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This was horrifying and ridiculous at the same time. In a minute she’d have to cross her legs. She might as well get the humiliation over with and admit her dilemma. “Um, I have to...”
He blinked at her. Then his eyes widened. “Oh! Yeah. Sure. Me, too.” His expression reverted to soldier-on-a-mission. “I’ll take the north, you take the south.” With a nod of his head he indicated to his right, then his left. She hadn’t seen him check a compass, so how could he possibly know which way was north?
Even as he disappeared into the vegetation to their right, she stood frozen. The crunching of leaves beneath his feet silenced. But even in the stillness, insects buzzed and birds called. Monkeys chattered. What if he was attacked by an animal or bit by a snake? What if he didn’t come back? Irrational fear seized her. No way could she tramp off into the dense jungle forest alone, no matter how badly she needed to—
“All done?”
Gabby snapped her head toward Clay. “I don’t think I can.”
His gaze drifted away and his jaw muscle ticked. The green face paint was wearing off in patches where he’d wiped at sweat. A shaft of sunlight hit his cheek as he stepped forward. “Sure you can.” He took her arm and propelled her a few feet into the undergrowth. “I’ll be right here. You go ahead, now.” Putting a thin tree between them, he spun on his boot heel and folded his arms, staring off into the distance.
But Clay’s close proximity caused a different dilemma. He might not be able to see her with his back turned, but he would still be able to hear her. Maybe the deafening sounds of nature would drown her out.
But...snakes.
“Um, Clay?”
“Yeah?”
“Can I borrow your knife?”
No answer. Maybe he didn’t trust her with a dangerous weapon. Then he unsnapped the leather holster at his hip and pulled out the wicked-looking knife, flipped it, caught it by the blade and extended the handle toward her.
She swallowed and took it. “Thank you.” Only then did she realize what needed doing actually required two free hands. After dithering a moment, she stuck the handle of the knife between her teeth, thoroughly checked the ground for anything slithering nearby and then got on with it.
When she approached him, he handed her the water bottle without a word and she returned his knife and rinsed her hands, and they headed back to the makeshift path he’d been cutting for them. A wave of exhaustion overcame her when she thought about continuing on. Her back stung. She was hot, and sticky, and her feet burned where the heels chafed, and— “Listen to yourself, you whiny baby! At least you’re alive.”
Clay was waiting for her, watching her with a wary expression. She realized she’d spoken out loud. Great, now he’d think she was bonkers. She knew she tended to talk to herself a lot. Most of the time, it didn’t matter.
“You good to go?” He was waiting for her, so she smiled and nodded, and trudged on.
She lost all sense of time as the day wore on. She thought about being home in San Juan, how glad her parents would be to see her again. About Jorge, and Bernard, and Patricia. She missed them. And she fingered her Mary medal as she prayed to her Abuelita. She couldn’t wait to see Mama and Papa. Finally, twilight settled over the tall trees. Clay hadn’t said a word. Even when he occasionally handed her the water bottle. “By tomorrow I’ll have a cool shower and clean clothes.” One foot in front of the other. “And I’m going to brush my teeth twice, and wash my hair three times and buy a new—”
Clay spun and clamped a hand over her mouth.
* * *
CLAY HELD A finger in front of his lips. He’d heard voices at three o’clock, speaking in what he thought must be Guarani, a native language of Paraguay. That, by itself, didn’t mean much. Over 80 percent of Paraguayans spoke Guarani. And he’d only been able to catch a few words. But one of them had been a Spanish word thrown in: Americano.
They were going to have to double back. He hoped not very far or they risked missing the helo. Then he recognized what else he heard in the distance. The roar of rushing water. They were closer to the Rio Bermejo than he’d thought. Thanks to Gabby’s fortitude, they’d made good time. Even if she had talked for most of the afternoon. He didn’t think she was even aware she’d been talking out loud. And the crazy thing was, he hadn’t minded. He’d liked listening to her voice, liked hearing about her close-knit family.
Mentally going over the map he’d studied on the plane ride down, he guesstimated the distance to the river. If they could travel by water tonight—depending on the current—they could make up the time they’d lose doubling back. He just really hadn’t wanted to travel at night. Lighting their way might as well shine a big bull’s-eye on their position.
But before he could worry about that, they had to avoid detection by the men who’d been asking about the Americanos. Slowly, he lifted his hand off Gabby’s mouth, slid his Sig from its shoulder holster and signaled to Gabby to stay put while he investigated the possible unfriendly’s position.
Careful to step light and move slow, Clay inched up to the edge of the clearing. He took up position behind a tree, pulled out his binoculars and spied a farmer in his wide-brimmed hat leading an ox away from the creek. No sign of anyone else. He scanned the meadow, but daylight was fading fast. Then, on the edge of his vision he caught a shadow. Two shadows. He lifted the binoculars again. They were armed. And they were headed this way.
When he returned to Gabby she was standing exactly where he’d left her, still, and as frightened as a deer in headlights. But she wasn’t panicking. And she’d obeyed his order. Which he hadn’t been sure he could count on.
Knowing how sound could carry, he spoke low in her ear. “We’re turning around. Follow the path I cleared, move quickly, but try to step softly. All right?”
Her breathing was shallow, but she nodded and did as he asked. Clay followed behind her trying to cover their tracks as best he could. He hadn’t disturbed the vegetation at the edge of the meadow. With any luck, the hunters wouldn’t find their trail.
They’d traveled only ten minutes before darkness swallowed the forest and he was forced to click on his pin light. He covered the top and shone it only on the jungle floor, but he still felt like he might as well have gift wrapped their position to the kidnappers. His gut clenched as he heard leaves rustling behind them.
He clicked off the light, grabbed Gabby and pulled her off the path. Hand over her mouth again, he held her still and waited.
Frogs croaked. Crickets chirped. A pygmy owl hooted.
The rustling drew closer. The kidnappers were practically on top of them, the shafts of light from their flashlights barely missing them. Gabby tensed and tightened her arms around his waist. He didn’t know when they’d put their arms around each other, but he lowered his head close to hers and stroked her hair. He still held his Sig in the other hand down by his side, slowed his breathing and prepared to spin and shoot.
The bandits walked right past them. The sounds of their crunching footsteps faded.
Clay became aware of her breathing, her soft breasts pressed against his chest. She lifted her face and her lips brushed his with a quick intake of breath.
He didn’t move, letting his mouth hover over hers. She let out the softest moan. She was so small, petite, the top of her head barely reached his shoulders, but her body was full and lush, her stomach cushioning his growing hard-on.
His blood pounding, his pulse racing, he wanted to take her trembling lips with his so badly.
Don’t do it.
He dropped his hands and stepped back. Closing his eyes, he drew in a deep, clearing breath. His mission was hostage rescue. That should be his only thought. Getting Gabby out of Paraguay safe and sound. Not how he wanted to pull her to him and kiss her. And certainly not how he wished he could cup her breasts in his palms, slide his hand—
Right, Bellamy. Get your head in the game. She was his responsibility.
He had to get control of himself and figure out what their next move would be. But, now that the immediate danger had passed, all he could think about was how she’d felt in his arms, how her quiet little moan had made his body come alive.
“Are they— Are they gone?” she whispered.
Snapping back to the here and now, he focused on the sounds of the jungle around them. “Long gone. We’re safe for now.” He holstered the Sig while he ran through various scenarios in his head. Night had shrouded the jungle in darkness. He had his night vision goggles, but Gabby would be left trailing after him essentially blind. And he couldn’t risk lighting their way again. No choice now. “We’ll hunker down here for the night, and then make our way to the extraction point at first light.”
That decided, he slid out his knife, slipped the goggles down over his eyes and cut several large, smooth palm fronds to build a makeshift cover. Chances were it’d be misting, if not outright raining before dawn.
He whispered for Gabby to join him under the leafy umbrella, but she didn’t move. “You checked for snakes?”
He smiled as he flipped the goggles onto the top of his head. “All clear.”
With a brief flash of white teeth, she sat beside him and he retrieved his MRE from his pack and offered it to her. “Dinner is served, ma’am.”
He could tell she was trying not to grab it from him and devour every bite. “Don’t you want some?”
“Not really hungry.” He pushed the ready meal into her hand.
Ignoring his growling stomach, he sipped the last of his water. They’d be at the river by oh-seven-hundred. And back at forward base by lunch. He’d gone way longer than this without eating. Even before he joined the military.
After hesitating a moment, she shrugged and finished off the food in minutes along with most of her water, then borrowed his knife again, along with his night vision goggles, and disappeared a couple of yards away. When she needed to return he called softly so she could sound her way back.
She dropped down next to him, returned his goggles and then scooted closer, leaning on his arm. “How far to the rescue site?”
“Less than a mile, I’d say. I’ll wake you when it’s time to go.” He slipped the strap of the goggles over his head and scanned the area.
“Do you think they’ll come back?”
“Doubtful. They won’t want to travel far in this jungle at night any more than we do.”
“Still...”
When she didn’t finish her thought, he asked, “What?”
“Do you have an extra gun?”
He did, but he wasn’t about to give it to her. “You had any training with a weapon?”
“No, but—”
“Tell you what. There are a few basic moves that’ll get you out of any hold.”
“Oh, like self-defense stuff?”
“Yeah, I could teach you a couple, all right?”
“Okay. I should know how to defend myself. That was one of the things I thought of the last couple of da—ys.” A huge yawn interrupted the end of her sentence and her head landed on his shoulder.
“You should get some rest.”
“You promise you’ll teach me those moves?”
Clay smiled. The last couple of words had been mumbled. He’d bet she was barely awake. “I promise.” If they had time, he would. “Now try to sleep.”
There was silence for a moment before she raised her head. “Aren’t you sleeping, too?”
“I’m going to keep watch for a while.”
He heard her exhale a large sigh, and then lowered her head back onto his shoulder. “Okay, good night.”
After less than a minute her head drooped forward, and he slipped his arm around her as she slumped into his lap.
Clay tried to ignore her soft body pressing into him. He listened past the bird calls and chirping insects for any man-made sounds, and scanned the area continuously while his charge slept the sleep of the exhausted, mumbling, at times moaning, or sighing. She wasn’t a quiet sleeper either.
After another moan she turned and nuzzled into his stomach. Great. His body had a will of its own when it came to a woman’s mouth being that close to his cock. His pants got uncomfortable and he tried to slowly shift their positions.
“What?” She lifted her head, the whites of her eyes blinking up at him. She sat up, pushing off his thigh with her hand. Her palm cupped his rock-hard erection. But instead of moving her hand away, she stilled. Several beats passed, yet he allowed her hand to stay where it was. She slowly began to trace his cock up to its root and back down to the tip again.
He bit off a strangled sound. Before he could stop her she cupped his face in her palms and fit her lips to his, at the same time she rose up and straddled his thigh. He pressed her close, all the while his brain was shouting for him to get control. When she rubbed her hot center against him, he got even harder. He hadn’t thought that could be possible. He felt her fingers run over the short hair at the back of his head and he gave in, returning her kiss, coaching her to open to him, deepening it.
Her lips were as full and lush as her body. He cupped and squeezed her butt, and she hummed her approval. He lost himself so much that, when she would’ve pulled away, he followed and lingered, teasing her with his tongue. He wanted more.
She was kissing him for all she was worth, and he was letting her. His mind was thinking any minute now he’d stop. He shouldn’t do this. But his mouth moved over hers with the hunger of a teenage boy.
When she finally came up for air, she was still clinging to his face, stroking his temples. “Make love to me, Clay.”
4 (#ulink_0a464989-06f7-5c12-94f7-db45725948f7)
EVEN IN THE PITCH-DARK, Gabby could tell she’d made a huge mistake.
Clay froze for an instant, then set her off his lap and sprang to his feet. “I need to check the perimeter,” he said tonelessly. His shadow moved silently away.
Her face flamed and she closed her eyes. She couldn’t believe she’d done that.
But she refused to regret it. She shoved her thick, tangled hair away from her face. She’d been kidnapped, thrown into a hole in the ground, shot at and almost bitten by a deadly snake. And she wasn’t safe yet.
What about all the things she’d never done? All the risks she’d never taken, the chances that might have been lost forever. All her life she’d let fear prevent her from truly living. And fear of what? Of making a fool of herself? She’d survive that. Clay had returned her kiss. And that hard length beneath her palm had not been his gun. Her thighs clenched in need just thinking about the feel of him beneath her hand. Remembering his mouth moving over hers, his tongue, his hands caressing down her hips...
Was she going to worry about disappointing her parents? That, too, seemed so irrelevant now. What if she died without having really lived?
She clasped her Mary medal. She was done worrying about what other people thought. Done being the good girl. From now on she was going to live life to the fullest. Take risks. Go for it.
Resolve swept over her, winding its way through her psyche, obliterating her embarrassment.
“You awake?” As quietly as he’d left, Clay returned, giving her a verbal warning in his soft Southern drawl before he crouched beside her.
“Yes.” She definitely wasn’t going back to sleep anytime soon.
An awkward silence passed. One thing she did regret was that her actions had made him feel uncomfortable. “Look, I’m sorry, I—”
“No. I get it. You’ve been through a lot. It’s the whole ‘Speed’ thing, right? Shared danger can produce intense feelings of intimacy. But that doesn’t mean they’re real feelings.”
“No.” She fiddled with the collar of her blouse, pulling the ends together. “That’s not it.”
“Believe me. Situations like this—it’s pretty normal.”
“No, you don’t understand.” Through the dark she found the shadow where she thought his face was. “I could’ve died. Still could. And there’s so much I’ve never done. Never experienced. And I don’t want to die without knowing what it’s like to...to be with someone.”
The sound of chirping crickets in the face of Clay’s silence would’ve struck her as comical if she wasn’t so mortified. She wished she could at least see his expression. Did he get what she was saying? Did he understand?
Growing up, she’d been taught sex was something sacred between a husband and a wife. That her body was something she needed to respect and save for marriage. And even if she had been tempted as she got older, her average looks and nerdy shyness had kept the big decision out of her hands.
Once she reached college she hadn’t remained a virgin out of some sense of morality or even inhibition. She’d come close a couple of times. But the longer she waited, the more important it seemed that it should be with the right guy. And so far...the right guy had never turned up. Until now.
“You’ve never...?” Clay sounded incredulous. Of course he was shocked that any twenty-six-year-old would still be a virgin. And worse, he was horrified. As if he thought she still wanted him to...accommodate her.
Gabby pressed her palms to her eyes. Why had she told him? Why had she felt the need to explain? If only she had just kept quiet, and let the moment pass. She uncovered her eyes. “Oh, please can we just forget the whole thing?”
After another long moment, she felt him shift to a sitting position, caught an impression of his arms hanging off his knees. “Got about two, maybe three hours till dawn.”
Thank goodness he wasn’t any more anxious to pursue the subject than she was.
She nodded. He probably couldn’t see her, but his announcement hadn’t really required an answer.
