by Eve Langlais
“Have you forgotten she is with us at their behest, or so the note would have us believe?”
“Good point. I’ll speak to the others.”
“We should also make sure she sleeps closest to the fire so they have to go through us first.”
“You’re acting awfully protective,” Joel stated.
“Cautious, you mean. We’ve already got three women to rescue, let’s not make it four.”
Why he continued to lie to his best friend, he couldn’t have said. The more he traveled with Ruth, the more his certainty grew she was his mate. However, now was not the time or place to deal with that particular problem. Once they completed their mission, maybe then he’d examine how he could make mating with a human work – a claiming that would also involve his best friend – and deal with a fear that it would all prove too much and she’d run.
Damn, things were a lot easier when all he had to deal with was missing luggage and ornery guides. But he’d asked for an adventure. He just wished it didn’t come with so much emotional baggage – and complications.
Funny how their mission had changed, at least for Joel. What started as a rescue operation was now widening to encompass safety for the lone human in their group. If they try and take her, they’ll have to go through me. He almost wanted to dare them to try. Despite himself, Joel couldn’t help the protective instinct. Human or not, and whether he liked the fact his wolf kept trying to claim her as mate, he wouldn’t let anyone harm her. He’d die first.
But who will protect me from her?
That was the biggest worry of all. The more they traveled, the more he got to know of their fragile female companion, the more he craved Ruth. And not just her body, but her laughter. Her smile. The sweet color that rose in her cheeks when she got flustered. The way she studied things around her with such evident pleasure. How she handled her fear, with a shriek, but bravery too, as she squashed bugs that should never see the light of day.
Forget the mating fever, he feared he’d gone past that straight into obsession, and it scared him, especially since he feared she didn’t feel anything close to the same. How could she? She was, after all, only human, and that scared him most of all.
Beside a creek tumbling over rocks, clean and fresh, they stopped for the night – and not a moment too soon for one person in their group.
Panting, and appearing much too heated, Ruth tossed her pack to the ground and sank on it. “Oh, thank God,” she moaned.
“You should go for a swim,” Peter advised her as he stripped off his shirt. Displaying lean, tanned muscle, Joel clenched his fists lest he ask his teammate what he thought he was doing.
Jealousy. Uncontrollable. Annoying. And all her fault. Why couldn’t she have been a wolf?
“Is it safe?” Ruth asked, peering at the water with such longing.
Why did she have to look so delectable? Joel wanted to kiss her. Kiss her and make her hunger for him until she gazed at him the same way.
“I’ll protect you from the killer fishies,” Peter claimed as he offered her a hand up.
That’s my job, Joel almost snapped. Except it wasn’t. Distance. Didn’t his plan with Ruth involve keeping his distance and ignoring her?
“We should set up camp first,” snapped Kendrick, solving his dilemma. Or not.
“She’s going to faint if she doesn’t cool down,” Peter replied without batting an eye. “She can do it after.”
“I say now.”
When Ruth bit her lip, Joel saw the moment she came to a decision, and of course, the blame resided entirely on Kendrick’s order. Her spine straightened. She didn’t acknowledge the words telling her no and she walked to the stream bed, boots, pants, and all.
Peter stopped her before the edge and sat down on a rock to pull off his footwear. She followed suit, but she hesitated when Peter dropped his pants and left himself clad only in tight Hanes shorts.
Yeah, forget controlling the green-eyed monster. A soft growl rolled off his lips. Peter was going to die any minute now. Ready to rearrange the infringing wolf’s face, he managed to rein himself in as Kendrick placed himself in front of Peter.
“You’re right, we should all bathe.” His friend stripped down with a challenging stare in her direction, resulting in her turning her back, but still removing her bottoms and top, leaving her clad only in a light pink bra and white bottoms.
Kendrick waded in the water before she was done, with Joel right behind him. It wasn’t hard to guess the reason. Watching her splash water over her creamy body, her bra getting more and more translucent, displaying nipples, erect and evident even through the fabric, Joel wondered if anyone would notice him jerking one off.
“We have a problem,” Kendrick muttered, his gaze fixed on their very own water nymph.
“Do we have to talk about it right now?” Joel asked, fascinated by the image of Ruth rising from the water, her wet hair streaming down her back.
“Considering we’re drooling here with ridiculous hard-ons in waist-high water over the same chubby human, yeah, we need to talk.”
That got Joel’s attention. “She’s not chubby.”
“No, she’s perfect,” Kendrick sighed. “Which is the problem. You’re not the only one who thinks she’s his mate.”
The confirmation of his suspicion. Joel almost punched his friend at his confession. “You too?”
His friend nodded.
“Damn. So what are you going to do about it?”
“I don’t know. She’s human.” Kendrick sounded so mournful.
“Very.”
“Fragile.”
“And not in on the secret.”
“She’s stubborn.”
“Strong.”
“Sexy.”
“We’re screwed.” More heartfelt words, he’d never uttered. If they both tried to claim her, would they frighten her off? Could one claim her and hope the other walked away? Would jealousy over a woman finally tear their friendship apart? Or could they both have her? Sharing. One woman, one life, with his best friend as his rival for his mate’s heart.
Freakn’ hell. An already messed up situation just got uglier. But the view got better as Ruth stepped from the water, her back to them, and probably unaware that the back of her white underpants were see-through.
With matching groans, he and Kendrick sank deeper in the water. It seemed they’d need a moment before stepping out. Maybe two.
Chapter 6
Maybe I should have stayed home, Ruth thought, not for the first time as she struggled with the stupid tent. Up in just a few easy steps, her rather large ass! She knew she messed up somewhere along the way, probably when Kendrick walked by carrying a large load of wood like it weighed nothing, his shirt stripped off to show a body that didn’t spend a lot of time indoors in front of a television. The man could have modeled those washboard abs in a fitness magazine. Worse, he caught her ogling.
Flustered, she ducked her head, but caught in the throes of an arousal she couldn’t stop, she kept lifting her eyes to take a peek. Her inattention bore fruit as her hands did something to the unfolding tent, which now mocked her in all its lopsided glory.
“Need a hand?” Wandering over, Liam cocked his head at the contraption and she could see he fought to hide a smile.
“Am I that obviously inept?”
“There’s a trick to these things. Don’t worry. I didn’t do much better my first time round.” Somehow, she doubted that. All these men seemed much too capable. Did they all go to some super-duper outdoorsman school? It was uncanny how at home they seemed. Look at Liam – he seemed like the type to spend hours in the bathroom gelling his hair. Heck, he still looked picture perfect in the midst of the jungle as he knelt in the dirt and wrenched the poles apart, snapping them back to their starting position.
“Do it like this,” he said, and with a twist and a little manipulation, the tent unfolded into something she could actually sleep in. It didn’t stay that way as he folded it back. “Now you
try.”
Tent teaser. Ruth tried to replicate his actions, but didn’t quite succeed. His hands covered hers – with none of the electrical awareness she felt with Joel or Kendrick – and he guided her into the motions to twist the poles.
“What the hell are you doing?” The harsh query startled her and she let go of a piece only to have another snap off and whack her in the face.
“Ow!” She slapped her hand to her cheek and glared at Kendrick, who scowled back, just as angry.
“Chill, dude. I was just showing her how to set up the tent.”
“Ms. Anderson doesn’t need any help. She’s an experienced adventurer. Aren’t you, honey?”
“Yes, I am,” she muttered through clenched teeth.
“See?” Kendrick said with a smile, displaying too many teeth and no mirth in his eyes. “She doesn’t need your help. Any man’s help. Do I make myself clear?”
“I didn’t realize things had gone that far,” Liam replied.
“They haven’t. My orders still stand.”
“You do know how irrational that sounds.”
“Very.”
Liam smirked. “I’ll let the others know.”
Know what? That Kendrick was a jerk who wanted her to fail? Well, she’d show him. Ignoring him, harder to do than it sounded with him looming over her, slowly and much more awkwardly, she managed to get the tent to pop up.
“Ha! I did it.”
“Give the girl a prize,” he mocked, clapping his hands.
Not realizing she still had company, she jumped. “Oh stuff it, you grumpy bear,” she exclaimed, tired of his attitude toward her and even more tired that despite it, she still thought him hotter than the Cajun sauce at her favorite restaurant.
“Wolf.”
“Excuse me?”
“Never mind. From now on, if you want to prove you belong on this expedition, you look out for yourself. Or else.”
“Or else what?”
“Or you’ll regret it.”
“Ooh, threats.” After the day she had, what worse could he do? She sneered. “Going to hit me?”
“Spank,” he corrected. “Bare bottomed.”
There went her brave streak. Flustered by his threat, once again heat rose in her cheeks, and she ducked her head. His soft chuckle didn’t help.
“So brave in some things, yet so innocent in others. Who are you really, honey?”
I’m confused is what I am. One minute he barked at her, the next he seemed … Seemed what, she pondered as she met his ardent gaze? “I’m not your honey.”
“I think that’s where we’re both mistaken. Sleep tight. Don’t let the wolves bite.”
“Isn’t that supposed to be bed bugs?”
“You’re in the jungle now, honey. You need to worry about bigger predators.”
With those words, Kendrick strutted off. Damn him for his confusing attitude. It was easy to hate him when he acted the domineering jerk. But when he spoke to her so softly, gruffly, while staring at her with a gleam that heated her all over? Stupid wet panties. She only had so many clean pairs.
Crawling into her tent, she zipped it tight, then turned on her flashlight to check the nooks and crannies for critters. Satisfied she slept alone – even if she’d prefer a hard body at her back – she crawled into her sleeping bag. Slumber found her right away, and she would have slept like the dead until dawn if an urge to pee hadn’t woken her.
Stumbling outside with her little flashlight, she didn’t go too far to squat. Wiping, she disposed of the biodegradable tissue and headed to the water’s edge to wash her hands. Crouching down, her flashlight at her side, she rinsed her hands, half asleep on her feet.
Only idiots didn’t pay attention in the jungle. Apparently, she’d lost some IQ points since she came on this trip because she could now claim she belonged, not only to the dumbass group, but the stupid blonde one as well because she never saw the danger coming.
During his turn to watch the camp, Joel didn’t announce his presence when he saw Ruth stumble from her tent to relieve herself. He shadowed her movements, noting her tired mien. As a human, the journey hit her harder than the rest of the group, and she didn’t recover as quickly. Damn Kendrick.
It wasn’t right they shun her when she so obviously needed them. Needs me. As his mate, didn’t she merit all the care and attention he could provide? He shouldn’t let her human status sway him from the path fate chose. He wasn’t his father. Or so he damn well hoped.
Why did he assume he’d fail? Or that Ruth would leave him like his mother had? If he treated her right, made her happy, she’d have no reason to leave him. Screw Kendrick and his attitude. Joel spent a miserable day and evening avoiding her, avoiding what he wanted.
No more. Starting now, he’d do what he had to in order for Ruth to choose him. He’d do what his wolf and body demanded. He’d do what was right in spite of his fear.
As she paused by the water to rinse her hands, he kept close, knowing all too well the dangers the dark murk could hide, thus he saw the shadowy motion before Ruth did. He dove in her direction and hit the scaled body rising from the water, threatening his woman.
With hands stronger than a human, he clamped the jaw of the croc shut, but in doing so, left himself at the mercy of the big thrashing body. Ruth’s shrieks woke the camp.
“Quick. Something in the water is trying to eat him,” she yelled.
Joel wanted to die of embarrassment.
“Need a hand, Joel?” Kendrick shouted, amusement in his tone.
“Are you trying to insult me?” he replied back, releasing the snout with one hand so he could pummel the reptile.
“He’s fine,” Kendrick said in response to Ruth’s hiccups of fear.
“He’s wrestling a crocodile!” she snapped, pointing the flashlight beam in his direction.
Momentarily blinded, Joel lost his grip and the croc snapped its head free from his grip. Crap.
Blinking out spots as she kept bobbing the light his way, he stood, drenched head to toe in the water, searching the crests and shadows for his opponent.
He felt the change in the current behind him and sprang to the side just as big jaws clamped shut where he’d stood.
“Oh. My God. What is wrong with you guys?” she shrieked. “Someone get me a gun.”
“Don’t give her a gun,” Kendrick sighed.
Please don’t, Joel seconded as he wrapped his arms around the croc, this time from behind, a little jungle style full nelson to put the big lizard in submission. In other words, choke it out. However, the big bastard wouldn’t go down, and Ruth continued to freak.
Time to end this charade. Not being a truly huge croc, only a five-footer, if that, Joel twisted hard and held on as the beast thrashed for air and freedom. Joel remained steady as the frantic motion abated. Even better, he was finally light free as Kendrick swiped Ruth’s waving weapon.
When the last ounce of life left the crocodile’s body, he trudged to shore and dropped his prize. “It’s dead. You can stop freaking now.”
Gaping, Ruth peeked at him, then the crocodile, then him, then the lizard. She burst into tears and threw herself at his chest, but not for comfort.
“You idiot,” she hollered, pounding at him. She owned a pretty good swing too, not that Joel flinched. Noticeably, at any rate. “What possessed you to attack that thing? You could have been killed!”
“But I wasn’t.”
“By some fluke.”
No, because wolves rated higher on the predator list. I probably shouldn’t mention that, though. “I was never in real danger. One of the others would have done something if I got in trouble.”
“When? Before or after it bit off your head?”
It occurred to him where her anger came from. “Were you scared for me?”
“Of course I was.”
Well, hot damn. The admission warmed him through and through, despite her grudging tone. “You know, most girls would say thank you for saving their life
.”
“Thank you for being an idiot?”
“An idiot hero who saved your life.”
“You did, didn’t you?” He would have done more than wrestle a little lizard just to get that wondrous moment where her eyes lit up. “Thank you.”
“That’s it? I hug a croc to death and all I get is thank you?”
Amusement lit her gaze. “I thought you said you weren’t in any danger?”
“I wasn’t, but I still expect a prize.” And with the others returned to their tents, probably not sleeping, not that he cared, he intended to claim a gift. One kiss.
How dangerous can one kiss be?
Very, as it turned out.
Cupping her head, he drew her to him. Felt her hand brace against his chest, not pushing him away, but hesitant. Unsure. Her heart fluttered erratically. The lids of her eyes shuttered a gaze that wouldn’t meet his, but instead, stared at his lips.
The jungle, the sounds, smells, everything seemed to hush in that single moment as he finally touched his mouth to hers. Kissed her, laid his scent upon her, understood in that moment, that she was already his, human or not, even if the mark didn’t scar her skin. My mate.
No more fighting it. No more denying it. Ruth belonged to him. The sweetness of her kiss branding him as surely as a set of teeth. In that one sweet moment, he gave up. Or gave in. Whatever, it didn’t matter. He tasted her lips, felt the passion she hid simmering under the surface, and decided in that moment that human or not, he’d take a chance. And pray she never broke his heart.
Kendrick watched from the shadows, a silent witness to the kiss. A passenger in the crazy jealous train careening through his body.
He envied Joel the first taste of those lips. Wished he could have been the one to come to Ruth’s rescue, to have the right to claim such a glorious prize. A prize he didn’t want. A woman he should walk away from. A woman whose only flaw lay in her humanity.
Should he or shouldn’t he? Give into the burning of his body, or keep torturing himself? Fight with his best friend over a woman? Because he didn’t doubt from the way Joel hugged Ruth tight, devoured her with the hunger of a man denied too long, he’d chosen his path. But did the road to Ruth’s heart have room for one or two? If she could handle a pair, did Kendrick have it in him to share?