We barely came up for air over the next three days. Whether he wanted to make a point of the whole 'not for one night' thing I don't know, but I wasn't complaining at all. The brief times he spent away from me, fetching us food and water, I felt cold, bare, exposed, almost in pain from the emptiness that took over instantly.

Our soul consuming explorations of each other were just mind blowing, like living in an ethereal plane. He was my ecstasy and I needed a constant fix of him. I floated on clouds, my mind as light as a feather and my body continually humming from his touch.

The morning of my final day of prescribed rest, I woke to find Brady staring at me, a faraway look glazing over his eyes.

"Morning, gorgeous," he said, running a finger over my lips. "How are you feeling?"

"Good. You?"

"On top of the world." He leaned in for a morning kiss, melting me in a split second. "How do you feel about venturing out for the day? I could do with a rest before I go back to work."

I laughed and nodded. Every part of me ached, but it was such a blissful pain that I didn't care. "What do you have in mind?"

"There's something I want to show you not too far away. Let's get dressed and get going before the heat hits."

He leaped out of bed with such enthusiasm, it made me question whether I could actually ever wear him out. I'd had a front row seat over the past few days to the glorious view of beads of sweat trickling along the defined lines of his muscles—it was without a doubt the best front row seat I'd ever had.

Whilst Brady was in the bathroom, I sorted out my clothes for the day. Just as I sat back on the bed, waiting for my turn in the shower, my phone beeped. Still grinning like a Cheshire cat, I grabbed my phone expecting it to be Mum.

My heart sank.

Ben – I love you and I miss you. I'm not going to let a decade of our lives be washed away. XXX

Usually a text from him would flip my heart into high gear but this just filled me with dread. He was starting to feel like a ships anchor, constantly dragging me down and refusing to let me move forwards. What he was failing to realise was the more he harassed me, the further he was pushing me away.

I ignored it, deciding not to say anything to Brady. After the amazing few days we'd had, I wanted nothing to spoil it. By the time I'd had my shower and gotten dressed, Ben was a distant memory from a previous life.

***

Sitting in the passenger seat of Brady's truck, I admired the view next to me. I still couldn't quite grasp the reality of what was happening here, but nonetheless I was going to go along with it. This was turning out to be a holiday of a lifetime.

A playful smirk tweaked at the edge of his luscious lips. "Something I can help you with?"

I smirked. "No, not at all. Just admiring the scenery."

He chuckled and shook his head.

Turning my attention forwards at last, I watched the desolate landscape roll past us. Dusty terrain surrounded both sides of the tarmac we cruised down. It seemed almost pointless to have a grey strip in the middle of such a bleak setting. The only colour out here was from the green trees thriving, lining each side of the road. We came across very few cars and even less houses. A random line of a dozen or so mailboxes appeared from nowhere, sitting on the side of the road, battered and grubby. It really was like the old Wild West out here.

After twenty minutes or so, the surroundings became even sparser with sandy red mountains a backdrop to towering cactuses dotted everywhere. Plants and bushes became less green and more dried, crisp greyish hollows. All this place was missing was tumbleweed.

"Um, should I be concerned?" I asked.

He laughed, his brown eyes dancing with joy. "Why? Is it making you think of 'The Hills Have Eyes'?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

A soft chuckle sounded next to me as I continued to stare in fascination around me. Just as I was about to ask where exactly we were going, we turned left down another empty road. At the top, almost obscured from view by various desert plants, was a brown sign titled Saguaro National Park.

My eyes widened as I stifled an excited squeal. "Really?"

"I thought you might like it."

I smirked. "Are you sure my wrist is up to some hiking?"

"If not, I'm sure I can play doctor." He gave me a cheeky wink as he parked the truck up in front of the visitors' centre.

Despite it being barely nine am, the heat threatening to roast us was unreal. A light sweat had already broken out on my forehead by the time we'd been walking for ten minutes. We meandered down a paved trail, marvelling at the wonderful sights around us. My heart skipped a beat as Brady's hand found mine, holding me in a tight grip.

"Don't worry," he said, looking at me. "There's something specific I wanted you to see. It'll be too hot soon to stay much longer."

I frowned, wondering what he wanted me to see. He led me off the track, taking me over to a clump of grey stones. More of them were scattered all over the steep hillside. As I stepped closer, I gasped, delight whipping through me. "Petroglyphs!"

He nodded, smiling. "I thought you might like them."

I gazed at the marvellous creations, lingering over the white lines depicting strange pictures carved into the rocks. It amazed me that what they could have meant to people all those years ago probably now meant the opposite to us. Perception is a funny thing. It was as I thought over this point that a light bulb switched on inside my head. It didn't matter what other people thought I should do with my situation—it was how I perceived it and how I would continue to perceive it that mattered.

I fell silent as I became immersed in my thoughts, thinking a little too deeply as usual. Brady led me around the gorgeous history laid out on the ground, beads of sweat trickling across his bronzed skin. After nearly an hour, I was ready to ask to head back to the truck. The heat was just unbearable. Even though I'd put sun cream on, I could still feel myself burning. A headache had started pounding at my temples and my throat screamed for some cool water.

Seeming to read my mind, Brady led us back to the truck. Settling inside, I laid my head back against the head rest and closed my eyes. When the ice-cold breeze of the air conditioning hit me, I groaned in relief.

My phone began ringing, jumping me out of my oblivion. I reached for it with an irritated sigh. Flipping the screen up, my heart stopped.

Ben.

Feeling Brady's curious stare, I felt I had no choice but to answer it. "Yes?"

"Hello to you too, darling."

I ground my teeth together. "What do you want?"

"I was just wondering where you are?"

"None of your business."

A soft laugh drifted down the phone. "No, I mean I know where you are. I just wondered why you're not here."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm in your room, Soph.Waiting for you."