Page 36 of Love By a Landslide

“Lucy.” His voice was husky, thick with some unnamed motivation.

Slightly minty breath puffed on her face, and it sent shivers down her spine. “Yes?”

He paused for a moment, mind churning, jumping back and forth, weighing options. She would have given her savings account to decipher the various expressions that flitted across his masculine face but would have bet the same amount that one of them was lust. Sadly, resolve won out, and he increased the distance between them with a small step backward.

“Are you going to be all right?” he asked firmly and with a hint of . . . what?

Disappointment?

“Uh, I think so,” she warbled. If it was disappointment he felt, Lucy could commiserate. The memory of their earlier kiss fluttered through her chest. She licked her lips and felt a splash of elation as his darkened eyes followed the involuntary swipe.

Unfortunately, the surge of hope died back as he applied pressure to her arm, turning her back toward her tent. He walked beside her, not breaking contact but lightening his grip to a feathery touch.

Stopping just outside, he asked her again. “Yousureyou’re good?”

“Yeah.” Lucy straightened, and his hand fell away. Her arm felt chilled in his absence. “After that dose of adrenaline, I’ll probably crash the second my head hits the pillow.”

“Good. Well, I’d better . . .” He trailed off as he threw his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of his hammock.

“Definitely. Thanks again for the rescue.” She gave a weak smile, suddenly aware of her mental and physical exhaustion.

“Don’t mention it. I’ll add it to your bill at the end of all this.”

Lucy reached out, jabbing him lightly on the bicep, and good god, was it solid.

With a devastatingly dreamy grin, Jonathan turned to walk away.

Naturally, Lucy watched him go. She’d noticed how nice his ass was earlier in the day when he was up ahead of her, blazing the trail. While relatively loose, his pants still hugged his rear with each step. But, oh wow. She could never have imagined a sexier derrière filling out those fitted undies. Hiking uphill didthis dude’s body good.

“Go to bed, Lucy,” Jonathan warned, not bothering to look over his shoulder at her.

Her cheeks flamed with embarrassment and lust as she fumbled with the zipper on her tent. Once securely inside, despite feeling overheated, she scurried into her sleeping bag and pulled it up to her chin. She’d better cool it. The last thing she wanted was to give her guide creepy, horny vibes the rest of the trip. Laying there in the darkness, she stared at the roof of her tent until fatigue washed over her and she drifted off to sleep.

Chapter twenty

Sunday morning: Jonathan

The next morning, warm light illuminated the cover of Jonathan’s hammock. He awoke from the kind of fitful sleep that caused more fatigue than it banished. Scrubbing both hands over his face, he emitted a low growl.

Coffee. I need coffee.

He looked at his watch; it was already seven thirty. Typically one to rise with the dawn, he was surprised by how late he’d slept. With one last groan, he sat up and pulled on the T-shirt, flannel, and puffy vest he’d tucked into a side pouch the evening before.

Jonathan struggled to fall back to sleep after the excitement of saving Lucy from the bloodthirsty opossum. Her screams of terror woke him and motivated him to fly out of his hammock at lightning speed. But her hungry stare boiled his blood and kept him from relaxing once he crawled back into bed. He lay there for nearly an hour pondering what would have happened if he’d continued to touch her. If he’d moved in to kiss her. Would it have stopped there? Or would they have stayed up all night tangled together in her tent?

A raging erection had a way of keeping a man up at night. And since Jonathan didn’t make it a habit of masturbating while working, he tried whatever he could think of to distract from his arousal. He finally drifted off once he hit abouttwenty-three bottles of beer on the wall.

Unzipping the hammock, he hung his legs over the edge toshimmy into his pants and pull on his boots. He took a deep breath while dismantling his sleeping quarters, allowing the cool mountain air to cleanse his lungs. Though minimal and cozy, the fully encapsulated cocoon hardly allowed for a draft.

With the bundled hammock neatly tucked away, he pulled out supplies and began preparing breakfast. The aromas of java and eggs were usually enough to lure out even the more reluctant adventurers from bed. But Lucy had yet to budge.

Leaving the rehydrated scramble to cook, he moved over to her tent and listened. Light snoring drifted from within. Jonathan smiled and, for a moment, was inclined to let her sleep a bit longer. Unfortunately, time was not on their side. They needed to clean up camp and get moving.

“Wake up, sunshine. Time to face the day,” Jonathan cooed, attempting to wake Lucy as gently as possible. The poor woman had already been through a lot. Jarring her from a deep sleep wouldn’t be a great way to launch their impending journey.

He couldn’t help but chuckle at the sounds of slow rustling and quiet murmurs about a giant opossum.

“Lucy. Breakfast is almost ready,” Jonathan attempted, projecting a little more volume.

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