Chapter 12
Following Colton’s lead up the steep rock wall, I reached for a vine. Although it was thick and sturdy, it was slippery and heavy. I waited for Colton to move, then stepped onto the same rock he moved from.
Using a combination of gripping onto the rocks and holding onto the vines that snaked down the rock wall, we gradually climbed. My knuckles burned from holding on, and each step was a battle against the elements. Flat rocks were covered in moss and extra slippery. Angled rocks were jagged and brutal beneath my feet. Some rocks barely gave us room to grip with our toes, and some were big enough for both of us to stand on.
With each foot we climbed out of the cenote, the storm’s fury intensified. The booming thunder and lightning blazes were like being in a war zone.
Standing with both feet on a rock, I strangled a vine and searched for the cave we’d spotted from below. It was still too far away. Exhaustion burned in my bones. My knees wobbled and my fingers and wrists throbbed in agony.
Colton’s constant words of encouragement were as welcome as they were frustrating. He didn’t seem to be struggling at all.
But giving up wasn’t an option. This was our only way out.
Colton shifted onto the next rock, and I reached across with my right foot, aiming my toes for the flat surface. I adjusted my body to shift to the right, crossing the gap between the rocks.
A boom cracked overhead. I jerked and shrieked as my foot slipped out from under me.
Colton grabbed my hand. “I’ve got you.”
My back slammed onto the rocks and screaming, I dangled midair. Another booming crack of thunder matched an enormous streak of lightning that gave me a frightening view of how high I was. If I fell from this height, hitting the water was guaranteed to hurt.
“Kat.” Colton’s voice bounced around the cave. “Stop moving.”
My breath shot in and out as I forced my legs to be still.
“That’s it. Now listen to me.”
I looked over my shoulder, up to him. The muscles in his arms bulged as he clung onto a vine with one hand and held me with his other. Rain poured over his shoulders and down our arms.
“I need you to turn around, Kat, nice and easy, and reach for the vine with your left hand.”
Oh God. Oh God!
“Don’t drop me!”
“I won’t drop you.” He sounded like he spoke through clenched teeth.
I heaved a couple of breaths, then reached around my body, gradually turning toward the rough vine.
“That’s it. Nearly there,” he said.
Gritting my teeth, I grabbed the vine.
“Good. Now reach for the rock next to your right foot.”
Feeling with my toes, I found the rock and stood.
“Good work,” he said. “I’m letting you go now, so grab the vine with your other hand. Ready?”
“Yes.”
He let me go and I snapped my grip around the vine. With my forehead pressed against the cold rock, I sucked in ragged breaths. “Jesus, that was close.”
“You’re doing great, Kat. Only a bit more to go and we’ll be at that cave where we can rest.”
Bright sparks zipped behind my eyelids as I tried to settle my racing heartbeat.
“Come on, Kat, you can do?—”
“All right!” I screamed.
“That’s it, get angry. Use that energy.”
“Will you just shush for a sec?”
“No. Not until we’re at the cave.”
“Okay. Okay. I’m ready.” I glared at him.
He stared at me so intently that my heart nearly stopped. “Good. Stop mucking around. Let’s go.”
I heaved a breath and reached for the next rock. And the next. The climb seemed to take hours. Maybe it did; I’d lost track of time.
Booming thunder echoed about the cave. Lightning flashed like we were stuck in a weird nightclub. And the rain became even heavier.
The cave entrance appeared through the downpour as a black void in the cliff face.
Colton climbed onto a ledge and pulled himself into the darkness, then he appeared above me. “That’s it, Kat. You’ve got this.”
I hauled myself up the last couple of feet. He wrapped his hands under my arms and pulled me inside. We collapsed onto the moss-covered ground together, gasping for air.
I tried to release the cramps by opening and closing my fingers and turning my wrists.
Colton rolled toward me. “You were incredible.”
A smile teased my lips as I faced him. “Thanks. And thanks for saving me again.”
“Any time.” He curled my hair around my ear, and it was so sweet and tender my heart fluttered. No man had ever done that before. Colton was all brawn, yet he wasn’t afraid to show me his tenderness.
His gaze devoured me with erotic hunger and goosebumps prickled my flesh. The air seemed to sizzle between us.
The storm raged outside. Thunder boomed, lightning blazed, but in our little cave, Colton’s breathing and his rock-hard body captured my attention. I drank him in. His wet lashes. His trimmed beard. The anchor-shaped scar beneath his left eye that added to his mysteriousness.
Unable to resist his perfect lips a moment more, I glided my fingers around his neck and pulled him toward me. Our lips met in a hungry kiss fueled by adrenaline and desire. His mouth crushed mine, and as our tongues danced, his craving matched my own.
His fingers traced the curve of my hip and tunneled under my shirt to cup my breast. Moaning against his lips, I drove my fingers through his wet hair and kissed him deeper. Our tongues slid with glorious strokes as he claimed my mouth with his.
I felt his urgency through every nerve in my body.
Raising my leg over his thigh, I arched my hips toward him, and he squeezed my nipple with greedy fingers. I have never instigated a kiss before. I have also never wanted a man so much. My desire burned inside me. Molten and ravenous. Maybe it was our near-death experiences that were driving my need.
I don’t care, all I know is that I want him.
I tugged the drawstring of his trunks, eager to feel his rock-hard cock that was bulging beneath the fabric.
He undid the button on my shorts, and when he fed his hand into my bikini bottom, I parted my legs. A gasp left my throat as he slipped two fingers inside me. I clutched onto him as his fingers teased my insides in a twisting motion that had me clutching his back and whimpering for more.
His hot breath brushed my skin as he planted kisses on my neck, and when he kissed the sensitive skin just below my earlobe, shivers rained across my scalp.
“Oh, Kat.” His throaty tease of my name intensified the orgasm blossoming inside me.
Lightning lit up our cave, highlighting the water droplets on his lashes. Colton’s hair was tousled, and his cheeks were flushed, but his eyes looked right into me as he somehow thrust his fingers deeper.
A gasp left my lips, and I tilted my head back, losing myself to the glorious sensation taking over my body.
He cupped the back of my head, and as he crushed his lips to mine again, he drove his fingers into me harder and faster.
I stiffened, and a moan burst from my throat. As a glorious climax shuddered through me, I clutched onto his back. Colton read me perfectly and drove his fingers into me over and over until I lost all control. My body did things it had never done before, and a blaze of delicious energy stole every thought from my head as my climax possessed me. Finally, I flopped back onto the soft moss, gasping.
“Holy wow,” I muttered between breaths.
Colton removed his hand from my shorts, and before he stopped our fun again, I sat up, removed my T-shirt, and flicked off my bikini top.
His beautiful eyes shimmered in a lightning flash as his gaze fell on my breasts.
The bulge in his shorts couldn’t be ignored.
I sat on my knees at his side. “Get your gear off, Colton.”
He chuckled. “Is that an order?”
“You bet your ass it is.”
“Roger that.” He sat up and yanked his T-shirt off. When he wriggled out of his swimming trunks, his cock stood to attention, thick and proud.
My breath was stolen from my throat.
It had been a long time since I’d seen a man naked. It was well worth the wait.
He glided his hand up his cock as if showing me what he had. I replaced his hand with mine, and as I cruised my fingers along his shaft, he squeezed my breast.
Continuing my exploration, I cupped his balls, and he sucked air through his teeth. “Careful, Kat, it’s been a while.”
I loved how he said my name. . . like we’d known each other since we were kids.
As I glided my hand up and down his enormous cock, I wriggled closer to him and planted my lips on his.
He clutched my neck, and as our kiss intensified, I pushed my tongue into his mouth, tasting him. Teasing him. Surrendering to him.
He grabbed my hips, lifted me onto his lap, and his eyes flared, letting me know it was time.
I reached between my legs and guided him into me, filling me until I saw stars. Pausing, with him buried inside me, I pressed my hands to his chest.
He glided his palms over my hips and waist with a tenderness that melted my heart.
I pressed my hands against his pecs and feeling every inch of his glorious cock inside me, I glided upward.
His fingers dug into my hips. “Oh, Kat.” My name crossed his lips in a throaty whisper.
I lowered onto him, burying him deep inside me.
Sucking air through his teeth, he clutched my hips and stared right through me.
I repeated the move, slowly up his shaft, fast down.
I did it again, each time getting faster, and the glorious pleasure was like a hot wave cruising through me.
A moan left his throat, raw and wild as he thrust into me, over and over, gripping my hips until he released a full-body shudder that I felt deep in my core.
Another orgasm ripped through me, swift and hot, and as my juices spilled around him, I rode my sexy soldier like it was my last day on Earth.
Lightning flashed. Thunder boomed.
Our breaths became ragged gasps, and I flopped forward onto his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and as I listened to his thumping heartbeat, his hot breath teased my neck.
Colton cruised his hands up and down my back, and his delightful touch gave me the crazy feeling that we were destined to meet. He kissed my shoulder, and it was so delicate, butterflies danced in my stomach.
Now I know that our time together will not end in this cave.
This is just the beginning.
Still straddling him, I pushed up from his chest and tugged my lip into my mouth in an attempt to smother a smile.
He cruised his hands up my thighs. “That was a nice surprise.”
“The unexpected is always the best.”
He grinned. “That’s you to a T, Kat . . . unexpected.”
“Right back at you, Colton.”
He chuckled, and as a lightning streak lit up our cave, a beautiful smile lit up his face.
I released a contented sigh. “So much for resting.”
“For the record, you were the one who jumped my bones.”
“Oh really?” I pinched his nipple. “Are you complaining?”
“Hell no. Ouch.” He shoved my grip from his nipple and squeezed my breasts. “That’s the best thing to happen to me in years.”
Giggling, I swiped his hands away. “Don’t push it, mister.”
A streak of lightning lit up our area, and a man materialized at the back of the cave.
Gasping, I scrambled off Colton. “Shit!”
“What?” He jumped to his feet.
The cave went black again.
“I saw a man. Down there.” I pointed into the blackness at the back of the cave.
“Are you sure?” He snatched his shorts from the mossy ground.
“Yes.”
We stared into the dark cave, and as he pulled his flashlight from his shorts, I tugged on my clothes.
Lightning lit up the cave, and I gasped. The man I’d seen was a statue. “Holy shit, Colton, did you see that?”
“Yep.” He grabbed my hand and, leading with his flashlight, we marched to a narrow corridor.
The statue that stood inside the passage as if guarding the entrance was made of dark, polished stone, which reflected the lightning flashes outside. At over six feet tall, it depicted a muscular warrior with a commanding presence. His eyes were inlaid with blue stones that made them look so real it was creepy.
“Holy shit, Kat. We just found your Mayan temple.” Colton pulled me past the statue and into a vast chamber. In the center stood a small step pyramid, and along the sides were tall stone pillars that appeared to be holding up the cave roof.
“Oh my god.” My heart boomed in my chest. “This is the ancient Mayan temple in Dad’s photo.”
Colton played his flashlight over a series of statues of Mayan gods with blue stone eyes positioned around the temple as if watching over the sacred altar.
“This is incredible.” I climbed the stone steps to an altar that looked to be made out of a single slab of rock. “All these years, nobody believed us.”
“They’re going to believe you now,” Colton said.
The altar was dotted with what looked like remnants of an ancient offering: pottery, dried flowers, and small jade figurines of cats and cows.
“How did your dad find this place?” Colton picked up a cat figurine and brushed his hand over the top of the stone slab altar. Beneath the dust were carvings that depicted ancient daily life.
“I don’t know.” I picked up a clay pot centered on the altar, and tipped it over, half expecting liquid to pour out, but it was empty.
Colton blew away more dust. “Wow. Amazing.”
“I know.” I climbed the steps to a small stone atrium-like structure at the top and walked inside.
Lightning lit up the area, and slumped over in the corner was a body.
A cry tore from my throat.