Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 84102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“We’re going to be eating MREs and sleeping in tents,” David pointed out.
“I’ve done both before, Professor. And if you mention the mosquitos, I’ll let you know I’ve survived those, too. I did my time in the Army. They didn’t take into account my delicate femininity, and neither should you.”
His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “I wasn’t saying you can’t handle it. I’m sure you’ll handle it better than I will.”
Something about the way he said the words made her wary. He lived in the city and had a very intellectual profession. And they were sitting in his hobby, which also didn’t lead to lots of time spent in the great outdoors. “You have hiked before, right?”
One big shoulder shrugged. “A little. I’ve camped before, too.”
They might have two different versions of camping. “How old were you the last time you camped?” She remembered that Big Tag had bought a lake house with David’s stepdad. “Lake houses do not count. When was the last time you slept outside in a tent you had to put together yourself?”
He sighed. “All right. I was probably twelve. Right before my brother went into the Navy we went out to Big Bend National Park and did some hiking and some rock climbing, but we stayed in a cabin so it probably doesn’t count.”
She tried to envision the sexy professor climbing his way up a rock face. It was hard. Kyle, though, now that she could see. But a national park in Texas was way different than what they were getting into. “How many jungles have you been in, Hawthorne?”
He seemed to think about that for a moment. “There are some parts around Seattle that are considered a rain forest.”
She snorted. “Oh, it is so not the same, and now I know I have to go with you. I thought I would be protecting you from criminals. Now I get to protect you from yourself.”
For the first time she saw some genuine irritation in his eyes. “I can take care of myself, and I’m not going in alone. Luis is coming with me. He camps a lot.”
She felt a brow rise. “Luis, your graduate assistant? In history?”
“Just because he’s an academic doesn’t mean he can’t camp.”
“Given that he’s here doing his graduate work, and from my very cursory look into his background, he’s not on a scholarship. That means he’s likely from a wealthy family. He glamped. You can’t glamp in the jungle.” Glamorous camping—otherwise known as glamping—was what she suspected David had done as well. Somehow she couldn’t see Grace Taggart roughing it out in the wilderness. His mom was an elegant woman who was always flawlessly put together. “Not that I don’t think a good glamp isn’t fun. I would far rather enjoy nature from the comfort of a pimped-out tent. However, I suspect that isn’t what we’ll be doing.”
“I didn’t think we would be doing it at all,” David pointed out.
“Well, plans change.” Hers sure had. She’d thought she would go home and get ready for an evening of standing outside an ex-president’s hotel room. She hadn’t expected she would be going to South America with a history professor. A hot as hell, “Oh, Dr. Hawthorne, I didn’t turn in my project, you might need to spank me” history professor.
How many of his students screwed up an assignment so they could get some private attention from him?
“We only have two tents. Kyle wasn’t planning on camping with us. He thought we would be safe enough on the island. So we have two tents and now apparently we have three people.”
It was her turn to shrug. “Then I guess you and Luis are going to be sharing one.”
“They’re small, Tessa.”
“You can cuddle.”
Although the more she thought about it, she should be the one sharing a tent with him. They called it close cover for a reason.
His hands tightened around the wheel. “I thought I would have more freedom if I agreed to go straight to the island.”
He was starting to get the reality of the situation. “We can turn this beauty around if you like.”
He sped up. “How hard are you going to make this on me, Tess? Is turning around what you want me to do?”
She wasn’t sure. Turning around would be the smart thing to do, but she was starting to think she wanted to be dumb when it came to him. “I’m not trying to make this hard on you at all. I’m trying to do my job, which is to ensure you make it back safely. Look, the jungle is dangerous. I’ve spent some time in a couple. We trained on all kinds of terrain. I’m going to stay in the background most of the time. You’ll barely know I’m there.”
“So first you nix my bus ride and now you want control of my search for the treasure. I understand you don’t want to be here, but I need to know if you’re going to…I don’t know…sabotage me in some way. It would be easier to call it all off if that’s your intention.”