‘I could have got the fucking shot, Cam. But because of you, I’ve got a tree frog down my top and I can’t get to it because I have a camera in one hand and am holding a tree in the other.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Cam said. ‘Pass me your camera. I’ll hold it.’
‘I am not passing you my camera. I don’t trust you with it.’
‘So I guess you want me to stick my hand down your shirt and fish out the frog?’
His words momentarily stunned me into silence, because I didn’t want to think about Cam’s hands under my clothes, given what had happened the last time they were there.
I sighed. ‘Fine, take my camera.’ I shoved it up at him, and the second he had it, I pulled my T-shirt away from my body and peered down it. ‘Hey,’ I scolded Cam when I saw he hadn’t turned his head yet. ‘Eyes upwards.’
I stuck my hand down my shirt and took hold of the tree frog as gently as possible. The last thing I needed right now was for it to go off again. After some careful manoeuvring, I was finally able to pull it free of my clothing, and placed it on the branch next to me, exhaling an instant sigh of relief. Having moist froggy paws all over my body was not a feeling I wanted to repeat. I stuck my hand out and clicked my fingers several times, an indication that Cam should pass me the camera. He did.
‘Well, I guess that’s it,’ he said. ‘We might as well go. There’s nothing to see here.’
‘I’m not going anywhere.’
‘Fine, suit yourself. But I’m going, and I’m also going to have to step down onto the branch you’re standing on; it’s the only way I can get down.’
‘Not the only way. I could push you,’ I snapped back.
‘I’d grab on to you and take you with me,’ he said seriously.
I rolled my eyes at him. ‘Fine. Hurry.’
Cam began climbing down to my branch.Oh crap.The space up here was so limited that as he lowered himself, his entire body – feet, legs, oh God,crotch, stomach, chest and then, worst of all, face – slid against mine. And when the sliding was over, something even worse happened. Because now we were standing face to face, only inches apart, sharing one branch. Every nerve in my body lit up with sheer, utter, flaming . . . anger? Aggravation? Hatred?
It had to be one of those, because I was certainlynotnoticing his scent again. And I hadn’t noticed how impossibly large his package was as it moved past my face, and I was certainlynotnow noticing the warmth radiating off his body, and definitelynotnow noticing just how big and solid he was and how there was no space between our bodies, and how his lips were so close to mine and how big his hand was braced on the branch, and I was definitelynotnoticing how much my body was reacting to all of it.
‘You’re on me,’ I spat out.
‘I told you. Only one branch.’
‘Well, you’d better get off it right now, before I push you myself.’
He looked far too entertained for someone in mortal danger. ‘God, I’ve missed this.’
‘What?’
‘This. You. Being all worked up. Angry and violent and glowing with it.’
‘I am not glowing!’
He smiled. ‘You kind of are.’
I narrowed my eyes. ‘You have about five seconds to get off me.’
‘Okay, okay, I’m going.’ He started climbing off the branch, but as he left, he threw a very aggravating ‘Don’t miss me too much’ over his shoulder at me. And that was the last straw. All it took was one gentle squeeze on his fingers with my foot to send him tumbling to the ground.
‘Oops.’ I smiled down at him. He hadn’t fallen far. It was merelya small tumble; not even a tumble, a tiny slip. Such a pity we weren’t on a cliff.
‘Still trying to kill me, I see.’ He’d landed flat on his back with a thud.
‘Not trying hard enough, apparently.’
And then he did something so infuriating that I was tempted to throw myself out of the tree and land on top of him, elbows first. He stretched his arms before lazily lacing his fingers together and sliding his hands behind his head like he was sunbathing.
He grinned up at me, utterly unfazed. ‘You know, if you came down now, we could make it a proper date. Have a little picnic. I’ll even share the grass.’ He patted the ground next to him invitingly.
