Page 24 of The Outcast
“I think he means that it’s refreshing,” Beowulf explained while I saw Bianca take a deep breath and remove her bra. In a quick movement, she ran into the river and ducked under the water with a small howl. Her courage made Lilly and me exchange a glance and then we copied her. I pretended that no one was watching when Lilly and I ran into the river and joined Bianca.
Banni was on the bank, drying off with a towel. He didn’t even look in my direction and it made me grateful to him. He understood it was difficult for us and he respected us enough to look the other way. The other men, however, were in various states of drying, or dressing themselves, and Shiva from the B team almost fell when he was busy looking at us while putting on his shoes.
If the water hadn’t been freezing, I would have preferred to stay in the river instead of returning to my towel, but my skin pricked in pain, and bathing in the winter was always a matter of dipping in and washing fast. After counting to three I bent my knees and ducked my head under the water, washing my face.
My lips were shivering when I walked out of the river with my arms folded across my chest.
I ignored the burning glances and focused on getting dry and dressed as fast as possible. Every piece of clothing felt like putting my comfortable shield back on.
Lilly was the last one to be done. Energized by the cold water, we walked as a group back up to the camp. No one made any comments about each other’s bodies and I was grateful for that.
Banni slowed down and fell into pace with me in the tail of the group. His smile was warm. “You did it and you survived.”
“I’m still in shock. I can’t wait to tell Aubri how brave I was.”
“Maybe we can implement more French culture and convince Indiana to let us sleep next to each other.”
I laughed. “I’m sure we can. Now that he’s not here, it’s either Aubri or me sleeping next to you and I’ll bet he wants someone between you and his wife.”
Banni stopped me with a hand to my shoulder and lowered his voice. “While I have you alone, Sparrow, did you tell anyone about our kiss?”
I bit my lip. “I was going to tell Aubri after it happened but then she told me that she had arranged for you to move here. I was afraid that if I told her, she wouldn’t let me be part of the training program. She made me swear that I wasn’t attracted to you because she says that you could easily break my heart.”
Banni looked into my eyes. “It’s not true, is it?”
“What is?”
“That you’re not attracted to me.”
My face softened. “I was attracted enough to kiss you, but anything else would be…” My gaze fell to those magical lips of Banni’s that had felt so good last August when we shared an intense kiss. “Unless you would ever consider a relationship.”
Banni brushed a hand down my shoulder, igniting little fires on my skin. “I can’t.”
Ever since he had returned to the Northlands, I’d wanted alone time with Banni. For six months I’d thought about that kiss and tried hard not to attach meaning to it and still, my vanity held a slight hope that I was special to him too. My eyes dropped to the ground as I poised myself. “Right.”
We stood for a second before he leaned closer and whispered, “I wish you were French, Sparrow. Then I could take you behind a tree and fuck you.”
I wasn’t prepared for him to say something as outrageous as that. My gaze flew up to lock eyes with him at the same time that an insane drop in my stomach made me feel as if I was falling through the sky.
“I still think you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met, and I meant what I said in the meadow. You’re my favorite Northlander.”
We stood smiling at each other. My private parts were burning from the heat his words had caused at my core. “You’re still my favorite European as well.”
“It’s a shame,” Banni said. “To meet someone that you are so attracted to and then want different things.”
I gave a small nod in agreement and gestured for us to start walking again.
When we moved toward camp, shoulder to shoulder, I asked, “Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“If I was French and we had three times together, what would you want to do with me?”
Banni took time before he answered. “I would like to have you to myself in a place where you could relax. I’d love to undress you and kiss every part of your body. Most of all, I would want to make sure you never forget me by bringing you to orgasm multiple times.”
I walked with a goofy smile on my lips. “Then it’s a shame that I’m not French.”
Stopping abruptly, Banni said, “I could give you a sublime first-time experience, Sparrow. If you let me.”
