by Elle Kennedy
He left her only to grab a condom from the kit in his pack, and then he was sheathed and ready and lifting her up. She wrapped her legs around him as he took her right there, standing up against the wall. They both groaned at that first upward thrust.
Pressure built in his groin, in his throat, his heart, and he couldn’t have controlled his rough, hurried thrusts even if he’d tried. He wanted her too badly, needed this too greatly, and so he closed his eyes and lost himself in Eva. Each stroke sent him careening closer to the edge, and he slammed into her, over and over again, latching his mouth to her neck and sucking on her hot flesh as his body drove them straight to paradise.
When he felt her inner muscles clamp over him and heard her cry out in release, he let himself go. The climax shook through his body with the force of a hurricane. His heart thundered and his knees almost buckled, and as he struggled to catch his breath, he was vaguely aware of something wet tickling his shoulder.
Breathing hard, he glanced down to see Eva’s eyes sparkling with tears. She was crying again, but before he could question her, she let out a shaky breath and said, “Don’t tell me I can’t cry for you. Because I can.”
He didn’t argue. Instead, he just stood there, still lodged deep inside her warmth, holding her tightly against him as she cried the tears that he couldn’t.
* * *
Three hours later, the rain hadn’t let up. If anything, it only got worse, the wind increasing in velocity and gusting into the opening of the cave, bringing a chill into the dank, shadowy space. Eva snuggled closer to Tate, who was lying on his back with one arm wrapped around her. They’d gotten dressed after the intense encounter against the wall, but rather than putting distance between them once their clothes were back on, Tate had surprised her by creating a makeshift bed for them on the cold ground and pulling her down beside him.
They lay under a thermal blanket, but even without it, she would have been toasty warm. Tate’s body was like a furnace, radiating heat even while a torrential storm raged outside the cave.
“I didn’t think tropical storms reached this far inland,” she mused in the darkness, listening to the shriek of the wind.
“Me, either.” He jostled her by giving his trademark shrug. “But hopefully it’ll stop raining soon so we can get moving.”
Uneasiness crawled up her throat like a colony of ants. “Tonight? You want to leave tonight?”
“I want this over as soon as possible,” he replied in a flat tone. “The faster I slit that bastard’s throat, the faster I get back to my men, and you get back to your son.”
His brutal words painted a grisly picture, but Eva didn’t begrudge him his bloodlust. Hector had brutally murdered Tate’s brother, after all. And the more she got to know Tate, the more she realized he wasn’t the indifferent, ruthless warrior he made himself out to be. He cared about people a whole lot more than he let on. The ravaged look in his eyes when he’d come back from burying Ben had said more than Tate’s gruff words ever could.
He’d lost a friend tonight. He’d lost a brother. He’d lost his team.
And all that loss ate him up inside, no matter how much he pretended it didn’t.
“You really just want to be alone?” she heard herself asking. “You want to live your life without letting a single person in?”
He stayed quiet, and she could feel the discomfort rolling off him in waves. “Why does it bother you so much?” he finally muttered. “There are worse things than solitude, Eva.”
“I know. It’s just...don’t you ever get tired of your own company? Don’t you feel the need to get close to someone else?”
“Getting close always ends in one thing—misery.” A tiny note of bitterness hung on his words. “One day you’ll learn that the only person you can trust is yourself, sweetheart.”
“So you didn’t trust your brother?” she challenged.
“I trusted Will as much as I could. But one hundred percent pure, blind trust? Nobody will ever get that from me.”
“That’s sad.”
His harsh laughter echoed in the darkness. “You want sad? I trusted the woman who gave birth to me to take care of me, and she chose to take care of herself instead, by pumping poison into her veins. I trusted the man who sired me to step in and fix things, and he decided to use me as a punching bag instead. I trusted my government to protect me, and now I’m being hunted like a dog.” His ragged breathing heated her forehead. “How’s that for sad, baby?”
Her heart wept for him. “Tate—”
“No pity, Eva. No sympathy, no reassurances. I’ve accepted the cold hard reality of it—you get close, you get betrayed. That’s the running motif of my life, and that’s why I’m not just okay with being alone, I embrace it.”
“I guess I understand that,” she conceded. “But me? I don’t think I’d want to be alone.”
He chuckled. “One thing I’ve discovered over the years is that not a lot of people can stand their own company. In fact, they’re so uncomfortable with themselves and out of touch with who they are that they surround themselves with other people in order to define themselves.”
“Oh, I know who I am, and trust me, I’m fine with it. I can be alone if I need to be, but like I said, I wouldn’t want to. I like having someone else to talk to, someone to share my thoughts and feelings with.” Her throat closed up. “I’ve been lonely the past three years. Do you ever get lonely, Tate?”
To her surprise, he caressed her shoulder, his rough-skinned fingers tickling her skin. “Yeah,” he admitted. “I do.”
“What’s your coping strategy? How do you cheer up when you feel lonely?”
“I remind myself of all the crap that’s happened in my life. I remind myself why I chose to be alone.”
“That’s...depressing.”
He hesitated. “What do you do?”
“I think of my son. Everything I’ve done these past three years, all the new houses and new names and new places—they were all to protect Rafe. So it doesn’t matter if I feel happy and fulfilled, all that matters is that Rafe is, and it doesn’t matter if I’m sad or lonely, as long as he isn’t. That little boy is my entire life. He’s the only thing that matters.”
Tate fell silent again. She felt his heart beating beneath her ear, a steady, comforting rhythm that brought a sense of peace she hadn’t felt in years. Tate might be rough around the edges, cold at times, arrogant at others, but she couldn’t deny that he made her feel protected. She’d actually managed to get some real, satisfying sleep since she’d teamed up with him. She could close her eyes and let her guard down because she knew that Tate would keep her safe, and the realization brought prickles of discomfort to her skin.
She trusted him. Somehow, during this past week, she’d come to trust Tate.
“Let’s get some shut-eye.” His raspy voice broke through her disconcerting thoughts. “I want to head out the moment the rain stops.”
“Okay,” she murmured, snuggling closer.
But she was still thinking about what it all meant—trusting Tate—as she drifted off to sleep.
* * *
When two days passed and the storm showed no indications of abating, Tate was beginning to think he and Eva would never be on the move again. Outside, the slope had turned into an ocean of mud, making it difficult to leave the cave without the risk of being carried away by a mudslide. He and Eva only ventured out to use nature’s bathroom, and each time they did, the rain and wind nearly knocked them off their feet.
Fortunately, they had plenty of food in the form of the MREs, beef jerky, crackers and bottled water Tate had shoved into Ben’s duffel before they’d left the cabin. They couldn’t start a fire because the cave didn’t offer much in terms of a chimney, but they had a blanket, and they could share body heat—which they did. A lot. With nothing to do but sit and wait out the storm, getting naked had become the best way to pass the time.
And though he’d never say it out loud, he’d enjoyed being with Eva th
ese past two days. He’d enjoyed it immensely.
“Why don’t you believe me?” she demanded.
Her annoyed tone made him chuckle. So did the way she scowled at him, as if he’d accused her of committing a major crime when all he’d done was express a teeny bit of doubt about her response to his question. Out of sheer boredom, they’d started talking about what they envisioned to be the perfect life, and Eva’s description had definitely triggered his skepticism.
“Because it doesn’t seem like something you’d be into,” he replied, rolling his eyes. “You want to live out in the boonies, have a bunch of dogs, let your kid run wild and pretty much isolate yourself from society.”
Her scowl deepened. “What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing’s wrong with it. In fact, it’s exactly...”
Exactly what he wanted for himself. Minus the kid part, of course.
But he didn’t finish that thought. Instead, he trailed off, and searched her gorgeous blue eyes for a sign that she was joking around.
Her expression remained dead serious. “I hate cities,” she said frankly. “I grew up in Manhattan and hated every second of it. The crowds, the traffic, the pollution, the noise. I told you how every summer my parents would rent a cabin in Vermont, right? Well, it was all I looked forward to all year. That’s when I knew I belonged in the boonies.”
“Yeah, and what about your trusty computer?” he countered. “Seems like your love for technology doesn’t mesh with the country life.”
She shrugged, causing several strands of black hair to fall over one of her bare shoulders. The only light came from the flashlight resting on a ledge above Eva’s head, and the yellow glow created a halo effect and made her blue eyes sparkle.
She was sitting cross-legged beside him, while he was sprawled on his back, and he reached out to tuck her silky hair behind her ear. For some reason, he’d been touching her far too frequently during this forced confinement, and not just during the sex. Stroking her hair, rubbing her back, brushing his fingers over her slender arm. He couldn’t seem to stop himself, and damn, but it felt nice touching Eva. She was so soft and warm and womanly that he simply couldn’t resist.
“All I need is an internet connection,” she said. “I already told you, I want to design software, maybe contract myself out to companies who are worried about the security of their websites and databases. I can do that from anywhere.”
“True,” he agreed. “But I still can’t picture you living in the middle of nowhere.”
“I’m a simple girl, Tate. I like the outdoors, I love big, open spaces, and I hate all the superficial stuff that so many people are obsessed with.” Her perfect lips quirked in a smile. “I don’t want my son to be superficial, either. I want him to run around outside and have fun adventures and discover new things, not sit inside playing video games all day. It’s important for him to learn how to use technology, but I don’t want that to define him, you know?”
Tate had already lost count of how many times he’d had to hide his deep approval for this woman. Eva continued to surprise him—she was far more intelligent than he ever would have guessed, had a sensible head on her shoulders, fiercely spoke her mind, was quick to laugh, easy to talk to.
He couldn’t remember ever liking or respecting a woman this much, and it troubled the hell out of him that his guard was slowly lowering in her company. He wasn’t supposed to trust or care about her, yet the longer this storm raged on, the more his defenses began to crumble. He couldn’t even believe half the stuff he’d told her—about his family, his brother, his need for solitude. He always tried to keep a distance from other people, but with Eva...damn it, with Eva, he only seemed to pull her closer and closer.
“Oh, no.” She suddenly grimaced. “I have to pee.”
Tate had to grin. “I already told you, it’s fine if you want to go in the corner. I’ll close my eyes.”
She looked horrified. “I refuse to do my business in this cave. I’d rather get wet and muddy.”
He laughed as he watched her stumble to her feet. She wore nothing but a white button-down shirt and black bikini panties, and her legs were long and smooth, her delicate feet bare. With her hair loose and her cheeks flushed, she made a truly spectacular picture. His body, of course, immediately responded to her, which wasn’t a surprise seeing as getting hard for this woman had become a habit he couldn’t kick.
“I’ll be right back,” she said, reaching for the second flashlight sitting on top of her pack.
She switched it on and pointed the shaft of light at the entrance of the cave. The rain was still pouring, a constant stream of water that didn’t seem at all interested in easing up. The only upside was that the air itself remained hot and humid, so when you stepped into the rain, it was like entering a warm bath.
After Eva left the cave, Tate sat up and rummaged around for his T-shirt, which he pulled over his head before searching for his pants. Once he was dressed, he did a quick inventory of his pack, made sure their food and water supply wasn’t dwindling, checked his ammo situation and examined the contents of the first-aid kit. That final task had his eyebrows shooting up. He’d lost track of the number of times he and Eva had wound up naked over the past forty-eight hours, but judging by the solitary condom left in the plastic pouch, they’d clearly reached nymphomaniac status.
Zipping up the bag, he stood up and headed to the cave’s entrance, swallowing his rising frustration as he gazed out at the relentless rain. They’d already been delayed two days, and he didn’t like it one damn bit. The only saving grace was that the soldiers who’d ambushed Ben at the cabin were probably grounded, too. This area was notorious for mud- and landslides—nobody would be stupid enough to be on the mountain in this weather. Nevertheless, he’d feel better once they were no longer sitting ducks, and on the move.
“Eeeek!”
The shrill female cry interrupted the steady pounding of the rain and made Tate’s stomach go rigid.
“Eva?” he shouted.
When there was no answer, he sprang to action, a rush of adrenaline whipping through his veins and making his pulse speed up.
He didn’t bother putting on his boots, just tore out of the cave barefoot, cringing when his feet sank into a thick layer of slimy brown mud. It was late morning, but the sky was so overcast it looked more like twilight. Running wasn’t an option, not unless he wanted to slide down the slope and break both his legs, and panic hammered a reckless beat in his chest as he moved as fast as he could in the direction Eva usually went to take care of business.
“Eva!” he yelled again.
No answer.
His panic intensified. Christ, why wasn’t she answering?
He followed the muddy terrain toward a set of huge jagged boulders in the distance, unable to control the frantic thumping of his heart. What if the soldiers had grabbed her, or an animal attacked her, or—
He staggered to a stop when he rounded the boulders and spotted her.
“Thank God,” he blurted out.
Then he noticed her predicament and burst out laughing.
“Don’t you dare laugh at me,” she ordered, her jaw so tight he knew she was grinding her teeth.
“You okay?” he asked between chuckles.
Looking pissed off and mortified, Eva lay on her back, covered from head to toe in mud. Her shirt was no longer white but brown, and the mud and rain had caked her hair to her head and was dripping down her face, making her look like a creature out of a horror movie.
“I tripped,” she grumbled. “Got the wind knocked out of me. Tried to get up and tripped again.”
Tate stifled another laugh and managed a supportive nod. “I can see that.” He tilted his head. “You need a hand, or are you just going to lie there in the mud for the rest of the day?”
Her bottom lip stuck out in defeat. “I need a hand.”
Lips twitching with amusement, he carefully walked over to her and extended his hand. The second their fingers to
uched, he realized her evil intentions, but by then it was too damn late.
Eva tugged on his hand and he came crashing down on top of her, sending wet muck sailing in all directions.
“You little...” He spat mud from his mouth, then tried to wipe his face only to make it worse.
“That’s what you get for laughing at me,” she said, wiggling beneath him. “A true gentleman politely keeps his mouth shut in the face of a lady’s humiliation.”
“I’m no gentleman, sweetheart.” And then he proceeded to prove it by sliding his wet, dirty hands beneath her wet, dirty shirt.
She squeaked in surprise, then moaned and arched her spine, pushing her breasts into his palms. Her enthusiasm made him groan. She was always so eager for him, so ready and willing and welcoming, no matter when he reached for her, no matter how rough he was.
He hated to admit it, but he didn’t have the upper hand anymore. He’d lost that sometime over the past two days, when his desire for Eva had reached a new level of desperation that both shamed and thrilled him.
“I love it when you touch me like this.” She sighed happily as he gently squeezed her breasts.
“I love touching you like this,” he answered gruffly.
He swept his thumbs over her distended nipples, and she moaned again. The husky sound teased his senses and stirred his cock, which grew hard, heavy, pulsing with need.
Neither of them seemed to care that they were lying on the wet, muddy ground. In fact, Tate was completely oblivious to his surroundings as he captured her mouth with his and kissed her, long, deep and thorough. The rain continued to fall, soaking them both as they lay there kissing, drowning out all sound and reason.
“I didn’t bring a condom out,” he murmured.
“That’s probably a good thing, because I don’t think I want mud getting all over my delicate parts,” she said wryly. She slid her hand between their bodies and rubbed her palm over the bulge in his pants. “But I think we can arrange something for you.”