by Anna Hackett
Her hands wrapped around him, tightened, and she pressed her body into his side. He felt her lips at his throat.
“Come for me, Cal. I want to watch.”
Fuck. The need to come was a brutal clawing in his gut. And a second later he did, his muscles locking and his vision dimming. His come spilled over their joined hands and across his belly. He groaned, long and loud. Then her mouth landed on his and he kissed her deeply.
Slowly, he came back down and pressed his forehead to hers. Then, there was only the steady beat of the rain and their fast breathing.
“Well—” her voice sounded a little shaky.
“When we get back to the hotel, I’m coming to your hotel room. I’m going to lock the door and spend hours—hell, days—fucking you. That’s your only warning.”
She trembled.
And then, as though someone had turned off a faucet, the rain cut off. Dani stepped back, her gaze still on him. “Well, we seem to have made a little mess. I have some wipes in my pocket.” She pulled them out and handed him one. “I keep them for cleaning my camera.”
It only took him a minute to clean up and tuck himself back into his trousers. He pulled her into his arms and held her there. Right now he wanted the contact, needed it.
“Come on. I’ll get you back to your tent. It’s bedtime and, unfortunately, it looks like we’re both going to bed alone.”
She looked up at him again, and he growled.
“I told you not to look at me like that.” He slapped her on the butt, snagged her camera, and handed it back to her. “Let’s get moving, Navarro.”
The rain had stopped, but water still dripped off the foliage above. The camp was dark and quiet. When they reached the tents, they paused, looking at each other.
He pressed his lips to hers. A gentler kiss than they’d shared so far. “Dream of me.”
“Oh, I have no doubt about that,” she murmured. Then she ducked inside her tent.
Cal did another lap of the camp and the surroundings, checking in with Jean-Luc who was soon handing over the watch to Sam. Cal also searched for any sign they had unwanted company. Everything was quiet.
When he finally made his way back to his tent, he lifted his face to the sky. A cold drip of water came off a tree. He wished it was a cold shower.
***
Hours later, Cal flopped back on his sleeping bag and stared at the roof of his tent.
He’d dozed for a couple of hours, but now he couldn’t sleep. He was tired from the long day and the sleepless night the evening before, but his cock was hard, desire humming through his veins. He was pretty sure he wasn’t getting any sleep anytime soon. Images of what he and Dani had done in the temple kept flashing through his head. He could hear her cries, smell the musky scent of her, taste her on his lips.
He groaned and threw an arm over his face. It was pretty hard to forget that she was only one tent away from him.
The fact that they could have done more in the temple, that he could have slid inside her tight warmth, taunted him. He’d never been one to turn aside a fast, hard quickie.
But for the first time in his life, he wanted to take his time with a woman. He wanted to take his time to enjoy her, to bring her pleasure. He knew she hadn’t had that before. She’d seen fast and meaningless…Cal wanted to give her more. Like he’d told her, he wanted the big bed, hell, maybe even a bottle of champagne.
Oh yeah, he could imagine spilling the golden liquid down her naked body and taking his time to lap it up.
Eventually, despite the X-rated fantasies running through his head, he dozed off. When he woke, it was still dark and his body clock told him he hadn’t been asleep very long. He stayed still, wondering what had woken him.
He heard another sound. A footstep. He frowned. Probably Dr. Oakley who’d taken over the watch a short while ago. Or Gemma sneaking into Sam’s tent. Those two were doing a pretty poor job of hiding the fact they were banging each other.
But when he heard a sound again, he let his instincts lead. He was still wary after the other attack.
Cal pulled his boots on silently, and very slowly, he unzipped his tent. He crept out into the darkness, only hearing normal jungle sounds now. Whoever was moving around out here hadn’t frightened the animals.
Which meant they were either not a threat, or damn good at sneaking around.
He circled around behind his tent, straining to see anything through the thick darkness. The last thing he needed to do was burst in on Sam and Gemma.
He saw shadows on the other side of camp and he crouched and went still. He couldn’t make out who it was.
A second later, gunfire broke through the night.
Cal cursed, pulled out his SIG Sauer and moved back a bit, deeper into the shadows. The urge to get to Dani’s tent was strong, and he had to wrestle it back. He needed more intel first. Who was attacking them, how many were there, and what the hell were they after?
He took a second to reach into his tent and grab his backpack. He always kept a few supplies in it, in case of emergency. He crept away, ducked behind some thicker undergrowth, and waited.
Flashlights flicked on and he heard shouts. A large group of people was going through the camp, pulling his team from their tents. A bedraggled Jean-Luc, a frightened Sakada, and a belligerent Dr. Oakley were thrust onto their knees near the now-dead fire. A cursing Sam and a screaming Gemma followed. Cal saw Dani struggling against a larger man as he dragged her toward the others. Her camera dangled against her chest. She got in a good hit to his gut before he shook her hard and dumped her on the ground.
Cal’s hands flexed on his weapon. He wanted to rush in. He wanted to take down the guy so badly.
He forced himself to breathe. To do his job. If he rushed in there, he’d be dead in a second. Then they’d all be dead.
He fought for some calm, trying to think things through. He made himself track all the attackers. Six standing in the center of the camp. At least three more moving around the perimeter. Cal thrust his hand into the damp earth beneath him, like that would hold him there. He needed to wait for the right opportunity.
With reluctance dragging on him, he melted into the jungle trees. Trying to feel like he wasn’t abandoning them, failing them, like he had his best friend.
Cal circled around, catching glimpses of the invaders through the trees. These guys were professionals. They had the archeology team all on their knees, hands behind their heads. A few of the attackers were going through the tents, tearing things apart.
A lean man strode out of the jungle, flanked by two more thugs. He paused to give quiet orders to the rest of his group. Two of the men nodded and hurried off to obey whatever order had been given. Cal focused on the newcomer, trying to hear what he was saying. When the man turned, his face illuminated by the beam from one of the flashlights, Cal realized it wasn’t a man. It was a woman.
The woman stepped forward, her gaze on the archeologists. Her lean, athletic body was encased in snug, black leggings and a fitted black shirt. Her red hair was pulled back tight off her face, highlighting razor-sharp cheekbones and copper skin.
“Where’s the stone?”
Her tone said she was used to giving orders. She had an accent, but it was too faint for Cal to work out what it was.
Dr. Oakley stirred. “Who are you? You have no right to—”
“Save it,” the woman said. “Answer my question.”
“Stone?”
“Don’t play dumb with me, Dr. Oakley.” The woman crouched in front of the archeologist. She lifted her hand and light glinted off her handgun. She pressed the end of it under Dr. Oakley’s jaw. “Where’s the cintamani stone?”
Cal bit off a curse. He watched surprise flicker over Oakley’s face.
“Lost to antiquity, I presume. It’s not here. This is just a ruined temple.”
The woman’s mouth moved into a flat line. “My intel tells me you were expecting to find it here.”
“Intel?” Oakle
y looked baffled.
The woman’s smile was almost friendly. “We’ve been following your team, Dr. Oakley. Watching your research.”
“Who the hell are you?”
“We’re a group just as interested in antiquities as you are.”
A look flowed over Oakley’s face. “Antiquities thieves.”
The woman shrugged. “We aren’t grave robbers or common criminals.”
“You’re Silk Road,” Dani said.
The woman’s head lifted. “Clever.” Her cool gaze moved over the rest of the archeologists, who were all watching her with shock and dread. “I had the chance to talk with some of your team. I got valuable information off them about what you were looking for, and where you were headed.”
Cal’s jaw tightened. Dr. Oakley’s body had tensed and he glanced at the others. “My team members are all dedicated professionals. There is no way any of them would have shared anything with you.”
The woman’s smile widened a little. “Oh, it must be lovely to live in that deluded little world where bad things and betrayal never happen.” In a single, lithe move, she stood. “But don’t worry, I slipped something in their drinks at a bar one evening. It…loosened their tongues a little.”
Now the rest of the team looked horrified.
The woman sauntered past the team, her gaze moving over Jean-Luc, Gemma, and Sakada, before coming to rest on Sam. “If you didn’t find the stone here—” she reached down and stroked Sam’s face “—then I know you were hoping to find a hint, a clue, maybe a map to where the cintamani might be resting.”
Sam blanched. “I remember now. That bar we went to last week… I woke up with a splitting headache. I thought I’d had too much to drink.”
“You were very happy to share that you suspected this temple was either the home of the stone or at least the gateway to the stone,” the woman said.
Oakley stirred. “It’s just a theory—”
“You’re all wasting my time. Where do I find the stone?” The woman stepped back and then kicked Sam. The toe of her boot dug into his ribs. Sam fell over with a cry, cradling his chest.
Dani surged to her feet, standing between the woman and Sam. “Leave him alone.”
No. Cal mentally urged Dani to get back down and stay quiet.
The woman spun, her eyes narrowing. Quick as a snake, she backhanded Dani in the face. The force of the blow sent Dani staggering.
Fuck. This was going to go south very quickly. What this woman and her people wanted, it wasn’t here. And something told Cal there was no way she was going to leave witnesses alive.
The woman lifted her gun, aiming it at Dani’s chest. “Well, if you haven’t found any sign of the cintamani, or its present location, then you’re of no use to me.”
Cal surged upward. He broke out of the trees, lifting his weapon.
He fired.
The woman went down with a cry, blood spurting from her shoulder. Dammit. Cal had been aiming for the center of the chest, but she’d moved at the last second. She was wounded but not down.
Her men started firing, and the archeologists dived to the ground, screaming. It was chaos.
Cal swiveled, aimed, fired. He ducked and spun. Bam. Bam. Bam. Five down, seven to go.
The other Silk Road thugs were running for cover now. Cal crouched down behind a tent.
“Dani, everyone, flat on the ground. Stay down.”
He crept around the tent and saw another attacker crouched down behind the neighboring tent. Quietly, Cal crept up behind him. The man turned at the last second, but Cal got in one vicious chop to the back of the man’s neck. He fell on the ground and after another hit, was out cold. It took Cal a second to zip tie the man’s hands.
Six down. But as Cal was closing in on the other attackers, he heard more gunshots tear through the night. He spun. Heard a high, pain-filled scream.
Dammit, no! He leaped forward, firing, running toward his group. He saw Jean-Luc on his knees, hands pressed to his chest, blood oozing between his fingers. The archeologist’s eyes were wide, his face pale.
Dani was struggling with another attacker. She kicked the man and he went down. Dani raced toward Jean-Luc.
Movement snagged Cal’s attention. The Silk Road leader was back up…and she was aiming her gun at Dani.
Cal burst forward, his arms pumping as he sprinted toward them. “Stop!”
But the woman stayed focused on her target.
Heart hammering, Cal lifted his SIG, the movement slow, feeling as though he were moving through honey.
The woman fired.
Cal saw Dani’s body jerk, heard her cry out.
No!
Chapter Eight
God, it hurt. Dani pressed down hard on her left bicep, biting her lip to stop from crying out. She’d been shot.
But her frantic gaze went to Jean-Luc. He was slumped on the ground, blood covering his chest.
She’d gone from dreaming of Cal and the hot, heady moments in the temple to the middle of a war zone. And where the hell was Cal? Was he okay?
She glanced frantically around the clearing, and, as though she’d summoned him, she spotted him charging across the camp. The breath rushed out of her. He was okay. He threw something, just as a Silk Road attacker came out of nowhere, and tackled him to the ground.
Dani struggled to her feet. She had to help him. Then she heard something hit the ground in front of her. It glinted metallically in the faint light and rolled across the dirt.
Her gut went hard. A grenade.
Before she could do anything else, it exploded.
Gemma screamed, and someone else shouted. Smoke poured into the air and then Dani couldn’t see anything. All that was visible were a few flashlight beams, illuminating the smoke.
She felt her way over to Jean-Luc and bumped into someone.
“Dani?”
“Dr. Oakley? Are you okay?”
“I…I think so.”
“Jean-Luc’s been shot in the chest. We need to stop the bleeding.” She turned to the injured man. “Jean-Luc, you hanging in there?”
The man groaned. “Hurts.”
“I know. Let us have a look.”
She had to lean close to him, the smoke still thick in the air. Her stomach rolled. God, there was so much blood. Dani shrugged out of her long-sleeved shirt. She had a dark blue tank on underneath. She balled up her shirt and pressed it to the wound.
Jean-Luc groaned again.
“I know. I’m sorry.”
Suddenly, gunfire sounded loudly nearby. Dani fell forward over Jean-Luc, felt Dr. Oakley crouch close beside them.
Then Cal appeared out of the smoke.
“Cal.”
She saw relief flash in his eyes and he took a second to touch her cheek. “I need you all to get out of here. There are still four of these guys out there, plus their leader.” With expert hands, he lifted the wadded shirt off Jean-Luc, his face hardening. “He needs medical help. As soon as possible.” He slipped the fabric under the man’s shirt to hold it in place. “Keep the pressure on.” Then Cal pulled out Sam’s tablet. “I managed to grab this. Take it and head that way.” He handed it to Dr. Oakley and pointed. “Keep moving, and get back to the village and the bikes. Sam, Gemma, and Sakada are waiting for you in the trees.”
Fear lodged in Dani’s throat. “What are you going to do?”
His blue eyes were like chips of ice. “I’m going to take the rest of these assholes out so they don’t follow us.” He yanked her forward for a brief kiss. “I’ll find you. Now go.”
She watched him disappear into the smoke and she quelled the urge to go after him.
“Come on,” she said to Dr. Oakley. Together, they managed to get Jean-Luc on his feet, and the three of them hobbled toward the trees.
Behind her, she heard more gunshots. Each one made her flinch.
Stay safe, Cal.
They found the others waiting.
“Quick.” Sakada waved them into the dark jun
gle.
Sam took Dani’s place beside Jean-Luc, and with a nod, Dani took the lead. “We need to get to the closest village and the bikes.”
Dani pushed vines and branches out of her way. Unseen things scratched her skin, and her arm was still throbbing. They hadn’t gone far when a man stepped out in front of them. There was no emotion on his face as he aimed his weapon at them.
She didn’t stop to think. “Go!” she yelled at the others. She launched herself at the man.
He wasn’t expecting her attack. Dani slammed into him and they fell in a tangle of arms and legs, his gun flying out of his hand.
She fought him. Hard. But he was strong and well-trained. When he shoved his hand against her gunshot wound, she screamed. Pain slashed through her with vicious claws. She went limp.
He punched her in the face and everything went blurry. With a grunt, he stood, sank a hand into her hair, and started dragging her back toward camp.
Dani felt tears stream down her face. Tears of pain and failure.
But as long as the others got away, that was all that mattered.
As the pain ebbed a little, she tried to think about what she could do. She could trip him, then go for his eyes and throat, and hit him between the legs.
She could hear the voices of the other Silk Road people getting louder. She heard the woman’s angry tone.
Dani exploded into action. She twisted, ignoring the sharp sting to her scalp. She punched the man between his legs, felt soft things smash against her knuckles.
He let her go instantly, doubling over with a strangled groan. She stood and slammed a knee into his face. As he fell, she turned and ran.
She had no idea where she was going, she just ran blindly. It was pitch black, but she just kept moving. She needed as much distance between her and Silk Road as possible.
The branches slapped at her face and a few times she slipped, but she didn’t stop.
Suddenly, she slammed into something hard. Hands grabbed at her.
