Amador’s hand stroked the back of her hair, gently, tenderly. She felt a strange connection to him, an outcome she wondered if she should credit to Estela or the man himself. Wanting an answer, she pressed upward on her hands with what little strength she still possessed, her eyes seeking his, seeking answers. In them she found such intelligence, such gentleness, yet still he managed to exude that animal masculinity. Indeed, he took her by storm, despite the fading effects of the flower.
Abruptly Amador moved, rolling her to her back, his big body framing hers, his warm lips caressing hers for the briefest of moments. His weight rested on his arms as he stared down at her. “You trust me,” he said, and it wasn’t a question.
“Yes.”
“And I am worthy of that trust, cariña, but what if I were another? What if I had used Estela to garner your submission with dark intentions?”
She knew where he was going with this, trying to point out the dangers of Estela, the reasons she had to leave without it. She’d come too far, risked too much, to accept defeat so easily. “I chose to give myself to you because I sensed I could trust you. I had my free will.”
“There is nothing wrong with giving yourself to someone who deserves the gift you offer—and your body and your trust are gifts—but those things should be given freely and to a man who deserves them. You would have given yourself to my men, unable to stop yourself from seeking satisfaction at all cost. As your protector, I didn’t allow them to take you. I only allowed them to touch you, as they did, for one reason—to show you how easily you would have gone to a place you didn’t want to go under the flower’s influence.”
Jordon swallowed hard, her chest pounding with the rapid beats of her heart. He was right. She didn’t want him to be, but he was. She’d needed satisfaction and would have taken it however she could have gotten it, if not for him sending the other men away.
His finger brushed hair out of her eyes. “I know how important this discovery is to you. It is to me, as well. But if the flower escapes our protection here, it will be used to manipulate people. It would control humankind, rather than help it.”
Insistence and hope rose inside her. “There has to be a way to use its abilities for good.”
“I have no doubt there is a way,” he agreed readily. “And we’ve tried. What you see here is only what we’ve allowed you to see. We have great minds at work and labs with high-tech equipment. But despite decades of efforts, regardless of how it’s packaged, how it’s manipulated, the flower’s ability to control desire always prevails. Until we discover how to stop that from happening, it must stay here.” A smile touched his sensual mouth; his eyes softened. “There is only one way you can work with Estela.” He didn’t wait for an answer. “You, and your friend as well, could join us. Be a part of our research team.”
She laughed at that, a bit halfheartedly. The offer was tempting, but she had a job, family, friends at home. So did Olivia. The here and now was fantasy, a detour meant to be left behind. Still, she felt regret at the prospect of leaving it behind, not quite ready to do so.
“You could come back with us,” she countered, finding she meant the words, surprising herself with how much. “Study Estela with us. Perhaps we have resources that would help.”
“Ah, cariña, you know deep down that I, like Estela, am a part of this jungle. I belong here.”
Indeed. Part of what made him so special was the wildness beneath the surface, a wildness that could never be captive to another type of life. But she clung to more time with him. “I’m not ready to leave yet.”
“No one is rushing you,” he murmured against her lips, a second before he kissed her—a long, sensual kiss. His arousal became evident as his erection settled more fully between her legs, growing longer, fuller with each stroke of his tongue against hers. And when he slid inside her, filling her, completing her, she decided Estela had given her a gift. A gift of insight. For now she knew she was capable of giving herself to another man—and that she could trust again despite a past that had made her doubt she could. But first, before giving trust to another, she had to learn to trust herself, to trust her instincts. Instincts that she now knew would lead her to the right place—back to satisfaction, to a new life, complete with passion and pleasure.
Chapter Five
Hours later, Chale led Olivia back to the main chamber, where she found Jordon already waiting. Olivia glanced at her friend, who looked worn, satiated and alive, a new light shining in her eyes. Olivia could definitely relate.
Olivia reached out, grabbed Jordon’s hand and squeezed, happy to see her friend. Together they stood before Donato, as Chale and Amador took their seats beside him.
Donato’s soulful eyes studied the two women. After a long, thoughtful moment, he spoke in a soft tone. “What you have learned here, you will tell no other.” It was a statement, not a question.
They were both intelligent enough to know that Estela must forever remain a secret, or at least until their world was prepared for such a powerful aphrodisiac.
“We understand,” Jordon said, and they both nodded in agreement.
Donato smiled, stood and gestured with a wave. “Your guide will be waiting for you.”
Chale stepped up beside Olivia while Amador moved in next to Jordon. The two men slowly led them back outside, to the larger cavern where they’d first entered the evening before.
Olivia squinted against the morning light, surprised that the night had flown by so quickly. Her gaze raked over the majestic area, soaking in all the beauty as they followed the same path out. A moment later, they came upon the rope. Olivia glanced up to see their guide. Arms crossed, he nodded his head slowly.
Olivia gripped the rope and tugged, testing it. She turned to Jordon and noticed that she was speaking quietly with Amador.
“Perhaps we will meet again,” Amador said.
“You can still come with us,” Jordon whispered to him.
“I belong here,” Amador replied. “But perhaps one day, that will change and I will find you.”
Olivia cast one longing look Chale’s way, keeping the memories of his erotic touch close until they, too, met again, as she somehow knew they would.
As though reading her thoughts, Chale smiled, gathered her into his arms and brushed his lips over hers. “Until we meet again, little one.”
“Until we meet again,” she whispered into his mouth.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-2106-6
Primal Instincts
Copyright © 2008 by Cathryn Fox and Lisa Renee Jones
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
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