Free Fall (Elite Force 4)

“Nothing for now. We’ll only be here for tonight. The beacon on my tracker will bring help as soon as it’s safe—hopefully by morning. Meanwhile, we evade.” He dug into his survival vest, plucked out another protein bar, and pitched it to her. “The best way you can help is get your strength back up.”

Her mouth watered. She didn’t have to think twice about the wisdom of this. She tore open the wrapper with her teeth and bit into the nutty chocolate bar. Forcing herself to chew slowly, she swallowed down the first bite and resisted the urge to gobble the thing whole.

Even with the protein bar earlier, she had a long way to go before she felt full again. “What about your headset? Is it working at all?”

“It cut out completely just after the explosion.” He used fishing twine from his vest to tie three limbs together into a tripod tall enough for a small lean-to.

“But you touched your ear and said we needed to run. I thought you got instructions…” She shook her head, trying to piece together those crazy few minutes after the land mine blew, how he’d said something about the headset shorting out. “Bubbles? Is yours working?”

“Nope.”

Stella gripped her head in frustration. “Would you care to elaborate?”

“Nope,” Bubbles answered.

Sutton propped up on one elbow, scrubbing a hand over his groggy face. “I would hate to be stranded on a deserted island with him.”

Still, it was beyond incredible they’d gotten out of there at all. She looked into Jose’s deep brown eyes, the shade even darker chocolate in the night. He reached to clean the nick on her neck from the guard’s knife earlier. She’d forgotten in the harried drive to escape.

The glide of Jose’s fingers along her skin was bittersweet pleasure. Even the antiseptic sting couldn’t dull the pleasure. Her mind was too weary to put up boundaries, and her thoughts raced back to another time she’d seen him fresh from the field—a mission rescuing two fishermen captured by pirates and held hostage. Sweat plastered his coal black hair to his head. He’d hauled on camo, but it was clear he hadn’t showered since the swim. His rangy body had been taut with residual tension from the mission. He was intense and mesmerizing and hot as hell. They’d had great sex…

Still, in the end they’d broken up in a heartrending argument that left her shattered. So much so, she feared she’d let her emotions cloud her professional judgment. That somehow she’d been off her game because of the breakup. That she was responsible for the kidnapping and loss of life.

Even now, they’d missed the chopper. Sure, Sutton’s freak-out had slowed them down, but had her exhaustion been a factor as well? Damn it, she had to keep her emotional distance.

And that included keeping her hands to herself.

She clenched her fingers together as Jose repacked his medic gear. She scanned their little makeshift camp. Bubbles cleaned up a scrape on Sutton’s head. Jose draped a whisper thin camouflage tarp over the stick tripod he’d built earlier, his movements and the shelter barely perceptible in the shifting night shadows.

He looked up sharply. She bit her lip, a flush burning her face at being caught staring at him so openly. “Uhm, I was thinking…”

“Stella?” he interrupted, whispering, stalking toward her with a leopard-like grace. “Don’t. Move. Truck’s approaching.”

Before she processed the words, he’d stretched over her, melding their bodies together as he pushed her to the ground.

Chapter 3

Jose’s hard muscled body pressed her into the dust.

Stella froze while a Land Rover jostled along a rugged path nearby, shocks squeaking. A jagged rock dug into her cheek, but she barely dared breathe much less inch away. Jose had sent up the alert about the vehicle mere seconds before the headlights peeked through the brush. If he’d heard the truck any later, they could have been discovered.

Adrenaline seared her veins again, different from earlier when they’d hugged. Edgier. That was about tender relief. This was about survival. Raw feelings. Instincts. Her body responded to his on a primal level.

And neither of them had so much as moved a muscle.

The 4x4 drove closer, the sound of grinding gears overpowering all other night sounds. Each slow, shallow breath mingled with the scent of baked earth and musky man. Her heart pulsed so hard, Jose had to feel it just as she felt the steady beat of his pounding against her shoulder. Was it her imagination, or had their hearts synced up in this elemental moment? Or was it only that they were both so in tune because of their training?

Except right now, her feelings for him were nowhere near detached and professional.

The light swept over them… and past. Still, she didn’t dare move. Not yet. Seconds blended into minutes and even longer. Relief tingled over her like a sunburn, sending every nerve hyper aware. The urge to flip over and wrap her arms around Jose was damn near impossible to resist. But if she held him, she knew it would lead to a kiss this time, a line neither of them could afford to cross.

And if she wasn’t mistaken, he was every bit as aware, every bit as aroused, as she was.

Then the heavy night air swept over her as he rolled aside and into a crouch. The taillights faded along with the sound of the misfiring engine. The danger had passed. For now. The truck could have been a threat or it could have been anyone. Regardless, it served as a reminder she couldn’t let her guard down for even a second. It wasn’t fair to rely on the guys. They had enough on their plates keeping everyone alive. Bubbles had already gone back to treating Sutton, leaving Stella and Jose paired off.

She searched for something benign to say, anything other than the too personal and vulnerable thoughts plaguing her. “How were you able to talk and run so easily all that time? Even for a marathon racer, this was intense.”

“Bubbles and I have been pulling overtime on Wii Fit.”