Part 18 (1/2)

His fingers were warm on her chilled skin. Though the night was humid, her clothes were wet and there was a breeze coming off the water. The falls shot droplets in their direction with every gust of wind. She s.h.i.+vered.

'Come here.' He pulled her into his arms. 'You're s.h.i.+vering.'

'I'm wet.'

'So am I. We should get out of these clothes.'

She tilted her head back. 'What if someone showed up?'

'Then they'd see us naked, I guess. But it's getting cooler out here. Storm's coming in.'

'What? You're a weatherman now?'

He grinned. 'No, I can smell it on the air.'

'So why get out of our clothes if we're just going to get wet again?'

'Well, first off, I'd get to see you naked again, and secondI guess there is no second,' he teased.

She shook her head at his one-track mind. 'That made absolutely no sense.' But she still snuggled up against him. Just what they needed, a big tropical storm while they were out here with no shelter.

'We're just going to have to find a place where we can get out of it. These storms can get pretty bad. And if it rains hard, they aren't going to come looking for us anytime soon.'

To prove his point, a big fat drop of rain landed on her leg. Then another.

'Come on.' He stood and pulled her upright. 'Let's head toward the falls.'

Great. More water. Just what they needed when they were already wet and about to get wetter.

'Why?'

'Because there's something behind it.'

'How do you know?'

'Quit asking questions and let's just go.'

She followed, not sure what he thought he was doing. When they reached the waterfall it began to rain in earnest, soaking them through. Gina wished for wiper blades on her gla.s.ses, but without them she'd be blind in the dark.

'Give me your hand,' Derek shouted. She reached for it, latching on as he pulled her against the rock wall face beside the waterfall.

The ground was slippery and she nearly lost her footing as he dragged her along the side of the slope, but then she saw what he was talking about. An opening, a ledge behind the falls. He let go of her to make the three-foot jump downward onto the ledge, and she followed, simply grateful to be out of the rain.

It was like a coc.o.o.n, the waterfall blanketing them from the storm outside. Lightning flashed, illuminating the small cave. Gina took a quick turn around and nodded.

'At least it's dry.'

'Roomy enough, too. This will do until the storm pa.s.ses.' He shrugged the rifles off his shoulders, setting his lanterns on the ground and pointing them upward to bathe the cave in soft light. After discarding his boots and socks, he unbuckled his ammo belt and peeled off his wet s.h.i.+rt. 'Better get out of those wet things.'

He was right. Yet she felt strangely shy, even though they'd shared the most intimate of encounters last night. Getting naked for lovemaking was one thing. Standing around bare-a.s.sed with Derek while waiting for a storm to pa.s.s was another.

Derek rolled his eyes. 'I'm not suggesting it to f.u.c.k you, Gina. A hunter with pneumonia does our cause no good. No one's coming for us in this storm, and even if they did they wouldn't find us in here. Now strip.'

She s.h.i.+vered and realized he was right. This was no time for modesty or second thoughts about any other motives. She dropped her gear, toed off her boots, then pulled off her tank top and sports bra, unb.u.t.toning her shorts with shaky fingers.

Dammit, her teeth were chattering. The wind howled outside, signaling an upsurge in the storm as it blew the waterfall back in on them.

She cursed when she couldn't manage the soaked but tons on her shorts.

'Let me help you,' Derek said, shrugging out of his pants.

'I can do it.'

'You're shaking and your lips are starting to turn blue.' He brushed her numb fingers aside and deftly unb.u.t.toned her shorts, then pushed the material down her hips. It clung to her skin, proving difficult. Derek squatted and dragged the soaked material all the way to her ankles, taking her socks off, too. She had to hold on to his shoulder while she stepped out of her shorts and panties.

When he looked up at her, she remembered last night, being in this same position, and her body began to warm. Especially the way he stared at her, his eyes darkening like storm clouds.

With a quick clearing of his throat, Derek stood and turned away to gather up their clothes, but the evidence of his desire couldn't be masked. His erection was full, prominent, and right out there for her to see.

She couldn't help but smile. At least she wasn't the only one thinking of last night. Waves of arousal heated her, warming her more effectively than if they'd built a fire right in the cave.

'The floor's a little cold,' he said after he sat. 'I don't want you on it.'

She wrapped her arms around her middle. 'What do you want me to do? Stand here?'

'No. I want you to sit on me.'

Heat again, this time coiling around her belly. 'You're kidding, right?'

'I need to get you warm, Gina. Now get over here and sit on me.'

His voice was too husky, his body betraying the words that he was offering simply for her health. She knew his intentions were honorable, but she wasn't too sure about her own.

She needed his heat, and not just because her body was chilled. Flame had ignited already, and though her body was icy on the outside, it was hot on the inside, needing Derek to stoke the fire. She walked over to him, watching the way his eyes darkened as she approached, the way he tilted his head back, his gaze gravitating to her s.e.x as she placed it right in line with his full, oh so soft lips.

Then she straddled his thighs, and draped herself over his lap, facing him.

His wide-eyed look of shock was priceless. She wrapped her legs around his waist, the aching part of her making sweet, full-on contact with his erection.

'd.a.m.n, Gina,' he whispered. 'That's not what I meant.'

She twined her arms around his neck. 'You want me in a different position?'

He grasped her b.u.t.tocks and dragged her closer against him. 'h.e.l.l, no.'

'Then warm me.'

Shock didn't even begin to describe Derek's reaction to Gina's bold move. Straddling him. Naked, her wet center surging against his hard c.o.c.k.