My mind cycles through the various placements. Her back. His hands and knees. And the odd exception of her shorts being devoid of charcoal stains while little wood chippings cling to the backs of her thighs.
“Are you fucking serious?” I hiss quietly at Rylan.
Did they seriouslyfuckwhile we are here doing Cedar Heights a favor? While we werewaitingfor them?
“Don’t,” he mutters, sending me a warning glare. “Not now.”
“You’re un-fucking-believable,” I shoot back, huffing.
I’m tempted to wipe the tiny smirk he’s trying to fight off his face. Clearly, he thinks this is the most hilarious thing ever. He’s probably high-fiving himself in his damn head.
Boy Wonder waves us over. “Alright. Time to check this hole out.”
I switch my focus to Bexley, frowning at her frustrated and distracted visage. The others have already started piling into the library while she grabs at the backs of her legs.
“What are you doing?” I ask abruptly, hating how concerned I actually sound as I stop next to her, the two of us alone in the hallway.
Bexley’s head snaps up to look at me. “Nothing—just a splinter, I think.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “You have a splinter in your ass?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” she grumbles. “It’s in the most annoying spot.”
“Where?”
She physically pauses. “What?”
“Where is the splinter?” I repeat, exasperated.
I wait for her to tell me to fuck off or whatever. To my surprise, she angles herself away, giving me a view of her ashy back.
“Here,” she points, twisting her upper half and directing me to the top of her thigh. Squinting through the darkness as I crouch down, I spot a fragment of wood embedded into her skin, almost hidden by the ash, right where her thighs meet. “I can’t seem to reach it.”
Adjusting myself, I motion for her to move. “Open your legs.”
Again, to my astonishment, there’s no threats to my existence, only unusual compliance. My jaw clenches tight when I have to wrap my arm around the front of her thigh to steady both of us, so that my fingers can pinch it out.
My hand stays pressed to the inside of her thigh while I work it out slowly. I try hard not to think about the events leading up to this, knowing that thesubjectof Rylan’s affections is inches away from my hand.
Or the intoxicating scent of… her. Which is difficult to ignore with my head right next to her thighs.
I don’t realize what I’m doing until it’s too late. I glance up at her, breath hitching when I find her already staring back. My hand twitches and accidentally squeezes her thigh, and for a moment, I’m lost in our optic connection.
I forget where we are. I forget we’re meant to be inside the library with the others. All I can focus on is the crystal mint sea haze.
Snap the fuck out of it, Hunter.
Shaking my head clear, I mentally scold myself for accidentally pinching her, but it does seem to speed up the job. I extract the splinter and rub my fingers to dispel it on the ground. “There.”
“Thank you,” she mumbles, taking a step back from me.
I hate the way her creating distance makes me feel. I’m angry—overwhelmed with the need to rip her back toward me for her sheer audacity to put space between us.
Bexley goes to head through the library doors, but I suddenly reach for her, grabbing her wrist before I can rationally talk myself out of it.
“Why didn’t you tell them?” I demand quietly.
She straightens up, leveling to face me. But she doesn’t try to remove my tight grip on her.