“Why not?”
“Because I don’t want you to.”
“Yes, you do,” he said with audacious conceit. “This could prove to be an interesting expedition after all. For both of us. We might just as well set the mood now.”
“Please don’t.” Her voice quavered and became a full-fledged moan when the center of her breast rose up to meet the lazy caress of his thumb.
“You like it,” he whispered against her neck.
“No. No I don’t.”
“Oh, yes.” He caught her earlobe between his teeth and tugged on it gently. “Even though you put on this prickly, do-not-touch act, you’re a woman who responds to a man.” He smiled when a slight repositioning of his hips brought a groan to her throat. He rubbed against her suggestively. “An aroused man sets you off like a flare, doesn’t he? Unless that were true, you couldn’t have enticed me to go with you last night.”
“You were drunk. You would have followed any female from that cantina.”
“Not so. I was drunk, but I recognized your steamy nature under that cool exterior. Well, nobody stays cool in the jungle, baby. You’ll thaw.”
“Stop.” She put all her strength into the command, so her protest wouldn’t sound as feeble as the resolve behind it.
“For now,” he said, lowering his hand from her breast. “Because I’m still mad as hell at you for pointing that gun at me. When the time is right, you’ll beg me for it.”
His audacity had a healthy effect on her. It made her fighting mad. “Don’t hold your breath.”
She was successful in pushing him away only because he allowed her to. He merely laughed as he bent down and retrieved his gun. He shoved it into his waistband. Kerry watched, until she realized what she was looking at and hurriedly raised her eyes.
He was smiling at her insolently when he said, “Get in. I’ll drive. You can put your boots on in the truck.”
He had already assumed control, and for the moment that was fine with Kerry. Their embrace had rattled her.
Because she had been devoted to her work with the children over the last ten months, she hadn’t missed the companionship of men. There was no one waiting for her to return to the United States. She hadn’t been romantically involved with anyone when she came to Monterico. Because of that lack of involvement with the opposite sex, her entire being had been assaulted by Linc O’Neal’s sudden intrusion into her life.
He had created a hunger inside her that hadn’t been there this time yesterday. It was both thrilling and shameful. She was afraid of his virility, but fascinated by it, too. He epitomized masculinity in its rawest form. The salty taste and smell of his skin, the roughness of his beard, the huskiness of his voice, all appealed to her. His size and shape and well-honed muscles were a blood-stirring contrast to her femininity.
Unfortunately, he had a rotten character and an annoying personality. If it weren’t for the orphans, Kerry would take her bruised lips and wounded pride and flee into the jungle to hide.
She had already had one user in her life. She didn’t want another. Her father had been a manipulator and a fraud. At least Mr. O’Neal was straightforward. He freely admitted that he looked out for number one. When her father’s corruption had been uncovered, Kerry had suffered in silence out of shame and love. She wasn’t about to remain silent with Lincoln O’Neal. She owed him nothing but fifty thousand dollars. He certainly didn’t warrant her devotion or respect. If he did anything that wasn’t to her liking, she would tell him so with no compunction.
For all her antipathy toward him, she was grateful that O’Neal was with her. She wouldn’t even admit to herself how frightened she had been at the prospect of transporting the children through the jungle alone. Their chances of surviving the trip and successfully escaping the country were slim, but at least they stood a better chance with O’Neal along.
“There’s a narrow wooden bridge up ahead,” she told him now. Once she had directed him to the road, they had ridden in silence. She took petty satisfaction in knowing that he was still nursing a hangover. “Almost immediately after you cross the bridge, there’s a path on your left.”
“Into the jungle?” he asked, looking up ahead.
“Yes. The children are hidden several hundred yards from the road.”
He followed her directions, until the truck’s progress was imp
eded by the density of the jungle. “I’ll have to stop here.”
“It’ll be okay. We shouldn’t be here long.”
He pulled the truck to a halt and Kerry alighted. “This way.” She struck out through the trees, anxious to check on the children. Her long braid became ensnared in vines. Branches slapped against her face and scratched her arms. “We could use your machete.”
“Hacking through the plants leaves a trail,” Linc said. “Unless it becomes absolutely necessary, we’re better off struggling our way through.”
Kerry was instantly contrite over her testiness. “Of course. I should have thought of that.”
She felt somewhat redeemed when they stumbled upon the hiding place, and it went unnoticed by Linc. She stopped, turned around to face him and was met with only a quizzical gaze before she called a name softly.