Page 18 of Through The Woods

I opened my mouth and took a sip. My stomach rumbled and growled in appreciation and his mouth twisted up, as though he was trying not to gloat.

“Thank you.” We appeared to have called a truce for the time being. Charm patiently fed me broth by the spoonful as though I were a small child, and instead of being bothered by it, I was filled with something unfamiliar.

Comfort.

I couldn’t tell you the last time I’d experienced that feeling.

The mug was soon empty, yet here we were. Sitting and studying each other.

Charm looked to be a million miles away and I tried to sound lighthearted as I broke the silence. “Tell me, do you always make a habit of feeding the prisoners? I kind of thought a job like that would be beneath a club ‘Prez’.”

His face darkened. “Just when I think that maybe you ain’t fit to be up and moving around, that smart mouth of yours proves me wrong.”

I shouldn’t have said anything. He was much better when he was silent. “I didn’t mean—”

“I’ll let Doc know that you’re ready to be put to work. Stick with the broth for a couple days, your stomach will be workin’ just fine again.” He rolled the stool backward before jumping to his feet and I fought against my baser instincts to keep my eyes on his face and not linger on the way his denim jeans hugged his thighs.

Obviously, my libido was still in working order. I pushed those thoughts aside. The man saw me as no better than an animal, after all. “Charm, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you—It just struck me as odd, you helping me like you knew exactly what you were doing.” A strange expression crossed his face, but it was gone before I could decipher it.

“Like I said, I’ll get Doc in here. If you can’t fulfill your end of the deal, you’re out. Got it?”

I nodded and he left again, slamming the door shut behind him. It appeared our thirty-minute ceasefire had ended.

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