22. Roni

Iwas so freaking stupid. So stupid. As I'd stared at the forest from our perch on the clifftop, I thought that just maybe I might be able to trick myself into thinking this was a vacation.

This wasn't a vacation. This was manual labor and survival.

I ripped the sheet off the rickety table the previous owner left behind. Dust whirled through the air as a breeze entered the back door and exited through the front door and windows. Diego was outside chopping firewood so we'd have enough wood to heat the home for the night. He'd actually wrestled with the idea of not using the wood stove because it could start a house fire or it could lead the Geneva Project to us. I threatened to climb the roof to look down the stove pipes myself and that shut him up. He quickly scaled the roof and determined it was safe.

I heard the rhythmic sound of chopping wood as I focused on making the space bearable. Our bags were still piled by the back door. There was no chance I was bringing the little shit that I owned into the house until the dirt and mold spores were gone. Zero. I had even less of a chance of sleeping in here until I made sure I wouldn't catch a lungful of dust overnight. I had asthma as a kid and didn't want to do anything to trigger it.

I took the nasty old sheets out the front door to shake them off in the wind. I stepped onto the small covered deck and stopped dead in my tracks. Diego was shirtless with sweat dripping down his back and sides. The muscles in his arms and shoulders were tightly coiled as he brought the blade down on a large piece of wood. Its pieces went flying from the force. He was certainly a magnificent sight. The man got under my skin so easily, but was it really that bad when he looked like that and fucked like a rockstar?

Seriously, what we did felt so wrong and so right, all at the same time. The man's fingers were skilled, and his dick was the perfect size—as if it were meant just for me.

I let the breeze carry the bottom of the sheets as I held onto the top. A layer of dust was lifted into the breeze as I thirstily watched my fake boyfriend, bodyguard, and roommate. I wished I had a camera to capture the moment, because there were a lot of thirsty women on the internet that would thank me for the show.

I shouldn't want Diego—not with the years we spent competing and semi-bullying each other. Even with our current truce and our confession of feelings, I had reason enough to want to move on. We'd fucked and things turned sour between us pretty quickly after that, but that didn't seem to matter. Not when I felt this instinctual attraction to him that I'd never felt with anyone else.

None of that mattered, because we were trapped together in the middle of the Alaska wilderness. He was my protection from the Geneva Project, the wilderness, starvation, and myself. So regardless of how I felt, extreme irritation and overwhelming attraction, Diego and I were stuck with each other, and I was going to have to figure out how to navigate my feelings for him. We couldn't keep dipping our toes in the water and then pulling them back out. We had to figure our shit out, but not knowing the best way forward made that difficult.

"Are you going to keep cleaning, or are you just going to stand there and imagine me naked?" His voice cut through my thoughts like a hot, sharp knife slicing butter. I felt my face heat before I scrambled backward through the door. I tossed the sheets into the sink and started opening doors. Surely the previous owner had to have left some cleaning supplies when he kicked the bucket.

Success. An old, rickety-looking broom and a mop that had seen better days were propped up in the corner of the one closet in the cabin, along with a bucket filled with cleaning products. The labels were barely visible, the ink faded long ago. I was just able to make out the blue dish soap and floor cleaner. Cleaning products don't expire, right?

A trip down to the river for a full bucket of water and then carrying it back up the hill had me exhausted, and by the time I got the counters, table, and floor washed, I was ready to pass out from total exhaustion.

"Did you haul that water from the river?" Diego asked.

I nodded as I collapsed on the floor.

"Did you try turning on the water to see if it worked?"

I hesitated. "Yeah. I turned the knobs and nothing came out."

He bent under the sink, and when he stood back up he tried the knobs again. A light brown water started to trickle out of the facet and slowly ran clear. Diego looked back up at me with a grin. "Always check the shut-off valve, especially out here."

"Noted." My voice lacked excitement. Sure, I was happy to have some indoor plumbing, but damn if I didn't feel stupid. It took me forty minutes to bring a full five-gallon bucket back up the trail, and my back was going to hurt for days.

Diego stoked the fire, and I rummaged through our bags to take inventory of what we had. It wasn't a massive amount of food, but it was enough to keep us from starving for the next couple of days while we got our shit together.

"So what now?" I asked as I munched on a granola bar. I wasn't a fan of the tea that sat in front of me, but it was something other than water. I looked at my watch, which had somehow survived the craziness of the past few days. It was nearly eleven p.m.

"Now we secure the place for the night and get some much needed rest. We've got two days of food and firewood at our fingertips. We will focus on a security perimeter and some easy repairs, maybe even a quick scouting mission for some game, and then tomorrow night we will check in with my friends to see what they've learned. Depending on what they share, maybe start our own research."

"How?" I scoffed. We're in the middle of the woods, and I saw no library.

"A trip into town. In two days' time, news of the Geneva Project will likely be all over the newspapers, even in Alaska. If I can find a cheap computer and portable hotspot, then maybe I'll see if my friend Guy can encrypt its connection to make it safe for our use. I have a small solar power charger in my bag."

I couldn't help but grin. I'd love to have some sort of connection to civilization. Even if we only used it to access the news, I'd be grateful for that. Guy seemed like some technical wizard. "Is Guy actually his name?"

"Yes, and if you give him shit about it, you are likely to become a victim of identity theft." Diego's smile told me the threat was good natured—at least I thought it was.

"Okay, I won't say anything. I swear." I paused as the smile faded from my face. "So basically we're playing house while we hide out in the woods like Hansel and Gretel?"

His eyebrows pinched as he looked insulted by my statement.

"What?" I asked.

"First of all, it's not playing house. It's survival still. We could do that in a tent, or we could do that here, where at least we are protected from the elements. When it snows in a couple weeks, you'll be really thankful for that rusty roof over our heads." He paused long enough for me to admire the new amusement that seemed to replace his annoyance. "And Hansel and Gretel were brother and sister, and what we did back on the beach, that was not very sibling-like, was it? I don't ever want to think of you as anything other than the infuriating woman who's been under my skin since the moment I first saw you. There are a whole lot of things I want to do to you that I would never do with a sister. Got it?"

I nodded, because his tone had turned growly like a predator. At first, I wasn't sure what to think of the change, but by the end of his declaration, I barely kept myself from visibly panting. Knowing he had a list of things he wanted to do to me got me off, so I could only imagine how it would feel checking items off of that list. Orgasmic, probably.

He looked like he wanted to pull me from my chair and pin me down on the table. I wouldn't make a sound to stop him—it actually sounded like a good time. My sex life had been so vanilla up until now. Barely existent, if I was being honest. I wanted to explore what else was out there, and my God if Diego didn't seem like the perfect adventurer. Experienced, confident, sexy as hell—and the best part was he had no ulterior motive. Our time together wouldn't end up front and center in the newspapers in a few days' time.

"Finish your dinner before you start something that you may not be able to finish," he warned.

I swore I gushed at his warning.

I quickly finished the granola bar and dried fruit he'd placed in front of me. I downed my tea, and then I left to go take care of business before bed. When I came back inside, Diego made a show of checking all the windows to make sure they were locked, and then we covered them with the dusty sheets. With the doors locked, too, we settled in for the night. Our sleeping bags, and my extra blanket, were pulled up close to the woodstove.

I felt like I was burning up, but I couldn't tell if that was from the heat of the fire or Diego's gaze. Every minute or so I looked in his direction and he was already staring back at me, watching.

I hesitated while looking between him and the wood stove in front of us. I really needed to figure out what I was going to do, because if I attempted to sleep close to either one, I was going to be too hot to sleep, which seemed ironic for a rundown cabin in the Alaska fall chill.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice breaking the silence we'd fallen into. The crackling of the fire had seemed so loud until he spoke.

"Just figuring out how to get comfortable…" I mumbled as I arranged my sleeping bag.

"No need, I've figured it out for you. You can share with me." His confident tone left no room for argument.

I huffed out a sigh. He made it sound as if he'd just solved all my problems—not added to them. "You don't understand, I'm hot. I'm going to have a hard time sleeping."

"Then lose the clothes and we'll back away from the fire…" Again, there was no room for arguing. Then again, his suggestion took care of the problem. Was it the fire or Diego that seemed to burn me from the inside out? Without my clothes as a barrier, we'd be testing our self-control.

I pulled my shirt over my head and shimmied out of my pants. I tried not to feel self-conscious in the dim light the wood stove emitted through its small glass window. Diego had seen me partially naked in the full light of day, but this felt different—more intimate.

Diego was already shirtless in just basketball shorts. He pulled the bag halfway across the room as I took care of my clothing issue. I silently stared at him as he raised the edge of his sleeping bag so that I could crawl in beside him. I hesitated for a long moment, nearly chewing a hole through my lip. I wasn't sure why I felt nervous for this. We'd slept naked and shared body head after the boat crash; this should be nothing, and yet it was something…

"Are you coming?"

I shivered at the words, because they felt carefully selected, as if to suggest that I had the option to come in another way. I nodded and crawled on my hands and knees. The movement felt sensual, and I was sure that the room was dripping with the pheromones that seemed to be controlling us.

I joined him in the bag, awkwardly laying on my back and staring up at the ceiling. The wood paneling could use a really good clean. His chest vibrated with a deep chuckle as he placed his hand on my hip and turned me so that my ass was pressed up against his front—more like his erection. There was no hiding that monster; it laid right against my lower back.

"Comfortable?" he asked.

I didn't trust my voice not to crack. "Mhmm." And wide awake—like I'd drank ten cups of coffee. How on earth did I think I'd be able to sleep in the same sleeping bag with him? I wouldn't be sleeping; I'd be thinking about the feel of his rock-hard body behind me.

His hand came down to rest on my hip, and I bit my lip so my breath wouldn't hitch. His lips brushed against the back of my neck as he whispered, "I hope you're a damn good lawyer, because I'm about to breach my contract many, many times." His hand on my hip squeezed me tight before it traveled south across my pubic bone. His hand came to a rest right between my legs. He pulled the fabric to the side and used his finger to gently tease my clit. "If you know what I mean…" he added in a low, seductive murmur.

Oh, I knew exactly what he meant. Me. He was going to breach me. Fuck, I was going to enjoy this. He rolled me so that my back was to the floor again and I was looking up at him. His head dipped down and licked my throat before his lips scraped against my collar bone. He placed desperate kisses across my chest before he used his teeth to pull my bra out of the way. His finger never stopped its mission to make me squirm as it continued to work my clit with an expertise that made me breathless.

His lips circled my nipple, and my back arched. His tongue warmed the skin before he pulled away and blew air on the delicate skin, making me shiver. Then he brought me sweet relief by taking the nipple back into his mouth. He traded his finger for his thumb and then used his finger to part me and slide in. I gasped at the wave of pleasure that took over.

His lips captured mine as he used a second finger and picked up the pace. Blind pleasure pulsed behind my eyelids, exploded, and then traveled down my spine. My toes curled, and I whimpered.

Before I had time to recover, Diego lifted my outside leg and pulled it over his hip. I caught my breath and bit my lip as Diego's erection split me, stretching me almost to the point of discomfort.

"How does it feel even bigger this time?" I breathed out.

"You can't see. You're relying on the feeling. Now save your voice. You're going to need it when you scream my name." The words ended in a growl. He was cocky, but he earned the right. I looked forward to screaming his name, but I wanted him to growl mine. I wanted my name etched in his brain like his military training was. I wanted him to want me, for more than just this.

I guess my decision was made. I want him.

He only gave me a few slow thrusts to adjust to his size before he picked up the pace, and our breaths tangled in the small space between us. His fingers tangled in my hair and pulled my head back. I had no choice but to stare into his eyes, and when I did, I saw nothing but hunger. It was a hunger for me.

The thought sent a shiver down my spine, which instantly morphed into a building orgasm.

"I'm so close," I warned.

"Wait for me," he demanded. He picked up his speed; the pace was almost brutal. I did my best to hold back, and I barely resisted the urge to let myself fall over the edge. The seconds ticked by as his jaw tightened, and his fingers tugged my hair even harder. "Come," he ordered.

I closed my eyes and let myself teeter over the edge. This wave was even stronger than the last, and I nearly lost myself in it. The electric current that ran through my body was addicting. It should be illegal for sex to feel this good. No wonder old politicians bargained with it.

"Now, go to sleep, mi hermosa enemiga." I didn't know what he said, but I loved the way he whispered it in my ear. I closed my eyes and let the warmth lull me to sleep.