Shaken, Ana slowly realized that Jake was lowering his guard. He was being vulnerable to her in a way that she’d never seen a man be with a woman. Warmth flowed through her, strong and nurturing. She felt his arm beneath her head curl, and his hand move to her shoulder to cup her and bring her upward just enough so that he could kiss her. Was that what she wanted? So much of her did. Ana became lost in the pale blue gaze that held hers. He was being gentle with her. He wanted her, but she also felt he wouldn’t do anything unless she gave her approval.
She spread her fingers gently across his roughly stubbled cheek, then slid them up across his temple. His hair was short and silky to her sensitized fingers as she followed the curve of his skull. Lips parting, she lifted her chin and smiled softly up at Jake. Pulling his head downward, she pressed her lower body against his. Ana wanted to kiss him. She wanted to feel his mouth couple with hers. In one beautiful moment out of time, his mouth settled surely against her opening lips. How strong he felt, and yet, as Ana pressed her lips more insistently against his, she felt him controlling his reaction to her bold approach.
Smiling beneath his mouth, she moved her tongue across his flat lower lip. Instantly, his arms gripped her hard against him. A groan reverberated through him, like thunder rolling through Rainbow Valley. The sound resonated within her, and Ana’s heart flew on wings of joy as she enjoyed the taste, the smell and feel of him as his mouth roughly took hers with command and sureness. Drowning in the onslaught, she curled herself fully against him to let him know how much she reveled in sharing this miraculous moment with him. Fire skittered down through the center of her body. The explosive flames that ignited deep within her made her moan as she felt his fingers slide sinuously through her hair.
Jake eased Ana onto her back, his fingers entangled in her silky, thick black hair, his body pressed urgently against hers. Her lips were full, soft and alluring. She tasted so sweet, so wanton as she returned his kiss with a boldness he’d never thought possible in a woman. As her hand ranged from his hair down his neck and across his back, he felt his control disintegrating. She was lush, hot, and just as eager to explore him as he was her. Yet a voice screamed at him that he couldn’t take her like this. It wasn’t right—for either of them. He wasn’t the kind of man who had one-night stands. And although Ana intrigued him, and he hungered to know so much more about her, Jake knew making love to her at this moment wasn’t the right thing to do. His conscience told him she was still grieving over Roberto. Was her response to him because of her loss? Jake wasn’t sure. And if he wasn’t sure, then he wanted to stop. If and when he made love to Ana, he wanted to know it was because she wanted him, not a ghost from her past.
Dragging his mouth away from hers, he looked down into her slumberous eyes. There were glints of gold within the cinnamon color there—the gold of desire. For him? How badly Jake wanted that to be so. Almost apologetically, he eased upward and took her into his arms and held her, just held her. Closing his eyes, he absorbed her very feminine body against his. Her dark hair swirled across his face and chest as she slid her arms around his neck, her brow pressed to his.
“You feel so damn good to me,” he rasped, burying his face in her hair. “Beautiful, sweet, hot and good…”
His words vibrated through Ana. She hungrily absorbed them like a greedy beggar. Why had Jake broken their kiss? She had seen momentary regret in his eyes. Was he unsure of her? Ana didn’t know. Easing out of his arms, she gave him a rueful smile and sat up. Running her fingers through her hair, she whispered, “I like the way you wake me up, Jake….” And she reached out and brushed his lower lip with her fingertips. Instantly, she saw his predatory eyes narrow upon her. Her body responded. She wanted to love him thoroughly and completely. But now was not the time, and Ana knew it. Jake had had the good sense to stop, even when she hadn’t. Giving him a slightly embarrassed smile, Ana whispered unsteadily, “I don’t regret it, Jake. None of it. It’s been a long time since I’ve been awakened to a kiss. It was beautiful….”
Ana saw his eyes widen with surprise, and then she saw pleasure at her compliment. His mouth curved a little, much like a little boy’s might as he was being rewarded. In that moment, Ana realized that regardless of what happened, Jake had opened to her and was remaining emotionally accessible to her. Tilting her head, she wrapped her arms around her knees, ensconced in the sleeping bag. “You are the most incredible man I’ve ever met. Did you know that?”
Jake warmed to her low, husky words. He saw the gold and cinnamon colors in her half-closed eyes, noticed that her hair was deliciously mussed. He fought the urge to pull her back into his arms and smooth out the tangles with his fingers. She invited that kind of intimacy. Smiling slightly, he murmured, “I don’t understand. Did one kiss do it?”
Tilting her head back, Ana gave a low, melodic laugh. The dawn light was growing stronger, some of the shadows dissolving from his hardened features. Not having shaved, Jake looked highly dangerous, more animal than man to Ana. His primal qualities lurked just beneath the surface, and her womanly intuition reveled in that discovery.
“I like the way you kissed me.” Ana gave him a wicked look. “You’re open, Jake. Open to me. I’ve never seen a man able to lower his emotional guard like you did. It was wonderful. I loved it.”
Loved it? Jake frowned. How was Ana using that word, love? Women frequently used the term, bandying it about in many ways, Jake had discovered long ago. What he felt for Ana, what was growing wildly and strongly in his heart, was overwhelming, but he was afraid to place a definitive word on it. The fear of losing a woman he loved was still too strong in him.
“It’s easy to stay open around you, Ana,” Jake declared.
She smiled more deeply. “Yes?”
He reached out and briefly squeezed her arm. “Yes. It’s you. You’re like this country. The more I learn of Peru, the more mystical and unexplained it becomes to me. You’re like that.”
“Ahh, yes, Peru’s magic,” she murmured. “You’re right, no one is immune to it. When you come here, Peru wraps her arms around you like a long-lost lover, and you find yourself letting the world you knew slip away. You discover yourself wanting, needing to stay here with her instead. She’s a very provocative lover, you know.”
Grinning, Jake decided it was time to get up. If he didn’t, he was going to drag Ana back into his arms and love the hell out of her. “You and Peru are the same,” he growled in warning, sitting up and rubbing his jaw. Ana looked gloriously disheveled, her red T-shirt rumpled, the dark green sleeping bag hiding the lower half of her body from him. She was so at one with nature. More like a wild animal, or even a beautiful butterfly, than a human being. When he told her that, her lips, soft and ripe, curved up wonderfully and made a sheet of heat flow through him. Her eyes smiled with such warmth toward him that Jake found himself becoming tongue-tied. Ana was not flirting with him. She was simply being herself. His heart tugged violently in his chest. He needed her in ways he didn’t yet even begin to understand, and his longing drove him relentlessly. No woman had ever affected him like this. Ever.
Ana said, “I’ll take that as a compliment.” Looking at the watch on her wrist, she said, “Let’s make breakfast and then break camp. We can be in Huayllabamba by noon. And then I can talk to the elder of the village and see what he knows about Tal.”
Somberly, Jake unzipped his sleeping bag. Yes, Tal was the reason for him being here. The overwhelming reason. He tried to put his need for Ana on a back burner. “Do you think they’ll tell you the truth?”
Ana slid out of her bag. “Oh, yes. The campesinos aren’t given to lying. Especially to one of their own kind.”
Jake stood beneath the hot sun in the middle of a recently furrowed field as he watched Ana approach a group of campesinos who sat in a circle not far away, being served lunch by their wives. The fifteen men were dressed in the traditional bright red leggings. Their mud-encrusted sandals were testament to their work. The women wore brightly colored ha
ts and dresses as they poured a pink drink into the awaiting wooden cups of the men, who had toiled, probably since dawn, in this large field. Above them, the pale blue sky was patchy with cottony clouds. The valley was wide and surrounded by green hills clothed in trees and shrubs. Rainbow Valley was a wild and beautiful place.
Ana went over to the oldest man in the group and spoke in Quechua to him. Jake watched the old man’s expression closely. The man was nearly toothless, his face long, lean and tobacco-brown, with hundreds of lines etched into it. Jake held his breath, hoping that they’d seen Tal and could give some sense of her whereabouts. This was the last village that she had gone to find water before she disappeared. Surely, the elder knew of her. Anxiety riffled through Jake as he saw several other campesinos speak excitedly to Ana when she knelt down to converse with them.
Impatient, Jake finally moved closer until he stood beside Ana. The talk had been going on for nearly five minutes and the discussion among the men was spirited. One of the women approached Jake and poured some of the pink drink into a cup and handed it to him. Jake took it and thanked her in Spanish. The older woman smiled and nodded deferentially to him. He held the cup, waiting.
Ana twisted to look up at Jake. “Good news. Tal was here. She was staying with the elder leader here, Don Juan Hector. He said that last week a local drug lord, Rojas, came to his village. Rojas was trying to pressure Don Hector into ordering some of his younger men to carry bags of cocaine over the mountains for him. He refused Rojas’s request. And then Rojas saw Tal. He asked Don Hector about her, and the elder told him she was here to help them sink a well so their children would stop dying. Rojas kidnapped Tal and told Hector that when he released ten of his younger men to him, he’d give Tal back to them.”
“Does Don Hector know where Rojas took Tal?” Jake demanded darkly.
Ana stood. She turned and pointed toward a higher hill in the distance. “Yes. Rojas has a stronghold up there. It’s a small villa that sits hidden under the jungle canopy. Juan is sure she’s up there.”
“Have they seen Tal since Rojas took her?” Jake’s heart ached in fear.
“No, they haven’t.”
“Is Rojas a killer?”
Ana shrugged. “The elder says Rojas is a bully. He’s a braggart and he’s loud and disrespectful to the elders here and at other villages. He has four goons as bodyguards, and they carry weapons on them at all times. Once, Rojas pistol-whipped Don Hector because he defied him.” Ana frowned. “The old man doesn’t hear well out of his left ear where Rojas hit him with the butt of his pistol. Other than that, no, Rojas isn’t a killer.”
“Yet,” Jake said quietly. Grimly, he looked back at the campesinos and then at Ana. She was frowning, a worried look on her clean features as she studied the hill in the distance. “Do they know how to reach Rojas’s place? Is there a path?” he asked.
Nodding, Ana said, “They’re willing to show us a cow path that Rojas isn’t aware of. It goes around the hill near Rojas’s villa. There’s also a road for car traffic, but we won’t be able to use it for obvious reasons. Don Hector says they won’t go any farther than that, Jake. They’re afraid of Rojas. He’s warned them that if anyone approaches the villa, he’ll shoot to kill, so they leave him alone.”
“What about Tal?”
Placing a comforting hand on his arm, Ana said, “I know you’re upset, but these people are without arms, Jake. They aren’t fighters. They’re farmers. The elders are very upset at Tal being taken. Juan says she had quickly become like a daughter to him. He has prayed to the apus for help to get her out of Rojas’s hands.”
Grimly, Jake glared up at the hill in the distance. The day was hazy with humidity. The sun was beating down on him and sweat trickled down his temples. “I guess we’re the answer to his prayers?”
She grinned a little. “You might say that. Listen, they want to feed us. I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry after that hike up here. Let’s sit with them. Their wives will serve us, and we’ll find out the details about Rojas’s villa. Then we can form a plan.”
It was a wise decision. Still, Jake wanted to head straight to the villa and rescue Tal. He knew Ana’s suggestion was the right one, however. As he sat down next to her, the campesinos all nodded in friendly fashion to him and spoke to him in Spanish instead of their native tongue, to make him feel a part of them. Jake managed a strained smile and nodded in return. Very soon, the women had given him a bowl heaped with steaming vegetables and a piece of beef. Huge hunks of thick, dark brown bread were pressed into his hand. He sat there in the middle of the field having lunch with the Quechua farmers.
Through the entire lunch, Ana spoke warmly and spiritedly with all the campesinos in their native tongue. Once the men had been served, the women sat with them and ate as well. Soon, some were laughing and pointing their fingers at Ana. Jake saw her blush deeply and avoid their sparkling eyes and wagging fingers.
“What are they saying to you?” he demanded, enjoying the sweet, grainy bread.
“Oh,” Ana laughed as she chewed on an ear of boiled corn, “they’re asking me about you.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, they noticed I was wearing my chalina. The women said you looked very strong and would make a good husband in the fields for me. They want to know why I haven’t taken my chalina off and wrapped it around your neck to let you know that I desired you.”
Grinning wolfishly, Jake met the smiling, inquiring eyes of the Quechua farmers. Most of them were middle-aged, and when they grinned back at him he saw that most had teeth missing. Jake nodded and raised his brows, speaking to them in Spanish. “I think she’d make a good wife. Don’t you?”
“Jake!”
The campesinos all howled with laughter and shook their heads vigorously. Several of them called to Ana in Quechua. Ana blushed even more deeply. The women cackled like old hens who had just laid eggs.
Ana gave him a dirty look. “Jake, they take things like that seriously here! You don’t tease about such a thing! Now they’ll all expect me to give you my chalina.”
Chuckling, he polished off the large piece of broiled beef and wiped his hands on the sides of his jeans. “Did I slip protocol?”
Giving him a dark look, Ana said, “You know you have.”
The campesinos continued to tease Ana in Quechua. They motioned to the rainbow-colored scarf that hung around her neck. The women clucked indulgently and smiled hugely, motioning more than once toward Jake. One of the older women got up, waddled over and wrapped her thick brown fingers around Jake’s upper arm, squeezing hard. She launched into a diatribe with Ana, motioning to his back and patting his spine.
“Oh, boy,” Ana growled, “you’ve really set them off.”
Jake smiled up at the older woman. She was nearly toothless, her smile touching her glinting black eyes. Her hands were very strong, but given the kind of life she had, Jake wasn’t surprised. He gripped the woman’s hand and patted it affectionately. She hid her eyes with her other hand and smiled girlishly before moving back to her husband’s side.
“What’d I do?” Jake asked innocently. “Was she checking me out like a hunk of beefcake?”
Ana giggled, not immune to his sense of humor. “She was pointing out to me that you are not only well-built, but that you have a good, stout back. That indicates you’d make a fine farmer. She said I should be taken with you because you are young, strong and look very responsible. What else does a Quechua girl like me want?”
“Did she say I was handsome, too?”
“Don’t push your luck, Travers.”
Crowing, Jake slapped his hand on his thigh. All the campesinos, although they did not understand a word of English, seemed to know exactly what was being said, and laughed warmly.
Ana tried to keep the smile off her face. She saw the enjoyment and amusement in Jake’s expression. He was terribly handsome, but there was no way she would let him know that. Especially now! The campesinos were acting like doting parents to
her, telling her what a good catch Jake was. Her heart already knew that, and judging from the merriment in the elder’s eyes, he also knew that she secretly liked Jake very much. Much more than she should.
“Let’s get back to business, shall we?” Ana suggested archly. “Let’s find out where the trail is, what the terrain’s like, and then I’ll call Captain Stevenson and let her know what’s up.”
Wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes, Jake grinned and said, “Fine, let’s do it.”
“You don’t have to enjoy my discomfort so much, Jake Travers.”
His teeth gleamed in the hot equatorial sunlight as he met and held her wide eyes, which were fraught with embarrassment. “Hey,” he cajoled, “I meant it. You’d be a great partner. That was a compliment.” More and more, Jake was coming to understand that though Ana called herself a warrior, she was a woman as well. And could be a mother. And a wife…He recalled that she wanted children someday. A husband. Family was as important to her as it was to him. Somehow, he had to reconcile that part of her that was a warrior with her very womanly nature. After this morning’s kiss, he had begun to look at her differently. And his heart expanded wildly as his head made that hesitant admission.
Warmth stole into her heart. Ana could barely hold Jake’s honest gaze. He meant what he’d said moments ago. It wasn’t a joke even though he had said it in an offhand manner. Finishing her corn, she placed the cob back in the large wooden bowl and picked up the spoon to sup the delicious vegetable broth it had been cooked in. Ana wasn’t ready to answer him. No, first they had to find Tal and get her to safety. Then she’d see how the wheel of fortune dealt with her in the next few days of her life….
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