Page 37 of Enticing Her Love

“IgotitIgotitIgotit!” She sank back down to his shoulders.

“I told you I’d get you there.”

“Ha ha. It’s heavier than I thought it would be.”

He chuckled. “You know the fourteen-year-old in me would say that’s what she said.”

She leaned down with a big-ass smile. “So would the twelve-year-old in me.” She handed him the small oblong fruit. “Hold this. I’ll get the others so we have enough for later and tomorrow.”

“A’right. Now it’s a party.”

She collected several passion fruit, and as he helped her down, she said, “That was fun.”

“We make a good team.”

“When we’re not driving each other crazy.” She surveyed their stash, looking over the fruit, picking each one up and squeezing it. “Some are harder than others.”

He cocked a brow.

“You’re such a guy.” She shook her head.

“Sorry. I don’t know where all that’s coming from. I’m not usually like this.”

“Sounds like I’m bringing out the kid in you. That’s got to be better than when I piss you off.”

“I don’t know about that. I like you when you’re feisty.” Their gazes held, and that thrum of electricity grew stronger. He cleared his throat and looked away in an effort to redirect his brain.

“How do we eat these?” She held a piece of fruit in front of his face.

“I’ll show you. Let’s find the ripest one.” He felt each of them and picked up the softest. “They’re filled with seeds that are encased in pulpy juice, and that’s what you eat.” He broke it in half, exposing the white, spongy layer beneath the skin and the seeds in the center, and handed her half. He tipped the other half up to his mouth and ate the seeds.

She followed his lead. “Mm. It’s sweet and tart.”

“They’re good, aren’t they?” He opened another one and gave her half.

“So good. The seeds are crunchy, and the pulp is like gel.”

“The wonders of the rainforest.” After they finished eating the second one, they stowed the rest of the passion fruit in the daypacks. “Let’s go see what else we can find.”

“Want to see what’s through there?” She motioned up a hill through the brush to their left.

“I think we should stick to this direction.”

“But there might be something cool over there.”

“It looks like good stalking ground for big cats, if you ask me. There’s a bit of a hill. They’d have a great view of their prey down below.”

She put up her index finger. “On second thought, I think we can skip that direction.”

As they made their way through the forest, they stopped to film a sloth hanging out in a tree and, later, a slew of leaf-cutter ants carrying vegetation to their underground colonies, brightly colored caterpillars, enormous centipedes, howler monkeys, and spider monkeys.

“Is that a tarantula nest?” Sutton pointed to a hole in the ground with webbed silk around the entrance.

“It sure is. Good spotting.”

They took a minute to film it, and Sutton gave a stellar performance. As Flynn lowered the camera, he heard the sound of running water.

“Which wa—”