He gives a faint smirk, but his eyes are serious. “And you chose mercy. That’s progress.”
“Don’t push your luck.”
His hand falls away, deliberately slow, his fingertips dusting my hip and igniting my skin through my jeans in their wake.
I turn back to my cot, rearranging my gear just to have something to do. “You don’t have to do this.”
“Somebody’s got to keep you safe,” he states simply.
“Why?” I snap, spinning to face him. “It doesn’t need to be you.”
“I wouldn’t trust anyone else.” His gaze hardens. “No one will protect you like I will.”
That shuts me up. Even with everything, I can’t deny the truth in his eyes when he said it. He means it. Every word.And I hate it.
I cross my arms again, more to steady myself than anything. “I don’t need you to protect me.”
“I’m going to anyway.”
I glare at him. “You don’t get to decide that. You lost that right when you left.”
His eyes soften, and for a heartbeat, I see the man I used to know. The one who used to hold me in his arms and whisper about the future. The same one who vanished without a word.
“Maybe not,” he acknowledges quietly. “But I’m here now.” Heavy and unwanted, the words hang between us, and I look away before he can see the crack in my composure.
The tent has fallen quiet—too quiet. The others are pretending not to listen, but I can feel their attention like static in the air. “Okay.” I force a shaky laugh and break the silence. “Let’s set some ground rules before this testosterone fog chokes me to death.”
“Rule number one,” I announce sharply.
Jagger perks up. “Ooh, rules. My favorite,” he chirps with sarcasm.
“Youallkeep your shirts on unless we’reallsleeping.”
Gunnar raises a brow. “Even in a hundred-degree heat?”
“Yes.”
“Damn,” Jagger mutters. “You’re no fun.”
“Rule number two,” I continue. “No one touches my stuff. Especially my camera.”
Hawk glances at the camera still sitting on my cot. “Understood.”
“And rule number three.” I pause, looking around the tent. “If any of you so much asthinkabout peeking while I change, I will murder you in your sleep and hide your bodies in the dunes.”
“Noted,” Jagger deadpans.
“Now that we’ve established I’m terrifying,” I jest, forcing a smile that doesn’t quite reach my eyes, “I’m going to get back to work.”
Before I can move, Hawk’s calm voice cuts through the space. “Fine,” he gruffs, his tone making everyone else instantly shut up. “But we have rules, too.” I narrow my eyes, and he meets my gaze head-on. “Actually, it’s just one.”
“Oh, this should be good.”
“You don’t go anywhere without at least one of us,” Hawk declares, every syllable clipped and firm. “Ever.”
My jaw drops. “Excuse me?”
“You heard him,” Gunnar says, leaning back on his cot.
