Chapter 13

“Audrey,” Gabe said very softly next to her ear, drawing her out of her thoughts. She hadn’t felt his body shift toward her, but there he was, crowding her personal space, big as the mountain she’d compared him to earlier. His hand traced lightly down her arm, dipped to follow the curve of her waist, and finally settled on her hip.

His breath tickled her ear. “I have another injury that needs kissing.”

She smiled into the gathering dark. “Do you?”

“Mm.” He rolled her over and propped himself up on one elbow, bending down until his mouth hovered millimeters above hers. “Right…” He bussed his lips over hers, caught her lower lip in a gentle tug that she felt all the way to her womb. “…here.”

“Your injuries seem to be peculiarly localized,” she teased, even as her fingers wound through his dark hair, pulling him closer. The heat of his body was a stark contrast to the cold Andean air, a comfort she had never thought to find here.

Gabe’s reply was a soft, husky chuckle that vibrated against her cheek. “Mm. Very localized.”

He claimed her mouth in the same take-charge way he did everything else, obliterating all but the need to feel more of him. No fear. No worry. Even the pain in her blistered feet faded. For a moment, it was just her and him, a man and a woman enjoying each other.

His tongue met and danced with hers, lighting up nerve endings in places she’d forgotten existed. His hand tightened on her hips, drawing her against all that hard muscle of his chest, and her fingers snaked into his hair, hugging him closer still.

Yes. This. It was exactly what she needed. A distraction. A tender, loving reminder that she was still alive. How had Gabe known she needed this when she herself hadn’t realized it until now?

The conversation from the fire became non-existent as Audrey lost herself in the sensation of Gabe’s lips on hers. She clung to him, her lifeline in this chaos. His kisses were hard, almost punishing at times, but they were also laced with a tenderness that made her heart flutter wildly in her chest.

He tried to keep his lower body off her, but his erection still prodded her belly, especially when she sucked on his tongue and his hips surged involuntarily.

He was a big man. She figured he’d be fairly well-endowed since he towered well over six feet of solid muscle. But she never expected the iron-hard length that pressed against her, promising a pleasure she hadn’t experienced in far too long…

The sound of the guerillas’ laughter echoed and faded in her consciousness as Gabe’s demanding mouth became the only thing grounding her. He teased and cajoled responses from her, coaxing sighs and moans and making her body heat to a fever pitch. He was destroying her, she thought dazedly, even as he rebuilt her from the inside out.

Then gunfire erupted, followed by a round of cheers, and they parted with a gasp. The warm cocoon they had created ruptured, sending cold air rushing in between them.

“Fuck,” Gabe muttered under his breath, rolling off her and onto his back. He scrubbed a hand over his face and let out a deep, controlled breath.

Audrey sat up and ran shaky fingers through her hair, pushing the loose strands away from her flushed face. Her heart was still pounding in her chest, the adrenaline rush from their kiss colliding with the fear.

Now was not the time, nor was this the place.

Her brother was in danger.

They were in danger.

God, what was she doing?

“I’m sorry,” Gabe said abruptly. “I crossed a line.”

“Yes, you did,” Audrey agreed, her voice trembling. She drew her knees to her chest, hugging them in an effort to steady herself. “But I crossed it with you.”

He turned his head to look at her. The shadows of the night made his features hard to read, but she could see the regret in those yellow tiger eyes of his. And suddenly, it hit her that he wasn’t apologizing for kissing her but for letting her forget, even for a moment, their dire situation. Gabe Bristow was not a man who took comfort lightly or allowed distractions when lives were on the line—his own, hers, her brother’s. Yet tonight, he had momentarily let go of that rigidity and allowed her to see a concealed part of him that he rarely let surface.

“Don’t apologize,” she told him softly.

His brow furrowed slightly, and she leaned closer to whisper, “Because I’m not sorry. We needed that, Gabe.” He opened his mouth, no doubt to protest, and she pressed a finger to his lips. “I needed that assurance, that touch, that reminder I’m alive. I feel steadier now than I have since this all started. Thank you.”

He stared at her for a long moment, his throat working like he was trying to swallow something difficult, then he nodded and sat up beside her.

“We can’t let it happen again,” he said, his voice gruffer than usual.

She knew he was right, but a part of her ached for the comfort and reassurance that Gabe’s touch had given her. She yearned for the oblivion that his kisses had offered—an oblivion away from the threat of guerrillas, the uncertainty about Bryson, and the despair of their predicament.

“At least,” he added after a moment of silence. “Not here, not now. But we will get out of here.” His features hardened, showing a glimpse of the Navy SEAL’s grit and determination, and his broad hand found hers, fingers lacing together with a familiarity that belied their short acquaintance. “And when we do, we’ll have time for all the distractions we want.”

Despite everything, a smile tugged at her lips. This man, this stoic, stubborn sailor, was doing more than just keeping her alive—he was giving her something to live for. “Promise?”

He looked at her then, his gaze steady and unblinking. “I promise,” he vowed solemnly. “Now try to get some rest, Audrey. You need it.”

He was right about that, too. She was so very tired all of a sudden, the sexual buzz having tapped out her last energy reserve.

Seemed he was always right.

That could get annoying.

“Can you… hold me for a while?” She felt silly asking, like a child afraid of the dark. But the dark had never been so frightening before, and she needed the human contact.

Gabe pushed her hair back from her face and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. “I planned on it.”

She tried for a smile.

“Let me know if I hurt your leg.”

“You won’t.”

Audrey sighed and curled into his side, taking strength from the heat of him, the solidity of his body and character. He was a good, honorable man. Funny to find one now in this place, under these horrific circumstances, after all her years of looking. She just hoped they both lived long enough to explore their budding intimacy.

God, it was all so surreal. She couldn’t help feeling as if she’d wake up any minute in her hammock outside her cabin with a killer margarita headache and the vague notion she’d had a crazy dream. But she wouldn’t. This was no dream, Gabe was no dream man, and they were both in a lot of danger.

As the day started to sink in fully, tears spilled over. “Gabe?”

“Mm?”

“Do you have a plan to get us out of here?”

“Yes.”

The confidence in his succinct answer eased her fears, but only a little. “You’re not just saying that, are you?”

“No, Aud, I’m not.” He shifted and pulled her more firmly against his side. “Do you smell that? Almost like burning plastic?”

She sniffed the air, nodded. The scent did have a plastic smell, but also carried the chemical undercurrent unique to all hard drugs. “They’re smoking something.”

“Basuco, the dregs left over from the cocaine-making process. They’re out there celebrating. They think they’ve hit the jackpot with us, but they’re too cocky for their own good. Come morning, they’ll all be drunk and stoned, and I’m going to cause some problems for them with the farmers that live in this village.”

“How?”

“I’m going to kill one of their cows.”

Audrey sat up, an automatic objection jumping to her lips. But when she saw the hard, determined line of his jaw and the flatness in his golden eyes, she knew protesting would be a useless endeavor. Still, she had to try. “Do you have to kill it?”

“It’s the cow’s life or ours, Audrey,” he said without remorse. Those flat eyes met hers, and she wondered at the sudden stranger lying beside her. How could this be the same man who had been so tender with her only moments ago? “Livestock are like currency around here, and the last thing Cocodrilo wants is to piss off the local farmers. It’ll cause chaos, and that’s what we need to escape.”

He was right. She knew it, but God, she hated the thought of some poor animal dying to save her. “Will you be kind to it, at least?”

His features softened a fraction and he caught a strand of her hair between his fingers. He wound it around his hand, studied it like the color and texture fascinated him.

“Gabe?”

“Yeah.” He abruptly dropped the strand. “The animal won’t feel a thing. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Thank you.” After a moment, she settled beside him again, but her heart stayed lodged in her throat. “I’m really scared.”

Gabe’s arm tightened around her shoulders. “Yeah, I know. But I promise I won’t let anything happen to you. Trust me.”

Trust. Funny thing, that. Since her parents’ deaths, she’d never trusted anyone to take care of her but herself. Not even her brother. But, as she tumbled into the oblivion of sleep tucked safely in Gabe’s embrace, she realized she completely trusted him to do as he promised.