Chapter 6
Shanna grinned as Kevin’s colorful cursing sounded over the rain drumming on the tent, until a loud rumble of thunder drowned out his pissed-off voice. When a hair-raising crackle of lightning lit up all around her tent, she held her breath and waited for him to rip up the zipper and dash inside. His large presence shrunk any space he occupied, so her roomy space would turn into a tiny closet.
Seconds turned into minutes.
Hmm. He was more determined with this wager than she’d expected.
Her phone read one-thirteen a.m., but she hadn’t had cell service since halfway across the second lake, so there was no way to check the radar to see how long the downpour might last. Much as she wished to leave him out there in the storm their first night, she wasn’t that desperate to win their bet. Considering his obvious lack of wilderness experience and pitiful preparedness, she didn’t need to be.
Flipping the switch on her lantern, she crawled over to unzip the tent to holler out to him. Expecting to see him huddled under his sleeping bag for cover, she was surprised when another flash of lightning revealed an empty campsite.
“Kevin?”
A split second of alarm spiked her pulse, until it dawned on her he’d taken shelter in the outhouse. She sat back, nose wrinkled at the idea. Should she be relieved or offended that he chose that location over her tent? Then she laughed at the absurdity of it all—and felt bad. He might be dry in there, but she wasn’t heartless enough to make him endure that awful stench all night.
She shrugged into her thin rain jacket and held the lantern under one side while hurrying to the outhouse. When she pushed open the door, Kevin jerked his head up in surprise.
Seeing her, he made a disgruntled noise. “I just stopped dripping. I’m not stepping back out in that.”
Shanna paused as much for his do-not-mess-with-me-tone as his words. He thought she’d come to use the outhouse. “You’d really expect me to go while you’re in here?”
“I’ll turn around.”
“Um, I don’t think so.” She second-guessed her decision to be nice even as a rumble of thunder shook the thumbnail-sized house.
“I’m done getting wet today.” Temper roughened his voice. “I am not leaving.”
“Fine. Then I won’t offer for you to stay in my tent. Sweet dreams.”
She let the door slam shut and stomped away, head bent against the drops pelting at her hood. A second bang of the door made her grit her teeth, and a moment later, he caught up with her. In the rain he’d refused to go back out in.
“You didn’t have to use the outhouse, did you?”
“Nope.”
“You could’ve just said so.”
“You didn’t give me a chance.”
“No, you acted like you needed to.”
“Because you jumped down my throat the second I opened the door.”
“I wasn’t expecting you to come out and actually be nice to me.”
As she frowned, cold water dripped from her hood, to her face, and down her neck until her sleep camisole stopped the trickle. Realizing they were arguing in the rain like idiots, she bent under the tent awning with a growl of annoyance, swept aside the zipper flap, and ducked inside with her lantern.
Kevin followed right behind her, but she jabbed a finger in his direction when she saw the dripping sleeping bag in his clenched fist. “Get that out of here.”
“What?”
“You know you aren’t going to use it tonight, and it’ll have to dry out tomorrow anyway, so leave it outside.”
He disappeared for a few moments, then returned as she dried off her face and legs with a beach towel. When he came back in, he was stripped down to his boxers again. Her hungry gaze tracked rivulets of water down his chest to the first indent of his defined abs.
God help me.
She tossed the towel at him to avoid letting her gaze dip lower than his stomach.
“Thanks.”
“Stay on your side and leave me alone,” she snipped while sliding inside her sleeping bag and turning her back to him.
He gave a soft snort. “Gladly.”
She shut off the lantern, then frowned in the dark, hating that she sounded like a shrew. But the alternative was to push him down on her bed and lick every last drop of rain off his magnificent body. Her nipples tightened at the thought. She bit the corner of her lip to hold back a moan as the memory of him inside her, filling her like no one else ever had, made her core clench with hot, needy longing.
Earlier he’d said great sex wasn’t worth the hell of the past month. She whole-heartedly agreed—about the sex part, anyway.
Well, about the hell part, too…didn’t she?
Hmm. Interesting question.
If she could go back and change that night, would she?
No. I’d rather do it again. And again. And—
Well, damn.
Shanna snuggled closer to the warmth at her back and hugged the arm slung over her waist. A soft, deep inhale filled her senses with Kevin’s musky male scent as the stubble on his chin scraped against her bare shoulder. Through the sleeping bag, his erection pressed against her backside, bringing a smile of delicious anticipation to her lips.
She threaded her fingers with his and slid his palm up to her—
No—wait—what the hell!
Her body stiffened as her eyes popped open to the morning light illuminating the tent. His arm tightened, until the sharp jab of her elbow into his ribs elicited a pained grunt and a muttered curse.
“Damn it, woman.” He pushed up to sit as he rubbed his side. “It was a nice dream until you assaulted me.”
She shimmied away and sat up in her sleeping bag to face him. “I told you to stay on your own side.”
“I had nothing to lay on.” He ran his hands through shaggy hair gone wild from having dried while he slept. “The ground is hard as a damn rock without my sleeping bag.” He lowered his arms and patted his hands on the floor of the tent. “I think there might even be rocks underneath here. You should’ve checked before setting this thing up.”
She bristled at the criticism so soon after her delusional morning fantasy. “I did, jackass. You’re like that princess with the pea in her bed—only it’s not even your bed. So stop your bitching and go away.”
It took everything she had to keep her gaze focused up, on his stubble covered jaw—and even then, it wasn’t fair she still wanted to climb all over him.
“Can you frickin’ relax for one minute and give me a second to actually wake up?” he groused.
“You’re awake. Get out.”
He frowned, genuine confusion in his hazel eyes. “Geezus. Why are you so gol-damned uptight all the time?”
Her defenses rose. “I’m not uptight.”
“It’s like you’ve got a stick permanently inserted—”
“Get. Out.”
He rolled his eyes and went.
As the tent flap swished back in place behind him, she blinked rapidly against the sting of tears. She didn’t like being so antagonistic with him, but they’d danced this dance so long, she didn’t know how to stop.
Plus, in the seven years she’d known him, he hadn’t had one serious girlfriend. She was afraid if she let her guard down, he’d figure out her real feelings. She couldn’t let that happen after he’d made it clear—twice—their one magical night together was nothing more than a mistake to him.
Imagine if the guy who didn’t do relationships realized she’d fallen in love with him long ago.