He gripped her tightly with his other hand, holding her still, his fingers digging into her shoulder. Elena struggled fiercely, flailing her arms and landing a firm blow in Caleb’s stomach. She bit down hard on the hand he had over her mouth. Caleb jerked backward, quickly letting go of her and pulling his bitten hand to his chest. As soon as her mouth was uncovered, Elena screamed. Caleb stepped away from her, holding his hands up in surrender. “Elena!” he said. “Elena, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I just didn’t want you to scream.” Elena eyed him warily, breathing hard. “What are you doing here?” she asked. “Why were you sneaking up behind me if you didn’t want to scare me?” Caleb shrugged and looked a little embarrassed. “I was worried about you,” he confessed, stuffing his hands in his pockets and hanging his head. “I was hiking up by Hot Springs earlier and I saw you and your friends. They were pulling you out of the water, and it looked like you weren’t breathing.”
