His sandy-blond hair was a bit unruly, but it somehow worked for him. He reminded her of a surfer-slash-cowboy. The guy’s nose had obviously been broken at some point, and his eyes were a bit on the small side, but he was still nice-looking, in his own way. The smile reflected in his eyes seemed so genuine, he immediately put Olivia at ease.
Trevor stood to Derek’s left. Olivia remembered meeting him that first time and thinking he was almosttoohandsome, if there was such a thing. His dark eyes were round and beautiful, his nose near perfect, and his strong jaw and chin had just enough scruff on it to be sexy.
Trevor’s dark, brown hair was cropped short on the sides and back, but the top was a little longer. Even now, after traipsing through the humid jungle, there didn’t appear to be a single one out of place.
He slung his weapon over his shoulder and opened his arms, but made no further movement toward her. Olivia’s heart swelled a little when she realized he was giving her the choice to either accept or deny the gesture.
Tears began to well up again, but she fought against them. Stepping closer, she wrapped her arms around his narrow waist and squeezed. “Hey, Trev.”
He hugged her back. “Hey, honey. I’m so glad you’re okay.”
After a few more seconds, she ended the hug and found herself pulled against Jake’s side. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, lazily running his hand up and down her bare skin. Olivia leaned into him, her head resting against his chest.
The third man, Grant, was still just staring. He was a little shorter than Jake, but not much. And the man wasbuilt.
The others were all ripped, too, but this guy was nothing but a wall of muscle. Not in a steroid-induced, obsessive bodybuilder kind of way. Just enough to set him apart from the others.
His light brown hair was cut very short, and while Trevor’s and Jake’s scruffy jaws made them appear sexy, Grant’s only added to the stay-the-hell-away-from-me vibes he was putting off. His eyes were a light blue, the color just this side of grey, and there was an unyielding darkness there.
Grant looked at her, his face expressionless as he gave her a slight tip of his head. Apparently, it was the only greeting she was going to get.Okay, then.
Olivia straightened her shoulders and did her best to smile at the two men she didn’t know. “It’s nice to meet you. I know it doesn’t even come close to being enough, but thank you. For helping me, and for having Jake’s back.” Jake’s arm squeezed her to his side a little more.
Derek spoke up, his drawl adding to his easy-going personality. “Nice to meet you, too. Sorry it had to be under these circumstances.” He motioned toward the two men Jake had been forced to kill.
Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it.
Sensing her distress, Jake started forward, guiding her as he moved. The others fell in line with them.
“So, aside from the obvious, what the hell happened?” Trevor asked as they finally walked away from it all.
Jake kept the palm of his hand on Olivia’s back. It was almost as if he couldn’t stop touching her. Not that she was going to complain.
“Long story. I’ll fill you in, and then you can tell me how you managed to find us. I’m assuming you called Ryker?”
Trevor’s face bunched, “Yeah. He’s pretty pissed.”
“I’ll deal with him.”
Jake glanced down at Olivia and winked, but she wasn’t really following the conversation. All she wanted was a long, hot shower, and a week’s worth of sleep. Maybe two.
She looked back up at Jake as he continued talking to his team. His words faded out as Olivia thought about the way he’d been with her in the cave before Shorty and Mateo had shown up. How he’d risked his life to keep his promise and free them both from those two monsters. And the way he’d pulled her into his arms and kissed her afterward.
He was so strong. So brave. Despite everything that had happened to them, Olivia’s lower body began to stir.Okay, so maybe there’s one more thing I want.
Jake turned and caught her eye. His brow lifted. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” she said, surprised when the word came out all husky. Damn. She really had zero control when it came to this man.
Jake gave her a slow, knowing smile and winked again before turning back to the conversation with his team. Olivia looked at the four men surrounding her. She’d never felt more grateful—or protected—in her life.
Trevor glanced down at her feet. “I’ll take a look at those when we get to the hotel. We’ll get them cleaned up, and I’ll get you started on some antibiotics, too.”
When she looked to Jake for understanding, he smiled and said, “Trev’s not just a hired gun, Liv. He’s also our medic.”
Jake had originally introduced Trevor to her as one of his military buddies. When she’d probed for specifics about what his job was, Trevor had given her the same song and dance Jake had. Former active duty, a few tours overseas, and then a desk jockey.
Trevor gave her an apologetic smile, and Olivia surprised herself by chuckling and shaking her head. At this point, she couldn’t care less that they’d both lied about their jobs.
