Page 38 of Wild in the Woods
“Crap.”
Of course, he was close enough to hear her through the door. “What’s wrong?”
She opened the door to a full view of his naked chest. He stood there so casually. He’d probably be walking around completely naked if she wasn’t here.
“I forgot my muscles,” she stammered, completely unable to stop looking at his huge pecs. “My toothbrush. I mean, I forgot my toothbrush.”
“I have an extra package of muscles in the bathroom closet. Help yourself.”
Chuckling, he turned into the other room. Lulu shut the door, her face flaming and a silent scream coming from her throat. She splashed cold water on her face again, just because. It did absolutely nothing to soothe the aching gnaw of desire low in her belly.
That’s exactly what it was, too. An aching, uncomfortable, overly warm pulse knocking on her reproductive organs. The pain in her lower abdomen was still there, doing the same gnawing away.
Finding a brand-new toothbrush, she brushed her teeth, pinched her cheeks while bemoaning the serious splotchiness to her skin tone, and pulled her hair into a braid. Smoothing her clothes, she finally had to turn away from the mirror before she had a little panic attack. She was a mess. An absolute mess.
Fox had managed to get fully dressed and sling his backpack over his shoulder in the short amount of time she'd been in his bathroom. They made brief eye contact as she sat at the kitchen table to put her socks and boots back on. Her feet ached in protest and the boots felt like constriction devices.
Fox disappeared into the bathroom and came back out smelling minty fresh.
“Did you sleep well?”
Yeah, fine until she realized where she was, and his scent got her riled up again.
"You’d probably get a lot more female clientele if they knew they got a chance to sleep in your bed." Damn it. “Because it’s really comfortable,” she added in a rush.
Too late. He was already laughing at her with a huge smile and a twinkle in his eye. He didn't embarrass her with a sassy retort, which she appreciated.
"Today, we hike to Camp One. It's on your map so familiarize yourself with it. You’re going to learn how to find and sterilize water, and the best places to forage for food. We’ll also be making a rustic shelter tonight.”
"Okay."
What else could she say? She was nervous and apprehensive about what was ahead. Slipping on her jacket, she grabbed the foil supply pouch from the table and put it in her thigh pocket.
Osprey came sleepily out of the bedroom, saw them, and perked right up. Fox gave her some food in a stainless-steel bowl and filled up her water. Then he gave her a good scratch behind the ears and kisses on top of the head.
"Uncle Riker's going to come and get you, yes he is. I’ll be home in a few days. No eating Uncle Ryker’s shoes again, okay? Be a good girl.”
Aww. She melted a little inside. If he loved his dog that much, what kind of father would he be?
"You don't bring her along for protection or anything?"
"She's not trained well enough to listen in an emergency situation. I rescued her not quite a year ago and haven’t had a lot of time to work on her obedience training."
Osprey was a rescue dog. Because of course she was.
Fox put the dog in her kennel, and they walked outside into the morning darkness.
Her phone pinged. Then pinged again. Clenching her jaw, she forged ahead after Fox though she couldn’t see anything but the shape of his body.
"How do you know where we’re going without a light?"
"I can see perfectly fine in the dark."
The toe of her boot punched into the heel of his. She quickly apologized. And then did it again.
"You can see as well in the dark as you can in the daylight?"
"Not exactly the same, but close. Right now, everything I see is in shades of green and violet.”
