Worth Dying For Read Online Free PDF Page B

seemed to close in on her. The rain fell so hard it shook the leaves above them and drowned out every other sound, and she felt the near constant need to turn around and check they were still alone.
    Amber opened her jacket, flapping the collar to let out some of the heat and moisture building up inside it. Summer rain always made her irritable and the sweat she could feel trickling down her back inside the sauna-inducing fabric didn’t help.
    When another shiver crawled down her spine and she turned for the umpteenth time to check the dark forest behind her, Amber couldn’t stay there another second. Given the choice of sitting in the woods where her fear resided versus sitting in the tent and fending off David, David won—hands down. She sighed and got to her feet.
      “This rain looks to be in for the day, we’d better head back.”
    His eyes lit up, just as she’d feared they would. Spending the rest of her Saturday trapped in a tent with a man who had proven to be nothing more than a hormonal teenager wasn’t her idea of fun, and she toyed with the idea of suggesting that they carry on working. But the icy downpour had soaked him to the skin and she couldn’t ignore how uncomfortable he seemed as another hard shiver racked his body.
    “We’d better make a run for it.” He grabbed her hand, dragging her out into the deluge before she had a chance to protest. Cold needles of rain stung her face as she blindly followed David’s lead and ran in the general direction of the beach.
    They made it back to camp fifteen minutes later, both of them breathless and shivering. David’s cold hands fumbled with the zipper on the tent and she pushed him out of the way to tear it open and fall inside with a grateful gasp. The dark, dank interior seemed only a little less claustrophobic than the forest they’d just run from, but at least they were out of the rain.
    David stripped out of his wet clothing without embarrassment, rubbing himself dry with a towel before throwing on dry sweats. Amber’s jeans were the only casualty so she shrugged out of them and into a fresh pair with her back turned to David, hoping the epic cold shower he’d just had would make him behave, at least for a while.
    But when he was still behaving half an hour later, Amber began to worry. David had curled up on his bunk, complaining that he couldn’t get warm and shivering violently. Amber perched on the edge of his cot, unsure if he would take it the wrong way but certain she could handle it if he did. He struggled to sit up and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, relaxing against her with a grateful sigh.
    “This is nice,” he said, resting his head against hers. David tucked her head into the crook of his neck, smoothing her hair away from her face as he hummed a tune and began to rock her gently as if to comfort her. Amber forgot she had meant to take care of him and sank into his embrace, aware that she craved the physical contact far more than the person giving it. Burrowing into his chest, she fought the agonising ache which started in her gut whenever she allowed herself to be held for any length of time, building until it finally became unbearable. Amber scrambled to her feet, trying to stop the tears that were sure to follow such a weak moment. Maybe her friends were right and she did need therapy. The quiet desperation that threatened to cripple her if she didn’t keep it squashed down inside her hadn’t lessened at all in the last year.
    “You okay?” David asked, his brows knitting together as he looked up at her from his bunk. He gave her a crooked smile. “You look as if you are about to cry. Or scream. I’m not sure which.”
    The tears came then despite her best efforts and her lip trembled as she bit down on it to suppress a sob. He pulled her down into his arms again, allowing her to cry against his chest, trying his best to soothe her with meaningless words until the bitter sobs calmed to quiet sniffles.
    “Why