AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I pull my hair back and stuff it into the hair tie I keep on my wrist. “Much better.”
William looks down at my feet and frowns. “Where are your shoes?”
“Left them in the tent.”
“You must have really had to use the bathroom.”
“Pretty much.”
“I’ll keep watch while you do your business, then we can head back.” He looks around. Then, determining it’s safe, he walks a few feet away and turns his back.
“Um…I already went.”
“Before you were cornered?”
“Well…during.”
He glances at me over his shoulder with a look of disbelief. “You’re not joking?”
I roll my eyes. “I can announce it in the newspaper if you want. I know that’s front page news. Wait…why are you more worried about my shoes than my pants?”
He grins. “Well, considering the pants are wrapped around a rotter’s decapitated neck, I think I have a pretty good guess what happened. Though, I’m sorry I missed it.”
My cheeks heat with embarrassment. “Let’s get out of here, please.” I take a step and then wince.
William curses. “You’re not walking all the way back like that. Here.” He steps up to me and lifts me up so my legs wrap around his waist and my arms around his neck like before. We’re eye level now, and I lick the dryness of my lips and notice how his eyes dart down at the motion before meeting my gaze again.
“You can’t carry me all the way back to camp like this. What if more rotters show up?”
“I’ll fight better with you wrapped around me.”
“Use me as shield, you mean?”
He starts walking. “Absolutely not. Like I told you. I’ve got you, Emily.”
The man kneeling before me has me mesmerized. When we got back to the campsite, William had me sit down on a log while he inspected my feet. After grabbing my old pair of shorts, he’s been cleaning away the dirt they accumulated and inspecting the minor cuts and scrapes. It’s nothing serious, and he doesn’t seem concerned, but no one has ever been this focused on such a minor injury of mine before. I wouldn’t even count it as an injury, but apparently tiny cuts from the little rocks count according to him.
He’s incredibly attentive, and I could sit here all day admiring him while he works to make me feel better. The first aid kit lies open next to him while he applies ointment all over my feet before putting on my socks and then my shoes. I never want to take these shoes off again. I’ve learned the hard way what can happen.
Griffin strolls back into the campsite carrying a rabbit and a bowl of berries. He’s shirtless, with a fresh bandage on his thigh poking out from beneath his shorts, and a pang of guilt runs through me. His gaze finds me in an instant, as though he searched for me, and then zeroes in on William putting on my shoes for me. “What happened?”
“I forgot to grab my weapons when I ran out to the bathroom. And shoes, too. Got cornered by some rotters, William took care of them, and now he’s taking care of me because the ground here isn’t too friendly for bare feet,” I rush to explain while heat creeps over my cheeks.
“Don’t forget to mention the part where you took off your pants to decapitate a rotter. I don’t get all the credit for taking care of them,” William adds, turning the small fire in my cheeks into raging lava.
Griffin nods and then gets to work, preparing breakfast without a response. I don’t know what I expected his response to be, but I thought it might be…something. Anything. William glances oddly at him, but he doesn’t pry. I’m beginning to think these men can communicate telepathically. They always seem to read each other’s minds without saying a word. I don’t know how concerned I should be.
“There, good as new.” William sits back, his pale blue eyes sparkling in the early morning sun when he grins up at me.
“I’m never taking these off again,” I say.
A zipper opens, and Max emerges from his tent. He spots me in an instant. Then, as though drawn to me, he’s towering over us before I realize he’s even moved, his voice low and demanding when he speaks, his gaze zeroing in on my feet. “What happened?”
“Found her up a tree surrounded by rotters,” William replies, packing up the first aid kit. He doesn’t seem to notice the intense look in Max’s vibrant green eyes, or the swirl of darkness that passes through them. Okay, maybe I was wrong about the telepathy thing. Maybe they’re still only human after all.
“Why didn’t she just kill them?”
“I forgot to grab a knife,” I reply lamely.
