Chapter 94. Wounds That Linger

Grant accepted the garment from me and dropped to one knee on the damp forest floor, holding it open before me like a makeshift changing room. My cheeks heated at the notion of being dressed so tenderly, as though I were some young pup he was caring for instead of his equal. I fought the impulse to shrink away, but managed to step forward and slip one leg, then the other, into the shorts he’d handed me. The fabric skimmed my skin, unfamiliar yet strangely comforting, and I shivered as he pulled them up past my hips.

He bent to secure the zipper, but before he could fasten it, I took a hesitant half-step away, slipping my hand over the metal slider. I tugged it up in one swift motion and snapped the button closed. “Thanks,” I murmured, looking anywhere but at him. “I’ve got it.”

My gaze dropped to the leaf-strewn ground, and I swallowed hard as the compulsion rippled through me again, tightening