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I look down at Salem, who has been quiet. “You okay?”
“A little deaf now, but I’m okay.”
“Shit, sorry. We’re so used to it, I forgot to warn you. Won’t happen again.”
“It’s fine, I—”
“It won’t happen again.”
Zig comes out of the trees, zipping up his pack before stepping up behind Salem. “You good? We can rest for a while if you want.”
“I’m okay. Let’s go a little farther before we stop.”
“You heard the woman. Move your ass, Oz,” Zig orders.
I flip him off, but I turn around and carry on. We walk for another couple of miles before Zig whistles. I turn and see Salem flagging. Her face is flushed, and she looks exhausted.
“Jesus, Salem. Why didn’t you ask for a break?” I curse.
“I needed this. Besides, I’m fine, it’s only been a few minutes. But yes, I could use a rest now.”
I look around and find a cluster of trees with a large rock underneath them. It’s not perfect, but it’s mostly sheltered from the rain that’s now a persistent drizzle. I point to where I want us to go and let Zig take the lead as I scoop Salem up and carry her.
I know she’s exhausted when she doesn’t protest. She buries her face against my throat. Placing her gently on the rock, I pull out one of the bottles of water from my bag and hand it to her before taking out one of the mangos. Using my knife, I peel and slice it, handing her a piece. Then I cut the rest up for me and Zig.
We sit there silently eating as the rain starts to lessen. By the time we finish eating, it has stopped completely. It’s a nice change. Lately, it’s been stopping and starting more often, often without warning. One second, warm and sunny, and the next, torrential rain.
“I think it might be worth heading back after we’ve rested,” Zig states.
I want to argue with him, but I know he’s right. If we go much farther, Salem won’t make it back.
“Fine. At least the rain has cut us some slack.”
Salem snorts. “Don’t get too excited. I can still hear it, so it can’t be too far away.”
I frown and listen, realizing she’s right. “What the fuck?” I climb to my feet and push through the dense trees behind us.
I have to hold my arm up so the branches don’t rip my face to shreds. That’s how thick it is here. But when I find my way to the other side, I stop and blink, wondering if I’m hallucinating.
It’s not rain Salem could hear; it’s a waterfall.
Holy fuck.
When I hear the rustle of leaves behind me and Salem’s gasp of wonder, I turn to look at her, Zig pausing just behind her frozen body, and grin. “Looks like we finally found a water source.”
“I’ve never seen anything more beautiful in my life,” Salem says, all her tiredness forgotten.
She walks closer to the edge where the water laps at the stones and looks over her shoulder before reaching for the hem of her T-shirt and pulling it up over her body. “Who wants to swim?”
Yeah, I don’t need to be asked twice. I strip out of my clothes as I walk toward her and toss them down with my pack on her growing pile. When she is naked, she steps into the water, using the large flat rocks to make her way to where it’s deeper. She dives in and emerges seconds later, tossing her hair back as she lifts her top half onto one of the large rocks, showing her full breasts and hard nipples. I groan.
“You always did get a boner for The Little Mermaid.” Zig shoves me out of the way as he heads to our girl.
“Hey, you said you’d keep that a secret,” I snap, following him in.
“Keep what a secret?” Salem asks as I swim closer.
“Oz and his thing for animated characters,” Zig answers before I punch him in the side of the head.
