Derek was way more well-behaved than last night. "Alright, I won't look. I've got some clean clothes in my backpack. You can borrow them."
He got up and headed out. "I'll go spread some insect-repelling powder."
His figure paused at the cave entrance. There was a flash of worry in his eyes before he slowly disappeared into the rain.
Tabitha found a big shirt of his. After changing, she quickly snuggled into the sleeping bag.
Derek returned soon. Tabitha poked out her head, reminding Derek of their honeymoon days.
Though his clothes were waterproof, they'd still gotten pretty wet.
He took off his jacket and hung it on the rack, revealing a white T-shirt underneath.
It was a bit damp too, clinging to his body and showing off his muscles.
"Tabitha... can I take my shirt off?" Derek asked softly.
After last night, he didn't want to upset her.
Tabitha turned her head away. "Mm-hmm."
Derek took off his shirt and put it on the rack to dry. Seeing Tabitha turn away, he grinned like a fool. It felt like a dream.
Tabitha had risked her life to find him. If this wasn't love, what was?
Derek suddenly felt the poisoning was worth it. Otherwise, how could he see the Tabitha he'd always longed for?
It had taken a lot to get Tabitha to soften. From now on, every step had to be steady.
Derek kept adding firewood. The dry wood burned quickly, and who knew how long the rain would last.
The jungle had a huge temperature difference between day and night, especially on rainy nights. If the rain didn't stop, he'd need a lot more firewood.
He needed to prepare enough supplies in advance.
With Tabitha here, he wanted to make life a bit better.
"Tabitha, I'm going out for a bit. Be back soon," he said, grabbing his knife and heading out.
An hour later, Derek came back, shirtless, carrying a big bundle of wood on his shoulder and dragging another behind him.
Without his shirt, his well - defined muscles were on full display.
His chest and abs were clearly visible, and his two well - defined abdominal muscles extended down to his work pants.
He was completely drenched, with water droplets streaming down from his hair.
Such a sight was incredibly masculine.
Even Tabitha, not usually one to be easily attracted, felt her heart race and her eyes heat up.
Derek stacked the wood. Since it was damp from the rain, he prepared a big fire to dry it out so they wouldn't freeze at night.
He was always a meticulous person.
When he was taking care of you, he did it wholeheartedly. When he hurt you, it was equally real.
If you were his friend, you were lucky; if his enemy, you were in trouble.
"You're soaked," Tabitha said.
"It's fine. I'm a man; it doesn't matter," Derek replied, grabbing the dried - out white T - shirt from the rack to wipe his head and body.
Tabitha stared at his pants. "Umm... you should change those too."
"Alright," Derek said, rummaging through his backpack.
Then he heard Tabitha's stomach growl.
"Haven't you had breakfast?" he asked.
Derek had eaten his fill before leaving to stock up on energy.
But Tabitha, in her rush to find him, was now starving.
Derek tossed her a bunch of food. "Here, eat up," he said.
Thirsty but too shy to ask for water, Tabitha crawled out of her sleeping bag to search the backpack.
Derek was unfastening his belt. Turning around, he saw Tabitha stretching to reach the water. Her long, straight legs caught his full attention.
His shirt barely covered her thighs.
Tabitha's legs were unrealistically straight, like something out of a cartoon.
Thanks to frequent soaks in medicinal hot springs, even her feet were as fair as jade, with a hint of pink, like peeled lychees.
This pose showcased her best features, deadly sexy.
Derek swallowed hard, recalling what they'd done last night in the cornfield——the most primal and thrilling of acts.
"Tabitha..."
Derek's mouth went dry.
Tabitha turned to see the predatory look in his eyes.
Though they were parents to four kids and had been through so much, Tabitha still acted like a girl, shy and self - conscious.
Sometimes she'd subconsciously cover up and then realize she was being too prudish.
But some things were ingrained in her bones.
Like now, her first instinct was to forget the water and quickly retreat into her sleeping bag.
Seeing he'd scared her, Derek quickly averted his gaze and handed her the water.
Their hands brushed—his still damp, her fingers briefly moistened by his touch.
Breaking contact, Tabitha murmured a "thanks," her head down.
Their relationship was bizarre—neither quite couple, nor friends, nor strangers.