Page 61 of Storm of Fury
And she’d never regretted her path in life so much.
“You have pensive eyes,” he told her, scrubbing soap through his hair. Lather dripped down his forearms and elbows, splattering across his chest. “I never know what you’re thinking.”
“I always know what you’re thinking.”Always. And it was the one thing that allowed her to let her shields drop around him. She’d never let another man in, but she knew, in some instinctive part of her soul that Tormund would never break her heart.
No. She’d be the one to ruin him.
“Are you saying I’m a man with few depths?”
“No.” She bit her lip. “You speak your mind. You don’t hesitate to reply to a single question. You simply… are. I’ve never encountered a man like you before.”
He winked and then sank under the water, washing the soap out. Flipping his hair back, he surged out of the water, preening all the while. “I did warn you. There are no men like me.”
They circled each other.
Bryn swallowed. If it had merely been attraction, she would have crept into his blankets days ago. But she couldn’t help wishing that she didn’t have to betray him.
“And what do you think I am thinking?” he asked, raking his wet hair back off his face. The movement flexed the muscles in his biceps, drawing her eyes to the tanned skin there.
“That I should be admiring your arms,” she whispered. “And no doubt every other inch of you.”
His eyes widened. “God’s gift. Youdoknow what I’m thinking.”
She splashed him in the face as he swam closer. “Do you know what I’m thinking?”
“That Tormund is the most marvelous specimen of man known to this mortal plane, and that you desperately want him to kiss you.”
Maybe. But she swallowed hard. “No.”
“That you are dirty and you want him to wash your back?” He held the soap up.
“I can wash my own back. And I don’t think you’ll stop with my back if I let you start there.”
Tormund shrugged. “It’s not my fault if you start begging me for more. These hands are known to work magic, woman.”
“I don’t beg anyone. Wrong, again.”
Tormund looked her in the eye. “That you’re here for your own purposes and you’re finding it increasingly hard to keep your distance because you like me far too much.”
It was astounding how close he came to the truth. Bryn froze, her heart skipping a beat and then rushing back in to fill the void.
And he smiled. “Ah. It only took me three guesses. I’ll get better once you let me in.”
“You assume I’m going to let you in.”
He drifted closer, until they were but inches apart. “Your shield arm is strong, Bryn. But it’s weakening. You did teach me a few things when we were sparring.”
She sucked in another breath, unnerved by how clearly he was starting to see her. But fleeing wasn’t in her nature. “As soon as I have what I want, I’m leaving, Tormund. I’m not here for a flirtation.”
“No, you’re here for coin.” His hands brushed against hers in the water. Accidentally, she thought, when his eyes widened. “’Tis strange how you haven’t yet demanded your coin from Marduk.”
“We’ve been busy trying not to die.”
“He doesn’t recognize you,” he said. “I was wondering if he would.”
“My involvement with him was through a proxy.”
“Mmm. Who?”
