Page 31 of Return to Me Always

He moved closer to me and put his arm around me, pulling me in to his side. "I don't know how exactly. But I just know that we will."

I was shocked into silence. His body right next to me, his strength and heat, made my insides turn to mush. Even though I had no clue where his confidence came from, I let his warmth and his words comfort me.

"Thanks," I managed to say.

He didn't respond, just somehow tightened his hold on me. God, it felt good. More than good. Amazing.

My previous fears were washed away, but now, my breathing sped up for a different reason. I suddenly wondered what it would be like to kiss this man, to feel his breath tickle my face, this dream guy that had been in my head forever.

When had I started to crave his lips on mine?

I had no clue. But Tyler had proven himself to me, and I was starting to like him—reallylike him.

After a short while, Tyler said, "We should get some rest," and started to move away, taking his warmth with him.

"Yeah. You're right," I agreed, already missing the loss of his body next to mine. "I bet you didn't get much sleep last night."

"You sure seem to be concerned about how much sleep I get."

Glancing up at him standing beside me, I shrugged, not sure how to answer since I was kind of beginning to noticeeverythingabout him.

"I like it," he said, melting me with his grin.

Damn. If Malcolm didn't kill me, that smile was going to be the death of me.

Soon, we were cocooned in our sleeping bags inside the pitch-black tent. Normally, I was scared of the dark. I never really outgrew it and still thought that bad things happened more easily in the night. But even though my life right now was a complete disaster, having Tyler so close made me feel safe in a way that I'd never felt before.

***

I awoke with a jolt. It was still dark inside the tent, adding to my confusion. Seconds later, I realized Tyler was sitting up, breathing heavily.

"What happened?" I whispered. "Are you okay?"

He didn't answer at first, so I sat up too. My heart started to beat like a drum in my chest. Was there something going on outside of our tent?

"I'm fine. Just a bad dream," he finally answered.

For some reason, it surprised me that Tyler had nightmares too. I wondered if he would tell me what it was about, or if I should ask.

"It's okay," he said. "Didn't mean to wake you. You should go back to sleep."

So he wasn't going to share. But I was very curious to know what kind of nightmare was bad enough to wake Tyler up in the middle of the night.

Chapter Ten

In the morning, the sky was overcast, and dark clouds threatened once again. Part of me hoped for rain because it was, at least, somewhat of a shower. After days on the trail, I felt like a wild animal. I had never gone so long without bathing, and I hoped to God I didn't smell.

Of course, Tyler still looked like a god—all rugged with sexy stubble. But I was sure the look wasn't so great on me, especially since the one thing Tyler had forgotten to pack was a comb. I tried to run my fingers through my hair occasionally, but I knew it was a ratty mess. My appearance, though, really didn't matter, not compared to everything else we were going through.

"Good news," Tyler said as we headed off down the path. "Well, maybe."

"What? I could use some good news. Or even 'maybe' good news."

Glancing down at me with a smile, Tyler said, "If the weather holds up, we can make it to civilization tonight."

I gasped. "Are you serious? Where?"

"Fort William."

---