Page 104 of Sloth
Lowering her heavy backpack, she sat on a fallen log near the river. Cool mist kissed her parched skin. Leaning down with her elbows on her knees, and chin in her hands, she watched her handsome man work. The weather was warm, and he wore a thin T-shirt that showed off his musculature—from robust biceps to neck tendons to manly forearms. Broad shoulders tapered down to a flat stomach and narrow waist where loose shorts hung low on his hips. God, she loved it when a man knew how to do manly things. The Max show was great.
So great.
And considering just over two weeks ago, he’d almost died… even better now to be able to perv on him like this.
“Excuse me,” she called out.
He had a cord in his mouth, and a frown between his brows as he concentrated on tying a knot around the base of the tent peg. Lifting his gaze, he mumbled through the rope. “Yeah?”
“I don’t think you’re doing that right,” she said innocently.
“Oh really?”
“Yeah, I think the shirt is hindering your movements. It would work much better if you just took it off.”
A lazy smile curved up one side of his face. Holding her gaze, he dropped the rope and tugged his shirt off. He lifted his eyebrows. “Better?”
She nodded, grinning.
He went back to his task, bending low as he adjusted the poles, heaved, and erected the tent in one smooth move. Then, just for good measure, he flexed. When he checked over his shoulder to see if she watched, his eyes twinkled. “I knew your prank with the thermostat was all about getting me naked.”
Still grinning like a dumbass, she nodded. Wait. What?
She straightened, cheeks flaming. “No, it wasn’t. I was just trying to make you uncomfortable.”
“Sure,” he laughed. “Whatever you say.”
“No, really.” She hopped up and strode over. “I was just trying to make you sweat.”
“So you could get me naked.”
Her mouth opened. Closed. He knew he had her. Then his gaze softened, and he nodded at his pack. “You want to put the bedrolls in the tent?”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re all work, aren’t you?”
“Got to be prepared. Make sure you keep the food double bagged. We don’t want to attract bears.”
“Yes, Captain Bossy-Pants.”
She turned to do as she was told, but Max took her wrist and tugged her to him. Their bodies clashed. He wrapped her arms around his torso and then ran his callused hands up her arms to cup her face.
He studied her. “I just want everything to be perfect.”
“It was perfect the day you stepped back into my life.”
Sloan’s skin felt tight. Her heart pitter-pattered. Her eyes dropped to the curve of his lips and she licked her own. She wanted him… so bad… but had given him space. He was still recovering from his ordeal. At first, they weren’t sure how he would feel after the serum he’d been injected with, then they weren’t sure if her blood would have any side effects on him, then… it just became awkward. His physical bruises healed, but there were unseen scars.
Her sister had beat him and she wasn’t sure she could do anything to help him get over it.
This was the first chance they’d both truly been alone, and it was only for two days. That’s all they could afford for a vacation before getting back to the city and getting back to work.
The Syndicate had remained silent, but they knew it wouldn’t be for long. Both parties knew damning information about the other. It was mutually assured destruction, a Cold War. They didn’t know what to do.
She flexed her fingers over his back. What if she just, let her desire slip, just a little… showed him how she was feeling? How she’d been so hot for him, watching him walk and take control of the hike, that her nipples had rubbed sensitively against her bra for hours and heat hung heavy between her thighs. But he kissed her gently on the nose and pulled away to resume setting up their campsite. “Sun’s going down soon. We don’t want to be setting up in the dark.”
For the next hour, as the light turned the cloudy sky from blue to orange, pink and purple, Max continued to fuss around the camp. Compartmentalizing her emotions—she was getting good at that—she set about to make a small campfire and heat some tinned food for them. By the time the night came, they were ready to sit on the log facing the river, and eat. When they were done, he even got up immediately to clean the dishes, mumbling an excuse about attracting bears. She was beginning to think he was avoiding her, but eventually he came back to the log.
The small fire crackled quietly behind them, not that they needed it for warmth. It was purely for light. The weather was a tepid seventy degrees and beautiful. Crickets chirped and an owl hooted in the distance.
