The Badass Protector

Iris

“OH, YOU already made a plan. Go ahead and hunt a frigging gorilla!”

He swore behind my back while Frost was laughing his ass out. The thuds of his heavy footsteps signified he was following me. He then grabbed my arm.

In a swift motion, I faced him, and my breathing caught under my throat as his sheer size made me small and powerless.

Lifting my chin, I met his steely eyes glaring back at me. For the first time, I realized I might have hurt his feelings as I could see now the pain flickering in those gray obs.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before I looked back at him. I explored every tiny detail in his irises-they darkened, and it amazed me how his pupils slowly dilated at my sight. His lashes were too good to be real-they were long and thick.

His eyes roamed around my face, lingering on my lips, then meeting my gaze again.

My heart pounded.

His breathing quickened, locking his jaw tight.

“You, lucky bastard.” Oh, my God! I just said it out loud.

My face burned.

He blinked rapidly. “What?”

“I’m jealous.” I blinked. Just stop it already, Iris. You sound like an idiot.

“With whom?” There was a slight confusion in his unbelievably low and soft voice.

“Your eyelashes.”

A small smile curved up his almost sinful lips. “Really?”

“Heck yeah.”

“You’re still beautiful with your light brown lashes, twig, and your eyes were the first thing I noticed when I first saw you. They’re blue, and I’ve never seen anything bluer than yours.”

I should have been annoyed at him for calling me twig, but on the other hand, I found it cute.

And he thought I was beautiful.

“Just kiss and make-up already. We’re leaving in a minute!” Frost yelled from a distance, causing us to pull apart.

“Asshole,” Colt groaned. Oh yeah, he has his way of ruining our moments.

“Not denying it, man. In fact, I’ve got a medal for that.”

“Look, it’s dangerous out there. That’s why I decided not to take you and Lois with us.” Damn it! The way he said it, my anger just faded away. How could he affect me this much?

“Then, why do you have to go?”

“We’re not just hunting. Hamid went to scout a mile away from here and noticed a group of men, probably campers, but we don’t know until we go there to confirm.

“Fine.” Despite my worry, I managed to nod. “Just be careful.”

“I will.” For some reason, his assurance gave me comfort.

A gasp slipped my lips. My body stilled when Colt pulled me into his chest and wrapped his strong arms around me. A warning would be nice, but it seemed that it didn’t exist in his vocabulary.

The strong thumping of my heart and the echoing of my pulse in my ears gave me lightheadedness.

Instinctively, I returned the favor and hugged him while resting my head against his chest. I listened to the strong beat of his heart, and definitely as strong as mine.

My eyes fluttered closed as I inhaled his manly scent into my lungs-so relaxing.

After several heart-pounding moments, he spoke, “Stay inside the camp, okay?”

“Okay.” I felt the touch of his lips on top of my head.

When we finally pulled apart, I met his gaze one more time before he walked away. I was left there alone, astounded, wondering what that was all about. There was only one thing I was sure of. I cared about Colt more than I should.

“Well, that was cozy.” Lois came with a huge smile on her face.

“Not another word.” I walked back to the garden, feeling my cheeks burn.

“I noticed things, you know.”

“Lois, I’m already embarrassed. Please?”

“What’s there to embarrass when two people like each other? There was something more with what I just witnessed, Iris. For months I’ve known Colt, he never acted like that, and I’ve never seen him looking at anyone the way he looked at you.” She nudged me with her arm and giggled.

“I don’t know, Lois. I should not be attracted to him.”

“He’s attractive. So it’s not your fault.” She waggled her brows. “And the feelings seem mutual.”

“Cora warned me to stay away from him.”

“Colt isn’t hers in the first place, so why would you listen to her?”

“Do I look like I care what she said?” I raised a brow.

“Atta girl! And he collared Frost for wearing his brother’s shirt, yet he gave them to you. So there’s only one thing I can think about. It’s a message ‘to fuck everyone off because this girl is mine!'” she mimicked Colt’s voice.

“What?” My eyes grew big.

“Yep. That’s why Frost’s having fun messing with him because he knows how important you are to Colt. Just don’t break his heart, Iris, because if you do, I will make sure to crush yours?”

I smiled. “Noted.”

“Oh, my God!” Lois ran to Darick with a string of fish in his grasp. “I don’t know that you can fish!”

“Nobody asked. I used to go fishing with my father in Japan, but I wasn’t sure there were many in the lake. I asked Frost for a hook if he could find one, then there it is.” He raised the stringer.

I didn’t know what type of fish it was, but it would definitely feed the whole camp.

“That’s amazing, Darick.”

“I don’t know if you guys eat fish, but I was tired of sitting, so I thought, how could I help Colt and Frost.”

“Right now, we eat everything edible. Maybe next time we should come with you. What do you think, Iris?” Lois asked.

“Um, no thanks. I’m not a fan of the lake.”

“Uh, okay.” She laughed softly. “Well, let’s go to the kitchen then.”

***

THE FIRE pit was lit up.

Darick helped Hamid to take the table and chairs out.

We had never done this before since I arrived. It felt good to have this kind of simple get-together even though we were struggling to survive.

Anna and Lois grilled those fish with Dr. Hull’s herbs.

I managed to prepare some salad to occupy my mind, among other things. It was half successful because what happened between Colt and me earlier kept me thinking if what I was doing was right. There were many more important things to do than giving to my emotions.

The way he pulled me into his arms twice, I could feel something overpowering between us, and it was almost embarrassing as I didn’t want it to end. The way he looked and talked to me, I knew there was something. His warm embrace gave me comfort and assured me of safety.

For the first time, Ayesha, Hamid’s wife, joined us. They were Egyptian Muslims who migrated to the States and were already American citizens. Ayesha didn’t cover her head like most Arabs, and Hamid didn’t pray like most Muslims. They were also very opinionated toward terrorists, and everyone respected that.

“This is aish balady. Whole wheat bread and almost the same as Greek Pita.” She carried a basket of flatbread. “It’s easy to make as long as you have wheat flour, wheat bran, and hot stone.”

“Hot stone?” I asked.

“Yes, but tawa pan is fine.”© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

“Similar to our tortilla bread,” Lois agreed.

“Yes. Wait, where are Colt and Frost?” Ayesha looked around. “And Cora?”

I let out a shaky breath. I was getting antsier with every tick of the clock. It was already dinner, yet there were no signs of any of them, and no matter how much I disliked Cora, I never wished something terrible would happen to her.

“I asked Gael, but all he said was Colt and Frost can care for themselves. I’ve no idea about Cora, though. Darick knocked on her door, but she must be sleeping,” Lois said.

“Where’s Gael?”

“Over here!”

“Did they contact you yet?” I asked once Gael got closer to our table.

“They’re on their way.”

“Thank God.” I’ve been thinking of the worse scenario since the sun went down. I wasn’t expecting they’d stay this long out there.

“You okay?” Lois gripped my shoulder.

“I’m fine now, thanks. I was just worried about them.” I sat on the long wooden bench, leaning my elbows against the table. I took a deep breath as I was about to have a flashback of how we got captured.

“Trust me. They’re good at what they do. You don’t have to worry about them. I’ll go to the kitchen to help Anna.”

“I’ll take care of the dishes later.”

A few minutes later, Frost called my name breathlessly.

Excitedly, I stood up only to let my smile disappear from my lips.

Frost was walking alone.