Page 21 of Bride Under Contract

Damn.

There was a feeling of obligation he could not ignore.

‘Grace!’ he called out. ‘Grace!’ he said again, and then remembered she couldn’t hear him.

Grace really was Sleeping Beauty now.

Instead of an airport bench she lay on a glass altar. There was no velvet rope parting them, nor a carpeted floor to cross, just dense jungle between them, and her passport was sinking into the swamp that surrounded her.

‘Grace!’

He tried to call out to her again. Warn her that she’d never get home if she lost it. That she shouldn’t be heading into the jungle in the first place. If she did...

Even in sleep, Carter did not allow himself to complete the thought.

Even in sleep, he refused to remember.

Instead he shot awake, as he’d trained himself to do decades ago, and snapped his eyes open.

Thankfully it took him less than a second to orientate himself—the dark wood, the high beams, and the background noise of a jungle that was never truly silent.

‘Damn!’

He sat up and hauled himself out of bed, ruing his decision to return—especially by river.

Washing his face, he saw the shadows beneath his eyes and blamed them on the lack of sleep.

For once, it wasn’t because of sex.

He’d wanted her badly, but he was a cold bastard at best.

And here he was at his worst.

So instead of bedding the gorgeous Grace he’d put that restless energy into something a little less destructive.

He’d told Jamal to go to bed and then had a few choice words with those movie executives...

He thought a swim might clear his head, so he went through his luggage and found running shorts his assistant would have packed and, having pulled them on, he grabbed a sarong and tied it on his hips.

His head was pounding, and not eased by the humid air as he stepped outside. Even the water was too warm as he dived in.

Morning hadn’t even broken, yet the day already felt far too long.

Grace wasn’t faring much better.

She was still cringing, of course, but Carter had told her he was leaving today, so hopefully she wouldn’t have to face the man she’d...

She’d what? she challenged herself as she walked towards the jetty.

She hadn’t dived into his arms or moved towards his mouth.

She’d just...

Hoped...

Thought that maybe...

‘Morning!’ Arif greeted her with a smile. ‘Felicity will be with you soon. Oh, and there’s a treat tonight,’ he told her, and pointed to the sky. ‘We’ll be meeting a bit later. Felicity will give you the details.’

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