Risky Romance (Wolf Security #4)

24. Whisper

CHAPTER 24

Whisper

“Cody!” Clinging onto the fallen tree, I leaned over, searching for him in the swirling brown water below. I crawled over to the other side, praying he would resurface. “Come on. Come on!”

I shoved my hand into the water, desperately trying to feel for him.

Please, please.

He wasn’t there. Had he been sucked out into the current?

I scanned the river, searching for him, but the hammering rain made it impossible to see him, and the muddy water was a mass of debris. Every log looked like an arm or leg.

“Jesus! Where are you?”

Seconds stretched into an eternity. Each tick was more suffocating than the last.

The muddy river roared like a beast as swirling water slammed into the tree, piling up twigs on the other side of the log.

Tears swam in my eyes.

An explosion of bubbles burst from beneath the log.

“Oh fuck!”

He’s trapped down there!

Adrenaline blazed through me as I scrambled over the side of the log. Gripping a branch, I dropped in feet first and water attacked my body, forcing my legs away from the tree. Gritting my teeth, I pulled myself back, and using my feet, I searched for something to anchor me in position. I found a branch, wrapped my legs around it, and holding my breath, I let go of the tree above the water.

The current clawed at me, trying to drag me away, but I fought my way under the log, searching blindly with my hands through the gnarly branches. I opened my eyes, but the thick murk obscured everything.

Every touch was hard timber. Every second was a second too long.

I felt something soft.

Yes! Cody!

I wrapped my hand over his arm, expecting him to move. He didn’t.

My heart plummeted. His body was limp.

No, no, no!

Horror gripped me as I clawed at the branches, snapping them off in my desperation. I tried to find out how he was snagged, but it was taking too long. I tore at his shirt, ripping the fabric to free him.

Please, please be okay.

Feeling down his body, I wrapped my hands around his ankles, and bracing my feet on the tree trunk, I clenched my jaw and pulled with all the strength I had.

He jolted free.

The current swept us away. I held his lifeless body against me.

Kicking like crazy, I pulled him to the surface and when we broke through to fresh air, rain slammed into us.

My muscles screamed as I dragged him to the shore. My feet sank into the mud and grunting in frustration, I hauled his limp body forward. He flopped onto the reeds, and I rolled him over. His eyes were shut. His expression looked peaceful.

Pinching his nose, I pressed my mouth to his, forcing air into his lungs.

I pumped my hands on his chest. “Cody, come on. Please.”

My voice shattered with emotion. I breathed into him again. His lips were warm. His eyelids didn’t flutter.

With each breath, I pleaded. With each compression, I begged.

Time blurred as I fought to bring him back.

“No!” I screamed. “Don’t you dare leave me!”

The weight of despair crashed over me, but I refused to give up.

Tears streamed down my face. “Cody. Come on. I need you.”

I breathed into his mouth again. Cody bucked beneath me and spluttered out dirty water.

“Yes! Yes!” I rolled him onto his side, patting his back. “Oh, thank God.”

After spewing a gallon of dirty water, he gasped for air. Each wet breath sounded painful.

I brushed his hair from his face and relief flooded through me when his eyes opened.

“I’m here, Cody. I’m here.” I pressed my hand to his cheek.

He placed his hand over mine. “You saved me.”

“You bet your ass I did.” A sob burst from my throat as I collapsed onto him and burst into tears.

He spat a few times and wiped his hand across his mouth.

“You okay?” My words broke on my lips and emotion gripped me.

He rolled onto his back and wrapped his arms around me. “I am now.”

“You scared the shit out of me. I told you not to do that again.” I whimpered.

“Sorry.” He squeezed me tighter.

I couldn’t hold back a moment more and sobs wracked my body.

“Hey, don’t cry.” He brushed his hand over my hair. “I’m here now.”

The storm raging around me faded into the background as I melted into him, listening to his thumping heartbeat. I couldn’t believe he’d nearly died again.

How many more lives did we have?

“You okay?” He curled my hair around my ear.

“Yes. And no.” I pushed back from his chest. His blue eyes were so bloodshot they looked to be bleeding. “What about you?”

“I’m fine now.”

I rolled off his chest and sat, turning my face to the sleeting rain to wash away my tears and the mud smeared on my skin. I ran my hands through my hair, trying to tease out the knots.

Cody sat beside me and groaned. “Damn it. I’ve torn my jeans.”

“And your shirt.” I huffed. “You’re lucky that’s all. I would’ve torn your limb off if I needed to. You were stuck under there, Cody. I thought . . . I thought.”

A lump in my throat made it impossible to breathe, let alone speak.

He pressed his hand to my lower back. “You’re incredible.”

I turned to him, sucking in a shaky breath. “I’m beginning to think you have some kind of death wish.”

He drove his fingers through his wet hair. “In my defense, I did save you from that python.”

“Is that what you call it?” A smile crawled across my lips. “I can’t believe that happened either.”

He peeled off his remaining wet sock, tossed it away, and wriggled his toes on both feet. “I can’t believe I sacrificed my last boot.”

I laughed. “What’s next? Haven’t we been through enough?”

He squinted at the sky and shook his head. “Next is darkness. Let’s see if we can find some shelter while we still have light.”

He stood and offered his hand.

Groaning, I gripped his palm, and he hauled me to my feet so fast I staggered into him. I pressed my hand to his torn shirt, steadying myself as my legs trembled beneath me.

He gripped my shoulder and as he brushed wet hair from my cheek his concerned expression was raw. “You really are incredible.”

My heart thundered with joy, and excitement, and something else, something so unprecedented my core tingled.

He pressed his thumb under my chin, tilting my face to his. His lips brushed mine in a tender kiss that reached right into my soul. I returned his kiss, showing him how much I wanted—and needed—him.

Our kiss brought me back to life, flooding me with energy and the feeling that I could conquer anything. No, not me . . . we, us together. This incredible cowboy had turned my world upside down.

When we finally pulled apart, he leaned forward so our foreheads rested together. “Thank you for saving me.”

As our breaths mingled, I closed my eyes and the rain drumming on my head matched my heart thumping in my ears. “I thought I’d lost you,” I whispered.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

I wrapped my arms around him, and he squeezed me so tight that every bruise on my ribs and back hurt yet his caress was beautiful and perfect. I never wanted it to end.

When he finally released me, he laced his fingers through mine. “Come on, let’s get out of this rain.”

After scanning our surroundings, he led me away from the roaring river.

A large triangular piece of his shirt flapped loose from his back, revealing lean muscle and a deep gash that oozed blood. Mixed with the rain, it created pink rivulets down his spine.

“Oh, Cody, you have a bad cut on your back.” Maybe that was where he’d been snagged on the tree.

“I’m fine.” Water dripped from his hair and ran down his neck.

It wasn’t fine. The jagged cut looked nasty, and it may need a stitch or two.

We picked our way along the muddy riverbank. When my sneakers slipped on wet leaves and exposed roots, Cody helped me stay upright. Giant palm fronds swayed overhead, dumping buckets of rain onto our heads and shoulders, like it was a game that the jungle was enjoying.

I poked Cody’s shoulder blade through his torn shirt. “Sorry to tell you, but your shirt’s ruined.”

“Oh, man. I loved this shirt.” His devastation sounded real.

“I’ll buy you a new one.”

His bare feet squelched through the mud as thunder rumbled overhead.

“I’ll buy you cowboy boots, too.” I smiled, picturing us shopping for boots together.

He groaned. “I’m going to need more than a shirt and boots.”

Shit! The only things Cody had left were the clothes he was wearing. Now he didn’t even have that.

“I’m sorry, Cody.” I squeezed the back of his arm, and his muscles tensed beneath my touch.

Lightning flashed through the canopy, illuminating his broad shoulders. “What for?”

“For everything. Losing your job and your home.”

He didn’t respond, he just kept shoving through the bushes. The rain grew heavier, drumming on our heads and shoulders with renewed fury. At a section where the riverbank dropped away, Cody led us from the churning water and up the incline. We pushed through enormous fern fronds that planted a million brown seeds on our flesh and clothes as we brushed past them.

Some terrain was so steep, he had to pull me up next to him. The vegetation grew denser with huge leaves and hanging vines that caught at our clothes, and Cody held branches aside for me. Sometimes they would slip and snap back, showering us with more water.

My stomach twisted with a hunger like I had never experienced before, and I had no idea how Cody had the energy to keep going.

He reached for my hand and helped me over a massive fallen tree trunk covered in a carpet of green. “Watch your step here.” He nodded at the blanket of dead leaves over the ground. “There’s a lot of hidden holes under this.”

As darkness crept in, our progress slowed, but thankfully the rain finally ceased. Fat drops still drummed steadily from the canopy, creating a hypnotic symphony around us. The jungle took on an otherworldly glow in the fading light as birds erupted in an evening chorus and their calls echoed through the trees like they were trying to find their partners after the day from hell.

My foot snagged in a tangle of roots, and I cried out as I stumbled forward.

Cody caught me just before my knees hit the ground. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Well, no actually. I’m stuffed.”

“Me too.”

Could have fooled me. He looked like he could climb another mountain.

“I don’t suppose you could do your magic trick again where you find us something to eat?”

He chuckled. “I wish it was magic. Food for human consumption is limited in the Daintree.”

“For vegetarians, you mean.” I offered a cheeky smile.

“Really? You could kill an animal?” He scanned the slope above us, and a fat drip splattered his cheek.

“If I got hungry enough, yes.” I pulled my wet shirt off my stomach, letting some fresh air brush against my skin. “I’m sure we wouldn’t be the first people lost in the Daintree rainforest who were desperate enough to kill an animal. I’d do anything to survive.”

As he wiped the raindrop from his cheek, he looked at me with a dark expression.

“What?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Nothing.”

“No. Come on. You wanted to say something.”

“It’s nothing.” He ripped his gaze from me and strode away.

What the hell?

I scrambled after him. “You don’t think I could kill an animal? If I was really starving, I mean.”

Like now.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” He cut a path through a tangle of dense bushes and his movements were more aggressive than they needed to be.

Wow. He really is passionate about being a vegetarian.

“I’ve caught and killed fish before,” I called after him, ducking beneath a branch, “and eaten them. They were yummy, by the way.”

He kept walking.

I raced to keep up with him. “Just to clarify, I couldn’t kill anything cute. Like a possum or a kangaroo.”

He still didn’t respond.

“But maybe a lizard. Or that snake. I definitely would’ve eaten that snake.” I swatted a massive leaf away and it sprang back, giving my chest a wet slap. “After all, it planned on eating us.”

Cody glanced at me over his shoulder, and his expression softened. “You really are loud, aren’t you?”

“Told you.” I grinned. “Hence my nickname . . . Whisper.”

“I like Jewel better.”

A warmth fluttered through me. “Nobody calls me Jewel. Except my boss, I guess. But only when I’m in trouble.”

He turned to me, still avoiding direct eye contact. “I have a feeling you’re in trouble often.”

I gasped. “Why do you say that?”

“Just an assumption.”

“Well, I’ll have you know, I’m very good at my job.”

“I’m sure you are.” His tone dripped sarcasm. Then his eyes lit up. “Hey, that looks promising.”

He pointed to an outcrop of rock jutting from the hillside ahead.

I followed him up the muddy incline, grabbing tree trunks for support.

“Here we go.” He launched up to the rocky platform in an impressive display of strength and extended his hand. Wrapping his hand around mine, he pulled me up beside him and I swept my dripping hair back from my face.

The alcove carved into the rock face was tight but dry, with a mostly flat stone floor and just deep enough to shelter us if the sky opened up again.

“Watch your head.” He slapped the outside rocks on the low-hanging ceiling and ducked to enter. “It’s no five-star luxury, but it’ll do.”

He kicked a loose rock, and it sailed over the edge and clattered down the slope.

My stomach chose that moment to growl loud enough to echo off the stone walls.

Cody’s eyes softened with sympathy. “Sorry. No room service.”

“Oh, man, I’d kill for a burger right now.”

“Yeah, funny.”

“A snake burger would do.”

“I’ll eat your fries.” He chuckled, and the deep baritone seemed to warm our space. “With loads of barbeque sauce.”

“Ew, no way, chips and gravy.” I grinned at him

He scrunched his nose, and I couldn’t tear my eyes from the way it crinkled his face, making him somehow even more handsome in the fading light.

“Right,” he said, all business again. “You take a break, and I’ll see if?—”

“I’ll come help.”

His hands found my shoulders, gentle but firm as he guided me backward. “Sit down, before you fall down.”

“But what if you need me to rescue you again?”

He cocked his head, unamused.

“All right.” I rolled my eyes. “Bossy boots.” I shuffled to the back of the alcove as Cody slipped over the edge, leaving only his head visible.

“Don’t go getting lost,” I called after him.

His expression darkened like storm clouds gathering, and he shook his head before disappearing down the slope.

I edged forward, letting my legs dangle over the side as I watched him attack a massive palm, snapping off fronds like they’d personally offended him.

Something haunted him, something darker than our current nightmare. I’d never met anyone like Cody. The men in my world wore confidence like bulletproof vests, all steel nerves, and sharp edges. But there was a rawness to Cody that drew me in. Maybe it was the weight of his parents’ legacy that put those shadows behind his eyes. God, I wanted to know what really happened to his father.

As he marched back toward me holding an armful of palm fronds, his head was down, and he looked like his thoughts were a million miles away. Three feet from me, he jerked his head, surprised to see me.

“Here, spread these out.” He tossed the fronds up to my level. “They’ll give us some cushioning to sleep on.”

As I climbed to my feet, he marched away again.

Cody was like a drug that hooked me with just one taste, leaving me desperate for another fix. I craved more of him, all of him. Not just the scars from his troubled past, but everything: what made him smile, what kept him up at night, what dreams he chased. Most of all, I needed to know if he felt this electric current between us. Though God knew why he’d looked twice at me— I’d burst into his world like an atom bomb, leaving a trail of chaos in my wake.

I spread the palm fronds onto the ground, stealing glances at Cody as he gathered more. The jungle turned indigo around us and darkness seeped through the canopy like ink through water. His movements were becoming harder to track in the growing gloom.

After four more bundles, his shape had nearly dissolved into the shadows. I was about to plead for him to stop when he finally jumped up to my level and dusted his hands on his jeans.

“Here we go.” I gestured to our makeshift bed of leaves, acutely aware of how the confined space would press us together. “Our bed is ready.”

Even in the shadows, his smirk sent heat crawling up my neck.

“I mean.” I cleared my throat, fighting the warmth spreading through me. “Not our bed. The bed.”

Heat rushed up my neck as memories of our night by the fire flooded back—his hands, his mouth, the way he’d made me come apart under the stars. My body hummed with the echo of that pleasure.

“Looks comfy.” He cleared his throat. “After you.”

“No. No. You first. I insist.” My voice sounded breathless even to my own ears.

Cody slumped against the wall with an exaggerated sigh. “Ah, this is the life.”

A laugh escaped me. “You’re an easy man to please.”

I settled beside him, every nerve ending alive where our thighs pressed together in the cramped space.

“Always.” He shifted, searching for comfort.

“Yeah. Me too.”

He cocked his head.

Even in the growing darkness, his scrutiny burned. “What?”

“You’re a city girl.”

“So? Doesn’t mean I need silk sheets and room service.”

He made a sound of pure disbelief.

“Oh, I get it. Some city woman broke your heart because you couldn’t afford her champagne taste?”

“Nope.”

“Then what?” The jungle darkness swallowed the last traces of sunlight.

“Just saying we’re different. That’s all.”

“Different?” The word tasted bitter on my tongue. “And is that supposed to be good or bad?”

“Just . . . different.” His voice carried the weight of surrender.

Goddammit. Every time I got close to scaling that wall of his, he would stack it higher with fresh bricks. Was this his way of telling me that whatever sparked between us was destined to burn out?

Maybe I should stop pushing. Cody was a gentleman. Perhaps this was his polite way of keeping me at arm’s length.

The thought carved an ache in my chest.

No. This wasn’t rejection. He was just a man who was used to being alone.

I had to keep trying to reach him, even if I risked getting burned. Some fires were worth the scars. At least, I hoped so.