She moved closer, reaching a finger tentatively toward it. Brushing her fingertips across the fingers. The skin felt cool, but not cold. Swiping away leaves, a hand emerged. Mena slid her fingers further down, past the palm to feel for a pulse along the wrist. She felt a faint thump, slow and methodical, but definitely there.
Someone was underneath this brush.
Mena froze.
Not someone.
Julian.
It had to be him.
Scrambling closer to the hand, she began to frantically dig through the fallen leaves and mud, revealing more of the arm. She shifted her focus to where she believed his head could be submerged, brushing away the foliage faster until she saw his dark brown hair, plastered against his head with mud and dirt. Mena leaned over, brushing away the leaves from the rest of his face.
“Julian,” Mena whispered into his ear, pressing her face next to his. She could feel his shallow breath against her skin. His face felt feverish. He was asleep or unconscious. Digging more frantically, she pushed away the rest of the dirt, leaves and debris from covering his body.
Mena raised his head in her hands. “Julian, baby, it’s me. It’s Mena. I need you to open your eyes. You’re safe now, but I can’t do this alone. I need your help. Wake up, please. Julian, can you hear me?”
Julian stirred in her arms, coughing slightly. Large welts covered his skin from where the insects had feasted on him, but he was still the most amazing and handsome man. She had to get him out of the jungle and back to the riverfront home. Lifting a man more than twice her size was not something she’d ever prepared for.
“Come on, Julian. Wake up! Wake up now!” Mena said, praying he would come to. Even if he could only move slowly, that was better than her trying to drag him back to the house, which she didn’t have the strength to do.
His eyelids fluttered, then opened slowly.
Mena stared into the soulful brown eyes she’d fallen in love with so many months ago.
“Hey. Julian, can you hear me?” Mena said. Sweat beaded against his face as she caressed his skin. His eyes were glazed and unsteady. He trembled in her embrace. He was ill. She had to get him out of here, but she couldn’t do that without his help.
“Julian,” Mena said, pressing her forehead against his. “Please talk to me. Say something.”
Julian opened his mouth, then paused, swallowing hard. He blinked several times, then she recognized a slight curve of his lips as if he was trying to smile.
Julian’s voice was hoarse and raspy. “You found me.”
Chapter Forty-Nine
Julian stirred in her arms, his face pressed against her chest. Over thirty hours had passed since she’d found him covered in leaves in the jungle near the Valley of Waterfalls. The trek back to the house, which usually only took her thirty minutes, had taken over three hours as Julian struggled to cover the distance. Several times, they’d had to stop and rest as his body retched the contents of his empty stomach, dark yellow bile mixed with dry heaves.
As they’d approached the edge of the jungle, Mena was thankful Beaujean had allowed her to stay at his riverfront house in a secluded area of the Valley of Waterfalls. Frantic and ill-equipped to help Julian, Mena had taken a risk and called her boss. After relaying the details of finding Julian in the jungle and the symptoms he was exhibiting, Beaujean had arranged for a delivery of antibiotics, fever reducers, and enough groceries to last a couple more weeks that were delivered by the next midday.
Julian had suffered for hours, fighting nausea and a blazing fever she’d thought would never break. She’d followed the instructions, giving him regular doses of the pills, which he struggled to swallow. He could barely keep down any food, but she’d persisted so he could get his strength up. Julian had been too weak to stand or move, lying listlessly as whatever he’d contracted in the jungle ravished him. Mena held him close to her as the heat from his body burned against her skin. She hoped he could feel her love, her strength, willing him to fight against the sickness and come back to her.
Her prayers were answered a few hours ago as Mena woke shortly past noon. She’d placed a hand on Julian’s forehead and found it was cool to the touch. The tossing and turning and painful groans that had stricken her with fear had dissipated into a calm sleep.
She didn’t know what he’d been through over the past two weeks. But none of that mattered now.
He was alive.
He was safe.
And she was going to do whatever it took to make sure he stayed that way.
She’d already decided that she was all-in with him, even if it meant turning her back on the life she knew. She didn’t want any more secrets between them or anything to ever separate them again. Telling him the truth about being married would be hard, but nothing compared to what Julian had been through. He deserved to know the truth after he was free from the charges hanging over him.
Julian’s strong arms squeezed her as he lifted his head from her chest. He rested his chin against her breasts.
“You feeling better?” Mena asked.
“Only because of you. You saved my life.”
