Emma needed to get away from the other contestants for a while. Between Heather's nagging, Lindsay's stupidity and Courtney's arrogance she was losing her mind. So she slipped out away from the cabins and walked quietly into the darkness of the woods, taking comfort in the silence. Unaware of a pair of eyes watching her.

"I hate this damn show so much." Emma muttered to herself, crossing her arms. The twigs and leaves rustled slightly as she walked across them. The moon was full, allowing her to see where she was going with fair ease. She wasn't sure where she was going honestly but just being out here on her own was settling her frayed nerves. Then suddenly, a hand gripped her shoulder tightly from behind.

"Oh my Go-"

She barely had time to scream in panic when the other hand clamped tightly over her mouth and she was pulled backwards tightly against a hard chest.

"Shhh…" a rough low voice whispered in her ear, "easy there, tiger. I'm not here to mug you. It's just me. Nod if you promise not to scream or run away when I let you go."

Emma's heart was racing wildly. But the voice was familiar. After a long moment, she finally nodded once and the man's grip loosened as promised. She wriggled free and whirled around to see:

"Chris?!" She hissed out in confusion.

"In the flesh." He drawled smugly. "You alright?"

For one brief moment, his voice sounded surprisingly concerned. Emma wasn't sure if it was because he was trying to keep his voice down or because he had startled her so badly. She quickly figured it was the former and tried to slow down her heart rate that was still frantic. Emma attempted to mask her confusion by sounding annoyed.

"Oh, right, sure. Like you care."

Chris shrugged in the dark, barely illuminated by moonlight.

"I don't," he retorted smoothly, "but if you get hurt or lost out here then that's a lawsuit on my ass and I'd rather not have that."

"Alright." Emma breathed out, nodding once. "I'll give you points for honesty. So, what? Are you going to run me back to my cabin now?"

"No. Not unless you're ready to go back." He shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Huh?" Emma couldn't help but let her eyes widen a bit, his answer catching her completely off guard. Chris scoffed, a little annoyed.

"I don't like repeating myself."

"No, I heard you… I mean umm… it just seems a little weird to me that you came all the way out here to scold me for going off on my own and now you're telling me I can stay?"

Chris scoffed again, rolling his eyes. Normally all of the host's condescending mannerisms served to piss Emma right off, regardless of the crush she had begun to develop on the host. Stupid, stupid, stupid she knew. But… underneath the cocky exterior of his, she had always wondered if there was something more to him. Either way, right now her confusion and curiosity was winning over.

"I'm saying you shouldn't be out here by yourself. But seeing as I was planning on taking a little walk myself anyways, you can stay out here as long as you don't leave my sight."

He stared evenly down at her and she cocked an eyebrow at him.

"So… basically you're going to babysit me?"

"Pffft. I'm not that much older than you, y'know. But yeah, you can put it that way I guess."

"...alright, then."

Emma turned on her heel and continued on in the direction she was headed, suddenly very aware of the heavy footsteps just behind her. She walked deeper into the wilderness, towards what she thought was the cliffside they had jumped from their first day here. After some time, Chris finally spoke up.

"You don't know where you're going, do you?"

"Umm."

"What?"

His tone was once again low and quiet. It was so much different from his usually loud "television voice." He seemed like a totally different man right now and it sent Emma's pulse racing slightly for a second. She could almost still hear that voice just beside her ear, almost feel his warm rough hand over her mouth, his hard chest pressed flush to her back.

"What?" He repeated again sounding slightly more agitated.

"Geez, relax. I was just thinking."

"About what? It isn't a hard question."

"I know that." Emma snapped before closing her eyes and taking a steadying breath. Old Chris was creeping back in. "I'm just walking, honestly. Why… where did you have in mind?"

Chris was quiet for a moment.

"Nowhere in particular." He finally answered.

"What?"

Emma stopped short and turned around, Chris almost running into her. His expression turned cold again and Emma put her hands up in mock defense. She looked down for a moment, trying hard to ignore how close they were and glanced up when Chris's low chuckle sounded above her.

"You have no idea where you're going, do you?"

"Of course I do! I said I'm just walking around. That's all."

"Then why do you look like you're trying to get somewhere?"

Chris's voice dripped with condescending amusement and he crossed his arms, one brow raised. He was clearly enjoying toying with the girl. Emma's cheeks grew pink with annoyance. She prayed he wouldn't see in the dim light.

"Ugh, fine! Isn't this how you get to the cliffside? The one we jumped off of?" She crossed her own arms, staring up at the sadistic host, sure of herself.

"Nope." He answered simply.

"But I-"

"Come on."

Without waiting for an answer, Chris turned and headed Northeast of her original path. His long strides had the smaller girl almost jogging to keep up. Soon enough, after about 10 minutes of silence, the thick pines began to thin and the sound of the ocean became louder. Then they emerged from the treeline onto a grassy opening, the ocean spanning as far as the eye could see in front of them.

"We're here." Chris announced, sounding smug. Emma grit her teeth together.

"I really hate it when you're right, just so you know."

"Aren't 'cha glad I found you now?" The host lightly bumped Emma's shoulder with his own.

"Whatever." She scoffed, walking ahead of him a little. She did not see the brief smile of amusement from Chris.

Emma strolled all the way to the very edge of the cliffside. She looked down the thousands of feet to the choppy black water below. She still couldn't believe she actually jumped from here. And lived?! She wanted to hate the sadistic man behind her for that. But truth be told… it had been kind of fun. But she would never admit that to him. Nope. Never.

Emma breathed in the damp salty air, arms stretching wide, closing her eyes. As she breathed out and opened her eyes, she startled when Chris was right beside her. His expression, however, was bored.

"What's so great about this?" He asked, shoving his hands in his pockets again.

"I find it relaxing." Emma answered honestly, sitting down on the very edge.

"You find it relaxing to be on a precipice of death?"

"First of all, I'm impressed you know the word precipice and used it correctly. So, kudos for that." Chris snorted above her, making her smile a little. "And have you forgotten you made me and everyone else JUMP off of this?"

A wry smile formed on Chris's own mouth as he sat down slowly, his arm nearly brushing Emma's.

"I know. But did any of you die?"

"Heh. I think Harold might have came very close."

"He's expendable."

Emma's expression fell into shock as she turned her head to stare into Chris's face. He held a blank gaze that had her stunned before she finally saw the corners of his mouth turn up slightly.

"Not funny, you psycho! I thought you were being serious!"

"But what if I was?" Chris challenged, finally turning to look her, a mischievous grin on his moonlit features.

"You probably were, actually." Emma smirked while leaning back on her hands. "We're business investments to you. If you get one of us killed then that's, as you said so nicely earlier, a lawsuit on your ass. Which means you would lose all your money and probably all future season rights too. That's if you ever made it out of jail."

"Wow. You all really think highly of me, don't you?" Chris deadpanned, looking out ahead again. Emma shrugged and turned her face back towards the endless ocean too.

"We kind of think you're a sadistic douche with childhood issues."

"That's fair." He mused to himself.

Something in his voice made Emma chance a glance over at him. He was staring solemnly ahead. She suddenly felt uncomfortable, as if she had said something wrong. After a tense few awkward moments she cleared her throat.

"You know what, I didn't mean th-"

"It's fine." He cut her off.

But it didn't feel fine at all. Emma sat up straight. She felt as though she had struck a nerve and for some reason that really bothered her. Taking a leap of faith, she reached over and gently placed her hand on top of his.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. It was rude and I didn't think before I said it."

Chris pulled his hand away, pricking at Emma's heart. Somehow she felt as if she had caught a glimpse of the real Chris. Like she had made progress towards getting to see another side of him that he didn't just wear as a mask. However, she now felt as though she had slipped several steps back. She thought frantically for the right thing to say, any way to backpedal or fix this, when he spoke up.

"You're not too far off the mark, I guess. I 'spose I didn't have the best upbringing. My mom was out of the picture. I never knew her. And my dad... he wasn't the best man. Just an… angry drunk. I used to hide from him when he'd come home that way." He trailed off slowly.

Emma desperately wanted to encourage him to keep talking, but was terrified she would say something stupid again so she kept her mouth shut. She had almost screwed everything up once so she remained still and quiet.

"You must think I seem like some whiny ass bipolar bitch right about now, huh?" Chris muttered.

"No! No. I don't. Not at all." She blurted out, looking down as she searched for the right words. "I mean I.. I was just worried I would say something wrong. I don't want you to run away or anything. I'm sorry. But… if you want to talk about it, please. Do it."

Emma glanced over at him as he only continued to gaze silently ahead. His thoughts were far, far away in the soft white light.

"You didn't say anything wrong." Chris reassured her finally in a soft tone she had never heard before. He turned his face towards her and she couldn't look away from the depths of his coal black eyes. "But it's nothing you need to worry about either. Okay?"

His tone lowered. It wasn't a suggestion, rather a confirmation that he would never open up to her about it anytime soon. And that was okay. Honestly. What he had shared with her just now… she was pretty sure she was one of the very few people who knew that about him. And it somehow made her feel kind of special.

"No, I get it. It's not my place to pry. But..."

"But what?"

"I'm sorry."

"Stop saying that." Chris attempted a gentle laugh. As badly as Emma wanted to argue, she simply nodded. She wouldn't push him any further.

"Okay. Let's just drop it, then." She shook her head, starting to turn away before a rough hand cupping her jaw line stopped her.

Emma looked up and the intensity in Chris's eyes had somehow doubled, nearly making her forget how to breathe.

"Wha-"

"Shhhh." Chris's soft whisper cut her off and he closed his eyes, slowly bringing their faces closer as his warm calloused fingers pulled her gently forward.

Their foreheads touched and he allowed her to stay still there. His warm breath tickled her skin more than the damp sea air. Her pulse was racing as she chanced a peek at his up close features through her lashes. Egomaniac or not, there was no denying that Chris Mclean was a very attractive man. But his features were simply enchanting in the soft moonlight.

Everything from him cheekbones and perfectly straight nose bridge to the shadowy stubble that covered his impossibly sharp jawline. His eyelashes were dark, thick and long. His brows were knitted together and his adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed quietly. Emma's breathing had caught in her throat and stopped all together when he finally began to pull her closer again, stopping just close enough that she could feel the warmth of his mouth that was only barely not touching her own.

"If you want me to stop, just tell me to." Chris's low voice mumbled.

Emma slowly shook her head. He took her confirmation and closed the last few centimeters between their parted lips, pressing his gently against hers. His kiss was so feather light she barely felt it ghosting against her own lips. She stayed perfectly still as she let him move at his own pace. He kissed her gently several times, slowly and rhythmically. Then he tipped her head up towards him slightly, allowing their kisses to deepen. She had never been kissed within an inch of her life like this. His kisses were agonizingly slow yet candy sweet, raining on her like they were from heaven above. Just when she thought she might run out of air, Chris pulled away slowly but kept the side of her face in his big warm hand. Emma's lips still tingled as they gazed breathlessly at each other. Both allowing their hearts to calm down. After some time Chris finally spoke up, his voice slightly ragged.

"We should get back soon." He leaned forward and brushed their lips together once more, his free hand lightly gripping her arm and helping her up to stand in front of him.

"I don't want to." Emma mumbled in between kisses and Chris's deep laugh tickled her mouth.

"Yeah. Me either." He sighed and pulled her slowly into a gentle hug. "Thank you." He whispered, head resting on top of her own.

"For what?"

"Letting me just blindside you with my sob story like that, I guess. It's not really something I like to talk about. Sorry about that."

"No, don't be sorry. It's okay. Really. Just promise me when you need to get something off your chest again that you will. I know you don't want to. But don't you think you've held it all in too long?" She whispered, tightening her arms around his waist a little. He stroked her back slowly and gently. The warmth causing her eyelids to become heavy.

"How am I gonna be the world's cruelest host if I don't hold on to some of my bitterness?" He joked and Emma huffed, starting to wriggle out of his arms but he only squeezed her tighter and chuckled. "Okay, okay. Promise." He whispered, kissing the top of her head.

"That's better." She scoffed.

They stood there quietly for a while longer, the warmth of one another comforting. Emma saw him in a whole new light now. The little secret made her smile a little. It would be fun getting to learn everything else about him.