Chapter Nine

Kate glanced up when Donovan walked out of the bathroom, and her heart began to beat faster. Knowing he was naked beneath that robe made her nether regions quiver. With his black hair unbound and brushing his chin, he had a wild, almost untamed look. His shoulders appeared even broader than she remembered and, after their jungle adventure, he reminded her of Tarzan.

And, yeah, she definitely wanted to swing on his vine.

"I got us some new clothes when I was downstairs. Nothing fancy," he said and sat down beside her on the bed.

"I saw. Thank you."

"How's the food?" He reached for a fork and dug into the plate of rice and black beans with chunks of mango.

"Delicious. But, then again, I could eat an anaconda despite being a vegan."

"I'm damn happy we didn't run into one of those. Although, a bushmaster was bad enough." He arched a dark brow. "Vegan, huh?"

She nodded. "I do my best and usually end up cooking a lot. Tennessee isn't exactly known for their vegan lifestyle."

"No, I bet not. I admit, I eat it all—meat, dairy, the occasional leafy green."

"I don't judge." Smiling, she speared a mango on the edge of her fork. "Did you call your investor?"

"Yeah, it went surprisingly well. He told me to stay here tonight then leave for Rio tomorrow morning. We're meeting Monday."

"That's great!"

"I figured we could enjoy Carnival tomorrow. If you're still up for it."

Her smile turned shy. "I'd like that."

For a moment, they ate in silence. For the first time in over twenty-four hours, they were safe and it felt good.

"Kate?"

"Hmm?" She set her fork down and looked up into his brown eyes. God, they were mesmerizing. All light and dark swirls that reminded her of a chocolate-dipped caramel.

"I'm glad we met," he said simply, voice low. "I think you're pretty amazing and there's no one else I would've rather been lost in the jungle with."

"Same," she murmured.

Donovan set the empty plate aside then turned to face her. He reached out, cupped her face and leaned in, brushing his lips over hers. And Kate melted.

The tender kiss made Kate's pulse pound hard and she wouldn't be surprised if her heart skipped a beat. Or two. The man certainly knew how to kiss and she gripped onto his thick wrists, kissing him back with all the passion humming through her body. Need washed over her and he tilted her head back, his tongue sweeping along hers, deepening the connection.

When they finally came up for air, Kate knew one thing for certain. She wanted Donovan Briggs like she'd never wanted another man. She skimmed her fingers through his hair, her chest rising and falling hard.

"Did you happen to pick up anything else while you were downstairs?" she asked huskily.

"I did," he answered, dropping kisses along her neck. "Ribbed for her pleasure."

Kate moaned as he pushed her back onto the bed, his fingers loosening the belt at her waist. Her hands slid beneath his robe, pushing the lapels apart and landing on his warm chest. He felt so good and a shudder wracked through her body as he opened her robe, sat back on his heels and gazed down at her.

"You're insanely gorgeous," he rasped. Then he lowered down, stretching his hard body over hers. As he settled his weight on his elbows, kissing her thoroughly, Kate arched up, pressing herself along his long frame, seeking the heat his body offered. His cock was big and hard and she dropped her legs open, welcoming him between her thighs. Needing him inside of her.

It had been a damn hard couple of days and Kate needed this release. Hell, she'd earned it. She'd been wildly attracted to Donovan since the second she saw him at the airport and she still couldn't believe all they'd been through together. This moment seemed like the perfect cherry on top of their adventure sundae.

"Please," she begged, writhing beneath him. He reached down and began stroking between her legs, making her wetter than she ever thought possible.

"Christ, you're already soaked." He found her clit, massaging, spreading her juices up and around the throbbing bud. Her lower body tightened and arched against his hand. A part of her felt like she should be taking care of him, but she couldn't stop for anything. Not until the oncoming release zapped through her like a bolt of hot, sizzling lightning.

Kate cried out as the orgasm rolled through her. The second one he'd given her today. Her nails scratched down his back and her head dropped back. "Oh…my…God…" The words floated from her mouth and her body felt suspended in bliss.

Donovan began nuzzling her neck and she trailed her fingers lightly down his sides and reached for his pulsating cock. Wrapping her fingers around his hard length, she squeezed. "Your turn."

With a guttural groan, he rolled onto his back and let her take charge. Kate had plans and she scooted back, stroking him until his hips jerked off the mattress. He swore under his breath and watched her every movement with hooded eyes.

"Condom?" she whispered.

"Right," he grunted then quickly spun her away. Kate squealed and landed on her back while Donovan went to grab the protection. As he was returning, a loud knock shook the doorframe.

Seriously? What now? Kate sat up, pulling her robe together. It was still early afternoon, but they weren't expecting anyone. Donovan swore under his breath then stalked over to the door and peered through the peephole. With a frown, he pulled his robe together, unlocked the door and opened it.

A short man stood there and quickly whispered something to Donovan before scurrying away. With another curse, Donovan shut the door and met Kate's inquisitive gaze. "We need to go," he announced. "Get dressed. Fast."

"What's going on?" Kate asked, sliding off the bed.

"I slipped the guy at the front desk some cash to let me know if any suspicious men showed up and started asking questions. They just did."

Oh, shit. Time to go.

◆◆◆

Once again, Donovan had been cockblocked by whoever was hunting them down. Because now it was clear that bad guys were after them and it wasn't simply a random encounter with thieves or guerillas. Ignoring his aching dick, willing it to go back down, he hurriedly got dressed. Maybe whoever hacked him hadn't been able to read his encrypted files or hadn't gotten everything on the drive. Or, maybe they were here to eliminate loose ends.

Unless…

His gaze flicked over to Kate who was pulling her new shirt on and he wondered if she had anything to do with it. Or was she merely caught up in his clusterfuck? Once they got safely on a bus and were headed out of there, he planned to ask her a few questions. Just to be sure.

"Let's go downstairs and sneak out the back door," Donovan said and Kate nodded, following him. When they reached the ground level, he shoved a rear door open and they stepped outside. No sign of Assault and Battery, so they headed straight for the small bus stop up the road.

Donovan put the tickets on his credit card and they immediately boarded.

"Oh, God, it feels good in here," Kate announced, welcoming the air conditioner's arctic blast. "How long is this ride? Because I don't ever want to get off."

He chuckled. "Less than an hour."

"You're going to have to pry me out of this seat," she warned him.

Donovan smirked. Yeah, same.

Exactly forty-five minutes later, they pulled into the crowded bus depot in Rio de Janeiro. The second they stepped off, the humid air consumed them, immediately coating them in a pool of sweat.

"Maybe we should go to the beach first," Kate suggested, pulling her damp t-shirt away from her skin.

"Will you be wearing a bikini?" Donovan asked, arching a thick brow.

"I've never worn a bikini in my life," she stated.

"Fair warning, locals tend to keep it skimpy. And I think it's important we blend in." His mouth edged up and she swatted at his arm.

"Yeah, I bet." But she tossed him a saucy smile.

The city was packed beyond capacity, and there was an endless strip of hotels along the beach. Even though they were both already each booked somewhere, Donovan decided they should choose a completely new place to stay. Just in case. He had no idea if whoever was after them would be able to access guest registries or had eyes on where they were expected to show up. So, they picked a random hotel and checked in under an alias. They bought some bathing suits and fresh clothes in the gift shop then made their way up to the room.

Donovan wanted to toss Kate on the bed and forget about the rest of the city partying outside, but they'd promised each other some fun. Rio Carnaval was the world's largest celebration and attracted millions of people for a week of explosive, vibrant, sensual fun. And, for the first time in his life, Donovan wanted to be a part of the samba-shaking action.

Because of Kate. He wanted to experience it all with her.

Kate slipped into the bathroom to change into her swimsuit while Donovan pulled his swim shorts on in the bedroom. Or, in this case, his speedo. He hadn't been exaggerating when he'd told Kate things tended to be far skimpier down there.

After tucking his wallet in the beach bag she'd chosen downstairs, he heard the bathroom door open and his head jerked over. Kate's shoulder-length hair framed her face instead of being pulled back in its usual ponytail and she wore the smallest two-piece he'd ever seen. His mouth began to salivate. A hunger tore through him and he slowly stalked over, eyes roaming over every one of her delicious curves. He may have lost his glasses when they went over the waterfall, but he was getting quite the view.

"Damn, Kate. You sure know how to wear a bikini," he rumbled, instantly hard and precariously close to slipping right out of his own bottoms.

A pretty blush turned her cheeks rosy. "You're rocking that suit as well," she murmured before he took her mouth in a heated kiss. Their tongues met, tangled, and the air in the room seemed to spike up another twenty degrees despite the air conditioning.

After a long moment, Kate took a wobbly step back and reached for the beach bag. "We should probably go before things get too, ah, heated."

"Too late," he murmured, removing his hand from her ass. "But, yeah. We promised we'd do some fun stuff if we made it out of that jungle."

"If you want to skip hang gliding, that's fine by me. I mean, we did get air time going over the falls."

"No way," he told her with a mischievous smile and extended his arm. "Ready to have the time of your life?"

"Let's do it."