Chapter 35

-Jianna-

**2007**

I woke up and the sun was already shining in the gaps in our tent. It was freezing so I tried to scoot in more in my sleeping bag but it was no use. I barely slept anyway so I figured I might as well get up. I turned around and saw James awake already.

"Did you get any sleep?" I asked him.

He looked at me with concern in his eyes. But more than that, I saw fear.

"Not much. I was keeping watch." he exhaled. He looked exhausted.

I sat up and kissed his cheek. "Go get some sleep, James. I'll keep watch."

He held my hand and placed it on his cheek I kissed him. "I'm OK J. We just... We have to keep moving ok?" he looked at me and his eyes softened.

"I'd breathe better knowing we're as far away as possible," he said.

.

He got up and checked the map. "Looks like we have about a day's hike to the next town up north but I was thinking we head east a little and see if we can get into a town there. We grab some supplies and maybe a bike and we can keep heading north then. Sound like a plan?" He looked up and saw me grinning.

"What?" he chuckled.

"I think it's sexy when you..." I motioned to the map "Do whatever that was you were doing." I raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Miss Spencer! Control yourself. We're on the run from really dangerous people." he chuckled.

I stepped closer to him and rested my arm on his shoulder. I feigned seriousness and pointed at nothing in particular on the map he was reading.

"And ummm... where were we supposed to be headed?" I asked seductively.

"East." he grabbed my hand and slid it in the right direction.

"Oh. East. I see." I love playing with him.

"J if you don't stop I swear." he grinned and grabbed me by the waist and spun me around. I laughed, feeling the weight of our situation briefly lift off my shoulders.

I leaned in and whispered in his ear. "But what if I'm the distraction you need?" I ran my fingers through his hair and brushed my lips against his neck.

He breathed in sharply, his chest heaving as he struggled to contain his overwhelming desire. When his eyes opened, there was a beastly passion raging inside him that could no longer be held back, threatening to consume all of his willpower and senses. He stood unmoving, almost mesmerized by the hunger within him.

"Don't start anything you can't finish baby," he said softly but it sent shivers down my spine.

He pulled me in for a kiss. His lips were soft and warm against mine. It felt like everything else in the world stopped and it was just the two of us in that moment. But we snapped back to reality when we heard rustling nearby.

James instantly pulled away, grabbed me close, and looked around. His hand is immediately in the grip of his gun that's tucked in the small of his back. I had my hand on the grip of my gun as well. Tucked in the small of my back.

"James?" I looked at him. His eyes were scanning the woods at a mile a minute.

"Let's go J. Let's move," he said sternly.

We quickly packed our camping gear and started walking to the path on the map that James had planned out.

As we were walking, I couldn't help but start to feel scared and anxious. The severity of our situation starting to catch up to us. The first couple of days were bliss obviously but I think we let our guards down too quickly. We got every single assassin from both our organizations and we were playing honeymoon. How can I be so naive?

We've been walking for hours and my thoughts have been occupied with worst-case scenarios that I didn't realize James had stopped walking. I ran straight to his back and it's solid enough that I got hurt hitting it.

"OW! Give a girl a warning will ya?" I muttered.

James turned around and gave me an apologetic look.

"Sorry, J. I just wanted to make sure we weren't being followed." he looked around and when he saw no one there, he looked at me with a sigh of relief.

"I'm sure if we were being followed they would've caught up by now." he stated as a matter of factly. "but I have a feeling someone's been tracking us. We need to be careful." James said, his eyes scanning the area again.

I looked around too, but I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. The trees were dense and the forest floor was covered in fallen leaves, making it difficult to detect any signs of tracking.

"Do we keep going?" I hesitated to ask James but I wanted to know what to do.

"We keep moving. We need to get to the next town as soon as possible." James replied, his tone firm and determined.

I nodded, and we continued on our journey. The further we walked, the more on edge I became. I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being watched, that someone was following us. I wished that James hadn't put that idea in my head. Now, every rustle, every movement, every step felt like it was one step closer to someone separating James and me. That thought was the worst one.

"Penny for your thoughts?" James was looking at me with curiosity.

"It's nothing." I lied.

"J. We haven't been together for long and I know I got you into this mess, but I watched you for weeks. I know when you're having those really deep, mental tug-of-war thoughts," he said. "You get that little adorable crinkle on the middle of your eyebrows and you tilt your head ever so slightly." he tilted his head, "Like this."

I snapped out of my thoughts, slightly embarrassed.

"I do not have a crinkle on my forehead!" I protested, trying to hide my smile.

James chuckled, "You do, and it's cute." then he got serious again. "But seriously, what's on your mind?"

I sighed, "I just can't stand to lose you. I can't lose another person I care about and love from me. There was a reason I hid my personal life from the organization that took me in. They've killed every single one I even attempted to get close to. Papa said no distractions."

He stopped and looked at me. I looked up at him and he had the most radiant smile.

"Excuse me? But did you just say you love me?" he teased.

"Huh? What? No, I didn't!" I objected.

"Mhmmm... Well, in any case, I fell in love with you the first day I started tailing you. There was something about you that drew me in." he confessed.

I grinned and jumped into his arms.

"Just to be clear. You said it first." I whispered in his ear as I kissed his cheek.

"I love you too, J. I will kill every single person on this earth to protect you," he whispered as he smelled my hair.

I jumped down and gave him the most passionate and urgent kiss I could physically muster.

When we finally went up for air, I looked at him with courage and optimism renewed.

"Let's go then." he held out his hand and I knew that the moment I took it, it was going to be him and I against the world. And I would burn that world to protect him too.