“You want that rice?”
Boone had been sweet and protective of me all evening, both before and after we’d screwed each other’s socks off. And to be honest, I loved the attention.
“No,” I said reluctantly. My stomach protested the decision. “Leave it for now. For when the guys come back.”
The guys. I hadn’t thought of them for a little while now, and it made me feel guilty. Darkness had almost fallen, and they still weren’t back.
“You really think they’re coming back?” asked Boone, folding his arms behind his head.
“Of course.”
“You’re an optimist, then.”
“I prefer the term realist.”
Boone shrugged and said nothing. The last time he’d brought this up it had upset me, and so he wisely stayed silent.
“Maybe they’ll be back with help,” I offered hopefully.
“Sure.”
“I mean it! Shane’s tough. And Jeremy—”
“Look, you don’t have to convince me,” said Boone. “Rescue helicopter, sled dogs, whatever they show up with — I’m all for it.”
I imagined the two of them out there, pushing through the storm. Shane was smart enough to know when to shelter up, and Jeremy was a much stronger partner than I’d ever been. Between the both of them, they’d have a good chance of making it through the night.
Or at least I hoped.
I curled back against Boone, reassuringly. He was stretched out on his back, his six-pack abdominals looking like a series of small, beautifully sculpted mountains — just like the one we were on. He was a welcome distraction from my worry. A wondrous, delicious distraction for which I was trying my best not to feel guilty.
“I’m not like this you know,” I said abruptly into the silence. “What happened between us, I mean.”
“I know.”
“Are you just saying ‘I know’ or do you really mean it when—”
“I know,” he said simply.
There was an honesty in his reply that made me snuggle into him. As a pillow his chest was hard but reassuring. Warm. Safe. Secure.
“I also want you to know that—”
“Look, Morgan, I get it,” he said. “Trust me. Maybe I only knew you from afar, but even through that window I could read enough about you to know why I wanted this to happen.”
I traced his chest lightly with one fingernail. It was a nervous habit.
“Then why did it take you so long to talk to me?”
“Because I’m shy?”
I poked him playfully. He laughed.
“The truth?”
“Yes.”