Page 60 of Alien Jeopardy

“He’s just Ken,” I say instead, refusing to look at him.

Embarrassed—I am so embarrassed.

His hand cups my chin, and I finally lift my eyes, gazing up at his handsome, strong face. “You are mine, no matter what you decide at the end of this. You have nothing to envy when it comes to any other female, ever. You can leave me, but you will take a piece of my heart with you.” He thumps a fist on his chest.

“Ka-Rexsh,” I murmur, just holding him for a long minute, trying to calm my pounding heart, trying to tell myself that we’re going to be okay, that this isn’t just the calm before the storm.

Finally, I sniffle again, brushing my hand against my cheek, and we start back down the trail, looking for the supply cache Ken said was somewhere on his chosen route.

It was the calm before the storm.

Literally.

Not five seconds after we started hiking down the path, all hell broke loose in the skies. Lightning forked down from thickstorm clouds, followed by thunder so loud it made the ground shake.

Now, the rain’s begun.

No gentle sprinkling, no warning whatsoever. Instead, an instant deluge, like a switch has been flipped.

Well, considering good ole Ken is involved, it very well could have been as simple as a switch being flipped.

My shoes, which I’d been so happy about, slosh with every step, taking on water like a leaky canoe my parents once rented on an ill-fated, last-minute camping trip. Camping was as close to a vacation as I ever got with my parents. Money, or lack thereof, stopped us from doing much more.

They always told me one day I’d appreciate it.

I don’t think they meant I’d appreciate it because I was on an alien survival show where an AI was trying to torture us.

And yet!

Wet and miserable, I trudge along, barely able to see more than an arm’s length in front of me. The gargantuan blue-tinged trees lining the path have all but disappeared in the onslaught, sheets of rain blocking them from view.

“Come here, hyrulis,” Rex yells over the storm.

“I can’t see you,” I tell him. The next thing I know, I’m being tugged into his arms. It takes another moment for me to realize the rain has stopped.

No, not stopped. It’s still pinging all around, but Rex’s wings are blocking it out. He’s made a shelter for me, and the heat from his body warms my wet skin almost instantly.

“Thank you.” I nuzzle closer, trying to absorb all the heat I can.

Water sloshes in my shoes, even though I’m standing still.

“We need to keep moving,” Rex says gravely.

Following his gaze, I look down.

The water wasn’t sloshing in my shoes. It was racing over them, now lapping at the middle of my calves.

“Shit.” It’s flooding.

“No, just water,” Rex says. “A shit flood would be much worse.”

I don’t know what to say to that, and I don’t want to give the damned AI any ideas, so I keep my mouth shut.

“Are you a good swimmer?” he asks, face grim.

“I mean, I can swim. I have swum. Am I good at it?” I raise one shoulder. “I guess we’re about to find out.”

The water rises rapidly, now at my knees, tugging me off balance.