Page 84 of Work It Out
Squeezing her hand, he continued toward…whatever it was without comment, because he frankly didn’t know.
The creature burst free and stood on the rocky creekbank, its small chest heaving.
A laugh burst out of Rayah, but Jake just blinked, then blinked again.
Yep. Still there.
The tiny pink and black piglet stared back at him with wide dark eyes. Someone, and Jake could guess who, had dressed the poor thing in a tiny shirt with spines attached to the back, a spiky collar, and studded anklets. Thepièce de résistance, however, was the mohawk carefully molded atop its head.
“That may be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen,” Rayah said.
Jake mock gasped but didn’t take his eyes off the animal. “I’m wounded, cupcake. I thought I was the cutest thing you’ve ever seen.”
His breath caught when a hand cupped his butt cheek. “Nope,” she murmured. “You’re the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. Nothing cute about you.”
He didn’t even try to contain his grin. She couldn’t see it anyway. Rayah was flirting with him and copping a feel in the open, and he loved it. He loved that he was the one she wanted to tease and fondle, loved that she was healing. He couldn’t be sure, of course, but he’d bet every dime he had that she’d never squeezed another guy’s ass like she wanted to take a bite.
“Not that I don’t love you objectifying me, because I really, really do,” he whispered. “But we’d better see if we can sneak up on that thing before it bolts again.”
She sighed and gave him one last pat. Shit, that was cute. “All right.” She eased forward first this time, leading him slowly toward the baby pig. Her voice was a soft lullaby as she inched nearer. “Hey, buddy. Aren’t you just the sweetest thing?” She slipped a power bar from her pocket, the wrapper crinkling. “Are you hungry?” She opened it and tore a piece off.
“Run, little dude. Those things taste like tree bark. Actually, cinnamon is tree bark, so that’s kind of an insult to bark.”
“Shush.” Rayah chuckled. “They have lots of protein.”
“That’s where the dryness and that fun aftertaste come in.”
A tiny piece of power bar landed a foot from the piglet’s hooves. It snuffled at the air, inched closer. That was when Zandar caught sight of them and tromped their way.
How did legs that stubby move so fast? That pig startled with a squeal, and it was gone. Teensy hooves skittered on the slick stones at the edges of the water. Crap. Little dude was going to hurt himself. Jake and Rayah carefully picked their way over slippery rocks. Poor pig was scared to death, its chest working even harder than before. Zandar clomped closer. The pig looked at him, then at Rayah and Jake.
“Wait.” Jake held a hand out in Zandar’s direction. “Go get a crate or a box. He’s scared, but I think we can get him. He won’t be happy, though. We’ll need something to put him in.”
Zandar looked between Jake and the piglet, torn. Finally, he turned and worked his way back toward base at a fast, noisy clip.
“What was that about?” Rayah whispered. “That thing might weigh ten pounds. Unless he’s sweating bacon grease, we should be able to manage.”
“Zandar’s over eighty, and these rocks are slippery. Plus, he’s scaring Hogrid.”
She arched one brow. “Hogrid?”
“What? I went through a Harry Potter phase, and that is one hairy little porker.”
“You’re nuts.”
“Maybe.” He winked. “But you know you love me.” The words had sounded playful and silly in his head. On his lips, in the air for her to hear, they took on more gravity than anything on Earth should pull. The heaviness only increased with every second that passed as she stared up at him, unspeaking, unmoving.
Too soon, dumbass. These kinds of feelings were tough for her, and her emotions had been put through the gauntlet today. He hadn’t meant to back her into a corner, and yet he desperately wanted to hear her say why, yes, of course she loved him.
She had that deer-in-the-headlights look down. “I—”
But he’d never know what she’d meant to say, because Hogrid chose that exact moment to step too far out in the creek. One second, he was staring warily at them. The next, he completely disappeared into the water.
“Shit.” On instinct, Jake lunged forward. His right foot went out from under him, ankle twisting, and pain radiated up his leg. Rayah tumbled to the ground with him, dragged down by their tether. He rolled enough that she landed on top of him, thank God, though he cracked his head on a rock. At the same time, he shot his free arm into the creek and grabbed the now sopping and indignant Hogrid.
They lay in a pile of tangled limbs for a long second. Hogrid wriggled, trying to break free. Rayah, sprawled all over Jake’s chest much the way she’d been that morning, stared into his eyes as she caught her breath. “Are you okay?”
Hmm, interesting question. Soft, warm, lovely parts of her were lined up perfectly with quickly hardening parts of him, but his ankle already throbbed and his head ached. Then Hogrid stuck his snout in Jake’s ear, let out an eardrum-shattering squeal, and redoubled his thrashing bid for escape.
