She thought of several biting comebacks, but saved them. Her primary concern was for the children. “Were the children afraid?”
“Yeah, but I calmed them down, tried to make a game out of hiding. They have water. I promised them a treat if they didn’t make a sound. I told them to go to sleep and said that when they woke up, you’d be there.”
“Do you think they understood?”
“I hope to God they did. When he wasn’t arguing, Joe was translating for me.” Worriedly he added, “I’d hate to have to explain nine hidden children to this bunch of cutthroats.”
The memory of the commander and his rough, insulting touch still made Kerry feel slightly sick to her stomach. “Are they the same ones we encountered today?” she asked with dread.
“I don’t know. But they probably aren’t any better, whatever side of the conflict they’re on. I thought it best just to stay out of their way.”
“I agree. What about the truck?”
“Luckily, I hid it under brush after we unloaded it.”
She lay still for a moment, trying not to think about the way Linc’s legs were pressed against hers. As precisely as her wet shirt was plastered to her torso, his legs were molded to every contour of hers.
“I told you to stay in the house,” he said abruptly. “You agreed to do everything I told you to.”
“I needed some air,” she snapped.
Knowing that he was right stung her pride. It had been reckless of her to leave the house, especially at night. Now, if any harm came to the orphans, she would have to take the blame upon herself. It would be entirely her fault.
“Well, you could have gotten a lot of air...through the bullet holes in your body.” He unleashed his frustration. “You almost got yourself killed, along with the rest of us. I hope you enjoyed your bath.”
“I did. Brief as it was.” Suddenly she drew herself up more tensely. “Linc, I left my clothes—”
“I stuffed them behind a banana tree. Let’s hope they’re not discovered.”
“Why didn’t you just bring them with you?”
“Look, lady,” he said snidely, “I’ve only got two hands. I couldn’t collect your clothes and haul you out of your bath and keep you quiet all at the same time. So I stashed the clothes. Okay? If the soldiers had found you before I did, they would have stripped you naked anyway, and believe me, base as you may think I am, I have more respect for your modesty than they would have.”
Kerry wished he hadn’t made even that veiled reference to her nakedness. Now that they were out of immediate danger, she could turn her thinking to her scanty attire and her forced proximity to Linc.
How long would they have to stay hidden, lying close together, unable to move or speak above a whisper? They couldn’t relax their guard for a single moment. Since they weren’t hidden beneath the house as the children were, the density of the jungle at night was the only place they could hide. To go in search of another hiding place would be risky. She was just coming to realize how uncomfortable the next several hours would be.
And not only in terms of being cramped and cold. Linc’s nearness was playing havoc with her senses. She gravitated toward the security his virile frame promised. Her chilled body sought the warmth of his.
“Whatever they’re cooking smells good,” she remarked to take her mind off him.
“Don’t think about it.” His own stomach rumbled hungrily. She angled her head back a fraction and glanced over her shoulder at him. “It’s probably iguana...or worse,” he said in an attempt to banish both their hunger pangs.
“Don’t say that,” she murmured, shifting her legs slightly. “I keep imagining creepy-crawly critters moving over me.”
“Be still.” He clenched his teeth. The slightest movements she made caused her hips to press against the curve of his lap. She was already fitted securely into that notch, and the merest shifting motion of her legs caused her bottom to rub against him.
“I’m trying,” she said, “but my muscles keep cramping.”
“Are you cold?”
“A little,” she admitted.
The jungle was like a sauna in daylight hours, steamy and airless. But they were lying on the damp ground. Sunlight had never penetrated this dense foliage and, as a result, it was abnormally cool beneath the vine. She was so clammy that her teeth had begun to chatter.
“You’d better take off that wet shirt.”
Ponderous seconds ticked by. They lay as tense and motionless as they had while the soldier was nearby. Kerry wanted to negate his idea outright. But before she could even form the words, she shivered uncontrollably. Under the circumstances, any maidenly protests would sound ridiculous.