Please take me now.
Chloe shook off the thought and tried to focus. She didn’t have much going on other than burning another attempt at crab cakes and ruining a perfectly good pan, so playing victim wasn’t such a bad idea. Especially if there was a chance she could lure him to her side of sex-induced-thinking.
“All right,” she said.
And he didn’t waste any time. He grabbed her hand and led them through the forest, walking with her for what seemed like forever.
At first, her seduction skills didn’t have a chance to work since he was tugging her quickly through the damn old country. She could barely breathe normally, much less speak.
“I thought this was a drill?” she said with a few panting breaths.
But he looked back at her, and damn him, he hadn’t even broken a sweat. Fuck cucumbers, Gage was as cool as the air-conditioning she’d left back at her place. Nope, Mr. Army of One was hiking this terrain like it was just another day. Which, for him, it probably was. His boots were steady even when walking on the uneven ground. He obviously knew what he was doing, which made her like him even more.
“It is a drill. But we have to make it count.” He glanced back at her and stopped. “Why don’t we take a quick break?”
Oh, thank God. She stretched and scanned the area.
“Good girl,” Gage said. “You’re taking in your surroundings. That’s a good sign that you’re a survivor.”
“Are you reading me now or just offering up lessons on survival?”
“Maybe both. Although, I’d like to think I have a good read on you already.” He winked.
She rolled her eyes, but he wasn’t wrong. Gage had her number and they both knew it. But this was a chance to dig deeper into his world. And honestly, she wanted to stay in the moment with him, especially since he was in all his sexy gear.
“Well then, why don’t you give me a lesson? If we have time, anyway…”
He smiled, but a serious look crossed his face. “There’s always time. Let’s start by testing your instincts.” He pulled out a black bandana from his pocket and tied it around her eyes.
Her world went dark. Gage’s breath hit her mouth. She wanted to inhale deeply and bring his mouth to hers, but he kept himself just out of reach.
“I’m going to walk a few yards away, and I want you to use your senses to try to figure out which direction I’m in.”
“You said you wouldn’t leave me alone,” she said quickly.
“I’d never leave you. I’ll have eyes on you the whole time. But I want to know if you can figure out a threat.”
“You’re not a threat,” she whispered. But that wasn’t totally true—he threatened her sanity and her stance on “casual-only encounters.” But she also trusted him so much that she was standing in the middle of God knew where, blindfolded and nodding like an idiot as he walked away from her.
Man…she was either really hard up or delusional. Or I like him.
No, definitely not. She was just hard up.
“Imagine you’re lost out here. You have to use your senses to survive. Your gut tells you when you’re not alone—listen to it. Now count to five, and then when you think you know where I am, take a step toward me.”
She nodded, but this felt like more than a standard drill. If she could figure out where Gage was, trust her gut, then move toward him…maybe it’d be a sign that the connection they had was more than casual.
Deep breath.
She couldn’t hear him, but Gage had promised he’d stay close. Part of her liked the idea of him watching her. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
Another deep breath.
He was near—the tingle of his stare prickled her skin. He was right, instincts could tell a lot—and hers were screaming to reach out for Gage.
On a heavy exhale, she took one…two…three steps toward the direction she thought he was in.
Silence.
Oh no, what if she was wrong? What would it mean? That her gut was lame and was pulling her in the wrong direction? This was stupid. Did she really think she could magically find her way to him in the dark? She should yank off this blindfold and—
“Well done, sweetheart.” Gage’s voice was thick, laced with pride, and right in front of her. He undid the bandana, and she blinked until he came into focus.
She’d done it. And his lips hovered over hers.
“You should listen to your gut more often. And we should get moving.”
He backed off and started walking again.
Gage was messing with her. And the next chance she had to get her hands on him, the claws were coming out. But first she had to catch him, which took a while since she was trailing behind him the rest of their hike.
Finally, after what felt like forever, Gage stopped near a patch of dense trees about fifty yards from the cliffs.