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“Delightful.” I manage to yank one of my arms out from behind my back to massage my throbbing neck.
“It seems that no matter what I do, I’m trapped with you.” He rolls his eyes and groans. “First the orb, and now this?”
“Why don’t you quit whining and help me get the dagger,” I snap.
At the crazy angles we’re at, I still have one arm pinned… well, somewhere, I can’t even quite feel it at the moment. And the dagger is of course sheathed on the same hip, out of reach of my free hand.
“I think I can get it,” Ryder says.
He wiggles, which makes the net spin even more, and my stomach lurches. But a moment later his fingers graze my hip, and he has the knife in his hand. He starts sawing it across the ropes. It cuts through them like butter.
“You may want to—” I begin, but I don’t get to finish, because the ropes give way and we go plunging to the ground.
The wind knocks out of me as I hit the forest floor, and stars swirl before my eyes. “Damn it to hell…”
“Hey, at least we’re free.” Ryder rolls to his knees, then his feet.
I climb to my feet as well. “Yeah. Wouldn’t want to be trapped with me a second longer than you have to.” I gesture for him to give me back the dagger, and I slide it into its sheath at my hips.
“You know I didn’t mean it like that.” He shoots me a look and then stalks off down the path.
“So how did you mean it?” I call after him. “Because who knows how long we’re going to be stuck together if we can’t break this orb spell. Is it just so impossible for you to imagine being with the same woman for more than a night?”
Ryder wheels around. “Just drop it, Ven!”
My frustration bubbles over. “I’m not going to drop it. Do you think I like being trapped two feet away from someone who gives me emotional whiplash every five minutes?”
“What are you talking about?” he growls, taking a step closer to me. His heat and his magic wash over us.
“One second you’re flirting. The next you’re being sweet. The next you’re telling me I should be afraid of you.” I clench and unclench my fists as anger surges through me, all my mixed-up emotion from the last two days coming to a head. I’ve abruptly had enough. I’m so incredibly frustrated with Ryder, and I’m done avoiding the obvious. There’s only one way we can resolve what’s between us.
Ryder looks away, his expression guarded. “Ven—just… let’s not go here right now.”
I lock gazes with him until he meets my eyes. “You’re right. The orb is a pain, but more than that, it’s dangerous. It nearly got us killed back there at the hex wall. We’re about to try to sneak into some villain’s lair, and we don’t need anything holding us back. Maranda was right—maybe we just need to bang and that will resolve this whole thing.”
His jaw rolls. He’s pissed. “Are you serious right now?”
“Dead serious. It’s not just the orb. We’ve both been distracted this whole time, and we can’t have that going in there.” I reach down and start to peel my wet dress off. “I should have listened to you when you suggested it yesterday. Gotten is out of the way.”
Ryder grabs my arms, holding them down against my body. “You really think sex is going to fix this?”
I shrug. “We’re out of options to break the orb that don’t involve possible death.” I struggle out from under his grip and make an expansive gesture with my hands. “Let’s just get it over with.”
“I can’t believe you’re being so cavalier about this.” He shakes his head back and forth.
“It’s just sex,” I snap. “You’ve made it clear you’re not into relationships. No feelings involved, no strings attached.”
He stands there with a stunned expression on his face, so I take advantage and pull off my dress before he can stop me. I’m wearing nothing but my hiking boots and the leather belt holding the dagger. Ryder’s eyes run over my naked body and my wet hair cascading over my shoulder, and I feel his magic surge.
I back against the tree closest to me and trail my fingers over my breasts and down my torso.
“What happened to just being business partners?” Ryder asks. His breathing is unsteady as he watches my fingers swirl in the soft hair above my sex.
“This is business,” I say. “Last night you had no problem keeping things purely physical. You were able to completely detach afterward. Seems something you’re rather expert at, in fact.”
He takes a step closer, but conflict is written all over his face.
“I know you want me,” I say. “And I’m tired of these games.”
