t-shirt on over his head.

“How does it look?” he asked uncertainly, smoothing his hands down the t-shirt.

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