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His thumb pressed over her fingernail as he looked at the pink polish covering it.
“Have you ever been outside?” he asked with disbelief as he kept examining her hands.
“Do you have a reason you keep asking me obvious questions?” she countered.
He just shrugged and let her hand drop like it was nothing more than an old beer can.
“Just not sure why someone like you is doing this when it’s clear you’ve never been dirty in your life.”
“I’m dirty!” she shot out. When he hit her with an amused grin, she folded her lips together and scrambled to rephrase.
“Ah, princess, I think you want to be dirty. And that’s why you seek out experiences like this.” He took a step toward her. The underbrush beneath his boots crunched, and her blood surged hotter. “But I don’t think you really have what it takes to get honest to God filthy.”
She swallowed hard and kept eye contact. Normally, in her four-inch heels, she’d be eye to eye with a man. Not Dex. She still had to look up, which meant the man towered over six-foot-two. Matched with all those hard muscles, his presence did a number on her bravado.
“I am looking for an experience,” she admitted. “And it’s my understanding that I’m paying you to give me one.”
A heated green flare lit up behind his eyes. She instantly wanted to call back her words. God, she sounded like the stuck-up people she grew up around. But Dex was playing hard ball. Trying to crack her defenses, and this was important. She had to make it through the night. Show him she could handle herself, handle adventure. Step outside her comfort zone and still thrive.
She had to.
Because the reality of all the things she was lacking was getting harder to bear. If she couldn’t even finish tonight, how could she finish all the other goals she had in life?
She shook her head, dislodging the thoughts, and put her game face back on.
“You want an experience?” he rasped, getting so close she could feel his breath hit her mouth. She couldn’t help but lick her lips and taste the residual minty, masculine taste of his nearness. “Let’s start with something basic.”
He took a step back and crossed his arms. With his feet spread wide, his stance was saying, I’m towering over you, ready to judge your skill. And there was no way she’d fail.
“Fine, what’s the first test?” she asked, ready to prove him wrong.
“Today in Gage’s class, you should have learned that using your surroundings to your advantage was key.”
She nodded in agreement. There had been a whole segment on that. One she’d taken notes on furiously. Oh, she was so going to ace this!
“Yes,” she said with excitement, then bent and retrieved her notebook from her purse. She flicked through the book, bypassing the various To Do lists—when Gage’s finger stopped her mid-page turn. She looked down and saw which list his finger landed on:
To Do List: Sexual Fantasy Edition
“My, my, princess. You color coordinate all your fantasies?”
Heat rushed to her cheeks. There was a long list of various acts she wanted to try. Everything from sex outdoors to kissing a stranger. Some more risqué than others. Some very, very risqué. Which was why she’d highlighted those in red and the softer ones in blue.
“As a matter of fact, I do,” she said with her best sense of calm, and she quickly flipped to the pages of notes she’d taken during Gage’s class. “Ah, here is what we’re looking for,” she said, finally coming to the lecture about survival.
“We can go back to that list of yours instead,” Dex said, making the heat in her cheek double.
Instead of acknowledging him, she just started reading her notes. “Anything around you could be used as a weapon or tool for survival. The only limit is your imagination,” she said verbatim.
Dex grabbed the notebook and tossed it on the ground. “I get that you’re a teacher’s pet, but focus on my voice.”
She frowned but did as he said. For some reason, showing him that she could complete this little mission of wilderness training was important. If only to shove it in his smug, way too handsome face later. Man, if she could get a man like Dex’s respect, that would be the icing on this cake of crap she’d been dealing with.
“Look around you,” he said. “What could you use as a tool?”
“Well…” She glanced around, and then her eyes landed back on him. “I see a giant tool standing in front of me.”
His chin dropped, and his folded arms squeezed together tighter. “Cute. Too bad this tool won’t help you survive tonight Miss I-can-handle-the-wilderness-in-my-sweater-set.”
