Page 85 of Ice Princess

He leans in, his blue eyes scorching. He whispers over my lips. “Do you want it?”

“Want…” I sway forward slightly. “Want what?”

“My sandwich?” He looks down at my hands and I do too, realizing that I’m gripping his sandwich so hard, I punctured the plastic wrapping over it and I’m squeezing out all the tuna.

I release the sandwiches and they almost tumble to the ground. Gunner and his quick reflexes snatch them out of the air instead.

“P-put a shirt on,” I snap, averting my gaze and preparing to stomp away.

But Gunner grabs my hand and tugs me toward him.

I stumble into his firm chest, gasping as the sweat and water on his skin seeps into mine. Heat engulfs me like I stepped into an erupting volcano.

“What are you doing?” I squirm. “Let me go.”

“I can’t.”

I freeze. My eyes flit to his.

Gunner slides his fingers down the curve of my cheek. “I can’t let you go, Rebel.”

CHAPTER

TWENTY-SIX

GUNNER

I could easily leandown and kiss Rebel.

Right here. Right now.

And a part of me thinks she’d want that too.

But I stand firm, refusing to slam my lips on hers despite the tension pulling us forward.

There’s a thin line between hate and love and I don’t want Rebel to be confused about which side of the line she’s standing on.

If I thought taking her sweet lips between mine could convince her to give me a chance, I would. But I’m too realistic to let myself get carried away.

Kissing her in the car hadn’t fixed anything or brought any sort of understanding between us. In fact, directly after the kiss, everything fell apart.

So for now, I just hold her.

Rebel’s hair is coming loose out of her ponytail and the strand I just tucked behind her ear comes free again, dancing in the wind. How is it that she smells so good in this heat? How is it that she stilllooksso good?

I’ve been keeping an eye on her all day. She never sat down, not even for a second. She’s been driving up and down, carrying tools, transporting people, and coordinating with different groups.

Through it all, she kept her bright smile, met the most frustrating of challenges with grace, and made it all seem easy.

“Are you tired?” I ask.

Her eyelids flutter.

I push the stubborn blonde strand behind her ear again. “Haveyoueaten?”

Her vibrant blue eyes widen in surprise. My gaze searches hers, soaking in every fleck of green and gold trapped in the pools of blue.

She’s truly,trulymagnificent to look at. It’s unfortunate that that’s where most people stop. If they inched a little closer, they’d see how brilliant, selfless, and capable she is too.

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