Page 2 of Hunted

“What else?”

Her hand moves to her necklace I gave her, her thumb rubbing over the seashell charm. “My necklace, it’s smooth.”

“Good girl. Now, I need to clean the rest of you. Are you okay if I dunk us under the water for a few seconds? Can you hold your breath?”

She licks her lips then starts to look down at herself, but I grab her chin and tilt it back up. “No looking. Just tell me you understand, that you’ll hold your breath for me? Let me take care of you, Zee.” I cup her cheek as my eyes bore into hers, wanting her to really understand my words. “You’re not alone anymore.”

Her eyes connect with mine and I can see a rawness and vulnerability there that I haven’t seen before, like she’s showing me all the broken pieces of herself and trusting me to put them back together.

She nods her head, then takes a deep breath and holds it. Bending my knees, I lower us both under the water, quickly using my hands to scrub at her face, shoulders, chest, and hair.

I stand up so we can both catch some air, and I inspect her. She’s free of any traces of blood, and I let out a deep breath. “You’re all clean now. We should wash your hair when we get—”

I cut off my train of thought when her eyes start welling up with tears. With one arm wrapped around her waist, my other hand cups her cheek. “Baby, what’s wrong? Don’t cry.”

She sniffles as she blinks up at me, a tear breaking free and running down her cheek.

“I killed him, didn’t I?” she whispers so quietly, I almost miss it over the sound of the waves.

I slowly nod my head once. “Yeah, baby, you did. I killed the other man. They were mercenaries. They were sent to kill me and the others. If you hadn’t done it, we’d probably be dead now.”

That must be the wrong thing to say because a sob bursts from her and she flings her arms around my neck, hugging me tight as she cries.

My heart feels like it’s cracking in two. I’m supposed to be the one to save her, to protect her from any more harm, and yet here she is, having to go through the same thing all over again.

“I’ve got you now, Zee. You’re safe. I’m so sorry that happened. I should have done a better job at protecting you from all of that. I’m sorry I failed.”

She pulls back, shaking her head as she tries to wipe the tears from her cheeks. “No, Weston, it’s not your fault! You didn’t fail me. I’m just… The thought of how close I was to losing you, all of you, it’s terrifying. I can’t survive that again. I’d rather die.”

My heart hammers heavily against my chest, as if it’s trying to break free just to be closer to her. “Fuck, baby. Don’t say that. You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met. You can survive anything.”

“But I wouldn’t want to. I love you, Weston.”

My breath catches in my throat as I gaze into her beautiful green eyes, seeing all her love and warmth shining up at me. How did I get so lucky as to have this wild, brave, beautiful woman - love me?

“Zee, you’re the most important person in my life. I love you, too.”

Leaning down, I place my lips gently on hers, savoring the moment without pushing for more. Her fingers slide into the hair at the back of my neck as she holds me tightly against her.

I take my time kissing her, knowing there’s no rush and wanting her to feel how much I worship and admire her.

“West!” Hearing my name being called from the beach, I reluctantly pull back with a final peck to her lips before turning us so I can see the shore. King waves me in, and glancing around, I’m seeing no signs of any bodies. Thank fuck for that.

Bower and Reece move to stand either side of King as they watch us in the water.

“Well,” I say, glancing down at Zee, who still has her legs wrapped around my waist. “Are you ready to go in? I have a feeling there’s someone there who wants to talk to you.”

She turns her head to look at the others and bites her lip nervously.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m scared.”

“Of Reece?”

“Yes. No. It’s complicated.”

I start walking us in as I speak. “You know he won’t hurt you, right? He’s not like that, nor would we let him. He may be a grumpy asshole most of the time, but he won’t hurt you, I promise.”