“You’d be surprised how much I identify with that. Or maybe you wouldn’t.”
“We were...talking about condoms.” That desperation in her tone—oh man.
“I’m on it,” he said, crawling to his gear, because crawling was about all he could manage. He found two in his wallet.
“So youarethat kind of tourist,” she teased as he returned.
“Are you slut-shaming me because I carry protection? After you asked if I had any?”
“I thought you could only slut-shame a woman.”
“So sexist. I can totally show my respect for you by stopping right now.”
“Doyou respect me?”
“Let’s see,” he said, dropping to his knees and kissing her soft belly. “You fly a chopper, you’re kickass, you’re smart... So yeah, I respect you. And did I mention you’re goddamn gorgeous?”
“Okay, that’s good enough.”
“So you don’t want me to stop?”
“Uh. No. Just stop talking shit.”
“It’s not shit. And for the record, the last time I slept with a woman was a year ago. The condoms are wishful thinking.”
She laughed, her belly shuddering. He licked her navel, earning another shaky giggle.
“Let me guess,” she said. “That was the last time you went on a kayak trip? A hookup with a local?”
“Ah, actually, yeah. But it’s not a habit, believe me.”
“Don’t sweat it. I’m okay with you not being a virgin.”
“So we’re doing this, right?” he asked. He couldn’t help sounding a little anxious.
“Hell, yes. Just...let’s not get too carried away.”
“It doesn’t really work unless we get somewhat carried away.”
“True. Well, let’s get carried away in a silent, slow kind of way.”
Yes, ma’am.
* * *
ITWASN’TTHEimpersonal shag Tia had expected. With her limited mobility and the need for quiet they took it lazily, cocooned in warmth and safety and trust, hiding from sandflies under his unzipped sleeping bag. Hiding from everything. When they weren’t kissing, she was staring into his dark eyes, her climb into bliss reflected in his gaze like it was a meeting of souls, not just bodies. Intimate. Loving. Like a couple who had known and loved a long time. His back muscles tensed and released under her fingers as he moved inside her, the occasional haunting call of the ruru marking the passing of time. She had an urge to close her eyes and concentrate only on how good it felt, the steady build of agonizingly sweet pleasure, the solid weight of him, his chest flattening her breasts. But she didn’t want to break the connection in their gaze, the comms link between their thoughts.
When her release came again, it was more of an implosion than an explosion, her body splintering in on itself. At that point, she did close her eyes—and held her breath to stop from crying out with the exquisite force. He moaned, crested and collapsed on top of her. She wrapped her arms tight around his wide, slick back and he slid to one side, easing his weight off her. She slung her bad knee over his hip, ignoring its half-hearted protest, and he sought her gaze again. Swallowing, he pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear and trailed his hand down to her waist. She adjusted the sleeping bag to cover them again—not that she needed the warmth—and they lay still and silent as the night re-formed around them, a frown caught on his forehead like he was trying to figure it all out.
Good luck with that, Cowboy.A breeze caught the ferns bordering the clearing, the brush of the fronds echoing the rush of the water beyond. Somewhere far away a female kiwi trilled. Tia listened for the mate’s reply but it didn’t come.
She was grateful Cody didn’t talk. Let their bodies have the last word, let their connection remain unspoken, let the beauty of it breathe. What good would come from words—a joke to break the spell, a briefing of tactics for tomorrow, the inevitable panicked disclaimer?You know I’m not in a good place for a relationship, right? But this was fun. Let’s do it again sometime.
She realized her eyes had drifted shut when he shifted onto his back and she jolted out of the delirious dawn of a dream. He shushed her, slipping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her in so her body pressed into his side, her cheek on his chest. He kissed her crown for a long moment.
“Mmm-hmm,” she murmured, snaking her arm across his waist, giving in to the weight of sleep, to a sweet bliss that wasn’t hers to keep.
CHAPTER TEN
