Her Wild Hero

He stopped tying his boots and shrugged. “This is going to sound stupid, but I didn’t really give it a lot of thought at the time. John told me that I’d be using my talents to help people. That was good enough for me.”


She smiled. Sometimes she wished she could see things as simply as Declan did. “It’s not stupid at all. And you do use your talents to help people. Your team is one of the best in the DCO. I should know; I write all the evaluations.”

They finished dressing in silence, then repacked Declan’s rucksack. She couldn’t help looking around the cave. She was going to miss this place. It was where everything had come together for them.

He slung on his pack. “You ready?”

She sighed wistfully. “I guess so. Though if you wanted to stay here for another few hours, I wouldn’t complain.”

He chuckled. “I know what you mean, but the sooner we get out of here, the sooner we can get home and I can take you out for dinner like I promised.”

That brought a moan of delight to her lips. “I see you’ve already figured out how to motivate me to get out of bed.”

Declan pulled her into his arms. “Don’t get me wrong. I much prefer to be in bed with you, but I want you in my bed at home. The only reason I’ll be taking you out to dinner is so you can keep your strength up for all the things I want to do to you when we’re in my bed.”

She felt a shiver run down her back as much from his words as the blatant look of hunger on his face. God, she needed him again already.

“What kinds of things?” she asked softly.

He brushed her ear with his lips, his warm breath making her quiver. “For starters, a slow, sensual massage.” As if to demonstrate, he glided his hand up her midriff to cup her breast through her T-shirt. “And after that, I’m going to kiss and nibble everywhere.”

She caught her breath as his thumb grazed her nipple. “Everywhere?”

He lifted his head to look at her, his eyes glowing a soft rose color. “Everywhere.”

Kendra bit her lip to stifle a moan. She was about ten seconds from ripping off his clothes and throwing him on the floor of the cave. “Let’s get out of here. The sooner we get home, the sooner you can give me that massage.”

Declan chuckled, then kissed her hard on the mouth before picking up their weapons. He handed one to her, then led the way to the cave’s opening. She waited patiently as he parted the vines carefully, then listened and sniffed. She frowned at the water rushing by outside the cave, remembering how cold it had been.

“We should have waited to put our clothes on after we crossed the river,” she grumbled. “They’re going to be soaked again.”

He grinned over his shoulder. “As tempting as skinny-dipping with you sounds, that probably wouldn’t be a good idea. Don’t worry. I’m planning on carrying you until we get out of the water.”

Even though she knew Declan could carry her without any problem, it still didn’t seem right. “But you’ll get all wet.”

“It doesn’t bother me as much, you know that.”

She opened her mouth to argue more, but he must have decided the coast was clear because he parted the thick wall of vines and hopped out of the cave with a splash of cold water. He looked around for a moment, then turned back to her.

“Come on.” He slung his M4 across his back and motioned her forward. “I’m going to carry you, so get used to it. Now quit stalling.”

Deciding that continued complaining on her part would be more embarrassing than simply letting him carry her, she gave in and scooted to the edge of the cave opening, letting him scoop her up in his arms like she was a kitten.

Sometimes she forgot just how strong Declan was, but he carried her high above the water like he barely noticed her weight. She didn’t talk to him as he moved downstream. He had that slightly distant look in his eyes that told her that he was focusing his senses—well, his ears mostly—outward, making sure there weren’t any hybrids around.

She scanned the banks of the stream as much as she could, not that she expected to catch anything he’d miss. She was so caught up in the task, she barely noticed how far they’d gone until Declan stepped up onto the rock-covered bank. He scanned the area as he lowered her to the ground.

“Anything?” she asked softly.

He shook his head. “I don’t hear a thing. I don’t smell anything besides those damn orchids, either. They must grow pretty thick here around the water.”

“Let’s get back over that last ridge we crossed and on a northwest track,” she said, moving ahead of him. “If we pick up the pace, we could be at base camp in a few days.”

“Slow down.” He chuckled as he caught up to her, trying to drag his carbine off his back and over his head at the same time. “I know you’re eager, but let me get in front.”