by Linda Howard
“Are you afraid of me?” he asked, his voice gentle.
Just the sound of his voice enabled her to relax a little. “No,” she whispered.
“Then come here and let me keep the dark away from you.”
She felt his hand on her arm, urging her closer, then she was enfolded in arms so strong that nothing could ever make her afraid while they held her. He cradled her against his side, tucking her head into the hollow of his shoulder. With a touch so light that it could have been the brush of a butterfly’s wings, he kissed the top of her head. “Good night, honey,” he whispered.
“Good night,” she said in return.
Long after he was asleep, Jane lay in his arms with her eyes open, though she could see nothing. Her heart was pounding in her chest with a slow, heavy rhythm, and her insides felt jittery. It wasn’t fear that kept her awake, but a churning emotion that shifted everything inside her. She knew exactly what was wrong with her. For the first time in too many years, everything was right with her.
She’d learned to live her life with a shortage of trust. No matter that she’d learned to enjoy herself and her freedom; there had always been that residual caution that kept her from letting a man get too close. Until now she’d never been strongly enough attracted to a man for the attraction to conquer the caution…. Until now. Until Grant. And now the attraction had become something much stronger. The truth stunned her, yet she had to accept it: she loved him. She hadn’t expected it, though for two days she had felt it tugging at her. He was harsh and controlled, badtempered, and his sense of humor was severely underdeveloped, but he had gently washed the snake’s blood from her, held her hand during the night, and had gone out of his way to make their trek easier for her. He wanted her, but he hadn’t taken her because she wasn’t ready. She was afraid of the dark, so he held her in his arms. Loving him was at once the easiest and most difficult thing she’d ever done.
CHAPTER SEVEN
ONCE AGAIN HE AWOKE to find her cuddled on top of him, but this time it didn’t bother him that he had slept peacefully through the night. Sliding his hands up her back, he accepted that his normally keen instincts weren’t alarmed by her because there was absolutely no danger in her except perhaps the danger of her driving him crazy. She managed to do that with every little sway of her behind. Reveling in the touch of her all along his body, he moved his hands down, feeling her slenderness, the small ribs, the delicate spine, the enticing little hollow at the small of her back, then the full, soft mounds of her buttocks. He cupped his palms over them, kneading her with his fingers. She muttered and shifted against him, brushing at a lock of hair that had fallen into her face. Her eyelashes fluttered, then closed completely once more.
He smiled, enjoying the way she woke up. She did it by slow degrees, moaning and grousing while still more asleep than awake, frowning and pouting, and moving against him as if trying to sink herself deeper into him so she wouldn’t have to wake up at all. Then her eyes opened, and she blinked several times, and as quickly as that the pout faded from her lips and she gave him a slow smile that would have melted stone.
“Good morning,” she said, and yawned. She stretched, then abruptly froze in place. Her head came up, and she stared at him in stupefaction. “I’m on top of you,” she said blankly.
“Again,” he confirmed.
“Again?”
“You slept on top of me the night before last, too. Evidently my holding you while you sleep isn’t enough; you think you have to hold me down.”
She slithered off him, sitting up in the tent and straightening her twisted, wrinkled clothing. Color burned in her face. “I’m sorry. I know it can’t have been very comfortable for you.”
“Don’t apologize. I’ve enjoyed it,” he drawled. “If you really want to make it up to me, though, we’ll reverse positions tonight.”
Her breath caught and she stared at him in the dim light, her eyes soft and melting. Yes. Everything in her agreed. She wanted to belong to him; she wanted to know everything about his body and let him know everything about hers. She wanted to tell him, but she didn’t know how to put it into words. A crooked smile crossed his face; then he sat up and reached for his boots, thrusting his feet into them and lacing them up. Evidently he took her silence for a refusal, because he dropped the subject and began the task of breaking camp.
“We have enough food for one more meal,” he said as they finished eating. “Then I’ll have to start hunting.”
She didn’t like that idea. Hunting meant that he’d leave her alone for long stretches of time. “I don’t mind a vegetarian diet,” she said hopefully.
“Maybe it won’t come to that. We’ve been gradually working our way out of the mountains, and unless I miss my guess we’re close to the edge of the forest. We’ll probably see fields and roads today. But we’re going to avoid people until I’m certain it’s safe, okay?”
She nodded in agreement.
Just as he’d predicted, at midmorning they came abruptly to the end of the jungle. They stood high on a steep cliff, and stretched out below them was a valley with cultivated fields, a small network of roads, and a cozy village situated at the southern end. Jane blinked at the suddenly brilliant sunlight. It was like stepping out of one century into another. The valley looked neat and prosperous, reminding her that Costa Rica was the most highly developed country in Central America, despite the thick tangle of virgin rain forest at her back.
“Oh,” she breathed. “Wouldn’t it be nice to sleep in a bed again?”
He grunted an absent reply, his narrowed eyes sweeping the valley for any sign of abnormal activity. Jane stood beside him, waiting for him to make his decision.
It was made for them. Abruptly he grabbed her arm and jerked her back into the sheltering foliage, dragging her to the ground behind a huge bush just as a helicopter suddenly roared over their heads. It was flying close to the ground, following the tree line; she had only a glimpse of it before it was gone, hidden by the trees. It was a gunship, and had camouflage paint.
“Did you see any markings?” she asked sharply, her nails digging into his skin.
“No. There weren’t any.” He rubbed his stubbled jaw. “There’s no way of telling who it belonged to, but we can’t take any chances. Now we know that we can’t just walk across the valley. We’ll work our way down, and try to find more cover.”
If anything, the terrain was even more difficult now. They were at the edge of a volcanic mountain range, and the land had been carved with a violent hand. It seemed to be either straight up, or straight down. Their pace was agonizingly slow as they worked their way down rocky bluffs and up steep gorges. When they stopped to eat, they had covered less than one-fourth the length of the valley, and Jane’s legs ached as they hadn’t since the wild run through the jungle the first day.
Right on schedule, just as they finished eating, they heard the boom of thunder. Grant looked around for shelter, considering every outcropping of rock. Then he pointed. “I think that’s a cave up there. If it is we’ll be in high cotton.”
“What?” Jane asked, frowning.
“Sitting pretty,” he explained. “Luxurious accommodations, in comparison to what we’ve had.”
“Unless it’s already occupied.”
“That’s why you’re going to wait down here while I check it out.” He moved up the fern-covered wall of the gorge, using bushes and vines and any other toehold he could find. The gorge itself was narrow and steep, enclosing them on all four sides. Its shape gave a curious clarity to the calls of the innumerable birds that flitted among the trees like living Christmas decorations, all decked out in their iridescent plumage. Directly overhead was a streak of sky, but it consisted of rolling black clouds instead of the clear blue that she’d seen only moments before.
Grant reached the cave, then immediately turned and waved to her. “Come on up; it’s clear! Can you make it?”
“Have I failed yet?” she quipped, starting the climb, but she’d had to force the humo
r. The desolation had been growing in her since they’d seen the valley. Knowing that they were so close to civilization made her realize that their time together was limited. While they had been in the forest, the only two people locked in a more primitive time, she’d had no sense of time running out. Now she couldn’t ignore the fact that soon, in a few days or less, their time together would end. She felt as if she’d already wasted so much time, as if the golden sand had been trickling through her fingers and she’d only just realized what she held. She felt panic-stricken at the thought of discovering love only to lose it, because there wasn’t enough time to let it grow.
He reached his hand down and caught hers, effortlessly lifting her the last few feet. “Make yourself comfortable; we could be here a while. This looks like the granddaddy of all storms.”
Jane surveyed their shelter. It wasn’t really a cave; it was little more than an indentation in the face of the rock, about eight feet deep. It had a steeply slanting ceiling that soared to ten or eleven feet at the opening of the cave, but was only about five feet high at the back. The floor was rocky, and one big rock, as large as a love seat and shaped like a peanut, lay close to the mouth of the cave. But it was dry, and because of its shallowness it wasn’t dark, so Jane wasn’t inclined to find fault with it.
Given Grant’s eerie sense of timing, she wasn’t surprised to hear the first enormous raindrops begin filtering through the trees just as he spread out the tarp at the back of the cave. He placed it behind the big rock, using its bulk to shelter them. She sat down on the tarp and drew her legs up, wrapping her arms around them and resting her chin on her knees, listening to the sound of the rain as it increased in volume.
Soon it was a din and the solid sheets of water that obscured their vision heightened the impression that they were under a waterfall. She could hear the crack of lightning, feel the earth beneath her shake from the enormous claps of thunder. It was dark now, as the rain blotted out what light came through the thick canopy. She could barely see Grant, who was standing just inside the mouth of the cave with his shoulder propped against the wall, occasionally puffing on a cigarette.
Chills raced over her body as the rain cooled the air. Hugging her legs even tighter for warmth, Jane stared through the dimness at the broad, powerful shoulders outlined against the gray curtain of rain. He wasn’t an easy man to get to know. His personality was as shadowy as the jungle, yet just the sight of that muscular back made her feel safe and protected. She knew that he stood between her and any danger. He had already risked his life for her on more than one occasion, and was as matter-of-fact about it as if being shot at were an everyday occurrence. Perhaps it was for him, but Jane didn’t take it so lightly.
He finished his cigarette and field-stripped it. Jane doubted that anyone would track them here through the rain, but it was second nature to him to be cautious. He went back to his calm perusal of the storm, standing guard while she rested.
Something shifted inside her and coiled painfully in her chest. He was so alone. He was a hard, lonely man, but everything about him drew her like a magnet, pulling at her heart and body.
Her eyes clouded as she watched him. When this was over he’d walk away from her as if these days in the jungle had never existed. This was all routine for him. What she could have of him, all that she could ever have of him, was the present, too few days before this was over. And that just wasn’t enough.
She was cold now, chilled to her bones. The unceasing, impenetrable curtain of rain carried a damp coldness with it, and her own spirits chilled her from the inside. Instinctively, like a sinuous cat seeking heat, she uncoiled from the tarp and went up to him, gravitating to his certain warmth and comfort. Silently she slid her arms around his taut waist and pressed her face into the marvelous heat of his chest. Glancing down at her, he lifted an eyebrow in mild inquiry. “I’m cold,” she muttered, leaning her head on him and staring pensively at the rain.
He looped his arm around her shoulder, holding her closer to him and sharing his warmth with her. A shiver ran over her; he rubbed his free hand up her bare arm, feeling the coolness of her skin. Of its own accord his hand continued upward, stroking her satiny jaw, smoothing the dark tangle of hair away from her face. She was in a melancholy mood, this funny little cat, staring at the rain as if it would never stop, her eyes shadowed and that full, passionate mouth sad.
Cupping her chin in his hand, he tilted her face up so he could study her quiet expression. A small smile curved the corners of his hard mouth. “What’s wrong, honey? Rain making you feel blue?” Before she could answer, he bent his head and kissed her, using his own cure.
Jane’s hands went to his shoulders, clinging to him for support. His mouth was hard and demanding and oh so sweet. The taste of him, the feel of him, was just what she wanted. Her teeth parted, allowing the slow probing of his tongue. Deep inside her, fire began to curl, and she curled too, twining against him in an unconscious movement that he read immediately.
Lifting his mouth from hers just a little, he muttered, “Honey, this feels like an offer to me.”
Her dark eyes were a little dazed as she looked up at him. “I think it is,” she whispered.
He dropped his arms to her waist and wrapped them around her, lifting her off her feet, bringing her level with him. She wound her arms around his neck and kissed him fervently, lost in the taste and feel of his mouth, not even aware he’d moved until he set her down to stand on the tarp. The dimness at the back of the cave hid any expression that was in his eyes, but she could feel his intent amber gaze on her as he began calmly unbuttoning her shirt. Jane’s mouth went dry, but her own shaking fingers moved to his chest and began opening his shirt in turn.
When both garments were hanging open, he shrugged out of his and tossed it on the tarp, never taking his eyes from her. Tugging his undershirt free of his pants, he caught the bottom of it and peeled it off over his head. He tossed it aside, too, completely baring his broad, hairy chest. As it had the day before, the sight of his half-naked body mesmerized her. Her chest hurt; breathing was incredibly difficult. Then his hard, hot fingers were inside her shirt, on her breasts, molding them to fit his palms. The contrast of his heated hands on her cool skin made her gasp in shocked pleasure. Closing her eyes, she leaned into his hands, rubbing her nipples against his calloused palms. His chest lifted on a deep, shuddering breath.
She could feel the sexual tension emanating from him in waves. Like no other man she’d known, he made her acutely aware of his sexuality, and equally aware of her own body and its uses. Between her legs, an empty throb began to torment her, and she instinctively pressed her thighs together in an effort to ease the ache.
As slight as it was, he felt her movement. One of his hands left her breast and drifted downward, over her stomach and hips to her tightly clenched thighs. “That won’t help,” he murmured. “You’ll have to open your legs, not close them.” His fingers rubbed insistently at her and pleasure exploded along her nerves. A low moan escaped from her lips; then she swayed toward him. She felt her legs parting, allowing him access to her tender body. He explored her through her pants, creating such shock waves of physical pleasure that her knees finally buckled and she fell against him, her bare breasts flattening against the raspy, hair-covered expanse of his chest.
Quickly he set her down on the tarp and knelt over her, unzipping her pants and pulling them down her legs, his hands rough and urgent. He had to pause to remove her boots, but in only moments she was naked except for the shirt that still hung around her shoulders. The damp air made her shiver, and she reached for him. “I’m cold,” she complained softly. “Get me warm.”
She offered herself to him so openly and honestly that he wanted to thrust into her immediately, but he also wanted more. He’d had her nearly naked in his arms before. In the stream, that wisp of wet silk had offered no protection, but he hadn’t had the time to explore her as he’d wanted. Her body was still a mystery to him; he wanted to touch ever
y inch of her, taste her and enjoy the varying textures of her skin.
Jane’s eyes were wide and shadowed as he knelt over her, holding himself away from her outstretched arms. “Not just yet, honey,” he said in a low, gravelly voice. “Let me look at you first.” Gently he caught her wrists and pressed them down to the tarp above her head, making her round, pretty breasts arch as if they begged for his mouth. Anchoring her wrists with one hand, he slid his free hand to those tempting, gently quivering mounds.
A small, gasping sound escaped from Jane’s throat. Why was he holding her hands like that? It made her feel incredibly helpless and exposed, spread out for his delectation, yet she also felt unutterably safe. She could sense him savoring her with his eyes, watching intently as her nipples puckered in response to the rasp of his fingertips. He was so close to her that she could feel the heat of his body, smell the hot, musky maleness of his skin. She arched, trying to turn her body into that warmth and scent, but he forced her flat again.
Then his mouth was on her, sliding up the slope of her breast and closing hotly on her nipple. He sucked strongly at her, making waves of burning pleasure sweep from her breast to her loins. Jane whimpered, then bit her lip to hold back the sound. She hadn’t known, had never realized, what a man’s mouth on her breasts could do to her. She was on fire, her skin burning with an acute sensitivity that was both ecstatic and unbearable. She squirmed, clenching her legs together, trying to control the ache that threatened to master her.
His mouth went to her other breast, the rasp of his tongue on her nipple intensifying an already unbearable sensation. He swept his hand down to her thighs, his touch demanding that she open herself to him. Her muscles slowly relaxed for him, and he spread her legs gently. His fingers combed through the dark curls that had so enticed him before, making her body jerk in anticipation; then he covered her with his palm and thoroughly explored the soft, vulnerable flesh between her legs. Beneath his touch, Jane began to tremble wildly. “Grant,” she moaned, her voice a shaking, helpless plea.
