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inside, drawing me to him. I bit back a grin. It’s called hormones, Jess. Let’s just keep it together and don’t make a fool out of yourself.
    The wind blew lightly through the treetops, rustling the branches over our heads as I slid down beside my bag. “Are you hungry?”
    “Yes, famished.” His eyes lit up, the color actually brightening. It must have been the sun.
    “Great. I made a few PB&J’s. I hope that’s okay.”
    “I guess.”
    I handed him a sandwich. He flipped it over, squinting at the jelly running down the crust.
    Okay, so, I wasn’t Betty Crocker. Get over it.
    I removed mine from the plastic wrap, and David followed suit. He watched me take a bite before tearing into his own.
    What did he think, it was poisoned or something?
    “This is good.” He swallowed and nodded. “Really good.”
    A snicker escaped my lips. “I guess anything would taste good if you hadn’t eaten since yesterday.”
    “Mm-huh. Thank you.” He finished the last bite and ran his tongue slowly along his pointer finger, licking off a glob of jelly.
    I shifted my weight, watching his tongue glide across his skin.
    Wow.
    I bit my lip and cleared my throat.
    Get. A. Grip. Jess.
    Looking away—definitely a good option. “Listen, you can’t stay out here. There is some kind of dangerous fugitive or something on the loose.”
    “Or something?”
    The spider beside him dangled from a branch before swinging back up, a stream of silk glistening behind it.
    “That’s about all I know. I just thought you should know. You know?”
    Ugh. How much dumber could I sound?Why did I act so goofy around this guy? Pfft. It had nothing to do with the perfect tan, the washboard abs, those unbelievable arms…
    “So, what does this fugitive look like? It’s not a young girl with long brown hair and blue eyes, is it? Because that would kind of suck.”
    I laughed. “If I were a fugitive I wouldn’t be making PB&J for some sappy guy in the woods.”
    “Well, I guess today’s my lucky day, then.”
    He licked another finger. I forced my eyes back up to the spider web. The sunlight caught the square outline of the miniature piece of art before it disappeared, fading in and out like a mirage.
    My stomach churned anxiously. “So, do you want to tell me why you’re out here?” Please, please, please don’t tell me you’re a dangerous fugitive.
    He looked down. “I told you…”
    “I know. You don’t want to be found. I get that, but the Army is out there looking for someone suspicious. If they find you…”
    David’s eyes sprang open. He leapt to one knee, just missing the spider web. “Where are they looking?”
    “I don’t know. Around, I guess.”
    A refreshing breeze blew through the woods, invigorating me, but a shiver rattled David’s shoulders. “It’s getting colder.”
    Dark clouds wafted over the treetops, shrouding the forest in a dim gray before the sun broke through once more.
    “It might rain, but it’s still, like, eighty degrees.”
    He wrapped his arms around himself and sat hunched over. A pang deep within my gut warned something wasn’t right, that I should run, but the sensation quickly ebbed away. As if erased.
    I knelt beside him. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
    “I’m just cold.”
    “Maybe you have a fever? You should really see a doctor.”
    “No. No way.” He raised his hands in a defensive position.
    “All right—if you tell me what’s going on, maybe I can get help, but we’re not really getting anywhere here with me doing all the talking.”
    “Okay, let’s talk.” He looked to the right and moved closer to the web. He seemed to focus on each strand the spider spun.
    The sunlight sparkled in his dark hair and gleamed within the web. I couldn’t help myself. I grabbed my camera and adjusted the focus so both David and the web popped crisply from the outlining scenery.
    Whoa. The preview looked like a magazine ad. The lines in his face, his nearly pore-less skin—just