Savage King: New Worlds - Milly Taiden Page 0,28

whatever he was doing on the bankside.

“Zee? Ooh,” Lilah said, “I see we’re at the pet name stage already. Y’all be shucking clothes next you know.”

That thought thrilled Wren, but she’d be damned if she’d let her cuz know that.

“Just because I shortened his name to something easier doesn’t mean it’s a pet name,” she replied. “Were you ever with someone long enough to give a pet name?”

Daphne laughed, spitting out berry juice. “She got you there, Lil.”

“Yes,” Lilah blurted. “Remember sugar buns?”

Oh my god, did she ever. The boy was riot and a perfect fit for her cousin. To his chagrin, she called him sugar buns because he had a sweet ass on him.

Lilah scooped up a handful of berries and popped them into her mouth. “These things are good. Healthy even.”

“Don’t eat them all. We should save some for tonight,” Wren said.

“What do you mean tonight?” Daphne squeaked. “We’ll be home by then, right?”

“Zee said it would be tomorrow before we got there.” She didn’t know where “there” was, but she’d told him civilization, so that meant someplace with technology.

“Well, no need to hurry then,” Lilah said, stretching her legs out.

“I still want to get as far as we can today,” Wren replied. “Grandmom will be pissed the way it is.”

The girls groaned. They knew she was right. And they’d told Grandmom that they were adults and could take care of themselves. Wrong on both those accounts.

Lilah lowered her voice, glancing at Zee. “You know you can’t keep him, right?”

Anger shot through her. “Good god, Lilah. It’s not like he’s a stray dog.” Of course, she could keep him. She wanted him. He was perfect. Then logic kicked in. He’d lived in the Brazilian jungle his whole life—all of thirty years maybe. How would he react to seeing cars or planes? Hell, people wearing clothes. He’d be in a totally different world. Would that be fair to him?

But she sensed a connection to him. Something she’d never felt with any guy. Shit. She didn’t know what to do. The familiar twinge in her stomach told her she was going down the path to another attack. Dammit. She would not be overwhelmed right now. She would figure out later what to do. Thinking of his kisses moved her from panic to panting.

When Zee called her name, she turned and saw him lean toward her, slapping drippy mud all over her shirt. “What the hell, Zee?” She stood with her arms up, not believing what he’d done. She thought he was going to clean her shirt off, not burying it. Before she could move, he patted another handful on her. Was he serious?

While he washed his hands in the creek, she got her own mud and waited for him to turn around then nailed him in the arm and chest. His eyes popped wide, disbelief in his expression. She and the others laughed like they hadn’t in a long time.

He was damn adorable when he was shocked. She’d have to figure out more things to accomplish that.

He stood calf deep in the creek with his hands on his hips, staring at the blob on his chest. He looked up, raising his brows and pointing to his chest, then at her. She froze. What did that mean? Was he going to put more mud on her? Her shirt was ruined. Why not?

Instead, he waved her closer. “Like I’m going to fall for that,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. He motioned for her to wash her shirt in the water. How was she going to do that?

“I’m not taking my shirt off in front of you.” The size of her breasts had always made her self-conscious in public. She’d only wear swimsuits that had full coverage and didn’t show much skin. Be it good or bad, she didn’t like when people gawked. Just because their own chests were flat as pancakes didn’t mean she had to put up with it.

Zee moved away from the creek, winked at her, and turned his back.

“I’ll watch him, Wren,” Lilah hollered, getting to her feet with a huge smile. “If he turns around, I’ll sock him in the balls.”

Wren caught the look he gave her cousin and broke into a laugh. Lilah was better than a dad when it came to protecting her. Especially her father, who didn’t care if she was alive or not.

Daphne got up. “I’ll help you, Wren. Don’t get mud in your hair. That will be a bitch to