Page 21 of Hunted

“You named this little guy after me?” he asks, his voice turning soft.

I nod my head and smile down at Mo-Mo. “Yeah, well… he quickly became my best friend here, and, well you know…”

“No, say it.” When I don’t speak, he prods me. “Sayit, Darla.”

“Because I missed you! Alright? Is that what you wanted to hear? I was all alone out here, and this little guy found me and kept me company. Mo-Mo was the perfect name for him.”

I risk a glance up at him, and he’s looking at me with such piercing intensity it feels like he’s seeing straight into the deepest parts of me.

“Eep.” Mo-Mo breaks the moment between us as he lifts his little fist towards Reece, who looks at it in confusion.

“What does he—”

“He wants a fist bump!” Bower says from where he’s seated, watching our interaction with obvious amusement.

Reece lifts his fist and gently taps it against Mo-Mo’s. The action makes him trill, and he leaps from my arms onto Reece's shoulder, startling him. He freezes with both arms out to the side, like he has no idea what to do. Everyone laughs as Bower tells him, “Relax, he’s not going to hurt you. He was protecting Zee. That’s why he yelled.”

He lowers his arms slowly and stands up straight, turning his head to look at Mo-Mo.

“Is that true, Mo-Mo? Are you protective of our girl?”

Our girl.

The two words send a bolt of…somethingcoursing through my body. I like hearing him call me that.

“When she hurt her foot, he and his family brought her fruit every day,” Kingsley tells him.

Reece’s lip quirks up in a small smile. “You don’t say? You’re one special little lemur, aren’t you, Mo-Mo? I mean, you’d have to be with a name like that.”

That pulls a laugh from me and Reece smiles. It’s a real, true, genuine Reece smile. One I haven’t seen in a very long time. Seeing it makes myheart leap in my chest with a rush of emotions. I feel joy at seeing it again, sorrow for how long it’s been, fear that I might lose it once more, and a quiet ache for everything we’ve missed.

“What do you say we go for a swim?” Weston says, breaking the tension.

“Yeah, I’m starting to sweat my ass off out here,” Bower grumbles as he stands and starts removing his pants.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you guys,” Reece says, glancing at each of them. "Why are you still wearing your jeans? I thought you’d be walking around in the bare minimum by now.”

“Why are you still wearing your dress pants and shirt?” Weston asks, pulling his own shirt over his head, and making my eyes go wide at the sight of his naked chest. Even though I’ve seen it several times before, the sheer mass of him never gets old.

I wonder how long it would take me to lick every inch of his exposed skin?

My eyes widen at the sheer intensity of that thought. Shaking my head, I listen to Reece’s answer. “It seems weird to walk around in boxers.” His eyes flick to me before moving back to the guys.

“There you go,” Weston says, as if that explains everything.

“Wait—” I frown, stepping towards them. “What do you mean? Are you guys doing that because of me?” I glance around and they each look at each other, avoiding eye contact with me.

“Have you been uncomfortable and sweating all this time because… what? You don’t want me to see you like that?” I shake my head, knowing that can’t be the reason. I’ve seen all of them shirtless and none of them are shy.

“We didn’t want to make you uncomfortable,” Kingsley says, answering my question as he scratches the back of his head, looking slightly nervous about my response.

“Makemeuncomfortable? What about you guys?” I ask, getting worked up and frustrated at the unfairness of it. “That issonot right! I demand you all only wear boxers from now on!” I tell them, crossing my arms over my chest as I glare at them all.

They exchange glances for a moment before Bower shrugs, pulling off his shirt. He plants his hands on his hips and gives me a huge smile.

My mouth goes dry as I try to swallow. Good lord, I’d just had sex with him, but still the mere sight of his body has me heating up all over again.

Movement has my eyes turning to Weston who’s now in the same state of undress. He glances at the rest of us. “You guys coming or what?”