Angelo leaned back and pulled a ration bar out of his pack. He was still hungry and they probably weren’t going to get a chance to eat again for a while. “Did you get in an argument with her before you left?”
“I didn’t get to talk to her,” Tanner said. “She wasn’t there when I stopped by the lab to tell her I was going, so I just left a note.”
“Ouch,” Angelo said. “You’re right, that is worse. What did you say in the note?”
“Landon didn’t want me to give her any details, so I was a little vague. I told her I was going on a mission with him, Ivy, and Clayne, that I’d be back soon, and that she shouldn’t worry.”
Angelo grimaced.
“That bad, huh?” Tanner asked.
Angelo thought about sugarcoating it but changed his mind. “Pretty much. Zarina’s trying to help you learn how to control your rage, right? Well, she’s not going to be thrilled that you’re down here getting into it with a bunch of hybrids. Hell, if I’m right and she actually cares about you, she’s probably going to be worried out of her mind.”
Tanner’s brows furrowed. “I never thought about that. Landon said Declan and Kendra were in trouble, and I just went with it.”
“A guy like me would find your willingness to risk your life for your friends as something admirable. A woman who cares about you? Probably not so much.”
Tanner swore. “I’m screwed, aren’t I?”
Angelo just looked at him.
Tanner stared at the ground as if contemplating exactly how screwed he was. After a moment, he lifted his head. “What would you do in this situation?”
Angelo laughed as he took another swig from his canteen. “Dude, I’m the last one you should be asking. I suck when it comes to knowing what women want to hear. Which is why I don’t have one waiting back at home worrying about me.”
The panicked look on Tanner’s face was painful to see. Angelo swore under his breath.Great. Just what we need out here. Another guy who’s distracted.He had to get Tanner’s head back in the game, and quick.
“Okay, I’m not sure how much this will help, but if I were you, the first thing I’d do when I got back would be to show up at her door with a gift of some kind,” Angelo advised. “Flowers. Chocolates. Hell, I don’t know—a plush tree sloth if you can find a store that sells them. Anything like that. Then make sure the first words out of your mouth are,I’m sorry for making you worry. Women like a man who can apologize when he’s wrong.”
Or so his mom had always told him.
Tanner thought about that. “You really think it will work?”
“I have absolutely no idea. I suck pond water when it comes to charming women. But on the bright side, if this rescue goes south, we’ll probably all get killed and you won’t have to worry about what to say to her.”
It really wasn’t that funny when Angelo said it out loud, but Tanner grinned anyway, the worry disappearing from his face. “I’ll use that as my backup plan. Until then, I’ll keep my eyes open for a plush tree sloth.”
***
Declan lay on the sand-covered cave floor with nothing but a poncho separating him from the ground, and decided it was the most comfortable place he’d ever slept. Of course, the beautiful woman draped over his chest probably had something to do with that. Kendra had spent the whole night on top of him—first making love to him like a vixen, then sleeping like an angel, and he’d loved every second of it. Actually, he’d loved her more and more every second of it. Further resistance was futile. He was completely, one hundred percent in love with her.
Discovering Kendra felt the same way about him was what had finally pushed him over the edge. Okay, so maybe the wordlovehadn’t come up last night, but there was no mistaking the fact that Kendra cared for him. Right now, that was enough.
He grinned at the rock ceiling. To say last night had been incredible didn’t even begin to cover it. He’d never dreamed sex could be so good. He realized now that what he used to consider great sex had been barely average compared to what being with Kendra felt like. It almost hurt to think how hard—and how many times—he’d come. He was already dreaming of how much better it was going to be when he got her in a nice, soft bed.
A moan from beneath his chin let him know that his princess was finally waking up. Kendra lifted her head and gave him a sexy smile that made his cock start to harden. Or maybe it was simply the fact that she was naked.
He brushed her hair back. “Morning, beautiful.”
She wiggled up his body to kiss him, nudging even more life into his sleeping cock. “Morning, my hunky teddy bear.”
Declan laughed and pulled her down for another kiss, only to freeze when she suddenly looked around in a panic.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, trying to sit up with her on his chest.
Shit. Had the hybrids found them? He didn’t hear anything.
But Kendra pressed a hand on his chest. “Stay. I just need to…um, how far back does this cave go?”
