Page 52 of Muzzled

Ryan reached for her, snapping his hand back before it made contact with her arm. Subtly shimmying his chair a fraction, he leaned away from her. “Those small flashes you remember…did they look familiar?”

“Not at all,” she replied, frowning to recall without probing at the wall, to keep the worst of the bombardment at bay. “There was a lot of scenery, though. Mountains and deserts and trees.” Wrinkling her nose as the patio speakers were cranked up, she looked over at him. “Can we go?”

He stood immediately and offered his hand, releasing it the moment she was on her feet. “Where do you want to go today?”

“How about we hit the flats?” she asked, checking the cloudless sky and ignoring his strange behavior. “If we hike past the beach, there’s an area that’s a lot more secluded where you can dog out all you want.”

“Dog out?” he echoed with a hint of a smile, his eyes scanning the rooftops. “I’ll drive, you direct. We can stop at the store and grab some snacks first.”

Within the hour, they were on the crumbling road to the river flats, the trunk of the car stuffed with water, chips, sandwiches, and two new beach blankets she’d insisted were absolutely needed. Although he appeared to go along with her suggestion eagerly, he still seemed off, his responses to her returning to the carefully guarded statements he’d made when they first met. He’d avoided any lingering contact with her, even going so far as to open his car window so he could lean out and widen the distance between them in the small car.

His return to his polite detachment stung more than she cared to admit.

“Take the next right and park wherever,” she announced, flipping down the rearview mirror to check her lipstick. “It’s a bit of a walk from here, so we might want to lighten the cooler bag.”

He opened the trunk and began rearranging the pack, threading one blanket through the straps as he swung it onto his back. “Lead the way.”

Balling the other blanket under her arm, she grabbed his hand, tightening her grip when his fingers went rigid. “I lead, you talk,” she said, pulling him toward the narrowest path. “What’s going on with you today?”

“Meaning?”

She huffed in exasperation. “Meaning you’ve been Mr. Formality since I got up this morning.” Forging ahead, she pushed a stray branch aside and continued marching toward the beach. “I get that you want to keep everythingjust business,” she sneered, taken aback by the hostility in her voice. “But you’ve backed right up to the virtual stranger zone.”

When she was met with nothing but silence, she increased her speed until they hit the busiest section of the sand, refusing to look back as she continued along the water’s edge toward the more secluded area past the grassy hills. Once she was satisfied with their chunk of hidden oasis, she snapped her blanket open and lay back on it, tossing her arm over her eyes. “You can do your presto-change-o thing over there if you want,” she muttered, waving one hand at a cluster of stones and bushes.

She could hear him setting up his own blanket and the hiss of a soda can as it was cracked before he finally spoke. “I talked to Alex this morning.”

“That’s nice.”

“Yeah, it was,” he replied, obviously ignoring her sarcastic tone. “I asked him about how he and Charlotte deal with the thermostat settings.”

Lifting her arm, she looked over at him. “Thermostat settings?”

He kept his eyes on the river and took another sip of his drink. “You probably noticed how hot I run. Our base body temperature is around one hundred-four degrees, so air-conditioning is kind of a big deal in the summer.”

Pushing herself up to her elbows, she fixed him with a flat stare. “I’d be an idiot not to notice. You’re like a torch. Now what on earth are you going on about?”

He leaned forward and unzipped the cooler, passing her a water. “It’s just one of those things I’ve never considered before,” he continued, returning his attention to the water. “Whether someone else was too cold. I mean, I’ve only ever spent long stretches topside with my brothers, so it was never an issue. But the past two weeks, it’s kind of become one.”

“You’re saying you want to turn the AC up, but you don’t want me to be cold? That’s what all this sullen attitude has been about today?”

“I’m saying it matters to me whether or not you’re cold, and that’s what’s bothering me.”

She rolled onto her back and closed her eyes, smirking. “You’re mad because you think I’m hot?”

“This has nothing to do with how h—you’re messing with me,” he grumbled, crushing the empty soda can. “Okay, yes. I think you’re extremely hot.”

“And talented.”

She could hear the smile in his voice as he opened the cooler again. “And exceptionally talented.”

“And funny.”

“No,” he said slowly, sliding a cold sandwich against her bare arm. “I’m not really finding you all that funny right now.”

Rolling onto her side, she narrowed her eyes at him. “How is a guy who’s been around as long as you have so terrible at this?”

“At what?” he asked and took a big bite of his sub.

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