Pursued by Evangeline Anderson

Author:Evangeline Anderson [Anderson, Evangeline]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Evangeline Anderson Books
Published: 2012-06-21T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-three

“So this is the Deep Blue.” Elise broke the long silence between them at last. “It’s…amazing.”

Merrick tried to look at the scene through her eyes and truly, it was. It looked as though someone had drawn a line down the middle of the foliage. A clear demarcation where the dusty, blue-gray jungle suddenly ended and another, deeper, wilder place began. The plants of the Deep Blue were an indigo so pure it almost hurt the eyes to look at it them. Here and there were splashes of deep green or vivid orange or bright yellow—like colored jewels on a blue velvet background—but for the most part it was solid, uninterrupted blue.

“It’s gorgeous,” Elise murmured, sounding awed.

Merrick grunted. “Yeah, and fucking dangerous.” He put down his pack and crouched by the side of the small purple stream they’d been following. Conveniently, it stuck pretty close to the scent trail. “This is where we camp for the night,” he decided. There was no way he was going into the Deep Blue just as the sun was setting. Dusk was the time when the Ancient Ones were most active—far better to start fresh in the morning and hope to get in and out without a problem.

“All right.” Elise looked stiff. Her muscles were probably aching from the long hike, not to mention the strenuous exercise of helping kill the xenox. Merrick was sure she was ready for a rest. She cast him a sidelong glance, maybe wondering if he was still mad at her, but didn’t say anything else.

Merrick showed no signs that he knew she was watching him. He was taking things out of his backpack, getting ready to settle for the night. He heard Elise sigh and then she peeled off her soft blue leather boots and put her feet in the stream. The water fizzed slightly around her bare feet and she smiled, as though enjoying the ticklish sensation.

The smile softened the worry lines on her face, making her so beautiful his heart ached. “Something funny?” he murmured, coming up behind her.

Elise jumped away as though he’d burned her. “Oh, uh…” She turned to look at him, her eyes wide and startled. “You scared me,” she said, as though trying to explain her sudden get-away.

What else is new? Merrick thought. Aloud he said, “Right. You hungry?”

Elise looked at him, as though trying to figure out which meaning of the word he was using. Merrick could feel her anxiety through the bond. Wanting to put her at ease, he held up a dried protein strip.

A look of relief and understanding crossed her face. “Yes. Thanks.” She took the strip from him and looked down at it. “Um, is it okay to wash in the stream? I’m all hot and sticky.”

“Hot and sticky, huh?” Merrick’s voice sounded slightly strangled in his own ears. He couldn’t help himself—her innocent words had evoked a whole set of images he’d been trying to repress. The memory of her spread out on his lap, her

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