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He had no desire to entangle her heart with his and cause her more pain when he died. That would be a ‘Dork move, Banner’ from him for sure. If she was Black Widow, did that make him Dr. Banner aka The Hulk? He quite liked the Hulk, but he wasn’t brilliant or nerdy enough to be Dr. Banner.
Cash liked all the Avengers, especially Black Widow, Black Panther, and Captain America. He used to like Thor the best, but sadly Shawn looked far too much like Chris Hemsworth. That was a vicious dig on Thor that he hated to make. He’d try to think of Shawn as a Viking instead.
What did any of those thoughts have to do with him keeping his distance from Brylee? He usually didn’t let his mind wander like this.
“Of course I’mright,and of course you see mymight.” She flexed for him and grinned. His mouth went dry. “Withyou, I will savor theview.” Her accent was silly like a cartoon character as she rhymed. Cute. He glanced over her beautiful face, gorgeous red hair, sparkling blue eyes. Those eyes were like sapphire gems.
Brylee was much, much more than cute.
She eased closer, and before he realized what had happened, she was leaning against his side, blinking up at him. All he could do was focus on those sapphire eyes and all he could feel was her body pressed against his.
It was the most natural thing in the world to slide his arm around her waist. His palm easily cupped her hip. She was warm and soft, yet lean. She was perfect.
Cash was warm as well. He was far too warm in this tropical climate.
Brylee burrowed into him and let out a sweet sigh. Any noble aspirations to keep his distance were flung out over the edge of the waterfall, dropping quickly to the ground far below, never to be retrieved as a whole concept again.
Neither of them spoke. The waterfall flow wasn’t insane, more of a dancing splash than a roar like some he’d heard. Cash savored this moment like nothing he’d ever done before. He catalogued everything: the beauty of nature, the beauty of the woman he was holding, the accomplishment of a dangerous climb, the accomplishment of holding Brylee close and not overthinking it too much.
Cash startled. He needed to overthink, focus, get some distance. He needed to find his noble aspirations at the bottom of the waterfall and reinsert the pieces that hadn’t been decimated back into his brain. At the forefront of his mind, there should be a flashing sign—keep your distance or this hilarious sweetheart will snag your heart and you’ll destroy hers.
Distance. It was imperative he find some distance. That was rough with her being so appealing. The forced proximity and her reliance on him in this situation as her protector and helper made it easy to blur the lines. He needed help. He prayed for it, and then he thought he might be strong enough to act happy and casual.
“All right, Miss Brylee Auburn.” He gently moved her farther away from the drop. She smiled up at him as if he were her protector, rescuer, hero, and the best man in the world.
He wanted to gush unnecessary compliments about her and then steal her breath away with a long, drawn-out kiss. Instead, he took a steadying breath and released her. With help from above, he stepped a respectable foot away from her.
Her blue eyes flashed disappointment, but she said nothing.
“I’m going to find a million dollars for you,” he told her, giving her a cocky grin.
“Ah, Captain Trapper,” she drawled out like a Southern belle, fluttering those long eyelashes at him and plumping her lips. Those eyelashes were the perfect frame for her blue, blue eyes. That lip gloss she kept applying made her lips look delicious … just waiting for him to capture with his own. “You are certainly my hero. Yes, you surely are. If you procure me a million dollars, I’m gonna give you the most enticing’ kiss of your life. I can promise you that.”
Cash froze. No, he didn’t freeze. Not in the cold sense. His entire body was hot and his heart and pulse raced out of control. The opposite of freezing. He couldn’t move. So in the paralyzed sense he froze. Either way, it was not the right reaction and like nothing he’d ever felt before. Cash reacted instinctively in deadly and intense situations, saving lives and being the hero Brylee teased him about, and he almost always did exactly what he should.
What was happening to him?
Brylee was teasing about the kiss. He was certain of it. She was a natural tease, probably teased and flirted and captured men’s hearts in her spare time. A gorgeous, fun, smart redhead like her? Of course she did.
He couldn’t think of a better reward than a kiss from this captivating woman. It sounded like a better reward than any advancement or medal he’d ever received.
“A kissandpumpkin bars?” he tried to tease back, but his voice was shaky. “Wow. You are going to have a long list of things you owe me by the time we get through our shared perilous adventure.”
Cash winked and was very proud of himself. He was acting somewhat unaffected by her. Maybe. Then he cringed as helooked at the camera on the front strap of the backpack. He vowed to never, ever watch this week’s episode.
“I’d rather owe ya than cheat ya out of it,” she said like an old cowboy or farmer.
Cash laughed at that, and some of the tension in the air eased. It would’ve been rude to tell her she couldn’t kiss him. Another justification, but it was all he had. It would be much ruder to develop something with her and then die on her.
Prying his gaze away from her captivating eyes, he worked his way out on the moss-covered rocks to the bright pink and white striped flag waving in the breeze. His hiking shoes gripped the rock, and he didn’t need to get too close to the edge to see that the white plastic flag pole was shoved in the midst of boulders and secured with weights hanging over the rocks.
The large rocks covered with greenery surrounded the flag, water rushing through and sometimes bubbling over them. There was no treasure buried here unless they’d used a crane to lift one boulder up and placed the treasure underneath without disturbing the fauna growing all over it. It wasn’t possible. The greenery was undisturbed, years in the making, except where the short ropes with weights draped over the rocks to secure the flagpole.
Cash wandered up past the flag, heading north along the wide stream feeding the waterfall. The water was clear and there was no hint of treasure anywhere. He squatted down and splashed cool water on his face and arms, tempted to take a drink but knowing he shouldn’t risk it until they got to the source. There was always the risk that an animal had died and was rotting upstream, polluting the water supply. They could walk until they found a spring. He liked that idea. It was as good a plan as any for exploring the island and looking for the flags that marked the treasure.
Standing, he turned to see Brylee watching him. Were her blue eyes interested in what he’d found, or simply interested in him? She held her backpack up so the camera was recording him. Dang cameras, but smart of her to capture the moment in case he had found anything.
He walked away from the stream and back toward her, drawn to be close to her like nothing he’d ever felt.
