The Treasure by Jennifer Lowery
Authors: Jennifer Lowery
Cut his losses, disappear like Jeremy had, and put South America in his rear view. Go to the tropics. Fiji, maybe. Where the waters matched Amelia’s eyes.
Christ.
Her eyes were green. Just green, damn it. And she was just another woman chasing a pipe dream. Yet he couldn’t shake the feeling that history was repeating itself.
Brody raked a hand through his hair. Pipe dream or not, he had a stake in finding
Paraíso
. Thanks to his friend, he was now doing the one thing he swore he’d never do again.
He only hoped Amelia forgave him when he paid off his debts with the treasure.
• • •
Amelia woke up to find her face pressed against Brody’s chest. Somehow she had climbed half onto his lap while she slept. The fact he hadn’t pushed her away made her pulse dance. His arm was around her waist, warm and strong, his hand resting on her hip. Wind howled outside the plane. Rain beat down hard, but it was warm and steamy inside the small space. Or maybe it was the heat radiating off Brody.
Not wanting to move from her comfortable position, she risked a glance upward to see Brody’s eyes closed, his head tipped back against the wall of the plane. She took the opportunity to stare at him, wanting to rub her hand along the stubble on his jaw set at a stubborn angle even in sleep.
“Go back to sleep.”
Embarrassed at being caught practically sitting on his lap, she went to move away, but his arm tightened.
“Sleep,” he ordered.
“But shouldn’t we get moving?”
“Still storming outside.”
The arm around her waist held her in place, not allowing her to move away. She was perfectly content to stay right where she was, so she placed her head back down on his chest. “You don’t think we’ll wash away, do you?”
“No.”
His voice rumbled through his chest, making her pulse speed up. He sounded certain so she relaxed against him. The steady rise and fall of his chest lulled her back to sleep. She could stay like this forever.
“Brody?” she murmured a few minutes later. “Why are you letting me cuddle with you?”
“I don’t cuddle,” he said gruffly, making her smile, because that was exactly what they were doing.
“It’s just … you said I wasn’t your type.”
“You’re not.”
“But — ”
“Quiet.”
With a sigh, Amelia let it drop. He wasn’t going to answer her anyway. What would her sisters think if they could see her now? In the middle of the jungle, in a crashed plane during a thunderstorm, sitting on the lap of a handsome stranger with questionable manners. Not to mention the bad men chasing them trying to steal her map.
Instead of being scared, Amelia smiled. She was doing it. Having a real adventure. The past couple days had been dangerous and she lived through it without any serious injuries.
Elation filled her. Maybe someday she would tell her sisters everything that happened here, but not anytime soon. They wouldn’t be able to hear it. To them, she was still that clumsy, foolish girl who did stupid stunts in order to be like her aunt. A silly girl who thought she would pretend she was swimming with sharks in the Atlantic and almost drowned in the lake behind her parent’s house. Or thought she would parachute from the tallest tree using a homemade parachute of sheets and rope because Aunt Pandora jumped from planes all the time. That one landed her in the hospital with a broken leg.
Caroline and Brit would never understand this.
They certainly wouldn’t understand Brody or her attraction to the gruff rough-and-tumble man. His military background would gain him points, but not his attitude. He didn’t handle her with kid gloves like her sisters did.
Why was she thinking about this? Her sisters were never going to meet Brody. He was part of her adventure. Once it was over she would go home and he would go back to his business.
An unexpected wave of sadness washed through her. Why did the thought of leaving Brody make her sad? He was everything she
Christ.
Her eyes were green. Just green, damn it. And she was just another woman chasing a pipe dream. Yet he couldn’t shake the feeling that history was repeating itself.
Brody raked a hand through his hair. Pipe dream or not, he had a stake in finding
Paraíso
. Thanks to his friend, he was now doing the one thing he swore he’d never do again.
He only hoped Amelia forgave him when he paid off his debts with the treasure.
• • •
Amelia woke up to find her face pressed against Brody’s chest. Somehow she had climbed half onto his lap while she slept. The fact he hadn’t pushed her away made her pulse dance. His arm was around her waist, warm and strong, his hand resting on her hip. Wind howled outside the plane. Rain beat down hard, but it was warm and steamy inside the small space. Or maybe it was the heat radiating off Brody.
Not wanting to move from her comfortable position, she risked a glance upward to see Brody’s eyes closed, his head tipped back against the wall of the plane. She took the opportunity to stare at him, wanting to rub her hand along the stubble on his jaw set at a stubborn angle even in sleep.
“Go back to sleep.”
Embarrassed at being caught practically sitting on his lap, she went to move away, but his arm tightened.
“Sleep,” he ordered.
“But shouldn’t we get moving?”
“Still storming outside.”
The arm around her waist held her in place, not allowing her to move away. She was perfectly content to stay right where she was, so she placed her head back down on his chest. “You don’t think we’ll wash away, do you?”
“No.”
His voice rumbled through his chest, making her pulse speed up. He sounded certain so she relaxed against him. The steady rise and fall of his chest lulled her back to sleep. She could stay like this forever.
“Brody?” she murmured a few minutes later. “Why are you letting me cuddle with you?”
“I don’t cuddle,” he said gruffly, making her smile, because that was exactly what they were doing.
“It’s just … you said I wasn’t your type.”
“You’re not.”
“But — ”
“Quiet.”
With a sigh, Amelia let it drop. He wasn’t going to answer her anyway. What would her sisters think if they could see her now? In the middle of the jungle, in a crashed plane during a thunderstorm, sitting on the lap of a handsome stranger with questionable manners. Not to mention the bad men chasing them trying to steal her map.
Instead of being scared, Amelia smiled. She was doing it. Having a real adventure. The past couple days had been dangerous and she lived through it without any serious injuries.
Elation filled her. Maybe someday she would tell her sisters everything that happened here, but not anytime soon. They wouldn’t be able to hear it. To them, she was still that clumsy, foolish girl who did stupid stunts in order to be like her aunt. A silly girl who thought she would pretend she was swimming with sharks in the Atlantic and almost drowned in the lake behind her parent’s house. Or thought she would parachute from the tallest tree using a homemade parachute of sheets and rope because Aunt Pandora jumped from planes all the time. That one landed her in the hospital with a broken leg.
Caroline and Brit would never understand this.
They certainly wouldn’t understand Brody or her attraction to the gruff rough-and-tumble man. His military background would gain him points, but not his attitude. He didn’t handle her with kid gloves like her sisters did.
Why was she thinking about this? Her sisters were never going to meet Brody. He was part of her adventure. Once it was over she would go home and he would go back to his business.
An unexpected wave of sadness washed through her. Why did the thought of leaving Brody make her sad? He was everything she