Designed : A Young Adult Dystopian Romance
Designed : Chapter 23

Maybe that was stupid, probably was, but it was true.

Heath continued to hold my gaze, waiting for a response. Without realizing I intended to do it, I reached up and touched his cheek, sliding my fingertips down to cup his jaw lightly.

“I do understand.”

His breath fractured, and I felt his large hand cover mine and press it harder into his cheek. His next words came out in a ragged whisper.

“Reya… I’m so, so sorry. I should have told you the truth from the beginning. I was afraid you’d hate me instantly. I was worried you’d run away from me, and my father’s Retrievers would pick you up, and I’d never see you again. I didn’t want to lie to you or withhold the truth. I didn’t know what else to do. Once you told me about the recall, and I realized you and Daniel were in danger, all I cared about after that was getting you to safety. I swear to you, that’s all I care about now.”

I searched the depths of his surreal blue-green eyes illuminated by the flames and sparkling with moisture. I wanted so desperately to trust him.

I wanted him.

Something inside of me released its tight grip, and all my pent-up emotions rushed toward him.

“I believe you,” I whispered.

Slipping his hand around to the back of my head, Heath drew me toward him, bending over me to touch my mouth with his. He sighed the instant our lips met.

“I missed you so much while we were apart,” he murmured against my lips, his hand opening and closing in my hair and causing chill bumps to rise all over my body.

“I thought about you obsessively. I thought I’d never be happy again. I thought… I’d never get to… kiss you again.”

The words came out between fierce kisses.

“Heath.”

His name was the only thing I could think to say in return. His extreme nearness, the scent of his skin, and the feel of his warm breath on my lips, his warm hands on my skin, sent my thoughts scattering like the sparks that floated and danced above the campfire.

He didn’t seem to mind. Heath kissed me like he was starved for me. I closed my eyes and sank into the sweet, drugging sensation.

I brought both hands up to cradle his face, loving the way his strong jaw felt under them, the way he hummed softly as he explored my mouth.

When I slipped my wrists around his shoulders, Heath’s hand left my nape, sliding down between my shoulder blades and to my side, where it rested on my waist.

I started to tremble and wobbled a bit on my toes. His other hand went to my lower back, steadying me, drawing me tighter against the solid structure of his body.

He was so warm, so big, so… everywhere. I couldn’t escape the maddening pleasure of being close to him, and I didn’t want to.

What I wanted was to lie down with him somewhere, anywhere—the ground beneath us was sounding pretty good—to stretch out and feel the length of his powerful body next to mine, the weight of him over me.

He said we’d never been together in that way, but I could almost feel how good it would be.

As our kiss deepened, one of his hands moved lower to my left hip. The unexpected contact with my taser wound sent a jolt of pain through me and made me yelp.

Heath immediately removed his hands and jerked backward.

“I’m sorry. I was moving too fast. I got carried away. You’re so…”

He gestured up and down, the sweep of his hands encompassing my whole body. “… beautiful and sexy and irresistible. I lose my head. I always have with you.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s not that. I’m sore from struggling with the soldier earlier. Your hand hit a tender spot.”

Now his face contracted in concern. “Oh. Want me to take a look at it?”

He reached for the bottom edge of my shirt as if to lift the hem.

I scooted away. The area in question wasn’t under my shirt. It was under my pants. No way was I going to push those down far enough for him to get a look at my sore hip.

“It’s okay,” I said. “It’s not that bad. Just a bruise.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure. I’m fine.”

“Heath?” Daniel’s voice rose from the other side of the campfire. He sounded scared. “Heath? Where are you?”

Heath gave me a nod and went to kneel beside his brother’s sleeping bag. “Right here, buddy. What’s up? Bad dream?”

“Yeah. That bad man was taking me away from you, and I was kicking him and hitting him, but he didn’t even feel it. And I called for you, but you couldn’t hear me.”

“I’ll always hear you, pal. You don’t have to worry about that. I’m right here, and the bad men are gone now.”

“What if they replace us again?” Daniel whimpered.

“I’m not going to let anything happen to you. Don’t worry. You’re safe.” He stroked the boy’s hair. “Go on back to sleep now.”

Daniel yawned. “I can’t. Mommy sings to me when I’m scared at night.”

The boy sat up and looked at me. “Will you sing to me, Reya?”

The eyes that implored me were wide and innocent and so full of fear and expectation my heart melted. I was nobody’s idea of a great singer, but how could I say no to that request? I went to his side of the campfire, kneeling on the edge of his sleeping bag.

“What song would you like?”

“Mommy sings Mama’s Little Angel Baby. Do you know that one?”

“I’m sorry. I’m afraid I don’t.”

“Our mother made it up,” Heath murmured.

A sudden pang squeezed my heart. My own mother had never sung to me at bedtime—at least not that I could remember—and I was sure she’d never created a lullaby for me.

The only bedtime song I could think of was from a children’s show I’d watched on the vids when I was small. I’d probably recall only the first verse but maybe it would do in a pinch.

My voice shaking with self-consciousness, I began the song. I remembered more than I’d expected to, and as it went on Daniel smiled up at me, listening in perfect contentment.

As I segued into the chorus, I flickered my eyes up to Heath’s face. He hadn’t made a sound or even moved since I’d started singing.

“Content” was not the word I would have chosen to describe him. His attention was riveted on me, and the expression he wore was closer to hunger than satisfaction.

No one had ever looked at me like that before. It made me nervous. It also made me want to kiss him again.

Was he thinking the same thing?

When his eyes dropped to my mouth, my mind went blank, the final words of the song stolen by excitement and anticipation.

“You’re a good singer,” Daniel said sleepily and patted my knee. “Can you do another one?”

“I think that’s enough, okay pal?” Heath said, tugging up the edge of his brother’s sleeping bag. “It’s time to go back to sleep. Me and Mireya, too.”

His eyes lifted to meet mine in a moment of searing contact. I could swear an unspoken agreement passed between us.

No, I was not the only one thinking of continuing that kiss. He wanted me, too. My stomach turned to jelly as I imagined the two of us settling into a single sleeping bag.

“Will you stay with me Heath?” Daniel begged. “Will you put your sleeping bag next to mine? I’ll be able to go right to sleep if you’re with me.”

Heath’s eyes squeezed shut, then he sent a yearning glance my way before turning back to the boy and letting out a breath.

“Sure. I can do that. It’s getting late anyway.”

I’d never been less sleepy in my life. Every nerve ending in my body was wide awake and performing an aria. But I followed Heath’s lead, going back to the opposite side of the fire and crawling inside my own sleeping bag.

“Good night, Daniel,” I said when I was settled.

“Good night Reya. Good night, Heath.”

I lay awake for a while, my mind racing as it replayed Heath’s extraordinary words and memories of the way he’d kissed me and touched me.

And then my thoughts moved back to the dark woods. I couldn’t shake the creepy sensation of being watched.

Whether it was squirrels or something larger, I didn’t like the thought of eyes peering at me from the dark.

Exhaustion finally winning the battle with my will, I let my eyelids drop and drifted off into dreams of armed men in black suits sneaking through the woods.

At some point, the soldiers morphed into teenagers dressed in ragged clothing, whispering and gesturing to each other as they crept into the clearing and stood above our sleeping bodies.

I jerked awake to see Heath standing over me. Bright sunlight streamed around his head and shoulders, silhouetting him and throwing his face into shadow.

“Are you okay? You were moaning in your sleep. You sounded like you were in pain.”

“No, I—”

A sharp pain did tear through my side as I sat up. I bit my lip and rubbed my eyes.

“It was only a nightmare.”

“You and Daniel both,” he said, apparently taking me at my word. “I played soccer for years and was never kicked as much as I was last night.”

Feeling like I’d been kicked myself, I slowly got to my feet. “Can you handle making the breakfast? I want to go wash off in the stream before we head out.”

“Sure. The water’s cold, though. Prepare yourself.”

Nothing in the world could have prepared me for the temperature of that mountain stream. There was indeed a section deep enough to bathe in, but judging from the numbness of my skin just from wading in up to my ankles, it would be the world’s fastest bath.

So much for soaking my injuries.

I had hoped a night of sleep would improve them, but everything felt worse today, from my toe to my fingernails. The spot on my hip was so bad it caused me to limp on the way to the stream.

Thankfully, the sun was shining, and the morning air felt warm. Checking behind me first to make sure Daniel hadn’t followed, or God forbid, Heath, I stripped off my clothes and waded into the water, heading for the deepest section.

When I reached it, I dived under, immediately bobbing back to the surface with a loud exhalation of breath.

“Wow, that is cold,” I said to the trees on the other side of the bank.

Now that I’d ripped off the band-aid, my skin acclimated to the water. It was still cold, but tolerable enough to allow me to rub my hands over my skin and through my hair, rinsing away the woodsmoke from last night and yesterday’s sweat.

And it was indeed helping the injury to my hip. I could barely feel it now that it was submerged. Hopefully the icy water would reduce the swelling so that hiking out of the park today wouldn’t be as miserable as yesterday’s hike had been.

Speaking of, I needed to get back. No doubt Heath would want to get an early start.

Going under water for one final rinse, I came up again, opening my eyes with a series of rapid blinks.

And saw a face.

Not Heath’s. Not Daniel’s. A stranger’s face, staring at me from the concealment of the nearby woods. I plunged myself back under the surface of the water up to my shoulders.

“Who are you?” I demanded, shuddering hard from the double-whammy of cold water and shock. “What are you doing here?”

The guy didn’t answer, just kept staring. He was young, a teenager—early twenties at the oldest.

His dark hair was long and wavy, falling barely past his bare shoulders and loosely framing his face. His skin was tanned, and his dark, almond-shaped eyes were intense with wary interest.

And then he was gone. I made my way to the bank and leapt from the water, running to the tree line where he’d vanished.

“Wait. Come back. Are you from the Haven?”

There was no answer and no further sign of the guy. He’d melted into the woods.

“Mireya.” I heard Heath’s shout and turned in his direction in time to see him running toward me. “You okaaaaay…”

His voice trailed off as he skidded to a stop on the opposite bank of the stream. His expression was pure shock.

“Did you see him, too?” I demanded.

“See… who?” Heath croaked, sounding like his throat was dry.

His eyes were not on my face but moving down my body in a slow scan, as if he wasn’t quite sure he was actually seeing what he saw before him. I looked down at myself and belatedly realized why.

“Oh my God.” I whirled around.

Then I realized I was every bit as naked from that angle.

“Turn around,” I ordered. “Don’t look at me.”

I searched frantically around me for my clothes. They were on the other side of the stream where I’d left them. Close to Heath.

Checking to make sure he was turned away—he was—I waded through the stream and up the bank where he now stood facing the backs of the cabins.

“You’re hurt,” he said.

“I’m fine. Don’t turn around.” I yanked my clothing back on.

My efforts were slowed by the numbness of my fingers and the renewed throbbing in my hip. While trying to pull my pants back on I stumbled to one side and nearly fell.

Keeping his back to me, Heath said, “That wound on your hip looked pretty bad.”

“It’s not that bad. Okay I’m decent—you can turn back around.”

When he did, I explained. “It hurts a bit, but I didn’t want you to worry. Anyway, it’s not important right now. Didn’t you hear what I said? I saw someone in the woods.”

“Where?”

His furrowed brow and alarmed tone told me he was finally hearing my words and not still seeing images of my naked body. I wasn’t sure whether to be flattered or irritated he’d been so distracted by my nudity that the appearance of a strange guy wasn’t his first concern.

“Was it a Retriever?” he said.

“No. I don’t think so. He was young, like my age, or yours. And he wasn’t wearing a uniform.”

“What was he wearing?”

“Nothing.”

“He was naked?” Heath demanded, sounding even more alarmed.

“No. I mean, I don’t know. All I saw was his face and shoulders. He wasn’t wearing a shirt. He was in the woods, watching me.”

His voice when he responded resembled an animal’s growl. “I’ll bet he was. Maybe it was another hiker, heading to the pool to swim or wash off like you were. Maybe he didn’t realize you were there. Or maybe he did.”

He scowled. “Whatever he was up to, whoever he was, I don’t like it. Time to go.”

He took my arm and started pulling me toward the cabins. I dug my heels in, stopping his progress.

“Go? Heath—we have to replace him. What if he’s from the Gebby sanctuary?”

“What if he’s not?”

“Who else would be out here? We walked forever to get here. You said yourself the road to this part of the park is closed. We should at least try to talk to him.”

I jerked free of his grasp and turned to head back toward the spot where my voyeur had disappeared. I made it only two steps before stumbling and falling to the grass.

Heath rushed to my side. Sliding his hands beneath my arms, he lifted me. I couldn’t stop myself from wincing at the pain it produced in my hip.

Obviously spotting the telltale sign, Heath lifted my chin so I’d be forced to see him eye to eye.

“Reya—how badly does it hurt? Be honest with me.”

“It’s… not so bad.”

“You’re lying.”

Walking around behind me, he lifted the back of my shirt and tugged down the waistband of my pants. He gasped before I whirled away from him and yanked my clothes back into place.

“It’s infected. Your skin’s on fire. Why didn’t you tell me? That must be excruciating.”

I shook my head, irritated and impatient. “We can deal with it later, after we’ve found him.”

“We’ll deal with it now.”

Without asking my permission, Heath swept his arm under my legs and lifted me cradle style against his chest. He started walking toward our campsite.

“Hey,” I said in protest, kicking my legs to be set down.

He kept walking. “You’re hurt, Reya. And you have a fever. I need to clean and bandage the wound. God, I can’t believe you hid this from me. You are so stubborn.”

My kicking had no effect on him, and it was causing me pain, so I stopped and resigned myself to being carried like a baby. “I didn’t want you to worry,” I muttered.

“I’m not worried. I’m terrified. Those tasers can do serious damage—infections can be even worse.”

Daniel ran toward us as we approached the campfire and sleeping bags. “Heath! Mireya! Look what I found. Footprints.”

He sounded delighted as he made a frantic follow-me gesture with one hand and ran back toward the fire. When we caught up to him, he pointed at the ground near my sleeping bag.

“Look. Is it the Lost Boys, Heath?”

Depositing me gently onto my sleeping bag first, Heath joined his brother in studying the ground. I rolled over to the uninjured hip and did the same.

“They are footprints,” I said in wonder. I’d assumed the fanciful child had been using his imagination.

Heath nodded, his face grim. “Yeah. They are. And they’re barefoot. Definitely not Retrievers. Some of the prints are small, female-sized. I’d say they were yours if not for the larger ones with them. Looks like at least three sets of them here.”

“The Lost Boys, the Lost Boys,” Daniel crowed as he ran around in circles. “Maybe we’ll meet Peter Pan.”

Instead of responding to his brother, Heath turned to look at me, his face deadly serious.

“What did you say that guy in the woods looked like?”