26. Cody
CHAPTER 26
Cody
As I stirred from sleep, the first light of dawn filtered through the dense jungle canopy, sprinkling tiny stars across millions of wet leaves. Jewel lay nestled against my side with her head resting on my arm.
The memory of her beneath me played through my mind: the velvet softness of her skin, the glorious weight of her boobs, her spectacular curves in my hands.
Never had a woman stripped away my control like that before. Jewel wielded a power over me that shattered my restraint, but I craved that surrender. Fucking needed it, and damn it felt good. She felt good.
Yet she was messing me up. Never before had a woman burrowed so deep into my mind.
And she wasn’t just any woman. Jewel was incredible on so many levels. She was stunning, brave, carefree, smart, and quick to laugh. But the one trait that trumped all the rest was her brutal honesty. After a lifetime of lies from every single person I trusted, this complete stranger had shown me that integrity did exist.
She’d made me believe that I could have a woman in my life.
Not just casual comfort, but a woman I wanted to wake up to every day. A lover, a confidant, someone special who I trusted, and more importantly, someone I wanted to spend time with.
But there was something else about Jewel that scared the crap out of me.
She was way too good for me and there wasn’t a chance in hell she would settle for an uneducated farmer like me. Once we made it out of this jungle, she would go back to a life full of possibilities, and I would fade into the background like smoke from a snuffed fire.
I was on the brink of having my head and heart completely wrecked over this woman in my arms, and there was nothing I could do to stop myself from diving headlong into that beautiful destruction.
I shifted slightly, trying to shake off the pins and needles from the weight of her head on my arm, but she stirred, blinking. When she rolled toward me, her stunning smile seemed to reach into my swirling thoughts and wrap them in a calming embrace.
I could wake up to her in my arms every day. A warmth spread through me at that tantalizing thought. “Morning, my lady.” My voice was still thick with sleep, and I cleared my throat.
Her smile widened. “Morning to you, too, cowboy.” She eased away from me and stretched like a cat angling for more sun on its belly. “You get some sleep?”
“Enough.” As I shifted away from the alcove wall, the cut on my back stung like a bitch, and I winced.
“You okay?” She frowned.
“Yeah. Just forgot about that cut on my back.”
“Oh. Want me to take a look?”
“Nope, I’m fine.” My stomach rumbled like a distant thundercloud. “My hunger pains hurt more than my back. Let’s get going. I need some breakfast before we take on any more jungle adventures.”
“Giddyup, cowboy.” She giggled, and it was the sweetest morning chorus I’d ever heard.
We crawled out of the alcove, and I helped her down, placing my hand on her waist, like touching her was the most natural thing to do in the world.
I scanned the surrounding trees, hoping to find another bunch of bananas or an overburdened paw-paw tree. There was nothing around us. Leading the way, I aimed downhill toward the river again. The vegetation didn’t seem as dense as it had yesterday, and the mud wasn’t as sticky, making walking barefoot easier.
I held up a giant palm leaf so Jewel could duck beneath it, and she slipped in front of me.
“I have a feeling today’s going to be a good day.” She plucked a dead branch from the ground and used it like a cane.
“Any improvement on yesterday would be good.”
“I don’t know. Yesterday was pretty lucky, if you ask me.” She flicked her gaze over her shoulder.
I frowned. “I think that bump on your head has messed up your memory. We nearly died a few times, remember?”
“ Nearly being the operative word. Any day that you come out the end of a life-threatening situation with your body still upright is a good day.”
I chuckled. “Okay, I’ll give you that. You sound like you’ve had your share of them.”
“A few, yes. Adds to the fun. Cody, look!” She darted ahead toward a small tree with dark, glossy leaves. “Please tell me these are edible?”
I caught up to her, grinning.
“Sure can. Native peaches.” I plucked two, passing one to her. The fruit burst with sweetness as I devoured mine. Juice trickled down my chin and I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “That hits the spot.”
“God, yes.” She reached for another one. “Told you I had a good feeling about today.”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s a decent start. I’ll give you that.”
She flashed that smile of hers again that stole my breath from me.
“So your job’s dangerous, huh?” I asked.
“It can be.”
“In what way?”
“Have you ever seen the show Border?—”
“Nope.” I cut her off.
“I haven’t even said?—”
“Don’t matter. I already told you, I don’t watch TV.”
“So, what did you do when you weren’t working on the farm?”
I shrugged. “There’s always something that needs fixing.”
“No, I mean after that. Do you read? Carve wood? What do you do for fun?”
Carve wood? What the hell? “There’s no time for fun on a farm.”
“Well, that sounds miserable. Why do you like it?”
I shrugged again.
“Come on. There must be something that you love about it.”
I bit into another peach, buying time as I searched for an answer that might satisfy her. Finally, I sighed. “If you really want to know . . . there’s something magical about watching a seed break through the soil and come to life.”
Her molasses eyes locked on mine, softening. “That actually sounds beautiful.” She grinned. “I, on the other hand, am a serial plant murderer.”
A laugh burst from my throat, and it felt so damn good.
“I mean it.” She licked her fingers, and it was so damn sexy my cock pulsed. “I even killed a cactus my brother bought me for a present.”
“Dane?” I asked.
“No. My oldest brother, Clint.”
“How many brothers do you have again?”
“Four–Clint, Nathan, Mark, and Dane’s the youngest at nineteen. What about you? Any siblings?”
I blinked at her.
“Oh sorry.” Her eyes flared. “I wasn’t thinking.”
“It’s okay. Let’s keep moving.”
I pushed through the thick underbrush, leading the way again. The sun seemed to climb higher with each step, cranking up the humidity until it clung to my skin like a damp blanket. Each trickle of sweat down my spine found that damn cut, setting it on fire all over again.
Jewel walked behind me in silence for a change and I hoped she was thinking about her brother, Dane again, rather than asking more questions about my family and what happened to Dad after the robbery. That was a door I needed to keep locked.
I glanced over my shoulder, and her eyes drilled into me with an expression that was so dark, I dreaded what she was thinking. Maybe she was regretting getting naked with me. That would be fucked.
Anger blazed through me, and I picked up my pace. I needed to get us out of this damn jungle before my head was so screwed up, I couldn’t put it straight again.
I stumbled over something half-buried in the mud—a large, rusty can. The kind someone would use to boil water over a fire.
“Our first sign of civilization.” Jewel turned the tin upright with her stick. The rust had eaten a hole through the bottom. “Damn, except it’s been here a long time.”
My mind spiraled to my father.
Was that his? Was he here? I searched the bushes for signs of a shelter or remains of a fire pit. I fucking hated that hope trickled into my mind.
“What’s wrong?” Jewel draped her hand over my arm.
“Nothing.” The word came out harsher than I intended.
She didn’t pull away, though. Instead, she squeezed gently. “Cody, please. I can tell something’s troubling you. Talk to me.”
She angled her face in front of mine, forcing me to look at her.
“Damn, you’re pushy.”
Her jaw dropped with mock hurt.
“That wasn’t pushy. Trust me, I have ways to make you talk,” she said in a bad Russian accent and bent her fingers back as if cracking her knuckles.
I burst out laughing. How could she frustrate me and look so damn sexy? “I bet you say that to all the boys.”
“Ha, from the Meatloaf song. So you listen to music? That’s something . . .”
I scrunched up my nose, confused.
“That quote . . . it’s from Meatloaf. You know, the singer.”
I shook my head. I couldn’t remember the last time I listened to music.
Jewel burst into song, singing about a bat going to hell and being gone in the morning.
The song tugged at something in my memory, but I couldn’t pinpoint why.
She kept singing, getting louder and my mind tumbled back two decades. To my mom and me in the car. I was in my school uniform which I’d forgotten ever wearing, and Mom was driving, and smiling, and so damn happy I hardly recognized her image. This same song had burst through the speakers, and she’d cranked it up, belting out every word until I’d jammed fingers in my ears. Mom’s laughter had filled the car like the sun that was streaming through the windows.
The flashback blindsided me. I rarely had memories of my mother, and certainly not ones that didn’t involve flashing lights, angry cops, or her crying.
“What are you thinking?” Jewel’s eyes were all dark and pleading.
I glanced up at the sky.
Where’s a swollen thundercloud when I need one?
“Don’t make me nipple crimp you,” she said.
I scrunched up my nose. “What?”
“Oh my god, you don’t know—” She reached over and squeezed my nipple.
“Ow.” I slapped her hand away. “That hurt.”
I chuckled despite myself.
Jewel snapped her fingers together like they were barbecue tongues. “Nipple torture.”
“You’re mean.”
“What can I say? I have four brothers that need to be shown who’s boss.”
“Remind me not to get on your bad side.”
“You should see me in a pillow fight.” She pranced side to side.
I’d give anything to see her in a pillow fight.
“Ah, I see you like the sound of that.” She lunged for my nipple again, and I dodged backward. “Look at you. Fast learner. Must be your cowboy instincts.”
I put my hands over my nipples. “And you’re not much of a lady.”
“You only just figuring that out.”
“I’m figuring a lot out.”
“Oh yeah? What else?”
“That you talk too much.”
She clicked her tongue and winked. “Always.”
I couldn’t stop the grin crawling across my lips.
“So, now that you know how persuasive I can be, tell me what you were thinking.” She snapped her fingers, grinning.
I leveled my gaze at her. “I had a memory of my mom singing that song.”
“Oh. So that’s a good thing, right?”
I groaned. “Yeah. Spectacular.”
“Awesome. Tell me about it. Did you sing along, too?”
“Not going there, Whisper.” I walked away.
She hurried to catch up with me. “Oh, come on. This hike is boring.”
“It’s hardly boring. Look around—it’s stunning.” I scanned the giant gum trees ahead. “These trees are hundreds of years old.”
“Okay then, while we’re enjoying all this spectacular scenery, we might as well get to know each other.”
My head told me that was the worst plan, but my heart wanted in on that suggestion. Swinging my arms, I tried to put some space between us.
“I get it, we’re not talking about the singalong.” She skipped in front of me and then walking backward to face me, she said, “Tell me about that tin can, then. Was that another memory? I saw you freak out.”
I rolled my eyes. “I did not freak out.”
“Oh yeah, you did. I thought you were going to have a total meltdown.”
“Will you shush? You’re scaring the kookaburras.”
“Ah, the cowboy is the king of dodging the real questions.”
“You do the same, you know. Dodge questions.”
Her jaw dropped. “No, I don’t. I told you to ask me anything. Go on, I dare you.”
I clamped my jaw, trying not to grin at her childish enthusiasm, but she was so refreshing, I couldn’t help it. “I asked you if your job was dangerous. You didn’t answer.”
“Yes, you’re right. My apology. How about this? We go question for question.”
I groaned.
“Come on, that’s fair.”
“And if I say no?”
“I’ll introduce you to my blue balls torture.”
I burst out laughing again. Hot damn. She’s adorable.
She wriggled her eyebrows. “So what’s it going to be, cowboy? Blue balls, or a little Q and A game?”
“Or . . . we could enjoy the serenity of the rainforest.”
She lunged forward, going for my nipple. I slapped her hand away.
“Come on, cowboy. What’s going to hurt more? A bruised nipple? Blue balls? Or telling me a little bit about yourself?”
The river finally emerged through the trees, but the sun blazed like a merciless torch, making the air hot enough to scald. Even I felt its intensity today. I typically powered through the worst of the heat, too absorbed in the relentless demands of the farm to notice. But it wasn’t my discomfort that concerned me—it was Jewel. Her sweat-dampened hair clung to her neck, and her cheeks were flushed a deep red. The last thing she needed was heatstroke adding to her already long list of injuries.
“You know what I find fascinating about you, Cody?”
Here we go. “What?”
“Despite everything that’s happened to you, you don’t seem angry.”
“You mean losing my job and my house?”
“That, and what happened to you as a kid. My boss went through some seriously messed up shit with his wife and it was a defining moment in his life. Ryder’s personality changed because of what she did to him. Anger drove him for a very long time.”
“You didn’t know me before all this bullshit, so you can’t compare.”
“True. But if this is angry Cody, then . . .”
I dodged into the shade of a tree. “Then what?”
She stepped into the shade, wiping sweat from her brow, then angled her face so I looked right into her mysterious eyes. “Then you’re truly incredible. So, talk to me.”
“Look . . . I’ve been trying to forget all the bullshit that happened to me.”
She placed her hand on my arm and squeezed. “Okay. I’m sorry. You don’t have to tell me.”
She gave a lopsided smile that was both cute and fucking annoying.
Goddammit. Why does she have to be so perfect?
Heaving a sigh, I flopped onto the ground under the shade. She sat beside me, and in the silence, the water gurgling over rocks a few feet away became the only sound.
I hadn’t spoken about my dad in years, because thinking about him was like laying bricks on my chest.
“You’re right, this is beautiful.” Jewel nudged her shoulder to mine. “You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to.”
I released a heavy sigh. “You know how I told you Dad robbed a bank?”
“Yes.” She eased into me and the warmth of her leg pressed against my jeans.
“I also told you that the two guys Dad robbed the bank with were arrested.” My voice cracked, and I hated how much anger my memories of Dad still produced.
“Yes, and you said your dad escaped.”
I nodded. “He was last seen running into the Daintree Rainforest.”
She gasped.
“He was never officially seen again.”
“Oh, my god.”
I clenched my jaw, trying to keep my anger from boiling over. “I spent years searching this jungle for him, or his body, but I never found a damn thing.”
“Oh, Cody.” She turned to look at me, and I hoped the sorrow in her eyes was not for my father. He didn’t deserve pity.
“Dad chose to abandon me instead of facing what he’d done. I don’t even know if he knew what happened to Mom and me after that.” The words tumbled out and each one was like a grenade, exploding memories in me that I’d fought damn hard to contain.
Jewel slid onto my lap and wrapped her arms around me. I pulled her tight against my chest, but even her warm embrace couldn’t stem the deluge of my father’s betrayal that threatened to consume me once more. My throat constricted, but I forced the lump down, refusing to shed tears for a man who didn’t deserve them.
“I’m so sorry, Cody,” Jewel whispered. Her voice was a soothing balm against the chaos in my mind.
I closed my eyes, letting her warmth seep into me, grounding me in the present rather than the bullshit of my past. That was what I wanted. To let go of the past. To be known as the man I was now, and not the legacy my guilty parents left me.
But if Jewel was right, and Uncle John was involved in this drug bullshit, then I was right back where I was eighteen years ago.
Jewel eased back, rested her hand on my chest, and locked eyes with me. “So, when you saw that tin can, you wondered if it was your dad’s?”
“Yep. I wondered if he’d walked along this section of the river. Same with that plane we found. I wondered if he’d used it for shelter. For years and years, I’ve been searching for him.”
“Cody, there’s not much chance your dad is still alive.”
“I know. I’ve been searching for a ghost.”
She cupped my cheek. “He doesn’t deserve your compassion.”
I jerked back. “I don’t give a fuck about him, or what happened to him out here. I want closure. I want proof he’s dead.”
“And you may never get that proof.” She pressed her hand over my heart. “You need to let him go from here and move on with your life.”
I groaned. “I fucking tried.”
“Moving on from him and what he did to you is the best revenge. And you have, Cody. You’re the most amazing, honest, hardworking man I’ve ever met.”
“Is that enough? If your accusations about Uncle John are true, then it’s all coming right back at me.”
Her body sagged.
“I worked and lived on that land for eighteen years, so I’m a fucking idiot if I didn’t see that drug operation going on.”
“I told you, these people are cunning bastards. They deceive everyone.”
“Nobody will believe me, not with my history.”
She cupped my cheeks, forcing me to look at her. “ I believe you and I’m going to fight for your innocence.”
I huffed. “You’ve known me for four days, Jewel. They’ll believe my ties to Uncle John over anything you say.”
“You don’t know the connections I have.” She pressed her lips to mine.
I didn’t return her kiss. I didn’t have it in me. My whole world had crumbled, and I was powerless to stop the landslide.
She eased back offering the saddest smile. “My magic kiss didn’t help?”
“I wish it was that easy.”
She slapped my chest. “Trust me. You are going to love me.”
I met her gaze, and something incredible wrapped around my heart and squeezed fucking hard.
I think I already do.
She pushed off my lap and offered me her hand. “Rightyho, cowboy. We need to get out of this jungle, so I can save your ass. Again.”
She grinned so wide her cheeks twitched.
I gripped her palm, and groaning, she hauled me upright.
She wrapped her arms around me. “Cody, no matter what happens when we get out of here, I will never give up on you.”
I crushed her against my chest and our hearts thundered together. God, I wanted to believe her, but everyone I had ever known had given up on me.
She pulled back, lacing her fingers through mine. “Let’s go.”
She tugged me forward.
As we trekked through the jungle, truth clawed at my being. We were strangers, trapped together in an insane situation. We’d known each other for four days, for fuck’s sake. Her friends would tear into that and shred her credibility. They would paint her as a victim, my victim, and claim I manipulated her.
My past was a shadow I couldn’t outrun. It would always be there, poisoning everything I touched. I could survive being damaged goods, but I would rather cut out my own heart than watch my bullshit past ruin Jewel’s future.
I had to walk away. Had to end whatever was growing between us before she became as broken as me.