Page 79 of Corrupted Lies

She was right.

Giving up wasn't in his vocabulary.

These feelings of failing Alannah couldn’t be allowed to dictate the decisions he made.

Building a raft had been his intention if they weren't found by his brothers in a couple of days, and they would have had to use oars to row it away from the island. This was a whole hell of a lot more stable and safer than anything he could have made, so they were definitely in a better position, even if they could have been in an even better one if the motor hadn't been damaged.

“Thank you,” he said, leaning in to brush a kiss to her lips. “You're right. This can still get us out of here, just a lot slower. Stay here, I’ll grab us some branches.”

“I can help.”

“You could, but I'd rather you stay here. Won't take me long,” he assured her.

Leaving both weapons with her in the boat, Jake jumped out and quickly swam the short distance back to shore. No one had ever spoken about him the way Alannah just had. Sure, plenty of women were impressed with his body and his military service, who might go so far as to call him a hero. But they didn't speakin that same impassioned tone, like he wasn't just a hero but a superhero.

Was that how Alannah saw him?

Had she been saying those things just to break him out of his moment of panic, or did she really see him as the person in her life that she turned to to seek whatever it was she needed?

As he crossed the sand to the nearest trees and began to break off a couple of branches that were the approximate size of an oar, he realized he’d always thought he brought nothing but his promise of protection to their friendship. She was the one who brought light, joy, happiness, energy, and a sense of balance. Without her, he was sure he would have succumbed to the dark anger that raged inside him.

Looking back at the boat as he picked up the branches, he saw her watching him. When she noticed him looking, she waved at him, and even though he couldn’t properly see her face he knew she was smiling at him.

Warmth spread throughout him, and he was suddenly filled with the need to be closer to her, to have her by his side where she belonged.

Belonged.

Never had he thought of it that way. They were best friends, and they spent a lot of time together, but they’d also had separate lives in a lot of ways. He kept his romantic interludes to himself, and Alannah never shoved her boyfriends in his face.

Maybe that was because they had both felt something neither had dared to speak aloud.

Splashing through the water as quickly as he could, he tossed the branches into the boat, then planted his hands on the side and boosted himself in. By the time he was sitting in the boat, Alannah already had two of the four branches he’d brought with him in her hands.

“I'm glad you didn't act all silly and macho and only bring branches for you,” she said, shooting him one of her brilliant smiles.

Despite the fear still lodged firmly in his gut, he smiled back at her. “I didn't want to listen to you complain with no way to drown you out.”

For a second she just stared at him, her mouth hanging open in shock. Then she snapped it closed and shot him another smile. “I like this new side of you. You’ve always been my grumpy, but these last couple of days you’ve been different. Making jokes and being all sexy.” Her cheeks blushed as she said that final word, but she didn't break the hold her gaze had on him. “I know it’s crazy because we’ve both been terrified about the future, and we’re both exhausted, but I like it. I like seeing you learn to be more relaxed.”

It was her.

She was the reason he felt lighter.

Something about connecting with her on a deeper level had unlocked some as yet unnamed emotions inside him.

“I’ll try to keep that in mind for when we get home,” he told her.

“When,” she said with a nod.

The last thing he wanted to do was burst her bubble and rid her of the enthusiasm she was feeling because she was going to need that energy. But he also couldn’t allow her to hold onto false hope.

“We’re going to do our best to get home, sunshine, but we still have a long road ahead of us. Yes, we have the boat, and it’s going to help us a lot, but we won't be able to move all that fast across the ocean. We have no protection from the sun or the weather if another storm rolls in. We don’t have any food, and more importantly, we don’t have any water.”

“You make it sound so hopeless.”

“Not hopeless, sunshine. Never hopeless. I just want us both to have realistic expectations. I also want you to know I won't give in to the fear again like I did earlier.” Jake knew he couldn’t afford to when Alannah’s life rested in his hands.

“Oh, Jake.” This time when she leaned over, she touched a tender kiss to his cheek. “The whole world isn’t on your shoulders. You're allowed to be human. Allowed to have emotions. Even allowed to panic once in a while. When you slip, I’ll be here to hold you up. I might not be as big and as strong as you, but I can steady you and let you rest for a while.”

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