Page 8 of Enticing Her Love

“We’re supposed to be living off the land.” They were given strict guidelines not to bring any food, water, or other survival supplies.

“We could starve out there,” she snapped.

“Is that what you’re going with? Because you know damn well we can survive three weeks without food.” He threw the bag of food into the trash can and peered into her pack, spotting a package of something else and pulling it out. “Instant protein coffee? Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Coffee is life.” She lunged for it, her hand landing on his chest as he lifted the bag out of her reach.

“Sounds like you need a better life.” He threw the coffee into the trash. “Where’s the hazelnut creamer?”

She scowled.

“Give it up, Steele. It’s no good to you without coffee.”

She angrily unzipped the body pouch and took out a handful of single-serve creamers. “You’re not going to like me when I’m hungry and uncaffeinated.”

“I don’t like you now, remember? Get changed. We’ve got to go.”

Chapter Four

THE SMALL BUSH plane vibrated and whirred as Flynn captured breathtaking views of the river snaking through the dense rainforest. He was glad it had stopped raining by the time they left the airstrip. He was able to get video of Sutton and Santiago as they embarked on this leg of the expedition. Sutton had barely said two words to him after leaving the hotel, but she’d mustered surprisingly good spirits for the camera prior to takeoff.

With wilderness biologists for parents and a grandfather who was both an archaeologist and a paleontologist, Flynn had been going on adventures like this his whole life. While preparing to stay with the indigenous tribe for their original assignment, he’d studied the area and had consulted with one of his grandfather’s friends, who had been documenting life in the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest for more than fifty years. They had mapped out the areas around the tribe to make sure they wouldn’t accidentally traipse into locations inhabited by illegal miners, drug traffickers, and the like, or uncontacted tribes. He was looking forward to exploring, but he wasn’t happy to have lost the opportunity to stay with an indigenous tribe. That experience would have allowed them to experience ancient culture and history firsthand. Now he was stuck making a fucking reality show with a woman who thought he was the devil.

The plane tilted hard to the right, shaking as it descended toward a grassy patch. Sutton grabbed his hand, her fingernails digging into his flesh. He turned off the video camera and looked at the woman who was always in control. Except apparently around cracks in a bathroom wall and tilting bush planes. Their eyes locked, the blaze of heat that seemed to live between them as present as the fear in her colorless face. She yanked her hand away and clung to the edge of her seat, knuckles blanching. His gut seized at her discomfort.

Did she dislike him so much she couldn’t admit to being scared?

Fuck that. Like it or not, they were in this together, and he wasn’t going to let her feel lost or alone on this expedition. He reached over and pried her fingers from the seat, taking her hand in his. She tried to pull it away, but the fear in her eyes was still there, so he held on tight as the plane descended. “Focus on me. It’s almost over.”

She didn’t look away, but those beautiful hazel eyes narrowed and her mouth opened like she was going to make a smart-ass comment just as the plane touched down with a hard, bumpy landing, causing a shocked sound to shoot from her lips. The plane came to an abrupt stop, drawing another fearful sound. She yanked her hand free and turned away, busying herself with preparing to disembark.

He gave her space to calm down, but she still looked shaken after they climbed out of the plane. “You okay, Steele?” he asked as the pilot unloaded their gear.

“Fine.”

He knew damn well she was far from fine. She was about to walk into a forest that could swallow her whole. On top of that, she was embarrassed about grabbing his hand on the plane and still pissed about the conversation that had gone down at the hotel. That was a lot to deal with. Too much to handle in the next sixty seconds, so he focused on the one thing he could have an immediate impact on—diffusing her embarrassment. “Thanks for holding my hand. I was rattled up there.”

Her eyes flicked to his, and her lips twitched like she didn’t know if she should be amused or accuse him of lying.

He lowered his voice like he didn’t want Santiago to hear him as he handed Sutton her backpack. “I hate these tiny planes. But if you tell a soul about what just happened, I’ll personally feed you to a jaguar.”

“You’re kinder than me.” She shouldered her pack. “My plan is to bury you alive with tarantulas.”

“Damn. That’s harsh.”

“So are you,” she said cuttingly, and walked away.

Now, there’s a view worth filming. He turned on the camera and filmed her heading toward the brush. But they had a show to make, so he cut it short, calling out, “Hey, Steele. Where do you think you’re going?”

She turned around, looking at him like he’d asked a stupid question. “I thought I’d take a dip in the pool, maybe grab a cocktail, and with any luck, catch a Magic Mike show.”

“Magic Mike will have to wait.” He held up the camera. “We have our own show to make.”

“You filmed us taking off, and the whole trip here.”

Not the whole trip.

“Get over here, Glamour Girl. Let’s get a shot of you with the plane taking off behind you, and you can tell the world how excited you are to be embarking on a grand adventure with a hot filmmaker.”