Page 26 of Lost Paradise

He lingers momentarily before getting up and walking off, and I lean my head back down on Zane's sweatshirt and sigh heavily, shutting my eyes.

There has got to be something in the air on this island. I felt it with Mr. Coldwell earlier, and now with this dark freak who keeps staring at me.

“Here, I got you some aloe vera,” I hear Byron’s voice, and I open my eyelids to see him hovering over me with some long cactus leaves.

“What?” I say and sit up.

I watch him flip the long stem upside down onto a large, flat green leaf, and we watch a yellow substance ooze out from it.

“Aloe vera is very beneficial for the skin, and it’ll help speed up the healing of that bruise on your forehead,” he says.

I watch him carefully toss that liquid aside.

“That’s not the part you want,” he says, and I ask him why. “It has laxative properties that could mess up your digestive tract if you consume it.”

I giggle, and he looks at me curiously.

“That little bit of info might come in handy one day.”

He grins at me with amusement.

“You’re wicked,” he says, focusing his careful attention on the thick leaf he’s slicing open with Jack’s handy knife.

I watch him flip the knife to the more blunt side and run it over as a slab of clear gel comes off. He takes some of it with his fingers and hesitates.

“You can rub it over your bruise,” he says and waits for my hand.

“Can you put it on me? It’s not like I have a mirror,” I say sheepishly.

He crawls closer, and I close my eyes. He gently pats my forehead with the cool gel. “It’s supposed to have a soothing effect and help with pain, too.”

He’s now inches from my face, and I purposely open my eyes to observe his deep blue eyes and apply the stuff to my skin. Our eyes meet briefly, and there’s a moment when neither of us moves until he breaks our gaze and moves backward.

“Thank you,” I say.

“It’s the least I can do, considering my sight is pretty poor, and I feel useless.”

I sigh at his own frustration.

“Well, I think you’d make a sexy doctor,” I say with amusement, but I know there’s some truth to those words. If I had thought he looked cute before, now, without the glasses, he’d just stepped up several notches.

He narrows his eyes at me.

“You don’t have to keep doing that,” he mutters, gritting his teeth. “It’s very superficial.”

Taken aback by his curt words, I stare at him, momentarily speechless.

“Well, what if I wasn’t lying and I found you attractive? How is that superficial?” I finally say.

He gives me one dismissive look, shoves everything aside, gets up, and storms off.

“Hey!” I say, and I’m not going to let him walk off like that. I go to get up, but it’s too fast, and I feel faint. “Byron? Someone? Help!” I cry out, and I feel the blood drain from my face.

Suddenly, two arms wrap around me, keeping me steady as my legs give way. I grab onto their shoulders and grip hard, scared I might fall as the dizziness begins to fade.

“Got you,” I hear Byron say, and I stare straight up at him. “You alright there?”

“You saved me,” I mumble, totally captivated by his deep blue eyes and plump lips.

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