Page 27 of Keeping Amanda
He crouched in the water once more and ran the sand over his arms, then his chest and underarms, reveling in the rough abrasion of the grains against his skin. He’d acted out of pure instinct, simply wanting to get clean and enjoying theimpromptu bath, but when Mandy made a noise, he looked up—and froze.
She was staring at him with wide eyes, and it didn’t look as if she’d moved an inch.
“Mandy? Are you all right?” he asked.
When she didn’t respond, Buck got nervous. He moved toward her, the water lapping at his hips, his flight suit trailing behind him. It wasn’t until he was a foot in front of her that he understood the look on her face.
Desire.
Seeing it ramped up his earlier feelings tenfold. And now that he was so close to her, he could see what he’d missed before. Her pupils were dilated, her nipples hard under her shirt and bra. She shifted where she stood but couldn’t take her gaze from his chest.
“Mandy?” he said softly, needing this woman more in that moment than he’d ever needed anything in his life. He admired her. Respected her. Was in awe of her. She’d soldiered on through some very tough times recently, and had done so with a positive attitude. She hadn’t complained, hadn’t made him even once regret his decision to go after her while Obi-Wan took the children to safety.
She licked her lips as her gaze slowly lifted from his chest. The want in her blue eyes matched what he felt in his soul. Buck took another step, bringing him within inches of her. She was a tiny thing, making Buck feel more masculine, like more of a man at that moment than he’d ever felt. She made him want to slay all her dragons, protect her from anything and anyone who dared hurt her, claim her as his own.
This wasn’t the time or place, and she was extremely vulnerable. He didn’t want her to do anything out of a sense of obligation or gratitude. But he could no more ignore the feelings coursing through his body than he could turn his back on an animal or child in need.
“I want to kiss you,” he whispered. “But I want you to want that too. Not agree out of some sense of obligation or payback or because you think you have no choice.”
He wasn’t sure what he expected her to say or do. Maybe nod. Maybe blush and drop her gaze. Maybe tell him that this wasn’t a good idea, which it certainly was not.
But what hedidn’texpect was for her to close the remaining distance between them, reach up and pull him toward her with a hand on the back of his neck, and plant her lips on his.
What was she doing? Amanda had no idea. All she knew was that she needed this man more than she needed to breathe. When he’d turned and smiled at her from the middle of the pool, she’d followed him without question. If he said it was safe to bathe in, it was safe to bathe in. And she’d already been struggling to think of him as nothing more than an escort back to safety in Guyana, but when he’d unzipped his flight suit as if he were a performer at a strip club working the crowd, all she could do was stare.
If that wasn’t bad enough, he’d peeled off his tank top, exposing his sculpted chest and abs. She felt like a voyeur, watching something she had no right to witness. But he seemed oblivious as he scrubbed his body with the sand on the bottom of the pool. Then he’d stood up and his body was on display once more.
The flight suit floating in the water drew her gaze—right to his hips. He was hard, his erection straining against the tight underwear he wore. The water was clear enough to not leave much to her imagination. Nash might not be the tallest man in the world, but he’d gotten more than his fair share in the reproductive department, that was for sure.
All Amanda could do was stand there and stare at him andtry to control the lust coursing through her body. Hadn’t she just been thinking about how gross sex in the jungle would be? But now that was all she could think about. Walking over to him and pulling his underwear down and touching and tasting his beautiful cock.
He might have said something to her, but her ears were ringing so loud, she didn’t hear what it was. Then he was standing in front of her. She looked up to meet his gaze and inhaled silently at what she saw. The desire she had forhimreflected back in his eyes.
“I want to kiss you,” he whispered. “But I want you to want that too. Not agree out of some sense of obligation or payback or because you think you have no choice.”
Without realizing she’d moved, Amanda was touching him, pulling his head down and latching her lips onto his.
She didn’t want to give him a chance to change his mind. To come to his senses. She was boring Amanda Rush. Men didn’t look at her with lust the way Nash was. It felt as if she didn’t kiss him right then, she’d lose her chance forever. And she knew without a doubt she’d feel the loss for the rest of her life.
But to her amazement, Nash didn’t seem interested in a quick kiss. He immediately took control, wrapping an arm around her waist and yanking her against his body. The water sloshed around them, but Amanda barely noticed. All she could do was feel. Nash’s lips and tongue against hers was something out of a fairy tale. She immediately broke out into goose bumps as he tilted his head to more deeply explore her mouth.
She wasn’t thinking about where they were, or any danger they might be in, or how long it had been since she’d been able to brush her teeth. All she could think about was how all-consuming it felt to kiss him. All her worries disappeared, and she couldn’t think about anything other than how good this man was making her feel.
It was Nash who finally lifted his lips from hers, making Amanda whimper pathetically.
“Shhhhh, I know,” he soothed. He pressed her head to his shoulder and held her tightly.
Being in his arms felt like coming home. It was an odd feeling, one she’d never experienced before. Amanda had the thought that maybe it was because of the situation she was in, but she dismissed that idea immediately. Nash Chaney was everything she’d always wanted in a partner. Calm, even-tempered, competent, smart, kind, and funny.
And now she could add good kisser with a hot body to that list.
A whine caught her attention, and she felt more than heard Nash chuckle. Since she was plastered to his naked chest, she felt the vibrations move through him and into her. It was almost as intimate as the kiss they’d just shared. Almost.
“Looks like Rain isn’t happy and is probably wondering what the hell we’re doing,” Nash said.
Turning her head, Amanda saw the dog who had inexplicably attached himself to them, following them for the last few days, sitting on the shore next to their shoes and the backpack, staring at them with a concerned look in his eyes.
“We’re all right, boy,” Nash told him.
