"There's no way around it," Ryker informs us.
"The guerillas are all over Guatemala. Please, don't take me there," I beg again.
Hunter places his hand on my cheek. "We have to go through it, Flower. Don't worry. I'll keep you safe. No one is going to touch you."
No. Don't agree.
He'll keep me safe.
I can't be on their land.
"If they catch me in their country..." I turn away.
Julieta gets out of the car and slides into the seat next to us.
Hunter's body stiffens.
"What if we drove the Guatemalan coastline during daylight?" Julieta asks.
"What does that solve?" Hunter asks.
"The guerrillas are focusing their efforts on the western Belizean borders. If we go south and cross the border tomorrow, we can drive the coast and be in Honduras by nightfall."
"It's better if we cross borders in the dark," Ryker says.
"We can do that in the early morning, close to sunrise. That would be okay, wouldn't it?" Julieta asks.
"I suppose," he agrees.
I close my eyes. There's no way out of this.
"We would be crossing the Honduras border in the middle of the day," Hunter points out.
"Neither border will be a problem," Julieta says.
"Why not?"
"I can't get into it. Just trust me."
If I wasn't sitting on Hunter's lap, I might miss his low snarl.
"Julieta, I need more than that," Ryker says.
She gets out of the car and goes back to the front. "I can't. Sorry."
Hunter's snarl grows, and I lock eyes with him.
"Don't," I quietly say.
He releases an annoyed breath and clenches his jaw.
Ryker's voice is full of annoyance. "What do you want to do, Hunter?"
"What are the options for setting up camp tonight?"
"Don't need to worry about that, either. I know where we can go. Drive south," Julieta says.
Ryker puts the pump back and gets in the front. "Julieta, you can't just tell us to do something without explaining the details. We need to know—"
"So we're supposed to trust you unconditionally, but you two don't trust us? Is that how this works?"
"I didn't say that."
"Sounds like it to me."
Hunter shakes his head and looks toward the sky.
This is going nowhere good, fast.
"Julieta, is it in Belize or Guatemala?"
"Southern border of Belize. No one will know we are there."
"How do you know that?" Ryker asks.
She puts her hands over her face, takes a few deep inhales, then looks at Ryker. "Because I do."
"Ju—"
"Drive, Ryker," I blurt out.
He turns, and the line between his eyes deepens.
"If she says it's safe, and it's in Belize, then we should go. She isn't going to lead us somewhere that will harm us."
Julieta blinks hard, and Ryker stares at her.
"Ryker, let's get moving," Hunter says.
I smile, happy he is siding with Julieta. She may come across harsh at times, but she has a good heart. I don't know everything that Santiago's men did to her, nor do I know her secrets, but I trust her.
Hunter winks, and my insides flutter.
Ryker reluctantly starts the Jeep, and we continue south. Hunter secures me in his arms again after tucking the blanket back around me.
Hunter murmurs, "Told you this would come in handy."
I snuggle deeper into him and slide my arms around his waist. "You're nice and warm."
"You're not shaking as bad."
"Because I'm stealing your body heat," I tease and forget I told Hunter earlier to forget about me. I slide my hands under his shirt and onto his bare skin. Without thinking, I dip into his waistband to palm one of his muscular ass cheeks.
He kisses my forehead, and I gaze up.
His golden-brown eyes twinkle with an intense heat that sparks a stirring in my core.
He doesn't move, but the longer he stares at me, the harder his erection underneath me becomes.
Why isn't he kissing me?
I told him we were done.
Why did I tell him that?
The warm night air swirls around us, and the rumbling of the motor drowns out most of the jungle noises.
Hunter doesn't take his eyes off me. "Ryker, turn some music on."
"Can you help me, Julieta? This road isn't the best."
"Sure." She turns on the radio and tunes it to a reggae channel.
The beat of the music is soft yet happy.
"Turn it up, please," Hunter yells out and continues to fixate on my face.
Please just kiss me. Forget I said what I did earlier.
God, I'm a stupid woman.
Hunter's hand slides from my knee and up my thigh. A trail of tingles pulse from his flesh, and he takes one lonesome finger and drags it back and forth over my sex.
His eyes never leave me. He swallows hard then licks his lips and continues to stroke on top of my shorts.
My chest rises and falls faster.
Bob Marley blares out, "Little darling, stir it up." Hunter inches his hand under my shorts and slides his finger into my wetness then onto my clit.
With the beat of the music, he circles me, taunting and watching me with his lips only inches next to mine.
His palm flattens against my back as it arches closer to him, and my lower body moves in motion with his finger.
Curling toes, pounding blood, and heat flushing my face are so powerful, my eyes roll as I dig my nails into his ass cheek.
His lips move across my neck, buzzing on my flesh. He quickly dips his finger into my opening then moves it back to my clit.
I pull my arms away from him, shifting my body, and unzipping his pants.
His hands slide under my shorts to cup my cheeks, and I move the material that is between us, and I straddle on him.
Our breaths merge, but our lips don't touch.
The blanket slips down, and he clenches it and wraps his arms tight around me.
Another song comes on. I've heard it before and match his thrusts.
I've never had a man stare at me so intensely or make me feel so alive.
My lips brush his, and he kisses my jawline to my ear and murmurs, "I'm yours, Flower. If you want me, I belong to you. Tell me you want me to be yours."
It's the opposite of everything I've heard before. He's a possessive man. I already know this about him. But he's not claiming me as his. He's making me claim him.
He's giving me the power to choose.
No matter how much I fight it, or how much is out of control in my life, Hunter is the only thing that makes me feel alive.
All I want is him.
I whisper back, "Be mine."
His hand palms the back of my head and our lips and tongues merge as one, sealing our fate, throwing any doubt about being together away.
Our thrusts become shorter and faster. The curling of my toes becomes tighter. And any adrenaline in my body zings so fast, it becomes harder to hold in my cries.
But he muffles me, deepening our kiss.
When he pushes me further during his climax, I lose all ability to breathe.
In the wake of our actions, he presses his forehead to mine as we try to catch our breath.