throughout her body like one of the rockets that had exploded near the plane.
She had always been so careful around men, having found herself in situations that had forced her to use her wit and intelligence to get out of them. Men like Mr. Martinez made it hard for her to trust. But for the life of her she didn’t want Slade to stop kissing her. She wanted to forget about her caution and stay here and explore these budding feelings flowering toward Slade.
They were in serious trouble. In a jungle. Miles from the sea. Running for their lives . Those thoughts filtered through her bemused mind and brought reality back in a rush.
She strained away, placing her hands on either side of his head. His eyes held hers magnetically, and she thought she would drown in his smoldering gaze. She ran her tongue over her lips and tasted him on her skin. He started to drag her back down toward him.
“This reminds me of the time I was caught in the woods when I was a little girl. I wandered and wandered around—”
“Ellie, can’t you be quiet for a second?”
“Surely you mean longer than a second. A second isn’t very long. I mean—”
Slade chuckled, pulled her to him and crushed her mouth with his before she could react. His hand molded her closer to him.
Ellie felt surrounded by him, trapped willingly by his steely muscles, drugging male scent and bold masculinity, as primitive as nature’s forces that enclosed them in a green cocoon. When her head came up, he lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed her fingers, the whole time their gazes bound in wonderment. Aching to touch the hard planes of his face, the strong line of his jaw, the curve of his mouth, Ellie gave in to the luxury of exploring the roughened texture of his features with her hand.
Slade drew in a sharp breath at the look in her eyes that was dreamy, at the expression on her face that was sensual. He was amazed by the chemistry that instantly sprang up between them, confused by the alien emotions that stormed through him. He was a loner, had been most of his life. His failed marriage proved to him that he couldn’t make a lasting relationship work. He had fought his way up from the gutters of Boston to become president of his own computer company. It had been a long, hard battle that had toughened him, and all he wanted to do was kiss a woman who looked like a blonde bombshell while danger raged around them. The crash must have scrambled his brains.
He started to bring her mouth back down onto his again when he heard a cracking sound. Glancing over her shoulder, he saw the largest limb supporting the plane snap in two and then another smaller one break. The plane jolted, dropped a few feet, held up by a branch for a couple of seconds, then all of a sudden began to plunge toward the ground where they lay.
CHAPTER 4
“Hold on!” Slade said, clasping his arms tightly about Ellie.
The breath rushed from her lungs as he rolled them over and over. Then all of a sudden they stopped, the bark of a tree biting into her back. She started to voice her objection at his manhandling, when he covered her body with his and shielded her head, her face pressed into his chest. She felt the hammering of his heart against her cheek that mirrored the fast tempo of her own. Fear began to take hold as sounds reached her ears.
The shifting of the plane. The snap of branches. The thunder as metal smashed into the earth .
The ground shook. Ellie turned to look at the place where they had lain only a moment before. Dust mushroomed up, choking her and obliterating her view of that place. But she had seen enough to know they would have been dead if Slade hadn’t acted so fast.
Coughing, Ellie closed her eyes and wondered not for the first time if she would ever see her apartment again. Slowly, sensations that had nothing to do with the plane crashing to the ground invaded her awareness. Slade was close. His heartbeat hadn’t slowed its rapid pace. His breath tantalized the
She had always been so careful around men, having found herself in situations that had forced her to use her wit and intelligence to get out of them. Men like Mr. Martinez made it hard for her to trust. But for the life of her she didn’t want Slade to stop kissing her. She wanted to forget about her caution and stay here and explore these budding feelings flowering toward Slade.
They were in serious trouble. In a jungle. Miles from the sea. Running for their lives . Those thoughts filtered through her bemused mind and brought reality back in a rush.
She strained away, placing her hands on either side of his head. His eyes held hers magnetically, and she thought she would drown in his smoldering gaze. She ran her tongue over her lips and tasted him on her skin. He started to drag her back down toward him.
“This reminds me of the time I was caught in the woods when I was a little girl. I wandered and wandered around—”
“Ellie, can’t you be quiet for a second?”
“Surely you mean longer than a second. A second isn’t very long. I mean—”
Slade chuckled, pulled her to him and crushed her mouth with his before she could react. His hand molded her closer to him.
Ellie felt surrounded by him, trapped willingly by his steely muscles, drugging male scent and bold masculinity, as primitive as nature’s forces that enclosed them in a green cocoon. When her head came up, he lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed her fingers, the whole time their gazes bound in wonderment. Aching to touch the hard planes of his face, the strong line of his jaw, the curve of his mouth, Ellie gave in to the luxury of exploring the roughened texture of his features with her hand.
Slade drew in a sharp breath at the look in her eyes that was dreamy, at the expression on her face that was sensual. He was amazed by the chemistry that instantly sprang up between them, confused by the alien emotions that stormed through him. He was a loner, had been most of his life. His failed marriage proved to him that he couldn’t make a lasting relationship work. He had fought his way up from the gutters of Boston to become president of his own computer company. It had been a long, hard battle that had toughened him, and all he wanted to do was kiss a woman who looked like a blonde bombshell while danger raged around them. The crash must have scrambled his brains.
He started to bring her mouth back down onto his again when he heard a cracking sound. Glancing over her shoulder, he saw the largest limb supporting the plane snap in two and then another smaller one break. The plane jolted, dropped a few feet, held up by a branch for a couple of seconds, then all of a sudden began to plunge toward the ground where they lay.
CHAPTER 4
“Hold on!” Slade said, clasping his arms tightly about Ellie.
The breath rushed from her lungs as he rolled them over and over. Then all of a sudden they stopped, the bark of a tree biting into her back. She started to voice her objection at his manhandling, when he covered her body with his and shielded her head, her face pressed into his chest. She felt the hammering of his heart against her cheek that mirrored the fast tempo of her own. Fear began to take hold as sounds reached her ears.
The shifting of the plane. The snap of branches. The thunder as metal smashed into the earth .
The ground shook. Ellie turned to look at the place where they had lain only a moment before. Dust mushroomed up, choking her and obliterating her view of that place. But she had seen enough to know they would have been dead if Slade hadn’t acted so fast.
Coughing, Ellie closed her eyes and wondered not for the first time if she would ever see her apartment again. Slowly, sensations that had nothing to do with the plane crashing to the ground invaded her awareness. Slade was close. His heartbeat hadn’t slowed its rapid pace. His breath tantalized the
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