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It must have been a long time since I’d been with a woman, because spending the night in a tent with one shouldn’t have been that exciting.

“Sounds like a plan.” I agreed. Besides, maybe by morning I would remember exactly who I was and why it seemed that my identity needed to remain a secret.

*    *    *

Sleep didn’t help.

In fact, sleep had been elusive all night. I spent too much time lying in that cot already. Time I couldn’t get back, just like the memories of my life. I tossed and turned, willing myself to break free of the amnesia, of the blankness in my mind, but still nothing.

Who was I?

How did I end up here?

When I could take the questions no longer, I got up and paced around the tiny tent. Rachel was sleeping and I couldn’t stop myself from creeping close to stare down at her. The light sound of her breathing and the rustle of her body against her cot didn’t help with my insomnia. Every time I settled enough to close my eyes, she would make a little sound. A sound that caused my body to tighten like a taut rope. As the hours wore on, I found myself wondering what kind of sounds she would make if I were on top of her, driving my needy cock into her center.

Whoa.
Put a leash on it
, I told myself.

Even in the dark, I could see her face clearly. It didn’t occur to me I shouldn’t be able to see this well in such darkness. But I was glad I could see this clearly; I took full advantage of it. Rachel was beautiful. Her skin was smooth and supple looking, her long, thin legs stretched across the cot, graceful and bare. Her chest rose and fell evenly as she drew in steady breaths through slightly parted full lips. A strand of dark, glossy hair curled across her cheek, and my finger itched to tuck it behind her ear, but I didn’t dare touch her.

If I touched her, I wouldn’t be able to stop.

But I could look at her. Looking at her was good enough.

For some reason, I knew beauty was something that had been lacking in my life. I grabbed onto that elusive piece of information and held on, but nothing else came with it.

I wondered how long Rachel had been here and who she had waiting for her back in the States.

The urge to kiss her was like a sucker punch to the gut. This wasn’t some five-star hotel. I wasn’t here on pleasure. I was literally lost and blank in the middle of a warzone. Kissing women shouldn’t be on my mind. I moved away, going across the room into what served as “the kitchen.” It consisted of a mini fridge, a microwave, and a hot plate that had to be lit with a match. There was a small cardboard box with a few supplies and boxed goods in it. My stomach rumbled, but I ignored it.

I noticed a small generator in the corner, likely the thing that gave the fridge and desk fans power. I was grateful for those fans because they provided much needed circulation around the tiny room.

Rachel’s cot creaked, and I looked over my shoulder. Those long, tan legs of hers swung over the side of the cot and she planted her bare feet on the floor.

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” I said.

“It’s fine. I wasn’t sleeping well anyway.”

Is that why she made so many sounds while she was lying there?

“Bad dream?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No.”

I didn’t ask any more questions because I figured if she wanted to tell me, she would. Besides, I liked thinking my closeness was getting to her as much as hers was getting to me.

“Do you drink coffee?” she asked, getting up and moving in the kitchen area.

“Yeah.”

Out of nowhere, she pulled out a small coffee pot and unplugged one of the fans to plug in the cord. Coffee was definitely something I would give up a fan for. I watched as she poured some bottled water in the pot, added some grounds, and then hit the start button. The scent of fresh coffee began to permeate the air moments later.

I groaned. She glanced at me and smiled. Desire slammed into me, pumping through my veins at an alarming rate. If coffee and a smile was all it took to go from zero to thirty so fast, then I was in deep shit.

I turned away, trying to control the somewhat rabid way I was feeling. I didn’t want her to see it in my eyes. I didn’t want to scare her so I kept my back to her. The coffee didn’t take long to brew because the pot was small and soon the sound of liquid being poured reached my ears.

Her soft footfalls approached me, almost cautiously. I felt her just behind me, the warmth of her body so close. “Vance?” she murmured. The sound of my name being whispered through the dim lightning of this tent caused my chest tighten.

“Yeah?” I asked, turning to look down into her upturned face.

“I don’t have any cream, but I have some powdered creamer.” Rachel offered me the small cup of steaming coffee.

“Black is good,” I said and took a sip. Holy bitterness, it was strong. Automatically, I made a face.

Rachel laughed. It was a sound that filled my ears. “Give me that,” she said, taking my cup. My eyes were totally glued to her as she poured in the creamer and stirred. The container said it was the flavor of peppermint mocha and there was a candy cane on the side. “Now try it,” she said, handing the cup back to me.

I took a tentative sip. It was really good. I breathed in the scent of it. “I guess I don’t like my coffee black.” I smiled. “Thanks, this is good.”

She smiled and added some creamer to her own coffee. “This is my favorite flavor. When I’m at home, I get the liquid kind. But it wouldn’t make it here. My mom mailed this to me when it came out in the grocery stores for the holidays.”

“Are the holidays close?” Yet another thing I didn’t know.

She didn’t seem surprised. “Today is Christmas.”

“It is?”

She nodded and took a sip of her coffee. I knew she enjoyed it because her eyes briefly closed as she swallowed.

“Wow. How could I not know that?”

“Same way you didn’t know that you didn’t drink your coffee black.” Her nose wrinkled when she smiled. It was cute.

I laughed. “Touché.”

“Merry Christmas,” she said, holding up her cup in salute.

“Merry Christmas.” I bumped my mug against hers. “How come you didn’t go home for the holidays?”

She was silent a moment. Then she replied, “I would have just arrived home today. The States are behind us in time so I would have made it in time for Christmas.”

“You not only stayed behind to take care of me, but you’re missing Christmas with your family?” All this for some stranger she didn’t know. For me.

“There’s always next Christmas.” She shrugged like it was no big deal.

But it was. I moved before I thought better of it, setting aside my cup and taking two large steps to arrive directly in front of her. Rachel’s eyes widened, but she didn’t step away.

I took the cup from her hand and set it away.

“Vance?” she questioned, a little hesitation in her tone.

That’s okay. I was sure enough for both of us.

I took her by the shoulders and pulled her in, bending a little at the knees to take her mouth into a demanding kiss. Her body went rigid and she gasped, giving me the perfect opportunity to slip my tongue into her mouth and explore it at my leisure.

A low purr vibrated the back of her throat and she melted against me. Removing my arms from her shoulders, I wrapped them around her waist and lifted, drawing her up to my height so I could have even greater access to her mouth.

I slanted my mouth over hers, rubbing our lips together, enjoying the feel of her silky skin against mine. God, she was soft. Maybe the softest thing I’d ever touched. I twirled my tongue around hers, asking it to come out and play, and Rachel replied. Her tongue stroked against mine boldly, causing heat to lick up my spine and desire to permeate the room.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been with a woman, and in that moment, I was fucking glad for it. It was only her. Only her lips I could feel, only her tongue that I knew, and only her body against mine.

I ripped my mouth from hers and groaned, sliding her hot little body down my front as I dragged in ragged breaths. Before pulling away, I slid my hand down her back and palmed her butt, giving it a squeeze.

“What was that?” she panted, pressing a hand to her lips and looking up at me.

The flushed pink color of her cheeks had my cock jerking in my pants.

“It was a thank you,” I said, not being able to resist squeezing her ass one last time. “You could have left me here and not looked back.”

She stepped back and swayed on her feet a little. I scooped my arm back around her waist, using her unbalance as an excuse to tow her close again.

“Careful,” I rumbled, noticing the way her tank top rode up on her belly, leaving my fingers to caress her bare, flat middle.

It didn’t escape my attention, the little shiver that ran up her back and the goose bumps that raced over her shoulder when I touched her. It made me even more turned on.

I knew she was affected by me. I could smell her desire. Her need. I had no doubt that if I plunged my fingers down in the sleep shorts she was wearing, I would discover wet panties.

But it was the other scent that kept me from acting upon the thought.

I also smelled her apprehension. Turned on or not, Rachel still wasn’t sure about me. “I think you just might have enough supplies to make up a pretty good Christmas breakfast,” I said, gently setting her away from me and pointing at the nearby box.

She lifted an eyebrow. “You can cook?”

“I have no clue.” I grinned. “Wanna find out?”

She laughed. “Well, all right, then, Vance. Let’s see what you got.”

Between the two of us, we managed to make a big mess and some fairly tasty food. We had bowls of oatmeal with dried fruit and brown sugar. There had been two red apples left in the box so I chopped them up and she sprinkled cinnamon and sugar on them and heated them over the “stove.” When they were finished heating, she sprinkled some granola over the top and divided the apples into two paper cups. While I was cleaning up the mess (turns out I wasn’t a very good cook, but I was good at making a mess), she rummaged around in one of her bags and found a card with a giant green Christmas tree on the front. She set it on the table alongside our food and coffee.

We laughed and ate, and she talked about some of her past holiday memories. Of course, I didn’t have any, but the conversation was never one-sided because she was so easy to talk to. I wanted to know everything I could about her.

Something about Rachel made me not care I barely knew who I was. It was like we were in our own little bubble, in a place that was solely mine. Deep down, I knew this was rare, to have something just for me. It made the urgency I felt when I first woke up here seem less like a priority. In fact, the only urgency I was feeling in this moment was the kind that required no clothes.

“Rachel, do you have a boyfriend?” I asked abruptly, interrupting the story she was telling me about her close-knit family.

Her words died away and she paused. “No, I don’t.

“A husband?” I pressed. “Someone waiting for you back home?”

“There’s no one,” she said low.

“Oh, there isn’t no one,” I growled, feeling possessiveness heat up my middle.

“No?” She tilted her head to the side and studied me.

I shook my head.

“Then who is there?” she whispered.

“Me.” The chair fell back when I stood, going around the table and pulling Rachel to her feet. “Tell me you don’t feel the attraction between us,” I told her. “Tell me you didn’t lie over there trying to sleep, unable to because your body was restless from my closeness.”

She swallowed thickly. I heard it move down her throat. I inhaled deeply, tasting the air, looking for the scent of apprehension.

It wasn’t there.

I used my fingers to tilt up her chin and looked down into her wide green eyes. “Tell me right now, Rachel, because if you don’t, I’m going to kiss you again, and this time I’m not going to stop.”

Her hands were shaking when they fisted the front of my too-small shirt. “I can’t tell you that.”

A guttural sound ripped from deep in my throat, and I picked her up, thrilled as shit when her legs wrapped around my waist. I carried her a few steps across the room and placed her back up against the wall, pinning her there between it and my body.

I kissed her fervently, nipping at her lower lip with my teeth and sucking her tongue into my mouth. Her hands delved into the hair at the back of my head and pulled me closer, matching my kiss with a ferocity that fucking thrilled me.

I reached between us, keeping our mouths tangled together, and ripped the tank top down the middle. The ruined fabric parted ways and fell open to reveal perky, round breasts. Because I refused to stop kissing her, I let my hands tell me what she was like.

I delved a callused palm beneath the fabric, pushing it away and covering one of her breasts. They weren’t large, but there was enough to enjoy. I kneaded and squeezed the fullness, making her rock against me as we kissed.