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The moment that Nolan shoved her into the clearing, I got a visceral reminder of what had me so drawn to her in the first place. Any other girl in that situation would have been too terrified to show anything but fear. Evangeline had been afraid, of course, but there had been considerably more than that on her face.
She had been angry. Angry like an avenging angel dragged down to earth to deal with the petty concerns of mere mortals.
The girl had looked more than willing to kill each and every one of us if someone gave her the opportunity. Anger and fear are a potent combination.
I’ve never seen anything so sexy in my entire life. Too bad that I already promised not to touch her.
The moon momentarily disappears behind the clouds, casting the forest in a more penetrating darkness. We’ve all split off between the trees, moving like shadows in the night to hunt our prey. At any other time, I might actually let myself enjoy this.
I catch sight of a streak of blonde hair between the trees.
Evangeline runs in a zig-zag pattern through the trees, making it more difficult to anticipate her direction. She cuts right and then left, then left again. The pattern repeats as I close in on her.
The girl is fast, I have to give her that. But she’s lagging. The all-out sprint might have gotten her this far, but she is already slowing down. It won’t be long before the rest of them catch up to her.
I lighten my footfalls as I shift direction, hoping to flank her when she cuts left again.
Evangeline doesn’t see me come up beside her in the dark until it’s far too late. My hands catch her when she crashes into me, the surprise on her face well worth the well-placed elbow that collides with my gut.
“Ouch, Jesus.”
Her wild eyes fly to my face. “Drake?”
I belatedly realize that I still have the mask on. “Who else?”
She stares up at me with angry eyes, although there’s a flash of relief in their depths. “You scared the shit out of me.”
“You sound like you want me to apologize.”
Evangeline tries to hit me again, and I duck out of the way. “Since you never apologize for anything, that would be pretty pointless.”
Our alliance is new and fragile. Neither of us has fully committed to trusting the other. I don’t expect her to just turn on a dime and suddenly decide to forget our turbulent past.
I’m not even completely convinced that we’re on the same side. This girl is too unpredictable for that.
Taking a step back, I let go of her arm and hold my hands up. “If you think you’ll do better on your own, don’t let me get in your way.”
Already, footsteps pound behind us. In another few moments, the decision is going to be made for her. Exhaustion tightens her lips even as she glares at me with fire in her eyes. “Can we just get out of here, please?”
I’d planned to do exactly that. But now that I see the naked challenge in her eyes, it’s hard not to rise to the bait. This girl has always known how to press my buttons.
All my buttons.
When I take a menacing step forward, Evangeline backs up on instinct. The tree behind her stops her short. She lets out a little gasp as I close the small distance between us.
My head bends slowly until my lips coast over her cheek.
“You cannot be serious,” she huffs, but I can feel the gasping inhale she takes as I press closer. “All of this was your idea.”
“A lot of things are my idea.” I breathe in deeply, the scent of orchids and a salty tang of sweat briefly overwhelming my senses.
She smells good enough to eat.
The sound of footsteps gets closer. I can’t see them yet, but we’re moments from being discovered.
Her hands come up to grip the fabric of my shirt, bunching into fists. “Are you going to help me, or not?”
It’s impossible not to think about the last time that I was alone with a Pratt girl in the woods.
