Savage Hunger by Terry Spear Page B

directly behind the waterfall, and from the back side, the water spilling over the rocks is gentler,” Maya said. “The curtain of falling water is so dense that you can’t see through it. You can either stand up to your thighs in the lake on this side of the falls, or wash up as you stand on a rock ledge behind the falls. We have shampoo that’s biodegradable and body soap.”
    “I’ll shower behind the falls,” Kat said. Even though she would probably need the rougher water to feel clean, she wasn’t sure she could withstand the pressure. She really did need to eat more to get her strength back. Standing in the muddy water didn’t appeal to her, either. What if a hungry croc or an anaconda was hidden right beneath the surface?
    Carrying her, Connor ducked through the screen of a shower of gentler water to the right of the falls, and then they were behind the falls, the roar of the rushing water nearly deafening. She glanced at the shallow cave. The rock walls were covered in moss, while ferns grew nearer the outer edges where they could reach the light, like lacy green trimming. Inside, it was cooler but just as humid, the air scented with earth and rock, plants and fresh water.
    “The rocks are a little slippery,” Connor said next to her ear, making sure she heard him over the noise of the falls before setting her down on her feet.
    Trying to keep her balance, she clung to him. His arms wrapped around her protectively, and he seemed concerned for her welfare all over again. And something more. She wasn’t sure what was in his expression. Almost as if he was rethinking his earlier decision to keep his distance from her. His interest in her made her skin flush with heat again. She looked around for Maya, but she hadn’t joined them behind the falls. Where was she?
    Then she saw the bottles of shampoo and body soap sitting on a rock ledge. She supposed then that Maya and her brother came here on a regular basis to get clean.
    “I can manage,” Kat said, although she didn’t let go of Connor’s waist. She was not sure she could manage alone, as much as she wanted to show her independence and strength—which was normally how she dealt with any situation.
    He was still holding her waist with a tight grip to make sure she didn’t fall. “I’ll help, if you don’t mind.” Again, he said the words with authority, as if she had no say.
    She assumed that was because he could envision her fighting to prove she could do this on her own when she truly wasn’t able. “Maya—”
    “Isn’t strong enough to hold you up if you slip and fall. And the pressure of the falls will tire you. Trust me in this.”
    Think of him like a male nurse, Kat told herself, flushing to high heaven.
    He smiled a little, and that sexy-as-sin smile warned her he wasn’t a male nurse, but a man who was looking forward a little too much to his role.
    “I…”
    He shook his head, but he didn’t make a move to do anything, waiting, she thought, for her acceptance.
    She wanted to get clean. Another flush of heat spread across her skin. “Fine,” she said in an ungracious way.
    Again, he smiled, looking amused this time.
    She reached for the buttons on her cotton shirt, but her fingers were trembling and she wasn’t making much progress.
    “Here,” he said, not gruffly as she might have expected, but with a gentler tone like when he had tried to make her well. “I’ll do it. Just hold on to my waist so you don’t fall.”
    She didn’t know which was worse, stripping in front of him on her own or having him remove her clothes. She tried her damnedest not to feel as though this was something much more intimate, personal, and sexy.
    She looked around again, wondering where Maya was.
    Connor had Kat’s shirt off before she was ready, and then he worked on her pants. He hadn’t let her put on her boots before they left the hut, so he didn’t have to mess with pulling them off. As soon as her pants joined her shirt on the rock