She turned to unstrapping her pack from the mule. “Relax, Trace.”
“That’s another thing,” he growled. “We shouldn’t give our real names.”
“Why are you being so paranoid?” She didn’t look at him while she pulled out her water bottle and drank what remained in the bottom.
“Why are you being so careless? This is out of character.”
She’d removed her sunglasses, but her face was in shadow and he still couldn’t get a good look at her eyes. “You don’t know my character.”
His brows collided in a glare as he watched her approach the couple and strike up conversation. What was her reason behind stopping now—here? He thought the plan was to travel as far as they could every single day.
He watched her pick her way across the uneven ground toward the fire and it dawned on him why she agreed. She was stiff and sore from being in the saddle since dawn with few breaks. How long had she been suffering in silence? Stubborn woman probably refused to appear weak to him and kept her mouth shut.
Now that he knew she required rest, he focused on other issues, such as keeping guard in a wide open space like this.
He quickly stripped the mules of their packs and saddles to give them a break. He rubbed them both down while keeping an eye on Madeline.
After tending the mules, he grabbed his pack with a few food rations and joined the others, the unknown woman stood up from the blanket, hooked her thumbs in her loose pants and shoved them off.
Mathias blinked. Was he in a fever dream? What the hell was going on?
Then she stripped off her top, leaving her in only a pair of tiny cotton panties. He jerked his stare from her, not wanting to break any code of conduct with her man. Then his jaw dropped when the man removed his shirt and dropped his pants too.
Mathias whipped around to Madeline with a what-the-fuck look.
She appeared unfazed by their display. What did he miss? Was this some free love commune moment? He hoped to hell he wasn’t about to be asked to participate in group sex. That never was his thing.
Then the pop of a lighter and a whiff of marijuana reached him.
Madeline sank to the ground on the opposite side of the fire and stared at the flames as if she saw this sort of thing every day.
He paused a moment, drinking it all in. The couple passed the joint back and forth. Madeline stretched out her toes toward the fire and flexed her feet as if trying to restore blood flow.
Mathias strode to her side and dropped next to her. Close enough to speak quietly. Her body heat and the flames were already making him too hot, but he wasn’t about to strip down like the couple.
“What the actual fuck is happening here? Do you know them?”
She didn’t move her stare from the flames licking over the log. “Her name’s Charity and his is Malcolm. They’re visiting from Portland.”
“Of course they are,” he muttered, throwing a glance out of the corner of his eye at their naked bodies. “What kind of free love bullshit is this?”
“What do you mean?”
He gaped at her profile. “You didn’t notice they took off their clothes?”
“They’re just getting comfortable. I didn’t realize you’d be one of those modest men.”
Stunned, he sputtered for a second over what to say. “You mean you’re not shocked by seeing them the way they came into this world?”
“I was born in Sweden. We’re much more open with nudity.”
“You told me you immigrated when you were a kid!”
“That doesn’t mean that my parents didn’t hold Swedish values.”
“Jesus Christ.”
“Do you want a hit?” Malcolm held up the reefer for them to see across the flames.
He prayed Madeline would say no. It wasn’t that he was a prude, but he only abused whiskey on occasion, and that rarely. He liked to be in control. He believed Madeline was the same. If she decided to get high, what was to stop her from spouting everything about the artifact?
“No thanks. I am hungry, though. Do you mind if we cook our meal over your fire?” she asked.
Relief surged through Mathias. “At least you won’t be getting high and naked tonight. We haven’t even gotten to first base,” he teased.
Madeline jerked her head to look at him. Then she shoved to her feet and hurried through the shadows to her pack.
He took off after her. Grabbing her arm, he whirled her to face him. Her legs were just wobbly enough that she faltered, pitching forward against his chest.
She issued a grunt and placed her hands on his chest to push away. He didn’t release her arm for two reasons—he wanted to make sure she wouldn’t fall down and he wasn’t letting her get more than a pace away from him from now on.
“Listen to me, Madeline. You’re a guard yourself, so you of all people know the importance of staying with your ward. I’m not just letting you walk away from me anymore. I thought we agreed before we left.” He rumbled the words in a low urgent tone. Inside he felt a strange tightening in his gut. When it sank low enough to hit his balls, he recognized the force for what it was—desire.
Madeline’s chest heaved. Her small breasts moving up and down with each gulp of air she took had his pistons firing on all cylinders. And he had the horsepower to go the distance.
He tightened his grip on her arm. The urge to tug her against him and feel every inch of her body burned hotter and brighter than the hippies’ campfire.
Madeline stared at a spot around the center of his chest and didn’t lift her head. He wanted to growl. Either her eyes were hidden or she wouldn’t look at him.
“I’ll make us some dinner,” he grated out.
Still, he didn’t release her.
She tugged back her arm and stepped backward. She lost her footing and started to fall. He hooked an arm around her waist and held her upright.
Flames washed through him at the feel of her tight, athletic body pinned up against his.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were stiff and sore?” His gritty tone made her tip her head enough to lock her stare on his jaw.
“I’m not that stiff and sore. I’ll get used to it. You can let me go now.”
“If we’re going to work together, you need to be open with me. No more secrets, okay?” He studied her pale hair, washed in shadow, and the fine, delicate bones of her face.
“Fine,” she huffed out in her cool tone.
With a surprising amount of strength, she shoved away from him and hurried to her pack. He watched her for a moment. Aching and hard and wondering what the hell to do now that he knew…without a doubt…that he wanted to see Madeline completely, totally, utterly undone.
Chapter Five
“If they start moaning, we’re outta here.”
Madeline’s lips twitched in amusement at Mathias’s discomposure at a little nudity. Honestly, who knew a man who worked in nature and bred cattle was such a prude?
“They’re harmless,” she said quietly to him as they rolled out their sleeping bags side by side on the ground.
He threw the couple a look. “Let’s hope they smoked themselves into a stupor and we’ll be gone before they wake up.” He practically threw himself to the ground and lay flat on his back with his arms folded over his chest.