Everett holds out his hand. His long fingers envelop mine as he leads me to a spot far enough from the fire that the smoke doesn’t reach. He scowls down at the sparse patch of grass forcing its way through the dirt. “I should have brought a blanket for you to sit on.”
“There’s no need.” I unclasp my cloak and stretch it across the ground. Even after I settle myself with my skirts around me, Everett remains standing there looking like he doesn’t know what to do next. “Aren’t you going to sit with me?”
He glances to where his friends are watching, then back to me. After a few moments of indecision, he sinks down onto my cloak.
Maddox withdraws his dagger, balancing the tip of the blade on his index finger while Gryffin stabs the fire with a sword, sending sparks dancing into the endless gray.
“So this is what you do all night?” I ask.
Everett nods.
“Doesn’t it get boring?”
Maddox flicks his dagger into the air, catching it by the hilt. “Sometimes we kill trespassers.”
They do?
Everett shifts closer, bumping his shoulder against mine. “He is joking.”
“Am I?” Maddox waggles his brows, a wicked gleam in his eyes and a smile twisting his lips.
Maddox is the comedian, and Gryffin is the grumpy one. What does that make Everett? As if he can feel me staring at him, he turns slightly. His dark, slashing brows lift, a silent question in his black eyes.
Who are you?
This is neither the time nor the place for that question, so I ask another. “What’s with all the bones?” I nod toward the piles of white lining either side of the path.
“Most animals can smell death and avoid the area,” he explains.
“So they’re not to scare us off?”
The corners of Everett’s lips tilt into an almost-smile. “An added bonus.”
A chill dances up my spine, and it has nothing to do with the damp breeze.
His smile slips away. “You are cold. You should go home.”
Something about the darkness and the shadows makes me feel bolder than ever before. Makes me want things I shouldn’t.
Any man would be lucky to have your attention.
Right now, Everett hasallof it.
“Or you could come closer and keep me warm.”
After a brief hesitation, he shifts until his bare arm presses against mine. No wonder he doesn’t need a shirt. He’s as warm as that fire.
I reach out a finger to trace his necklace, right where it falls at his collarbone. “Where did these come from?” It’s made of bones and teeth.Fascinating.
“That one is from the first elk I killed.”
“And this one?” My finger slips from the tooth, grazing along the hollow of his throat.
His breathing hitches, nostrils flaring. “From a silver fox.”
I didn’t even know foxes could be silver. “Why do you keep them?”
“We try to use everything we can.”