Read Online The Pleasures of Winter by Evie Hunter - Free Book Online
Authors: Evie Hunter
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her hand and turned to Zeke. He busied himself pulling the bra apart and using the elastic straps to reinforce the sling and immobilize Zeke’s arm.
‘Keep an eye on him,’ Jack ordered her. He picked up the knife and prepared to set off again.
‘You’re not the boss of me,’ Abbie said, but did what he told her.
That’s what you think, lady.
But he had sense enough not to say it out loud.
Abbie couldn’t believe what she had just said. She sounded about as mature as a ten-year-old. Actually, she believed the last time she had told someone they weren’t the boss of her was when she was in the fifth grade and Miffy was telling her she had to help her bake cupcakes for some fund-raising thing in her school.
Still, not for the first time, Abbie had to admit to herself that she was finding it oddly easy to let someone else take charge. Normally she was driven and focused. Apart from their engagement, which had been William’s idea, she was the one who took the initiative and made plans in their relationship. And yet here she was with no clue what was happening and, in all honesty, no pressing desire to find out. She was dirty and uncomfortable and hungry, but not worried. She had a completely irrational belief that Jack Winter knew what he was doing. Her feelings seesawed wildly between disgust with herself for not being more assertive, and a perturbed acceptance of her own compliance. When – if – they got back to civilization, she and Kit would have hours of fun analysing what it all meant. She could see now why people paid good money to go on wilderness adventures: you really did find out stuff about yourself.
They were silent as they slogged through the forest, battling the thick humid air and the heat as well as the dense undergrowth. It was taking all their effort to keep going. Jack and Kevin took turns hacking out a track andbringing up the rear and she kept an eye on Zeke, helping him when he stumbled. No one had time or breath for more than random snatches of conversation.
With no conversation to distract them, the noise of the rainforest was astonishing: the constant whir and click of insects, the squawk and flutter of birds and the occasional roar of a jaguar. The first time they heard it, everyone tensed. ‘Calm down,’ Jack said. ‘It’s a jaguar. They almost never attack humans.’ Just as they relaxed, he added, ‘You are much more likely to get killed by a snake.’
It was impossible to judge distance in the jungle. Not only did they have to clear every foot of path before they could pass through it, they had to stop and try to shelter during the frequent downpours. Abbie’s shirt dried quickly once the rain stopped, but her jeans and boots were a soggy torture.
She was also tormented by an awareness that the eyes of all three men were magnetically drawn to her chest. Now that she was braless, her breasts moved with every step she took. And of course when it rained her shirt stuck to her like a second skin and her nipples protruded. She decided to pretend it wasn’t happening. It was the only way she could deal with it.
Finally Jack called a halt. Deep beneath the canopy of the forest, it was impossible to see the position of the sun in the sky, but she could detect a slight difference in the angle of the light. He said it was four thirty so they had about an hour before sunset.
Zeke was so spaced out she had to guide him down to a sitting position before checking him over. ‘Mostly exhaustion, I think,’ she told the other two.
‘Where did you learn that?’ Jack asked.
‘Peace corps. And yes, OK, I was a candy-striper.’ She felt herself flushing.
‘What’s that?’ Kevin asked. Jack looked just as confused.
‘If you don’t know, you don’t need to know,’ she said and refused to elaborate. She just wasn’t in the mood for the Florence Nightingale jokes if she told them she had done volunteer work in hospitals during high school and college.
She sat down under a
‘Keep an eye on him,’ Jack ordered her. He picked up the knife and prepared to set off again.
‘You’re not the boss of me,’ Abbie said, but did what he told her.
That’s what you think, lady.
But he had sense enough not to say it out loud.
Abbie couldn’t believe what she had just said. She sounded about as mature as a ten-year-old. Actually, she believed the last time she had told someone they weren’t the boss of her was when she was in the fifth grade and Miffy was telling her she had to help her bake cupcakes for some fund-raising thing in her school.
Still, not for the first time, Abbie had to admit to herself that she was finding it oddly easy to let someone else take charge. Normally she was driven and focused. Apart from their engagement, which had been William’s idea, she was the one who took the initiative and made plans in their relationship. And yet here she was with no clue what was happening and, in all honesty, no pressing desire to find out. She was dirty and uncomfortable and hungry, but not worried. She had a completely irrational belief that Jack Winter knew what he was doing. Her feelings seesawed wildly between disgust with herself for not being more assertive, and a perturbed acceptance of her own compliance. When – if – they got back to civilization, she and Kit would have hours of fun analysing what it all meant. She could see now why people paid good money to go on wilderness adventures: you really did find out stuff about yourself.
They were silent as they slogged through the forest, battling the thick humid air and the heat as well as the dense undergrowth. It was taking all their effort to keep going. Jack and Kevin took turns hacking out a track andbringing up the rear and she kept an eye on Zeke, helping him when he stumbled. No one had time or breath for more than random snatches of conversation.
With no conversation to distract them, the noise of the rainforest was astonishing: the constant whir and click of insects, the squawk and flutter of birds and the occasional roar of a jaguar. The first time they heard it, everyone tensed. ‘Calm down,’ Jack said. ‘It’s a jaguar. They almost never attack humans.’ Just as they relaxed, he added, ‘You are much more likely to get killed by a snake.’
It was impossible to judge distance in the jungle. Not only did they have to clear every foot of path before they could pass through it, they had to stop and try to shelter during the frequent downpours. Abbie’s shirt dried quickly once the rain stopped, but her jeans and boots were a soggy torture.
She was also tormented by an awareness that the eyes of all three men were magnetically drawn to her chest. Now that she was braless, her breasts moved with every step she took. And of course when it rained her shirt stuck to her like a second skin and her nipples protruded. She decided to pretend it wasn’t happening. It was the only way she could deal with it.
Finally Jack called a halt. Deep beneath the canopy of the forest, it was impossible to see the position of the sun in the sky, but she could detect a slight difference in the angle of the light. He said it was four thirty so they had about an hour before sunset.
Zeke was so spaced out she had to guide him down to a sitting position before checking him over. ‘Mostly exhaustion, I think,’ she told the other two.
‘Where did you learn that?’ Jack asked.
‘Peace corps. And yes, OK, I was a candy-striper.’ She felt herself flushing.
‘What’s that?’ Kevin asked. Jack looked just as confused.
‘If you don’t know, you don’t need to know,’ she said and refused to elaborate. She just wasn’t in the mood for the Florence Nightingale jokes if she told them she had done volunteer work in hospitals during high school and college.
She sat down under a
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