cursing him to hell. Because no matter what Rock had done…scratch that, no matter what the government was saying he’d done, he would never let harm come to a woman under his protection. “He’ll die before he allows her to get hurt.”
“Yeah,” Boss grimaced. “And that’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”
***
Snap. Crack. The sound of footfalls in the undergrowth drew closer.
And it was back to being a brick wall for Rock. He stilled beneath Vanessa, his chest, which moments before had been heaving with passion, barely moved. She followed suit, raking in a shallow, silent breath as her heart clenched into a tight ball of fear.
Had Rock been wrong? Had the hit teams already made it down this far? Or was that just an animal out there…?
The air inside the hollow tree felt too dense to breathe, like she was sucking molasses into her lungs.
Schick. Tick.
Oh, shitballs, whatever it was, it was big. And, as if on cue, a snuffling sound reached her ears, followed closely by a barking grunt.
Jaguar.
Vanessa’s stomach flipped as every hair on her head stood on end.
Just an animal? Just? Had she really been foolish enough to have that thought? Because there was no just when it came to a friggin’ two-hundred-pound jungle cat with razor sharp teeth and two inch claws.
“Don’t. Move.” Rock whispered.
Yeah, she hadn’t planned on it.
She felt him reach down beneath her thigh, and for a moment she entertained the crazy notion that he was going to try to pick up where they’d left off. And if they were, indeed, seconds away from being devoured by the big cat, she couldn’t say she really blamed him. At least they’d both die happy, doing something pleasurable. But then the hard steel of a gun barrel kissed the inside of her leg.
Okay so they’d likely survive the cat. A couple of slugs from Rock’s SIG would insure that. Unfortunately the resulting gunfire would undoubtedly bring hell raining down on them in the form of the teams of men currently scouring the jungle.
It seemed their luck was holding steady. Because this was definitely a lose/lose situation.
“He smells the blood,” Rock murmured.
Blood? What blood?
“What are you talking about?” she breathed into the darkness, her nearly silent words still managing to sound like a shout inside the hollowed-out log.
“From my neck.”
Huh?
She reached up, careful not to make so much as a sound, and felt the neck in question. Her fingers raked across a long, deep gash and came away sticky with blood. “ Jesus , Rock,” she hissed, “are you hit? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“No.” She could feel him shaking his head. “Just a sliver of wood from a tree.”
Like that was so much better. Because bullet or woodchip didn’t make a damned bit of difference when it came to nearly severing your jugular.
“Slowly,” he instructed, “I need you to slide off me . I hear him comin’ ’round to the base of the log.”
And that was bad. Because if they could squeeze inside the tree, the jaguar would have no problem doing the same. The thought of that big cat in here with them was just too horrifying to contemplate.
Vanessa carefully rolled off Rock onto her side, barely completing the maneuver when she felt him scoot down toward the mouth of the log.
“Be careful,” she whispered, and immediately rolled her eyes as she thought. Well, that’s ridiculous advice . Like what else would he be?
“Don’t scream,” he retorted, which had her heart—the sucker had just recovered from the initial shock to start beating again—once more screeching to a halt. She actually fancied she could hear a scriiiiitch echo in the darkness.
When someone warned you not to scream, it was generally followed up by something truly scream-worthy.
She bit her lip until the pain made her eyes water, but even then, she didn’t unclench her jaw. She figured it was better to chew the sucker right off than take a chance of letting so much as a peep slip out
“Yeah,” Boss grimaced. “And that’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”
***
Snap. Crack. The sound of footfalls in the undergrowth drew closer.
And it was back to being a brick wall for Rock. He stilled beneath Vanessa, his chest, which moments before had been heaving with passion, barely moved. She followed suit, raking in a shallow, silent breath as her heart clenched into a tight ball of fear.
Had Rock been wrong? Had the hit teams already made it down this far? Or was that just an animal out there…?
The air inside the hollow tree felt too dense to breathe, like she was sucking molasses into her lungs.
Schick. Tick.
Oh, shitballs, whatever it was, it was big. And, as if on cue, a snuffling sound reached her ears, followed closely by a barking grunt.
Jaguar.
Vanessa’s stomach flipped as every hair on her head stood on end.
Just an animal? Just? Had she really been foolish enough to have that thought? Because there was no just when it came to a friggin’ two-hundred-pound jungle cat with razor sharp teeth and two inch claws.
“Don’t. Move.” Rock whispered.
Yeah, she hadn’t planned on it.
She felt him reach down beneath her thigh, and for a moment she entertained the crazy notion that he was going to try to pick up where they’d left off. And if they were, indeed, seconds away from being devoured by the big cat, she couldn’t say she really blamed him. At least they’d both die happy, doing something pleasurable. But then the hard steel of a gun barrel kissed the inside of her leg.
Okay so they’d likely survive the cat. A couple of slugs from Rock’s SIG would insure that. Unfortunately the resulting gunfire would undoubtedly bring hell raining down on them in the form of the teams of men currently scouring the jungle.
It seemed their luck was holding steady. Because this was definitely a lose/lose situation.
“He smells the blood,” Rock murmured.
Blood? What blood?
“What are you talking about?” she breathed into the darkness, her nearly silent words still managing to sound like a shout inside the hollowed-out log.
“From my neck.”
Huh?
She reached up, careful not to make so much as a sound, and felt the neck in question. Her fingers raked across a long, deep gash and came away sticky with blood. “ Jesus , Rock,” she hissed, “are you hit? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“No.” She could feel him shaking his head. “Just a sliver of wood from a tree.”
Like that was so much better. Because bullet or woodchip didn’t make a damned bit of difference when it came to nearly severing your jugular.
“Slowly,” he instructed, “I need you to slide off me . I hear him comin’ ’round to the base of the log.”
And that was bad. Because if they could squeeze inside the tree, the jaguar would have no problem doing the same. The thought of that big cat in here with them was just too horrifying to contemplate.
Vanessa carefully rolled off Rock onto her side, barely completing the maneuver when she felt him scoot down toward the mouth of the log.
“Be careful,” she whispered, and immediately rolled her eyes as she thought. Well, that’s ridiculous advice . Like what else would he be?
“Don’t scream,” he retorted, which had her heart—the sucker had just recovered from the initial shock to start beating again—once more screeching to a halt. She actually fancied she could hear a scriiiiitch echo in the darkness.
When someone warned you not to scream, it was generally followed up by something truly scream-worthy.
She bit her lip until the pain made her eyes water, but even then, she didn’t unclench her jaw. She figured it was better to chew the sucker right off than take a chance of letting so much as a peep slip out
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