Fire and Desire (Arabesque) (11 page)

T
revor told himself not to look…but he couldn’t help himself and looked anyway.

Feeling defeated, he emitted a tiny, hopeless sigh when he turned toward the area where the stream was located. He glanced across the thicket of trees and watched while a fully clothed Corinthians stood in the stream and bent to cup water in her hands to wash her face.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned back against the tree. He was well aware of the blood rushing through his veins when she splashed water over the top part of her body. Evidently that didn’t satisfy her need for cleanliness, and she dropped to her knees, making the water completely cover her body up to her shoulders.

When she stood again Trevor’s mouth went completely dry. It didn’t matter to him that she was fully clothed. The sight of the wet clothes clinging to her body aroused him to a degree that he hadn’t known was possible. He never knew a man could be driven to want a woman so badly. But over the past two years, he had come to discover just how much that was possible. There seemed to be some kind of a powerful, invisible force that drew him to her whenever they were in close proximity to each other.

As he continued to watch her, in his mind he imagined joining her in the stream and undressing her. He imagined how it would feel to remove every stitch of her clothing, piece by piece, by slow degree; and how it would feel when his mouth touched every inch of her wet skin.

He inhaled deeply as thoughts floated through his mind of how it would feel to caress her breasts and other parts of her body, and how it would feel to lay down with her and sink his flesh into hers, merging their bodies as one.

Trevor jerked his gaze away at the same time that an angry sound rumbled deep in his throat. Every instinct he possessed once again warned him that he was headed down a dangerous path with such mental activities, and the best thing to do was to get rid of them once and for all. Getting involved with Corinthians Avery would only complicate his life. She was completely wrong for him. There was nothing right about her.

And to make matters worse, he knew she had not gotten over Dex. But even knowing that, he still wanted her. And although he fervently wished he didn’t, he had to face the truth and admit that he was deeply attracted to her.

With his back resting against the tree, Trevor considered the possibility that the only thing he felt for Corinthians was a deep case of lust, pure and simple. But he knew that was not true. He wanted her for a number of reasons, and he wished he could say sex was foremost in his mind…but it wasn’t. What he felt went deeper than just sex. Even if she weren’t capable of stimulating his male hormones like she could so effortlessly do, he would still want her.

He wished he could even say that he wanted her because she was a challenge to him. And he enjoyed challenges. He had never encountered a woman who could get next to him as Corinthians could. It was hard just being in the same room with her. Although she had the ability to ruffle his feathers like no other woman could, that wasn’t it, either. That was not the reason he wanted her.

Trevor rubbed the palm of his hand across his face. Although he wished he could, he found no excuses for what he was feeling. Nor could he find the reason he was drawn to her like a moth to a flame. But he knew what he had to do. He had to stay strong and to continue to do what he’d been doing for the past two years, and that was to fight whatever feelings he was developing for her every step of the way. There was no way he would allow himself to be a substitute for another man. He refused to let any woman invade his heart, knowing she would end up breaking it and destroying him.

In all his thirty-seven years, no woman had ever held any power over him, and no woman ever would.

Rasheed Valdemon angrily paced the floor of his study. News of the terrorist attack in Rio had dominated all of the major television networks throughout the morning. He was furious. How had such a thing happened? He had given Santini explicit instructions not to draw attention to Corinthians Avery’s abduction. Not only had attention been drawn, but now the entire United States government was in a complete uproar with the news that a number of Americans were missing and presumed taken as hostages.

“Mr. Valdemon, Mr. Santini is here.”

Swalar’s voice interrupted Rasheed’s thoughts. “Send him in immediately.”

Rasheed stood rigid with his feet braced apart. His expression was hard and derisive when Santini entered the room. Before he could speak, Raul Santini’s words stopped him.

“We had nothing to do with what went down in Rio last night, Monty. Those were not my men who attacked that hotel.”

At first Rasheed was too startled by Santini’s statement to speak. He soon recovered his voice. “If they weren’t your men, whose were they?”

“I don’t know, but I have some of my people finding out. It was our plan to snatch Ms. Avery from her hotel room last night. But my men reached the hotel just moments after the terrorists had forced their way inside by gunpoint. When they saw what was happening, my men escaped through the jungle without being seen.”

“And they have no idea what happened to Corinthians Avery?”

“No. They didn’t stick around to find out. I can only assume she’s been taken as a hostage.”

Rasheed took a deep breath. His nostrils flared with fury and Arabic curses fell from his mouth. “As soon as you find out who’s behind that attack in Rio, I want to know.”

After making sure Trevor was taking a dip in the stream, Corinthians quickly began removing the wet clothes from her body. Although the hour was moving into the late afternoon, it was hot and the humidity remained relatively high. At least for the moment she no longer felt sticky and dirty.

Once she had removed all of her clothing, except for her underthings, she leaned down and opened Trevor’s overnight bag in search of her lingerie. She frowned. Other than her comb, hairbrush, toothbrush and deodorant, everything else in the bag were items belonging to Trevor. Surely her things were somewhere. By the looks of all the items in the bag, Trevor had looked out for his own needs, but not hers. He hadn’t even bothered to pack her makeup. And for crying out loud, she didn’t see any of her underthings!

She willed herself to stay calm and not to panic. The rest of her belongings had to be here somewhere. Thinking that Trevor had possibly packed them in another compartment, she calmed herself and continued her search. She released a sigh of relief when she saw that there was another compartment, nearly hidden.

With eager fingers Corinthians unzipped the compartment and opened it. Reaching inside, she pulled out a pack of condoms.

She went speechless as she stared at them. She couldn’t help but notice the pack’s distinct designer label. These could only be purchased from an exclusive lingerie boutique. It was the same boutique where she had purchased the negligee she had worn the night she had planned to seduce Dex.

Something elemental picked at her brain as she continued to stare at the pack. Then it hit her. They were the same ones she had purchased nearly two years ago that were guaranteed to last a lifetime with no expiration date; the same ones Trevor had taken out of her robe when she’d fainted.

Suddenly, his threatening words of that night came back to her…

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Corinthians turned around. “What?” she snapped.

“These.” He held up the pack of condoms.

She tinted furiously, but not to let him get the best of her, she lifted her chin and gave him her haughtiest glare. “You can have them.”

Trevor smiled and Corinthians thought she would melt then and there. He had the sexiest smile.

“Thanks,” he said. “I’ll be saving them to use one day. Maybe when I see you again.”

Corinthians’s thoughts returned to the present. She shivered upon realizing that although her and Trevor’s paths crossed a number of times since that night, their encounters had always been business related. Out here in the jungle with him was actually the first time they had ever been alone together for any length of time in a totally secluded environment.

Angry lines formed on Corinthians’s face. Did he think he would take advantage of their situation and make good on his threat about the condoms? Did he think for one minute that he
would
be using them on her?

Whirling around, she stomped off toward the stream then stopped upon realizing she only had on her bra and panties. Walking quickly back to the overnight bag, she pulled out one of Trevor’s T-shirts and slipped it on. The shirt covered her to midthigh. Satisfied for now that she was sufficiently covered, she once again stomped off toward the stream and didn’t stop walking until she had reached the water’s edge.

“Trevor Grant, how could you?”

Trevor looked up. Corinthians was standing on the bank wearing his T-shirt. Although it fit large on her, his shirt clearly defined her body’s nubile curves, agilely firmed hips and rounded breasts. And it didn’t help matters that the wet underclothes under the T-shirt were nearly transparent. Seeing the angered look on her face, he thought better of devoting his full concentration to her body, and shifted his attention to whatever had gotten her all riled up.

“How could I do what?”

“You didn’t pack any of my things. Just what am I supposed to wear?”

He looked at her from head to toe, pinning her with a long, silent scrutiny. “What you’re wearing now looks good to me.”

Corinthians’s anger flared. “You had no right!”

Trevor released an exasperated sigh. “I had every right. Like most women, you don’t know the meaning of traveling light. I only brought along those things I deemed necessary.”

Corinthians sputtered, bristling with indignation. “Only those things
you
deemed necessary? Then how do you explain these?” she asked furiously, holding up the pack of condoms for him to see.

Trevor stared first at her, then the condoms, then back at her before calmly saying. “There’s nothing to explain.”

Corinthians’s expression became thunderous. “In that case, these definitely aren’t necessary, either,” she stormed. With a pitch that would have impressed even baseball great Hank Aaron, she sent the pack of condoms flying out of her hand and over Trevor’s head. The pack hit the water and disappeared underneath. Satisfied with what she had done and pleased with the look of surprise and anger on Trevor’s face, she turned and walked off.

Trevor’s anger had not cooled by the time he’d gotten out of the water and found Corinthians. He leaned against a huge rock and watched her as she sat under a tree, pouting. She glanced up when she saw him. The look she gave him was cold and deadly. Instead of turning around and leaving her alone like any man with an ounce of common sense would have done, he walked toward her.

Mindless of the fact that he was soaking wet, he dropped down on the ground beside her. He laid a restraining hand on her arm when she made a move to get up.

“What you did back there was pretty childish, Corinthians.”

His words made something inside Corinthians snap. “Childish! You think what I did was childish? You have a lot of nerve. Just who do you think you are to assume that we—”

Trevor held up a hand to silence her. “Will you listen to what I have to say? There’s no way I could have carried both bags.”

“I didn’t ask you to. I could have carried my own bag.”

“No, you couldn’t have. I’m capable of handling a lot more weight than you, and I could barely pick up your bag back at the hotel when I was in your room. I had to do what was needed to lighten our load. I did what I thought was best for the both of us.”

“And you thought you would be accomplishing that by leaving all my stuff behind?”

“I didn’t leave all of your stuff. I brought what I considered were your necessities.”

“My necessities? And just what am I suppose to do for clothing?”

“There wasn’t enough room for both of our things so we’ll have to compromise and share.” One corner of Trevor’s mouth pulled into a slight smile. “I can envision you sleeping in my T-shirts and boxer shorts more so than I can see myself sleeping in one of your nightgowns.”

Corinthians stared at him, not the least bit impressed by his attempt at humor. “What about those condoms, Trevor? Apparently you found room for them in your bag. Those are the same ones you took out of my robe that night two years ago. Why did you keep them?”

Trevor looked at her levelly. “Yeah, they’re the same ones and I didn’t have to find room for them, Corinthians. Those condoms have been in that bag ever since that night. The reason I kept them is because I forgot they were in there. But in all honesty, even if I had remembered they were there, I would not have thrown them away. If I remember correctly, it was your idea that I keep them. I merely took you up on it. So what’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is the threat you made
after
I suggested that you keep them. You insinuated that you would be keeping them to use one day when…” Corinthians tinted. She was too embarrassed to finish what she was saying.

Trevor pulled his body up in a crouching position and turned to face her. He stared at her with dark eyes. “When what, Corinthians? Contrary to what you may want to believe, I did not intentionally bring them along to take advantage of our situation out here in the jungle. When I left that hotel, my only thought was getting out of there and keeping us both alive. Like I said before, I had completely forgotten they were in that bag.”

He leaned closer to her. “But I would be telling you a lie if I said that I’ve never envisioned using them when we did make love one day.”

“We’ll never make love,” she said, her breath coming out in a barely audible whisper.

Trevor’s eyes turned warm, almost challenging. “Oh, yes, we will. Count on it. It may be days from now, even weeks or months, but one day we will,” he assured her quietly. “And do you know why I’m so certain of that, Corinthians?”