07-01-2020, 07:31 PM
Not much could incite her to the temptation given their current surroundings, let alone considering their destination. Except maybe the way he licked the water from his lips, completely oblivious to the flame it kindled in her. The memory of the swarming ants was not so far removed, and the jungle’s night noises offered no sanctuary. Still, the reckless urge flared for longer than it probably ought, and was entertained with more seriousness than was probably sane.
The trek continued, until the property they’d viewed on the surveillance screens was finally within reach. She absorbed Jay’s instructions without expression, though the thought of crawling under the decking and incinerating nasties did not fill her with enthusiasm. It was the climb from the access point that concerned her though.
“No,” she agreed. “Definitely not the way you should lose them.” A finger tugged coy at a belt loop, and she moved on fearless to the next task. Inside her thoughts lingered for a moment on what waited after, the knot in her stomach still tight and tangled. The power smoothed some of her trepidation, and the armour of certainty might make it true. Though truthfully, she imagined this would be the easy bit.
Darkness swallowed them beneath the concrete pilings. For a moment the scuttling sense of it reminded her with some surprised alarm of the tunnels beneath Moscow, and the sheen of her skin burned cold. She forced steady breaths, and the feeling passed by the time her eyes adjusted. The flicker of something against her fingers yanked her hand back, though she lost whatever it had been soon after, and though he warned her to watch for snakes and spiders she mostly concentrated only on where she was putting her hands. Some relief met their eventual approach to the service hatch, at least for a moment. Heat drenched her almost nauseous, and as her eyes absorbed the way the innards of the plumbing stretched up she realised there was no way she was going to be able to climb that.
Pale eyes found Jay, fully expecting to discover him grinning for the challenge. A brow rose, almost a dare, though she didn’t doubt him. It wasn’t like she hadn’t been watching him shirtless halfway through the jungle, nor was she ignorant of exactly how that body felt. It was her own ascent she doubted, though she might have at least attempted it alone on principle of pride had it not meant testing her shoulder.
She watched him climb, not even sure how he found those handholds, and waited for him to reach down. He made it seem effortless. The burn flared hot when the jacket scraped against it, but if it pinched pain into her expression there was little other sign of it, though its echoes shivered persistently through her for a while after. Jay would be used to the stillness of her expression though. Despite herself she smirked when she was finally up, rolling an unshy gaze over him before her attention adjusted to their new surroundings.
The trek continued, until the property they’d viewed on the surveillance screens was finally within reach. She absorbed Jay’s instructions without expression, though the thought of crawling under the decking and incinerating nasties did not fill her with enthusiasm. It was the climb from the access point that concerned her though.
“No,” she agreed. “Definitely not the way you should lose them.” A finger tugged coy at a belt loop, and she moved on fearless to the next task. Inside her thoughts lingered for a moment on what waited after, the knot in her stomach still tight and tangled. The power smoothed some of her trepidation, and the armour of certainty might make it true. Though truthfully, she imagined this would be the easy bit.
Darkness swallowed them beneath the concrete pilings. For a moment the scuttling sense of it reminded her with some surprised alarm of the tunnels beneath Moscow, and the sheen of her skin burned cold. She forced steady breaths, and the feeling passed by the time her eyes adjusted. The flicker of something against her fingers yanked her hand back, though she lost whatever it had been soon after, and though he warned her to watch for snakes and spiders she mostly concentrated only on where she was putting her hands. Some relief met their eventual approach to the service hatch, at least for a moment. Heat drenched her almost nauseous, and as her eyes absorbed the way the innards of the plumbing stretched up she realised there was no way she was going to be able to climb that.
Pale eyes found Jay, fully expecting to discover him grinning for the challenge. A brow rose, almost a dare, though she didn’t doubt him. It wasn’t like she hadn’t been watching him shirtless halfway through the jungle, nor was she ignorant of exactly how that body felt. It was her own ascent she doubted, though she might have at least attempted it alone on principle of pride had it not meant testing her shoulder.
She watched him climb, not even sure how he found those handholds, and waited for him to reach down. He made it seem effortless. The burn flared hot when the jacket scraped against it, but if it pinched pain into her expression there was little other sign of it, though its echoes shivered persistently through her for a while after. Jay would be used to the stillness of her expression though. Despite herself she smirked when she was finally up, rolling an unshy gaze over him before her attention adjusted to their new surroundings.