She regularly gave to charity, healed the sick, and never had an unkind word to say about anyone. Well, anyone but him, apparently. He recalled how she’d talked to him. The woman wasn’t a pushover, but her recent emotional distance from her brother had concerned Owen enough to step in. Though Heather traveled the world, she often went with the people Owen provided to protect her—pilots, bodyguards, and a personal secretary.
When she’d left Baltimore, her current place of residence, without taking any of them or letting them know she might be leaving, Owen had naturally worried.
Jack followed her in silence for the next few hours, content to let her lead the pace as his mind puzzled over how to handle his attraction to her. The moon continued to provide assistance, and they walked through the forest shadows without flashlights. Heather stopped so suddenly, he would have run into her if he hadn’t been so attuned to their surroundings.
“I think we should call a halt. It’s close to three in the morning.”
Jack stopped with her and looked around. Oh joy. More shadows and trees. They didn’t seem to be walking along a prescribed path, for which Jack was grateful. No need to follow any manmade trail to the Source that the whole town used. They were off the map, so to speak. Now to find a place to bunk down…
To the far right, he noticed a large wealth of rock obscured by some thick tree trunks. “Wait here.” He turned and left Heather sputtering behind him. Good. Let her stew over blanket orders. The woman needed to be reminded of who was really in charge of their expedition.
He found what he’d hoped to find and returned to her. “There’s a cave we can take shelter in. It’s not deep, and nothing else is in there.” He held his flashlight by his side. “There’s a small stream to the side too. You can hear it.”
She nodded. “Yeah. That will work.”
He lifted a brow. “Glad you approve.” Then he turned and left her muttering to herself behind him. Once inside the cave, he switched on the lantern function of the flashlight and made note of the dimensions he had to work with. Letting his pack drop gave his back a nice respite. The pack hadn’t been heavy, by any means, and much less than he was used to carrying on a mission. A quick check earlier had shown one change of clothing, extra socks, his gun, ammo, some trail food, and a few bottles of water—similar to what Ida had packed for Heather, minus the gun. They had enough for a few days in the woods, but much longer out here, and he and Heather would need to find real sustenance.
She joined him and put her pack down. She watched as he kicked a few rocks away from where he planned to make their main sleeping area. He wondered what kind of stink she’d make when she realized they’d be sleeping together.
Jack took his sleeping bag, unzipped it, then put it on the cold, hard ground. “I need your bag.”
She blinked at him. “What?”
“Give me your sleeping bag. I won’t fit in that tiny sack Jan gave me. And it’s cold enough out that we’ll need to share body heat to stay warm. My bag on the bottom, you and me inside, and yours on top. I’ll keep my hands to myself if you will.” He paused and, seeing the mutiny in her expression, added, “If you can.”
Like her brother, she couldn’t resist a dare. She lifted her nose in the air. “Oh, I’ll be fine. It’s you I’m worried about.” She bent down and grabbed her sleeping bag, then tossed it to him. “Thanks for making up our little camp. I’m going outside to freshen up, but I’ll be back soon.”
He hadn’t heard anything or anyone nearby and didn’t worry about her being alone. After she returned, he left to take care of his own needs. He washed in the colder-than-hell stream but felt more himself, despite the lethargy dragging him down, and then returned to their camp. He’d had little sleep the past week, constantly on the lookout for Miss Priss, who eyed their sleeping arrangements with a frown.
“Problem?”
She whirled to face him. “Problem? No. Not really.”
“Take off your jacket and sweater. It’s best if we sleep in pants and boots, ready to go. But a T-shirt on top is best. I give off a lot of body heat, and together, we’ll generate enough warmth under the sleeping bag.”
Heather nodded and stripped out of her jacket and sweater. She wore a short-sleeved T-shirt underneath, one that clung to her curves. Then she practically killed him when she took the band out of her hair and shook out her braid. The strands of her honeyed hair curled around her face and teased her breasts.
He wanted nothing more than to unzip his jeans and free his aching cock. Then he’d order her to please him, and she’d beg so prettily to swallow his cum… Talk about one hell of a fantasy.
She lay between the downy blankets of nylon. “Ugh. I haven’t been sleeping on the ground in months. I’d forgotten how uncomfortable it can be.”
He hadn’t. Jack had been through all kinds of shit during his days working for the government, and some memories never faded, like bivouacking in the jungles when hunting cartels no longer on Uncle Sam’s payroll. Other ugly memories flashed in his mind’s eye, and, as usual, Melissa’s face intruded. But unlike the other times when he’d rage when thinking of her, Heather’s face superimposed over Melissa’s. This time, he felt nothing but desire.
“You okay?” She patted the spot next to her…in invitation?
After pulling the lantern and his loaded pistol close, he set the alarm on his watch and turned off the light. He stripped off his jacket and sweater and joined her under the cover, conscious of her prime, curvy body inches from his. To keep himself from reaching for her—be professional, asshole—he linked his hands behind his head and stared at the black ceiling, wide-awake.
“What’s wrong?” she asked in a whisper.
“Nothing,” he said in a thick voice, unable to disguise his arousal. “Get some rest. I’ll keep an ear out for trouble. I’m a light sleeper.” At this rate, he’d have nothing but a crick in his neck and an unending hard-on before the morning was out. Fuck. Had he really thought he’d be able to sleep next to her? Even after walking through most of the night, the woman smelled like roses.
Instead of rolling to her side away from him, she rolled closer. He felt her breath on his neck, and he tensed, unable to help it. Then the blasted woman put her hand on his chest. All the energy pulsing through the ground into him centered embarrassingly on his dick. He did his best not to react, until she started rubbing, brushing over his sensitive nipples through the thin cotton of his T-shirt.
Amazingly, arousal mixed with a soothing sense of peace, and his troubles seemed to lighten the more she touched. He found himself slowly easing into a comfortable intimacy, even as a part of him warned to be vigilant, not to trust her. When she asked him to share his troubles, he answered with only the slightest hesitation.
Chapter Five
Resting on her side, propped up on her elbow, Heather continued to siphon the demons plaguing Jack. Such deep wounds, a bevy of negative energy holding the big man down. He growled, and he snapped, but he’d been aware of her and careful to keep a pace she could handle. Even their sex, explosive as it was, had been for her pleasure before he took his own.
She sensed tenderness and love buried deep inside him, and though it wasn’t her place to explore areas in a person uninvited, she’d been itching to help him since they’d first met. It didn’t help that the Source stirred her to use her abilities. She’d felt almost on overload during their trek through the forest. But after dropping her pack, she felt a bit better, as if she could rest and not worry so much about everything.