Page 35 of Knox's Mission

Should she call him out on it?

Knox should probably ziphis mouth shut before he rammed his foot deeper down his throat. At this point, all he could do was laugh.

“Did one of us say something funny?” Amy asked, her body pressed against his had awakened pieces of his soul that he’d stuffed away so long ago he wasn’t sure they existed any longer.

He’d slept a little too deeply, a little too comfortably.

He tried to convince himself the reason had to do with her being safe lying next to him, but the situation was far more complicated than that explanation.

“Not really,” he admitted.

“Then, why are you laughing?”

“Seemed like the best option at the time,” he answered.

“Care to clue me in?”

He clamped his mouth shut and then made the mistake of locking gazes with her. The moment changed from light and funny to intense and sexy in two seconds flat. “If we stay like this for very long, I’m going to ask permission to kiss you.”

“What’s stopping you?”

“Honestly?” he asked.

“You’ve always been straight with me,” she said. “Why stop now?”

“My morning breath might kill you,” he said. “But by the time I brush my teeth, the mood might change.” He decided to keep the part to himself where he could kiss her all day and never get tired. There were other things he imagined doing to her too, but those only served to send blood flying south.

Amy laughed. “Maybe we should brush our teeth, get back in bed, then see where we land.”

“Challenge accepted,” he said, rolling so that the hammock would spill over and drop them out. He caught Amy before she hit the ground. “Now, you owe me one.”

Setting her to the side, he made it to the fresh water bowl first. Just as he grabbed his toothbrush out of his pack, Lorna peeked her head inside the hut and cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention.

“Okay if I come inside?” she asked.

“Busy,” Knox stated.

“You can come in,” Amy said. Those words killed the mood more effectively than a bucket of ice-cold water.

He grabbed his supplies and headed to his own hut where, lucky him, Donnie probably waited. “I’ll be in my hut if you need me.”

“I will,” Amy said before taking his spot at the water bowl.

“We’re heading out today, so be ready.” He walked out as she brushed her teeth, trying his best to take his mind off what almost just happened. Later on, much later, he would probably look back at the interruption as a blessing in disguise. Being close to Amy was too tempting. He wouldn’t make the mistake a second time.

As much as Knox wanted to stick around in this little paradise for as long as possible, the real world waited. Amy’s mom would be frantic with worry by now if she didn’t hear from her daughter soon. Or would she? Hadn’t Amy told her mom about the documentary she believed she would be doing, instead of the one she’d been tricked into? She had to have warned her mom cell coverage might be spotty. Still. Did her mom worry more now that Garrett was gone?

Donnie wasn’t in their hut. Knox tried not to take it as a bad sign. Everyone had the opportunity to get a good night’s sleep last night. Based on the way Lorna looked a minute ago, mission accomplished.

Knox worked his ankle and wrist. They acted up in humidity. They acted up when it was cold. Basically, they gave him hell most of the time. Pain was good though. It reminded him that he was alive. Itreminded him of what he’d lost. And it reminded him of what was important.

Being with Amy?

Shaking the thought out of his head, he brushed his teeth before washing his face. He checked his supplies. There weren’t many left and they still had a day’s walk in front of them, maybe more, before they reached a point where they could signal the chopper for an extraction. He’d diverted from the idea of going back to base camp. If Donnie was in cahoots with someone, they would be waiting there.

At least Knox had been here before, so he was familiar with the area. Familiarity guaranteed nothing when it came to survival out here. But it put a point in their favor at least. He’d take all the help he could get.

Breakfast came in the form of more protein from a fish he didn’t recognize along with several pieces of fruit. He finished the food off in no time. Another bowl of fruit was shoved inside his hut, for his journey. He loaded his pack, thankful for the bounty that should get them through today, longer if necessary.

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