Page 78 of Hunting for her Heart
“Where are we?” she asks in shock.
I understand her confusion. I, too, was disoriented when we woke up after our nap, believing to have been transported somewhere while we slept.
No longer are we in our cave with gray stone covering the ground, walls, and ceiling. Instead, we find ourselves in some sort of magical oasis. Everything is covered in greenery.
I can spot at least six different colors of flowers growing from only a quick glance. Trees and bushes grow randomly all over the place, and even a few birds fly from branch to branch, chirping away.
The sun shines in through the crack above, telling us it’s no longer raining.
“We haven’t moved,” Ronan confirms for her. “This is thesame cave.”
She glances at the now-dead fire and shakes her head. “I don’t understand. How did this happen so quickly?”
“A better question is,whydid it happen so quickly this time?” Bo asks.
“Does this confirm that it’s the flint rock?” she asks.
Ronan nods. “It’s still our best guess.”
“Maybe the storm magnified its power,” Bo suggests.
“Perhaps,” Ronan says as he stares down at the black logs.
“What do we do now?” she asks. Unable to resist touching more than her hand, I pull her into my side and wrap my arm around her shoulders, leaning down to kiss her head.
Bo steps in front of her, staring down at her with a grin. “First, I think you owe me a good morning kiss.”
“But it’s not morning,” she says in confusion.
“Anytime my mate wakes up, I want a kiss from her,” he tells her with a satisfied grin.
Before she can respond, he bends down and wraps his arms around her waist, hoisting her up against his chest as he smiles in amusement. “Good afternoon, Willow.”
“Good afternoon, Bo,” she parrots back right before they kiss. Her arms find their way around his neck as her little legs dangle down, almost two feet off the ground.
When he’s done, he walks her over to Ronan and gently sets her on her feet as he tells him, “Your turn, Chief.”
“I told you, don’t call me that,” Ronan huffs at him, but when Willow turns to face him, his annoyance is forgotten as she smiles up at him.
“Good afternoon, Chief,” she says with a grin of her own.
“Hmm, maybe thereissomething to that name,” he says as he grabs her waist and pulls her close.
“I’ll call you whatever you want,” she says, melting my heart with her sweetness.
He tilts her head back as he bends down and kisses her. The kiss is brief, but by the way her eyes shine, I know she’s already thinking lustful thoughts.
“Hello, my tiny treasure.” He lifts his head as he turns her and pulls her back against him, wrapping his arms around her front as they both stare at the cave. “As for what we'll do this afternoon, we have a few options. It’s the last day here, so we could move closer to the finish line so we don’t have as far to go tomorrow.”
“That’s where all the men who haven’t claimed a woman will be waiting,” I tell him, not liking that plan.
He nods. “Yes, I thought the same. The cowards are probably hoping to get their hands on a woman at the last minute.”
I see her tense as her fingers dig into Ronan’s forearms.
“Don’t worry, Willow,” I say, stroking my hand down the side of her face. “We won’t let anyone lay a finger on you.”
“I know,” she says, giving me a nervous smile.
