Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“So, you two are a thing now?” Chad points with the beef stick he’s eating, moping like a grumpy child. “All that nonsense about the rash and that I need to hike alone bit,” he continues in a mocking tone. “Was it all just your sick way of messing with me?”
I stand, taking my time to flatten out the protein bar wrapper in my hand, only letting out one tiny groan as a sharp pain shoots up my arm.
“Contrary to what you believe,” I stalk closer, testing the stickiness of the foil with one finger, “not everything’s about you.
Your attention wasn’t welcome, and you couldn’t take the hint.
” I smile, sticking the wrapper to his forehead with a whack.
Jack snorts a laugh over his chewing as he eats one of his sickeningly healthy protein bars. He appears relaxed, leaning against a rock with his ankles crossed, but I know every muscle in his body is on alert, ready to spring if Chad so much as waves a finger in my direction.
I pat Chad’s cheek with a tight smile and shuffle back to the spot beside Jack.
“Whatever,” Chad grumbles, scrunching up the wrapper and tossing it back at me, except it only makes it half a foot away, floating to the ground with a lazy descent. He stomps away, and Jack calls after him. “Where are you going?”
“To take a leak. That okay, Rambo?”
“Don’t go far, Wickman,” Jack warns.
“You’re worried about him?” I ask, retrieving the wrapper from the ground.
He turns to me with a pensive pout. “I’m mostly concerned he’ll disappear, and then I’ll have lost a witness. Hopefully, he’s smart enough to make his way back, because the last thing we need is a missing person…or another dead body.”
He takes his hat off, tapping it on his thigh while his eyes narrow. He’s got another idea brewing. “And you want to use him as bait?”
“If I have to, yeah. But that puts you in danger, and I’m not willing to do that.”
“That’s so dark.”
And hot.
I have it so bad for this man.
I must stare at him too long, all the longing and yearning unhidden in my gaze.
He straightens to his full height and turns to face me.
Without thinking, I float closer, mirroring his stance.
He reverently lifts a hand to my face before letting it trail down my shoulder.
His voice is soft and gritty. “You doin’ okay, princess? ”
“I’m good. Still waiting for my make-it-all-better kiss, though.”
Subtle, Willow.
Self-chastisement swirls in my stomach, fueled by memories of all the times I was told and treated like I was either too much or not enough.
“You have wracked up quite a few injuries…” He frowns at the cuts on my face, then he stares at me like he can see the very depths of my dreams. Some days I forget what it’s like to be seen.
“I’ve earned three kisses, at least.” I nod as our bodies move closer, like being near him is the only place my cells are at peace.
“This isn’t a good idea, Lo…” His jaw clenches as we continue gravitating toward one another, breaths mingling and foreheads touching. His hand comes to the base of my neck, and my eyes fall closed.
“I think it’s the best idea you’ve ever had.”
“Was it my idea?” He swallows, and I feel his words against my lips.
“Jack?”
“Yeah?”
“Stop talking.” I smile as I say it, even though I’m freaking out on the inside because he could get spooked any second. Not to mention, there’s a dead body not too far away. But then the world shifts as his control finally gives out, and he crashes his lips into mine, breathing deeply.
This kiss is like being set free. I can’t get close enough with my arm in a sling between us, but my free hand tries to pull him nearer.
His hands slide to my waist, holding me steady while his lips obliterate every doubt I’ve ever had.
He peppers kisses along my jaw, moving to the curve of my neck, and I think I could happily do nothing but this for the rest of my life.
Somewhere in the back of my mind is the knowledge that I haven’t showered in too many days, and I inhale, trying to gauge any unpleasant B.O.
But all I smell is Jack, and it’s heavenly.
His deodorant mixed with the dust and his eau de hard work is like a shot of energy right into my veins.
It shouldn’t be appealing, but I’m pretty sure whatever pheromones he’s releasing are attaching themself to me like little puzzle pieces, clicking into place with the perfect match.
Who cares if there’s a literal corpse around the corner? This is the best, most romantic moment of my life.
We kiss for so long that my feet ache, and I end up leaning all my body weight against Jack as he rests on the rocks behind him, holding me. I’m shocked that his rational brain hasn’t stormed into our oasis, declaring this a mistake.
“Do I smell?” I blurt out when he begins to nuzzle little kisses over my shoulder, unable to let go of the thought that I might reek like a sweaty cow. Do cows even sweat?
Jack leans in and inhales deeply against my neck, his lips ghosting my skin. “You smell entirely too good.”
My head is filled with so many questions about what this means, but I’m taking what I can get. He said we’d talk about us after. What exactly the after is, I’m not sure. I’m also a little scared that too many things will get squeezed between me and that after.
So I say nothing, lifting an arm around his neck and wishing we could turn into statues and live smooshed together like this for eternity. Because this feeling right here, of being cared for and surrounded by Jack…it’s everything.
My head rests on his chest, a soft smile on my face, when a feminine shriek echoes through the canyon corridors, causing goosebumps to pebble my arms by the time it reaches us.
“What the heck was that?” I ask.
Jack looks at his watch, cursing. “Chad’s been gone too long.
” He gently pries my arm from around him, a foreboding loss tingling down my neck.
Jack digs into his bag from its perch beside mine and shoves zip ties and his SAT phone into one of his many cargo pants pockets before turning that familiar lowered brow my way.
“Stay here. You have my knife. I’ll be back as soon as I can, but you’re safe.
Whatever danger is happening, it’s out there.
Just…don’t go anywhere. I’ll be back.” He cups the back of my neck before placing a swift kiss on my forehead.
I think he’s about to leave, but his hand stays heavy on my neck, guilt burning in his eyes and making my stomach turn.
“I’m sorry…”
My heart drops. The freaking apology is like a knife right into my chest.
“Stop. There’s nothing to apologize for. Chad made his own decision to wander off.”
“Yeah, but I was distracted. My focus should have been on getting both of you out of here safely.” He frowns, his shoulders dropping.
“I screwed this whole thing up.” A tiny shake of his head before he pulses that jaw, meeting my gaze with a fresh layer of ice.
You’d think with the lava pit we’re in, it’d be impossible to layer up his frosty walls so quickly, but his default move shatters the hope and the progress I thought we’d made.
With one more command to stay where I am, he pulls out his gun and silently disappears in the direction of the shriek, leaving me with a dead body around the corner and a bruised heart.
“Well…good thing no one overreacted,” I say to a bushy-eared squirrel.
The squirrel stares back before scampering off, making me envious of his energy and hair volume. I turn my face upwards, scowling at the canyon walls as they glare down at me mockingly. “What do you want from me?” my voice grates out.
I attempt to lift both arms in frustration, but it only irritates my wound, making things worse.
Dust and pebbles fly anticlimatically when I stand and kick a stone.
Just when things began to feel like they were going my way, something that only happens in the movies threatens to derail my purpose here.
“You were supposed to teach me something!” I continue scowling at the mountainside. “I won’t let you evict me!”
I pace the small area while the heat hoarded by the walls pulses from the ground and assaults me from every direction. It doesn’t help my mood or my worry over Jack. He just ran into danger, like it’s no big deal.
My mind tries to form some semblance of meaning from the past four days, desperate for a victory when it feels like the walls are crushing in on me.
It seems unfair that after all the drama this freaking crevice has put me through, I should come out of this ordeal with only a small taste of the sexiest man alive and a half-dose of courage.
Because let’s be honest, who knows if I’ll continue to be Canyon Willow when I get out of here or if I’ll revert to the same old patterns when faced with something remotely challenging.
Maybe I should take my own advice and focus on the things I’m grateful for.
For one, I met Jack—although the only part of him I might leave here with is the beautiful scar on my heart that I’ll carry for the rest of my life.
Secondly, and also thanks to Jack, I’ve realized that I can’t keep doing what others expect me to if I want any sense of purpose.
Three?
Bending with a groan, I pick up a rock and hurl it at the wall with an angry growl. If I can’t come up with anything else, I may as well get some frustration out while nobody is around.
That actually feels quite cathartic, I think at the cracking of stone against stone.
I bend to get another rock, gasping when I straighten and find another hiker standing a few feet away, smiling a sunny grin. What the hell is this, venture off-trail day?
“Jerrica! Frik, you scared me!” I bring a hand to my chest, not sure if the unease is from being surprised or the slightly unhinged gleam in her eyes. “What’re you doing here?”