Cleaning out the barn was tedious work, but Hudson enjoyed having a regular task to perform. She had no idea what the men would end up using the space for, though. It would serve as a great gathering place or meeting area, but Connor remained staunchly opposed to opening the camp to outsiders.
She was dusty and grimy as she trudged back to her cabin after spending the afternoon with Kade, carrying furniture from one end of the barn to the other. Kade had agreed they probably shouldn’t throw out anything they might be able to use later, so they’d dubbed one area of the barn the “storage corner” and proceeded to lug everything there.
She wanted to wash up and change before dinner, but once she got out of the shower, she decided to skip dinner altogether. It was Xander’s turn to cook, and her stomach churned just thinking about the cardboard-tasting meal he’d probably serve tonight. No, thank you. She could sneak into the kitchen later and raid the pantry.
Or maybe Connor would bring her some food when he showed up at her door tonight. Last she’d checked, he was in the lodge talking to Pike about the generator, but she knew he’d track her down sooner or later. He always did.
And now that she’d decided to accept their relationship for what it was – and what it wasn’t – she had no problem making her demands known to him. Though, really, there was only one demand: sex. Lots and lots of sweaty, dirty sex.
Luckily, he seemed more than happy to give it to her.
A knock sounded on her door, bringing a wry smile to her lips. Looked like Connor had decided to skip dinner too and go straight to dessert.
But it wasn’t Connor at the door. It was Rylan, and Hudson took one look at him and ushered him inside.
“What happened?” she demanded.
He gave her a sheepish grin. He was cradling his left arm, which sported a deep gash from his biceps to his elbow. The cut wasn’t gushing blood, but oozing it, and there were bits of dirt lodged in his flesh.
“I fell out of a tree.” He thrust out the first aid kit that was tucked under his other arm. “Can you patch me up?”
She didn’t know whether to laugh or to lecture him about his complete and total recklessness. She now understood why the men needed to stock up on bandages and antibiotics so often – Rylan really was an injury magnet.
“And don’t say a word about this to Con,” he added. “I already feel stupid enough without having to deal with a tongue-lashing.”
Her lips twitched as she pointed to the bed. “Sit.” As he settled on the edge of the mattress, she dug around in the first-aid kit. “Do I even want to ask why you were out climbing trees?”
He sighed dramatically. “No, you do not.” He cursed when she pressed an antiseptic-drenched gauze to the cut. “Son of a bitch. I forgot about your mean bedside manner.”
“Hey, there’s no nice way to clean a wound. Suck it up.” She dabbed at the blood before reaching for more gauze. “I changed my mind. I do want to know what happened.”
Rylan remained silent.
She held up a bottle of rubbing alcohol. “Don’t make me dump this entire thing on your arm.”
He winced. “You’re the devil, Blondie.” His gaze found hers, sheepish again. “If you must know, I was hunting. Lost track of my prey and needed a better vantage point, so I climbed a tree. The end.”
“Uh-huh.” In the two weeks she’d lived at their camp, she hadn’t seen Rylan go hunting even once. That was Pike’s forte. “What were you hunting?”
“An animal.”
“No, really? You mean you weren’t tracking human prey?”
“Smart-ass.”
“What was it?” she prompted. “A deer? Elk?”
“Sure, one of those.”
His vague response heightened her suspicion, until a thought suddenly occurred to her, making her groan. “It was that damn wolf, wasn’t it? Seriously, when are you going to give up?”
“Never,” he shot back. “Not until the she-devil is good and dead. She’s— Don’t look at me like that. I’m not crazy, okay? If I don’t kill her, she’ll keep trying to ruin my life.”
Hudson snorted. “Jesus Christ, Ry. That wolf doesn’t have it out for you. You’re imagining it.”
“Jesus Christ?” he echoed, grinning at her.
She faltered as she realized what she’d said. Two weeks in the outlaw world and she was already starting to talk like one. Come to think of it, she’d shouted Oh God over and over again last night when Connor had been inside her.
Connor’s ears must have been burning, because the door swung open and his broad frame appeared in the threshold. When he spotted Rylan, he stopped short and let out a sigh. “What the hell did you do now?”