“Will you let me hold you?” Mike inquired. “It will keep us both warmer.”
Mollie almost said no; she both liked and feared the way he made her feel, but freezing to death wouldn’t solve anything, and though she could be stubborn, she wasn’t stupid.
“Yes,” she said.
When his arms swept around her and he pulled her against his chest, Mollie realized she’d agreed to this for more reasons than to stay warm. She’d missed the feel of his arms around her. She was too tired to analyze her feelings as she cuddled closer and closed her eyes.
There was a chance he could kill her while she slept, but she couldn’t bring herself to care as his warmth enveloped her. Though she’d been certain she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep next to him, she was out almost instantly.
Chapter Twelve
Mike foundhimself staring down the barrel of Mollie’s rifle when he crawled back into their tiny alcove the next morning. She stared at him for a minute before lowering the gun. The circles shadowing her eyes before she fell asleep last night had eased, but she stifled a yawn as her shoulders slumped warily.
He’d brought something back with him that he hoped would revitalize her. Peering out of the alcove, he scanned the area and scented the air before dragging the two rabbits he’d caught and roasted inside.
“What is that?” Mollie inquired when the enticing scent of cooked meat wafted to her.
Mike turned and held out two tiny, blackened carcasses. Saliva rushed into her mouth, and for a second, her vision blurred. She had no idea what they were, but they smelled delicious.
“Rabbit,” Mike said, holding them toward her.
Now that he’d said it, she could tell they were bunnies. “Thumper?” she murmured, uncertain how to feel about eating the cute creatures with their oversized ears and twitching noses.
“No, not Thumper,” Mike replied with a smile. “Do you want them?”
Under normal circumstances, she would have turned down the meal—she didn’t even like chicken on the bone—but this was far from normal. Besides, the rabbits were already dead; making the trip into her belly couldn’t be any worse for them, and she couldn’t let them go to waste.
“No,” she said. “I mean, yes! Yes, I want them.”
When Mike held the bodies out to her, she stared at the back legs dangling from his large hand. She reached for them, but she didn’t know how to take them.
“Here,” Mike said.
He handed her one, and she closed her fingers around it. The rabbit was still warm in her hands as she picked off a piece of meat. She would have given anything for something to wash down the meal as she was unbelievably thirsty, but she didn’t dare drink from the stream. She didn’t know what kind of bugs and parasites it might contain.
“How did you catch, skin, and cook them?” she asked then moaned when the meat hit her tongue. It was difficult to chew but delicious.Sorry, Thumper.
“I’m a hunter by nature, and it doesn’t matter if the prey is human or animal,” he replied.
Her fingers hesitated on the rabbit before she pulled off another piece of meat. “I see.”
“I cooked them over a mile away, so the scent of fire and meat wouldn’t bring any predators near you.”
“But they could have foundyou,” she said. The possibility of him going out there and not returning made her skin crawl. He’d left after daybreak to scout the area and hunt, but she hadn’t expected him to take such a risk.
“I was counting on the sun driving most of the Savages away, and I found a small alcove, like this one, to cook in so the scent and smoke were kept to a minimum. Before I left, I set another fire outside and placed another rabbit over it to cook. If there are any Savages still hunting for us, they’ll be searching in an area we’re heading away from.”
“Smart.”
The grin he flashed her did funny things to her insides and caused her to freeze in the middle of chewing.
“I’m more than an extremely handsome face,” he said and winked at her.
Mollie gulped her rabbit down as she tried to think of some response, but his smile rattled her brain. “That’s still up for debate,” she finally said.
He laughed. “So that means you think I’m handsome.”
Was he flirting with her? Vampiresflirted? The idea was preposterous, but she couldn’t deny that’s what he seemed to be doing as his blue eyes twinkled in the light filtering through the branches and vines.
