“How are you holding up?” I shift my injured leg, picking it up gingerly, using both hands to straighten it out. The pain, no longer sharp and acute, is more an annoyance than a constant irritation.
Eve fits herself into the spot next to me, half leaning against me, but obviously keeping herself apart. Our shoulders brush and the heat of her body radiates outward. I feel every inch of her and tamp down the base desires rising within me.
I crave Eve.
It’s a carnal, primitive need rising within me: to protect, to shelter, to claim, and to take. My desire to make her mine increases despite my attempts to tone it down. The last thing Eve needs right now is a rutting maniac, and that’s exactly what I fear I’ll become.
This feeling is new to me. I’ve had plenty of women in my life, couplings which eased my ache, but nothing about those compares to what I experience now. It’s potent, overwhelming, and ultimately dangerous.
Dangerous for Eve.
The howl of a jaguar sounds in the night.
“I’m scared.” She draws her arms inward, withdrawing herself from me. Only the vaguest outline of her face is visible.
“Don’t be scared. I’m here.”
“I know.” She blows out a deep breath. “This feels like a dream.”
“A dream?”
“Yes. All of this is—it’s hard to believe it’s happening. I thought I’d never get out of that place.” She looks down and pauses for a moment. “Do you think any of the other girls got out?”
“I’m positive they did. The man I work for will make sure of it.”
“You sure?”
“I am.”
“How can you be certain?”
There’s no easy way to describe Forest Summers. I admire what he’s done with his life, especially considering the hell he endured as a child. He could’ve remained a victim, but Forest doesn’t believe in handing that power over to his tormentors.
Everything he’s built, along with his sister, Skye, is aimed at liberating those who’ve been taken and showing them how to take back the power they lost. Victims turn into survivors, and he does everything to make sure the life of his rescues is brighter than the darkness of their past.
“I feel like none of this is real.” She turns toward me, and I love how the close quarters we’re in forces our bodies to touch. Eve places a hand on my good arm.
“Someday, this will be a distant memory.” I do my best to reassure her. I imagine all of this is terrifying to someone without the training I’ve experienced.
The unknown doesn’t frighten me. I focus on what’s important and ignore the rest.
“Do you really think so?”
“I know so.”
“I don’t want to forget this.” I don’t know if it’s me, or not, but the slight emphasis she places on that word gives me hope.
“What happened at The Retreat will always be a part of you, but it won’t rule you. You’re free of all of it.”
“I meant us.” Her hand tightens on my arm. “I don’t want this to be a distant memory.” She blows out a sigh. “Please tell me you’re not married.”
“I’m not married.” A grin pulls at the corners of my lips.
“Tell me you don’t have four kids waiting for you at home.”
“I don’t have any kids waiting on me, but I’d like to have some down the line.” A low chuckle escapes me.
“No gorgeous girlfriends?”
“None.” I lay my hand over hers. “I wouldn’t have kissed you the way I did if I had any of those.”
“Good.” She blows out a breath. “It’s not hero worship.”
“Excuse me?”
“When I kissed you. It wasn’t because I was emotional and kissed you just because you were sent to rescue me. It wasn’t a mistake.” Her fingers curl against my skin. “I’ve been attracted to you since the first time I saw you. Which was really unsettling, to be honest, but…”
“Eve?”
“Yes?”
“You don’t have to explain yourself.” I grab her wrist and lift it to my lips for a kiss. Gingerly, I press my lips against her skin. “You have no idea how difficult this week has been for me, or what kind of thoughts have been going on inside my head.”
Eve lays an arm over my midsection and snuggles against me. She takes in a deep breath and blows it out. Her fingers draw little circles over my shirt, and I barely move, too afraid she’ll stop.
“I’m really glad you’re not one of the bad guys.” She glances up at me. “I hated that I was attracted to you. It made me feel squiggy.”
“Squiggy?” I chuckle. “I made you feel squiggy?”
“Don’t say it like that. It’s only…” Those maddening circles her fingers make are slowly driving me insane.
“Only, what?”
“I desperately wanted you to not be one of Benefield’s guests, but you were, and I hated you for that. I hated how much I wanted to be with you.”
“I distinctly remember you avoiding me.”
I grab her hand, unable to fully control my body’s reactions to her touch. This is most certainly not the time, or the place, for what’s going through my head.
“I couldn’t stand to be in the same room with you, not with what was going on in my head. I’ve never…” Her voice hitches and lowers to a whisper.
“You never, what?”
“I never fantasized about a man the way I did with you.”
“Oh really.” I tug her close and kiss the top of her head. I have to keep things chaste for now, even if all I can think about is stripping her out of her clothes and showing her exactly what kind of fantasies I’ve been having about her. “Tell me.”
“No.” She gives a cute, little squeal and affectionately pats my chest.
“Why not? We’ve got all night, and I love a good bedtime story. Especially if it involves you and me in the same bed.”
“You’re incorrigible. You know that?”
“Definitely.”
“I’m sorry if I was mean to you.” She presses on my chest and lifts up to place a kiss on my cheek. It’s chaste and utterly perfect.
“Mean?”
“Yeah.”
“I should be the one apologizing to you.”
“You were only doing your job, the one my father hired you to do.”
“It may have started out that way, but it quickly became more.”
She burrows more deeply against me. “I know that now.” Eve peeks up at me. Her features are nearly impossible to see in the darkness, but I see a flash of her spirit flickering in her eyes. “I’ve never been kissed like that before.”
“What do you mean like that?”
“With your whole soul.” A breathy sigh escapes her. “It was phenomenal, swoon worthy, made my head spin. I’m still kind of floating from it.”
“Floating?” What a way to stroke a guy’s ego? “I’ll take that kind of praise any day. Tell me more.”
“It was awesome.”
“I’ll take awesome.” I give another low, throaty chuckle. “If you only knew what I really wanted to do.”