Page 134 of Enticing Her Love

“Addicted to you” by Picture This began playing, and breathtaking views of the rainforest taken from the bush plane bloomed before her eyes. She’d been so stressed during that flight because of the tension between them, she hadn’t even noticed the views. Even when they’d watched the footage together at work, the tension between them had escalated, and she’d seen it through the eyes of a reporter. But now, as lyrics about hoping she wanted him and being addicted to her rang out, she saw it through the eyes of a woman who had set out on a journey scared half out of her mind with a man she was certain was trying to get her fired—and had returned questioning everything she’d thought she knew about herself and him.

I knew you when you couldn’t stand to be within fifty feet of me appeared at the top of the screen, and footage of Sutton stalking angrily toward the forest appeared. She’d been terrified and had tried so hard not to let him see it. He’d muted their conversation in the video, but as she turned to face the camera with an expression that was a cross between fuming and calling him an idiot, she remembered him calling out to her, asking where she thought she was going.

That image blended into a montage of monkeys, the ocelot behind her as she reported, collecting water from the rocks. There was a shot of a strangler fig, and But we brought out something in each other we didn’t know existed appeared at the bottom of the screen.

She smiled to herself as more images appeared of her laughing and sticking her tongue out at him in the pouring rain, looking like a drowned rat, and eating chontacuro worms. Then her back was to the camera again and she was wrestling with the tent. She remembered how frustrating that had been. She’d been wet and hot and overwhelmed.

The music faded to the background as she stalked toward the camera, glowering, and said, “Know what’s not fun? Being hungry, thirsty, and wet and thinking you’re going to get wood so maybe we can get more comfortable. But I’m still wet, and you have no wood.” Flynn’s laughter rang out, drawing laughter from her in real time.

The music grew louder again, lyrics about being obsessed with her and how he’d come running and take her away to someplace where nobody could find them. The camera panned down to Flynn’s feet walking through the woods, pink flowers sailing to the ground beside them, leading to the bathroom hole he’d dug for her.

She teared up as images of them in the tent appeared, illuminated by the dim light of his phone lying on the tent floor beside his head. Flynn was holding the camera above them, and she was sleeping on his chest. His smile spoke volumes, and the emotions in his eyes drew tears from hers.

The video morphed into images she’d taken with his video camera of bugs crawling along plants, snakes hiding, and a sloth hanging out in a tree as they walked through the forest. We were forced to work together appeared across the screen, followed by clips of them fishing with the net, of her plucking the fish out, and the two of them eating them by the fire. Then they were walking again, and images of the sun peeking through the treetops appeared. I knew you before you were defiled in a waterfall flashed across the screen, and she appeared with her back to the camera as she pushed plants aside, revealing the waterfall they’d found for the very first time. She spun around with sun-kissed cheeks, eyes dancing with joy, and a smile that leapt off the screen.

Her heart skipped, remembering the thrill of that moment and how overwhelmed she’d been when she’d realized he’d planned it for her.

Footage of the waterfall appeared, and then she was lying on the rocks in her bikini, her knee bent, foot bouncing, as she wrote in her journal. The music faded, and Flynn’s voice appeared from off-screen. Have you made your pros and cons list about us yet? He’d edited it so it went directly to her looking at him as he said, Let me help you. Pro. Never has trouble getting wood. She smiled playfully and said, I wrote something about you being a dick. Does that count? He pointed the camera at himself as he lowered himself to sit beside her and said, That’s how she says she loves me, and then he was kissing the living daylights out of her.

Sutton swiped at her tears as more images played out of her sleeping on the rocks, Flynn’s treasured copy of Gulliver’s Travels on his lap, and of him reading it aloud in the tent as she held the flashlight for him. That morphed into a montage of videos on his boat, his deck, cooking dinner, and of her wearing his T-shirt as he chased her around his cabin with the camera, both of them laughing.

The music faded on a video of her sleeping on his chest on a lounge chair on his deck and his handsome face as he whispered, I knew you before you were mine, Steele, and I hope I’ll never know a time when you’re not.

Tears slid down her cheeks as the music played softly, and selfies of them from the last few weeks swam across the screen.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

SUTTON AWOKE TO a vibration against her chest in the dark hotel room. She pushed up on one elbow, glancing at the clock—3:15—trying to get her groggy brain to function. Her laptop was precariously perched on the edge of the bed. She’d watched the video Flynn had sent her twice before texting to thank him, and they’d ended up on the phone, reminiscing about their trip to the rainforest for another half hour. Afterward, she’d tried to watch another episode of Wilderness Warrior, but her nerves over the job offer had gotten the better of her, so she’d watched old videos of her journalistic idols. She must have fallen asleep while watching.

She pulled her laptop closer and sat up to answer her vibrating phone. “Hey, Flynn. You okay?”

“Yeah. Sorry to wake you. How do you feel about Alaska?” He sounded wide-awake and excited.

“Um. Curious, I guess. Why?”

“Because that’s where we’re heading, babe. Get your cute little ass up. You’ve got to get to the airport.”

Anticipation brought her to her feet. “What’s going on? Do we have a story?”

“We sure do. I just got a call from my grandfather.”

“Isn’t it like two in the morning in Alaska?” Her brain scrambled to keep up. “Are your grandparents okay? I thought they were on a cruise.”

“He never sleeps, and they’re fine. They haven’t been on a frigging cruise for the last six weeks. My grandfather put together an expedition along the Yukon River to learn more about the landscape and habitat of dinosaurs up north.”

“He’s sneaky. Way to go, Grandpa. I can’t wait to meet him.”

“He’s stoked about meeting you, too.”

“What did they find? Dinosaur bones?”

“No bones, but they found an impression of dinosaur skin and several fossilized footprints. He’s giving us the first chance at the story.”

“That’s amazing.”

“He and my grandmother rented a cabin, so we can stay with them tonight if that’s cool with you.”

“Sounds perfect.” She pulled open the curtains and scribbled down the flight arrangements Flynn gave her.