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“No need to be.”
I wiped the back of my hand under my nose. “God, I must look a mess.”
He glided my hair away from my forehead. “You look beautiful.”
I chuckled. “Liar.”
“You always look beautiful.”
“Oh, Hunter.” I sucked in a shaky breath. “You’re going to make me cry again.”
He shrugged a shoulder. “I mean it, Layla. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met, both inside and out.”
I stepped into his embrace and as I listened to his heartbeat through his chest, he ran his hand over my back.
“I’ve missed you.” I sniffed.
He seemed to melt. “I’ve missed you too.”
Easing back, I peered into his amazing blue eyes. “Take me home, Hunter.”
His lean, muscular face morphed into the most glorious smile I’d ever seen. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Clutching my hand, he led me from my ruined research lab and out to the clearing.
He’d stacked a pile of timber up and lit a fire. “Hopefully, the smoke will lead the chopper to us before any more of those assholes figure out where we are.”
I nodded. “You’re so clever.”
He threw a couple more planks from the ruined front door onto the fire, then draped his arm over my shoulder. “All we can do now is wait.”
I followed the steady stream of smoke up to the sky. “Do you think Cody and your friends are okay?”
“Of course.” His confidence was unwavering.
He carried over a log for us to sit on and although I couldn’t miss the strength in his arms, I also didn’t miss the pain on his face. He lived with pain every single day because of the scars left by his burned skin.
His ongoing agony was the reason I wanted my research to be a success. And for my sister.
He presented the log to me like he was presenting a golden throne. As he snapped a couple more bits of timber off the broken door, I prepared to tell a story that I had never told anyone.
Sitting beside me, he followed a line of smoke up through the gap in the jungle canopy above us. “We can practically send smoke signals to them now.” Grinning, he wriggled his brows, then the smile fell from his face. “What’s wrong?”
I settled my hand above his knee. “I owe you a story.”
Frowning, he cocked his head.
I cleared my throat. “When I was fifteen, I was a bit of a rebel.”
He chuckled. “You? I doubt it.”
I huffed. Telling this story made me uncomfortable, and yet at the same time, telling the story to Hunter seemed so perfect.
“I was. I wanted to be like the neighborhood boys. I did skateboarding, rode a BMX, and went fishing. All that stuff. I was bulletproof.”
Hunter nodded. “I know that feeling.”
“Yes, I’m sure you do.” I nudged my shoulder to his. “My sister, Sophia—”
