They’d stopped only briefly and silently for a few minutes while Luca had doled out a protein bar and some figs he’d pulled from a nearby tree—which had incidentally tasted delicious. And then they’d kept going.
Her feet were mercifully numb after going through the pain barrier some time ago. Her throat was parched, no matter how much water she sipped, and her legs were like jelly. But Luca’s pace was remorseless. And Serena was loath to call out with so much as a whisper.
And then he stopped, suddenly, and looked around him, holding up a compass. He glanced back at her and said, ‘Through here—stick close to me.’
She followed where he led for a couple of minutes, and then cannoned into his backpack and gave a little yelp of surprise when he stopped again abruptly. He turned and steadied her with his big hands. Serena hadn’t even realised she was swaying until he did that.
‘This is the camp.’
Serena blinked. Luca took his hands away and she didn’t like how aware she was of that lack of touch.
Afraid he might see something she didn’t want him to, she stepped back.
‘Camp?’
She looked around and saw a small but obviously well-used clearing. She also noticed belatedly that the cacophony that had accompanied them all day had silenced now, and it was as if an expectant hush lay over the whole forest. The intense heat was lessening slightly.
‘It’s so quiet.’
‘You won’t be saying that in about half an hour, when the night chorus starts up.’ He was unloading his backpack and said over his shoulder, ‘Take yours off too.’
Serena let it drop from her aching body and almost cried out with the relief. She felt as though she might lift right out of the forest now that the heavy weight was gone.
Luca was down on his haunches, extracting things from his bag, and the material of his trousers was drawn taut over his powerful thighs. Serena found it hard to drag her gaze away, not liking the spasm of awareness in her lower belly.
He was unrolling the tent, which looked from where Serena was standing alarmingly small. Oblivious to her growing horror, Luca efficiently erected the lightweight structure with dextrous speed.
When the full enormity of its intimate size sank in, Serena said in a hoarse voice, ‘We’re not sleeping in that.’
Luca looked up from where he was driving a stake into the ground with unnecessary force. ‘Oh, yes, we are, minha beleza—that is unless you’d prefer to take your chances sleeping al fresco? Jaguars are prevalent in this area. I’m sure they’d enjoy feasting on your fragrant flesh.’
Tension, fear and panic at the thought of sharing such a confined space with him spiked in Serena as Luca straightened up. She put her hands on her hips. ‘You’re lying.’
Luca looked at her, impossibly dark and dangerous. ‘Do you really want to take that chance?’ He swept an arm out. ‘By all means be my guest. But if the jaguars don’t get you any number of thousands of insects will do the job—not to mention bats. While you’re thinking about that I’m going to replenish our water supplies.’
He started to leave and then stopped.
‘While I’m gone you could take out some tinned food and set up the camping stove.’
When he walked away Serena had to resist the cowardly urge to call out that she’d go with him. She was sure he was just scaring her. Even so, she looked around nervously and stuck close to the tent as she did as he’d instructed, muttering to herself under her breath about how arrogant he was.
* * *
When Luca returned, a short while later, Serena was standing by the tent, clearly waiting for his return with more than a hint of nervousness. He stopped in his tracks, hidden behind a tree. His conscience pricked him for having scared her before. And something else inside him sizzled. Desire.
His gaze wandered down and took in the clothes that were all but plastered to her body after a day of trekking through the most humid ecosystem on earth. Her body was clearly defined and she was all woman, with firm, generous breasts, a small waist and curvaceous hips.
The whole aim of bringing her here had been to make her run screaming in the opposite direction, as far away as possible from him, but she’d been with him all the way.
He could still recall the terror tightening her face when she’d seen the scorpion and yet she hadn’t allowed it to rise. He’d pursued a punishing pace today, even for him, and yet every time he’d cast a glance back she’d been right there, on his heels, dogged, eyes down, assiduously watching where she stepped as he’d instructed. Sweat had dripped down over her jaw and neck, making him think of it trickling into the lush valley of her breasts, dewing her golden skin with moisture.