Read Online The Girl's Guide to (Man)Hunting by Jessica Clare - Free Book Online Page B

had Dane alone for a few precious minutes, and she needed to capitalize on it. She glanced over at him as he crouched near the spot he’d selected for the fire, tossing a few rocks out of the area. Her gaze slid to his ass, tight in his shorts.
    And she got an idea. Moving to the firewood, Miranda bent at the knees and crouched in a way that would make her shorts ride low and expose her black lace thong and the pale expanse of skin it drew across. She glanced over her shoulder, but Dane was facing the other direction. Dammit. She turned and looked at the biggest log—no more than the size of her arm around. She could pick that up no problem, but doing so wouldn’t serve her purposes. So she feigned a deep sigh. “I think this one is too heavy. What do you think?”
    She glanced over her shoulder again to see if he was looking at her.
    This time, he was. He turned and she saw his expression change from exasperation at her weakness to…something else. His gaze slid down to her skimpy black thong, evident over thelow waist of her shorts, and she resisted the urge to stand up and cover her backside and then clutch at her neckline.
    Evil Miranda would
not
approve of covering up.
    He seemed to swallow hard. “Are you wearing a thong?”
    “What, this old thing?” she drawled, and gave her hips a little wiggle that caused her to wobble slightly on her feet. “Of course.” As if she never left her house in anything but Victoria’s Secret’s tawdriest.
    He moved closer to her, his gaze still on the expanse of flesh she was exposing. “You do realize that’s not exactly camping appropriate?”
    She shrugged and tossed her long hair over her shoulder, watching as his gaze flicked to it, then back down to her thong. “It’s a little tight against my skin,” she admitted in a coy, secretive voice. “I don’t suppose you could…help me with it?”
    Even that was a little forward. Very Evil Miranda. Good Miranda would have been totally mortified.
    But Dane moved down next to her, his voice low and husky in her ear as he spoke. “Sure thing.”
    She arched her back and closed her eyes, anticipating his touch.
    His hand grasped the back of her panties roughly, and her eyes flew open at the uncomfortable wedgie. Before she could protest, he pulled the thong away from her skin. She heard the click of his knife, and then the chopping hiss as he sliced through the fabric.
    Dane let go of her and she fell forward, the fabric loose between her legs. Her hand flew to her bottom and sure enough, he’d cut the thong square up the backside. The crotch of it dangled against her leg. She gasped. “What did you just do?”
    “We’re on a survival trip, Miranda.” The look in his cool green eyes was no-nonsense. “First rule of survival is to be as comfortable as you can, and you should remember that.” He stood and turned away, then extended a hand toward her. “Or wasn’t that what you had in mind when you asked me to help you with them?”
    His eyes were knowing as they looked at her, glimmering with amusement. Dane knew her game and he wasn’t going to make it easy for her.
    She glared at him.
    He gestured at the wood behind her. “Hand me one of the lighter logs, would you?”
    “I can’t believe you just cut my panties!”
    “Probably a good thing you packed a whole bag of them, then, eh?”
    Forget revenge and ruining his life. She was going to kill him before the week was out. Forcing a tight smile to her face, she slapped a piece of wood into his hand. “Good thing,” she echoed sourly. “I’d hate to have to go without.”
    His laugh strangled off and he gave her an intense look, and then stomped away.
    Evil Miranda two; Dane Croft zero.
    Miranda was going to be the death of him this week.
    Dane couldn’t get the sight of her thong out of his mind. He tried not to think about her panties when the others returned with enough wood for the evening. He tried not to think about it when he cut a few longer