“Baby, I’m not sure you really want to know the answer to that question.”
Okay, now he has my curiosity piqued, and I do want to know. I tear my gaze from the greenery and look up at him. “Tell me, please.”
“All right...” he pauses, sounding as if I’ll be sorry for asking, “…bears actually make those tunnels. That’s how they make their way through the thick underbrush.”
“Bears!” I exclaim. I can feel my heart slam inside my chest at the thought of one jumping out of those holes.
Travis laughs at me, finding my fear of bears amusing. “Don’t worry; they feel the same way, and don’t want to run into you either.”
“Somehow that doesn’t make me feel any better,” I retort. Even though he has a pistol, being out here in the wild has me thinking this isn’t one of Travis’ brighter plans, and I second guess why he has me out here in the first place. “Where are we going anyway?” I ask, feeling the sweat roll down my back.
“Patience, baby. We’re almost there.”
I look up from the trail momentarily, pausing from my job of bear watching to admire Travis, who is now a few steps ahead of me, and notice his drenched shirt. I grin from ear to ear at the sight before me as I move my gaze to his fine ass. I would walk 1,000 miles in the smoldering desert as long as this fine specimen stayed in front of me the entire way. His broad, muscular shoulders are outlined in his wet, stretchy t-shirt, and his strong legs and thighs are like a gladiator’s. Holy hell. All of his muscles are flexing and exuding sheer strength and power with each step he takes.
Travis glances over his shoulder and catches me ogling him. His shoulders shake as he chuckles. “If you don’t watch where you’re going, you’re going to trip over a rock or a tree limb, darlin’.”
Mmm, falling may not be such a bad thing. If I trip, I may just tumble right into his fine physique. “Wouldn’t you break my fall?” I tease.
“Every damn time, baby, every damn time.” The way he says it, professing his guardianship over me, warms my heart and makes me smile on the inside.
Eventually, we come to a stop in the middle of nowhere, and as I look around, I see nothing but more bushes and trees. “Travis, is this a joke? Is this what you wanted to show me—the middle of the woods?”
“No, Jules. What I want to show you is over here.” He grabs me by the hand and takes a few more steps toward some thick bushes. My forehead crinkles; I’m so confused. I’m about to ask what he’s doing, but before I get the chance, he bends over and moves some branches out of the way, revealing a hidden keypad.
I gasp and take a step back as I watch him punch in a special code. Through the thick bushes, he uses his hands to search for something just below the lock. He grabs a large metal handle, which is camouflaged with different shades of foliage, hiding itself perfectly within the bushes.
I realize the bushes are fake when he begins to open a flora-covered door. Who in the world has this kind of stuff? Well, apparently Travis has this kind of stuff. Is this what I think it is: a hidden shelter? I have to ask myself just what kind of person Travis is that he would need to have an underground bunker. An uneasy feeling begins to wash over me as I shake my head at the thought. Is he the reason trouble is following me? Is this why I have to learn how to defend myself? For some unknown reason, perhaps out of a previous habit, I find myself clutching at the medallion around my neck.
Suddenly, I don’t want to be here; I feel the need to turn and run, but I don’t know where to go. I feel like Alice in Wonderland, trapped in a hall of locked doors. I’m only able to go through one door, which is Travis’, because I don’t have the key to my memory. I’m out in the middle of God-knows-where, deep in the woods with a man I truly don’t know, and I’m seemingly at his mercy. My stomach twists in a knot, not knowing what to think. I’m so confused and torn inside over what to do.
As Travis enters the bunker, I shift on my feet, having the urge to flee. He has to go down quite a few steps first, and then he reaches out to the wall and switches on a light. I stand on the other side of the threshold, shaking my head. Travis must see the growing panic in my eyes, because he stretches out his hand for me to grab, and in turn, I take another step backward.