Chapter 7 #2
“Mandy?” he said softly, needing this woman more in that moment than he’d ever needed anything in his life.
He admired her. Respected her. Was in awe of her.
She’d soldiered on through some very tough times recently, and had done so with a positive attitude.
She hadn’t complained, hadn’t made him even once regret his decision to go after her while Obi-Wan took the children to safety.
She licked her lips as her gaze slowly lifted from his chest. The want in her blue eyes matched what he felt in his soul.
Buck took another step, bringing him within inches of her.
She was a tiny thing, making Buck feel more masculine, like more of a man at that moment than he’d ever felt.
She made him want to slay all her dragons, protect her from anything and anyone who dared hurt her, claim her as his own.
This wasn’t the time or place, and she was extremely vulnerable. He didn’t want her to do anything out of a sense of obligation or gratitude. But he could no more ignore the feelings coursing through his body than he could turn his back on an animal or child in need.
“I want to kiss you,” he whispered. “But I want you to want that too. Not agree out of some sense of obligation or payback or because you think you have no choice.”
He wasn’t sure what he expected her to say or do. Maybe nod. Maybe blush and drop her gaze. Maybe tell him that this wasn’t a good idea, which it certainly was not.
But what he didn’t expect was for her to close the remaining distance between them, reach up and pull him toward her with a hand on the back of his neck, and plant her lips on his.
What was she doing? Amanda had no idea. All she knew was that she needed this man more than she needed to breathe.
When he’d turned and smiled at her from the middle of the pool, she’d followed him without question.
If he said it was safe to bathe in, it was safe to bathe in.
And she’d already been struggling to think of him as nothing more than an escort back to safety in Guyana, but when he’d unzipped his flight suit as if he were a performer at a strip club working the crowd, all she could do was stare.
If that wasn’t bad enough, he’d peeled off his tank top, exposing his sculpted chest and abs.
She felt like a voyeur, watching something she had no right to witness.
But he seemed oblivious as he scrubbed his body with the sand on the bottom of the pool.
Then he’d stood up and his body was on display once more.
The flight suit floating in the water drew her gaze—right to his hips.
He was hard, his erection straining against the tight underwear he wore.
The water was clear enough to not leave much to her imagination.
Nash might not be the tallest man in the world, but he’d gotten more than his fair share in the reproductive department, that was for sure.
All Amanda could do was stand there and stare at him and try to control the lust coursing through her body.
Hadn’t she just been thinking about how gross sex in the jungle would be?
But now that was all she could think about.
Walking over to him and pulling his underwear down and touching and tasting his beautiful cock.
He might have said something to her, but her ears were ringing so loud, she didn’t hear what it was. Then he was standing in front of her. She looked up to meet his gaze and inhaled silently at what she saw. The desire she had for him reflected back in his eyes.
“I want to kiss you,” he whispered. “But I want you to want that too. Not agree out of some sense of obligation or payback or because you think you have no choice.”
Without realizing she’d moved, Amanda was touching him, pulling his head down and latching her lips onto his.
She didn’t want to give him a chance to change his mind.
To come to his senses. She was boring Amanda Rush.
Men didn’t look at her with lust the way Nash was.
It felt as if she didn’t kiss him right then, she’d lose her chance forever.
And she knew without a doubt she’d feel the loss for the rest of her life.
But to her amazement, Nash didn’t seem interested in a quick kiss.
He immediately took control, wrapping an arm around her waist and yanking her against his body.
The water sloshed around them, but Amanda barely noticed.
All she could do was feel. Nash’s lips and tongue against hers was something out of a fairy tale.
She immediately broke out into goose bumps as he tilted his head to more deeply explore her mouth.
She wasn’t thinking about where they were, or any danger they might be in, or how long it had been since she’d been able to brush her teeth.
All she could think about was how all-consuming it felt to kiss him.
All her worries disappeared, and she couldn’t think about anything other than how good this man was making her feel.
It was Nash who finally lifted his lips from hers, making Amanda whimper pathetically.
“Shhhhh, I know,” he soothed. He pressed her head to his shoulder and held her tightly.
Being in his arms felt like coming home.
It was an odd feeling, one she’d never experienced before.
Amanda had the thought that maybe it was because of the situation she was in, but she dismissed that idea immediately.
Nash Chaney was everything she’d always wanted in a partner.
Calm, even-tempered, competent, smart, kind, and funny.
And now she could add good kisser with a hot body to that list.
A whine caught her attention, and she felt more than heard Nash chuckle. Since she was plastered to his naked chest, she felt the vibrations move through him and into her. It was almost as intimate as the kiss they’d just shared. Almost.
“Looks like Rain isn’t happy and is probably wondering what the hell we’re doing,” Nash said.
Turning her head, Amanda saw the dog who had inexplicably attached himself to them, following them for the last few days, sitting on the shore next to their shoes and the backpack, staring at them with a concerned look in his eyes.
“We’re all right, boy,” Nash told him.
And just like that, the spell she seemed to be under was broken. All of a sudden, Amanda felt self-conscious. Yes, he’d made the first move by asking if he could kiss her, but she’d been all over him. Practically jumped him.
Proving he was a perceptive man, Nash leaned back a little and stared down at her. “Well, that was a surprise, huh?”
She gave him a small smile and nodded.
“Do you regret it?”
That was an easy question to answer. “No.”
“Good. Neither do I. This is horrible timing, and probably the last thing we should be thinking about, but I can’t help it. You live in Norfolk, right? I mean, when you aren’t here in South America.”
“Um, yeah.”
“I’d like the chance to get to know you when you get home.
I’m stationed there myself. It feels like kismet or serendipity or something.
I’d like to see if this chemistry we have is still as explosive and intense when we aren’t escaping through the jungle.
When we aren’t maybe or maybe not on the run from assholes who want to do horrible things to you.
I want to take you out to dinner. Maybe a movie.
Go for walks. Introduce you to the rest of my team.
To Laryn, Casper’s fiancée. Would that be something you’d be interested in? ”
Interested in? Amanda wanted to jump up and down in giddy glee.
But the practical side of her kicked in. “I have about three more months on my agreement here.”
“I highly doubt time is going to dull this ache I feel for you. The desire to get to know you better.”
That was something her dream man would say for sure.
“Unless you don’t feel the same. I mean, you could have any man you want, so why settle for a pilot whose work schedule is unpredictable at best. I can’t guarantee I’d be able to be with you every time you needed me. I have to go where the Army, and sometimes Navy, sends me.”
Amanda hated the uncertainty in his voice.
She put a hand on his chest and looked up at him, hoping he could see the honesty in her eyes and hear it in her tone.
“I’ve been alone for quite a long while now.
I don’t mind that you have to travel for your job.
That doesn’t matter to me, as long as you’re safe. ”
“I have a feeling if things work out the way I’d like them to, my days of doing impulsive things like running away from my chopper during an op instead of keeping my ass inside are over.”
That made goose bumps break out over her arms once more. She realized she never answered his original question. “I’d like that,” she said simply. “To see you when I get back to Virginia.”
“Awesome!” Nash exclaimed with a smile. “Now, I’m going to go back over there,” he said, nodding toward the other side of the pool.
“And take off this flight suit, scrub it as best I can, take off my underwear and do the same thing. I’m sure you want to do the same with your clothes.
I give you my word I won’t look until you’re dressed again. ”
Amanda added honorable to this man’s list of attributes. “Thank you.”
He lifted a hand and brushed the backs of his fingers against her cheek. “No need to thank me. If you knew the thoughts I had, you’d probably be running in the opposite direction.”
“Oh, I know what thoughts you have. I’m pretty sure they’re the same ones I had when you did your little strip tease earlier.”
He chuckled. “Honestly, all I was thinking about was getting that nasty tank top off. Speaking of which…where did it go? Shit, did it get sucked off downstream?”
Amanda wanted to make a joke to go along with his “sucked off” comment, but decided this wasn’t the time or place. “I think that’s it, over there,” she said, pointing toward the bank, not too far from where they were standing.