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“Piddle?” I said, unable to resist the smile. Her eye roll was worth it. “Puddle?” I demanded, blinking at her verbiage regarding the steadily flowing creek she’d fallen victim to.
Looking adorably annoyed, she huffed, “Stream.Tiny river.Whatever. Point is, that was fast.”
“I’ve only done it a thousand times, no big deal.” Shifting around her, I scooped the backpack off her shoulders, impressed she’d hefted the damn thing clear up here. I’d fully expected to lug both bags up at some point.
“So, where areyousleeping?” she quipped, grinning when I glared at her.
“Afraid of your roommate?”
“No,” she said, scoffing.
“I’m not making a move, baby. You have—well,had—your own sleeping bag. Regardless, Juniper raised a perfect gentleman.” Her smirk said she knew I was anything but. But I meant it. She was safe. I’d never been the kind of man that would pressure a woman into anything. And I’d sure as shit never needed to. Not that I wouldn’t chomp at the bit if she offered herself to me.
I knelt to take apart her pack, trying not to wince when I found the sleep rolls entirely saturated, the bag itself discouragingly damp. It was supposed to be water resistant, but we were about to find out. “Ahh, shit,” I mumbled under my breath, unclipping the sleeping bags and unzipping the top layer.
“I’m—”
“Don’t finish that sentence.”
“Sorry,” she winced. I glared up at her as I pulled out her sopping clothes. I pursed my lips to keep from laughing. That was about right. With a long-suffering sigh, I stood up, shifted for my pack, and pulled out a rope.
“Here,” I said, tossing her one end as I walked away with the other.
“Um…are you going to hang me for treason?”
Rolling my eyes, I glared back at her. “Tie it to the tree, Noel.”
“You’re leaving me for the wolves, aren’t you?” She shifted towards the closest trunk.
“We don’t really have wolves here.”
“Bears, then. You’re leaving me for the bears. Going to soak me in honey and leave me out for bait.”
“I assure you, if I’m pouring honey on your skin, it’s for a very different reason.”
Heat flashed in her eyes, nearly halting her shivers before she convulsed again. Fuck, I loved the way arousal looked on Noel McShane. Savored the fact that a playful taunt could elicit it. I did not, however, like how cold looked. Despite her shivers, she managed to tie her end up, and I did the same, crafting a makeshift clothing line. I laid her drenched set of clothes over the rope, and she wordlessly followed suit, unzipping the sleeping bags and hanging them down the center of the line. She was still laying out soaked blankets and clothing pieces when I walked past her to gather firewood, hesitating at the last piece she pulled from her bag. A lacey, hot pink thing that made her blush as she strung it up. Brows no doubt in my hairline, I quirked my head, tonguing at a canine to avoid smiling.
“You, uh…you brought the negligee?”
Her gaze found her feet, and her fair cheeks turned a delicious shade of near strawberry pink. I wanted to eat her for dinner. Clearing her throat, Noel mumbled, “Mmm…not sure how that snuck in there.”
Swallowing my laugh, I walked away while shaking my head, making it to the tree line before the chuckle won the battle. By the time I returned, the wind had picked up speed, not boding well for my little Floridian companion. Wordlessly, I eyed her damp clothes as I built the fire.
“Not to bethatguy, but you’ve got to get out of those.”
“I’m fine,” she insisted, but the clench in her jaw said otherwise. On our best end-of-June days, we’d hit sixty degrees, and with the wind chill, it was dramatically cooler. “We can’t just go back?”
“I mean, if you want to hike over mountains just as steep as we came up for the rest of the day. But the easy path is gone by now and won’t be back until low tide tomorrow morning.”
“Well, crap.”
“You can wear mine,” I offered. “I’ve got a pair of sweats in my bag. Get changed and come sit by the fire. I’ll make some coffee.”
“Are you um—” When I glared at her, she swallowed, grinning nervously as she amended, “Thanks.”
“You got it. Hustle. You’ll catch your death.”
Fire finally roaring enough to satisfy me, I’d just set down our second log ‘bench’ and poured the French press into tin mugs when Noel finally snuck out of the tent, drowning in my sweats and hoodie. Goddamn, why was that so fucking cute? She’d cuffed the pants, cinched the waist to hold them on her hips, and had the sleeves rolled up. It still hung off her. My damn chest heated.
