Risky Romance (Wolf Security #4)

25. Whisper

CHAPTER 25

Whisper

Every attempt I made at conversation hit his wall of silence. It was starting to get under my skin. Maybe he was too exhausted to chat? Well, tough luck. This was going to be one hell of a long night without something to fill it.

My body hummed with suggestions of other ways we could pass the time, none of them involving words. Forcing my horny body to behave, I cleared my throat. “Fine. Your turn to pick a topic.”

“Can’t we just enjoy the peace?” The words rumbled from his chest like distant thunder.

“Okay. Sure.” I squirmed, trying to shake off the day’s tension, stretching my limbs in an awkward dance in the cramped space. I attempted to put some distance between us, but the shelter had other ideas and as his warmth seeped through our damp clothes, I savored every degree of it.

“Got ants in your pants?”

“Ha ha.” I laced my fingers together and stretched. “Ah, this is the life.”

His laughter burst through the darkness, rich and unexpected.

“Thanks.” I shrugged. “I aim to please.”

His eyes found mine in the shadows, and that smile of his could ignite fires.

Questions burned on my tongue, but I swallowed them back. It was his turn to open a discussion. At least, I hoped he would.

He fixed his gaze on the darkness beyond our shelter, maintaining his fortress of silence.

Damn him. He was as stubborn as a rusted bolt, and something wild inside me wanted to crawl into his lap and kiss that obstinance right off his face. If he kept this up, maybe I would. After a day like today, we could both use the distraction. Hell, I could certainly use the stress relief.

A breeze snaked into our shelter and licked my sodden clothes still clinging to my skin.

His silence was grinding my gears. We had a mountain of topics we could talk about.

The darkness had grown absolute now, so thick I couldn’t even see my own hands. Outside, the jungle orchestra tuned in: frogs offered their throaty croaks while flying foxes screeched in haunting echoes through the canopy.

The wind picked up, sending a shiver across my skin and I rubbed my arms, but the cold had already settled into my bones.

Something large crashed through the undergrowth below. A kangaroo maybe, though it sounded heavy enough to be a hippo. It shifted again, snapping a few twigs.

“What is that?” I asked. “Sounds huge.”

“Maybe a pademelon, or wild pig. Or dingo.”

“A pademelon?” I frowned. “What are they?”

“Think tiny roo. Knee-high, tops. Like someone took a regular kangaroo and shrunk it in the wash.”

I giggled. “Well, they’re definitely too cute to eat, then.”

A sharp breeze knifed through the alcove, turning my damp shirt into an instrument of torture.

“You cold?”

“Yeah, this wind’s cutting straight through me.”

He lifted his arm.

“Come here.” Before I could process what was happening, he guided me across his thigh until I settled between his legs. The solid heat of his chest pressed against my back as his arms enveloped me. “Better?”

“Yep. Thanks.” My heart didn’t just skip, it performed an Olympic-worthy floor routine. This was beyond better. Our bodies aligned like custom-machined parts, fitting together with absolute precision.

How could he be so damn calm?

Why wasn’t he burning to know me the way I ached to know him?

It was growing harder to keep my mouth shut when questions tumbled through my mind like beads from a broken necklace, scattering in every direction.

Maybe I was reading the situation all wrong. Maybe I was just another problem for him to troubleshoot, the broken part he had to deal with until we escaped this jungle.

No. I’d seen that scorching intensity in his gaze when he thought I wasn’t watching. And I’d felt the gentleness in his touch and the way his hands drifted over me like he was mapping uncharted territory. Maybe he really had done nothing but work that land, coming home each night to empty rooms and silence.

Oh God. Maybe he’s never been with a woman.

No, he definitely had. The memory of his skilled hands touching me by the firelight sent sparks flying across my skin. He’d known precisely what he was doing when he’d made me come undone, piece by burning piece. Heat coiled low in my belly at the glorious memory.

“Will you relax?”

I startled against him. “I am relaxed.”

“Yeah, obviously. I can practically hear the gears turning in your head.”

“I’m thinking quiet thoughts.”

And trying to ignore the heat of your breath tickling against my ear.

His chest rumbled with a low laugh. “Liar.”

“That’s a bit rough. Besides, how would you know?”

“Your thoughts are connected to your fidgeting.” His hands tightened slightly around my waist. “And your breathing changes every few seconds.”

Heat crawled up my neck. He’d been tracking my breathing?

“I’m not restless. I’m . . . getting comfortable.”

“That what you call it?” His voice dropped to whiskey-rough depths, sending tremors through me that had nothing to do with the cold.

“Yes,” I said, aiming for an irritated tone but landing somewhere between breathless and wanting. “And I’m comfortable now.”

“Good.” His thumb traced slow circles beneath my shorts’ hem. Each stroke was like a live wire against my skin. “Then maybe you can tell me what’s running through that mind of yours.”

Finally, he’d asked me something.

I swallowed hard. “Nothing important.”

“Try again.” His thumb kept its maddening orbit, sending sparks through every nerve ending. Teasing me. Torturing me.

The bastard knows exactly what he’s doing.

“I was just . . .” I paused, searching for words that wouldn’t reveal too much. “Thinking about that fire and our . . . you know, conversation.”

His thumb stilled. The silence between us crackled with electricity.

“That’s not nothing important.” His voice was sandpaper-rough.

My heart thundered so loud I was sure he could feel it hammering against his chest.

“No,” I whispered. “I suppose it’s not.”

His arms tightened fractionally around me. “That was . . . complicated.”

“Complicated?” I twisted in his grip, straining to read his expression in the dark. “That’s not exactly the word I’d choose.”

“No?” His voice held a dangerous edge that made my stomach flip. “What word would you use?”

Heat bloomed in my chest.

To hell with playing safe. This cowboy needed absolute honesty.

“I’d call it incredible,” I said.

His grip tightened and his fingers pressed into my flesh.

“Mind-blowing,” I added. “Earth-shattering.”

His sharp intake of breath stirred my hair. “Jewel . . .”

“But maybe that’s just me.” I started to pull away.

His arms locked around me like steel bands.

“It’s not just you.” His tone was rough, almost angry. “God, it’s not just you.”

“Okay, that’s good then. We’re both on the same page.”

“Jewel, we’re not on the same page. We’re not even in the same book. We come from different worlds. Whatever this is . . . it’s because we’re stuck out here. Nothing more.”

“Nothing more?” The words stung like a slap.

His fingers flexed against my waist. “You’re just vulnerable, that’s all.”

“I’m not a fucking damsel in distress, Cody.” I struggled against his hold, but he wouldn’t let go.

He laughed, but it was a dark sound that sent heat pooling in my belly. “You’re far more dangerous than that.”

His voice was sin, low and rough.

A tremor ran through me that had nothing to do with damp clothes. “What does that mean?”

“It means . . .” His forehead dropped to my shoulder and his hot breath scorched against my skin. “It means I haven’t been able to think straight since you crashed into my life. And . . .”

“And what?” I pressed when his words evaporated.

“And it’s taking everything I have not to—” He broke off with a harsh breath.

“Not to what?” My heart skidded to a halt, making my head spin. “Finish that sentence, Cody.”

His fingers anchored into my hips. “Don’t push me, Jewel.”

“Why not?” I shifted in his lap, feeling reckless. “Afraid you might actually tell me what you want?”

He released a raw growl that resonated through his chest and went straight to my core. “What I want doesn’t matter.”

“It matters to me.” I twisted further, my breasts grazing his chest. “Tell me.”

“You want to know what I want?” His voice dropped to dangerous depths, igniting every nerve ending in my body. His hands traced up my sides. “I want to forget every reason why this is a bad idea. I want to map every inch of you. I want to hear those sounds again . . . the ones you made by the fire when you came apart in my hands.”

My breath snagged in my throat. “Oh, Cody.”

“But I can’t.” His hands stilled. “Because tomorrow, or the next day, we’ll make it out of here and you’ll dive back into your world, and I’ll return to mine. And this will just be another adventure story you tell over drinks, and I’ll become that guy you got lost in the jungle with.”

“Is that what you think?” Anger flamed in my chest. “That I’m just some city girl living through a wild story?”

“Isn’t that exactly what you are?” His words cut deep, but his hands stayed gentle at my waist. “A city girl lost in my jungle?”

“Your jungle?” I pivoted fully in his lap, not caring how precarious this new position was. The darkness swallowed his features, but I didn’t miss the coiled tension beneath his skin. “And for your information, I didn’t?—”

His mouth collided with mine, silencing my protest, and his hands tangled in my hair, anchoring me as his tongue claimed my mouth. This wasn’t the methodical exploration he’d made by our campfire. This was raw hunger.

I moaned, melting into him as my hands explored the contours of his shoulders, his back, and every inch of him I could claim. His kiss was tender, yet fierce, like a branding that seared me as his own.

He wrenched away, inhaling a ragged gasp. “Fuck.” The word was a raw, anguished sound. “This is exactly what I’m talking about.”

My senses were scrambled by his kiss.

“What?” My voice was barely audible over my pounding heart. I craved more, needed more. Needed him.

His forehead pressed against mine and our breaths tangled in the dark.

“You make me lose control,” he growled the words as a low, husky confession.

“Maybe,” I whispered, tracing his jaw and feeling the rough stubble against my fingertips, “control is overrated.”

His hands tightened in my hair.

“Jewel . . .” My name was a warning on his lips.

“Stop thinking so much.” I shifted closer, brushing my lips against his as I spoke. “Stop fighting this.”

With a muttered curse, he claimed my mouth again and slid one hand down my back, pressing me closer while the other cradled my head. He kissed me like a starving man, like he was trying to devour every sound, every breath.

I rolled my hips against him, drawing a deep groan from his chest. His hand slipped under my shirt and his callused fingers skimmed over my skin, leaving trails of fire in their wake.

“Tell me to stop,” he murmured against my lips. “Tell me this is crazy.”

Instead, I caught his bottom lip between my teeth, earning another growl. “No.”

His hand splayed across my lower back, hot against my skin. “You’re going to be the death of me.”

“What a way to go,” I breathed, and his lips curved into a smile against mine.

His mouth left mine to trail down my neck, and his teeth grazed the sensitive spot below my ear. I gasped, arching into him as his hand slid higher under my shirt.

“You’re playing with fire,” he whispered against my throat.

“I can handle the flames.” I ran my nails down his back, feeling his muscles tense beneath his shirt.

He pulled back slightly, and even in the darkness the intensity of his gaze burned into me. His thumb traced my bottom lip. “You have no idea what you do to me.”

I lifted my T-shirt up over my head.

“Show me,” I challenged, my voice barely above a whisper.

The sound he made was raw . . . wild. In one fluid movement, he shifted me onto my back and covered my body with his. The ground was hard beneath me, but I barely noticed as his weight and body heat consumed me.

“Last chance to change your mind, lady,” he said roughly, bracing himself above me.

I locked my legs around his hips, pulling him closer. “Not a chance in hell, cowboy.”

His laugh was dark and promising. “Good.”

His mouth claimed mine again, and coherent thoughts became impossible.

His kisses deepened and I turned molten as his hand charted a course up my ribcage. When his thumb grazed the curve of my breast, I arched into his touch, craving more contact.

“Patience,” he murmured against my mouth, but his famous control was failing. His hands trembled and I heard the ragged edge of his breathing.

“I don’t want patience.” I yanked at his shirt, desperate for skin contact. “I want you.”

He groaned and the sound rumbled through him like a diesel engine. “Here? On the ground?”

“I don’t care.” Nothing mattered except his touch, his taste . . . him .

His hand moved to my thigh, and his fingers dug into my flesh as he rocked against me. “You deserve better than this.”

I caught his earlobe between my teeth. “I want you, Cody. Now.”

His mouth reclaimed mine as his hand worked the button and zipper on my shorts. The wet fabric clung to me, so I lifted my hips, helping him peel my clothes away. As the night air whispered across my exposed skin, my nipples tingled into tight peaks.

My fingers wrestled with his belt buckle, frantic to release him, but it refused to unclasp.

“Get them off, Cody,” I ordered, and my husky voice was barely recognizable.

Breaking the kiss, he drew away, and I bit back a laugh at the urgent rustling as he stripped off his shirt. Water droplets from the fabric rained onto my skin, igniting like little sparks on my flesh. He pulled away to tug his wet jeans off, and with a low groan, he shifted over me again.

I pressed my palm to the solid plane of his chest, mapping the ridges of muscles with my fingers. The heat radiating from his body enveloped me, his warm flesh a tantalizing contrast to my cool skin. Our mouths met again in a frantic kiss and as his hands roamed over me, each touch sent shivers through my body. He cupped my breasts and when his thumbs brushed over my nipples, glorious pleasure sizzled through me.

I wrapped my legs around his hips, pulling him closer as he positioned himself above me. He shifted again, and a gasp left my throat as he entered me in one long, glorious thrust.

I arched my back against the hard ground as he moved inside me in a deep, deliberate rhythm. The darkness amplified every sensation: the sounds of our ragged breaths, the rustle of leaves below me, the soft sounds of our bodies joining. The feel of him inside me.

I was lost in a sensory overload and the jungle setting faded into the background.

Our bodies found an ancient rhythm, each movement building the delicious climax inside me higher and higher.

He drove deeper, harder, and more demanding with each thrust, and I matched his intensity, digging my fingers into his hips. My pleasure built in me like wildfire, consuming every part of me with sizzling heat.

A primal moan thrummed from his throat, thick with desire. “Oh, Jewel.”

The sound of my name on his lips tipped me over the edge. I cried out, gripping his hips as wave after wave of exquisite vibrations shuddered through me.

His breath hitched, and his pace quickened as he pursued his own release. A final, commanding thrust, and he groaned, shuddering deep within me. Another wave of ecstasy crashed through me, and I cried out once more as my body trembled with a second, exhilarating climax.

The full weight of his body pressed against me as he buried his face in the crook of my neck. With his hot breath brushing over my skin, the jungle sounds around us came back into focus and merged with the beat of my heart.

Cody collapsed beside me and his arm draped over my belly, holding me close. “That was incredible.”

“So an improvement on ‘complicated’ then?”

He kissed my shoulder with a soft, lingering touch that reached right into my heart. “You’re still complicated.”

I giggled, trailing my fingers along his arm. “Nobody would dispute that.”

A moment of silence stretched between us and the jungle sounds beyond our little alcove seemed to grow wilder. With the warmth of Cody next to me and my body humming with post-sex bliss, I inhaled a wonderful calming breath.

I have never been so alive in my life.

Cool night air teased my skin, and a delightful shiver rippled through me.

Cody pulled me even closer. “Jewel.” His voice was thick with emotion. “I don’t want this to end.”

Was he reading my mind? “I know what you mean.”

Despite everything that had led us here and our near-death experiences, I had never been so comfortable with a man before. It was like we’d known each other forever.

Yet, a persistent voice in my head warned that this was sheer madness. We were practically strangers.

I’d never believed in love at first sight, nor held much faith in love at all. But with each pounding heartbeat, I found myself questioning those convictions . . . and it terrified me. Because I had a terrible feeling that Cody would be caught up in the investigation into what was happening on his farm.

And he would never forgive me for that.

Despite how much I believed in his innocence, convincing the police would be another matter. I pictured him as a broken man being carted away in handcuffs and my heart nearly cracked in two.