His “six”? Who did he think she was, one of his men? I have something for his “six” all right! Did they even have piranha’s here? She didn’t believe so but for some reason her mind wouldn’t move off of it. It was as if she could see them lined up just waiting for her to enter the water so they could feast on her well-built body with their rows of shredding teeth. The water was cold, very cold, but Jayde kept her eyes and attention on the man in front of her. It was the same way she’d made it through the night, by ignoring what could possibly be around her, just focusing on one thing. After what seemed like hours, they slogged out of the water to stand on the banks at the other side. Jayde was wet up to her crotch but she was alive. Tyson didn’t even check to see if she were okay, just continued onward. This time, though, they were going up the other side of the ravine.
The motion wasn’t exactly the same as rock climbing, but it had some similarities, so Jayde passed the time by watching the arm muscles under his tight shirt move. They flowed with strength, a strength that didn’t seem to diminish even while carrying that pack. And then there was his ass—lord-a-mercy that man had an fine one on him. “I could climb all day with a view like that in front of me,” she whispered to herself.
Tyson stopped halfway up the side of the ravine maneuvering to sit on a smooth surface. “You doing okay back there?” he asked, clearly pleased she hadn’t faded yet.
“Fine.” She smiled at the impressed look on his face. “It’s not all that different than rock climbing. You find a good hold and pull yourself up.” Her body ached, though; it had been three hours of hard climbing, and she’d slipped a number of times, but hadn’t called out for help. She loved this kind of burn.
“Rock climbing?” He smiled and laughed a little. “You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you? Take off your boots and wring out the excess water from your socks.”
“Okay.” She immediately began unlacing her boots.
“Rock climbing?” he asked again, encouraging an answer.
“Yes, another one of my quirks, or so Father says.” She frowned with the memory. “‘No decent brother is going to want a woman who prefers to climb rocks than cook him a good meal,'” she said in a deep tone.
“I find it awesome,” Tyson said.
“Thanks, but you aren’t exactly ‘the brother’ that I should be out attracting.” She wrinkled her nose. “Hell, you ain’t even a brotha!” She wrung out her socks until no moisture fell from them and laid them over a boulder. Her hands began to rub her feet until they were almost dry as well, examining them for blisters.
“No, I’m your husband, so you don’t need to be attracting any brothers.”
She laughed softly. “I hardly think our farce in the hotel matters anymore.”
“What farce are you talking about?”
His voice had grown dangerous, but it thrilled, not scared her. “We both know it wasn’t real. I only did it to help you out. Once—notice my optimism here—you get us back to the States, it will be nothing more than a memory.” Jayde gave him a smile to hide her pain. As much as she loved him, Jayde wasn’t about to keep a man who wanted to be with someone else; he obviously still had feelings for this Carrie woman.
Tyson glowered into the distance. “Humph. We need to get some sleep. Protected here we can catch a few hours. Once night comes, it will be a different story.” A light rain began to fall.
Jayde looked down and realized they had climbed much farther than she’d believed; it was a dreadfully deep ravine. She also had to look around the thick trees to see below them. They were very well protected. “Okay, I didn’t get much sleep last night,” she admitted.
Tyson was already beginning to dose. He took a blanket out of the pack, not the one she’d used last night, but one that shone silver. “Put your socks and shoes on just in case we have to leave quickly and then come over here.” It was an order from him although gently spoken.
Jayde didn’t argue, just shook her socks forcefully and slid her boots on after a thorough inspection of the insides. Once she was dressed again, she moved over towards his warm strong body.
Tyson had the pack beside his head, a poncho under his body, and the blanket and another poncho over it, hiding the silver color. He lifted a corner for Jayde to slip under, positioning her head on his shoulder as she curled up against him. His grip tightened on the gun as his other arm circled her. His body fell into a light but restful sleep as Jayde’s hand settled over his heart. The rain pattered down around them, but they ignored it.
Three hours later, a much better–rested Tyson awoke to the rumble of thunder. His body instantly awake, he noticed that he was alone. “Jayde?” he said to the increasing rain.
“I’m here,” her soft voice reached him before she came into his sight.
“Where were you?” he snapped as he grabbed her arm, instantly relieved she was all right and furious that she’d gone off somewhere without telling him.
Jayde took her arm back. “Don’t yell at me! I went to the bathroom if you must know.”
“Look, just let me know before you go off.” He met and held her gaze. “Okay?”
She nodded as her stomach began to rumble. “Okay.”
Unable to help himself, Tyson kissed her until the hunger pains had totally disappeared and another yearning had settled in the pit of their stomachs.
Jayde was the one that pulled away, her full mouth swollen from the intensity of his kisses. “As much as I would love to keep going, I have this innate fear of this place. So could we find some civilization, please?”
Tyson nodded as he tenderly touched his knuckles to her cheek. “We should be able to make it to the top of the ravine in another two hours. That should give us some time to get ready for the night.”
He hoisted the pack onto his back and turned at her light touch. “Do you have any idea how long be-fore we get out of here? Just a ballpark guess.”
“By now they would have word of the plane going down. So anywhere from two to five days since we have to move at least until we can find a safe place to hunker down and wait for the rescue,” Tyson said as his eyes held hers.
“I am not eating raw meat,” she spoke quickly and with more than a bit of attitude.
“There are some MREs, meals ready to eat, in the pack, and I will also catch food if it comes to that. Don’t worry, I will cook it for you.” Shaking his head, he turned around and got ready to climb. “Stay…”
“I know, I know. Stick to your six,” Jayde said. “I’m not a SEAL, you know.”
Tyson faced her, the climb forgotten for the moment. “I know you’re not a SEAL, but you need to fol-low my orders. If I tell you to go, go. I am in my element, so let me do my job. It’s what I do; I rescue people.”
Jayde glared at him. “Listen to me.” She poked him in the chest. “I’m just a civilian. I question things. I get scared; in fact, I am scared shitless right now. I will do my best to follow your orders, but when I hesitate, remember I am not a machine, I am nothing more than a very scared city woman stuck in the jungle.”
The expression on his face softened. His eyes sparkled with emotion. “You are so much more. Don’t forget…you are my wife.” He winked, turned, and began the arduous climb towards the top.
“Yeah, right,” she mumbled as she began to clamber after him. Seconds later she yelled up to his climb-ing body, “I never said anything about ‘obeying’ you in my vows!”
His teasing words fell back to her. “We were just renewing! You swore your blind obedience the first time around!”
“You wish,” she snapped, and he could feel her piercing glare at his back.
He laughed low and deeply. The woman behind him had so much spunk, although she hadn’t discov-ered it yet. She was his. And he couldn’t be prouder.