Immortals After Dark 04 - Wicked Deeds on a Winters Night

than I’d figured?”
    “Doona want an animal near you. There’s more danger here than you’re aware of.”
    At that moment, howler monkeys roared from the canopy just above, startling her.
    “Your hips, for the record, are faultless.”
    She experienced a small—trifling, really—thrill at his compliment, as well as an impulse to swish her hips at him. Then she woke the hell up again and concentrated on navigating the jungle.
    Trees fell where streams eroded the soil, so in the areas lining the banks, trunks were toppled over each other like Lincoln logs. The opportunistic underbrush shot up for its spot in the sun—an explosion of growth on the floor that was backbreaking to slog through.
    Gradually, she and MacRieve became distanced from everyone—Rydstrom pushed hard with Tera right behind him, Cade scouted the trail ahead, and Tierney disappeared repeatedly to hunt for more food. This seemed to suit MacRieve fine as he took every excuse to touch her, wiping away a bead of sweat from her cheek or brushing a leaf from her hair.
    At yet another pile of trunks, MacRieve simply picked her up and carried her. Then later, he did it again at a rivulet—and once more under a log pileup. Over or under and through the woods.
    Over, under, over... under. At one point, he sat her on a high trunk, putting them face-to-face. “What’re my chances of stealing a kiss from you right now?” His white shirt was unbuttoned halfway down and sweat sheened on his muscular chest. After last night, she now knew how breathtaking all of his body was—every inch of it.
    Still she answered, “None point none. I don’t want you to kiss me.”
    “I think you do a little.” He brushed a damp lock over her forehead, then smoothly moved his hand just before she could bat it away.
    “All I want is to get home, back to my Lykae-free life. Now let me down.”
    “I will no’. No’ without a kiss for toll.” He was easing closer as if she were a skittish animal he didn’t want to scare away. And though she dreaded losing her tenuous control over her overstimulation, she still was tempted to close her eyes and accept his lips on hers.
    “That’s it, lass,” he rumbled, gently cupping the side of her face with his big hand.
    At the last second, Mari reached into her knapsack and snatched out her apple, bringing it between them.
    His eyes went wide, then narrowed. “Doona dare,” he said.
    So, naturally, she did. Once she’d taken a hearty bite, he looked as if he’d just stifled a shudder and dropped his hand.
    Around a mouthful, she said, “But I thought you wanted to make out!”
    Stiffly setting her down, he turned from her and continued on, leaving her to roll her eyes at the succulent taste. It was like she’d eaten a super apple—crisper, more flavorful, and juicier than any before. She even felt more energized. As soon as she’d devoured it, she craved another and wondered when she could convene with the reflection again.
    When she tossed the core, MacRieve glanced back at her. A thick lock of jet black hair fell over one of his eyes, making her want to sigh. Regrettably, Mari did find herself wanting him to kiss her. After everything, her attraction to him burned as hot as ever. Yet even if MacRieve was sexy—insufferably so—she wasn’t going to be seduced into forgiving the hateful thing he’d said last night.
    Especially not because he removed some foliage from her way.
    He admittedly would be willing to forget her, and go back for some perfect fey princess. If there was one thing that Mari despised, it was to be passed up. And yet it kept happening to her.
    What is it about me? she asked herself for the thousandth time.
    Both of her parents had found something they preferred over raising her. It wasn’t as if she’d been a demanding daughter. Hell, if her father hadn’t died he could’ve returned at any time and she would’ve forgiven the past. He could’ve shown up on her fifteenth birthday with some unwitting-absentee-dad gift like a tea set or a Barbie oven. Mari would’ve been so grateful she’d have held off getting her learner’s permit to bake cakes with a lightbulb.
    Yet he hadn’t come back—he hadn’t even called her. Not once. It was like he’d disappeared from the face of the earth. One day she had a father; the next day she hadn’t.
    But Jillian’s desertion had hurt her the worst. If things had been bad between Mari and her, then her leaving wouldn’t have been so