Page 59 of (Mostly) Human Resources

Thunder sounded again, much closer than before, and Alexys silently cursed it.

Her shit luck had to run out at some point, right?

Wrong.

They barely made it ten feet before the rain started to fall.

At first it was a drizzle, a light smattering of rain they could ignore as they walked. But the thunder rumbled overhead, the rain grew heavier, and they were soon soaked and rushing for cover.

They tried to take shelter under the trees, but the rain was falling in sheets, easily breaking through the dense canopy. They were both drenched in a matter of moments.

“Perfect!” Alexys cried over the sound. “Now what?” Nic scanned the trees with his flashlight, and he used it to cast light around them.

“Look, over there.” He pointed. She followed his light and his gaze. They ran between the trees and into what appeared to be a small cave carved into the side of the dark mountain.

Alexys was too grateful for the shelter to protest. She darted inside and relished being out of the rain and away from the Black Dogs lurking in the trees.

Nic held up the dripping map he’d been using when the rain started and watched a section of the soaked paper pull free and splat to the ground. “Brilliant.”

She sighed and pushed her dripping hair out of her face, trying not to snap at him for having the map out in the first place. He grumbled to himself about the map, stomping off into the cave.

Alexys ignored him, charging past and deeper into the cave. It was cold, the kind of cold that ignores your clothing and seeps into your skin to leave goosebumps in its wake. She walked toward the center of the cavernous space and marveled at how large it was, deceptively so with the dome-shaped ceiling and light-swallowing darkness further inside. It smelled like damp earth and clean stone, and the shift from forest to the cave was startling.

She shivered.

“I suppose we should make a fire.” Nic rummaged around in his bag and managed to produce a lighter.

“Alright, boy scout.” Alexys returned to his side, a teasing grin on her lips. “Show me your skills.”

“Duke of Edinburgh,” Nic grumbled to himself.

She would have continued to make fun of him, but his skills were swiftly made apparent. Nic collected dry sticks from inside theshelter and built a decent looking fire near the cave’s opening, allowing the smoke to filter out instead of choking them. She murmured a thanks and watched him rummage for more goods in his pack.

Alexys would’ve been lying to herself if she said it was his skills that she was observing so keenly. In truth, white shirts should be illegal,especiallywhen wet.

His t-shirt clung to his shoulders and back in a way that was outrageously enticing. When he knelt down to light the fire and the fabric pulled across his back, her mouth went dry. She panicked and turned away.

That wasNic.

She nearly palmed her forehead. Maybe all the trekking had actually reduced oxygen flowing to her brain. What else could possibly explain this strange, inexplicable …attraction.

Nope.

No way.

Not her pain in the ass coworker and unwanted travel companion. No way was she thinking about how delicious he looked in a wet t-shirt. Sure, he was objectively attractive, but she’d neverthirstedafter the man.

Without permission, she pivoted and her traitorous eyes drifted back over to Nic. She was horrified to find him looking at her—looking quite pleased with himself. He crossed his arms over his chest which did terribly wonderful things to his biceps. Nic’s smugness did little to temper the attraction. If anything, it somehow made it worse.

Dear God, was hisconfidenceattractive, too?

She was dying! There was something toxic in the rain, and it was killing her! She needed to get out of the woods before she did something insane like tell Nic she thought he was hot. She could have laughed, or screamed, or cried. Or all three.

She cleared her throat and skirted around Nic, too nervous to say anything to him, and crouched down beside the fire he’d built.She held her hands out as the chill she’d been battling started to recede.

“Leave it to the hermit to be a survival expert,” she teased, but she did actually want to compliment him for being useful.

Close enough.