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“An excellent catch,” he said with a big grin.

Damn he was handsome when he smiled. Handsome when he stood this close to me wearing nothing but a damp loincloth that outlined everything. He was big all over. A single step, just a few inches, and my body could press into his slick skin, heat meeting heat.

I huffed out a breath, trying to bring my brain back into focus, but breathing did nothing to stop the ache expanding in my chest or the quiet, desperate wish that things were different between us.

The thought of… Well, I shouldn't be daydreaming about doing anything like that with Ruugar.

But a grin like that could send a girl straight to her knees. Heat crawled across my skin. I wanted to bottle up his smile and hoard it. If only he’d smile like that for me all the time, not because I’d done something useful, not because I’d surprised him. Because he wanted to.

If I had a choice, I couldn't pick anyone I'd rather share my first time with than this male standing so close to me I could almost taste him.

Couldn't do that, either.

Ruugar held my gaze, his dark eyes unreadable. I forced myself not to get my hopes up too much, not to let my heart get any wild ideas, but something in his expression made it nearly impossible to draw in a breath.

He grunted and turned away. “We need more fish for dinner.”

Ah, yes. Right.

I swallowed hard, making the lump in my throat go down. He was an honorable male, looking out for a human who’d been thrust into his life. It would be unwise for me to believe, even for a second, that he might see me any other way.

I forced a smile, pretending like the ground hadn’t shifted under my feet, like my heart hadn’t scrambled to protect itself from a fall it hadn’t been ready for.

He plucked my catch from the spear, tossing it onto the bank near the one he'd caught earlier. Nodding, I gripped my spear tighter, pretending my heart wasn’t bleeding.

More fish. Dinner. Focus on the task, not the hot orc standing too near.

Scanning the riverbed, I searched for movement. Cool water swirled around my legs as I stepped carefully over the stones.

“There.” Ruugar pointed a little ahead where a big rock lay on the bottom. The shadow of a fish floated nearby.

“I got it.” I tried to sound sure. Maybe my first catch had been luck and his heavy assistance, but I could prove it wasn’t.

I stepped forward and the rock beneath my foot wobbled. My balance tilted, my arms flailing as I tried to catch myself.

Ruugar's hand snapped out, latching onto my arm, but his foot hit something, and the world spun.

We toppled, landing in the water with a big splash.

For one stunned moment, I couldn’t process anything past the cold overwhelming me. A blink, and I realized I’d landed half sprawled across Ruugar’s chest, his arms firm around my back.

We both sputtered, coughing water. My hat had miraculously remained on my head, and I prayed the tight braid I'd pinned to the top hadn't slipped its binding to dangle down my back. I was barely pushing the boy thing as it was. One misstep and no one would continue to believe I was Ben.

My laugh burst out. “So much for the fish. I bet we scared them away.”

Ruugar didn’t move at all. I could feel every breath hetook. His arms still held me enough to keep me from slipping into the shin-high water. The warmth of his skin seeped into me, winding itself around my heart.

If I stared at his lips, would he notice? If I tilted forward the slightest bit, would he?—

No. No, I couldn’t let myself do anything like that. Could I?

His face was so close. His eyes were warmer than they had any right to be, and they were locked on mine.

My pulse was pounding its way straight up my throat, and that nudged my laughter to the side. The air between us crackled, heavy with something I couldn’t name.

Was he feeling the same thing as me?

“You’re not hurt?” His voice came out rough, deeper than usual, though this guy had perfected deepness.