her clothes away from her skin here and there for modesty. She would have done that if she could see. “Let’s stay here a little while and give your clothes a chance to dry.”
Not that a person could ever completely dry off in the jungle.
Mochi ran over with some kind of a mushroom, smiling wildly. “Señor?” He pointed to his own mouth, as if asking permission to eat it.
He’d found it, he could have it. That was only fair. For all Jase knew the mushroom was a local delicacy. He nodded. He didn’t worry about the thing being poisonous. Mochi knew the edible plants in the area better than Jase and Melanie put together. They would have to rely on the kid for advice, and not the other way around.
The boy shoved the mushroom into his mouth and chewed it hard, but didn’t swallow. He spit the gooey mess into one hand, then stepped up to Melanie and smeared the slop over her eyes before Jase could stop him.
She sniffed the air. “What is it?”
You don’t want to know. “Medicine.”
“Thank you,” she said politely.
Mochi went on to treat the rest of her stings, looking mightily pleased.
*
M ELANIE UNWRAPPED THE cloth from her eyes at the next rest stop. It needed to be wetted again. She tried to open her eyelids, as she’d done every time the cloth came off. And this time she succeeded. They didn’t open fully, but they did open a slit. Even that sliver of bright light seemed blinding. She closed her eyes again as relief swept through her.
Then she tried again, more careful this time, holding her hand above her eyes to shade them.
“Hey.” Jase smiled at her. She was sitting on a log and he stood just a few feet from her.
That smile was the most wonderful thing she’d ever seen in her life, even if his face was unshaven and his hair a mess, as if he’d been running his fingers through it. None of that detracted from his ruggedly masculine good looks.
He seemed different, and she wasn’t sure if she thought so because she was appreciating seeing again, or because now she knew that he wasn’t just one of Pedro’s thugs, or because she was beginning to like him. They’d been through a thing or two, at this point. Some tenuous links of trust had built between them.
“Can you see me?”
“Yes.” She could have jumped up and thrown herself into his arms, she was so happy. But she was well aware what she must have looked like—both body and face swollen out of proportion. So she pulled back instead and closed her eyes to give them a moment of rest from the light.
Then stole a glance again.
This time, her gaze dipped below his face and she registered the rest of his body. He had his shirt off, and soon she could see why. He’d been in the process of pulling a leech off his abdomen. The flat plane of his belly, those ridges of muscle… Hot need punched through her suddenly and caught her off guard, need she hadn’t felt since Julio had died.
A completely out-of-place reaction.
How embarrassing.
Dappled sunlight glinted off Jase’s tanned skin. A drop of moisture from the branches above landed on his shoulder and ran down, following the contours of his muscles. He looked like a jungle god, while she…
Melanie pushed to her feet and walked away from him before he could notice her ogling him and she embarrassed herself completely.
“I’ll make a fire and we’ll eat here,” he called after her. He had his shirt back on by the time she turned around. Then he repeated his words in Spanish for Mochi’s sake, a little louder so as to be heard over Chico, who had started barking at the bushes.
Mochi simply smiled in response, his standard answer to pretty much everything. Not that the boy seemed fond of the camp food that kept coming from Jase’s backpack. He preferred fruit he climbed to get himself, and fat white grubs he dug from under the bark of fallen, decomposing trees. He sucked those down as fast as American kids did candy. He didn’t seem to understand why Melanie turned
Not that a person could ever completely dry off in the jungle.
Mochi ran over with some kind of a mushroom, smiling wildly. “Señor?” He pointed to his own mouth, as if asking permission to eat it.
He’d found it, he could have it. That was only fair. For all Jase knew the mushroom was a local delicacy. He nodded. He didn’t worry about the thing being poisonous. Mochi knew the edible plants in the area better than Jase and Melanie put together. They would have to rely on the kid for advice, and not the other way around.
The boy shoved the mushroom into his mouth and chewed it hard, but didn’t swallow. He spit the gooey mess into one hand, then stepped up to Melanie and smeared the slop over her eyes before Jase could stop him.
She sniffed the air. “What is it?”
You don’t want to know. “Medicine.”
“Thank you,” she said politely.
Mochi went on to treat the rest of her stings, looking mightily pleased.
*
M ELANIE UNWRAPPED THE cloth from her eyes at the next rest stop. It needed to be wetted again. She tried to open her eyelids, as she’d done every time the cloth came off. And this time she succeeded. They didn’t open fully, but they did open a slit. Even that sliver of bright light seemed blinding. She closed her eyes again as relief swept through her.
Then she tried again, more careful this time, holding her hand above her eyes to shade them.
“Hey.” Jase smiled at her. She was sitting on a log and he stood just a few feet from her.
That smile was the most wonderful thing she’d ever seen in her life, even if his face was unshaven and his hair a mess, as if he’d been running his fingers through it. None of that detracted from his ruggedly masculine good looks.
He seemed different, and she wasn’t sure if she thought so because she was appreciating seeing again, or because now she knew that he wasn’t just one of Pedro’s thugs, or because she was beginning to like him. They’d been through a thing or two, at this point. Some tenuous links of trust had built between them.
“Can you see me?”
“Yes.” She could have jumped up and thrown herself into his arms, she was so happy. But she was well aware what she must have looked like—both body and face swollen out of proportion. So she pulled back instead and closed her eyes to give them a moment of rest from the light.
Then stole a glance again.
This time, her gaze dipped below his face and she registered the rest of his body. He had his shirt off, and soon she could see why. He’d been in the process of pulling a leech off his abdomen. The flat plane of his belly, those ridges of muscle… Hot need punched through her suddenly and caught her off guard, need she hadn’t felt since Julio had died.
A completely out-of-place reaction.
How embarrassing.
Dappled sunlight glinted off Jase’s tanned skin. A drop of moisture from the branches above landed on his shoulder and ran down, following the contours of his muscles. He looked like a jungle god, while she…
Melanie pushed to her feet and walked away from him before he could notice her ogling him and she embarrassed herself completely.
“I’ll make a fire and we’ll eat here,” he called after her. He had his shirt back on by the time she turned around. Then he repeated his words in Spanish for Mochi’s sake, a little louder so as to be heard over Chico, who had started barking at the bushes.
Mochi simply smiled in response, his standard answer to pretty much everything. Not that the boy seemed fond of the camp food that kept coming from Jase’s backpack. He preferred fruit he climbed to get himself, and fat white grubs he dug from under the bark of fallen, decomposing trees. He sucked those down as fast as American kids did candy. He didn’t seem to understand why Melanie turned
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