Chapter 503:
Brad rested one arm over his bent knee while the other braced against the jeep’s edge. With a controlled motion, he eased into a seated position, his movements fluid yet alert. His gaze, sharp and unyielding, caught the light like a hunter’s stare, focused squarely on Rylie standing below.
“Come up,” he said. His voice was deeper than usual, coated in a husky undertone that sounded as though it had only just risen from sleep. The effect was made more distinct by the silence of the hillside.
Rylie looked at him, and without warning, her heart gave a small, unsteady jolt. Without his daytime sharpness and composure, Brad no longer looked like the commanding officer she was used to. He seemed untamed in the dark, lounging with the quiet strength of something dangerous at rest, his presence heavy with a silent, masculine energy that felt both relaxed and impossible to ignore.
She didn’t move at first. Her gaze remained fixed on his as she asked, her tone dry but laced with amusement, “You dragged me up here just to watch you sleep?”
Brad let out a quiet laugh, the sound rumbling through his chest and drifting into the night with a playful edge. “Sleep? That’d be a waste. Isn’t this the part where we follow the usual dating pattern? After trading numbers, we move on to the date.”
He extended his hand toward her, palm open, as though the gesture itself left no room for decline. “Come up. There’s something I want to show you.” His eyes held a quiet intensity that gave her pause. After a beat, Rylie slowly placed her hand in his.
With a slight pull from Brad’s arm, Rylie was effortlessly lifted into the jeep’s cargo area. She stumbled, nearly falling into his embrace. A mix of cedar, faint antiseptic, and the clean edge of his skin wrapped around her like a subtle fog. His hands came to her waist to steady her, the heat of his grip cutting through the thin layer of fabric between them.
He didn’t pull away right away. Instead, he leaned in slightly, his breath brushing past her ear as he murmured in a low voice, “Watch your step.”
After Rylie regained her balance, Brad released her hand.
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The cargo space wasn’t cramped, but with Brad’s tall frame occupying most of it, the air seemed to grow thinner around them.
He tapped the open spot beside him on the waterproof tarp. “Sit.”
Rylie followed his lead and lowered herself into the space, leaving a gap of half an arm between them.
Brad picked up his military jacket from beside him and draped it over her shoulders without asking. The weight of it settled around her, steeped in his warmth and the faint scent of him, warding off the bite of the night breeze.
“I’m not cold,” Rylie murmured, instinctively attempting to decline.
“The mountain wind can be unforgiving,” Brad said, his tone quiet but absolute, leaving no room for refusal. He turned his gaze upwards, looking into the depths of the night sky.
Rylie gathered the jacket closer around her and followed his eyes.
The hillside rose high above the campfire’s glow and the city’s muted haze, leaving the night unspoiled. Overhead, the dark blue velvet sky was densely sown with stars.
The Milky Way arched across it like a vast ribbon of light, dusted with diamonds, breathtaking in its splendor. Countless stars, some burning bright, others faint as whispers, clustered and scattered as if close enough to touch. The Big Dipper hung nearby, its handle drawn like an arrow into the distance. Beneath that endless expanse, the mountain ridges lay in shadow, their silhouettes like slumbering giants, deepening the mystery of the heavens.
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