Chapter Six #2
Sometime in the night, she woke briefly when she stretched and touched something hard and warm, but she barely registered what it was before slipping under the strong pull of exhaustion again.
Oh god. What had she touched? Hawk’s shoulder? His chest?
Or…something else?
She bolted upright and crawled across the makeshift bed to flip open the tent flat. The gray of early light kissed the land, leaving rocks, brush, clouds and sky all the same shade.
She glanced around and confirmed what she already knew—no Hawk.
His sleeping bag was already rolled with military precision, his boots gone from beside the flap.
She made coffee over the little camp stove because it gave her something to do.
She brushed her teeth and washed her face with water so cold it made her gasp.
Then she grabbed her bear spray just in case and slipped behind a bush, careful to check for snakes.
She dressed in clean clothes, layering so she could strip some off when it got too hot.
She explored the area for a minute, walking along the edge of the brush and peering over the side where she could. One thing caught her attention, and she made a mental note to mention it to Hawk.
The scent of coffee carried on the air, and she walked back into the camp to find she was still alone.
She considered calling out for Hawk, but he already thought she was a princess. She didn’t want to sound like a panicked one.
Instead she sat cross-legged on the ground and sipped her coffee, wondering what she was going to eat if all they had were meat options. She wished her own food wasn’t laying at the bottom of the ravine.
She got up and walked to the ledge, inching closer to peer over the edge.
“What the hell are you doing?”
She whipped around so fast the coffee sloshed over her fingers. Hawk stood several feet away.
He set down the small bag he was carrying. “I don’t like you standing so close to the ledge.”
Her heart gave a funny leap at his words that had nothing to do with the danger. She moved toward him.
“I was trying to see my bag. I thought if it got caught on a branch or a ledge, I might be able to reach it with a stick.”
He gave her a look and then squatted by his bag with more agility than she expected from a man who, days earlier, had been flat on his back fighting off imaginary venom.
He pulled out a bundle. When he unwrapped the cloth to reveal mushrooms, still damp with morning dew, she let out a gasp.
He offered her one of the first smiles she’d seen, transforming his rugged face into a vision she had trouble looking away from.
Next he withdrew a pouch fashioned out of his rain jacket and held it against his chest like he was cradling a baby bird.
“Found a few things to supplement the food supply.” He held it out to her, and she blinked down at the plump, dark berries.
Her chest went unexpectedly, uncomfortably tight. “You went looking for vegetarian food. For me.”
“Well.” He didn’t glance up from the mushrooms he was sorting. “Can’t let my ward starve, can I? I should have asked about your diet before I packed the food in the first place.”
“That’s sweet of you.” She crouched beside him, examining the berries and picked one out. It was dark purple, almost black, the size of a blueberry but rounder. “What kind of berry is this?”
“Saskatoon berry. They grow all over these parts.”
She popped it into her mouth. It burst, sweet and slightly nutty against her tongue, and she smiled despite the tightness still sitting behind her ribs.
He was watching her face too closely. Watching her mouth.
She savored the flavor on her tongue. “I could kiss you right now.”
The words were out before her mind caught up. Hawk froze, and when she looked up, his face was closer than she realized.
Close enough that she had to tilt her head to hold his stare. His voice, when it came, dropped low and rougher than she’d heard it before.
“I don’t know what’s stopping you.”
She held his gaze. The connection between them throbbed for several beats longer than it should between a woman and her bodyguard. And his stare lanced through her with an intensity she’d never experienced from the polished and totally forgettable men she’d dated in Boston.
Not with anyone.
There didn’t seem to be enough air on the mountain to fully fill her lungs. She’d heard the stories, of course. Women who fell for the men hired to protect them, mistaking adrenaline and proximity for something real. She was too smart for that particular trap.
Apparently smart had nothing to do with it.
She broke the connection first, focusing hard on the berries in her lap. Even though the moment passed, an awareness hovered between them.
He busied himself with a foil pouch of food. She watched his strong hands as he tore the top and poured water in from the canteen. He kneaded it between his hands.
“Beef stroganoff.” He held it out like it was a point of pride.
She peered in at the contents. “Looks like wet cardboard.”
He gave her an affronted look and clutched it closer to his chest as if she were about to wrangle it from him. “It’s a delicacy.”