Commando (10 page)

“Wh-why aren’t you cold?” she chattered.

With a rumbling chuckle, Jake said, “I’ve got you in my arms, darlin’. The right woman always makes a man feel warm.”

Shah’s eyes flew open. He was teasing her, wasn’t he? She moaned a little as his hand created warmth across her thigh and hip. He had to be teasing! Pursing her lips, she muttered, “I’m not any man’s woman!”

“You can be.”

“No one would want someone like me, Jake Randolph! I’m mean-tempered, defensive, and in general I don’t care for men!”

“You’re such a wildcat, Shah.” Jake stopped rubbing her, because she’d ceased shivering. Wrapping his arms around her, he gave her a light squeeze. “You’ve got a lot of fine points about you,” he whispered close to her ear. “And not every man is going to be scared off by your past or that tough-broad act you put on.”

Confused and exhausted, Shah couldn’t decide whether Jake was teasing or serious. She closed her eyes and pressed against him, absorbing his heat. How he could be so warm when she was freezing was beyond her. “I’ve been wounded too many times, Jake,” Shah warned him, realizing her words were slightly slurred. “I don’t trust men.”

Jake smiled in the darkness and slowly began to undo the rest of her braid so that her thick, silky hair could cover her. It was one more way to keep her warm. “Darlin’,” he said softly, “we’ve all been wounded one way or another by love.”

She stubbornly shook her head. “I suppose that’s a quote from some famous philosopher.”

His teeth were white against the darkness. “Yeah, a hell of a guy said it. I think Jake Randolph was his name.”

All the tension Shah had been holding within her snapped. She giggled a little, and covered her mouth with her hand so that the sound wouldn’t carry far. Just the simple act of Jake unbraiding her hair and allowing it to flow across her like a coverlet had been her undoing.

“What?” he asked teasingly. “You’re not familiar with that famous philosopher?”

The darkness was complete now, and Shah allowed herself the luxury of enjoying Jake’s embrace. She lifted her hand and rested it against the column of his neck. “You’re good for morale,” she murmured, “and I’m not going to comment one way or another about your philosophy.”

Chuckling indulgently, Jake sighed and rested his head against the tree. “We’ve all been wounded,” he told her softly. “But wounds should be allowed to heal, Shah.”

“They still leave scars,” she muttered with a frown.

“Nothing wrong with that. Scars are memories, but they shouldn’t stop you from trying to reach out and live again.” Jake laughed harshly at himself. Had he thought he’d ever laugh again? Ever love again? After his family had been taken from him, Jake had truly known the bleakness of a future without hope. Not until he’d met Shah, not until he’d held her in his arms, had he found hope again. She fit against his length like a missing piece of a puzzle. A piece he had never envisioned finding.

Warmth was beginning to seep back into Shah. Jake was like a huge furnace, and surrendering to him had been right. She laughed at herself for having thought she’d never trust a man again. Jake’s rumbling voice flowed across her, bringing an unfamiliar ache to her heart. In some way, he was able to get through her complex defenses to touch her—gently, without engaging her fear. Yet Shah did fear the future. At some point, would Jake, like all the rest of the men in her life, turn on her? Abuse her? Take advantage of her?

Shah squeezed her eyes shut. She didn’t know the answer, and not knowing left a helpless feeling in her heart. Jake absently stroked her arm, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. His touch, unlike any other man’s that she’d known, was quieting and healing, and that amazed her.

Wearily Shah nuzzled against Jake’s neck, and felt an instant response, his arm tightening around her just enough to let her know he liked her trust in him. “I’m so tired, Jake….”

“Go to sleep,” he urged her huskily. “I’ll hold you safe and warm tonight.”

A soft smile tugged at Shah’s mouth. “I can’t believe a man could make me feel this safe….”

Those last words chased around in Jake’s head most of the night. Sleep, though badly needed, wasn’t on his list of priorities tonight. The need to stay alert, not only for four-legged predators, but for two-legged ones, as well, kept him thoroughly awake. The Amazon was like a lover in some ways, Jake thought as he lay there through the hours of darkness, experiencing the rich sounds of insects and animals and the heady fragrance of nearby orchids. His body throbbed with the knowledge that he wanted to make love with Shah. She slept deeply, like a lost child in his arms, her hand curled against his chest, over his heart.

Jake’s attention was torn between keeping watch and succumbing to Shah’s presence. The thrill of her trust was keeping him awake on another, more physical level. The ache deep within him surprised him even as it made him hungry in a way he’d thought he would never know again. He absorbed each soft, moist breath she released, felt her breasts lightly rise and fall, and devoured the sensation of her body resting against his. He almost laughed aloud at the thought that if she could read his mind she’d fly out of his arms.

A quarter moon rose silently in the sky, lending a misty luminescence to the landscape. Jake marveled at the hazy beauty of the rain forest, which seemed to be more magical than real. He watched wisps of mist twist slowly, like graceful hands and arms, through the branches overhead. The Amazon, now a wide black ribbon, shone like an ebony mirror in the moonlight. Several times he saw the sleek, dark shapes of dolphins as they leaped out of the river, made a quick splash and dived beneath the surface again. Never had Jake felt as fulfilled as he did at this moment.

Somewhere near dawn, Jake dropped off to sleep, his head tipped back against the tree, his arms wrapped around Shah. But his dreams were torrid and heated, instead of being filled with his usual cutting feelings of loneliness and grief.

Shah awoke slowly, feeling warm and safe. The scent of a man entered her nostrils, and she inhaled it as if it were some forgotten perfume that only her heart recognized. The bristles of Jake’s beard chafed pleasantly against her brow, and she released a sigh of pleasure. The weight of his arms made her feel secure. The entire length of her body followed his, and as she flexed and moved her fingers, which lay against his powerful chest, she felt the smooth flow of muscles beneath his damp shirt. Jake had a hidden power, she decided groggily, and she didn’t want to wake up, wanting instead to stay contained in the safe haven of his arms.

Jake’s broken snoring made her smile softly. At some point in the night he had shifted just enough to allow his head to rest against her hair, and now his moist breath was flowing down across her. Forcing her eyes open, Shah blinked and allowed her senses to open up to the sounds and smells surrounding her. A huge part of her wanted to lift her head and explore Jake’s mouth. What would it be like to kiss him? Would he overwhelm her with his superior strength? Or would he be tender and sharing with her? Shah tried to berate herself for her idealism. Her mind told her that men had no capacity for sharing, but her heart argued that Jake had already shown her his tenderness in many small, meaningful ways.

Ribbons of mist lay across the Amazon, and transparent, gauzy clouds of humidity floated just above the triple-canopied rain forest. The mist darkened the trees so that everywhere she looked the jungle seemed ethereal—as if it were a floating, moving mirage that could, at any moment, disappear before her very eyes. This was what she loved about the Amazon—its mysteriousness, the way it appeared and disappeared in these haunting white mists that reminded her of ever-moving curtains. Trees were silhouetted, then blotted out by a thick cloud moving silently across them, only to reappear later. Sounds were muted by the humidity and mist moving sensuously through the trees.

Shah heard a loud hiss from beneath the tree. Instantly she froze.

Jake jerked awake, his embrace tightening around Shah. “What?” he muttered, startled.

“Don’t move,” Shah breathed, craning her neck. “There’s a huge jacare right under the tree, Jake.”

At the base of the tree was a fifteen-foot jacare, its jaws open, the pink of its mouth and rows of white, pointed teeth showing. The reptile hissed again and whipped its tail, thumping it hard against the jungle floor.

Jake sat up, holding Shah hard against him. Sleep was torn from him as he stared down at the nasty-looking creature. They were safe. There was no way the jacare could climb the tree. He shifted his awareness to Shah, who was leaning forward.

“Don’t fall,” he warned.

“I won’t.” Shah gulped and decided it was time to get out of Jake’s embrace. If she stayed, the temptation to kiss him, to explore his mouth, would overwhelm her. “Let me go.”

Jake released her, scowling. “What are you doing?”

Shah moved slowly to the opposite side of the tree. “Trying to get rid of the jacare,” she muttered. The jacare followed her movement, sluggishly turning in a half circle as she moved out onto another, smaller limb.

“Dammit, Shah, get back here!” Jake launched himself upward and gripped an overhead limb. What was she doing?

“Stay there,” Shah ordered. She retrieved a hefty piece of limb that had fallen from a pau tree and lodged in the rubber tree. “Do you want to stay up here all day with him waiting for his meal to come down to him, or do you want him to leave?”

“Just tell me what you’ve got planned,” he growled.

“I’m going to get rid of him. You can’t shoot him. The noise will tell Hernandez we’re alive and in his territory.” She twisted her head toward Jake, who had a thundercloud look of disapproval on his darkly bearded face. Didn’t he think she could help?

Retrieving the four-foot limb, Shah whispered, “Give me your knife.”

Jake grudgingly handed it to her, butt first. Her logic was faultless.

Leaning down, Shah pricked two of her fingers with the tip of it.

“What the hell are you doing?” Jake demanded, alarmed.

“Relax.” Shah allowed the blood to drip over the end of the limb. Then, satisfied that there was enough, she wiped her fingers on her trousers and handed Jake his knife. He was glaring at her.

“Jacare have lousy eyesight,” she informed him testily, “but they’ve got noses like bloodhounds.” She held up the limb. “They can smell blood half a mile away in the water. Unless you want to get down and wrestle this guy, this is the best way to get rid of him! The Tucanos showed me this trick.”

Disgruntled, Jake watched as Shah clambered down to the lowest limb of the tree. The jacare heard her and whipped around with amazing speed for such an unwieldy creature. Shah took the limb and poked it down toward the hissing jacare, waving it back and forth in front of him. The crocodile tested the air with his long, thin snout, making several loud whuffing sounds. Shah chuckled.

“He’s got the scent,” she whispered excitedly. Then, with all her strength, she hurled the limb toward the bank of the river. Scowling, Jake watched Shah sit down on the limb and wait. Within a few minutes, the jacare lifted its dark green snout again, sniffed the air and slowly trundled toward where the limb lay on the bank.

Shah grinned expectantly as the jacare got within a few feet of the limb and attacked it, scooping it up in his massive jaws. Within moments, the reptile made a waddling run for the river and slid back into the muddy Amazon waters, disappearing beneath the surface with the limb. She tossed a triumphant look up at Jake.

“That jacare is going to have one heck of a bellyache after he eats that wood,” she said with a chuckle.

Admiration for Shah flowed through Jake. He forced himself to stop scowling. “That’s a pretty neat trick,” he congratulated her. “How are your fingers?” It had hurt him as much to see her prick them as if they’d been his own.

She held them up and smiled. “Fine.” Standing gingerly, Shah looked around, then back at him. Her smile faded. “Well, I guess we’d better start planning our day.” She pointed to the north. “Hernandez’s land is that way. If my camcorder isn’t ruined, we’ll be in luck.”

A scowl instantly formed on Jake’s brow. “What the hell are you talking about, Shah?”

She eased out of the tree and lowered herself to the ground. “You’re sure grouchy when you first wake up, you know that? Are you always like that? Or is this something special for my benefit? Maybe you need a cup of good, thick Brazilian coffee…” Shah retrieved Jake’s knapsack and laid it on the ground. To her delight, the camcorder was not only undamaged, but dry, as well.

Jake dropped to the ground next to her. “I only get grouchy when I think someone’s going to make a fool out of herself.” He hunkered down opposite Shah. “You aren’t still planning to film Hernandez cutting down those trees, are you?”

Glancing up as she gently pulled the plastic wrap aside, Shah said, “Of course I am.”

Jake stared at her in shock. “After what he’s done?”

Heaving a sigh, Shah held his gaze. “Especially after what he’s done,” she said grimly. “I know the score with him, Jake. I know he’ll try to kill me.”

“Us.”

“You don’t have to go. I’m not asking that of you.”

He held on to his thinning patience. “You nearly drowned yesterday!”

“Don’t shout, Jake.”

He frowned. “I’m shouting because I care, Shah. I care about your neck. Okay? It’s too dangerous to go after Hernandez now. The smartest thing we can do is get our butts out of this sling, get back to Pai Jose’s mission, make a radio call for police help and have them arrest Hernandez for attempted murder.”

Shah tried to placate Jake. “Yesterday, I was on your turf, the water. Today—” she looked around the rain forest “—you’re on my turf, Jake. I’ve been trained by the Tucanos. I know how to survive here. Look, you don’t have to go along with me. I know the way back to the mission from here. I’ve got an excellent sense of direction, and I never get lost.”

“That’s not the point,” Jake gritted out, feeling completely helpless beneath her stubborn determination. On one hand, his protective instincts were getting the best of him. On the other, he respected Shah’s knowledge of the area. What he didn’t want to deal with any more than was necessary was Shah’s life being in danger again. “Dammit, Shah, I care about you! I want you safe!”