Page 48 of Atone in Darkness
When they were done eating, Chase took the empty canfrom her. “If you need a private moment, head off that way.”
He pointed back toward the direction they’d come from. “Meanwhile, I’ll cut some branches to make pallets for us to sleep on. It will be more comfortable and help insulate us from the cold ground.”
Marisol was already up andmoving, anxious to be done with the day, but she turned back. “You know we’ll both be warmer if we share body heat. I’m willing if you are.”
Then she walked into the trees and left it up to him to make the final decision on their sleeping arrangements.
•••
CHASE STOOD SLACK-JAWEDand stunned as Marisol disappeared into the darkness. Yeah, they’d shared a kiss a short time ago that had prettymuch short-circuited his brain, sending all of his blood pooling below his belt. It had taken everything he had not to press Marisol up against the nearest tree and take her right then and there. But as they’d walked the last distance to their campsite, he’d sternly reminded himself of all the reasons that getting more involved with her was a bad, bad idea.
Thanks to her mysterious former employer,she had already skated a little too close to the secret world where he lived and fought. Even now, it would take a lot of finesse and just plain good luck to extricate her from the mess she’d gotten herself into. Yeah, she’d made a mistake by taking the job in the first place without realizing the offer was too good to be true, but it was one she wasn’t likely to repeat. Her academic credentialsshould ensure she’d have no troublefinding a position with a reputable employer. With her brilliant mind, Marisol would go on to do amazing things in the name of medical science.
He could just picture her in one of those starched lab coats she liked to wear, and that he found inexplicably sexy. The last thing she needed was to stay tangled up with him. Once they got back to civilization, hewould head back to southern Missouri to pick up the pieces of his life. There was no way a woman like Marisol would be content to live in a small town. There was a good-sized medical center there that serviced the entire county, but it couldn’t offer her the kind of professional opportunities she’d have in a large city.
As the negative thoughts kept swirling through his mind, he began cuttingcedar branches, one right after another until there was a sizable pile on the ground. Deciding he had enough, he quickly arranged them into two pallets about three feet apart. As soon as he was done, he stepped back to study his handiwork. Footsteps were headed his way, which left him only seconds at best to decide if he really wanted to spend what could be his last night with Marisol sleeping eventhat small distance away from her.
In the end, the answer was easy. He quickly shoved the two piles together, finishing just as Marisol stepped into the clearing. He straightened up and dusted his hands on his pants. “Give me a minute in the woods, and I’ll be right back. Then I’ll walk with you down to the water’s edge, so we can both wash up a bit.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
He pulled two smallpackages out of their pack and handed them to her. “While I’m gone, you can open these and spread them out.”
She couldn’t see as well as he did, but it didn’t take her long to realize the treasure he’d discovered back at the cabin. “Space blankets?”
“Yep, we’re going to sleep in style tonight. I found them stuck in the back of a drawer in the kitchen. Thought they might come in handy.”
Shewas already ripping open the plastic bags. While she put the finishing touches on their bed, he paid a quick visit to the woods to take care of business. Their joint trip down to the stream didn’t take long. Both of them were too tired to linger even though the moonlight reflecting on the rippling water was beautiful.
Back at camp, he let Marisol get situated in between the blankets before kickingoff his shoes and climbing in next to her. The first few seconds were definitely awkward. Evidently he wasn’t the only one who was unsure exactly what Marisol had meant about sharing body heat. He didn’t want to make any assumptions. On the other hand, the memory of how it had been between them last night kept playing out in his head. Being this close without touching her was physically painful.He lay on his back and stared up at the night sky peeking through the trees overhead and tried to think good and noble thoughts. It didn’t help.
“Chase?”
“Yeah?”
Evidently he’d sounded pretty gruff, because she immediately turned away from him. “Never mind.”
“Sorry, Marisol. I didn’t mean to growl.”
When she didn’t immediately respond, he rolled to hisside and spooned his body around hers.“What did you want, honey?”
He must have gotten it right this time, because she relaxed into him. The slight wiggle she gave when her backside tucked in tight against his cock gave him hope that they’d spend the night doing more than sleeping tangled up in each other’s arms.
“You haven’t answered my question. What do you want from me, Marisol?”
His words hung there between them, his pulse racingas he waited for her to finally answer. When she struggled to move, he immediately backed away a few inches to give her the space she needed. It was disappointing, but he couldn’t blame her for being reluctant. But then she did an amazing thing. She turned toward him and then sat up to peel off her shirt. Even though her actions let out all the heat that had already built up under the thin blanket,he didn’t care, not one damn bit. When she’d also shimmied out of her pants, she once again stretched out against him and reached up to cup the side of his face with the warmth of her hand.
“Like I’ve said, I don’t know what’s going to happen when all of this is over. But for as long as we’re together, I want this.”
Only a crazy man would reject what she was offering, so he covered her handwith his and then kissed her palm. “Hold that thought.”
He quickly stripped off his own clothes and then pulled her back into his arms, a perfect fit. It was too dark to pick out many details, but he had a damn good memory. Touching her brought back vivid images of her pretty breasts and therosy flush of her skin as he’d learned his way around her body. For now, that would be enough.
“Kissme.”
The lady liked to give orders, but luckily for them both he was in the mood to follow them—but only on his terms. He brushed his lips along the curve of her neck down to the pulse point at the dip at the top of her collarbone.
She tugged on his hair, trying to redirect his efforts. He smiled against her skin. “Patience, woman.”
