“There’s more water in the ice chest.” He whisked his belt through the loops and dropped it on the table.
“Thanks.” Good God, she could see some of his underwear. She rammed a few chips into her mouth. “Why do you have people food here?”
He kicked off his shoes. “I stole them from Zoltan’s castle in Transylvania.”
“Oh.” She grabbed another chip. Red underwear. Dark red. “So do you entertain here often?”
He shot her an annoyed look, then pulled off his socks. “You’re the only other person who’s seen this place.”
“Ah.” Cotton underwear. Snug fit. Snug enough she could see the distinct outline of a rather large—
“Noodles?”
She jumped. “What?”
“Do you like noodles?” He set a tublike container on the table in front of her. “You could make this for dinner.” He motioned to the bookcase. “Use the bowl there to heat up some water. Do you know how to use a microwave?”
“Yes.” Her face grew warm. Had he noticed her looking at his underwear? Surely not. She’d been fairly stealthy about it. “The palace in Tiger Town has electricity, and the kitchen is fairly modern.”
“Good. You can also heat up some river water if you want a hot bath. I usually prefer a warm shower, but . . .”
Her eyes widened as he moved closer to her. Don’t look down. “What?”
“What color is my underwear?”
“Re— I hardly noticed.”
“In that case”—the corner of his mouth curled up—“I’ll be taking a cold shower.”
Her mouth dropped open. Oh God, he’d noticed.
He grabbed an empty bucket and headed toward the underground stream.
Her cheeks blazed with heat as she nervously organized all the stuff on the crowded table. A cold shower? Did that mean he had a desire for her? The very idea made her heart race.
This was bad. Really bad. She would never have insisted on living with him if she’d suspected this. Vampires and were-tigers didn’t get involved. They were enemies, not . . . lovers. She’d been shocked enough to realize her own attraction, but now the problem was twice as bad.
Or maybe not. She slid a quick glance at him. He was levitating to fill the bucket suspended over the tub with water. Cold water meant he was fighting the attraction. It also explained why he pushed her away so often. Although he occasionally slipped up and kissed her.
She shook her head. There was no point in panicking over this. She could be misinterpreting the situation. Maybe he wasn’t attracted to her at all but was simply trying to frighten her into returning to Tiger Town. She glanced at him once again and gulped. His trousers had fallen to his ankles, and he kicked them aside.
With a flurry of activity, she neatly stacked his discarded T-shirt, belt, watch, and sword belt on his coat on the second table. Then she arranged his weapons and ammo next to his coat. On the other end of the table, she set her knives and her backpack. All the while, she could hear sloshing noises from the far end of the cave.
Don’t look. She filled the plastic bowl with some of her bottled water, then stuck it in the microwave. While it heated, she studied the instructions on the tub of instant noodles. It looked like Japanese and English, neither of which she could read.
“How much—” She glanced his way and gasped. He was standing naked in the bathtub with his back to her while he soaped up his body. Rivulets of soapy water meandered down his broad back, dipping into the curve of his spine and sliding over a gorgeous rump. He reached up to pull the chain on the bucket overhead, and muscles rippled across his back.
Damn. Even his rump was muscular. Water poured from the bucket, dousing his head and sluicing down his body.
The microwave beeped, and she started with another gasp. She couldn’t let him catch her watching. Quickly she removed the bowl of heated water. After peeling the top halfway off the tub of noodles, she spotted a line that probably indicated how much water to pour in. With that done, she pressed the lid back down. How long would it take?
She pulled a stool up to the table and split the set of wooden chopsticks that had come with the tub. She could still hear some noises from the far end of the cave, but she didn’t dare look.
Was it a mistake to insist on living with Russell? But what else could she do? If she returned home, Rajiv would forbid her from working with Russell, and it would be terrible if she publicly disobeyed her cousin. He would lose face. The royal family would be shamed. Her reputation would be destroyed.
Of course, her reputation could already be ruined if the villagers discovered what she was doing. Rajiv was probably telling them that she was visiting family. He’d never admit that the royal princess was alone in a cave with a vampire. A naked vampire.
Footsteps approached, but she kept her gaze glued to the tub of noodles.
“You cleaned up.” He stopped by the table and grabbed the bottle of blood he’d left there. “You didn’t need to.”
“I don’t mind.” She caught a glimpse of white and ventured a peek. He had a towel wrapped around his hips. His skin still looked damp, and droplets of water dripped from his shoulder-length wet hair.
He finished his dinner, then dropped the empty bottle into a plastic crate alongside other bottles. “I drained the water out of the tub. I can put in some fresh water for you.”
“I can do it,” she insisted. “I don’t want to be a bother.”