“You can break me, Triumph,” she whispered. “I’ve stayed on my own because I know that to put my trust in anyone else was certain death. Reaching out to you was a gamble. My heart told me to trust you, but my brain acknowledged that if you betrayedme, there really was no one out there who could help me.” She looked over her shoulder at him. “Please don’t prove my heart wrong and my brain right.”
“I would never. Your heart is safe with me in all ways, Glennon.”
He leaned forward as she turned further toward him. Their lips met without fanfare. No celebration, no pride. Just honest emotion.
Something stirred inside him. It began as a tingle at the very heart of him. A memory surfaced of a time as a child when he’d been visiting family in Utah on New Year’s Day. Being a Texas boy, he’d played outside, not truly understanding that being wet and cold was dangerous. When he returned indoors, he couldn’t feel his feet because they were so cold. As feeling returned, the tingling sensation was agonizingly painful—heat burning him from the inside out.
Kissing Glennon now brought back that same sensation.
It stung, knowing she’d been alone for her whole life with no one she could count on until now.
But while his heart prickled, the heat was saving it with each passing second.
The only time he’d ever felt strong emotions of any kind was with his friends. No matter the love he had for them, though, he had only ever truly felt alive at Shadowlands, when he was buried deep inside someone. But those emotions dwelt in the dark, where he burned with a need to fuck. To overpower someone. Claim them on his terms—when, where, and how he wanted.
With Glennon, for the first time, he felt the stirrings of life just by being with her. He didn’t need her submission in the day-to-day to experience the rush of emotion.
When exactly had he lost his connection with people?
He knew that, truthfully, the “when it started” was inconsequential. What mattered was the “when it stopped.” That moment was Glennon’s text coming from out of the void.
His lips had been comforting her, reassuring her as much as the arms wrapped around her. But she needed rest, and time was short. Neither of them would appreciate the direction more kisses would take them, since there was nothing more they could do now.
Drawing back, he tucked her to his chest once more. “Sleep, little spy,” he urged. “We’ve got a long day tomorrow.”
CHOICES
Glennon
“Glennon.”The whisper brought warm air across her cheek, and right behind that came a pair of soft lips to her temple.
The ambient noise of the jungle cocooned them, much like his arms held her close, assuring her that things were safe. Nothing disturbed the animals from their nightly activities.
As she stretched her arms and torso, she sat up from her reclined position against Triumph’s chest. He handed her a small packet of dried fruit chips. “Eat this. Drink some water. Stand up and stretch.”
“Bossy,” she teased as she complied.
“You haven’t seen the worst of it yet. I’m trying to temper it, at least until we get home and you’re one hundred percent healthy.”
He handed her the gun they’d confiscated from her shooter. Then, while she snacked, he rearranged himself on the ground to lie with his head against his backpack. “You get tired, wake me. I don’t sleep much, so I’ll probably just doze now anyway.”
She crumpled up the bag from her food and took a long drink of water. Looking upward, she saw the tree had several branches at a good height that appeared solid enough to hold her weight. “I’m going to watch from up above.”
“Need a boost?”
“No. The bark is rough enough that I can get a hold of it.”
His face scrunched up. “Thanks for cockblocking me from getting to put my hands on your ass to boost you,” he grumbled.
“Down, boy,” she teased.
“Chicks always ruin my fun.”
She knew he wasn’t serious. Shaking her head in humor, she hoisted herself up into the tree and tucked herself into the juncture between the trunk and the lowest branch.
“That should not have been sexy,” he grumbled from down below.
“Watching me climb a tree was sexy?” That was weird, right?
