The Pleasures of Winter

by Evie Hunter

  Zeke turned to her. ‘So, what’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?’

  He was hitting on her, and with a line that corny? Abbie resisted the urge to break his other arm. He was old enough to be her father. She smiled sweetly at him. ‘I was chasing down a connection between an international drugs cartel and Antonio Tabora.’

  ‘Antonio who?’

  ‘Tabora,’ Jack’s voice came from in front. ‘He’s running for the Honduran Congress. Charming, wealthy and dirty as hell.’

  Abbie was surprised that Jack had heard of him. Tabora was being courted in the States as a new hope for Honduras.

  ‘And did you find it?’ said Zeke, only vaguely interested.

  ‘I found enough,’ she said. ‘DEA agents have been working alongside the Honduran security forces to stop the trans-shipment of drugs. The State Department has put helicopters at their disposal to trace illegal landing strips funded by the Barrio18 and MS13 gangs. But I’m picking up hints of a leak in the State Department.’

  The lawyers for the paper were probably going through her stuff with a fine-tooth comb at the moment. Suddenly she missed the newsroom. The other reporters, the lousy coffee and the occasional ‘princess’ jibe. What would they do when she failed to arrive in the office? Would they assume that Tabora’s men had taken her?

  And her family. Her dad would go crazy and her sister, Miffy, would let loose a big refrain of ‘I told you so’. Abbie’s style of gritty journalism wasn’t feminine enough for Miffy. If she had to be a journalist, why couldn’t she write about the art scene or fashion? Or better yet, stop parading the Marshall name through the papers and find some nice charity committees to sit on. Yada yada yada. That was what most of the women in their circle did – got a nice, undemanding job in a gallery or PR company before landing an investment banker or a lawyer and then embarking on a merry-go-round of charity fund-raising and competitive parenting. From the age of sixteen Abbie knew she would never be able to follow that path. Still, Miffy got on her case at every opportunity. She could just imagine the uproar when they got home after this escapade. If they got home.

  Kevin came up behind her. ‘You OK, Abbie? Jack’s daily special staying down?’

  ‘They were delicious.’ She raised her voice enough for Jack to hear. ‘Best I’ve tasted since I last ate in Chinatown.’ She smiled at Kevin. He really was a charmer. ‘What about you? I get the impression that you and Jack do a lot of double dating.’

  ‘For sure. We’ve been friends since Trinity.’

  ‘Trinity?’

  ‘College.’ He shrugged. ‘Back in Dublin.’

  ‘So, he really is from Ireland? I thought you just put on the accent to pick up women.’

  Kevin kicked a tangle of vines out of their path. ‘Nope, it’s real, and Jack never needed to fake anything to pick up girls. Like flies around –’

  ‘I am not deaf,’ Jack shouted. ‘And if you’re interested, Abbie, you only had to ask.’

  She cringed. She had let her curiosity get the better of her. Wouldn’t make that mistake again.

  Kevin grappled with an overhanging branch. ‘He’s not so bad, when you get to know him.’

  ‘I have no intention of getting to know him,’ she said primly.

  Kevin gave her a sly grin. ‘Well, you did sleep with him last night.’

  ‘I did not sleep with him.’ She could feel her face beginning to flush. Maybe she should have stayed with Zeke.

  ‘So, you were awake, then. All night …’ Kevin whistled.

  Her right hand itched to punch something. ‘I was not –’ His snort of laughter brought her to her senses. ‘You’re a sly, underhanded …’

  ‘Keep it up, I love compliments. And I’ll tell you what else I’d love, Abbie –’

  ‘You’d love a dig in the head from my fist.’

  Abbie hadn’t realized that Jack had returned. A large patch of sweat covered the front of his T-shirt and the damp fabric clung to his abs like a second skin. Will you stop with the abs fixation. You’re turning ab-normal. She dragged her eyes to his face. His skin was flushed from exertion and his blue eyes could cut through her like a laser.

  Jack handed the knife to Kevin. ‘Your turn, bro.’

  ‘That’s what I was kind of hoping for.’

  Kevin whistled as he took his place at the front. Abbie thought it was some Irish rebel song, but she couldn’t be sure.

  The journey was endless. Even with Jack beside her to help, several times Abbie stumbled over large roots hidden in the undergrowth. Her clothes were glued to her body and her hair to her head. What she wouldn’t give for a shower. A nice, long, hot shower. Hell, even a cold one would do.

  ‘Snake!’ Zeke’s shout dragged her out of her fantasy.

  ‘Where?’ Jack shouted.

  Her gaze followed the direction of Zeke’s pointing finger. Oh dear lord. She swallowed hard. She had seen them in the reptile enclosure in the zoo, but never a real one, and never one that big.

  Jack and Kevin set off in pursuit. She hadn’t thought that snakes could move that fast, but within seconds the men had disappeared into the foliage and all she could hear were their shouts.

  ‘I can’t do this any more.’ Zeke took a seat on a log. ‘The heat, the terrible food. No communications. How do people live like this?’

  Beneath his perma-tan, his skin looked ashen. Maybe he really was ill? Abbie placed her hand on his forehead. He was hot, like everyone else, but he didn’t feel feverish.

  Zeke placed his hand on her wrist. ‘You know, Abbie, maybe when this is over we can meet up and –’

  It took a moment for the penny to drop. She hadn’t imagined it earlier: Zeke was coming on to her and he meant it. When she slapped his hand away, he wasn’t a bit perturbed. He smiled as if it were an everyday occurrence to paw someone thirty years his junior. Abbie stepped back. ‘Oh, for heaven’s sake. What is wrong with you?’

  The green curtain of leaves parted and Jack and Kevin reappeared, both wearing matching expressions of triumph. ‘How much do you love me?’ asked Jack.

  ‘Would you believe me if I said not a bit?’

  He grinned at her. ‘Suit yourself, but you better cosy up to me and Kev, because we have just caught dinner.’

  Her stomach did a somersault. ‘A snake. We’re having a snake for dinner?’

  ‘No, not a snake, Abbie,’ Kevin said. ‘A roasted snake. Trust me, it tastes just like chicken.’

  The triumph of the returning hunters was marred by the sound of Zeke puking.

  They pressed on for two more painful hours. Even with sensible boots that were well broken in, the soles of her feet felt as if they were on fire.

  ‘OK, let’s call it a night,’ Jack said at last.

  They were the sweetest words in the English language. Kevin organized the hammocks while Jack busied himself making a fire. ‘Fetch me some leaves, Abbie. The long ones.’

  She went off to get the leaves while he butchered the snake. Only when she was a few feet from the clearing did she realize that he had sent her away deliberately. Jack was protecting her? Hollywood had a soft streak?

  The thought pleased her.

  ‘Abbie, what the hell is keeping you?’ he roared.

  So much for his soft side. She hurried back to camp.

  They had dug a small fire pit and the snake was now cut into rough chunks. Even Zeke had gotten over his upset stomach and was eying the meat with interest. ‘Like chicken, you said?’

  ‘Chicken,’ Kevin repeated.

  They watched as Jack parcelled the meat up in the damp leaves and placed it on a makeshift spit over the fire. It smelled wonderful and, despite her disgust, Abbie’s mouth watered. They’d had nothing to eat all day but bugs and sour berries. This was a feast.

  ‘I’ll go bury the rest,’ Kevin offered. ‘We don’t want to attract predators,’ he said by way of explanation.

  Predators. She hadn’t thought of that. They were in a jungle and the only thing t
hat stood between her and the dangerous environment was Jack and Kevin.

  As if he could read her thoughts, Jack winked at her. ‘Don’t worry, babe, I’ll take care of you.’

  ‘That’s what I’m afraid of,’ she muttered.

  She dreaded the night to come, not sure how she would react to all that rampant masculinity pressed up against her for a second night. But she had barely eaten half her portion of snake before fatigue crashed over her. She fought to keep her eyes open and was startled when Jack said, ‘I’ve set up the hammock. Go to bed and I’ll finish settling the camp for the night.’

  She nodded gratefully, too tired to argue. The damp hammock was more welcome than the most luxurious bed she had ever slept in. For a few minutes, she held herself stiffly, waiting for Jack to join her. But exhaustion won. She was sleeping soundly by the time he came to bed.

  There was something wrong, Jack realized, as they beat their way through the vegetation the next morning. When he checked behind him Abbie was looking up at Kev in a way that made his teeth clench. He had thought that if Kev and Abbie got together it would cure his inconvenient fixation. But now he knew that was the last thing he wanted. The previous night she had slept soundly beside him and he had gathered her in his arms. Despite himself, he wanted to protect her. They had woken together and for a brief moment had held each other’s gaze before tumbling out either side of the hammock. He couldn’t get away from it – he couldn’t remember the last time he had wanted to fuck a woman the way he wanted to fuck Abbie Marshall. But even more than that, she had a quality that frightened as much as attracted him. She was sophisticated but still innocent. She had no idea how alluring she was and the more she did her superior-woman-of-the-world routine, the more he wanted to show her just how far down into the depths she could go with him. But that was impossible; he could never go there with Abbie. Yet still he was on the alert for any sign that she was falling for Kev’s easy charm. It would kill him to see Kev with her.

  Suddenly he realized what was different. For the first time in two days, Zeke had stopped complaining. He hadn’t noticed it all morning, but now that they were settling into a routine the blessed silence had finally registered. He stopped to check on the older man. Zeke was white in the face. He had stopped complaining simply because he was beyond words. His breathing had become laboured and uneven.

  ‘Kev,’ he said sharply. ‘I thought you were keeping an eye on Zeke.’

  Kevin dragged his attention away from whatever Abbie was saying to look at the older man. ‘Oh fuck,’ he said.

  That about summed it up. Jack made Zeke sit down and checked his arm. It was swollen and painful. Zeke flinched and whimpered with pain at any movement. Jack forced another couple of painkillers into him. He looked longingly at the paracetamol. His own head hurt like a bitch, but there were only six left, and Zeke needed them more than he did.

  The muslin sling, now damp and thin, was just not up to the job of holding Zeke’s injured arm securely. They needed to reinforce it, but with what? He ran a mental eye over all their gear. They had nothing that would give it the extra support it needed if Zeke was going to continue to walk.

  Abbie gave Zeke a few mouthfuls of water and another slug of tequila. Her concern made her green eyes more brilliant than usual, and caused something to tighten in Jack’s chest. He wanted her to look at him like that.

  For a brief moment, he allowed himself the luxury of a fantasy where Abbie was naked in his bed, staring up at him with those luminous eyes and he … He cut off that train of thought. The things he wanted to do to her would have her running away screaming. And writing about it on the front page of her paper. Sometimes the pleasure was not worth the price.

  But he still couldn’t take his eyes off her, and when she brushed up against Zeke, he thought he could feel the caress of those nipples on his own skin.

  That was it. ‘Abbie, take off your bra.’

  ‘What?’

  The stunned expression on her face, the way shock caused her mouth to part, allowing him a glimpse of a tempting pink tongue, was an aphrodisiac in itself. Against his will, he felt himself harden. Down, boy, this isn’t the time or the place.

  ‘Jack, what are you –?’ Kev was the one who protested. Then he caught sight of something in Jack’s face which silenced him.

  ‘Abbie’s bra is mostly elastic, right? We can jerry-rig it so it will reinforce the sling and hold Zeke’s arm more securely. He has to be able to walk. Let’s face it, he mightn’t be that heavy, but we can’t carry him all the way.’

  Zeke grumbled but he didn’t protest. He was clearly close to his limit. If they had to, he and Kev could carry the older man, but that would leave Abbie trying to clear their path. Though she had offered, and she looked fit, she didn’t have the muscle mass needed to cut a path through the greenery.

  When he was wrestling the plane down, Jack had seen lights on the edge of a lagoon. He had been fighting to keep the plane airborne and not paying a lot of attention to the ground, so he’d only had time for a quick glimpse, but he believed those lights were their best hope. It was too much to hope it would be a proper town, but once they reached any kind of settlement there would be some form of communication so they could call for help. He had no idea how far away it was but calculated two or three days’ trekking. They could do that, he hoped, even with the dangerous lack of provisions and equipment. Kev was the only one who knew how dangerous their position was and agreed to say nothing to the other two for fear of freaking them out. Trekking to the lagoon depended on all four of them being fully mobile. Zeke had to be able to walk if they were to make it out of there.

  ‘Your bra, Abbie,’ Jack said. ‘We need it.’ He spoke calmly, but his voice left her in no doubt he meant it. They didn’t have time to deal with a lot of female fussing and arguing.

  She looked from Jack to Zeke and back again. ‘Oh, very well,’ she said, surprising him, and awakening speculation that he would prefer to ignore. ‘But you’ll all have to turn your backs.’

  He nodded. He would allow her that much. When he turned, the sound of rustling went on for far longer than he would have expected, and allowed his imagination to roam free. ‘Kevin, eyes front,’ she said sharply.

  ‘Spoilsport,’ Kev muttered. Jack decided that he was going to beat up his old friend soon. How dare he try to sneak a peek at Abbie? Then he imagined her nimble fingers unfastening button after button. The shirt sliding off her shoulders, exposing soft pale skin. The lacy bra underneath. Was it a front or a back fastener? Back, he decided, and visualized Abbie reaching behind to open it, the movement pushing her breasts forward as if they were begging for his touch. The bra opening, the straps falling down her arms, before Abbie removed the scrap of lingerie and finally revealed her breasts to his eager eyes. Each one would be a round handful, trembling slightly with each breath she took, and tipped with pale pink nipples. They’d be soft when she took off the bra, but they would tighten up once they were exposed to the air, and to his eyes. She would stretch, put her arms back, making them rise up level with his mouth. He would –

  His erection pressed against the front of his jeans. Relax. Think of something else. Insects. Think of eating larvae. That did it. By the time Abbie said, ‘Here it is,’ and handed her bra to him, he was in command of himself again.

  The sight of the lacy pink garment she held out almost shattered his calm, and the slight trace of Abbie’s distinctive scent added to his problems.

  ‘Good girl,’ he said automatically. She gave him a look that would curdle milk, but he thought her breathing had deepened. God, he had to stop this.

  ‘Stop glaring,’ he told her. ‘You’ve got a face like a slapped arse when you do that.’

  ‘A WHAT?’ If anything her glare darkened and her eyes glittered dangerously.

  Kev guffawed. ‘Don’t mind Jack. He’s got foot-in-mouth disease.’

  Abbie moved to pull her bra back, but Jack snatched it out of her hand and turned to Zeke. He bus
ied himself pulling the bra apart and using the elastic straps to reinforce the sling and immobilize Zeke’s arm.

  ‘Keep an eye on him,’ Jack ordered her. He picked up the knife and prepared to set off again.

  ‘You’re not the boss of me,’ Abbie said, but did what he told her.

  That’s what you think, lady. But he had sense enough not to say it out loud.

  Abbie couldn’t believe what she had just said. She sounded about as mature as a ten-year-old. Actually, she believed the last time she had told someone they weren’t the boss of her was when she was in the fifth grade and Miffy was telling her she had to help her bake cupcakes for some fund-raising thing in her school.

  Still, not for the first time, Abbie had to admit to herself that she was finding it oddly easy to let someone else take charge. Normally she was driven and focused. Apart from their engagement, which had been William’s idea, she was the one who took the initiative and made plans in their relationship. And yet here she was with no clue what was happening and, in all honesty, no pressing desire to find out. She was dirty and uncomfortable and hungry, but not worried. She had a completely irrational belief that Jack Winter knew what he was doing. Her feelings seesawed wildly between disgust with herself for not being more assertive, and a perturbed acceptance of her own compliance. When – if – they got back to civilization, she and Kit would have hours of fun analysing what it all meant. She could see now why people paid good money to go on wilderness adventures: you really did find out stuff about yourself.

  They were silent as they slogged through the forest, battling the thick humid air and the heat as well as the dense undergrowth. It was taking all their effort to keep going. Jack and Kevin took turns hacking out a track and bringing up the rear and she kept an eye on Zeke, helping him when he stumbled. No one had time or breath for more than random snatches of conversation.

  With no conversation to distract them, the noise of the rainforest was astonishing: the constant whir and click of insects, the squawk and flutter of birds and the occasional roar of a jaguar. The first time they heard it, everyone tensed. ‘Calm down,’ Jack said. ‘It’s a jaguar. They almost never attack humans.’ Just as they relaxed, he added, ‘You are much more likely to get killed by a snake.’