His ears strained, and he could pick up Miranda’s soft, husky voice. “Left, Pete, left,” she was saying as she guided him past one tree and then another. “Two steps forward—I, no, two, Pete. Pete. Pete! Look out—”
He watched her cringe as her partner ran into a low-hanging branch. They seemed to be having a bit of trouble, so Dane planted the team flag in the center of camp, and then jogged over to trail behind Miranda and Pete.
“You’ve got to give me better directions than that,” Pete was complaining to Miranda, stretching his hands out.
“My directions are perfectly fine,” she argued with him. “Or they would be if you’d actually listen to them. When I tell you two steps, I mean two steps, okay?”
“Two steps,” Pete agreed. He leaned forward, his hands searching as he moved. “Is there any wood nearby at least?
Miranda thought for a moment as Pete’s hands flailed. “There’s a fallen limb about three paces to your left,” she began.
Pete immediately did a complete about face and plunged toward her. His hands landed squarely on Miranda’s br**sts.
Shit. Dane strode forward, ready to break the two of them apart. It was day one and already it was looking like he’d have a sexual harassment suit on his hands. This was bad. This was very, very bad. And judging from the startled—yet pleased—look on Pete’s face, it wasn’t entirely unintentional. That did not surprise Dane. The nerd had been gunning for sexy Miranda since she’d showed up.
He was, however, completely surprised when Miranda shoved Pete away and decked him square across the jaw.
FIVE
This was not shaping up as she’d planned.
Miranda trembled with anger as Dane stepped between her and Pete. He stretched an arm out to keep Miranda off of the fallen man, not that he needed to. She’d flattened him with one well-placed punch. Her hand throbbed like mad but that was all right—it could swell like a balloon and she wouldn’t take back the hit.
Pete had totally deserved it. He pulled off his blindfold and stared up at the two of them, his glasses askew over his eyes and his expression shocked. His hand moved up to rub his jaw. “You hit me!”
She resisted the urge to clutch her collar closed, to make sure that there was not an ounce of cle**age exposed. Instead, she forced her hands down to her sides, and they clenched there like fists. “You grabbed me,” she hissed back at him. “Don’t you ever do that again.”
“It was a mistake,” Dane said, turning to face her. He put a hand on her shoulder and shifted, blocking her sight of Pete sprawled on the ground. “Let’s calm down about this, all right?” There was a thread of concern in his voice, and his brow was furrowed as he looked down at her, as if he hadn’t quite anticipated having a woman on his team and didn’t know what to do with her. “You okay?”
She nodded, biting off any angry words. Instead, she crossed her arms over her chest protectively and stalked back to the camp flag, where they’d left their packs.
“Pete,” Dane said in that easy voice. “Why don’t you go and gather firewood on your own? I’ll talk with Miranda and make sure there’s no problem.”
“Why should there be any problems?” Pete said defensively, his long fingers swiping at the grass stuck to his shirt. “She’s the one that hit me.”
“Go on,” Dane said equally pleasantly, though Miranda doubted his tone was sincere. It sounded a little forced.
She glanced over out of the corner of her eye and watched Dane help the other man up, brushing off his clothes. They glanced over at her before Pete shrugged and headed off into the woods, leaning over to pick up a fallen branch. At that, Dane turned and began to walk back toward her.
Miranda worried at the tense set of his shoulders and the frown on his face. Shit. This wasn’t working the way she planned. Her temper had gotten away from her when that creep had touched her boobs.
This wouldn’t work. She needed to clear her head and concentrate. She wouldn’t be able to seduce Dane if she got sent home for fighting with her partner. When Dane returned, she tilted her head and offered him a half smile, her hand fluttering back to her collar protectively. “Sorry. Knee-jerk reaction.”
“You sure you’re okay?” He said, not moving from in front of her. He scratched his head, rubbing at the closely cropped hair in a gesture she remembered from high school. “Do you want to go back? I can take you to the lodge if it’s going to bother you being out here with six men. I don’t want any problems this week.”
“I’ll be fine. He just took me by surprise and I reacted.”
Dane looked skeptical.
“Look,” she said and took a step forward. The smile curved her mouth, and she forced her voice to be teasing again. “If anyone gives me any trouble, I’ll let them apologize before I hit them. I’ve only got one good hand left.” She tried to put her hand on his chest, bridge the space between them.
He stopped her, catching her hand in his, and examined her knuckles. His fingertips brushed over them and he pulled her hand close to his face. “Did you hurt yourself?”
She watched him curiously, her gaze focused on her hand in his. She could feel the rough callus of his hands against hers, and she had to admit that it sent a tingle through her. “I’m all right. I took a self-defense class in college. I know how to punch a creep without hurting myself.”
Dane glanced up at her and gave her a wry smile, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb. “Can you refrain unless it’s absolutely necessary? That creep paid the same two grand you did for the survival trip. And if he needs to be hit again, I might have to be the one to do it.”
She laughed, and then was horrified at the giggle that escaped her throat. Evil Miranda never giggled. She should have given a sultry chuckle instead. But it made Dane smile, and so she moved forward to lay her hand on his chest again, giving him a very interested look. “Want to kiss my boo-boos and make them better?”
He released her hand as if he’d been burned, turning to the campsite. “We need to start building the fire. Bring over some of that wood, will you?”
Miranda resisted the urge to put her hands on her hips, frustrated at his skittishness. “Fine,” she said, careful to hide the annoyance she felt. She 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.