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As his vision wavered, breathing became more difficult.
So when his body collapsed, all Hammer could do was fall with it.
The last thing he saw before his eyes fluttered closed was Charlie’s anxious face peering at him.
The last thing he heard was her voice saying his name.
ELEVEN
CHARLIE
Hammer really was a hard man to like. And Charlie wasn’t sure why she liked him as much as she did.
He was an asshole, to be quite honest. But she knew his hard exterior was only a result of something that had happened in the past.
Something more lingered beneath the surface. That was obvious from the way he winced at the mention of his family.
She knew he had been in prison. Maybe his stay there had changed him too.
Charlie swallowed as she followed Hammer. Her mouth had gone dry at the thought of Hammer in any kind of pain. They had only known each other for a couple days. Yet she felt something for the dragon shifter. Was it compassion? Or something more?
No, there is nothing more behind this,she told herself. There couldn’t be anything more behind it.
There couldn’t be anything more to them. No matter how much it hurt Charlie to think of Hammer being hurt.
A sudden wave of rage crashed over her, leaving her unsteady. She knew, without a doubt, that Hammer hadn’t deserved to land in prison. His behavior had revealed him as an honorable man. Anyone else would’ve tried taking advantage of her. And she might have let Hammer.
She couldn’t deny she was attracted to him.
They walked another few miles. When the thick bushes and plants started thinning out, she knew they were close to a clearing.
Charlie had studied Thiorheil’s geography extensively. She hadn’t been in the southern regions before. But she had learned enough to read the landmarks offered by nature.
As they walked, her mind flashed back to her days as an anthropology student in college. Charlie had thrown herself into her studies with gusto. Those had been the best days of her life. She had made several lifelong friends. Including Angie, one of the women who had joined her on her first professional dig.
That had been so long ago that it felt foreign. Her memories of that part of her life were hazy. It was as though she was watching it on a television screen. Like it was someone else’s life. And at this point, it could have been.
Angie would never have believed her if she had told her about dragon shifters. Including the one who walked in front of her now. The very attractive one.
Charlie had also realized that she was starting to forget the pain of Randy’s betrayal. The thrill of fighting for her life seemed to have wiped the slate clean.
When she looked around, she saw the signs that water was nearby. Small animal tracks all leading in one direction were a dead giveaway.
The faint buzz of swarming insects in the distance also told her that a pool of water stood by.
However, the insects weren’t very loud. The swarm couldn’t be very thick. That meant the water wasn’t stagnant, which was good. It meant they could drink it.
Sweetgrass and moss grew all around them, almost waist high. The air was fragrant with the lush, luxurious scents of the flora.
The beauty made her heart ache. This was what she had come to this country for. Discovering and exploring natural beauty.
And more importantly, understanding how history had shaped around the sweetgrass and moss.
Charlie was surprised when a wave of violent rage swept over her. It almost sent her stumbling into Hammer.
She was furious at Ajmal. At the man who had snatched away her best opportunity to explore.
Charlie felt almost violated at the thought of Ajmal and his brutality.
