Stranded with the Billionaire

S A G E

The sun burst through the leaves above Sage . Every time the wind blew, it caused the shadows to shift below him. The steady sound of the rushing river filled the air. He had propped himself up against a nearby rock. His arms were folded as he stared out into the expansive woods in front of him.

Irena ‘s words kept repeating in his mind. Some were sections of her so-called article that reamed out his family and rich people in general. Some were the words she’d spoken to him. And how she’d spoken to him.

He sighed and rubbed his shoulder. There was a knot that had formed there from sleeping on the ground next to her. He rubbed his arm as he thought about the feeling of having her so close to him. Sharing warmth with her.

And the kiss they’d shared last night. The closeness he’d allowed himself to feel. He reached down and grabbed a flat rock. He angled his body toward the river and chucked it into the water. It plopped and then disappeared.

He was such a fool. He should have never let himself care for Irena . She was nothing more than a reporter. There was no way he was ever going to change her mind. And he was an idiot to think he could.

He pushed off the rock and stood. Then he swung his arms across his chest, hoping that physical exertion would help calm his pounding heart. It was conflicting with the thoughts that were racing around in his mind.

He jumped a few times. Then growled. Good. This was helping him return to Earth and out of the clouds where he often went when he was around Irena . There was something about her that drew him in. And he hated how helpless he felt around her. Especially when he’d just read her true feelings about him. Those were something he could never change.

Once he felt that he had his emotions under control, he threw one last rock into the water and then headed back to camp. He walked through the trees, smacking the leaves as he went. Hopefully, that plane they’d seen earlier meant there were hunters around, and perhaps a lodge. He allowed the idea that they just might get found today simmer in his mind. If they were found, he could get back home and put this whole thing behind him. Not to mention, he’d be able to get some real medical attention for Titan .

Sage  paused. That’s where he should be focusing his attention. On Titan . The one thing in his life that never let him down. Not Irena  or his father. But man’s best friend. Having a job to focus on had renewing effects on Sage ‘s mood. He’d channel all his frustration into getting Titan  rescued. And once he was better, the two of them would escape the world that seemed to want to crush him.

Rolling his shoulders back, he took a step forward. A crack sounded behind him, followed by a shooting pain in his shoulder. He opened his mouth, but the sound never reached his ears. The force of whatever hit him pushed him forward, and he smacked his head on the tree in front of him. He blinked a few times before he slipped into the fuzzy darkness that surrounded him.

Irena

The whirring sound of the helicopter blades matched her beating heart. Sage  was stretched out on the grass as Ash , the idiot who shot him, paced next to them.

“I really thought he was an animal,” Ash  kept saying. Like an annoying message on repeat.

Irena  glanced over to study Sage . His eyes were closed, and his skin was pale. She shifted against the hard ground. She’d almost had a heart attack when Ash  emerged from the woods, dragging Sage ‘s limp body behind him.

Her stomach twisted as she kept her fingers pressed into his shoulder. The bleeding had slowed, which was a good sign. But he needed medical help as soon as possible.

The trees bent as the helicopter landed next to them. Its roar deafened her to Ash ‘s chant. She swallowed as she reached out and grasped Sage ‘s hand. Feelings of guilt and worry raced through her.

From the corner of her eye, she saw two men jump from the helicopter. They grabbed a stretcher and rolled it over to them. Ash  had had a satellite phone and, apparently, Amanda had been quite vigilant in searching for Sage . There had been a search team fifty miles out.

“We’ve got this, ma’am,” one of the medics said, waving at her to move away.

“Oh, okay,” she muttered, shock still racing through her veins.

Not sure what to do, she stood there, helpless. They took his vitals and then heaved him up onto the stretcher.

“Let’s go,” the other medic said, cupping her elbow with his gloved hand.

She nodded and began to walk toward the helicopter. Titan . She’d forgotten about Titan . She paused. “The dog,” she said, nodding over to his body.

The medic looked in the direction she motioned. “I’ll get him. You get on the helicopter,” he yelled.

She turned and climbed in after Sage . When the medic boarded with Titan  in his arms, the pilot took off.

Irena  wrapped her arms around her stomach. Every feeling, from relief to frustration, to worry, coursed through her veins. They were rescued. In a matter of moments, she would be back to civilization with this whole thing behind her.

But, as she glanced down at Titan  and Sage , a tear escaped and raced down her cheek. She’d give that all up if it meant that these two could be okay. She’d gladly take their place if it meant they wouldn’t be hurt.

As she swallowed against the lump in her throat, she glanced out the window. The truth was, she was in love. And that thought scared her more than anything she’d faced through the entire Greenlandic  wilderness.All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.