Wrong Kind of Paradise Read Online Free

shoulder to see if she could glimpse the soldiers and smacked right
    into something hard. Arms reached around her, clasped her, and pulled her behind the tree.
    Blac. She didn’t need to see him; she could smell him. She trembled in his arms and his large hand
    cradled her head. He pulled her close until they stood chest to chest.
    “Always into something.” His tone soothed her fears.
    She relaxed almost immediately. Blac had always saved her from one instance or another. This time
    would be no different. It was why she loved him. It was why she knew he loved her as well.
    “Shhh,” he whispered.
    Forcing herself to calm her ragged breaths, she nodded. He held her close and an odd sensation
    cascaded through her body. A trickle of awareness that seemed to radiate from her very center made her
    pulse leap in response to his touch.
    Blac let go and moved her behind him. Bereft of his warmth, she shivered. He indicated silence
    with a finger to his lips and for her to stay put. She nodded, too afraid to move.
    He crouched low and moved away. Angel pressed as much of her body against the tree as she could
    and tried to peer around it. But apprehension kept her from moving any further.
    A limb snapped. The soldiers closed in. She leaned her forehead against the tree as the pressure of
    its bark imprinted itself into her soft skin.
    Please, just make them go away .
    She closed her eyes. Silence made its eerie appearance in the woods and cold chill’s formed across
    her flesh. Anxiety tightened her shoulders. A muffled thump came out of nowhere before silence reigned
    again.
    What was that?
    Her eyes shot open and she waited.
    Nothing else moved. Where was Blac? Why hadn’t he stayed here with her? What if he’d been
    captured, too? What would she do?
    Angel jammed her eyelids shut. A single tear slipped from the corner of her eye and slid down her
    cheek, streaking its way to her jaw.
    Seconds passed and she could no longer just stand here doing nothing. She took a deep breath and
    dared a look. Blac! Where did he go?
    The jungle didn’t move. It seemed even Mother Nature held her breath. Her eyes darted from left to
    right searching the surrounding area. A green monkey suddenly fell into her vision from the limb above
    her. She gasped and fell backward on her haunches. She looked up. The monkey hung from its tail upside
    down and tilted its head sideways at her. She sighed and got to her knees again. The little monkey swung
    its attention to the east and then scampered back up the tree.
    She clambered back to her feet and peered around the tree again. Breathing rapidly, the wind
    entered her lungs noisily. Don’t be afraid and soften your breath !
    She could almost hear Blac’s instructions. You can do this, Angel .
    She took a deep, calming breath and a single step away from the tree. Her head swung from one
    direction to another, searching for some clue to Blac’s whereabouts. Where had he gone? Why had he left
    her here alone?
    Had something happened? Why didn’t he make his presence known so she wouldn’t worry so?
    Maybe he’d fallen and was bleeding to death. She searched the ground for any signs of tracks.
    Desperate now, she dropped to her hands and knees and whispered, “Blac!” Please answer me.
    She crawled across the sand, its gritty warmth soaking between her fingers. “Blac! Where are you?”
    Christ’s bones, why didn’t he answer ?
    A sand crab tunneled out of the sand, and she jumped to the side. She gave the crab a wide berth
    and kept moving. “Blac! If you’ve left me here alone, I swear I’ll kill you myself.”
    Two hands reached around her waist and lifted her to her feet, just as a soft chuckle sounded in her
    ear. “Is that right?
    A huge breath of relief exploded from her lungs as she broke away from him. “I thought you left.”
    She gritted her teeth and poked a finger in his chest.
    “Now why would I do that? I’m still waiting on that ride you so sweetly offered,