“Yeah, well, I thought about letting you sink, but I wasn’t sure how to work your stove.” She was uncomfortable with the look shining in his eyes.
His mouth curved into a smile, but he didn’t take his eyes off her face. “Good thing for me I never taught you how to use it, right?”
“Right,” she said. Her breath tangled in her throat as she stared back at him, caught in the unexpected tenderness in his eyes. She leaned forward, planning only on brushing his lips with her own, and suddenly he had his arms wrapped around her.
“God, Andi,” he said, his mouth buried against her hair. “I’ve put you through one hellish experience after another on this trip.”
“No, you haven’t,” she said, her voice fierce. “Paolo and I wouldn’t have made it this far it without you. You saved us, Chase.”
His mouth found hers in an urgent kiss. He tasted of desperation and need, and his hands trembled when he framed her face. She wound her arms around his neck, losing herself in him. He groaned and pulled her closer.
Suddenly he pulled away. “I’m covered with mud,” he muttered.
When she opened her eyes she saw the need in his face, along with the doubt. “Gee, that’s too bad. And here I’m wearing pearls and my best party dress.” She gave him a smile. “It’s a good thing we’re right next to a stream, isn’t it?”
A smile flitted over his face and he reached out and touched her cheek. “You’re something else, Andi McGinnis. Did anyone ever tell you that?”
“Many times,” she said dryly. “Usually it was you.”
His eyes softened. “I didn’t know you before. Now I do.”
“You don’t know me, Chase. Not really.”
He put his finger over her mouth. “I know all I need to know.”
Tell him, a voice inside her cried. Tell him the real truth about you. But before she could speak, he leaned forward and kissed her again. There was such tenderness in the kiss, such sweetness, that she melted inside. This wasn’t the Chase Remington the world knew. This was the Chase Remington he kept carefully hidden.
It was also the Chase Remington she couldn’t resist. Sighing against his mouth, she opened to him and wrapped her arms around him. When they tumbled back onto the ground, she twined her legs around him, pressing against him from ankle to chest. And when he rose above her, she opened her eyes and smiled at him.
“All that mud can’t be comfortable for you,” she murmured. “Maybe you should get out of those clothes.”
His eyes darkened as he stared down at her. “Be sure this is what you want, Andi.”
“I’m very sure.”
“I’m not what you need. I have nothing to give you,” he warned.
“I think you’re exactly what I need,” she said.
“I don’t believe in happily ever after,” he said, staring down at her as if waiting for her to challenge him.
She didn’t want to think about happily ever after, either. She hadn’t for the past twelve years. “Then let’s just think about right now.”
Still he hesitated. “What about the kid?”
She glanced over at the infant. “Paolo is sound asleep. If he wakes up, we’ll be the first to know.”
She watched his face tighten and passion flare in his eyes. “That’s about as noble as I can be, Andi.” He bent down and took her mouth again, consuming her with his kiss. She felt his passion and his need in the tension in his muscles and the trembling of his hands. And then she felt nothing but her own need for him.
It swept through her like fire, burning away all hesitation, all doubt. This was what she wanted. Chase had haunted her mind for the past three years, refusing to go away, no matter how much she’d willed him gone. He’d been a part of her dreams, a missing part of her life, ever since she’d met him.
She had been waiting for this moment, she realized. As he fitted her into the curve of his body, nothing felt more right. And suddenly she’d waited too long. She wanted to touch him, to see him in the mottled light that filtered through the trees next to the stream.
Her fingers trembled as she began to unbutton his shirt. When she had trouble getting one button through its hole, he gently pushed her hands away. “Let me.”
He pulled the shirt over his head and tossed it aside, then she reached out and touched his chest, running her fingers through the dark blond hair. Desire flared in his eyes, but he didn’t move. He simply sat and watched as she explored him.
When her fingers tangled in the hair that trailed down over his hard abdomen and disappeared into the waistband of his pants, he took her hand and brought it to his mouth. “It’s my turn,” he whispered.
He pulled off her T-shirt. Without taking his eyes from her body, he unsnapped the front hook of her bra and let it fall away, exposing her breasts.
She had never sat naked while a man stared at her, and she instinctively moved to cover herself. He caught her hands and kissed them, then held them gently with one of his own hands while he touched her lightly with the other.
“It’s a good thing I didn’t know how beautiful you are,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I wouldn’t have been able to control myself this long.”
She swallowed once, desire pounding through her, making her throb and ache for his touch. “Same here, Remington.”
As he leaned forward to kiss her, his hands cupped her breasts. They swelled and ached, and he finally brushed his thumbs over her nipples. He swallowed her cry of surprise, then groaned as he eased her back onto the ground.
“You make me wild, Andi. You make me forget everything but you.”
“Good,” she said fiercely. She wanted him to be in the same mindless state as she was in. She could think of nothing but him, feel nothing but him.
Swiftly he stripped off his pants, then hers. When they both lay naked on the ground, he stared down at her for a long moment. Then his eyes darkened and he gathered her close.
His kisses were hot and possessive, reaching deep into her soul and branding her as his. He touched her everywhere, his hands stroking and caressing until she sobbed his name. “I need you, Chase. Now.”
He kissed her one more time, then eased away. “Hold that thought,” he whispered.
She opened her eyes in confusion to see him rummaging through his backpack. A few moments later he turned back to her, a small foil packet in his hand.
“I guess you meant it when you said you were prepared for anything,” she murmured.
He gave her a quick smile. “But I’m sure glad I have them. I wouldn’t want to put you at risk.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him that she didn’t care, but she stopped in time, appalled at herself. Of course she cared if she got pregnant. A baby and a family weren’t in her plans. What was wrong with her?
Then Chase kissed her again, and the uneasiness slid out of her mind. She pulled him close, and he slipped between her legs. She rose to meet him, join ing with him almost fiercely. He groaned her name, and she wrapped her legs around him.
They moved together, joined completely, and he twined his hands with hers. Sensation coiled inside her, more and more tightly, until she exploded, gasping his name, holding him as closely as she could. He tensed above her. She felt him shudder, heard him cry out with his orgasm. Then he rolled over and cradled her on top of him.
Chase drew in a shuddering breath. He could feel Andi’s heart beating wildly under his hand as she sprawled bonelessly on top of him. He wanted to lie on this riverbank forever, holding her close, listening to her breathe.
A warning signal flashed in his brain, but he ignored it. He and Andi both knew the score. He’d told her that he wasn’t interested in happily ever after. She wasn’t, either. They could enjoy each other while it lasted, then part amicably.
But his arms didn’t want to let her go. He turned and nuzzled her hair, drinking in her scent. She pressed her mouth to his chest, and he felt himself stir again.
“Now you’re just as muddy as I am,” he said,
draping a strand of her hair behind her ear.
“Hmm.” She rubbed her leg along his, and desire flared. “I think I like it. It feels…kinky.”
He grinned into her hair, remembering her surprised responses to their lovemaking. “Honey, you wouldn’t know kinky if it stepped on your foot.”
“Is that so?” She raised her head to shoot him a look he was beginning to recognize, and he struggled to hold back the grin. He loved the way she snapped at the bait whenever he dangled it.
“I think it is.” He stared at her, keeping his face straight but knowing she would see the laughter in his eyes.
“We’ll just see about that.”
She pushed herself up on her hands, and the smile faded from his eyes to be replaced by a look of fierce need. He wanted her again, more than he had just minutes ago. That had never happened before. Once he made love with a woman, he generally only wanted to get away. But not this time. Not with Andi.
He closed his arms around her and brought her close for a kiss. “Let’s see how kinky you can get.”
A long time later Chase rose above her and bent down to give her a kiss. “That wasn’t bad, but I think we can do better.”
She opened her eyes and gave him a sleepy satisfied smile. “We’ll just have to practice, I guess.”
He felt himself hardening again at the look in her eyes. “I’ll hold you to that.”
She struggled to sit up next to him. “You can hold me to anything you want.”
He wanted her again, more desperately than before. They had just made love twice, pouring themselves into each other, and the need that surged through him made him uneasy. So instead of bending down and kissing her again, he picked her up and tossed her into the stream.
Sputtering and laughing, she smacked her hand against the surface of the water and splashed him. Then she closed her eyes and lay back, letting the slow-moving water run over her.
He definitely needed to get her out of this stream and back into her clothes, Chase thought as he watched her. Every movement she made was seductive, made more so by her utter unselfconsciousness. She was too innocent to realize what she was doing to him.
“We need to get rinsed off,” he said gruffly, easing into the stream. “Paolo will be awake soon.”
She shot up out of the water, a horrified look on her face. “I forgot all about him!” she cried.
“I hope so.” He stood up, turning away from her. He was distinctly uncomfortable with his body’s response to her. “I’m glad I had your complete attention.”
“You know what I mean,” she said, wading to the edge of the stream. “He could have been snatched away, and I wouldn’t even have noticed.”
His heart clenched at her words. Did she know what she was saying? He doubted it. Paolo had been the complete and fierce focus of her attention up until now. “He’s right there where you left him,” he said, turning around to pull on a clean pair of pants. “He’s going to wake up hungry, too. He usually does.”
“He’s still sleeping,” she said, glancing at the baby as she pulled on her clothes. “But you’re right. He’s been sleeping for a long time.”
They had lingered by the edge of the stream for a long time. Too long, he thought grimly. And Andi was going to realize that soon enough. “Let’s get moving.”
It took them only minutes to gather everything together and start downstream again. Chase turned his head as they walked around a bend in the stream to take one last look at the place they’d made love. It would be a part of his dreams forever, he knew.
“I’ll never forget it, either.” Andi’s voice was barely above a whisper. He gazed down at her, feeling as though she’d reached into his chest and squeezed his heart. Her face was soft and dreamy, completely open. Her emotions shone out of her eyes, and he forced himself to look away. That look wasn’t for him, Chase Remington. It was merely for the pleasure they’d shared by the stream.
But he couldn’t stop himself from reaching down and kissing her lightly. “Keep looking like that and we’ll never get away from here.”
Her arms crept around him. “Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing.”
For a moment he wanted to hold on to her, to let himself believe that nothing existed in the world except him and Andi. For a moment anything was possible. Then he looked down at Paolo, sleeping on her chest, and knew it wasn’t true.
“Don’t try to tempt me, woman,” he said, kissing her again, then setting her away from him. “I run a tight ship here.”
She grinned and slid her hand down his back, lingering on his rear end. “Parts of it are very tight.”
“And other parts are going to be even tighter if you’re not careful.” He took her hand in his and kissed it, then curled her fingers into a fist. “Let’s go, Andi. We need to get as far as the road tonight.”
He felt like a complete jerk when the laughter faded from her eyes. And when they filled with grim reality, he felt even worse.
“You’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“I do, because it’s the same thing I’m thinking. Just hold the thought for another few hours.”
A spark flared briefly in her eyes, then disappeared. “Let’s head for the road, Chase.”
They walked on in silence for another hour. The light was fading when he heard the first sound that wasn’t part of the jungle.
“Stop,” he said, holding an arm in front of Andi.
“What is it?” She turned to him, her face tense.
“Did you hear that?”
“What?”
“I think it was a truck, off in the distance. “Let’s find a place to spend the night while it’s still light. Then I’ll go have a look at the road.”
It didn’t take long to find a small clearing twenty yards or so away from the stream. Tall trees surrounded it, with heavy undergrowth beginning just a few yards away from the trees. “This’ll work,” he said.
Andi nodded, and he saw the weariness in her eyes.
“Sit down,” he said gently. “Rest for a while. I’ll go take a look at the road.”
He could see she wanted to go with him, wanted to check it for herself. “Paolo needs you,” he said gently. “Someone has to stay with him.”
“You’re right.” He could hear the exhaustion in her voice and thanked God he could use Paolo to make her rest.
“I may be a while. I have no idea how much traffic this road carries.”
She managed to smile at him. “We’re not going anywhere.”
As he turned to leave, he wished fiercely that her words were true. He wished that she and Paolo would always be there when he returned. The thought shocked him, then frightened him. He didn’t want the responsibility of a family. He wouldn’t know what to do with one. He wasn’t family material. He was perfectly happy with things just the way they were.
But as he headed toward the road, leaving Andi and Paolo sitting in the jungle behind him, he realized that something had changed. In the past few days, both Andi and Paolo had become important to him. He would miss them when they left.
And they would leave. He knew that for a certainty. Because everyone in his life eventually left.
Chapter 10
Night had swallowed all the light in the jungle by the time Chase made his way back to the clearing where Andi waited with Paolo. She was nothing more than a dark shape huddled against a darker tree, but Chase’s heart raced in his chest when he saw her.
“Andi?” he whispered.
“We’re here.” The shadow against the tree stirred, then stood. “Paolo’s sound asleep.”
“Poor kid,” Chase said, glancing down at the baby, who was swathed in a white blanket. “He hasn’t had an easy time of it.”
“Thank goodness he’s such a good-natured baby.” The shape that was Andi moved closer, but hesitated before she reached him. He wondered if she was feeling awkward after what they had shared earlier. He reached out and pulled her against him, and she melted into hi
m.
“I was getting worried about you,” she murmured.
“There wasn’t anything to worry about. I was bored as hell out there.”
“What did you see?”
“Not a lot. There were enough cars and trucks that we shouldn’t have any trouble finding a ride, and I didn’t see any evidence that El Diablo is patrolling the road. No one suspicious came by.”
“So we can head into Monterez tomorrow morning?” He heard the eagerness in her voice and felt a stab of pain. They needed to get to the city, but it also meant their journey was over. They had no reason to stay together. He reached into his pocket and fingered the leaves he’d woven into a small crude ring while he’d watched the road.
“Looks that way.”
She leaned away from him. He could barely see her face in the dim moonlight. “There are parts of this trip I won’t be happy to leave behind,” she said in a low voice.
“Yeah, I know you love eating those freeze-dried meals cold.” He wouldn’t allow himself to dwell on what she might have meant.
Even in the darkness he could see her grin. “You know me too well,” she said.
That was the problem. He knew her far too well. Andi’s job would always come first for her. It had three years ago, and he had no reason to think that had changed. He took his hand out of his pocket and stepped away. “Let’s get something to eat. Then we need to sleep.”
She moved away as if he’d slapped her. “You’re right. We need to think of the job.”
“Isn’t that what you were thinking of?”
Instead of the quick reply he expected, she turned away and sat on the ground. “I’ve been thinking too much about the job lately.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” He squatted down next to her.
“It means that maybe I’ve been too focused on catching El Diablo. I’ve been directly responsible for getting two people killed. Maybe the price is too high.”
“What are you talking about? What two people?”
Even in the darkness he could see her impatient look. “Come on, Chase. One of them was your partner. You can’t tell me you’ve forgotten that.”
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