Page 5 of Bryce

Several members, but no indication of which members were involved.

I had no reason to believe she’d come. There were so many others who might have made the journey. I might be able to avoid an unpleasant situation.

There was only one problem: the uncertainty over whether I wanted to avoid it, or if I longed to be with her again.

No question where my lion rested on the matter. He wanted to prowl the halls, sniffing out her scent, determined to find whether she’d crossed the ocean to be here. I couldn’t give him the satisfaction, at least, not yet.

“We passed the kitchen along the way,” Miles explained, pointing down to the end of the passage. “We’re well-stocked, thanks to the warning Mary issued.”

“Warning?” Logan snorted.

“She told us you’d be hungry. You’ll find more fresh meat than you could possibly eat in the walk-in.”

“You might be surprised at how much I could eat now,” Jorge growled, rubbing his flat stomach. “But first, a shower.”

“I’ll send someone around to collect your clothes and give you something fresh to change into.” Miles gave us all a small wave before leaving us to our own devices.

I let out a low whistle upon turning my attention to my quarters. Even during our more comfortable missions, it was rare to have an opportunity like this. A king-sized bed, a private bathroom with heated floors. The glass-walled shower was immaculate, a far cry from what I’d just left behind. When I reached in to turn on the water, I nearly wept at the full, strong spray from the overhead fixture.

I’d died and gone to heaven.

Peeling off my t-shirt and pants was the work of nanoseconds. I didn’t care if I never saw them again. The first touch of hot, fresh water against my skin was magic. I wanted to roar with happiness.

This was already shaping up to be one of the more memorable, pleasurable missions I’d ever taken part in—with or without Isla.

Had she told anyone of our… what was it? We’d never given it a name. We had never even spoken of it, just as we’d never spoken of the attraction that had brought us together. As we’d never discussed whether the furtive glances we’d exchanged were anything more than flirtation, whether the primal force which drew us to each other was worthy of indulging.

And we’d never discussed the future. Not once, not ever. I’d only dared allude to it once, and was only able to do so because she wasn’t with me.

Writing my feelings had always been easier than speaking them aloud, and even then, it had taken four drafts to come close to what I wanted to say.

I stood directly beneath the near-scalding spray and wished it would wash away the memories. The longing that still coursed through every part of my body, especially certain parts below the belt. I wished I could forget her. Forgetting would be so much simpler.

Especially if she was somewhere beneath that mountain, the way I was.

By the time I turned off the taps and opened the glass door, the room was full of steam, and I felt quite a lot more like myself. I could think more clearly without a week of grime ground into my skin, trapped in hair which returned to its natural wheat hue when it was clean.

A shave helped as well, and once I’d finished, I was pleased to find that the face in the mirror looked like my own. It was easy to forget about myself while on a mission, we all went through it. Days went by in which one never looked at their reflection. In which one forgot to eat.

I doubted that would be a problem here, though there was no telling. Mary hadn’t exactly been forthcoming as to the nature of our purpose.

A sharp knock sounded at the door. My clothing. I slung a towel about my waist and tucked it tight before answering.

Good thing I had, though, there was nothing Isla had not already seen.

Our eyes met.

Her mouth fell open.

Gods, she was just as beautiful as she’d ever been, and even more so than in the many fantasies I’d fallen upon in times of stress. Beautiful fantasies, vivid, sensual and otherwise, all of them having to do with our being together.

Sometimes it had been as simple as that. Just being with her in the most mundane situations.

And it had always been enough to calm me, even in the direst of circumstances. Being with her…

My lion roared.

It mattered little what my lion thought or wanted, however, when faced with the woman before me. A woman whose expression hardened once she’d processed the shock of seeing me standing before her.

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