“I am,” she said, realizing in the same moment that her sleeve had caught on the splintered wood of the hole.
Oh, perfect—Riley leaned back and forth, trying to create enough leverage to pull free, but the gauzy fabric just tangled worse.
Sure, why wouldn’t her strategically selected outfit turn on her too? Why shouldn’t the curse make her into even more of a spectacle?
“Don’t yank at it,” Clark scolded just as the material gave way with a violent-sounding tear.
Her stomach plummeted as she went rocking backward, her equilibrium thrown.
Riley had that terrible moment of knowing she was gonna fall right before she went down.
But instead of the cold hard floor greeting her, she tumbled backward into Clark’s arms, her body landing against his with a loud thwack.
He kept his footing, barely, stumbling back a few steps with his arms around her waist.
“Easy, now,” he said, and Riley realized she was trembling.
Must be the adrenaline.
“You’re all right.” Spinning her around, Clark patted her hair back from her face with one hand, keeping the other in place to steady her. “I’ve got you.”
“I think you were supposed to drop me,” she said weakly, once she’d regained control of her hectic breath.
“It’s too late for that now,” he said seriously, but his lips curved up. “I could have a bit of a grope, if you’d like.” He slid his palm from her waist toward her thigh. “Split the difference?”
He was trying to make her laugh, and it worked, warmth chasing away the lingering bitterness of fear.
“You can let me go now,” she said softly, not really wanting it. His hand was huge on her hip, not groping despite his words, but there. Lingering.
He was looking at her mouth, his own breath unsteady. “Can I?”
Who knew what might have happened if a great crack of thunder hadn’t startled them apart? A second later, a brilliant flash of lightning illuminated the entire room.
Uh-oh.
They both turned toward the window as rain began to smack against the glass.
“Oh, crap.” Walking back to the inn in this mess was not gonna be fun.
By the time they got outside, the low ground had already begun to flood, wide puddles gathering as streams of water ran down the muddy earth.
By the time they’d taken ten steps beyond the parapet, they were both soaked to the skin, and freezing liquid had seeped through the fake-leather soles of Riley’s boots.
More thunder clapped and a lethal-looking lightning bolt cut across the cliffside to cast a spotlight on the comically exposed path back toward the inn.
Clark raised his voice to be heard over the sounds of the storm.
“Camper on the grounds is starting to look pretty smart all of a sudden, isn’t it?”
The wind swallowed her answering profanity.
Chapter Fourteen
Riley dripped on the ridged rubber entrance mat while Clark unlaced his boots and then hurried forward, muttering about fetching towels. She toed off her own shoes beside his. The muffled sounds of the storm raging outside made the interior of the camper—warm, dry, and alarmingly intimate—feel like a hideaway reminiscent of pillow forts and tree houses.
What the hell had just happened? One minute she was torturing Clark, the next she was in his arms. That wasn’t supposed to happen. They weren’t supposed to almost kiss. Why did the curse destroy all her best-laid plans?
“Here.” Clark tossed her a beige towel, avoiding looking directly at her.
Staring down, she realized it might be because water had turned her already thin top fully translucent. Whoops.
“We’ll both need to change, I expect.” He plucked at where his soaked denim work shirt had plastered itself to his chest like it paid for the privilege. “I can get you some dry things.”
When he returned with a navy sweater and gray sweatpants, items that would hang loose on Clark and hopefully cover her curves, he looked as freaked out as Riley felt.
“I’m, uh, not sure what you’d like to do about underthings.” Clark made a valiant effort to speak to her left eyebrow. “I could—”
“I can go without,” she cut him off. The last thing she needed was to have the black briefs she’d seen in his drawer pressed against her.
“Right.” Clark looked slightly dazed. “I suppose I better leave you to it, then.” He turned. “The bathroom’s clear. Cat must have found somewhere else to camp out. I’ll be in the bedroom. With the divider closed,” he finished awkwardly.
Riley waited until he’d managed to get the flimsy plastic barrier hooked before heading into the tiny bathroom and unbuttoning her jeans.
It was surreal to be undressing within five feet of Clark, knowing he was doing the same, even if they couldn’t see each other.
The plywood door of the bathroom was thin. Could he hear the slide of her zipper? The shush of wet denim clinging as it slid down her thighs?
She had goose bumps all down her legs, no doubt from having been soaked to the skin for so long.
Moving to the sink, she did her best to squeeze the water out of her clothes before hanging them in the shower. Hopefully they’d dry enough for her to be able to wear them home when the storm let up.
Naked and shivering, she reached for the sweater Clark had given her. The interior of the camper was warmer than outside. But try telling that to her nipples.
She sighed as she pulled the soft material over her head, trying in vain to pluck at it so it wouldn’t settle too closely against her unbound breasts. Wow, it wasn’t scratchy at all. This must be a rich-person sweater. A quick peek at the label confirmed: one hundred percent cashmere.
Okay, time for the sweats. Shaking the pants out, she held them against her legs. Riley gave it fifty-fifty odds that she’d get them on without splitting the seams. Besides a penchant for curse breaking, she’d inherited Gran’s “birthing hips” and an ass to match. Carefully, she shimmied the pants up. While they stretched intensely across her thighs and stuck like cling wrap to everything else, she got them on thanks to the elastic waistband. Phew.
Another bolt of lightning cracked across the sky, making her jump.
There wasn’t room in the shower to hang her towel. She’d have to ask if there was somewhere else she could put it.
“Clark?” Riley knocked gently against the divider to his bedroom.
“Yes?”
She assumed that meant Yes, I’m fully dressed, so she pushed back the divider only to find it very much did not mean that.
She caught him in profile, and for a second the inside of her brain was just Thighs, thighs, thighs. All that taut muscle cut in harsh, heavy lines.
Riley licked her suddenly parched lips.
“Do you mind?” Clark said blandly, sounding more bemused than offended at her attention.
Oh, fuck. She covered her eyes with her hand.
“Sorry.” That’s good, Riley, get caught ogling the enemy.
There was a sound of material in motion as he resumed dressing.
Then, “All done,” he said softly.
When Riley lowered her hand, he wore a tattered rugby shirt and dry jeans, his feet bare.
“I have your towel.” She held it up as evidence.
“Thanks,” he smirked, taking it and spreading the material across the back of the chair in the corner. “Do you need anything else?”