“Can’t sleep here, Leo. Got to move.” Better to face the steep higher ground, even in the dark, than to bed down near a grizzly. Add to that God only knew what else was lurking nearby—and not of the animal variety—and they’d be better off taking the risk. “We’re climbing the mountain.”
“See, there’s aSound of Musicfeel to those words…and yet…” Her eyes got big as they traced the earth’s angry silhouette up into the sky. “The view’s giving me distinct Mordor vibes,” she whispered, before meeting his gaze. “Big time.”
For no reason at all, he found that he was suddenly out of breath.
His hold wouldn’t loosen when she tried to turn, his arms wouldn’t give her an inch of space. His insides felt ragged, innards ripped up like ribbons, as he reached out to wrap one shaking hand behind her nape and pull her closer, forehead to forehead. “Shit, Leo.”
“I know.” She nodded, ran her hands up his sides to his neck, and watched him with her soulful eyes. “I know.”
He bent, she lifted to her toes, and they clashed. Lips crashing, teeth not far behind, tongues twining as if they had to hurry. Which, fuck, they did. The kiss was fast, rough enough to imprint her on his mouth, to seal them together. No way could he feel her through those layers of clothes, but that didn’t stop his hands from roving, stroking down to her hips and taking hold the way he wanted to. She leaned in, pressing her bottom half to his, and the groan he made was the stuff of barbarians. He couldn’t find words now if his life depended on it.
Not that it mattered. The slide of their tongues was enough—no need for speech between them. Keeping each other alive had given them a language of their own, like they had the key to each other’s bodies.
Her gloved hand wrapped around his neck.More, the pressure said.Deeper.
It told him her hunger matched his. He growled and tilted his head, showed her with his body how essential she was.
Bo yipped and they both went still, their breaths stuttering in time.
She moved away first, the back of her gloved hand pressed to her mouth, looking shell-shocked.
“Christ, I—”
“We—”
Their eyes snagged as they shared a laugh, awkward, but kind of hot in the way it acknowledged the depth of this thing. Her gaze dropped to his mouth and he was three seconds from pouncing when she spoke again. “We should…um…” She swallowed and stared at their surroundings, like she had no idea where she was or how she’d gotten there.
“Go,” he managed, ignoring his aching cock, his pounding need.
Without another word, they returned to pick up their things and started walking again. All the while, his heart thumped too hard in his chest, his lungs never expanding quite far enough.
Nerves and happiness mingled to make him smile. Until he remembered that danger was everywhere. He’d been surrounded by it for years. Only now did it terrify him, because now, against all odds, he actually had something to lose.
***
After an hour, Leo’s lips still burned. And not just from the memory of his touch there, but from the intensity of it, the fierceness of him—ofthem, together. For those few seconds he’d crushed her to him, she hadn’t felt fragile exactly—the whole thing had been too brusque for that—but she’d felt cherished. Wanted.Neededin an elemental way.
Theferocityof the man, the power in that one short contact. She’d felt so much.Toomuch. Shit, this couldn’t work beyond the here and now, could it?No. And why am I even thinking about this when we’re—
With a grunt, she lost her footing on the loose rocks and almost went down.
Just as she steadied herself, Elias turned, hand out to help. Heart beating hard with a startled adrenaline rush, she stared at it for a few beats, then looked up at his face.
“Look, we’ve had a few moments, done things, but this isn’t good. It’s not me, okay?” The words blew from her mouth. “I work with men. I’ve worked with literally thousands of men and the last thing I’d let myself do is get involved with one. All thiskissingis…” She swallowed, frustrated at her inability to communicate what she meant. “I don’t sleep with men I work with and—”
He made a noise: half-grunt, half-snort.
“What?”
“I’m not your colleague, Leo.”
“No, but we’re teammates and—”
“Not officially. Doesn’t matter anyway.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, not trusting the big, flashy smile on his face. The yeti didn’t smile like that. “What? Why are you doing that?”
The man was grinning like the cat that got the canary and maybe pulled down a couple caribou while he was at it. He grasped her hand and leaned in. “’Cause you like me.” His smile got impossibly bigger, whiter, more self-satisfied. Devastating.
