Happily Ever After (33 page)

Jack laughed suddenly. “Are you kidding? I’d
rather eat pure poison than eat what Maria brought me!”

Sophie gave him an annoyed look. “You’re just
saying that!” she accused him.

He gave her a sheepish glance. “Uh, no!”

“Truly?” She tilted him a curious look. “What did
she bring you?”

Jack shook his head, disgusted all over again
merely by the thought. He grimaced and said, “Chocolate-covered roaches!”

Her eyes went wide and her hand flew to her mouth.
“Oh, my!”

“Swear to God!” he told her, still grimacing as
his hand went protectively to his belly.

She shrieked with laughter.

Deeply offended by her lack of concern for his delicate
stomach, Jack was forced to tickle her. He tickled her until their limbs were
tangled and her cheeks were aching with her laughter, until one of her boots
flew off and across the pool, and landed in the water with a hearty splash.

“Oops,” he said, and stopped suddenly, looking
into her eyes. “There went your shoe,” he said.

Sophie grinned up at him. “I guess you’ll just
have to go down and get it, won’t you?”

He grinned back, poking at her chest. “If I go,
you go,” he said.

Sophie held her breath as his finger slid down
between her breasts, teasing her.

“Says who?” she asked a little breathlessly.

His gaze followed his finger. “I’m bigger than you
are,” he reminded her.

That much was true.

“But I could scream,” Sophie assured him.

His gaze met hers and he arched a brow in
challenge. “Who would come? We’ve wandered too far for anyone to hear us.”

Sophie shrugged. “
Hechicera
.”

His smile was wicked. “Then let her,” he said,
flaunting danger. “I could think of worse things than to be stranded here
forever with you.” He kissed her then, a sweet, gentle kiss that made Sophie’s
heart swell with love.

A knot formed in her throat. She wanted to make
love to him. She wanted to give him her body once more. She wanted him to know
how she felt through her touch.

Without a word, Sophie boldly unbuttoned her
shirt, reveling in the way he watched her.

“Are you sure?” he whispered against her cheek,
kissing her softly.

Sophie lifted her face to him, kissing his lips.
“Quite sure,” she murmured, and he joined her, undressing her eagerly, hunger
burning in his eyes.

His hands explored her body with such sweet
tenderness that Sophie wanted to weep with joy.

She closed her eyes.

More than anything she wanted to tell him how she
felt, but was afraid to open her heart completely... afraid he wouldn’t love
her back... afraid to speak the words aloud... afraid to be a fool… again.

With Harlan she had given everything and had
thought she’d received his love in return. She had been wrong, and was afraid
to be wrong again. Harlan had never once spoken those words to her.

Three simple words were all she needed to hear...
but she needed Jack to say them first. But though they didn’t come easily to
her lips, they filled her heart.

There were no doubts any longer... she loved Jack
with all her soul. Jack was everything she’d ever wanted in a man... and
more...

And Harlan was simply a lesson learned... a bad
memory, growing more distant with every kiss from Jack’s tender lips.

She made love to him then, daring
Hechicera
with every cry from her lips.

Greedy for every precious moment Jack would give
her, she held nothing back.

Except three cherished little words.

CHAPTER 30

Sophie rejoiced in the afterglow of their
lovemaking.

She’d never felt closer to anyone in her life. More
than anything, she wished they could stay in this jungle paradise, just the two
of them, forever. The thought of returning to Boston had never been more
distasteful.

Jack lay beneath her, shielding her bare body from
the bracken of the forest floor. His eyes were closed, and his arms were around
her, his fingers lightly stroking her back.

Her cheeks warmed with the memory of her own
boldness, but she had reveled in the moment. She now knew exactly what Harlan
had meant when he’d spoken of being ridden. Jack had straddled her over his
exquisite body, begging her to ride him. And she had, without shame. All the
while, he had murmured endearments to her, encouraging her, making her feel
like his goddess.

She felt a little like that still, with her Adonis
lying satiated beneath her, his body warm and comforting.

“I suppose we should get dressed,” she said,
though reluctantly. “Someone may finally miss us and come searching.”

“No one will come,” Jack assured, his eyes still
closed. Sunlight broke through the canopy above them, warming her back, falling
across his face. In his hair, she spied the first signs of silver. It sparkled
in the sunlight, and she ran her fingers through it, enjoying the feel of his
hair in her hands—thick and soft. And he had a tiny little mole beneath
his lower lip. She touched it reverently.

“They might,” she argued. “How can you be sure
they won’t?”

He shook his head and smiled softly and said,
“Because you’re with me.”

Sophie lifted a brow. “Oh my,” she said, and knew
it was true. She would have preferred not to be so obvious, but they weren’t
fooling anyone, she realized. She doubted anyone but Jack had missed her
love-sick glances.

Sighing contentedly, she laid her head down,
cuddling against Jack’s bare chest. It was smooth and soft, the feel of it
delicious against her cheek. His hand tangled in her hair, finding something...
a leaf perhaps ... and he plucked it out, and began leisurely to search for
more. Sophie didn’t care if she wore the entire forest floor in her hair. She felt
beautiful in Jack’s eyes. He had told her so until she dared to believe it.

He lifted his head suddenly, and Sophie did, too.

He was grinning at her. “I think we should both go
after your boot,” he told her, and shook a brow suggestively.

Sophie laughed. “No doubt we could use a bath,”
she agreed.

He gently slapped her naked rear, and Sophie
yelped in surprise. “Up!” he said, caressing where he’d slapped her. “Before
I’m tempted again. If I am, we’ll never leave, and then they’ll definitely come
looking and I’ll have to kill any man who sees you like this.”

Sophie laughed again, oddly exhilarated by his
possessiveness. She rose. So did he, and he grinned at her before jumping into
the pool. Sophie moved to the edge, laughing at his boyish antics as he came up
shaking his head and sputtering.

He dove under once more and came up with Shorty’s
boot. “Look what I found!”

Sophie smiled regretfully. “I do hope Shorty won’t
mind terribly.”

He tossed the boot up at her. “Shorty’s damned lucky
not to be in them right now,” he said. “I’d have to kill him.” He gave her a
look that told her that while his mood was light, his words held a measure of
truth. She tried to catch the boot but it landed behind her.

She sat there at the pool’s edge. “Because of the
ring?” she asked.

“Because of the ring...” He gave her a pointed
look Sophie didn’t entirely understand. They hadn’t as yet discussed the ring,
or Shorty, or Harlan for that matter, and the realization surprised her. “And
because of where he got it.”

Sophie bit her lip as she considered the ring. She
couldn’t conceive that Harlan would part with it. And it was far too generous a
gift to be used even as payment for services—though whatever services
Shorty might have provided for Harlan, Sophie couldn’t imagine. “He must have
stolen it,” she deduced aloud.

“Maybe,” Jack said, and nothing more. “Come on
down,” he commanded her, dismissing the topic. “The water’s great.” But his
mood had sobered, and Sophie wanted to know why.

Then again she wanted answers to many questions,
and Harlan could certainly provide some of those. She couldn’t wait to move on
with her life. The sooner she confronted him, the better.

“When do you think we’ll reach Harlan’s camp?” she
asked Jack as she climbed down into the pool. “Soon I hope!”

The water was indeed wonderfully warm, and she
sighed contentedly.

He stiffened suddenly, his brow furrowing, as
though the question angered him somehow. He didn’t answer. He washed his face
vigorously, ignoring the question, as though he hadn’t heard her, and then he
climbed up out of the pool.

“Jack,” she called after him, her heart skipping a
beat.

He didn’t answer.

“Jack, what is it? What’s wrong?”

He was angry with her suddenly, and she suspected
she knew why but everything would be revealed to him soon.

“You’d better hurry,” he said curtly as he dressed
without looking at her. “It’s getting late, and we’d best be on our way.”

With every step they took toward their
destination, Jack’s mood grew more sour.

He couldn’t believe Sophie could make love to him
with so much feeling and then turn around and ask how long before they reached
Harlan’s camp.

She was somewhere behind him, talking to Kell, but
he couldn’t bring himself even to look at her. Anger clouded his brain.

Stubborn, beautiful,
infuriating woman!

Maria gabbed incessantly at his side, but Jack
didn’t hear a word she said to him. Her father had brought her along, refusing
to leave her alone. Bit Jack thought it was a little too late to worry about
her virtue. Her mother had died giving birth to the youngest of her sons when
Maria had been just a girl. As a result, Maria had grown up wild, free to do
mischief while her father was away. But her wildness was her greatest appeal.
She was full of life and passionate, beautiful even. This minute, however, her
voice grated in his ears.

Because she
wasn’t Sophie.

Damn it. He couldn’t imagine just handing Sophie
over to Harlan and then turning around and walking away.

By God, he
wasn’t going to do it.

He needed Sophie. Life lacked any meaning without
her—everything did, including his studies. What would it matter what he
discovered, what he learned, if he couldn’t see her eyes light up just to hear
him tell of it? He felt sick listening to Maria’s chatter, imagining a procession
of meaningless encounters with women he never cared to see again.

“Sophie!” he heard one of his men call out to her
and his heart squeezed hard.

Who dared to
taunt him with her name?

He spun to see who had called her, and found Pete
waving enthusiastically at her. He barked orders to the boy, commanding Pete to
Jose’s side. He didn’t know what the hell for, so he ordered him to carry
Jose’s backpack. The youth gave him a confused look, but did as he was told.

Sophie shot him a narrow-eyed glance, and he
turned around, ignoring her, angry at her for wanting Penn.

If they kept going at this pace, they’d reach
their destination sometime before nightfall.

Damn it all
to hell.

Like a spoiled kid, he wanted to plant his feet and
toss down his backpack and refuse to take another step toward Penn’s camp.

“What is wrong with him!” Sophie exclaimed to Kell
and shook her head.

Kell shrugged in answer, but hid a little smile.
“You really don’t know?”

Sophie smiled back, and admitted, “Actually, I
think I do. He’s been cranky like that ever since this morning.”

She hiked her backpack a little higher. One boot
was still wet and had begun to squeak and her toes were beginning to feel
spongy and raw. She’d attempted to dry the socks she’d stuffed into the toe of
the boot, but they hadn’t had much time, and she’d ended up putting them back
in still wet. It was either that or fling the boots off at every step as they
were far too big.

Jack had rushed them out of camp, and had kept a
grueling pace the entire day. They were moving so fast through the forest and
she’d been slapped in the face by so many limbs that she began to wonder
whether she had leaf prints all over her face.

“What happened this morning?” Kell asked,
obviously curious, but trying to sound casual.

Sophie shrugged, but blushed. “I asked when we’d
be arriving at Harlan’s camp and he stopped talking to me. Hasn’t said a word
to me since.”

Kell grinned. “He’ll be fine as soon as we get to
Harlan’s camp.”

And yet, Sophie wasn’t entirely looking forward to
Jack’s understanding. The coming confrontation with Harlan left her feeling
mostly renewed... stronger... except when she thought of the simple fact that
everyone else would know the truth after—that Harlan hadn’t cared one
whit about her. It made her feel in many ways a failure, though she knew it was
absurd.

And why should it matter anyway? The instant she
had discovered his perfidy, she had turned him away in her heart, only to
realize he’d never really been there to begin with.

Jack was.

With every step they took, she grew more anxious
to have the ordeal behind her.

“Nervous?” Kell asked.

Sophie gave him a sheepish look, nodding. “A
little, but it’s the right thing to do,” she assured Kell.

Kell nodded at her and winked. “I’d have to agree.
And I’m really proud of you for standing tall and going through with this.”

It wasn’t easy. And the thought of it left her
stomach in knots.

“Harlan doesn’t deserve you,” Kell assured her.

Sophie smiled at him. “Thank you,” she said
softly, and peered up ahead.

Jose was leading them through a narrow jungle
path, and they could barely walk side by side now. They kept the pace, never
slowing, lest they lose the man directly in front of them. Somewhere ahead,
Jack was walking with Maria and her brother, but she couldn’t see them, and was
glad. She knew in her heart that Jack didn’t want Maria, but neither was he at
Sophie’s side, he was at hers.