Found in the Lost Page 6

  “Thanks.” She tapped her bottle against his and guzzled half before she realized it. The food was really salty.

  “What do you think?” he asked.

  She shrugged. “It’s not bad.”

  He grinned at her. “You can be honest.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t eat it every day.” Poking at her food, she peeked at him through her lashes. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure.”

  She rested her arms on the edge of the table. “Why are you helping me? You barely know me, but you called your company and they’re expending all these resources to help me find a treasure that probably doesn’t even exist. Why?”

  Shane flipped the spoon over in his mouth and slowly pulled it between his lips. He probably wasn’t purposely trying to distract her from her question, but watching the plastic slide between his lips made her breath catch in the hollow of her throat while her nipples puckered behind the thin shield of her bra.

  “That’s a multipart answer,” he said.

  “What?” She blinked.

  “Why we’re helping you.” The twinkle in his eye told her he’d caught her ogling his mouth.

  She cleared her throat and sipped her water. “Right. So why?”

  “I’ve traveled all over the world. Every time I visit some historical landmark, I wonder what it must be like to be the person who discovered it. To be the first person to see something that hasn’t been seen for hundreds or thousands of years.”

  Her inner nerd sighed with happiness. That was about the most perfect response, but it didn’t answer her question. “I understand that, but why are you helping me?”

  He leaned forward and stared directly into her eyes. “I don’t like people being taken advantage of, or attacked, or cheated out of something. You deserve the credit for this find.”

  The intensity in his hazel, gold-flecked eyes was too much and she had to look away. “If we find it.”

  Shane leaned back and scooped food out of his pouch. “When we find it. Besides, I really don’t like being shot at.”

  Kinley huffed out a laugh. “Thank you. For the ride, for saving me—both times, for doing all this. I won’t ever be able to repay you or Ace or Phantom or Paige for everything you’ve done. I don’t know what would have happened if I hadn’t fallen on you.”

  Maybe even falling for him. Wouldn’t that be monumentally stupid?

  “I think you would have figured it out,” he said.

  “Do you do this a lot?” she asked

  “Camp out with beautiful women?” He grinned. “No. You’re much better looking than my normal travel companions.”

  She smiled, despite the blush she felt on her cheeks. “No. This kind of…mission, I guess.”

  He shrugged. “Sometimes. Not as much as I did when I was active duty. Now I mostly do personal security. Leonidas will sometimes get a subcontract with the military, but we haven’t had any since I started working for them.”

  “You mentioned Leonidas before—what is that?”

  “The Leonidas Corporation. It’s the company I work for. Paige is one of the owners. Or CEO. Maybe COO. I’m not actually sure. All I know is she and Graham run the company.”

  “Do you like it?” she asked. “I don’t know too many companies that would go to all this trouble for someone, especially a complete stranger.”

  “TLC is the closest I’ve come to feeling like part of a team since I got out.” He put his spoon in the empty food pouch and stuck it in the trash. “It’s more than just a business for Graham and Paige. They built the company from the ground up, hand selected everyone that works there. We all have some kind of connection to one another.”

  Shane looked like someone who’d just realized something that had been staring him in the face. Kinley slid her hand over the top of his. “It sounds like a really great place to work.”

  He nodded. “It is. And you’re right. None of the other companies I worked for before Leonidas would have been down with this. They sure as hell wouldn’t have supported it.”

  “Well, I for one am glad you’re working for them and not one of those other companies,” she said.

  “Me, too.”

  Her gaze dropped to his mouth again, his firm lips tipped up at the corners giving him a boyish, devil-may-care charm. He turned his hand over so her palm rested against his and his thumb rubbed back and forth across her wrist. The moment stretched on, each of them silently waiting for the other to…what? Make a move? Break the spell they seemed to be under?

  Kinley had a feeling she was too far out of her depth with a man like Shane Ivers. His easygoing, surfer-next-door look hid an intensity she’d never experienced. Completely still except for his thumb, brushing gently across the sensitive skin of her wrist, she knew it was a façade. If she gave any indication that she was willing or uneasy he’d react in a heartbeat. The problem was, she didn’t know if she wanted him to let her go so she could swim to shore, or pull her under and devour her.

  Her own indecision decided for her and he eased his hand out from under hers. “There’s a small bathroom off the bedroom. You should grab a shower and get some sleep. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”

  “Right. Of course.” She pushed away from the table and gathered up the trash from their dinner.

  Shane took it from her. “Don’t worry about this, I’ve got it.”

  “No. I helped make the mess, I should help clean it up.” She wanted to hide her embarrassment without making it look like she was trying to escape to the bathroom.

  “It’s not a lot,” he said.

  He was right. He had most of the trash in a small bag before she finished her argument. “Okay. I just need my—.” She stepped left and forward as he stepped to the right and their bodies knocked into each other.

  Kinley didn’t know who moved first. All she knew was his back under her hands was as wide and hard as it looked and his hands grasping the back of her head were strong and demanding. And his lips… dear God, his lips were lush and firm and warm against hers. His tongue brushed against the seam of her mouth and she opened under him, tangling her tongue with his.

  Waves of desire coursed through her body. She’d never been so affected by a kiss. She wanted more. Like an alcoholic teased with a sip of whiskey, she wanted the whole damn bottle. She ran her hands down his back and found the edge of his shirt, sliding her hands back up the hot expanse of skin. He groaned and she flexed the tips of her fingers into his back.

  His hands traced either side of her spine until they reached her hips and he pulled her even closer, nestling his erection against her stomach.

  Emboldened, her hands traced down his back to his firm ass and squeezed.

  His fingers dug into the flesh on her sides and he groaned. “We should stop,” he said, breaking the kiss and resting his forehead against hers.

  Straining her eyes to look up at him, she found his closed. His chest heaved against hers and his rough breath feathered her lips.

  “I don’t want to.” She tried to press her lips against his, but he stopped her by gently holding her head.

  “This is just a reaction to everything that’s happened. It’s normal to want to reaffirm life when you’ve been in danger.” He still didn’t open his eyes, so it wasn’t clear if he was talking to her or himself.

  “Is that what you and Phantom and Ace would do after a mission? Reaffirm your lives?”

  That got his eyes open. “What? No.”

  “I’m not judging.” She shrugged. “I understand how it could happen, especially with people you trust with your life. What’s more trusting than an intimate moment?”

  His eyes jumped back and forth as he searched her gaze. “You’re giving me shit, aren’t you?”

  Kinley cracked a smile. “Yes, I’m giving you shit. If you think you’re reacting this way because your life was in danger, okay. But I still don’t want to stop.”

  Shane grinned and then his face returned to serious. “If you chan
ge your mind, just tell me and I’ll back off.”

  “I’m not going to change my mind.” She ran her hands up his stomach and chest, letting her fingers trace over the ridges and dips. “You saved my life. You’re going on this search with me…”

  He dropped his hands from her waist and stepped back. “You don’t have to trade sex as a thank you.”

  “That’s not…. You didn’t let me finish. I’m attracted to you. Physically. If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be doing this. That you did those things—that you’re doing those things—makes you as attractive on the inside as you are on the outside.”

  Licking his lips, he closed the distance between them. “So you think I’m hot?”

  Kinley shook her head and smirked. Of course that’s what he would take from her little speech. “Yeah. You’re hot.”

  He cupped her jaw between his hands again. “As long as you’re not doing this for the wrong reasons.”

  “Is there ever a wrong reason to have sex with a hot guy?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. I’ve never had sex with a hot guy.”

  Kinley laughed and stood on her toes to kiss him. She’d never tried to kiss someone while he or she was smiling. It felt almost more intimate than a regular kiss.

  “Bedroom?” he asked.

  “Bedroom.”

  Shane walked backward, pulling her across the small room to the even smaller bedroom. Clothes and shoes flew everywhere while he kissed each area of exposed skin. Kinley cursed the sports bra she’d put on that morning because it meant Shane had to lift his head from her chest while she pulled it over her head.

  He cupped her breasts before she was even clear of it. As soon as she wrapped her arms around his head, he sucked a tight nipple into his mouth. Her clit pulsed as her core clenched, seeking relief.

  “Your tits are gorgeous,” he said, moving from one to the other.

  Kinley bit her lower lip between her teeth. Her nipples were so sensitive, driving her arousal even higher. “Bed,” she said.

  “Hang on.” Shane lapped at her breasts one more time before he returned to the other room.

  Dropping her panties to the ground, Kinley pulled back the blanket and thin sheet from the bed. Lying in the center of the bed, she massaged her breasts roughly, the way she liked, while her legs moved restlessly on the bed.

  “Fuck me, that’s hot.”

  Kinley cracked open her eyes and found Shane standing next to the bed, holding a strip of condoms in one hand and his erection in the other. His hand stroked up and down his length. He wasn’t overly long, but he was thick. She licked her lips and rose to kneel in front of him. Bending at the waist, she pushed his hand aside and sucked him into her mouth, using her tongue to trace the underside of his cock. Relaxing her throat, she could almost take all of him without triggering her gag reflex.

  Shane palmed the back of her head, but made no effort to pump into her mouth, letting her do all the work. She appreciated his restraint. She liked giving head—liked the power it gave her—but having a guy who understood the subtleties of letting a woman work her magic was even better.

  “Fuck, Kin, that feels good.” His words came out as a sigh. “Too good. I don’t want to blow my load in your mouth the first time. I want to feel your sweet pussy squeezing me tight when I come.”

  Hell, with an invitation like that, who was she to say no? Swirling her tongue around the underside of his head before releasing him, she picked up the strip he’d dropped on the bed and tore off a square.

  Shane took it from her and tore it open, rolling the thin circle down his length.

  “No.” He stopped her from lying on the bed. “I want to play with your tits while you ride me.”

  Kinley wasn’t shy by any means, but being on full display brought out every single one of her insecurities. The roundness of her stomach gave evidence to her love of chocolate. The outside of her hips had stretch marks from a sudden growth spurt when she was fourteen that no amount of cocoa butter or aloe could ever erase.

  “Fuck, you’re gorgeous.” Shane’s fingers dug into the globes of her ass, sliding her back and forth over the length of his cock resting against his abdomen. His gaze traveling down her body felt like a physical caress. Edging his hand around her hip, he rubbed the pad of his thumb through her folds and around her clit.

  Just like that, she was firing on all cylinders again. Rising up on her knees, she grasped his erection and positioned over it. Gasping at the first intrusion, she released her weight letting the burn and stretch determine her speed. Fully seated she paused, letting her head fall back and bracing her hands on his thighs.

  He’d bottomed out and her whole lower body clenched around him.

  Shane grunted as if in pain and she raised her head. “Are you okay?”

  “No.” He bent his knees behind her and braced his feet, pushing her back to lean against his legs. “You feel so goddamn good all I want to do is drive up into you until I come so hard, I go blind.”

  “Okay,” she said. “But without the going blind part.”

  He smirked up at her. “I’m not making any promises. Ride me, Kinley.”

  She swiveled her hips, rising and lowering. The burn had disappeared only to be replaced by the torturous push and pull of his cock. True to his word, he cupped her breasts, squeezing and releasing in time to her movements.

  “So beautiful,” he whispered.

  Her orgasm built quickly. Every time she lowered down and circled her hips, his cock head hit the front wall of her channel and her clit rubbed against his pubic bone. When he pinched her nipples between his thumb and finger, there was no stopping the spasms of release.

  “Ah!” She sank down and rubbed back and forth, bracing her hands on his shoulders while she tried to keep the waves of pleasure going.

  He shifted under her and grabbed her hips in a punishing grip, raising and lowering her while he thrust up to meet her each time she came down. Flipping her onto her back, he wrapped her legs high on his hips and back.

  “Hold on.” He crushed his mouth to hers while he drove into her.

  She curled one hand around his shoulders and the other into the soft curls at the back of his head. A second orgasm took her by surprise and she threw her head back.

  Shane dropped his head into the curve of her neck and thrust hard, staying there as his body shuddered.

  It was several minutes before their breathing returned to any semblance of normal. Kinley still had her arms and legs wrapped around Shane while he peppered her neck and shoulder with soft kisses. She didn’t want to let him go.

  “Are you blind?” she asked.

  His body shook with laughter, shaking her and the bed along with it. He lifted his head and brushed a strand of hair away from her face. “No, but I did see stars.” He kissed her on the lips and pushed up, going into the small bathroom and closing the door.

  Kinley stared up at the underside of the thatch roof. Yeah…so did she.

  Chapter 9

  Shane tugged on the vines and branches, doing his best to cover the Jeep at the end of the so-called road they’d managed to follow that far. “It’s probably two full days on foot from here to the edge of the ruins.”

  “Yeah.”

  He glanced sharply at Kinley, concerned by her distracted tone. They’d set out before the sun had risen over the horizon and hadn’t said much to each other and definitely nothing about what happened last night. He shouldn’t have let it go so far, but when her lips had touched his all rational thought about doing the right thing had flown out of his head. His big head, because the little head had taken over all conscious thought after that.

  Thankfully she appeared engrossed in the maps and imagery spread out on her pack, turning them one way and then the other, glancing occasionally at her notebook in her other hand.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “I don’t know.” She turned the map ninety degrees and cocked her head in the other direction. “There’s somethin
g…” She shook her head. “I’m missing something, I just don’t know what it is.”

  He squatted next to her and picked up a sheaf of papers. A photograph of Mayan hieroglyphs carved into stone was on top. Each page underneath appeared to be different sections of the same carving until he reached the last page, which showed the whole stone.

  Shane picked up the LIDAR imagery and compared it to the picture of the carvings. “Huh. They’re the same.”

  “What?” Kinley asked.

  “The ruins and this carving are laid out in the same pattern.” He held the pages side-by-side. “See?”

  “Oh my God.” She dropped her notebook. “Oh my God!” Taking both of the pages, she plopped down on her ass and crossed her legs. “How did I not see that before?”

  “Too close to it,” he said. “Sometimes you need to back away or get a fresh pair of eyes on it.”

  She looked at him with a huge smile, her eyes bright and happy. He might actually give up his car if it meant seeing that look again. Kinley dropped the pages and lunged at him, taking him down with her exuberance.

  Clasping the sides of his head, she pressed her mouth to his. She probably only meant it to be a quick thank you kiss, but as soon as he felt her lips, Shane got carried away again.

  His arms wrapped around her waist and back and he plunged his tongue into her mouth. A moment’s hesitation and she groaned while circling her tongue around his. Shane’s hand slid down her ass and his fingers dipped between her cheeks.

  Her legs fell to the sides of his hips and she rocked against him. Only the loud growl of a howler monkey brought him back to reality.

  His arms flopped out to the side and he dropped his head into the dirt. “Fuck.”

  Her head pressed against his breast bone. “I didn’t mean for that to happen,” she said.

  “I know. It was my fault—I got carried away.” He stared up at the thick canopy. The only thing that would make this moment worse was if that monkey shit on his face.

  She pushed off him, back to her earlier seated position. “I didn’t exactly protest or tell you the middle of the jungle floor wasn’t the place for a quickie.”