Off Limits by Lindsay McKenna Page A

feel.”
    Exhausted, Alex nodded. “It doesn’t change how I feel about you,” she quavered.
    â€œGo to sleep,” he ordered tightly. “You’re stressed, Alex. It’s natural to have crazy feelings at times like this. You don’t love me. You just think you do. Now, go to sleep. We’ll start moving again at dusk.”
    Too weary to argue anymore, Alex nestled her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. It occurred to her that loving Jim could be a one-way street. He’d never said he loved her. But that heated, hungry kiss had told her things he’d be too wary to admit to her. No, that one melting, soul-searching kiss had bonded them together. Forever.
    * * *
    Alex awoke with a start. At first she was disoriented, the dusk upon her. Then, as she grew more alert, she realized she was sleeping near the trunk of the rubber tree, alone. Jim was gone! Worried, she pushed up into a sitting position and looked around. Night sounds were picking up in volume as she tried to penetrate the lush jungle.
    â€œAlex...”
    A scream nearly leaped out of her mouth. Turning, she saw Jim quietly crawling back through the tangle of roots to where she sat.
    â€œWhere were you?” she demanded in a low, unsteady voice.
    He grinned and held up some fruit. “Found some bananas for us to eat. They’re a little green, but they’ll be okay.” Wiping the sweat off his face, he came and sat next to her. He gave her two of the small bananas, keeping one for himself.
    â€œNo, you take two,” Alex protested. “You’re larger than I am.”
    He grinned and handed the fruit back to her. “I already ate two I found.”
    â€œOh.”
    Jim said nothing, but pleasure flowed through him at the wonder of Alex: she would share what she had, no matter how hungry she was. As they sat in silence, chewing on the unripe fruit, Jim frowned. Thus far, he hadn’t found anything not to like about Alex. All through the hot, humid daylight, he’d slept restlessly, alert to any change in noise level. Each time he’d reassured himself that VC weren’t nearby, he’d turned his attention back to Alex sleeping deeply in his arms, and to her unexpected admission.
    Stealing a glance at her now—her hair mussed, her face scratched and smudged with dirt—a profusion of rainbow feelings rushed through Jim. She was so small and petite against his height and leanness as a man. Yet the soft set of her lips, of the petite chin that balanced her heart-shaped face, spoke eloquently of her courage. Alex was the kind of woman he’d dreamed of someday falling in love with—a woman ruled by a large, generous heart, who might look helpless but wasn’t in the least. After all, the woman he dreamed of taking for a wife would have to be able to survive the harsh demands of Missouri hill life—not for the faint of heart.
    â€œHow’s your shoulder?” he asked.
    â€œOkay.”
    Jim smiled slightly and held her shadowed gray gaze. “Alex Vance, you’re fibbing.”
    It was her turn to smile uncertainly. “Yes...well, it hurts. But so does your leg, I’m sure,” she said, pointing to the splints.
    â€œMy level of pain is tolerable.”
    â€œSo’s mine.”
    â€œYou must be feeling better. You’re getting feisty on me.”
    Alex finished the second banana and wiped her fingers along her jeans. “My fever seems to be gone, at least for now. And I’m not feisty.”
    A grin worked its way across Jim’s mouth. He felt such delight in discovering each new facet of Alex. How he ached to share each small discovery with her. But he couldn’t. The feelings he held for her could never be revealed. He had to protect her from himself, because there was no future for them. Ever. “Think we ought to put more sulfa powder on your wound? We’re gonna be walking all night.”
    She nodded.