He flashed her a smile and gave her arms a shake, changing the energy.
“Okay, but next I want you to teach me the proper way to kick a guy in the groin.” She shook her limbs and returned to fighting stance.
Rafa snickered. “Fine. Butthatone I’m not letting you practice on me.”
Chapter
Eleven
Asoft glow filled the skyas a macaw flew overhead. A light fog settled atop the river, casting a serene, almost peaceful stillness on the rainforest. Which was funny seeing as there were probably a few hundred thousand various plants, insects, and animals that could kill them lurking beyond the tree line. The puttering boat at least provided a steady hum of white noise to drown out the creatures lurking at the riverbanks. Creatures they couldn’t see but Rafa knew were there, stalking them in the night.
The temperature had dipped, casting a chill over their bodies, but Miri’s quiet, gentle kisses radiated enough heat to stoke the inferno raging through Rafa’s body. With the team taking turns at the helm, there was always someone else beside them—thankfully fast asleep. Lucky for Rafa, he was adept in the art of covert kissing.
He knew he shouldn’t have invited that first real kiss. Heknewit was a bad idea, that once he’d had a taste, he’d want more. But it was the first time in his life that he could remembergoing for something that he wanted that hadn’t been someone else’s suggestion. His hobbies. His career. Those were his father’s hopes and dreams for him. Thinking back, Rafa wasn’t sure he would have made those same choices had his father not pushed him in those directions. Even that creative writing course had led to his career as a journalist, not as the fiction author Rafa so desperately wanted to become.
He couldn’t picture a situation where he allowed himself to veer. Allowed himself to want something so badly that he was willing to forgo common sense.
And when he’d tasted Miri’s lips, well, she’d kissed him silly. He was giddy as a schoolboy, riding high like it had been his first kiss. He couldn’t stop smiling. Smiling at how delightful her lips felt, at how haphazard it was, just like each of their interactions, at how much he didn’t care about anything except wanting to kiss her again and again.
So he did. All night. And once they were satiated by each other’s lips, she eventually allowed herself to drift to sleep in the safety of his arms, his body molded to the curvature of hers.
He lay there most of the night contemplating his next move until it was his turn to captain the boat. Though he slept for only a few short hours—if even that—he felt more rested than he’d felt in a long time. It was amazing Rafa had managed to sleep at all given the danger they were in, and after sleeping on a wooden deck with no pillows or blankets and only each other to provide comfort. But oh, did Miri provide enough comfort for Rafa to forget about everything else.
Such as his promise to his father. He’d yet to figure out how to explain this situation to him.
For now, however, Rafa took in the sights and sounds of the Amazon. This might be the last time he did something likethis—well, hopefully it would be the last time he traveled by stolen boat running away from criminals in the Amazon—but really he was thinking about being out in the wild. Exploring the world. He couldn’t say he hadn’t enjoyed his time working atGloGeo, but sometimes even good things had to come to an end.
Sometimes they needed to end to make room for better things.
“Morning,” Miri said as she entered the captain’s cabin, stealing his thoughts. Speaking of.
“Morning, Pringles,” he said, unable to hold back his smile at the sight of her.
Her hair stuck out from her ponytail, glasses askew on her face. It only added to her charm. Even swimming in Logan’s clothes, she was beautiful.
She let out a huge yawn, then said, “Man, what I wouldn’t give for a cup of coffee.”
“Well, it’s not coffee, but I did find this,” Rafa said, handing Miri a half-drunk bottle of cachaça.
“Do you drink this straight?”
“I did. Helped to wake me up.”
“Won’t this make me sleepy?”
He chuckled. “Maybe if you drink the whole thing, but I don’t think a little nip is gonna knock you out.”
Miri opened the bottle and took a whiff. The scent of alcohol alone seemed to awaken her senses, but she took a quick nip at the bottle anyway. Rafa imagined the subtle, almost fruity flavor hitting her taste buds and sending a jolt through her body as it did his.
“Not bad, right?” he said, taking the bottle back.
“It’s surprisingly good. Though, seeing as the only thingwe’ve eaten in the last twelve hours was a few chips, not sure I should have much more than that.”
“Well, I found this, too,” he said, lifting a ratty bench cushion on the side of the cabin and revealing a random assortment of food: some fruit, nuts, bread, meats, and cheeses.
“Jackpot!” Miri dove toward the box, digging in and grabbing a banana. She quickly peeled the small banana variety and took a bite, closing her eyes and groaning at its sweet flavor. “Oh my God,” she mumbled into the fruit. “Mmm…I could put this whole thing in my mouth right now.”
Rafa’s jaw slackened as he watched her devouring the banana halfway in her mouth.Oh God.It hadn’t beenthatlong since he’d been with a woman. But watching her eat that phallic fruit sent his mind back to that first kiss last night. A kiss he had no business enjoying as much as he did. And no business wanting more of, particularly given the predicament they were in.
