Harlequin Presents January 2015 - Box Set 1 of 2: Sheikh's Desert Duty\Nine Months to Redeem Him\Fonseca's Fury\The Russian's Ultimatum (40 page)

Luca took her small backpack from the driver and exchanged a few words with him in rapid Portuguese. Then, as the driver walked away, Luca said, ‘Your things will be left at my headquarters until you get back.'

The obvious implication of
you
—not
we
—was not lost on Serena, and she said coolly, ‘I won't be bailing early.'

Luca looked at her assessingly and Serena was conscious of the new clothes and shoes she'd been given. Lightweight trousers and a sleeveless vest under a khaki shirt. Sturdy trekking boots. Much like what Luca was wearing, except his looked well worn, faded with time. Doing little to hide his impressive muscles and physique.

She cursed. Why did he have to be the one man who seemed to connect with her in a way she'd never felt before?

Luca, who had turned back to the plane, said over his shoulder, ‘Come on, we have a flight slot to make.'

‘Aye-aye, sir,'
Serena muttered under her breath as she hurried after him and up the steps into the small plane. She was glad that she'd pulled her hair up into a knot on top of her head as she could already feel a light sweat breaking out on the back of her neck.

Luca told her to take a seat. He shut the heavy door and secured it.

As Serena was closing her seatbelt she saw him take his seat in the cockpit and gasped out loud, ‘
You're
the pilot?'

‘Evidently,' he said drily.

Serena's throat dried. ‘Are you even qualified?'

He was busy flicking switches and turning knobs. He threw back over his shoulder, ‘Since I was eighteen. Relax, Serena.'

He put on a headset then, presumably to communicate with the control tower, and then they were taxiing down the runway. Serena wasn't normally a nervous flyer, but her hands gripped the armrests as the full enormity of what was happening hit her. She was on a plane, headed into the world's densest and most potentially dangerous ecosystem, with a man who hated her guts.

She had a vision of a snake, dropping out of a tree in front of her face, and shivered in the dry cabin air just as the small plane left the ground and soared into the dawn-filled sky. Unfortunately her spirits didn't soar with it, but she comforted herself that at least she wasn't arriving back in Athens with her tail between her legs...just yet.

Serena was very aware of Luca's broad-shouldered physique at the front of the plane, but as much as she wanted to couldn't quite drum up the antipathy she wanted to feel for him. After all, he had good reason to believe what he did about her—that she'd framed him.

Anyone else would have believed the same...except for her sister, who had just looked at her with that sad expression that had reminded Serena of how trapped they both were by their circumstances—and by Serena's helpless descent into addiction to block out the pain.

Their father had simply been too powerful. And Siena had been too young for Serena to try anything drastic like running away. By the time Siena had come of age Serena had been in no shape to do anything drastic. Their father had seen to that effectively. And they'd been too well known. Any attempt to run would have been ended within hours, because their father would have sent his goons after them. They'd been bound as effectively as if their father had locked them in a tower.

‘
Serena
.'

Serena's attention came back to the small plane and she looked forward, to see Luca staring back to her impatiently. He must have called her a couple of times. She felt raw from her memories.

‘What?'

‘I was letting you know that the flight will take four hours.' He pointed to a bag on the floor near her and said, ‘You'll find some information in there about the tribe and the mines. You should read up on them.'

He turned back to the front and Serena restrained herself from sticking her tongue out at him. She'd been bullied and controlled by one man for most of her life and she chafed at the thought of giving herself over to that treatment again.

As she dug for the documents she reiterated to herself that this was a means to an end. She'd chosen to come here with Luca, and she was going to get through it in one piece and prove herself to him if it was the last thing she did. She'd become adept in the past few years in focusing on the present, not looking back. And she'd need that skill now more than ever.

* * *

Just over four hours later Serena was feeling a little more in control of herself, and her head was bursting with information about where they were going. She was already fascinated and more excited about the trip, which felt like a minor victory in itself.

They'd landed in a private part of the airport and after a light breakfast, which had been laid out for them in a private VIP room, Luca was now loading bags and supplies into the back of a Jeep.

His backpack was about three times the size of hers. And there were walking poles. Nerves fluttered in Serena's belly. Maybe she was being really stupid. How on earth was she going to last in the jungle? She was a city girl... That was the jungle she understood and knew how to navigate.

Luca must have caught her expression and he arched a questioning brow. Instantly fresh resolve filled Serena and she marched forward. ‘Is there anything I can do?'

He shut the Jeep's boot door. ‘No, we're good. Let's go—we don't have all day.'

A short time later, as Luca navigated the Manaus traffic, which eventually got less crazy as they hit the suburbs, he delivered a veritable lecture to Serena on safety in the jungle.

‘And whatever you do obey my commands. The jungle is perceived to be a very hostile environment, but it doesn't have to be—as long as you use your head and you're constantly on guard and aware of what's around you.'

A devil inside Serena prompted her to say, ‘Are you always this bossy or is it just with me?'

To her surprise Luca's mouth lifted ever so slightly on one side, causing a reaction of seismic proportions in Serena's belly.

That dark navy glance slid to her for a second and he drawled, ‘I instruct and people obey.'

Serena let out a small sound of disdain. That had been her father's philosophy too. ‘That must make life very boring.'

The glimmer of a smile vanished. ‘I find that people are generally compliant when it's in their interests to gain something...as you yourself are demonstrating right now.'

There was an unmistakably cynical edge to his voice that had Serena's gaze fixed on his face. Not liking the fact that she'd noticed it, and wondering about where such cynicism stemmed from, she said, ‘You offered me a chance to prove my commitment. That's what I'm doing.'

He shrugged one wide shoulder. ‘Exactly my point. You have something to gain.'

‘Do I, though?' Serena asked quietly, but Luca either didn't hear or didn't think it worth answering. Clearly the answer was
no
.

They were silent for the rest of the journey. Soon they'd left the city behind, and civilisation was slowly swallowed by greenery until they were surrounded by it. It gave Serena a very real sense of how ready the forest seemed to be to encroach upon its concrete rival given half a chance.

Her curiosity overcame her desire to limit her interaction with Luca. ‘How did you become interested in these particular mines?'

One of his hands was resting carelessly on the wheel, the other on his thigh. He was a good driver—unhurried, but fast. In control. He looked at her and she felt very conscious of being in a cocoon-like atmosphere with nothing but green around them.

He returned his attention to the road. ‘My grandfather opened them up when prospectors found bauxite. The area was plundered, forest cleared, and the native Indians moved on to allow for a camp to be set up. It was the first of my family's mines...and so the first one that I wanted to focus on to try and undo the damage.'

Serena recalled what she'd read. ‘But you're still mining?'

He frowned at her and put both hands on the wheel, as if that reminder had angered him. ‘Yes, but on a much smaller scale. The main camp has already been torn down. Miners commute in and out from a nearby town. If I was to shut down the mine completely it would affect the livelihoods of hundreds of people. I'd also be doing the workers out of government grants for miners, education for their children, and so on. As it is, we're using this mine as a pilot project to develop ethical mining so that it becomes the standard.'

He continued. ‘The proceeds are all being funnelled into restoring huge swathes of the forest that were cleared—they'll never be restored completely, but they can be used for other ends, and the native Indians who were taken off the land have moved back to farm that land and make a new living from it.'

‘It sounds like an ambitious project.' Serena tried not to feel impressed. Her experience with her father had taught her that men could be masters in the art of altruism while hiding a soul so corrupt and black it would make the devil look like Mickey Mouse.

Luca glanced at her and she could see the fire of intent in his eyes—something she'd never seen in her father's eyes unless it was for his own ends. Greedy for more power. Control. Causing pain.

‘It is an ambitious project. But it's my responsibility. My grandfather did untold damage to this country's natural habitat and my father continued his reckless destruction. I refuse to keep perpetuating the same mistake. Apart from anything else, to do so is to completely ignore the fact that the planet is intensely vulnerable.'

Serena was taken aback at the passion in his voice. Maybe he
was
genuine.

‘Why do you care so much?'

He tensed, and she thought he wouldn't answer, but then he said, ‘Because I saw the disgust the native Indians and even the miners had for my father and men like him whenever I went with him to visit his empire. I started to do my own research at a young age. I was horrified to find out the extent of the damage we were doing—not only to our country but on a worldwide scale—and I was determined to put an end to it.'

Serena looked at his stern profile, unable to stem her growing respect. Luca was turning the Jeep into an opening that was almost entirely hidden from view. The track was bumpy and rough, the huge majestic trees of the rainforest within touching distance now.

After about ten minutes of solid driving, deeper and deeper into the undergrowth, they emerged into a large clearing where a two-storey state-of-the-art facility was revealed, almost completely camouflaged to blend with the surroundings.

Luca brought the Jeep to a halt alongside a few other vehicles. ‘This is our main Amazon operational research base. We have other smaller ones in different locations.' He looked at her before he got out of the Jeep. ‘You should take this opportunity to use the facilities while we still have them.'

Serena wanted to scowl at the very definite glint of mockery in his eyes but she refused to let him see the flicker of trepidation she felt once again, when confronted with the reality of their awe-inspiring surroundings.

She was mesmerised by the dense foliage around them. She had that impression again that the forest was being held back by sheer will alone, as if given the slightest chance it would extend its roots and vines and overtake this place.

‘Serena?'

Frowning impatiently, Luca was holding open the main door.

She walked in and he pointed down a corridor.

‘The bathroom is down there. I'll meet you back here.'

When Serena found the bathroom and saw her own reflection in dozens of mirrors, she grimaced. She looked flushed and sweaty, and was willing to bet that if she made it to the end of the day she'd look a lot worse.

After throwing some water on her face and tying her hair back into a more practical plait she headed back, nerves jumping around in her belly at the prospect of the battle of wills ahead and her determination not to falter at the first hurdle.

When Serena joined Luca back outside he handed her the backpack. There was a long rubber hose coming from the inside of it to sit over one shoulder. He saw her look at it.

‘That's your water supply. Sip little and often; we'll replenish it later.'

She put the pack on and secured it around her waist and over her chest. She was relieved to find that it didn't feel too heavy at all. And then she saw the size of Luca's pack, which obviously held all their main supplies and had a tent rolled up at the bottom.

Her eyes widened when she saw what looked suspiciously like a gun in a holster on his waist. He saw her expression and commented drily, ‘It's a tranquilliser gun.' He sent a thorough glance up and down her body and remarked, ‘Tuck your trousers into your socks and make sure your shirtsleeves are down and the cuffs closed.'

Feeling more and more nervous, Serena did as he said. When she looked at him again, feeling like a child about to be inspected in her school uniform, he was cocking a dark brow over those stunning eyes.

‘Are you sure about this? Now would be a really good time to say no, if that's your intention.'

Serena put her hands on her hips and hid every one of her nerves behind bravado. ‘I thought you said we don't have all day?'

CHAPTER THREE

A
COUPLE
OF
hours later Serena was blindingly aware only of stepping where Luca stepped—which was a challenge, when his legs were so much longer. Her breath was wheezing in and out of her straining lungs. Rivers of sweat ran from every pore in her body.

She was soaked through. And it was no consolation to see sweat patches showing on Luca's body too, because they only seemed to enhance his impressive physicality.

She hadn't known what to expect, what the rainforest would be like, but it was more humid than she'd ever imagined it could be. And it was
loud
. Screamingly loud. With about a dozen different animal and bird calls at any time. She'd looked up numerous times to see a glorious flash of colour as some bird she couldn't name flew past, and had once caught sight of monkeys high in the canopy, loping lazily from branch to branch.

It was an onslaught on her senses, and Serena longed to stop for a minute to try and assimilate it all, but she didn't dare say a word to Luca, who hadn't stopped since he strode into the jungle, expecting her to follow him. He'd sent only the most cursory of glances back—presumably to make sure she hadn't been dragged into the dense greenery by one of mythical beasts that were running rampant in her imagination.

Every time the undergrowth rustled near her she sped up a little. Consequently, when Luca stopped suddenly and turned, Serena almost ran into him and skidded to a halt only just in time.

She noticed belatedly that they were on the edge of a clearing. It was almost a relief to get out of the oppressive atmosphere of the forest and suck in some breaths. She put her hands on her hips and hoped she didn't look as if she was about to burst a blood vessel.

Luca extracted something from a pocket in his trousers. It looked like a slightly old-fashioned mobile phone, a little larger than the current models.

‘This is a satellite phone. I can call the chopper and it'll be here in fifteen minutes. This is your last chance to walk away.'

On the one hand Serena longed for nothing more than to see the horizon fill up with a cityscape again. And to feel the blast of clean, cool water on her skin. She was boiling. Sweating. And her muscles were burning. But, perversely, she'd never felt more energised, in spite of the debilitating heat. And, apart from anything else, she had a fierce desire to show no weakness to this man. He was the only thing that stood between her and independence.

‘I'm not going anywhere, Luca.'

A glimpse of something distinctly like surprise crossed his face, and a dart of pleasure made Serena stand tall. Even that small indication that she was proving to be not as easy a pushover as he'd clearly expected was enough to keep her rooted to the spot.

He looked down then, his attention taken by something, and then back up at her. A very wicked hint of a smile was playing about his mouth as he said, with a pointed look towards her feet, ‘Are you absolutely sure?'

Serena looked down and her whole body froze with fear and terror when she saw a small black scorpion crawling over the toe of her boot with its tail curled high over its arachnid body.

Without any previous experience of anything so potentially dangerous, Serena fought down the fear and took her walking pole and gently nudged the scorpion off her shoe. It scuttled off into the undergrowth. Feeling slightly light-headed at what she'd just done, she looked back at Luca.

‘Like I said, I'm not going anywhere.'

Luca couldn't stem a flash of respect. Not many others would have reacted to seeing a scorpion like that with such equanimity. Men included. And any woman he knew would have used it as an excuse to hurl herself into his arms, squeaking with terror.

But Serena was staring him down. Blue eyes massive. Something in his chest clenched for a moment, making him short of breath. In spite of being sweaty and dishevelled, she was still stunningly beautiful. Helen of Troy beautiful. He could appreciate in that moment how men could be driven to war or driven mad because of the beauty of one woman.

But not him.

Not when he knew first-hand just how strong her sense of self-preservation was. Strong enough to let another take the fall for her own misdeeds.

‘Fine,' he declared reluctantly. ‘Then let's keep going.'

He turned his back on the provocative view of a flushed-faced Serena and strode back into the jungle.

Serena sucked in a few last deep breaths, relishing the cleared space for the last time, and then followed Luca, unable to stem the surge of triumph that he was letting her stay. And as she followed him she tried not to wince at the way her boots were pinching at her ankles and toes, pushing all thoughts of pain out of her head. Here, she couldn't afford to be weak. Luca would seize on it like a predator wearing its quarry down to exhaustion.

* * *

Serena felt as if she was floating above her body slightly. Pain was affecting so many parts of her that it had all coalesced into one throbbing beat of agony. Her backpack, which had been light that morning, now felt as if someone had been adding wet sand to it while she walked.

They'd stopped only briefly and silently for a few minutes while Luca had doled out a protein bar and some figs he'd pulled from a nearby tree—which had incidentally tasted delicious. And then they'd kept going.

Her feet were mercifully numb after going through the pain barrier some time ago. Her throat was parched, no matter how much water she sipped, and her legs were like jelly. But Luca's pace was remorseless. And Serena was loath to call out with so much as a whisper.

And then he stopped, suddenly, and looked around him, holding up a compass. He glanced back at her and said, ‘Through here—stick close to me.'

She followed where he led for a couple of minutes, and then cannoned into his backpack and gave a little yelp of surprise when he stopped again abruptly. He turned and steadied her with his big hands. Serena hadn't even realised she was swaying until he did that.

‘This is the camp.'

Serena blinked. Luca took his hands away and she didn't like how aware she was of that lack of touch.

Afraid he might see something she didn't want him to, she stepped back.

‘Camp?'

She looked around and saw a small but obviously well-used clearing. She also noticed belatedly that the cacophony that had accompanied them all day had silenced now, and it was as if an expectant hush lay over the whole forest. The intense heat was lessening slightly.

‘It's so quiet.'

‘You won't be saying that in about half an hour, when the night chorus starts up.' He was unloading his backpack and said over his shoulder, ‘Take yours off too.'

Serena let it drop from her aching body and almost cried out with the relief. She felt as though she might lift right out of the forest now that the heavy weight was gone.

Luca was down on his haunches, extracting things from his bag, and the material of his trousers was drawn taut over his powerful thighs. Serena found it hard to drag her gaze away, not liking the spasm of awareness in her lower belly.

He was unrolling the tent, which looked from where Serena was standing alarmingly
small
. Oblivious to her growing horror, Luca efficiently erected the lightweight structure with dextrous speed.

When the full enormity of its intimate size sank in, Serena said in a hoarse voice, ‘We're not sleeping in that.'

Luca looked up from where he was driving a stake into the ground with unnecessary force. ‘Oh, yes,
we
are,
minha beleza
—that is unless you'd prefer to take your chances sleeping al fresco? Jaguars are prevalent in this area. I'm sure they'd enjoy feasting on your fragrant flesh.'

Tension, fear and panic at the thought of sharing such a confined space with him spiked in Serena as Luca straightened up. She put her hands on her hips. ‘You're lying.'

Luca looked at her, impossibly dark and dangerous. ‘Do you really want to take that chance?' He swept an arm out. ‘By all means be my guest. But if the jaguars don't get you any number of thousands of insects will do the job—not to mention bats. While you're thinking about that I'm going to replenish our water supplies.'

He started to leave and then stopped.

‘While I'm gone you could take out some tinned food and set up the camping stove.'

When he walked away Serena had to resist the cowardly urge to call out that she'd go with him. She was sure he was just scaring her. Even so, she looked around nervously and stuck close to the tent as she did as he'd instructed, muttering to herself under her breath about how arrogant he was.

* * *

When Luca returned, a short while later, Serena was standing by the tent, clearly waiting for his return with more than a hint of nervousness. He stopped in his tracks, hidden behind a tree. His conscience pricked him for having scared her before. And something else inside him sizzled.
Desire
.

His gaze wandered down and took in the clothes that were all but plastered to her body after a day of trekking through the most humid ecosystem on earth. Her body was clearly defined and she was all woman, with firm, generous breasts, a small waist and curvaceous hips.

The whole aim of bringing her here had been to make her run screaming in the opposite direction, as far away as possible from him, but she'd been with him all the way.

He could still recall the terror tightening her face when she'd seen the scorpion and yet she hadn't allowed it to rise. He'd pursued a punishing pace today, even for him, and yet every time he'd cast a glance back she'd been right there, on his heels, dogged, eyes down, assiduously watching where she stepped as he'd instructed. Sweat had dripped down over her jaw and neck, making him think of it trickling into the lush valley of her breasts, dewing her golden skin with moisture.

Damn her. He hated to admit that up to now he'd been viewing her almost as a temporary irritation—like a tick that would eventually fall off his skin and leave him alone—but she was proving to be annoyingly resilient. He certainly hadn't expected to be sharing his tent with her.

The Serena DePiero he'd pegged as a reckless and wild party girl out only for herself was the woman he'd expected. The one he'd expected to leave Rio de Janeiro as soon as she'd figured she was on a hiding to nothing.

But she hadn't left.

So who the hell was the woman waiting for him now, if she wasn't the spoiled heiress? And why did he even care?

* * *

Serena bit her lip. The light was fading fast and there was no sign of Luca returning. She felt intensely vulnerable right then, and never more aware of her puny insignificance in the face of nature's awesome grandeur and power. A grandeur that would sweep her aside in a second if it had half a chance.

And then the snap of a twig alerted her to his presence. He loomed out of the gloom, dark and powerful. Sheer, abject relief that she wasn't alone made her feel momentarily dizzy, before she reminded herself that she really hated him for scaring her earlier.

Luca must have caught something of her relief. ‘Worried that I'd got eaten by a jaguar, princess?'

‘One can but hope,' Serena said sweetly, and then scowled. ‘And don't call me princess.'

Luca brushed past her and took in the camping stove, commenting, ‘I see you can follow instructions, at least.'

Serena scowled even more, irritated that she'd done his bidding. Luca was now gathering up wood and placing it in a small clearing not far from the tent. Determined not to let him see how much he rattled her, she said perkily, ‘Can I help?'

Luca straightened from dumping some wood. ‘You could collect some wood—just make sure it's not alive before you pick it up.'

Serena moved around, carefully kicking pieces of twigs and wood before she picked anything up. One twig turned out to be a camouflaged beetle of some sort that scuttled off and almost made her yelp out loud.

When she looked to see if Luca had noticed, though, he was engrossed in building up an impressive base of large logs for the fire. It was dusk now, and the massive trees loomed like gigantic shadows all around them.

Serena became aware of the rising sound of the forest around them as the night shift of wildlife took over from the day shift. It grew and grew to almost deafening proportions—like a million crickets going off at once right beside her head before settling to a more harmonious hum.

She brought the last of the wood she'd collected over to the pile just as Luca bent down to set light to the fire, which quickly blazed high. Feeling was returning to her feet and they had started to throb painfully.

Luca must have seen something cross her face, because he asked curtly, ‘What is it?'

With the utmost reluctance Serena said, ‘It's just some blisters.'

Luca stood up. ‘Come here—let me see them.'

The flickering flames made golden light dance over his shadowed face. For a second Serena was too transfixed to move. He was the most beautiful man she'd ever seen. With an effort she looked away. ‘I'm sure it's nothing. Really.'

‘Believe me, I'm not offering because I genuinely care what happens to you. If you have blisters and they burst then they could get infected in this humidity. And then you won't be able to walk, and I really don't plan on carrying you anywhere.'

Fire raced up Serena's spine. ‘Well, when you put it so eloquently, I'd hate to become more of a burden than I already am.'

Luca guided her towards a large log near the fire. Sitting her down, he went down on his knees and pulled his bag towards him.

‘Take off your boots.' His voice was gruff.

Serena undid her laces and grimaced as she pulled off the boots. Luca pulled her feet towards him, resting them on his thighs. The feel of rock-hard muscles under her feet made scarlet heat rush up through her body and bloom on her face.