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He smiled, but a serious look crossed his face. “There’s always time. Let’s start by testing your instincts.” He pulled out a black bandana from his pocket and tied it around her eyes.
Her world went dark. Gage’s breath hit her mouth. She wanted to inhale deeply and bring his mouth to hers, but he kept himself just out of reach.
“I’m going to walk a few yards away, and I want you to use your senses to try to figure out which direction I’m in.”
“You said you wouldn’t leave me alone,” she said quickly.
“I’d never leave you. I’ll have eyes on you the whole time. But I want to know if you can figure out a threat.”
“You’re not a threat,” she whispered. But that wasn’t totally true—he threatened her sanity and her stance on “casual-only encounters.” But she also trusted him so much that she was standing in the middle of God knew where, blindfolded and nodding like an idiot as he walked away from her.
Man…she was either really hard up or delusional. Or I like him.
No, definitely not. She was just hard up.
“Imagine you’re lost out here. You have to use your senses to survive. Your gut tells you when you’re not alone—listen to it. Now count to five, and then when you think you know where I am, take a step toward me.”
She nodded, but this felt like more than a standard drill. If she could figure out where Gage was, trust her gut, then move toward him…maybe it’d be a sign that the connection they had was more than casual.
Deep breath.
She couldn’t hear him, but Gage had promised he’d stay close. Part of her liked the idea of him watching her. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
Another deep breath.
He was near—the tingle of his stare prickled her skin. He was right, instincts could tell a lot—and hers were screaming to reach out for Gage.
On a heavy exhale, she took one…two…three steps toward the direction she thought he was in.
Silence.
Oh no, what if she was wrong? What would it mean? That her gut was lame and was pulling her in the wrong direction? This was stupid. Did she really think she could magically find her way to him in the dark? She should yank off this blindfold and—
“Well done, sweetheart.” Gage’s voice was thick, laced with pride, and right in front of her. He undid the bandana, and she blinked until he came into focus.
She’d done it. And his lips hovered over hers.
“You should listen to your gut more often. And we should get moving.”
He backed off and started walking again.
Gage was messing with her. And the next chance she had to get her hands on him, the claws were coming out. But first she had to catch him, which took a while since she was trailing behind him the rest of their hike.
Finally, after what felt like forever, Gage stopped near a patch of dense trees about fifty yards from the cliffs.
She looked around and inhaled deeply. Sun filtered through the thick trees, lighting the leaves like emeralds swaying around them. The low whistle of underbrush dancing along the ground in the distance added an illusion that felt like real magic.
“I hope I didn’t rush you too bad.” He handed her his canteen, and she took a few sips. “I wanted to get you out here as quickly as possible.”
She handed the water back to him. “Well I got my exercise in for today.” Granted, she would have rather burned calories riding Gage’s body. Instead, she was stuck in the woods with him looking beyond sexy, but with him acting so professional that she doubted she had a chance in hell of getting him to drop his pants and let her take care of him in the best way she knew how. Her seductress skills didn’t stand a chance. Or did they?
She started making her way to the nearby creek.
“Where you going there, sweetheart?”
She glanced over her shoulder. “Just want to enjoy this water over here. Don’t worry, I know you’ve got eyes on me.”
And yes he did—his gaze was smoldering, and she had to look away before she got caught up in it. She bent over to run her hands under the clear, chilly water. With wet, cold hands, she gripped the back of her neck and sighed. God that felt good. But her sigh brought a big, rough man her way, and she hid a smile—her seductress skills were working.
