Page 8 of One Weekend in Rio de Janeiro

Her brows drew together as he checked out his laptop then closed and secured the bag’s flap. “I’m assuming your laptop is destroyed?”

“A little banged up, but my bag is waterproof, so it’s fine. Well, fine for just being hacked,” he grumbled.

“How do you know you were hacked?”

“It happened on the plane. Right before…” His words trailed off and he cleared his throat. “Right before we went down.”

“Is that why you swore so loudly?”

His face flushed. “Yeah.”

“I saw you talking to the pilot. Did he tell you what happened?”

Donovan’s brown eyes met hers and even though he didn’t comment, she saw well-concealed answers swirling in those dark depths.

“What do you know?” she pressed, stepping closer.

“Nothing you need to worry about,” he said and she frowned, not liking that answer at all.

Kate didn’t appreciate being kept in the dark. She liked prompt answers whereupon she could make informed decisions when the time came. Tilting her head, she studied him closely. There was no doubt he was attractive and even stronger than she’d originally thought. Her eyes roamed over his muscled biceps, firm pecs and flat, ridged abs. The way his wet t-shirt clung to his body revealed more than she’d anticipated on seeing. But she wasn’t complaining.

Of course, that meant she was probably giving him a similar peep show. A quick glance down and, yeah, her white button-down was practically sheer, clearly displaying the light pink lace of her bra. Re-crossing her arms a little higher, she took a step back and swallowed hard.

The ironic part of the whole situation was she’d asked for this—a little bit of adventure over the long weekend.

Well, she’d gotten a bit more than she wanted. And, somehow, she’d even gotten a hot, mysterious stranger to share the action with. One who made her pulse flutter a little too wildly.

“So, ah, now what?” she asked, voice husky. His gaze dropped when she inadvertently licked her lips, and he stared at her mouth a moment too long.

“I think we should hunker down somewhere until it gets light. Like you said, the jungle is especially dangerous at night. Traipsing through it blindly isn’t smart.”

“Yeah, we don’t want to go hurtling off another cliff,” she teased and he smiled.

“Oops.” He gave her an adorable, lopsided grin that made her insides do a funny, little dance.

“At least it’s not cold.” She twisted the end of her shirt, wringing water out, trying to ignore the little flutters in her belly. The jungle normally stayed in the seventies at night, so they weren’t in any danger of freezing. But, being stuck in wet clothes, especially jeans, was never comfortable.

As though he heard her thoughts, Donovan slid his messenger bag off his body then reached around and pulled his shirt off before replacing the bag exactly where it’d been since he left the plane. He reminded her of a half-naked, extremely buff Indiana Jones. As they slowly walked forward, searching for a place to spend the night, he squeezed the water out of the cotton and gave it a good shake.

“Men have it so easy,” she mumbled.

He slid her a sideways glance and cocked a dark brow. “If you want to take your clothes off and let them dry—”

“I’m fine.”

Donovan lifted his hands in a placating gesture. “All I was going to suggest is you sleep on one side of the tree and I sleep on the other. Spread your clothes out to dry.”

Actually, that didn’t sound so bad. As long as he stayed on his side, of course. But the idea of getting undressed in the middle of the dense jungle didn’t sit well with her. Especially if they had to start running again. Plus, there were the mosquitoes and she didn’t want to get eaten alive.

“How about here?” he suggested, laying his wet shirt on some branches and dropping the messenger bag at his feet. They paused beside a massive tree covered in dense vines and Kate glanced around, suddenly uneasy.

“Did you get a look at those guys earlier? The ones shooting?” she asked.

Donovan shook his head. “Not really.”

Don’t look at his chest, she told herself. Keep your eyes above those sculpted pecs. “Do you think they were rebels? Cartel members maybe?”

Stepping closer, his mouth curved up in a smirk that sent her heart thumping hard against her ribs. “You ask a lot of questions.”

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