“Sheets!” she gasped, turning away from him.
“Sheets?”
She sort-of glanced at him over her shoulder. “Yes. We could tear the sheets up and use them as a way to get down to the ground. There are two sheets and two blankets.” She turned and looked up at him, hope lighting her eyes for the first time since she’d woken up in this miserable situation. “That should be enough to get us down to the ground, right?”
Goran cast a measuring glance over at the small cots, then nodded sharply. “I think you’re right,” he replied, then moved over to the cots, stripping the sheets and blankets off. “You go through the cabinets and gather up whatever food and water supplies that we can carry.” He ripped the pillows up as well, using that material for additional length as he started knotting the sheets and blankets together. “This will definitely be long enough. I’ll tie the length to that support beam over there.”
Calista hurried through the cabinets, gathering several cans up and dumping them into the pockets of her cargo pants.
“Calista…?”
She understood his tone and her shoulders drooped, but she didn’t turn to look at him. “Look, Goran, we both know that we’re not very interested in each other. That kiss…it was just a fluke. Just like the time we kissed after my brother’s wedding.” Calista paused, closing her eyes briefly. “We were…” she opened her eyes and looked through the small window, searching for inspiration. “We were finding comfort in each other’s arms during a stressful situation. I understand that.” She looked over at him. “I know you’re not interested in me. And before we were kidnapped, I was searching for a way to end our engagement. So don’t stress about it, okay? Like I said, that kiss was just a fluke. A release of stress. Nothing more. We’re still two people who don’t really like each other.”
He stared at her for such a long time, Calista wondered if he was going to disagree with her statement. She waited, praying that he’d disagree. Praying that he might say that he really did like her, that they just needed to get to know one another better. Perhaps their interactions had been too public oriented and they needed to get to know each other’s private personas.
Instead, he nodded sharply. “Right,” was his only response. Were the muscles in his jaw a bit tighter? Was there a bit more tension in those surprisingly muscular shoulders?
Again, Calista didn’t really know him well enough to be able to differentiate between irritated-Goran and focused-Goran. So instead of trying to figure him out, she moved efficiently through the “cabin” collecting anything that might be useful.
Goran tied the strips of sheets and blankets together, leaving the pillowcases for packing up supplies. But the whole time, he wondered what the hell Calista had meant by her words. He “wasn’t interested in her?” How in the world could she think that?
Goran wiped the sweat from his face with the sleeve of his arm. The humidity was so thick, it was like a physical hindrance. He much preferred the dry heat of his desert country, but he knew that others loved the sultry air created by the humid climates. He didn’t understand how anyone could enjoy this kind of thick, “wet” air, but he was quickly discovering a lot of issues he didn’t understand.
How in the hell could anyone not lust after Calista?
Okay, she came across as a prim ice princess most of the time. But there’d been that one kiss. Now two kisses. Hmm…that last kiss moments ago had been a hell of a lot more than just a kiss. It had been…mind blowing! And if Calista thought that she was going to end their engagement after that experience…!
Goran glanced over at her, noticed the sweat staining her shirt, her dark hair that was cascading down her back…hair that was normally pulled back into a tight style that caused her features to look pinched and strained. Right now, she didn’t look pinched or strained. She looked…lovely! Nor was she complaining. Ever since he’d woken up out of the drug induced stupor, Calista hadn’t uttered a single complaint. Most the other women of his acquaintance would have been whining, demanding that he do something to get them out of this predicament.
Not Calista! She was working just as hard to find a solution as he was. Damn, he respected her for that! In that moment, she bent over to put something into one of the pillow case bags and…seeing her ass in that manner…! He went from appreciative of her personality to rock hard with lust in record time!
What the hell was it about Calista that made him burn like this? Turning away from the delectable image, he focused on the weapons. Checking them for ammunition and ensuring that the safety locks were on, he stuffed two of them into the waistband of his slacks, nestled against his back. He flung one of the rifles over his shoulder and was reaching for another when soft, feminine hands reached for it. Turning, he was startled to see Calista flinging the rifle over her shoulder, the strap nestling between her breasts. Lucky strap, he thought, then lifted his eyes to her face.
“Do you know how to use that?” he asked, his body tightening as he looked down at her.
Calista lifted her eyes, challenge simmering in those lovely, dark depths. Goran laughed softly, shaking his head. “You continue to astonish me, love.”
“Is that ‘rope’ going to hold us?”
Goran looked at the sheets and blankets knotted together and nodded. “Yeah, the material hasn’t been out here long enough for the humidity to have deteriorated the fabric. We should be good.”
Calista nodded as she moved over to the trap door. “What are we going to do about the guy tied up in the other room?”
“Nothing,” he replied, hefting the heavy door open. He secured the “rope” to one of the shack supports and gestured for her to move closer to him.
“What do you mean? We have to help him! We can’t just leave him here. He’ll die!”
Goran put his arms around her, slipping the makeshift rope around her waist. “How about if we figure out how to survive ourselves? If we can make it out of this jungle, then I’ll send someone to rescue the guy. Will that work for you?”
Calista nodded, grabbing the rope. “Yes. That’s a fair trade.” She grinned as she tugged at the rope to ensure that it was strong enough. “You made this loop just for me, didn’t you? You’re going to lower me down instead of trusting me to shimmy down like a normal person?”
He chuckled, moving behind her as his body tightened once again. “You’re my princess, honey,” he said and shifted the loop so it was more secure around her. He lowered his head, saying into her ear, “What kind of fiancé would I be if I didn’t see to your every comfort?”
Before she could respond, he lifted the rope up and carefully lowered her through the trap door. It took only a few moments to lower her all the way to the ground. When her feet touched the jungle floor, she wiggled herself out of the loop and turned, looking up at him.
Goran pulled the “rope” back up and tied up the two pillow cases filled with supplies, then lowered those down next. As Goran watched from above, Calista efficiently untied the bags and set them off to the side. But not before he got a very good glimpse of her breasts encased in that pink and silver lace. He groaned, and this time, he didn’t bother trying to hide his reaction since he was about twenty feet above her.
“Anything else?” she called out, her beautiful face turned to look up at him. She wiped sweat from her brow, then took her booted foot and stepped on the loop, securing the “rope” for him.