“Miss Landon, I should not have done that, and I apologize. I lay blame to the mixture of the alcohol, tonight’s heat, and the fact that I’m exhausted.” He turned away and marched toward the door.
“Mr. Knightly?” He stopped as he reached the door, but he didn’t look at her, so she continued. “Why did you come to see me this evening?”
He rubbed his forehead while taking several deep breaths. “I needed to talk to you about something, but it will now have to wait until my mind is clear. I will discuss this with you in the morning before we leave.”
She didn’t stop him from exiting her room this time, but once the door was closed, her entire body shook. She stumbled to her bed. After crawling onto the mattress and lowering the mosquito netting, she fell upon her pillow, closing her eyes. Unfortunately, sleep was too far away to lull her into relaxing. For certain, she would not be able to forget his kiss and how wonderful it had felt to be in his strong arms.
* * * *
BRIGHT AND EARLY THEnext morning, Katrina was dressed and sitting at a small table, sipping her tea as she lingered on the inn’s veranda. Anticipation jumped through her, the longer she waited. She fidgeted in her chair and tapped her fingernail on the teacup as she watched the entryway for Felix to arrive. Apparently, he wasn’t an early riser like she was. Obviously, he wasn’t as eager to see her as she was to see him. That particular flaw in him irritated her more than she was prepared for.
As she had suspected after he had kissed her last night, her mind couldn’t rest. She’d argued with herself towhyshe’d allowed him to kiss her, especially since she’d had that premonition. She could have easily stopped him. Even when she finally drifted off, she dreamed of being in his arms and being kissed passionately by the handsome man.
Ahh!How dare he do that to her?
What worried her even more was what she would do if he kissed her again. The mere thought had her heart skipping faster. Quickly, she chastised herself and made a promise for thatnotto happen. She didn’t need to be fearful of him losing his head again... and she losing hers, either. In fact, she should just call off this expedition and have him take her home.
Frowning, she sighed. Unfortunately, she couldn’t quit. All these years her father had never bothered to lift a finger to give her mother any financial support. Now that Mother was ill, Katrina desperately needed his money. She couldn’t allow her temper to get the better of her this time and ruin her mother’s only chance for help.
Katrina closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. Thinking about her mother’s poor health was unwise and would cause Katrina heartache she couldn’t bear. Her mother was too young to die. Katrina would do all she could to make sure she had the money for Mother’s medicine, even if it meant traveling three more days in the presence of a very muscular man whose kisses made her melt faster than this country’s humidity.
A hint of musky cologne tickled her nose mere seconds before someone cleared his throat. Jumping in her chair, her eyes flew open. When had he arrived, and why hadn’t she heard him?
Felix stood by the table with his gaze fixed on her. Inwardly, she groaned. He was so incredibly good looking. It didn’t matter if he was dirty and dripping with sweat—or in this case, clean, shaven, and wearing a different shirt and trousers—he was still a very fine looking man who literally took her breath away.
Strange thing was, he didn’t appear to suffer any effects from last night’s drinking. Had he really consumed so much that he’d lost his head and kissed her without realizing what he was doing? She honestly hoped not. Deep in her heart she wanted him to be as attracted to her as she was to him.
“Good morning, Miss Landon. I would ask how you slept, but from the way your eyes were closed, and you were massaging your forehead just now, I suspect you didn’t sleep well at all.”
He sat in the chair next to her. A teasing grin flashed across his face.
Inwardly she growled. By the tilt of his mouth, he probably assumedhewas the reason why she hadn’t slept. Well, she would set him straight right now. She wouldn’t let him know her lack of sleep was due to their kiss. “Good morning, Mr. Knightly, and you are correct. I’m still not used to the humidity, I fear.”
He took the empty cup and sat it in front of him. Before he could reach for the kettle of tea, she picked it up and poured a fair amount in his cup.
“Thank you, Miss Landon.” He lifted the drink to his lips and sipped before setting it down. “The humidity is the most difficult thing to get used to. It took me weeks when I first arrived in this country.”
She linked her fingers together and rested her hands in her lap. “How long have you lived here, Mr. Knightly?”
“It’s been about three years.”
“May I ask what brought you to this place? I suspect you are from England, correct?”
He nodded. “I’m from England. I came to Brazil when a friend of mine told me about this beautiful land. I love discovering new places, and when I arrived in the rainforest, I immediately knew this would be my new home.”
A soft smile bracketed his face, and her heart melted a little. It was a good thing he didn’t smile more often. Her mind would be lost in dreams for sure. “Well, I can certainly see you enjoy being here.” She lifted her cup and took another drink.
“Indeed, I do.” He adjusted himself in the chair. “Miss Landon, I need to discuss something with you before we go any further in our journey.”
“Yes, you had mentioned that last night.” In a flash, she recalled everything that had happened—his smoldering eyes, his warm and personal embrace, and especially his fiery kiss—and her cheeks quickly heated from embarrassment. She silently scolded herself for reacting in such a way.
His lips quirked in that familiar way as if he tried not to grin. Curse him for knowing her thoughts!
“Some of my men,” he began, “were talking to the locals last evening at the tavern, and one man there expressed his concerns about the jungle. Apparently, things have gotten worse since the last time I was here.”
Confused, she shook her head. “What do you mean?”
“What happened to Suzette has been occurring quite frequently, I’m afraid. Fire ants are building nests where they haven’t before, and their colonies are expanding. Even the howler monkeys are growing more aggressive, and they have scattered throughout the jungle. This particular man mentioned how dangerous it is now to travel deep into the rainforest.”
