“And this is Mullanburg?” she asked.
“Uh-huh.” Todd scoured the area around the small town. He pointed to the red circle he’d made around a small cluster of buildings the day before. “And here’s the compound.”
The temptation to tell her everything needled him like an invisible sliver, but he couldn’t afford to lose her trust right now, and revealing that he’d misled her about his true purpose in Montana—and how Pete might be tied up with the very same people who had her friend—might cause Lindsey to rethink their alliance.
And then he wouldn’t be able to protect her.
Besides, if Pete wasn’t linked to JJ, or wasn’t at the compound with Megan, Todd would’ve come clean for nothing. No need to ratchet up Lindsey’s stress levels any higher.
She rose to check the coffee. “It’s cool enough. You ready?”
A few minutes later, he lay shirtless on his back in the shade, head hanging over the edge of a rock while Lindsey kneeled at his side, her beautiful face set in concentration. His stomach wouldn’t stop doing flips, so he focused as much as possible on the woods behind her, alert for threats.
After applying sunscreen around his hairline to prevent staining, she slowly poured the coffee over his head, cupping her hand above his brows to keep the liquid from splashing his face. The real torture started as she moved behind him to massage in the coffee paste. Her fingers were like magic, every stroke lighting his body on fire. Goosebumps chased over his skin and he clenched his fists at his sides to keep from moaning aloud.
“You cold?” she asked, stopping her heavenly ministrations.
She leaned over him with concern, little tendrils of her hair falling around her face. Their gazes met and her lush lips parted.
He reached up with both hands, slipping the errant strands of hair behind her ears for her.
Her breath hitched and her cheeks flushed. “Thank you.”
Instead of withdrawing, his hands seemed to move of their own volition, sliding slowly across her soft cheeks and around to massage the tender skin at the nape of her neck. She came with the gentlest of tugs, her lips pressing hungrily to his, her tongue slipping inside to tease him until he groaned.
Kissing upside down was new to him, but it was already his new favorite angle. The way their tongues aligned, her chin nuzzling his nose, the overall novelty fired him up.
When she resumed caressing his scalp, he turned hard as the granite beneath him.Jesus. He couldn’t get enough. Didn’t want to stop. Not ever.
One of her hands trailed through his beard and curved around his chin.
He laughed and spoke against her lips. “Trying to multitask?”
She pulled back with a sad smile. “I wish we had time.”
He closed his eyes on a frustrated sigh as their reality splashed over him like cold water. “Sorry. I’m starting to lose my head around you.”
Her cheeks flushed and her expression shuttered. “Me too, obviously. But Megan has to be my top priority right now.”
“No, I understand.” Was it better or worse that his attraction was reciprocated? “I’ll be good.”
“I know.”
She did?
At least one of them believed in him.
She cleared her throat and scooted back a few inches. “Normally, we’d wrap your hair in plastic to keep it from dripping, but hopefully it’ll work anyway. The sunscreen’s thicker than conditioner.” She walked on her knees until she faced him. “You can scoot down to rest your head and I’ll work on your beard.”
She must have seen something on his face as he found a more comfortable position, because she said, “If that’s okay.”
“Sweetheart, you can touch me any time.”
Pink washed over her cheeks again, and the devil in him wanted to keep making it happen. “Stop it,” she said without heat.
“Sorry.” He gave her a contrite look and laced his fingers over his stomach to keep them in check.
She nodded and started rubbing the brown mixture into his facial hair, keeping her eyes firmly on her task.
