Page 93 of The Hero Within
But it was her own damn fault.
"I hate being weak."
"It's not weak," he pointed out. "It's playing to your strengths. I'm sure when we get to the lab, you're going to be thinking circles around me. I'll just be there to lift heavy things and shoot people."
She couldn't help laughing, and it cut through the tension between them. Shattered it. "You're a little handier than that."
Johnny's mouth softened as if he could sense the olive branch she was extending.
"I also give great oral," he said, waggling his eyebrows up and down, and Eden lost it.
"True."
He offered her his water flask, and she tipped it to her lips and drank thirstily. Climbing the escarpment had knocked the wind out of her sails. Everything ached, from her calves to the tips of her ears. Mostly her calves.
All the tension from the morning had vanished. She didn't have the energy to fight with him.
And truth be told, he'd promised to shelve any future discussions, and simply reverted to his flirtatious, devil-may-care self.
She could pretend too.
"So I know the no-touching law is fully in place, but.... I could help ease some of your aches and pains."
"What do you have in mind?" she asked warily.
Hands softened on her shoulders, and Johnny rubbed the spot just above her shoulder blades. Eden groaned as he worked tense muscles. "I think I'm going to melt if you keep doing that."
"Maybe I should save these magic hands for later?" he teased.
"If you just hit on me, I should warn you I don't have the strength to even reciprocate in the near future." All that sleek, sexy muscle would be wasted on her tonight.
Possibly tomorrow too.
"Besides," she muttered, "that's against the rules."
"I'm already breaking one."
"I'm pretty sure you're planning on breaking more than one."
"Only a rub-down, Eden." He leaned closer, his voice softening. "I'm not interested injustsex. Maybe it's my turn to say, if you want more then you have to give more."
There were a thousand complications in that sentence. She looked at him helplessly.
Could she trust him?
"Don't overthink it," he said, no doubt reading her like a book.
"You have met me."
"Yes." He grinned. "Kind of think I'm getting to know you intimately by now."
She blushed. And that was weird too, because she felt a little bit like a girl with a crush.
What was happening to her?
"Can I ask you a question?" she blurted.
"Yeah."
