“You like crazy, Red Riding Hood,” he whispers back, lowering his head to mine. His warm breath strokes across my mouth just before his lips do. It was barely a real touch, yet my body trembles from it.
Jack remains motionless and looks at me from inches away. I’d always thought touching his face would feel like getting up close and personal with a cactus because of the raggedy three-day beard he sports. Surprisingly, it doesn’t. To be honest, his lips, when they brushed against mine, reminded me of a velvet raspberry. With a will of its own, my hand moves up to his mouth, my fingers lightly running across his bottom lip. “I like raspberries,” the first thought slips again.
His brows furrowing in confusion, he laughs quietly. “Do you?”
I nod. And part of me wants to touch his raspberry lips again. Maybe Jack wants it, too, because he laces our fingers as he moves our hands back to the pillow-bed beneath me, and then his gaze falls to my mouth. I close my eyes.
My heart does funny things in my chest again. Dancing, maybe skipping, I don’t really know. Then a thunderous crack sounds, making me wince in Jack’s arms. That was not from my heart. He jerks, too, and my eyes shoot open just in time to see a monstrous birch tumbling down. A shriek escapes me. Too late to run, I throw my arms over my head for protection and accidentally punch Jack in the chin in the process. He yips in pain, and I immediately feel sorry for doing that right before we die.
As if by a miracle, the deadly strike from the tree never comes. It misses our camp by a foot. Still in shock, I jump to my feet, dragging Jack with me. Breathing hard, I scan around to find out why trees were suddenly falling in the Wood of 1000 Dawns.
Turns out, a beaver chomped it. He’s now struggling to tug the birch into the water.
“Ow.” Jack rubs his jaw. “Were you trying to knock my fangs out?”
“Sorry.” I cast him a sheepish glance, pleading for forgiveness. “I thought the tree was going to kill us.”
Jack glares at the birch jerkily moving past us, and then he raises a provocative eyebrow at me. “Hardly.”
Okay, maybe the tree wasn’t that monstrous. More like a seven-foot stick with barely any branches worthy of mention. When pulled out of my moment with Jack, it did look scary, though.
And now I wonder if it was fortune that made the rodent choose to fell that particular tree next to us. If it hadn’t, Jack might have stolen my first real kiss. Or…I would have given it to him.
Oh, the horror of that!
After all the hard work I put into finding a prince, that could have ruined everything. To really change my ever after and, consequently, the story, my first kiss has to be one of true love. It can’t be wasted in a careless moment with a Wolf.
Feeling the heat of shame surging to my cheeks, I avoid his gaze and walk to the crate still leaning against the oak. “We should move this in place before it gets too dark.”
Jack comes without another word and helps me drag the lathed box over to the pillow camp. While he holds one side up, I jam a branch as thick as my arm underneath it. Testing if the construction is windproof, he shakes it a little. After his approving nod, I tie one end of the rope to the stick and carefully lay out the rest on the ground, making sure it’s covered by moss. Then we hide in the bushes.
“And what do we do now?” Jack hisses as we both lower to the ground.
Lying on my front, I brace myself on my elbows. The rope end tightly in my hand, I focus on the prince trap ahead. “Now, we wait.”
Time ticks by.
The sun disappears, and somewhere in the forest, an owl starts to hoot a jolly good evening to the bright moon above. The first half hour, Jack lay dutifully beside me, keeping an eye on the latch bolt with me. But over the past few minutes, he’s become fidgety. “I don’t think this monstrosity is really going to work.”
I place an annoyed finger in front of my lips. “Shh.”
“Oh, come on, Riley.” He stands, flexing his shoulders and spine. A funny string of cracks sounds out. “You can’t hang out here the entire night.”
Jaw set, I tilt up my head to him. “Watch me.”
“You will freeze to death.”
He has a point. A cold breeze picked up some time ago. It might get a little chilly tonight. But that wouldn’t stop me. “I’m tough.”
“You’re wolf meal.”
“You’re the only Wolf out here, and I don’t think you’re going to eat me.”
“Fine. Then bears.”
Actually touched by his concern, I send him a soft smile. “If you’re so worried about me, then stay.”
He glares at me for several long seconds. “No way. If this is your idea of a thrilling night, count me out.” He stomps away but, after a couple of steps, he stops. Curiously, I wait to see what sort of excuse he’ll find next to try and make me go home.
Swiveling around, Jack rubs his hands over his face and grunts at the moon. I guess I frustrate him more than fleas in his pants, but what else can I do? The trap won’t snap over the prince on its own. Someone needs to sit this out, at the ready to pull the cord at the right moment.
“One hour!” Jack growls and spears me with a toxic look as he lowers back to my side. “If your prince doesn’t show up in that time, we’re going home. That means you, too! No further discussion. Do I make myself clear?”
“Perfectly clear.” Scooting to the side to make room for him, I crack a smile because his suggestion sounds fair, and I like his company. Hanging out with a Wolf is better than getting eaten by a bear.
We remain on silent watch again. For a long time… And no prince comes by on his noble steed. Instead, the wind picks up speed, freeing leaves from the trees and bushes around me. I don’t know if the hour is over because neither Jack nor I have a watch, but when the sky breaks with rolling thunder, I know he wants to go home. Moments later, the first raindrop lands on my nose. I wipe it away, my gaze still focused on the trap, but more drops follow, and they fall even faster.
As Jack finds shelter under a nearby weeping willow, I refuse to abandon ship. Just a few more minutes. I’m sure my prince will come.
The cold from the ground seeps through my dress and into my bones. Soon, my cloak is soaked with rain, too. I start to shiver.
“Riley…?” Stiff from iciness, I can barely make myself turn in the direction of Jack’s soft voice. His hand appears in front of my face, obviously waiting for me to grab it. “Come on. It’s time to get you out of the rain.”
A melancholy sigh escapes me as I tie the end of the rope to the root of a tree bridging out of the ground. Then I reach for Jack’s hand. Gently, he helps me up and nods toward the path leading to Glitter Hollow. The idea of a cup of hot chocolate in front of a crackling fire holds unarguable appeal.
I pull up my hood and tug it down my forehead. Jack doesn’t have a hood or even a jacket because he only wore his t-shirt when we met that morning. He ducks his head as we both run all the way to my house through the moonlit forest.
He stops in front of the stairs leading up to my porch, while I scurry under the awning to escape the rain. A tender goodbye looms in his gaze. “See you tomorrow.”
I nod. It’s so sweet that he wanted to make sure I got home safely before heading on to his own apartment.
But it’s a long way to Grimwich, and the rain is coming down in sheets now. His clothes are already drenched, as are mine. He shouldn’t be walking miles through the storm tonight. So when he turns around to leave, I suck in a quick breath and insecurely call out, “Jack?”
He halts, rain dripping from his eyelashes as he looks at me over his shoulder.
“I’m going to make hot chocolate.” I shrug and press my lips together, expelling a helpless breath through my nose. “Would you like some?”
Three seconds pass. Eventually, the corners of his mouth slowly lift into a lovely smile. Mine follow suit. He comes up the few steps onto the porch, towering half a foot over me and once again standing close. Then he puts an arm around my shoulders, and together, we walk inside.
Chapter 12
Jack