by Cindy Dees
He swam over to the waterfall and stood up under the edge of its pounding spray. No shower had ever felt better. He stepped out of the pounding flow and opened his eyes. Kimberly stood under the water beside him with her eyes closed and her head thrown back.
She looked like a goddess, almost fragile beneath the force of the waterfall. A pang of remorse hit him for the way he’d made her work the past few days. She deserved to be pampered and protected. She was a lady, and he wished he could have shown her proper respect. But he’d dragged her around a jungle and bullied her into feats of enormous effort like he was a drill sergeant and she was some raw recruit.
The circumstances had demanded it, but that didn’t make the regret for the way he’d been forced to treat her any less keen.
He slogged over to her side through the waist-deep water. “Turn around,” he murmured.
Her eyes flew open and she looked up at him warily.
“I’ll scrub your back for you,” he offered.
A look of surprise flashed across her face. It pained Tex that an act of kindness from him elicited such a response.
Kimberly turned around and he reached out slowly. Her back was slim and graceful, disappearing into the water enticingly. He rubbed her shoulders gently, massaging away the tension there while he worked the last, light brown film of mud off her skin.
He diverted falling water onto her back, rinsing away the last vestiges of filth. Her skin was a warm, ivory color like a rich ice cream. It begged to be licked and tasted in the same manner as the sweet treat. He clamped down on his libido sternly. Hadn’t he just been telling himself that he should treat her with more respect?
She turned under his hands to face him. His palms came to rest on her slim shoulders.
With her wet hair slicked back from her face and not a stitch of makeup on, she was possibly more beautiful than he’d ever seen her before, including the first day he met her. Not many women got more good looking as all the artifice and primping was stripped away, but she was one of them.
He stared down at her, mesmerized by the purity of her features. In the dancing play of light from the falling water, her eyes glowed with an ethereal, emerald light…and with an unmistakable offer.
Herself.
CHAPTER TWELVE
He stared down at her in shock. The directness of her gaze threw him completely off balance.
It would be so easy to take her up on the offer, to sink into the secret garden of pleasure in her eyes. To lose himself within her. To walk away from the danger and fatigue, the filth and fear. To forget his duty. To abandon his honor…
He jerked his hands away from her with a sharp curse. She was just like Emily. She didn’t get it. Didn’t understand what honor and duty and doing the right thing meant to him. Hell, she wasn’t all that different from his mother, either. When the first opportunity presented itself for her to bail on him and run from hardship, his mother leapt at it.
Not that he could blame Kimberly for wanting to get out of the jungle. Hell, he was seriously looking forward to a real bed and a real meal, himself. But that didn’t mean he was willing to walk away from everything that mattered to him for the sake of his short-term comfort. Unlike his mother and Kimberly, he wasn’t that selfish.
He sighed. “I have a responsibility, not only to myself, but to hundreds or thousands of people who will die if I don’t get that rifle back. I’m the only person in the right place at the right time to recover the RITA, and by God, I’m going to do it!”
Her reasonable tone of voice was like fingernails on a chalkboard to him. “Tex, listen to me. You can’t do this alone. It’s too much for one man. You’re so caught up in being a hero you’re not thinking straight.”
He answered bluntly. “Bull. I’m thinking perfectly straight. I can do this mission. You have no idea what kind of training I’ve got, what my skills are. You’ve just got a burr up your butt about this whole situation because your father was a big war hero and you can’t stand anyone who’s like him.”
“That’s not true!” she retorted hotly.
He glared angrily at her. “What’s the matter, Kimberly? Can’t stand being in the company of an honest man? Got tired of being the military hero’s daughter, so you set out to tear down everything he stands for?”
She recoiled from that one as if he’d hit a nerve. She turned and started wading toward the bank of the pool. He followed after her, splashing loudly.
“Is that why you’re so bent on stopping me?” he taunted. “Don’t want to have to stand in the shadow of another war hero? Well, don’t worry about it. I don’t give a damn about being on the cover of a magazine, and I’m sure as hell not interested in politics. I’m not going to steal your precious spotlight!”
She whirled abruptly and he almost ran into her. She glared up at him, her hands planted on her hips. “I don’t give a damn if you’re a hero or not, Tex Monroe. I was only trying to save your life, you sanctimonious bastard!”
Oh.
He stopped. And blinked.
Her eyes snapped like sparks flying off a sword, hot and deadly. She was serious.
“Why?” he asked, feeling stupid.
“Because you’ve saved my life a hundred times already. Because I don’t want to see your own need to be a hero destroy you like it did my father. Because…because I care about you, dammit!” She spun away and splashed the last few yards to the shore. “How in the bloody hell am I supposed to dry myself off without a towel?” she demanded irritably from the grassy bank.
He answered distractedly, “Lie down in the sun and air dry.”
She cared for him?
The thought whirled around in his head with the force of a revelation. How could that be? They were so different, came from such different worlds. She was so classy, so elegant. Country clubs and cocktail parties. He was all about crawling around in filthy jungles after criminals. What in blazes did a guy like him have to offer to a woman like her?
Dazed, he flopped down beside her in the soft grass. A shaft of sunlight warmed his skin. After the icy chill of the water, it felt great. He threw an arm over his eyes to block the bright light. What in the hell was he supposed to say in response to something like that? That he cared for her, too? It was the truth, but did he dare admit it to her? Did he dare give her that much power over him?
“Tex, would you do something for me? Could you…Never mind.” Her voice trailed off without finishing the question.
What was she going to ask of him? To kiss her? To make love to her? To tell her he felt the same way? What did she really want from him?
“What were you going to ask?” he prompted.
“I was going to ask if you’d mind checking me for leeches.”
Leeches? So much for declarations of his feelings. Man, did he feel stupid. A snort of laughter escaped him. “Sure. No problem.”
He hoisted himself up on one elbow and looked down at her, stretched out on the ground beside him. Good Lord, she was beautiful. Her skimpy lingerie clung to her, half dry, more tempting than just about anything he’d ever seen before. Belatedly, he checked her front for any sign of a leech.
“Roll over on your stomach so I can have a look at your back,” he ordered gently.
She rolled toward him, bringing her almost into direct contact with his entire torso. His body responded with a powerful surge of white-hot lust.
He rose up on his knees beside her, fighting an overwhelming urge to leap on top of her and take her. His gaze skimmed the length of her body. No telltale brown smudges.
He placed his hands on the middle of her back.
She jumped and he murmured, “I’m going to check underneath your bra strap. Make sure nothing got under it.”
She nodded, her face buried in the crook of her arm.
Her skin was warm to the touch. Like satin. He started in the center of her back, running his hands outward, underneath the elastic band of her brassiere.
He continued his explorations around her
sides, underneath her arms. She took in a sharp, light breath and held it. He paused, giving her a chance to tell him to stop. But she remained silent, her face hidden.
Slowly he eased his hands farther around her, underneath her bra. The swelling flesh of her breasts came under his fingers. His gut throbbed with need and his dick went rock-hard. Her only response was to lift her chest slightly off the ground.
They still had a little time before they had to go. Enough time, to be precise. She moaned and his hands swept forward, cupping her breasts entirely in his hands. He skimmed over them, encountering nothing but the silkiness of her skin. He tweaked her nipples gently, and they tightened instantly into hard little nubs of desire. Kimberly took another light, short breath.
He tested the weight of her breasts in his hands, massaging them and molding them lightly. He rubbed his fingers in circles around the tight tips, until she arched her back even more, lifting her breasts even farther off the ground, giving him even fuller access.
He teased her flesh lightly at first, and then with more pressure until she fairly gasped with pleasure. Her whole body undulated subtly before he withdrew his hands, retreating the way he’d come. He ran his palms down the elegant curve of her spine, slipping his fingers under the elastic of her panties.
Her body felt like molten silver, flowing and pulsating beneath his touch. He cupped the warm flesh of her bottom, running his hands lightly over her hips and sides. No leeches, he noted vaguely. He returned to the first hint of the crevice of her buttocks and skimmed a single finger lightly into its warmth.
Kimberly gasped, her hips lifting slightly off the ground. He eased his finger farther along the curve of her body, his control spinning dangerously close to the breaking point. He wanted the tight heat of her around him. He wanted to feel the undulations of her hips beneath his, to feel her surging up into him like that.
Shaken, he ran his hands around her hips until he felt the first soft rise of feminine flesh under his fingertips. He slid his hands slowly between her thighs, which softened in unmistakable welcome.
The incredible softness between her legs was nearly his undoing. He penetrated the folds of velvet flesh slowly, easing his fingers toward the very core of her. His own breath came in ragged bursts as she moved helplessly against his hand. With a single finger, he stroked the damp, sensitive center of her, wringing a soft moan from Kimberly’s throat.
A flush stole up her neck, and even though her face was buried in her arm, the little gasps of pleasure she took still reached him.
He spread his fingers lightly and her thighs opened for him, granting him full access to her.
He tested the smooth wetness of her entrance, driven almost out of his mind by its tight, hot promise. Her delicate muscles clenched around his fingertip, and abruptly she shuddered. Another moan slipped from her throat.
Without dislodging his hand, she rolled onto her side to face him.
He stroked her deeply, and her eyes fluttered shut in abandon. “Do you want more?” he managed to force out past his clenched teeth.
She answered on a sigh. “Oh, yes.”
The relief that flooded him was so profound he didn’t even want to think about what he’d have done if she’d said no.
He hooked her panties and skimmed them down her legs in a single, swift movement. A quick reach behind her and her bra fell away. He dipped his head to taste her rosy flesh, the peaks straining with pleasure as he circled them with his tongue.
Her hands speared into his hair, pressing him closer to her heated flesh. He feasted upon her breasts, relishing the dewy freshness of her skin.
And then her hands were on the waistband of his briefs. Her fingers dipped inside, clasping his throbbing flesh and threatening to send him over the edge right then and there.
He fumbled behind him for the web belt lying on top of his clothes, searching for the pouch with the condoms. He ripped open the foil packet quickly, praying the guy’d bought a decent brand that wouldn’t break under the strain of what they were about to do to it.
He slipped off his briefs and skimmed on the protection in one quick move. He gathered Kimberly in his arms and leaned over her, relishing the sexual haze in her eyes.
Starting at her brow, he ran his fingertips lightly down her cheek and throat, down her neck, through the warm valley of her breasts, across her flat stomach, and down, down, to the hot, wet core of her.
Her thighs fell open and she pulled him down to her, impatient in her need. He laughed and obliged, settling himself between her sleek thighs.
He kissed her then, melding their mouths into a heated, passionate dance of advance and retreat, a swirling, carnal waltz. Finally she tore her mouth away, gasping for him to come into her.
The slide of flesh on heated flesh about did him in. He forced himself to take her slowly, relishing every agonizing inch of the journey home. Finally he was seated deep within her, her heat clenching him more tightly than he’d imagined possible, her muscles throbbing with tremors of pleasure before he even began to move.
He retreated slowly and she surged up into him, demanding all of him. He thrust deeply into her, matching her desire with his own.
Just as they had during their midnight treks, their bodies quickly fell into sync, mirroring each other’s movements with the perfection of a symphony. The music of their souls built into a towering crescendo, their bodies pounding out the rhythm with abandon, their throats singing out the glory of their passion. It went on and on, building and building.
In the same instant their voices broke on a gasp. They froze while the climax of their lovemaking tore them free of their bodies and flung them up into the ether, away from the material world.
They hurtled back down together, the power of their release slamming them back into their bodies with a shudder of exquisite pleasure so intense they nearly lost consciousness for a moment.
Tex became aware of his breathing. He was sucking air like he’d run a marathon. Hell, a triathlon. Kimberly’s body was damp and hot beneath his. He propped himself up on one elbow and used his free hand to push her golden hair back from her forehead.
Her chest rose and fell deeply beneath his and a rosy flush tinted her entire body. Her eyes fluttered open and she stared up at him in dazed amazement.
“Welcome back,” he murmured.
“Wow,” she breathed.
He smiled at the wonder in her voice. He could lie here forever, just looking down at her. The moment was perfect. She was perfect.
Carefully he memorized her down to the very last detail. For as long as he lived, when the going got tough and he needed a reminder of why he was fighting to live, this would be the moment he hearkened back to.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Making a memory. Next time I’m about to die, this is what I’m going to think of. It will motivate me to make it out alive. And if I do die, I can’t think of a better moment in my life to have in my mind when I go.”
A soft smile curved her mouth. “What if it’s true that your last living thought colors your afterlife? You might end up being a totally lascivious ghost.”
He grinned. “Sounds like a decent way to spend eternity.”
She laughed up at him. “Men. You’re all the same.”
He rolled away from her and stood up in a single move. He held a hand down to her. “Can I interest you in another bath and maybe a bit to eat? It would need to be a quick bath, but I think we can spare a few extra minutes.”
“Two baths in one day? Will the luxury of this vacation never cease?” she teased.
“We aim to please. If you’re real lucky, I’ll catch us some fish for supper. I saw a few in the water earlier.”
She groaned with pleasure. “Fish. Something that actually qualifies as food fit for human consumption. Oh, how you spoil me.”
He leaned down and dropped a quick kiss on her upturned mouth. “I do my best, darlin’.”
KIMBERLY KNELT BY THE SHORE, rinsing t
he worst of the filth out of their clothes. She watched Tex stand motionless as a statue in thigh-deep water. He held a sharpened stick high over his shoulder. He looked like a Greek god. Apollo poised to sling his war spear.
She fed a couple more sticks into the fire he’d built before he went fishing. For some reason the very act of having a fire made her feel safer. It was an acknowledgment that they were no longer running for their lives.
She waved away a plume of smoke as an errant puff of wind blew in her direction. An abrupt flash of movement made her jump. Tex’s arm had just shot down into the water.
He lifted up the spear and a good-size fish wiggled on the end of the stick. Grinning, Tex waded to the shore.
“Hey!” she exclaimed. “You actually caught one!”
“Being a hunter is all about patience and cunning.” His eyes gleamed at her in a way that had nothing to do with fish. He knelt beside her, pulling the flopping fish off the spear. “Do you know how to prepare a fish?” he asked.
She gave him a quelling look. “My idea of preparing fish is to go to this wonderful little restaurant I know in Annapolis and tell the chef how I want it cooked.”
He laughed. “I forgot. You’re a city slicker.” He picked up the still flopping fish. A flash of silver glinted off its scales. “First order of business is to kill it. You bash it on the head with a rock or the butt of a knife.”
She winced as he demonstrated. At least the thing quit wiggling.
“Next, you chop off its head and slit its stomach from chin to tail. Then, you squeeze out all the entrails. You can just spread it flat and cook it right there, or you can cut off the tail and fillet it if you’re feeling fancy.”
She was still stuck on the squeezing-out-the-entrails part. She began to feel slightly nauseated and much less hungry for fish than she’d been a minute or two ago.
“Here. You give it a try,” he said, shoving the dead fish and his knife into her hands.
