It was slow going even though Ridge insisted he was fine. Neither Lani nor Aurelio wanted to push him too much so even when he trudged on ahead of them they hung back, forcing him to slow down. Eventually he got the message.
When the sun set that evening they were only a third of the way back to camp but that was the best they could do, under the circumstances. After refreshing themselves by the stream that was the tail end of the waterfall they’d left far behind they settled down for an early night.
Lani curled up beside Ridge and long after she could hear Aurelio’s snores she just lay there, holding her exhausted husband in her arms.
He’d had a rough day. Although he’d played brave she’d seen the strain on his face and heard his labored breathing. It must have taken all his strength to keep going.
And so she lay there on the bed of leaves, his head nestled in the curve of her shoulder, and as he slept she stroked his hair, knowing that he wasn’t even aware of her caress but happy she could do it, anyway.
And maybe it was a good thing he slept, giving her the freedom to explore him to her heart’s content. Maybe if he’d been awake she would have hesitated. But now, with him lost to the world, she let her fingers curl in the dark silk of his hair then slip down to caress the curve of his jaw, now rough and sexy with unshaven hair. She let her hand slide down to stroke the strong column of his neck then steal inside his shirt where she splayed her fingers over his heart, feeling the reassuring thump and reveling in his warmth.
She began to draw her hand out, her fingers brushing his nipple on the way, and it was when she heard his gasp that Lani realized that Ridge was wide awake.
Her gaze flew to his face and she saw that he was looking down at her, his face all but hidden in the shadow of night, his eyes blazing with a fire so intense it made her shiver with awareness.
Lani didn’t move her hand any farther. She didn’t get the chance.
Ridge reached up and covered her hand with his, pressing it into his chest like he was branding it into his skin. Then he reached down to capture her arms and pull her up his body until her face was level with his. “I want you,” he whispered, his voice urgent. “Now.”
Lani sucked in her breath, her eyes widening in surprise. “But… Aurelio,” she whispered back.
“Then we’ll go,” he answered, “far enough where we’ll be alone.” He made as if to rise but Lani pressed her body down on his, trying to hinder his movement.
“But is it safe?” she asked then looked around at the thick, dark, mysterious bushes that surrounded them. “This is the jungle, after all.”
“We won’t go far,” he whispered. “Just far enough.”
“I don’t know,” she began, but that was as far as she got because he was up on his feet before she’d even gotten the words out and he was pulling her up beside him.
“Come.”
That was all he said and then they were tiptoeing away from the fire Aurelio had built, away from their temporary safe haven.
And although Lani wanted him badly she couldn’t help wondering if they were being the worst idiots in the world. Even as she felt her heart quicken in anticipation, the thought did cross her mind - was sex with Ridge really worth the risk of being found by a jaguar? She guessed she would soon find out.
***
Ridge was no fool. He wanted Lani so bad he could taste her but he didn’t want her so bad he would put her life at risk. As he was rising he’d slipped his hand under the backpack he’d tucked under his head, sliding the Bowie knife out, and then as he took her hand to turn her away he slid it into the back of his trousers. In the darkness she wouldn’t have seen his move. No need to scare her unnecessarily.
Then, silent as a snake so as not to wake Aurelio, he led her away from the clearing and into the grassy alcove he’d found earlier that evening. Unnoticed, he’d slipped away from his travel companions soon after they’d taken their dip in the stream and upon finding the secluded spot he’d immediately thought it would be the perfect place to get away. The vines surrounding it formed a net of leaves so dense it would be hard for an animal to break through. At the same time, the section facing their camp area was sparse enough to give him a good view while hiding them from sight.
As soon as they stepped into the nook Ridge dropped to the grassy forest floor, pulling Lani down with him, his main intent to recapture her lips.
But she was having none of it. Instead of melting into his arms as he’d expected she would do, she resisted, letting him sink to the floor by himself. She shook her head. “You’re not up to this yet,” she said. “I can’t let you.”
Gazing up at her, he chuckled softly. “It’s probably exactly what I need,” he told her.
She shook her head again. “You stay right there,” she said. “Let me do everything.”
Ridge smiled, liking the sound of that. He was hot for her but if she would take the lead he didn’t mind at all. And there would be one other plus to that. With her paying attention to him he could settle back and enjoy and still keep an eye on what was going on around them. You couldn’t be too careful in the Amazon jungle.
Ridge lay back on his cushiony bed of green as Lani came to him. The subdued light from the faraway fire was like a halo to the back of her head, giving her a look so surreal that for just one moment it was like he was in the presence of an angel. He dared not take his eyes off her in case she disappeared like a figment of his imagination.
With the golden glimmer behind her Lani leaned down, her hair shiny-black and glistening in the light, and in answer to his silent plea she pressed her lips to his. He responded greedily, molding his mouth to hers, sucking hungrily on her lower lip. Too soon she was pulling away but he expelled a soft sigh of relief when she drew the satiny petals of her lips down his neck, sending sweet shivers running up his body.
But she didn’t stop there. Like she wanted to taste every inch of his skin she quickly loosened the buttons of his shirt, tracing her lips over his chest as she went, going lower then across where she covered his left nipple with the soft velvet of her tongue.
Bold as brass she threw his shirt open as he lay back on the leaves but thankfully she didn’t divest him of his buttons this time. Not pausing, she kept kissing his chest then his abs, moving lower until her breath was tickling the hairs just below his navel.
Ridge tensed, feeling himself grow even harder in his trousers, his stiffness calcifying into solid rock. He wanted to reach out and hold her but, not wanting to break the spell, he clenched his fists at his sides and waited for her to make the next move.