Lost Without You by Heather Thurmeier

virtually impossible not to be near him. Even with the distance of a few days, she wasn’t ready to be so close to him again. Her defenses still weren’t strong enough to successfully ignore the chemistry she felt toward him.
    â€œYes, I’m ready.”
    â€œGood. Let’s get this over with then,” Chip said, consulting his clipboard. “You have to do the opening and directions, then we’ll fill in the commentary later once we know how it all turns out. Then you’ll have to send one team home.”
    She nodded. That didn’t sound too hard. “Okay. I can do it.”
    He glanced up from his work and met her gaze. “I know you can. Do you want me in your ear today? It would help if you used their names today since a team will be going home.”
    The thought of his voice in her ear again sent a shiver of desire down her back. Yes, she wanted him. She needed him. In more ways than she wanted to admit.
    â€œThat sounds good. I’d like your help.”
    â€œAnytime. That’s what I’m here for. And in the shower for too.” He whispered that last part before walking away and taking her breath with him.
    She wasn’t the only one with lingering memories of their closeness in the shower. So why hadn’t he kissed her? She sighed.
Probably because I made him feel like a predator when he tried to kiss me in his tent.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out that if a girl runs away as if your place is on fire, she probably doesn’t want you to kiss her again. She couldn’t blame him, but the lack of an attempt kiss in the shower still annoyed her on a very primal level nonetheless.
    Stop. This is how I want things to be with Chip
. Why couldn’t she get it through her thick skull that it was actually a good thing he hadn’t kissed her?
    He returned a minute later with an earpiece. When she was fully equipped and they’d checked to make sure she could hear him, she found her place and called the contestants over.
    â€œWelcome back to
Wild Expedition
, the show that has our teams fighting to survive in some of the most horrendous conditions.” She glanced away from the cue cards to the teams. It wasn’t that bad in their camps, was it? “And now you’re going to be put to the test again. How well you survive this challenge will mean the difference between staying another week or going home.”
    Concerns rippled through the teams as they realized this meant it was not another reward challenge but one that would ultimately end the game for one team.
    â€œEach team must again forage in the woods — this time to find the supplies you’ll need to build a raft that will hold all team members. Once your raft is built, you’ll paddle upstream to find flags. Each team must retrieve one flag and then paddle back downstream. The first team to cross this finish line with their raft intact, their flag in hand, and all four team members present will be our winners. The last team will be going home.”
    She paused for a moment while the cue card flipped. “Any questions?” she asked.
    â€œDid you want me to kiss you that morning in the shower?” Chip’s voice whispered in her ear seductively.
    She gasped at the sound of his voice so intimately in her ear as well as because of the question. Her knees suddenly felt weak. Her pulse thumped in her ear along with Chip’s voice.
    â€œShit,” he cursed. “I didn’t mean to say that out loud. Zoe, ignore me. Ignore my stupid, poorly timed question and finish the intro so the teams can start the competition.”
    He stood to the side of the filming area as usual, his clipboard still in hand. But at the moment he wasn’t focused on it at all. Nor was he focused on what the contestants were doing or whether or not the camera crew was catching the right angles.
    He stared directly at her, waiting for her to start talking again.
    But how could