Page 43 of Ensnared
I swallow, words deserting me completely. If this is how large he is after being in frigid water, I wonder what he’s like aroused.
Shit. I avert my gaze, trying to clamp down on my errant thoughts.
He straightens and puts his hands to his hips. “Are you fuckingkiddingme?”
Ty throws his arms wide. “What? We went swimming! Are you going to tell us that’s not allowed anymore?”
“You tookher”—he points an accusing finger at me—“swimming. She’s not a fucking dragon!”
“Yeah, we noticed,” Jack grumbles. “Which is why she’s wearing a wetsuit.”
“Excuse me,” I start to protest, but they roll right over me.
“And right into a pod of killer whales!” Aiden’s cheeks are red with anger, and sparks dance over his shoulders and arms as though he’s on the verge of shifting again.
I wonder if he would breathe fire if he was still dragon-shaped right now.
I step around Jack and wave at Aiden. “Hi! I’m here. You can talk directly to me.”
He glowers, his blue eyes darker than I’ve ever seen them. “Don’t you even start. Why the hell did you go along with this idiotic idea?”
“First of all, we were having a great time until you showed up and crashed the party,” I retort. “The orcas were really friendly.”
“They weren’tfriendly,” he snaps. “They’re predators. If they could have, they would have eaten you.”
“Relax,” Ty says. “They were a resident pod, not transients. They eat fish.”
“That’s not the fucking point!” Aiden explodes. “She could havedied, and I would have—”
He breaks off and turns away from us. His shoulders rise and fall with each rapid breath, and a shiver passes over his muscles.
I glance at Jack, who’s standing right behind me, and catch him exchanging a wide-eyed look with Ty. He shrugs, as though perplexed.
I nudge him with my elbow and whisper, “You two go on. I’ll catch up with you later.”
Ty chews on his lower lip for a moment, then agrees. Jack, ever the protector, stares down at me for a moment longer.
“Are you sure?” he asks in a low voice.
I give him a decisive nod even though I’m far from certain. They get dressed and disappear up the trail. I’m left alone with Aiden, who still hasn’t put on his clothes.
Now that I’m out of the water, the wetsuit chafes again, so I pull the hood off my head and ruffle my hair. I probably smell terrible, but that’s not the biggest concern right now.
“Can we talk?” I ask Aiden.
He doesn’t respond, though I know he hears me. His back stiffens at my words.
“Fine,” I say after a long pause. “I’m going to go to my cabin and shower off this stench. If you have anything to say to me, you can find me there. Otherwise, please don’t interfere in how I spend time with Jack and Ty. It’s none of your business.”
I’m deliberately goading him, willing him to react somehow, but he’s not biting. With a sigh, I stomp up the path, bypassing the Lodge. At my cabin, Princess Penny barks at me until I shuck the wetsuit and hang it over the porch railing to dry. I step into the bathroom and scrub myself twice with my coconut-scented shampoo, hoping it’ll do the trick.
I exit the bathroom in a cloud of steam, wrapped only in a large fluffy towel, and find Aiden sitting on my couch.
Sixteen
Aiden
I fucked up.Badly.
