Page 15 of Rescuing Nathaniel

“A plan,” she agreed because she didn't know what else to say. “And I really am feeling a little better. I'm not even hurting that much.”

To prove her point, Ava pushed herself up into a sitting position but was instantly swamped by a fresh wave of pain she’d almost forgotten about in the haze of escaping and then being rescued.

Crying out, she slumped back down, expecting to land in the dirty sand and hard rock of the cave bottom.

Instead, Nathaniel moved quicker than she thought a person could move and managed to catch her. One of his large hands cradled the back of her head, and the other supported her shoulders.

“You were saying?” He quirked an eyebrow up at her, and she knew that he knew how much pain she was in.

“Maybe the lack of pain was because I hadn't been moving,” she admitted.

“That might be a problem,” Nathaniel told her, and she looked up into his handsome face to see that his eyes were clouded with concern.

“Why is it a problem?” She knew that her being partially incapacitated was going to be an inconvenience, but not necessarily a major problem, which was the vibe he was giving her right now.

“Because while you were out, I did a little scouting.”

Knowing he hadn't been right by her side the entire time she’d been vulnerable in unconsciousness sent a wave of icy fear through her veins, and Ava had to remind herself that Nathaniel knew what he was doing, and he wouldn't have left her alone for long. Besides, nothing had happened. She was still in one piece, well actually minus one piece, but she hadn't been found, so all’s well that ends well, and she was glad she hadn't known he was going to leave her.

“And you found …” she prompted, inviting him to finish that sentence even if it wasn't with the words she wanted to hear.

“That we’re in the middle of nowhere. There are no towns I could see near the beach, we’re surrounded by the jungle. My comms are still down, so if we want to find our way out of here and back home, we’re going to have to hike through the jungle until we find a safe village or town to stop at and call for help.”

Now she could see why he looked so worried.

Hiking through the jungle was something she couldn’t do right now, not in her condition. Just because she was feeling a little better did not mean she was up for any sort of strenuous activity. She still had an open wound, was still fighting off an infection, and was as weak as a newborn kitten.

Unfortunately, none of that mattered.

If she wanted to get home, she had to find a way to do the impossible.

* * *

March 1st

6:10 P.M.

“Thank you,”Ava said as she passed him back his canteen.

Leaning back on his heels, Nathaniel studied his charge. There was a little less pink staining her cheeks than he’d seen last night in the raft, and her eyes were a lot clearer. It was obvious she was still in a lot of pain, and there was no way the infection had cleared up in that small amount of time.

But she was improving and that was all he could ask for.

It should be all that mattered.

Yet, for some reason, it wasn't.

Telling her he thought she was beautiful was a stupid thing to do and something very unlike him. Controlling his emotions was the only thing that had spared him from even more beatings when he was a kid, and it served him well in his chosen career.

Despite that, the words had slipped out.

So easily.

One second he’d been feeling her embarrassment at blurting out that she thought he was handsome—something he was sure had little to do with the fact that she was ill—and then the next thing he knew he was telling her that it was a shame she didn't mean it because he thought she was pretty.

What was he doing?

Flirting?

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