Drantos(47)

They’d dated for two months before they’d taken a trip to Las Vegas. Reed had talked her into a quickie marriage after they’d arrived. He’d had big dreams and she’d been on board with all of them. He thought he’d make a bunch of money and she could quit her job. He’d wanted the picket fence and children. So had Dusti. Bat had flipped her lid when she’d found out her baby sister had gotten married, but Dusti hadn’t cared.

Within six months, their marriage turned into a nightmare. The housing market started to fall and Reed turned really moody. He’d start arguments with her and storm out of their apartment, disappearing for hours. That’s when he’d decided to switch careers. Dusti had been supportive. He was her husband and she wanted him to be happy. She’d taken a second job to help him pay for night school. It had been difficult on them both. They barely saw each other but she’d sworn to stick with the marriage for better or worse.

Drantos drew her attention once more as he kept working on the raft. Her ex-husband never would have done something like that. He hadn’t even been able to fix their leaking sink. She’d had to do it. Her ex-husband wouldn’t have wanted to mess up his manicure. Drantos was nothing like Reed.#p#分页标题#e#

She bit her lip, rehashing the past. Her taste in men couldn’t be trusted. It’s why she’d avoided dating after her divorce. There had been the occasional boyfriend over the years but she’d safeguarded her heart. She left at the first sign of trouble. Drantos was exactly that. It was a really bad idea to get involved with him. He made her feel too much and she never wanted to hurt again like she had while suffering through her divorce. It was painful to admit she’d given her heart to someone who’d smashed it to bits.

Just lie down and try to get some sleep while he finishes building that thing.

It sounded like a good plan to her. She slid off the rock she sat on and put her back to it, closing her eyes. She tried to blank her mind.

“Tired?”

She startled, opening her eyes. Drantos had stopped working on the raft and was crouched by the still burning fire in front of her. She hadn’t heard him walk over. “A bit. I didn’t get much sleep last night.” She didn’t mention he’d been the reason. The night before she’d slept poorly because her body had ached for his, and she hadn’t slept while dangling over his back.

Knowledge flared in his eyes and a smile hinted at his lips. “Let’s go to the river. You can splash some water on your face.” He glanced at the sky as he shoved dirt over the fire to put it out. “We have about half an hour before we must leave. I want to cross the river about the same time Kraven should be. It’s imperative to keep moving for as long as we can while we have daylight left, and stick close to them.”

“Plus the smell of cooked fish will have bears and additional predators heading this way,” Dusti guessed. “We don’t want to still be here when they arrive for the bones, right?”

Drantos stood, brushing dirt off his fingers. “Good guess. Come on.” He held out his hand.

She put hers in his, allowing him to help her up. “We have nature shows on cable.”

He grinned, releasing her hand. “Do you watch them often?”

“No.”

Dusti followed him and she crouched near the water’s edge. She cupped icy water in her hands and splashed her face, then leaned farther over the edge to avoid dripping water onto her clothes. The shock of how cold it was had her gasping and she felt her knees slide a little on the grass. Her eyes flew open to see the water coming at her. She’d bent over too far and was about to fall in.

Drantos’s big hands gripped her hips and jerked her back. She ended up leaning against his wide chest. His arms slid from her hips and around her rib cage. He bent forward enough to press his lips next to her ear.

“Be careful. As much as I fantasize about making you wet, it’s not in that way.”

She took a deep breath to calm her racing heart and turned her head. Their lips almost brushed as she gazed into his eyes. “Why do you say things like that? Is it to shock me?”

“Because I mean it.”

Her heart pounded. He had beautiful eyes. His big body braced hers and his arm wrapped around her tighter, holding her close. It was impossible to ignore that he was an attractive man. She decided to try humor to cool down the situation. “Thanks for saving me. Turning into a human popsicle when the sun goes down isn’t my idea of fun.”

No luck. She became even more aware of how he held her. He was on his knees, legs spread, and her ass was firmly pressed against his groin. She wiggled her hips a little and couldn’t miss the hard ridge of arousal she felt. She froze.