Something Wilder by Christina Lauren

Author:Christina Lauren
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gallery Books
Published: 2022-05-17T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

THE RAIN WAS there and gone again just as quickly, but when Lily climbed out of her tent the next morning, everything was a mess—herself included. The fire was out, her boots were wet, and she’d kissed Leo. Hungrily. Aggressively. Unabashedly.

And she was dreading seeing him today.

Slipping into a pair of dry boots, she surveyed the damage around camp. The dirt was baked hard by the sun and unable to readily absorb much rain. They’d pitched the tents on high enough ground that the bulk of the water had run off and collected in slippery depressions or rushed to lower elevations, but their gear was wet, and nearly everything was slick with red mud. A morning that was supposed to be quick and orderly would be twice as much work.

The sky brightened behind the giant hoodoos, the gentle pinks and golds a bashful apology for last night’s unexpected downpour. Lily got the fire going again and set her boots as close to the flames as she dared, draping her clothes over the branches of a gnarly juniper to dry. She was starting the coffee when she heard the muted footsteps of someone walking through mud.

Lily assumed she’d see Leo first that morning. Hell, she wouldn’t have been surprised to find him waiting outside her tent for an explanation. God knew he deserved one. Thankfully, it was only Nicole.

“Well, well,” Nic said, running a hand through her wild blond curls. “Half expected to hear Leo’s tent collapsing last night.”

The image sent a jolt of awareness straight through her, pinging parts of her body that ached to be touched. She could have gone to Leo’s tent. She’d definitely wanted to. He would have let her in, too. Lily knew he would have said or done whatever she asked. He always had.

“Thanks for pitching mine,” she told her. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“Oh, I know what you were thinking.” Nicole swung a leg over a wide rock and sat facing her. “And normally I’d tell you to get yours and ride that boy like a bronco, but I thought we were focusing on this.” She pointed out to the canyons and the wild, coiling landscape that would undoubtedly need all their attention over the next two days.

Lily carefully measured coffee grounds, avoiding Nic’s eyes. Nicole was risking just as much as Lily was. They would both be liable if something went wrong. Leo was a distraction they didn’t need. “We’re doing this,” Lily assured her. “I didn’t have my head on straight last night, that’s all. It would never work between us anyway.”

“I don’t know about that.” Nicole tilted her head. “Anyone who says money can’t solve problems has always had money.” She lifted the pot of boiling water and poured it slowly over the grounds. “We find this treasure, and your whole outlook’ll change. Hell, maybe I’ll buy out the property next to the ranch. Imagine the spread!”

Lily liked this plan, a lot. Too much to look at it directly.

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