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She was a slut. A big, stupid slut. She’d given it up for Harry in a dirty old mine. Not only that, but she’d begged him. And all of this after barely a kiss and not even one date.
She took a deep breath. Several, in fact. Okay. So the situation wasn’t great. So getting physical with Harry hadn’t been her best decision. It was still salvageable. It wasn’t lik
e anyone knew what they’d done. It wasn’t like they’d gone on a date in public, where everyone in town would see and stick their noses in. She groaned. It wasn’t like they’d gone on a date at all. Never mind that. It was a slip-up. A mistake. A lapse in control. And it wasn’t like she planned to do it again. Oh, no. These were exceptional circumstances. Ones that would not be repeated. As soon as they got out of the mine, all she had to do was avoid him and make it clear that she had no interest in him.
Although how she’d manage that when she practically drooled every time he was near her, she didn’t know. Flashes of the night before flitted through her mind. Her pulse sped up at the memories. She wanted to scream with frustration. She had to stop thinking about him like that. There was no future for them. She needed to go on a trip. Deep into the land of denial and avoidance, where she could enjoy a holiday from reality.
She eyed the door, which now had slivers of light shining around it like a beacon of hope. When were they going to open the door? Had Harry lied about it being this morning? No. Surely not. She checked her watch. Seven a.m. Too early for a rescue.
“You hungry?” Harry’s voice jarred her out of her thoughts.
“Yes!” Okay, dial it down a notch. “I could eat.” Hopefully the eating would fill the time until the rescuing. Oh, how she needed rescuing.
“What do you want? I’ve got…”
She held up a hand. “Please, don’t list everything again. Give me a sandwich and a drink.”
He gave her a lazy grin before passing her what she’d asked for.
“About last night…”
Magenta shot to her feet. “No about last night,” she ordered. “No talking at all. Are we clear?”
“Baby.” He cocked an eyebrow at her, with a look that clearly said he thought she was overreacting. “We need to talk about last night. Then, once we have it sorted in your head, we need to repeat it. Soon. I’m thinking as soon as we get out of here. In a bed.”
“Stop talking.” She glared at him. “That’s what caused this in the first place. You talk and then things happen. It’s like some sort of voodoo or something. No. It’s brainwashing. You brainwash me into doing your bidding with your sexy words. Lots and lots of sexy words. Aren’t men supposed to be taciturn? I’ve known Lake for over a year and I’m sure he hasn’t said more than ten words to me. Let’s be like Lake. Let’s not talk.”
His smile turned dangerously sexy as he looked up at her through thick eyelashes. “You like it when I talk about sex? I can do that. I enjoy doing that.”
“Are you even listening to me?” She was practically screeching, and she never screeched. Ever. “No talking. Stop it. Or I’m going to wait for the rescue in the mine.” She folded her arms. “Alone.”
He considered her for a minute. “You know, every time you fold your arms like that it presses your breasts together. Which makes me think of all the things I could do with them pressed together.” His eyes went dark, which in turn made Magenta’s mouth turn dry.
“That’s it. I’m going into the mine. You can wait for the door to be opened on your own.”
“Sit down.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “I’ll stop talking.”
She stared at him for a moment, trying to gauge if he was telling the truth or not. Eventually, she relaxed and sat back down across from him, her back to the wall. They ate in silence.
“Morning, you two.” Matt’s voice was a welcome relief from the heaviness of not talking to Harry.
Magenta jumped up and ran to the door. “What’s happening?”
“The council engineer is on his way up. He’s going to pry the door open, jack the jamb in case it cracks and let you two out. Once he’s done that, he’ll check the entrance and secure the door.” There was a pause. “Magenta, maybe you’d like to go back through the mine and come out the tunnel entrance in the hills?”
Magenta frowned in the direction Matt’s voice came from. Harry shuffled his feet beside her.
“Why would I want to do that? I’ll take two hours to get out that way, and your guy will have the door open long before then.”
“Well…” Matt seemed stuck for words. “There’s quite a crowd out here, and I know how you don’t like being the centre of attention.”
“He’s got a point,” Harry said. “You like being in the mine. It helps you relax. Maybe you should take an hour or two to do that before you head home.”
She stared at Harry. His face was carefully blank. She moved to fold her arms, but remembered what Harry had said about that gesture. She put her hands on her jean-clad hips instead. “What’s going on?”
“Yeah,” Matt said. “Why don’t you explain what’s going on, Harry, while I deal with the engineer?”
Harry muttered something under his breath.
