“That should be on the agenda every damn night.” Breathless, Rafe skated his lips from her neck to her mouth. “And beds may be overrated, but I can’t wait to do that again lying down in one.”
She chuckled. “I’m game if you are, but you’re going to have to be in charge of relocation because I don’t think the feeling’s going to return to my legs for at least a week or two.”
“I’ll make your recovery my top priority.” Rafe devoured her with his mouth as he walked them down the short hall to the back bedroom, and he did it without faltering a step or pulling out from her already reawakening body.
Two seconds ago Penny didn’t think she could move. Now her body was raring to go for another round despite the nagging voice in her head muttering that she had lied.
Big-time.
Rafael Ortega couldn’t just break her. He could crush her.
*
Penny’s stomach somersaulted a few dozen times, and she wished it was because of Rafe’s magical hands. And his talented mouth. And every inch of his lethal-to-her-senses body. Last night, as corny as it sounded, had been a life changer. And she couldn’t imagine anyone but Rafe being the one capable of doing it.
Of course, that meant she didn’t know what was going to come at any given moment—except her with him. Maybe. Hopefully. But not right now.
Now she was mentally cursing the fact his hissy-fit plan worked too well. Between her earsplitting cries and the fervent stomping of her high heels, Diego’s men would’ve done almost anything to get her to shut up. Hoisting her into the back of a helicopter without a blindfold had been a small price to pay for her cooperation. For them.
Penny glanced at Rafe sitting next to her, a blindfold secured tight over his eyes, and contemplated stealing it for herself.
Through deep breaths, she studied the panoramic view beneath the chopper. For all its drawbacks, poverty and crime to name two, the Honduran countryside was exquisite. Lush green treetops blanketed the untamed jungles. Jagged mountains blended seamlessly into the occasional open plain, and interspersed amongst the terrain rose the sporadic groupings of small villages, villages that looked no larger than a few ant-sized structures.
There wasn’t an inch of land lacking beauty, but what was noticeably absent were conspicuous landmarks. There were no street signs or roads, and for most of the expedition, no civilization. That meant there was nothing to memorize.
The chopper pitched left. With a gasp, Penny’s grip on Rafe’s knee tightened. She closed her eyes and focused on making each breath deeper than the last.
Though they were the only ones without communication headphones, Rafe still made certain to keep his concerned voice low as his lips brushed against her ear. “You doing okay?”
“Peachy,” she lied.
“The nail marks in my knee say otherwise.” Rafe caressed the inside of her leg in soothing circles.
“Sorry.” She made an effort to lighten her hold, but the second the chopper shuddered beneath them in a loud grind of metal on metal, she resuctioned her hand back onto his leg. “Okay, maybe I’m not so peachy. We’re football fields above a tree-topped wilderness in a flying contraption that looks as if it should’ve been laid to rest about four wars ago. Your blindfold looks really good right now.”
“Would you like me to take your mind off it, Roja?” Murmured seductively into the curve of her neck, in Spanish, his nickname for her never sounded better.
Rafe chuckled, no doubt feeling the surge of her heart rate against his mouth. A promise like that from him was probably the only thing that could take her mind off dropping to the ground in a blazing inferno.
When they landed ten minutes later, Penny would’ve dropped to her knees and kissed the jungle floor if Rafe hadn’t secured an arm around her waist.
“You’re looking a little peaked, Roja.” He grinned.
“I think the color you’re searching for is green,” she joked dryly.
“But even green tinged, you’re still fucking gorgeous, sweetheart.”
“Welcome!” Diego’s voice turned them both around. Looking very much like a general in front of his camouflaged fortress, Fuentes marched toward them, quickly eating up the distance with his long strides.
And it was a fortress. Trees hugged the large stucco mansion on all sides, effectively melding it into the surrounding jungle. Macaws in vivid shades of greens and reds squawked from the red clay rooftop while white-faced capuchins swung on low-hanging limbs.
An over-the-shoulder glance confirmed that Fuentes’s men had covered the chopper with camo netting and jungle life. Operation No Backup had officially started.
“Keep it cool, Red.” Rafe’s lips grazed against her temple, missing nothing.
“Se?orita Hanlan. Rafael.” Diego placed another gag-invoking kiss on Penny’s hand. “I am ecstatic that you could make the trip. One of my men will show you to your room, and after you have had a chance to refresh, we will sit down to dinner.”