Page 9 of Wild Card

“You can follow along if you want to do some energy-boosting poses.”

“That’s okay. I suspect I’d injure myself if I tried to do that.”

She chuckles and carries on, breathing deeply, moving between yoga poses I recognize but couldn’t name.

I watch her without shame. Her body moves with effortless grace, every curve on display. I force myself not to leer, shifting my attention instead to her fingers splayed on the floor, the way her bright hair falls in soft waves when she drops her head. The smell of her shampoo when it hits me—rosemary and mint.

She’s borderline hypnotic. Flexible and feminine. And there’s something incredibly bold about her doing this right here and now, beside a man she barely knows.

She doesn’t give a fuck what I think. Nor should she.

And I admire that about her.

This night has been one surprise after another. I don’t know how I got here, but it almost feels like I’m having fun.

Stuck in an airport.

With a fucking stranger.

And what a stranger she is. I’m not usually taken with new people I meet. I usually have my guard up, reinforced and sky-high. Rock and ice.

But Gwen has blasted right through.

Eventually she stops, her shoulders held tall but soft. Then her lashes flutter open, and those unusual irises focus on me.

“Were you watching me the whole time?”

I feel my cheeks flush, but what’s the point in denying it? She could probably tell anyway.

“Yes.”

She searches my face before tilting her head. “And?”

I swallow, mind racing with all the different ways I could answer that question. Commenting on how fucking incredible her ass looked when she was on all fours is definitely creepy and off the table, so I shrug and tell her something else that’s true. “I knew you’d be good at your job. The snowflake thing almost worked.”

She brightens, like a ray of sunshine in the middle of a dark winter night. Her entire body lifts with the simple compliment, and she clasps her hands together in front of her chest. “Yeah?”

I give her a firm, reassuring nod, wanting to leave no doubt in her mind as to the sincerity of my comment. “Absolutely.”

Her face breaks into the most heartrending smile.

And all it does is make me want to pay her more compliments.

CHAPTER FOUR

GWEN

It’s eerily quiet in the airport, the lights dimmed to a soft glow. We’ve walked the entire terminal, read every placard detailing the area’s history, and admired every photo of Vancouver from over a century ago. Now, we’ve come across a special, limited-time display of tiny Disney figurines.

“Oh, look at this Minnie Mouse!” I point at the glass. “She’s doing yoga.”

Bash comes close, his thick shoulder brushing against mine as he bends at the hips to inspect the one I’m referring to. The unexpected contact makes my heart skip a beat.

“I think she’s just sitting cross-legged.”

The low gravel of his voice doesn’t help my heart rate either, and I realize that, for being an absolute stranger, I like him far more than I have any right to.

“No, she’s in Seated Pose or Easy Pose,” I say with a roll of my eyes, even though I’m amused. His surliness doesn’t put me off. Strangely, it charms me. “Like we just were.”