Chapter 11
Colton’s dire expression confirmed we were still trapped in Las Cuevas de los Susurros. I touched my forehead and winced at the lump and jagged flesh near my right temple.
“Take it easy.” Colton rested his hand on my shoulder, and the concern in his eyes melted my heart.
“Is it bad?” I studied the blood on my fingers.
He scrunched his nose. “Yeah. You’re going to need stitches.”
“Damn.”
“At least you’re alive.”
I draped my hand over his wrist. “Thanks to you.”
He tilted his head toward me, and I had a feeling he wanted to say something, but instead, he stood and offered his hand to help me up.
The sky above was as gray as a bruise, and pelting raindrops slapped into the pool, creating ripples on the surface. Sunlight barely filtered through the clouds, but thankfully, it was enough for us to see. After the black tunnels we’d been through, the open space and dim light were welcome relief. The cenote walls rose steeply and were covered in moss and vines and jagged rocks with occasional ledges and outcroppings.
“This doesn’t look good.” I swept my wet hair back from my eyes and looked up at Colton.
“We’ve had worse.” Once again, his gaze shifted from my lips to my eyes and back again.
Does he want to kiss me?
Jesus. What’s wrong with me?
I didn’t know if it was the chaos we’d tumbled into or not, but Colton no longer seemed like the grumpy ass I thought he was. He was becoming more attractive by the minute.
I pointed at the flap of skin dangling off his elbow. “You’re bleeding, too.”
“I’ll live.” He nodded without even glancing at the cut. “We’re lucky to get away with just a few cuts and bruises. It’s a miracle we made it out of those tunnels at all.”
“You’re not kidding.”
Raindrops wet his eyelashes, taking this ex-Navy SEAL to a new level of sexy. The blood running down his temple added to his hero appearance and even though we were practically strangers, I had a feeling Colton would die for me.
“You have another cut here.” I pointed at a cut near his temple.
“I’m okay.” He clutched my hand before I could touch him.
I turned my hand over, pressing our palms together, and he met my gaze.
My heart skipped a beat as I leaned toward him, tilting my head, and urging him to kiss me. The sizzle between us was excruciating. Maybe I should make the first move.
Finally, he leaned my way, and as he pressed his lips to mine, I closed my eyes. This tough soldier had soft lips and a kiss to die for. His tongue probed my lips, and opening my mouth, I pressed our wet bodies together.
Fire ignited within me as Colton’s hands roamed down my back and pulled me closer to his muscular chest.
Rain tumbled onto our heads and shoulders and the sensation added to the glorious pulses swirling through me.
I cruised my fingers over his back, feeling his taut muscles beneath his wet T-shirt as we deepened our kiss.
His roving hands cruised around to my chest and a moan tumbled from his throat as he squeezed my breast.
I wanted his hands on my bare flesh. I wanted to feel the touch of his skin.
Easing away, I pulled my wet T-shirt over my head and tossed it aside. Damn, it felt good to take control.
He stripped his shirt off, too, treating me to a glorious view of the body that was sculptured to perfection.
Reaching around my back, I tugged the strings on my bikini and dropped the flimsy fabric to my feet.
Colton’s eyes lit up as his attention focused on my boobs.
My insides glowed as delicious electricity surged between us.
It was like everything around us vanished as we admired each other’s bodies.
He stepped toward me, clutched my cheeks, and crushed his lips to mine. I dug my fingers into his back, pulling his body to my chest, and my heart pounded to an excited beat.
With one hand around my shoulder, pressing us together, his other hand squeezed my breast, and I gasped as delicious sensations coursed through me.
Fumbling with the drawstring on his swimming trunks, I was desperate to see more of him. I tugged on the string and hooked my fingers into the elastic holding them in place.
Colton jerked back. “Kat, oh jeez.”
“What?” I darted my gaze around, half expecting someone else to be there.
“We can’t do this?” He gushed a breath.
I made a show of looking at the enormous bulge in his shorts. “I think someone wants to.”
Groaning, he ran his hand over his groin as if trying to tame a beast. “It’s not that I don’t want to.” His gaze drilled into me. “Believe me, you’re the hottest woman I’ve ever met.”
His gaze swept over my body and the way he looked at me, with a burning want in his eyes, had my inside blazing like molten lava.
He clenched his fists as if fighting a losing battle, then he swept my T-shirt off the rocks and handed it to me. “Get dressed before we start something I won’t want to stop.”
“Maybe we already have.”
He closed his eyes, and I could practically see a debate raging in his mind.
With my back turned to him, I redressed in my bikini top and as I tugged on my wet shirt, I felt like a horny fool. We were in a life-and-death situation, covered in cuts and bruises, and all I wanted to do was have sex with a man I had known for less than two days.
What the hell is wrong with me?
I nearly died for God’s sake.
He must think I’m a desperado.
Oh, jeez, maybe he has a partner!
Cringing at that thought, I reluctantly turned around to face him. He had his shirt on again, and the wet fabric contoured every muscle in his torso like he was posing for an erotic magazine shoot. Holy smokes, Colton’s body was incredible. His expression, however, was clouded with both desire and confusion.
“Sorry,” we both said at exactly the same time.
Chuckling like a pair of nervous teenagers, we studied each other as if each of us was waiting for the other to make a move. Rain continued to pour onto us, adding to our crazy situation.
I scrunched my nose. “So, um, what do we do now?”
He seemed to blink his long lashes in slow motion. “You mean before things get away from us again?”
Again? Does that mean he wants more? The bulge in his shorts was my answer to that.
“Yeah.” I lowered my gaze so he knew I was aware of his hard-on. “In case of that.”
Grinning, he reached for my hand. “Sorry, Kat. Believe me, I’d kill to finish what we started.” He shifted his stance like his cock actually hurt.
“But . . .?” I swept my gaze to his stunning eyes.
“But we need to concentrate on getting out of here.”
I nodded. He was right.
“Okay.” I squeezed his hand, then let go. “So, what’s the plan?”
A boom of thunder cracked above us, and I peered up to the dark cloud furiously swirling overhead. Torrential rain cascaded down the cenote’s walls and tumbled into the pool we’d climbed out of. The water level had risen at least two feet since Colton had resuscitated me, and with every minute, more of the tiny landing we stood on vanished farther beneath the water.
“Our plan is to get out of here before we’re swimming again.” His broad shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath as he swept his gaze up the rocky walls to the opening at the top. “What are your climbing skills like?”
I groaned. “I was hoping you wouldn’t ask me that.”
He removed his remaining neoprene boot. “Unless you see another option, we have no choice but to climb out.”
“What about your friends? Maybe they’ll rescue us.”
He scraped his fingers through his hair. “They would if they knew where we were. I didn’t get a chance to relay our location, remember? And God knows how far we’ve traveled from Pedro and the others. We could be twenty miles away. Fifty.”
Jesus! Was he right?
I peered up the rock wall. “You think we can climb up that?”
Thunder boomed overhead, and I jumped toward him. “Shit. The storm sounds like it’s right overhead.”
Lightning streaked across the opening above and the blaze lit the cenote like a million-watt globe.
“Yep.” He groaned. “And it’s just getting started.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. That’s another reason why we need to get out of here. These natural sinkholes are made from storms like this, and we don’t want to be here when nature really lets us know who’s in charge.”
“I thought it already had.” I scooped my wet hair behind my ears.
“Hell no. This is just a teaser for what’s to come.” He rested his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “Come on, let’s figure out a climbing route.”
Another bolt of lightning lit up our surroundings, highlighting the towering walls that were slick with rain and moss. Vines, thick and twisted, cascaded down the walls like their long tendrils were nature”s connection to heaven. Or maybe hell.
Lightning blazed above us, and a booming crack of thunder echoed throughout the cavern.
Colton jolted. “Son of a bitch. That one was close.”
“Scared the crap out of me,” I said.
Drenched and exhausted, I stood next to Colton at the base of the wall and shielding my hand against the rain, I peered up at the daunting ascent.
Colton grabbed a vine that was as thick as my wrist and pulled on it, assessing its strength. “These will help.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think I can climb up that.”
“Sure you can.” He grabbed another vine and used it to haul himself onto a rock that jutted out from the wall like a partially opened drawer. Standing on the rock, he glanced down at me. “See?”
I rolled my eyes. “If the wall was ten feet high, I’d agree with you. But it’s not.”
A bolt of lightning sizzled across the sky and a thunderclap boomed.
“Jesus.” I ducked.
Colton jumped down to my side. “Come here.”
I stepped closer, and he handed me the vine.
“Grab hold and do exactly what I did to get onto the rock.”
“Really? That’s not even a challenge.” I pointed at the top of the wall. “That’s a challenge.”
“See, you’re already breaking it down. We just climb a little bit at a time. I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
“But what if we fall?” I stomped my wetsuit bootie onto the rocks beneath my feet. “We’ll go splat.”
“Very funny.” Turning his back to me, he stepped away to study the wall to our right. He did a jerking movement and pointed up. “Do you see that?”
I took two paces back to see what he was looking at. “Is that a cave?”
“Looks like it. Maybe it’s a tunnel to the surface.”
“Could be.”
“Okay. That’s where we’re going. And the best part is, if we do fall, we’ll land in the water.”
“Great,” I said, forcing joy into my voice.
“That’s the spirit.” He smoothed his hands over his shirt like he was trying to dry them, but all he did was enhance his sculptured pec muscles. “Kat.” He rested his hand on my shoulder. “We can do this.”
Swallowing, I nodded. “I know.”
As he smiled, lightning flashed overhead and sparkled in his eyes. “Just like in the underwater tunnels. I’ll take the lead. You follow me. Okay?”
“Okay.” I zipped out of my neoprene boots, tossed them aside and winced as I swept my hand over my forehead. I’d forgotten about that injury. I probably had a dozen more that I wasn’t aware of yet.
He clutched my cheeks and planted a kiss on my lips.
“Hey.” Giggling, I pushed him back. “I thought you said we shouldn’t do that?”
“I never said I shouldn’t kiss you.”
I curled my lip into my mouth, and when Colton’s smoldering gaze swept over me, I knew he’d opened the gateway to my heart. And I’d like much more.
Provided we don’t die trying to climb out of here.