Midnight rainbow

The next morning, as always, she awoke slowly, moving and murmuring to herself, snuggling against the wonderfully warm, hard body beneath her, knowing even in her sleep that it was Grant’s. His hands moved down her back to cup and knead her buttocks, awakening her fully. Then he shifted gently onto his side, holding her in his arms and depositing her on her back. Her eyes fluttered open, but it was still dark, so she closed them again and turned to press her face against his neck.

"It’s almost dawn, honey," he said against her hair, but he couldn’t force himself to stop touching her, to

sit up and put on his clothing. His hands slipped over her bare, silky skin, discovering anew all the places he’d touched and kissed during the night. Her response still overwhelmed him. She was so open and generous, wanting him and offering herself with a simplicity that took his breath away.

She groaned, and he eased her into a sitting position, then reached out to unzip the flap of the tent and let in a faint glimmer of light. "Are you awake?"

"No," she grumbled, leaning against him and yawning.

"We have to go."

"I know." Muttering something under her breath, she found what she presumed to be her shirt and began trying to untangle it. There was too much cloth, so she stopped in frustration and handed it to him. "I think this is yours. It’s too big to be mine."

He took the shirt, and Jane scrambled around until she found her own under the blanket they’d been lying on. "Can’t you steal a truck or something?" she asked, not wanting even to think about another day of walking.

He didn’t laugh, but she could almost feel the way the corners of his lips twitched. "That’s against the law, you know."

"Stop laughing at me! You’ve had a lot of specialized training, haven’t you? Don’t you know how to hot-wire an ignition?"

He sighed. "I guess I can hot-wire anything we’d be likely to find, but stealing a vehicle would be like advertising our position to Turego."

"How far can we be from Limon? Surely we could get there before Turego would be able to search every village between here and there?"

"It’d be too risky, honey. Our safest bet is still to cut across to the east coast swamps, then work our way down the coast. We can’t be tracked in the swamp." He paused. "I’ll have to go into the village for food but you’re going to stay hidden in the trees."

Jane drew back. "Like hell."

"Damn it, don’t you realize that it’s too dangerous for you to show your face?"

"What aboutyour face? At least I have dark hair and eyes like everyone else. Don’t forget, that soldier saw you, and your pilot friend no doubt told them all about you, so they know we’re together. That long blond mane of yours is pretty unusual around here."

He ran his hand through his shaggy hair, faintly surprised at how long it was. "It can’t be helped."

She folded her arms stubbornly. "You’re not going anywhere without me."

Silence lay between them for a moment. She was beginning to think she’d won a surprisingly easy victory when he spoke, and the even, almost mild tone of his voice made chills go up her spine, because it was the most implacable voice she’d ever heard. "You’ll do what I say, or I’ll tie and gag you and leave you here in the tent."

Now it was her turn to fall silent. The intimacy that had been forged between them had made her forget that he was a warrior first, and her lover second. Despite the gentle passion with which he made love to her, he was still the same man who had knocked her out and thrown her over his shoulder, carrying her away into the jungle. She hadn’t held a grudge against him for that, after the reception she’d given him, but this was something else entirely. She felt as if he were forcibly reminding her of the original basis of their relationship, making her acknowledge that their physical intimacy had not made her an equal in his eyes. It was as if he’d used her body, since she had so willingly offered it, but saw no reason to let that give her any influence over him.

Jane turned away from him, fumbling with her shirt and finally getting it straight. She wouldn’t let him see any hint of hurt in her eyes; she’d known that the love she felt was completely one-sided.

His hand shot out and pulled the shirt away from her. Startled, she looked at him. "I have to get dressed. You said we need to–"

"I know what I said," he growled, easing her down onto the blanket. The lure of her soft body, the knowledge that he’d hurt her and her characteristic chin-up attempt to keep him from seeing it, all made it impossible for him to remember the importance of moving on. The core of ice deep inside his chest kept him from whispering to her how much she meant to him. The remoteness bred into him by years of living on the edge of death hadn’t yet been overcome; perhaps it never would be. It was still vital to him to keep some small significant part of himself sealed away, aloof and cold. Still, he couldn’t let her draw away from him with that carefully blank expression on her face. She was his, and it was time she came to terms with the fact.

Putting his hands on her thighs, he spread them apart and mounted her. Jane caught her breath, her hands going up to grab at his back. He slowly pushed into her, filling her with a powerful movement that had her body arching on the blanket.

He went deep inside her, holding her tightly to him. Her inner tightness made him almost groan aloud as wild shivers of pleasure ran up his spine. Shoving his hand into her hair, he turned her head until her mouth was under his, then kissed her with a violence that only hinted at the inferno inside him. She responded to him immediately. Her mouth molded to his and her body rose to meet his thrusts in increasingly ecstatic undulations. He wanted to immerse himself in her, go deeper and deeper until they were bonded together, their flesh fused. He held her beneath him, their bodies locked together in total intimacy. He reveled in the waves of intensifying pleasure that made them clutch at each other, straining together in an effort to reach the peak of their passion. When he was inside her, he no longer felt the need to isolate himself. She was taking a part of him that he hadn’t meant to offer, but he couldn’t stop it. It was as if he’d gotten on a roller coaster and there was no way to get off until it reached the end of the line. He’d just have to go along for the ride, and he meant to wring every moment of pleasure he could from the short time that he had her all to himself.