Even as her heart fluttered at the danger and her mind reeled with the sheer speed at which McAlistair had acted, Evie’s stomach turned over at the woeful sight of the beheaded snake. “Was that really necessary?”
“Yes.” He stood to toss the carcass into the woods. “Or I wouldn’t have done it.”
“It wasn’t hurting anything.”
“Yet.”
“You could have—” She broke off and, for once, was grateful he wasn’t inclined to fill the silence. Her arguments were foolish. There wasn’t anything else he could have done, short of catching the snake, saddling one of the horses, and riding—in almost darkness—deep into the woods to release it far enough from camp that it wouldn’t be inclined to return.
She frowned sadly in the direction of the dead snake. “It’s a great pity.”
He resumed his seat. “You’ve a fondness for snakes?”
“I don’t know if it could be termed a fondness,” she said, thinking of the cold shiver she’d felt. “But I have a respect for them and an aversion to killing a living thing that’s not intended for food.”
Unless she was much mistaken—and she rather thought she must be—a hint of devilish humor crept into his voice. “Should I fetch it back and cook it?”
“I…” Her gaze jumped back to him. “Can one eat an adder?”
“Yes.”
“You’re certain? You’ve had them before?”
“Number of times.”
She bit her lip and considered. “What do they taste like?”
“Mild.”
Mild, she thought, could mean a great many things. It could, for all she knew, mean mildly disgusting.
“Wouldn’t you like to soothe your conscience?” McAlistair inquired.
She would, but not at the expense of her stomach. She peered at him over the flames.
“Are you goading me?”
“Challenging you.”
“A dare, is it?” She couldn’t resist a dare any better than she could resist curiosity. “What would the terms of the challenge be?”
“You eat four bites, and you get your choice of blankets for the night.”
She snorted. “You’d have given me that choice, at any rate.”
“Not without the four bites,” he replied, and this time she was quite sure she could hear a bit of the devil in his voice. “Not now.”
“I see.” She laughed. “And what do you get, should I fail? Aside from a more comfortable night’s sleep?”
He said nothing for a long, weighted moment. When he finally spoke, his voice was soft as velvet. “A kiss.”
Her mouth opened but no sound emerged. A kiss?
A kiss in the woods? Was he mocking her? She narrowed her eyes at him, but found she couldn’t see his face well enough to tell. Surely he would never be so cruel.
“A kiss,” she finally repeated hoarsely. She cleared her throat and attempted to instill a touch of sophistication in her tone. “Just a simple kiss, nothing more?”
“A kiss on my terms.”
A log crackled in the fire, sending a shower of sparks into the air. The reflection of the bright shards danced in his eyes, and briefly illuminated his face. There was no humor to be found in his expression, not a hint of amusement softening his hard features. If anything, he looked rather…determined.
“You said…” She licked lips gone dry. “You said I wasn’t meant for you.”
“You’re not.”
“Then why…?”
He shook his head. “Those are the terms. Do you accept?”
“It…” She cleared her throat again. “It seems a skewed bargain. Winning only gains me something you’ve decided to take away. I want the boon of my choice.”
“Such as?”
She wracked her brain for something, anything, she wanted more than another chance to kiss McAlistair. “I want…I want…” She hit on just the thing. “I want you to take seriously and be open to discussing that this whole business is a matchmaking ruse.”
“I’ll take your concerns seriously,” he countered. “More would be a lie.”
She considered that and decided she appreciated the honesty. “Very well. We have a deal.”
Eight
The sky had lost its last vestiges of gray by the time McAlistair finished skinning, cleaning, and cooking the snake.
It didn’t look altogether terrible, Evie mused after he’d handed her a portion. It didn’t smell altogether terrible either. She broke off a small piece, squared her shoulders, and popped it into her mouth.
“What do you think?”
It was mild. In fact, it was rather bland. Had she not been all too aware of the fact that it was snake, she might have assumed it was some kind of tastelessly prepared fowl. “It’s not altogether terrible.”
“Can you eat the whole of it?”
“Certainly.” And to prove it, she took another bite and chewed around a smug smile.
He was sitting closer to the fire, and to her, than he had been earlier, and the flickering light allowed her to make out the lines and angles of his face. He offered her a half smile as he tore off a chunk of meat and bit in. Her eyes lingered on his mouth.