Pressing a hand to her chest to calm her racing heart, she took a deep breath. How ridiculous. She was here to talk about their daughter, to work with him on a plan that would keep Gracie happy. She wasn’t here on her own behalf. There was no reason for the butterflies to congregate in her stomach.
Still, her fingers trembled as she formed a fist and knocked. The door opened so suddenly, she took a startled step back. He didn’t look surprised to see her standing there. He must have known she was coming.
His green eyes locked on her loose hair and started to glitter. The butterflies in her belly fluttered harder.
“Did Wolf tell you I was looking for you?” she asked, which made sense. It was bad form to give out people’s room numbers without permission.
“Yeah, he knew I was planning on showering after our PT session.”
For the first time, she noticed his wet hair. She slipped past him as he opened the door wider and stepped to the side.
“You and Wolf are workout buddies now? He trusts you not to drop a dumbbell on his head?” Wow, talk about an earth-shaking change.
In the past, the two would have used the weights to beat each other to a pulp. She’d known the two men had tabled their high school feud to work together. The apocalypse certainly made strange bedfellows. But working together, without killing each other, was a far cry from hanging out.
“As of recently, yes.” He closed the door and followed her deeper into the room. “With hisCaetaneesidelined and hisjavaanee…distracted... there are few available to spot him.”
He made it sound like Wolf had no choice but to call on O’Neill, regardless of how much he hated doing so. Muriel scoffed. “Doesn’t he have an entire base of warriors at his disposal? Why chose you unless he wants you by his side?”
He shrugged, crossing his arms and rocking back on his heels. “There are few warriors on base who can match Wolf’s strength. A spotter who cannot manage the required weight is a danger to himself and the one lifting.”
Which meant what? That O’Neill was as strong as Wolf? It wouldn’t surprise her. The two men looked evenly matched, as they had in high school.
Before her brain thought better of it, her gaze dropped to his shoulders. Even beneath his plain blue t-shirt, she could seethe width and strength of his upper torso and arms. Muscles stretched the fabric tight. A tingle erupted in her belly. Her gaze skimmed down further. An impressive breadth of chest met her eyes.Oh my…She could swear the muscles of his arms and shoulders inflated beneath her scrutiny.
She glanced up. A hungry glitter had lit his grass green eyes to emerald. There was no doubt her interest had caught his. The flame in her belly billowed into her chest and caught her blood on fire.
Her libido wasn’t as withered as she’d thought.
“I’m assuming you didn’t come for sex?” he asked dryly.
The question snapped her eyes back up. Her face heated. Good goddess, she was blushing. She tried to shake the embarrassment off. Of course she responded to him. He looked like a Greek god. There was nothing wrong with appreciating what stood before her. The little pep talk reduced some of the heat in her face.
It helped that the attraction was clearly reciprocated. The heat in his eyes broadcast that. Besides, she suspected his blunt question was an attempt to bring their combined lust to heel, rather than shame her.
Not that she was going to let a normal, healthy reaction to his superb physique shame her.
“You assumed correct.” She smirked, wrestling her libido back into its cage. “But then you had to go and show off all those muscles you’ve acquired over the years.” Still smirking, she strolled further into the room, putting distance between them.
“In that case.” The electric glitter subsided in his eyes. Poker-faced, he brought his arms up and flexed his muscles like he was in a body builder competition.
The pose was so unexpected, it gutted the last of her embarrassment.
“If you had less clothes on and applied some oil to those muscles, you’d give those beefcakes a run for their money.” Which they both knew was untrue. Sure, his body was muscled, but the muscles were honed by necessity and meant for strength and endurance, not showmanship.
He dropped his arms. Although his eyes followed her, his legs didn’t, and his face shifted to a neutral expression. One that was becoming increasingly familiar.
“You didn’t bring Gracie?”
Muriel faced him, forcing her eyes to behave, even though they wanted to wander. “I came to find what you learned from Wolf. Before we talk to Gracie, we should frame his...decision...carefully. If the news is something she doesn’t want to hear—” She broke off with a wry shake of her head.
Gracie was so set on learning the warrior ways, her response, if Wolf denied her the training she craved, would be...strong.
With a frown, O’Neill headed toward the kitchen counter, where a carafe of water was sitting next to the coffee pot. Three days ago, when he’d brought her here, there was a layer of dust over the machine, indicating he didn’t make the beverage for himself very often. Was he making it for her?
“Wolf has not yet discovered what the elder gods expect from Gracie.” His voice tired, he poured the water into the machine’s dispenser and hit the start button. Turning, he leaned a hip against the counter and scrubbed both hands down his face. After they dropped, his gaze found hers. “You have heard that Benioko walks Aiden’s dreams, yes?” He waited for Muriel’s nod before continuing. “Wolf has asked hisjavaaneeto speak with Benioko about this matter.” A frown settled over his face. “Whether Aiden will do the asking, as Wolf requested, is...uncertain. He does not believe in theTabenetha. To him such questions are unnecessary.”
“But surely, if theTaounahais walking Aiden’s dreams, he would ask the questions Wolf requests.”
