This was pure insanity. Maybe she’d eaten some of the inedible plants and was having a reaction. It was the only thing that made any sense to him. Whatever it was, this was ending now.
“Lia, I’m giving you to the count of three…”
“And what exactly are you going to do then?” she snapped as a streak of lightning flashed far too close for his comfort.
“Try me and find out. One, two… Screw this,” he snapped as he grabbed her by the waist and threw her over his shoulder, her head hanging down his back and her ass high in the air.
“Shane Grayson, you put me down this instant,” she demanded as he began quickly moving back the way he’d come. All he could think about was the dryness of the cave and getting food in his stomach. Well, that was all he could think about until he noticed her tight rear end so close to his face. His temper was evaporating as lust began to fill him again.
“I’m not putting you down, so just shut up and enjoy the ride,” he said.
“Shane!”
“Ah, baby, your thrashing around is only turning me on more,” he called, his mood changing as he carried her through the woods, walking down the path he’d forged earlier. He felt a bit like a caveman who had just claimed his prize. Thunder boomed, and he picked up his pace.
When he turned the corner and saw the path down to the water and the cave, he breathed a sigh of relief. Shelter was needed. Even though he knew that the moment he set Lia down, she would fly at him with her claws extended, it was worth it.
She was light as a feather, and he’d enjoyed feeling the warmth of her body as he carried her through the storm. It was all leading up to one hell of an explosive night. Having had a couple of hours to think on it, he would take her any way he could get. She’d soon be begging him — he didn’t need her to make the first move this time.
Shane reached the cave, and he could have gone around the waterfall, but they were already soaked, and that was the quickest way in. So, without warning, Shane stepped down into the waist-deep pool and walked through the thick stream of pouring water.
Lia’s shouts turned to a gurgle as she inhaled a little of the sweet water. Setting her down on her feet, he backed up quickly, hoping to get enough time to brace for impact.
“I’m going to bloody you,” she snapped as she flew at him.
With her eyes flashing in the fading light that was seeping through the veil of water, and her T-shirt molded to her heaving br**sts, Shane was more than ready to play.
He easily caught her in his arms and didn’t give her a chance to slap him. Spinning them around, he pushed her up against the smooth cave walls, and captured her mouth, stopping her words as he plunged his tongue inside, demanding a response from her.
Holding her hands firmly against her sides, he deepened the kiss, not giving her a chance to retreat, not giving her a single moment to think. They both needed this. It was the only way to move forward. What they had together was unstoppable, and the sooner she realized that, the better off both of them would be.
“Shane,” she cried as her rage quickly turned to passion. She might have thought that she despised him, but her body was telling him something entirely different.
“Are you going to behave?” he asked as he pulled back.
Her hand quickly escaped his hold and he felt the sting of her slap across his cheek. He might have deserved that. He really shouldn’t have been mocking her. In fact, when this night was over, he owed her several apologies for his behavior during the day. He’d been less than a gentleman from start to finish. But he just couldn’t seem to help himself when in her presence. She elicited emotions in him unlike any other woman he’d ever met. He certainly couldn’t help himself now.
“Not ever in this lifetime,” she said through gritted teeth. Her heaving chest was still brushing his as he leaned in closer.
“Oh, Lia, darling, we are going to make our own thunder tonight,” he promised her as he lifted a hand and rubbed his jaw. She’d really put some effort into that hit.
“You are so full of yourself, Shane. The only thunder you’ll be hearing is outside of these walls,” she said, but the tremor in her voice let him know that she was very aware of where this was going.
They were quickly losing their light, so Shane released her, moved to the bag and pulled out their tent — the tent they’d be making love in all night long. His body hardened in anticipation. Just a little bit longer, he thought.
Shane, ever the romantic, threw Lia a bag of beef jerky as he quickly set up their Home Sweet Home. She’d need her strength.
“What’s the point of a tent? We’re in a cave,” Lia said.
“You can sleep outside it if you want, but I prefer not to have spiders crawling all over me,” he said with a grin that was difficult for her to see.
Lia shut up as she looked around and began scratching her arms. Shane felt the slightest bit of guilt, but he was so worked up right now, his hands were trembling as he put the tent together.
With only a few candles in the emergency pack, he decided to light only one. With luck, they’d be rescued soon, but they were stuck in this cave until the horrendous rain stopped, and no one was going to find them there. Hmmmm.
Yes, he wanted to be rescued, but having Lia all to himself for a couple days wasn’t a bad thing, in his opinion. She’d have no choice but to admit where this was going between the two of them.
When he was finished, he stood, and looked her way, her face barely discernible in the fading light. “Damn, you are stunning,” he gasped, loving the silhouette of her body against the dark interior of the cave.
Her eyes widened, but it wasn’t a line, it wasn’t a way for him to gain her submission — she just took his breath away.
“Shane…” she began, her voice barely a whisper, need pouring through it.
“Time to get out of those clothes, Lia. We don’t need you catching pneumonia,” he said as his eyes raked across her chest.
She narrowed her eyes, seeming to gain just a little bit of her temper back. “I’m not getting na**d in front of you again, and in this heat, I don’t think I have to worry about that,” she told him as a shiver passed through her that had nothing to do with her body temperature.
He just smiled as he moved forward. Holy hell, he liked it when she played hard to get.
Chapter Seventeen
Rachel