The Girl Who Dared to Think (The Girl Who Dared #1)

I nodded, and retreated into the main area, looking around for Grey. He was fiddling with his hammock, which was strung in the corner next to the wide windows. I looked up, realized that a second hammock was already strung just a few feet above his, and smiled.

I quickly walked over to him, and he looked up at me as I drew near, a soft smile growing on his face.

“Is Roark okay?” he asked.

“Yes, he just... He didn’t grab a picture of Selka before we left,” I informed him, and he nodded. “Where’s Tian?”

“She helped me hang up your hammock and then said it was bedtime before lashing out of here. I’m guessing there’s some sort of bedtime ritual involved.”

“Probably. So... we’re bunk mates?”

He grinned and ran a hand through his wild hair. I noticed that the skin on his arm was fully healed now, and felt relieved that Roark’s medicine had worked so quickly. “Well, I remember you saying you liked a good view, so—”

The next thing I knew, he was shrugging off his shirt, revealing the bare lines of his chest. My mouth went dry, and I met his eyes, trying to keep my heart from tearing out of my ribcage. He was already smiling, and one eyebrow was arched.

“I didn’t mean me,” he said, stepping aside to reveal the window behind him, and I blushed beet red, embarrassment curling up in my stomach, but never finding a comfortable spot to sit.

Still, I was flattered that he had not only remembered that I liked a nice view, but presented one as well.

A smirk tugged at my lips, and I reluctantly looked away, just shy of being too bold. I directed my eyes toward the window, taking in the river snaking along below, the dark mass of water glinting silver under the faint light of the moon. Even though here, under the Tower, was dark and shadowed, I could just about make out the narrow edge of the horizon, the smooth, flat landscape pale in the light.

“It’s pretty good,” I said approvingly. And not just the window. I looked back at him to find him standing, his eyes fixed on me. He speared me with a look I was beginning to recognize in him, and took a step closer to me.

“You were amazing today,” he said. “Calm and collected, and you fought like a beast.”

My heart sped up. “I didn’t win,” I hurriedly pointed out, trying to deflect some of the breath-stealing intensity he was aiming in my direction. “If Tian hadn’t shown up—”

“It wasn’t just that,” he said. “You were smart, resourceful. You thought quickly and helped get us out of there in one piece. You are impressive.”

Only, in my eyes, none of that was right. I immediately brushed the compliments aside. “You realize it’s my fault that we are even here in the first place, right?” I said, the words tumbling out of me, and Grey frowned.

“What are you talking about?”

My shoulders shifted slightly, trying to relieve some of the discomfort there. “What happened with Silvan is what prompted Gerome to confront us. He wouldn’t have been there if I had just followed your lead during our meeting with Silvan.”

Grey’s eyebrows drew closer together, his frown deepening. He reached out with one hand, slowly, his eyes silently asking me for my permission. I nodded, and then his hand touched the side of my face, cupping my cheek. I felt lightheaded as he pulled me close.

“It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have known any of that would happen,” he said, his other arm coming around my waist. I found myself licking my lips, my gaze locked on his mouth. “And you were brave and quick on your feet in the aftermath of everything. I could never be as level-headed as you.”

His head was dropping down, closer and closer to mine.

“You haven’t seen me cook,” I managed.

He chuckled, and I watched as the angular planes of his face softened, his mouth drawing even closer. “I’m not interested in cooking,” he replied. “But I am interested in you.”

My breath finally gave out, but it didn’t matter—his mouth was on mine, his lips and mouth hungry. A hunger of my own—unlike anything I’d ever felt before—erupted out of me, and I found myself kissing him back, my hands reaching for his bare shoulders and then the back of his neck, holding his head in place as he held mine. His breath hitched, the hand on my waist dropping to my hip. He moved us both backward, until I felt the hard press of the wall behind me.

Grey pinned me between himself and the wall as his kiss intensified, and I burned inside, desperately alone and afraid, and ready to lose myself to this undeniable attraction I felt for him.

“You know,” a feminine voice spoke up, and Grey and I froze, suddenly aware that we weren’t alone. “I was raised that girls and boys shouldn’t kiss before they are married. But I never listened to them on that one. The one thing I did do, however, was wait to make love until I was married. I hope you two will understand if I pull the ‘my house, my rules’ card—or I’ll have to split you up to bunk with Quess and Maddox.”

I shifted over slightly and saw Cali standing a few feet away, a bemused smile on her lips. I hid my face behind Grey as I felt it turning bright red. Grey didn’t turn around until he was certain I was ready—something I was eternally grateful for. When I was, he made sure to grab my hand before turning.

Cali’s smile had only grown, and facing her now, I could see that she was genuinely amused by the two of us. She held up the blankets she was holding, and Grey let go of my hand long enough to take them.

“Relax,” she said. “You’re both adults—I can’t stop you from getting involved with each other. But Tian runs around here all the time, and I’d prefer not to expose her, just as I’d assume you’d rather not be exposed. So, just try to be more circumspect in future, all right?”

I nodded, while Grey said, “All right.”

Cali grinned, the corners of her eyes wrinkling, and then turned to leave. “Good night!” she called over her shoulder.

“Good night,” we said together.

When she was halfway up the stairs, Grey turned to me. “Are you... I mean... How are you?”

My cheeks, still red from the embarrassment of Cali catching us and calling us out like that, started to inflame again, and it was getting painful. I let go of his hand and began massaging them with my fingertips.

“Incredibly embarrassed,” I told him after a second.

“Because Cali caught us?”

I hesitated, and then shook my head. “Not exactly. I... I mean we...” I trailed off, flustered. How could I explain that I was a little afraid of how I just... reacted with him? To him? It was like someone had flipped a switch and I had lost all semblance of control. It was intimidating, and I didn’t know how to process it on top of this already crazy day.

“Hey, hey.” He stepped close, and placed his hands on my shoulders, instantly trying to console me. “It’s okay... I think I get it. It’s been a long day, and a whole lot has happened.”

“Yes,” I breathed, instantly relieved that he understood. “I just need some time to think and process and... come to terms with everything, I guess.” I twisted around to face him. “Is that okay?”