Shea moved closer to the partition and called out softly, “Fallon?”
She tilted her head slightly, listening for an answer. All she heard was the faint splash of water.
Louder, she called, “Fallon?”
“I’m back here.”
Shea glared at the partition. Of course he was. She didn’t want to go back there. For her continued peace of mind, not to mention her new vow to treat him as an enemy and not a man she found attractive, she wanted to stay on this side of the partition.
“Did you need anything?” She cringed as the words left her mouth. Just what he needed, a perfect opening.
“A plate of food.”
Thankful for the temporary reprieve, Shea busied herself selecting a few pieces of the meat, two biscuits and a handful of the berries. Once the plate was complete, she faced the same prospect as earlier.
Holding the plate of food, she hesitated at the entrance to Fallon’s sleeping chamber. “Are you sure you don’t want to eat at the table?”
“Get in here already,” came the forceful reply.
Shea grimaced at the slight edge to his voice even while she stepped past the partition. Her eyes were drawn immediately to where Fallon reclined in the water. His head was propped back on a folded towel and both arms were resting on either side of the bath.
She stopped several feet from him and held up the plate of food. “I didn’t know what you wanted, so I just guessed.”
Her eyes kept wanting to stray to where the water distorted the view of his hard body. Even distracted as she was, she braced for the interrogation she knew was coming. She’d already thought up a dozen excuses as to why she left his arms before dawn. She had no doubt he would think their previous intimacy was a reason to continue in the same vein.
“Bring it here. You’ll have to feed it to me. As you can see, my hands are a bit wet.” He lifted his hands out of the water as if to prove his words true.
The slight smile and the challenge in his eyes dared her to argue.
Shea fought back a growl. She’d be damned if she’d react the way he expected her to. If he thought she was too shy to function around a naked man, he was wrong. She’d beat him at his game and show him his body held no appeal.
Her chin jutted bullishly, she stepped forward and knelt. Water soaked into the knees of her pants.
“What would you like to start with?” Shea asked.
“The meat.”
Shea picked up a strip of the ham and held it out to him. He jerked his head back.
“Bite size pieces. I don’t want any of it dropping into my water.”
Her promise to herself that she would keep her patience and her mouth shut already seemed impossible. Quickly, she tore the meat into smaller pieces and then shoved a piece toward Fallon’s face. Anything to get this experience over faster. He caught her wrist before she could knock him in the face and then held it as he slowly pulled the meat from her fingers, swiping them with his tongue to clean off any of the juices.
Shea felt an answering tug deep inside as tingles raced outwards from the skin he’d licked. Not allowing herself to dwell on the feeling, she tugged her hand free making a point of wiping her fingers on her sleeve before picking up the next piece.
He smiled at her, not offended at her actions.
“Tell me, what duties have you been given?” Fallon asked.
Shea repeated what she had been told that morning, finishing by saying, “So basically, I’m supposed to stick by your side to fulfill whatever needs you may have.”
As soon as the last words left her mouth, she wanted to pull them back. The wicked glint in his eyes told her all she needed to know about what he was thinking.
Instead of clarifying what she had said, knowing that would only make things worse, she pinched off a chunk of biscuit and shoved it into his mouth.
Once he swallowed, he informed her wryly, “I think that’s enough food for now.”
Shea nodded, glad this particular torture was over and stood.
“If you could grab the towel for me.”
Shea stiffened and forced herself to set the plate gently on a stool before making her way over to the bed to grab the carefully folded towel. The towel was plush and soft under her fingers and smelled clean and fresh.
Even caught up with the urge to rub her face back and forth against its softness, she heard the slosh of water as Fallon stood. Once again she turned her eyes to the ceiling as her hands tightened on the towel in a death grip. Why, oh why.
Her willpower could only take so much.
“I’d like the towel while there is still something to dry off.”
He was just a man and if his previous actions were to go by, he wasn’t going to jump on top of her to have his wicked way. No, he was going to seduce her and given her heightened awareness of him, that wouldn’t be too hard.
He was just a man, Shea told herself. She’d seen plenty of naked ones during her time as both a pathfinder and a scout. He had the same equipment. It was just arranged a little nicer than most.
This body, unlike those she’d seen on the trail, belonged to Fallon. She had intimate knowledge of its attributes.
Not letting her thoughts progress any further down that path, Shea turned. Her face burned as she glared in the vicinity of his face. She crossed the few steps she needed and tossed the towel towards him.
He caught it one handed and wrapped it around his waist as he stepped out of the bath.
“Will that be all?” Shea asked, clinging to her dignity.
“For now, but don’t leave the tent. I will have need of you soon.”
Shea sketched a half bow as she’d seen others in his guard do and retreated to the other side of the partition.
Shea fidgeted as she waited for Fallon to finish dressing. She walked from one end of the chamber to the other.
She had finished one circuit when a man ducked past the tent flap from outside.
“Witt.” Shea still couldn’t quite believe it.
Her eyes went past him, remembering that Paul had been with him last time, but he was alone.
“Shea,” he said softly. His feelings were hidden and he stayed near the entrance.
Some of the relief she felt at his entrance faded. She laced her hands behind her back and moved to the middle of the room. With a reluctance she hadn’t expected from him, he joined her, stopping only a few feet away.
“I had hoped you and the others would have been able to escape safely,” she told him.
“The Trateri came for us as we were escaping. Dane and the rest got away safely. Paul and I were caught.”
The silence between them became awkward after his explanation. Had it always been this way? She remembered he’d always been quiet. She had been too, but they’d had things to talk about anyway.
“I would have thought you’d have made it back to the Highlands long before now,” Witt told her.
She shrugged. “I meant to. Something just always came up.”
That was the worst answer. How could he understand from that?
“Witt,” Fallon said before she could explain further. “Join me for breakfast. We’ll go over your intel as we eat.”
Witt waited until Fallon was seated at the head of the table before taking his own seat.
Shea fidgeted as she tried to figure out what she was supposed to do with herself. Somehow she didn’t think she was supposed to join them at the table, and standing like an idiot in the middle of the room didn’t seem right either.