Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 107096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 535(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 535(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
“Walk,” she said in a small voice.
I nodded. Then I got a stick and dug down in the remains of the fire until I found the parts that were still smoldering, and threw on some twigs to get it going again.
“I thought we were leaving?” she said, sounding confused.
“We are.“ I felt my stomach rumble. “But not without breakfast.” As the flames began to rise again, I set some water heating in a can, and dug out the instant coffee from the ration pack. “I got cookies and crackers,” I told her, showing her the packets. “Which do you want?”
She blinked at me for a second in genuine surprise, like she hadn’t expected me to feed her again. She studied my face. “Which do you want?”
I shrugged. “I don’t care.”
She frowned. “Yes you do. You have a terrible poker face.” She paused and I felt like a mouse in a maze being peered at by a scientist. “You want...the...cookies!” she said, grinning. “You have a sweet tooth.”
My ears went hot again. How did she do that? I turned away and poked the fire. “When we find the others,” I muttered, “I’m gonna lock you in a room with Gabriel and the two of you can mind-read each other.”
“It suits you,” she said. “Just a big plyushevyy mishka.”
“What’s a plyushevyy mishka?” I asked.
She shook her head, still smirking, and I rolled my eyes. Even flat on her back, tied up, she still managed to get under my skin. “Fine,” I grumped. “I’ll have the damn cookies.”
I brewed the coffee. Then I frowned at her. “I’m gonna tie your hands in front of you so you can eat. But if you throw hot coffee in my face, you’re going over my shoulder again the whole rest of the way.”
Her eyes glittered. “I thought we were escalating to spankings?”
I stared at her. Those icy blue eyes were teasing but I couldn’t see what was beneath that. Was she trying to embarrass me, to get me off balance? Tempt me over the edge into grabbing her and kissing her? Or goad me into actually spanking her? Was it possible it was all three?
I leaned close. “Keep on teasing,” I growled. “See what happens.”
She raised one perfect eyebrow in challenge.
This is dangerous. If I let my gaze drop to that pouting lower lip for just a second, I really was just going to snap and kiss her. But I wasn’t going to look away and...lose. I glowered.
She raised her chin, Tsarina-haughty, and I felt my cock twitch. My mind started playing a highlight reel of all the ways I’d been fantasizing about fucking her. I could feel her nipples raking my palms, hear her cry my name in that accent as I plunged deep into that gorgeous, pale body.
She must have read it in my face because she drew in her breath...and the ice in her eyes fractured and melted. But seeing her melt, seeing her undone like that, sent a ripple of energy straight to my cock. My eyes went to her lips—
Both of us dropped our gaze at the same second. Draw, I decided.
The sun was fully up, now, bathing the clearing in golden light, but the morning mist still curled around the trees. I untied Tanya’s wrists and tied them again in front of her. Then we shared the coffee, passing the metal tin between us.
I glanced up at the sun and sighed: I’d planned on being back in Mount Mercy by now. “Hope Atlas is okay,” I muttered.
“Who’s Atlas?” asked Tanya.
“My bear.”
Tanya wrinkled her nose, then shook her head. “I do not know this breed of dog.”
“No, he’s an actual bear.”
“A bear? Like...”—she bared her teeth and raised her hands—“Grrr?”
I faltered because her bear impersonation was just about the cutest fucking thing I’d ever seen. “Yeah,” I said at last. “A bear cub. I rescued him last year.”
“He’ll get big,” warned Tanya.
“So everyone keeps telling me.”
We devoured the crackers and cookies. I was starving. As soon as we get back to the team, I’m gonna find a diner and get myself some pancakes.
I glanced up and saw her watching me eat the cookies. She was smiling but it wasn’t one of her infuriating smirks. This was more like the smile you do when you see an animal do something funny. Like she thought I was cute.
I thought back to how she’d figured out I had a sweet tooth. “Why does everything have to be a mind game, with you?” I asked.
“Because that’s how you win,” she said flatly. “Know people better than they know themselves. Figure out their strengths.” She looked meaningfully at the cookie packet. “And weaknesses.”
“And you do that with everybody you meet. Figuring ‘em out so you can use ‘em.” I sipped some coffee. “Doesn’t seem like you’d make many friends.”