“C’mon, let’s go stick it in the lake.”
Despite the fact she couldn’t get any wetter, Gray had zero desire to stick anything in an ice-cold lake, but before she could protest, Chase scooped her into his arms and stepped out through the trees onto a tiny beach. When he put her down, she was ankles deep in the water. The shock of cold hurt for the span of a heartbeat, but then the throbbing in her ankle diminished, and the trade-off seemed fair.
“Sit here.” He patted a boulder next to her leg, and she sat. “You okay by yourself for a couple of minutes?”
“Where’re you going?” Panic had her reaching for his hand, and she clasped on, fearful he’d decided to leave her behind. He’d already pressed her for information about her assignment. She’d declined to answer, but in truth, she had no information to give.
How long before he realized she couldn’t help him? How long before he figured out she wasn’t worth the effort? He had a mission. She was a deviation. Story of her life. His kind always put their work first, so it was just a matter of time.
Soldiers left.
And they didn’t come back.
Why the fuck would he be any different?
Hungry bears and killer porcupines aside, she still had no clue where the hell she was or how to find her way back to civilization. Without Chase, she was as good as dead.
She couldn’t die. Not tonight. She had to make it back to Miami by Tuesday to go with Tara to her oncologist appointment. Sure, Mrs. Pisani would be there. Tara’s mom wasn’t crazy enough to trust Gray to get the details right on her own.
But she wanted to support Tara. Wanted to hear with her own ears that her best friend’s cancer hadn’t come back, and there was nothing to worry about.
“I’m not going far. Just around the bend there to get the boat.” Chase pointed, but in the dark, she couldn’t see beyond the end of his finger.
“I can help.” She made to get up, and her legs wobbled, leaving her ass right where it was.
Stranded. On a rock. In a lake. God and Chase only knew where.
He tossed her duffel and his pack onto the pebble beach before crouching down to her level. Both palms on her thighs, he rubbed her muscles until they warmed. “I’m not leaving you, Gray. You’re sore. You’re tired. And my mom would kick my ass if I made you walk any more tonight.”
The relentless rain drummed against the water around them. “I like your mom.”
His mom. His hands. Him.
Jesus Christ. She had to be losing her mind.
“I do too. So, don’t make me disappoint her any more than I already have. Rest a minute while I get the boat and bring it over. Okay?” She nodded, and Chase’s hands made one more pass up and down her legs. “Be right back. Promise.”
Not quite ready to be left alone, her mouth went into hyperdrive. “How’d you disappoint her? Your mom? Did you break her favorite vase? Leave a wet towel on the floor? Trample her rose bushes?”
He squeezed her knees. “All of the above and then some. I’ll be right back, baby. Trust me.” He stood and splashed off. Seconds later, he disappeared from view, and she wasn’t prepared for the loneliness that took root in his place.
Chase cutthe motor and tilted the FourStroke Mercury out of the water before beaching the twelve-foot flat-bottom boat on the rocky shore. Out here in the open, the wind whipped the rain into a frenzy and set the surface of the lake rolling.
The ride to the cabin would be a bumpy one. Cold too.
If it were just him, he wouldn’t worry about it, but Gray was reaching the limits of her endurance. He needed to get her to the cabin, dry her off, and check her injuries. On her feet before he could stop her, she retrieved their gear from the beach and tossed it into the front of the boat.
He grabbed his lifejacket and hopped over the gunwale, splashing into the water beside her. “Here, put this on.” He held the jacket while she put her arms through. When she turned to face him, he did the zipper and adjusted the straps to snug the fit.
“What about you?” She lifted her chin to look him in the eyes, and the urge to drop his mouth to hers was a battle he came close to losing. Again. God, her lips were a temptation he wanted to indulge in.
“Only brought one.”
“Well, you should—” She reached for a buckle, and he stopped her by capturing her hand.
“You’re not getting in this boat without a lifejacket on, Gray. I’ll be fine. Trust me.”
“You say that a lot, you know.”
