Falling asleep had been almost instantaneous. Natalia knew she was exhausted, but to be able to pass out in an abandoned shack, on a mattress with a near stranger, half naked, and no doubt with spiders crawling around, gave a new definition to exhaustion. Opening her eyes to the early morning light peeking in through the windows told her she also had slept through the night. She couldn’t remember the last time she had done so. It must have had something to do with the man who was cuddled up next to her, resting his right leg over hers. Natalia was captive in his possessive embrace. Turning her head slightly, she could see that Anson was still sleeping soundly. His heavy breath warm against the side of her face made her want to be very gentle so as not to wake him as she eased her way from underneath his leg.

She had tried her best not to disturb his slumber, but when she heard, “Where are you going?” she knew she had failed.

“I’ll be right back. You rest.” She hopped out of bed before waiting for a response and padded barefoot to the room with the banana tree invading the living space.

When she’d picked two bananas last night, she’d noticed that several more were close to being fully ripe. They had enough food supplies to maybe last a week, but if they could live off the land as much as possible, it would definitely extend the life of their nonperishables. She had been taught basic survival skills during her time in Chili, and she already knew that Anson could manage just fine. Although his bullet wound might slow him down a bit.

Picking the bunch off the tree, she then walked back to the kitchen and placed the fruit on the counter. Looking back at the bed, she saw Anson now lay with his arm propping his head up. His disheveled hair, sleepy eyes, bare chest, and muscled arms all had her mouth watering. Who could blame a girl? Anson Steele was handsome as hell.

“How’s your arm?”

As he sat up all the way, she noticed that he didn’t groan or grimace at all. He slipped his arm out of the sling and massaged it. “Much better. That herb concoction you used really seems to have helped.”

“Never doubted it wouldn’t,” she said, pulling two bananas off the stalk.

Looking at the bananas in her hand, he smiled. “Breakfast in bed?” He caught the banana as Natalia tossed it to him. “A guy could get used to such pampering.” He took a bite of the fruit and smiled big as he chewed. “Who knew I had my own personal witch doctor?”

“I want you to start extending your arm a bit today but don’t push it,” she warned while trying not to pay attention to the curves and contours of his perfectly chiseled chest as she carefully checked the bandage for any sign of bleeding. “Just because you aren’t in a lot of pain, doesn’t mean you still can’t get infected or pop a stitch.”

Slowly extending his arm, he only gave a slight wince. Talking with a mouthful, he mumbled, “You’re sexy when you’re bossy.”

Holding back a smile, she got up and went to get two more bananas. “I was thinking we could go down to the river and try to catch some fish for lunch. We can wait to get our protein then if that’s all right with you.” She came back and sat on the bed as she gave him another piece of fruit before peeling and taking a bite of her own.

“I have food supplies in my bags too,” Anson said. “Did you find those?”

She nodded. “I did. But I think we have about a weeks’ worth of nonperishables, and since we have no idea how long we are going to be here—”

“We’ll be out of here before they run out,” Anson interrupted.

“You say that with so much confidence.” Natalia glanced down and noticed that almost all of her bottom half was showing since she still only wore her shirt and nothing else. Feeling exposed and slightly uncomfortable, she reached for the blanket to cover herself.

Anson watched her every move. “Right about now, my entire family is in the middle of a heated argument. It’s getting ugly in Texas right now.”

“How could you possibly know that? The sat phone is useless.”

He smiled and chuckled lightly. “We have a forty-eight hour rule. If no one has heard from someone on a mission within forty-eight hours, then preparations are made to go find out why. At seventy-two hours, they execute the plans. So since it has been forty-eight hours since I have last spoken with any member of my family, they are all currently arguing on who gets to come to Argentina and find my ass.”

“They’ll come and get you?”

He nodded with a smile. “My guess is Stryder will win the battle on who gets to come. He grew up in Rosario and knows this area the best. Plus, his Spanish far exceeds Maddox’s and my father’s.”

“I’m confused,” she began. “You said Stryder is your brother, but he grew up in Rosario?” Anson was about as gringo as they got, and there was no way he had any Latin blood in him.

“Stryder and I were both adopted as young boys.”

Natalia didn’t say anything, hoping Anson would continue. She barely knew the man, and liked that he was opening up.

“I was eleven when my real father died. He was really close with Drake and sort of left me to him in his will. Lucky for me, Drake brought me to The Black Stallion Ranch to live with his family. He had just adopted Stryder not long before, so it became a blended family really fast.” He smiled at the memory. “I was really a lucky boy. Even though my entire life had just been destroyed, I was lucky.”

Natalia’s heart went out to him at hearing he’d lost his father at such a young age. She could relate to how awful such a thing was for a child. “I’m so sorry. What about your mother?”

“She died when I was just a baby. She died climbing Mount Everest. Both she and my father were guides. He was the team doctor, and she was one of the leaders. There was an awful accident that took her and three others’ lives that day.”

“Mount Everest? Wow.” Natalia sat mesmerized by every word of Anson’s story.

“Even after my mother’s death, my father continued to go up the mountain, not wanting to give up something they both loved. He got criticized often about how dangerous it was and how he had a son to think about, but he got paid a lot of money for doing a lot of work but for a very short time. It then allowed him to raise me the rest of the year.” He paused and took the last bite of his breakfast. “But Everest decided to claim him just has it had claimed my mother.”

“I’m sorry,” Natalia said, not much louder than a whisper.

He shrugged. “I miss him. But he was able to die doing something he loved, and now he gets to be with my mother. That knowledge helped ease my pain after his accident. Plus, he died a hero. He was the team doctor and refused to leave a wounded man behind. Weather is everything when it comes to survival on the summit. A storm was moving in fast, and they only had a short window to get off the mountain, but my father refused to leave a man who couldn’t see. The lack of oxygen had gotten to the man, and temporary blindness was setting in. My father was determined to get him down to safety and wouldn’t leave his side even though the other team members had insisted and left to get the others down to safety.”

“But he didn’t get the man to safety,” Natalia guessed, getting chills as she listened to the tale.

“Actually, he did. They were so close to camp when they stumbled on another member of the team who had fallen behind. Once again, he refused to leave that man to die, even though he was near death as it was. My father forced the man he had just saved to keep walking down the hill, which he did. My father never joined him.”

“So he did save the blind man?”

Anson nodded. “He did, and he refused to allow another to die alone on the mountain. He and my mother are sort of famous in the climbing world. Anyone who has climbed Mount Everest knows who they are. I’m proud when I hear stories from their friends.”

“Wow,” Natalia said softly. “What an amazing story. I could see why you would be proud.”

“It was then that I went to live with my father’s best friend, Drake. The man took my father’s request to oversee my upbringing a step further. He adopted me as well, raised me like his own, and taught me everything I know. As much as I loved my father, I love Pops just as much. I’m lucky to have two dads in my life. I also gained two brothers and a surrogate mother—Jennie—who give me a strong sense of family.”

“Have you ever been back or climbed the mountain yourself?”

Anson shook his head. “Not yet. I want to, and I will. But I’m waiting.”

Natalia stole another glance at his body, noticing what good shape the man was in. “It seems to me like you could, physically.”

“Well, it requires a lot of training that I would have to do first. It takes a lot more than just brawn. Climbers prepare for years before embarking to the summit. But that’s not what’s holding me back.”

“What is?”

Anson looked away and blushed slightly. “Maybe this sounds cheesy, but I’m waiting until I have a wife and children. I want a family. That way, when I climb the mountain, I can bring a picture of my family and me and leave it on the summit. It would be me introducing my family to my parents.” He stopped and cleared his throat. “I just always pictured myself doing it as a way of closure. Letting my parents know that I have my own family, and I am doing just fine. So with that picture, a part of me gets to always be with them.” He looked up at Natalia. “Cheesy?”

She reached out and squeezed his knee. “Not at all. Really sweet. Really moving. And I think a wonderful way to pay tribute to your parents.” She released her grip and sat back. “You surprise me, Anson Steele. There are so many sides to you.”

Anson looked surprised. “Sides?”

“Yes, sides. I like that you gave me a peek into your past. It helps explains who you are. I don’t feel like you are such a stranger now.”

Anson laughed. “Well, good. I have a feeling we are going to get real close in this house and jungle while we wait for someone in my family to come bail us out.”

“You are really lucky. I never had that sense of family after the massacre.”

“I am. I never for one second didn’t feel loved by everyone. I’m not going to lie and tell you it was always easy. As you know, losing your parents changes you as a person. You lose your childhood completely. But Drake didn’t allow me to wallow in my misery. He realized really quickly how smart I was.” He paused and smiled when he saw that Natalia was smirking. “I am! I’m smart.” He chuckled. “Anyway, when Drake saw how smart I was, he made me focus on honing that skill. Years of training with Drake and my brothers, followed by my time with the Air Force, and my future became set in stone.”

“Saving people? Like me?”

He nodded. “Yes, I guess you could say that.”

Finishing the last of her second banana, she asked, “You saved all those women, and Zoya.”

“Almost all,” he said in a low voice. “I wish we had been faster, and it haunts me every day that we couldn’t save each and every one of the women. It shredded me to the core every single day you spent with Montez. It almost drove me mad. I couldn’t sleep, I could barely eat.”

“Because of me?” she asked, surprised that his need to save her had been all-consuming.

“Yes. I knew Montez was hurting you. Abusing you.” He stopped and stared directly into her eyes. “I wanted to die when I thought about him taking advantage of you.”

“He never did. Not sexually, at least.”

Anson raised his eyebrows and tilted his head in confusion. “He never did? What do you mean?”

“Montez never fucked me. He couldn’t. Thankfully for me, the man had a limp dick.”

Anson sat there, stunned, before he released a loud belly laugh. “Holy fuck! You mean you were serious when you called him that in the car?”

“Yes,” Natalia confirmed. “Like you, I don’t say things I don’t mean, so I meant bastard when I said that as well.”

Anson continued to laugh so hard that tears came to the corners of his eyes, and he had to hold onto his side. “That bit of information is just too good!” After laughing for several moments with Natalia giggling along, he finally composed himself enough to say, “I’m sorry. I know your situation isn’t funny in the slightest, but to know the all powerful Juan Montez couldn’t even fuck his sex slave, is just karma at its best.”

Natalia laughed again. “Don’t apologize. I don’t mind you laughing at how pathetic the man was. It’s probably the only reason I was able to stay in that prison for six months. I didn’t have to have sex with him once.” Remembering his physical abuse quickly wiped the smile off her face. “Although he made up for it in other ways.”

Anson stopped laughing and his face hardened. “And I promise you that I will make that bastard pay for it.”

Natalia grabbed his banana peels and her own and walked to the kitchen in silence before saying, “Let’s not talk about Montez anymore. He’s alive, and that fact makes me sick. But I can’t sit here and think of that monster for another moment. I just want to move on with my life. I have to.” She walked over to the mattress again and sat down.

Anson reached for her hand and held it in his. “I will help you with that. With moving on.”

She nodded. “And Zoya? Is she happy? Really happy?” Natalia remembered the fear and misery on Zoya’s face back in Moscow and had wondered about her often.

“She is. Happily in love and with a baby on the way. She’s part of our family now. Stryder loves her more than I thought possible for one man to love someone.”

“I’m just happy she’s safe.”

“She is. She always will be. My family is tight, and now that she is one of our own…”

Natalia smiled warmly. “That’s why you are so confident they will come for you.”

Anson scooted close to her, so close he was mere inches from her face. “For us. They will come for us.”

Natalia shook her head. “There is no place for me to go.”

Anson placed the palm of his hand on the back of her head, not allowing her to pull away even though the fear inside of her wanted to. “Come back to Texas with me.”

“Why?” She searched his eyes. “To save me?”

“No.” Anson moved his face even closer. So close that Natalia knew he was going to kiss her again.

“Then why?” she whispered.

Not giving her an answer, he pressed his lips to hers, dominating her mouth. The kiss that had been soft last night was demanding more now. Anson was showing another side of himself—the alpha side—and she liked it. Pulling her into the kiss, he pressed his tongue past her lips, conquering, tasting, possessing. Her body melted as she danced her tongue with his, moaning in pleasure. One kiss, yet so powerful in what it did to her body. Though sitting, she felt as if she would lose her balance and fall into the man who captured her very breath with his. Her body hummed to life as jolts of electricity sizzled through her while Anson seared his lips to hers.

“Tell me to stop,” he mumbled against her parted mouth. “Tell me to stop right now, and I will.”

“No.” God no. Please don’t stop. Natalia clung to his shoulders as she pressed her tongue even deeper, needing connection to this man as if her life depended on it. She had never hungered for something so badly in her life. One kiss. One touch. One fuck. That was all she needed to feel alive again. To feel normal and free.

When Anson’s fingertips slipped beneath her blouse and grazed along her ribcage, she pulled away, her eyes on his as she slowly lifted her shirt up over her head, completely baring herself to him. His eyes never left hers until she felt heat suffuse her cheeks that had nothing to do with the sticky, oppressive air of their jungle bungalow.

“Beautiful,” he whispered as he lowered his head and kissed each of her breasts before pulling one of her nipples into his mouth. The sound of his low moan set her core ablaze. Running her fingers through his hair as he sucked and nibbled, she flung her head back in abandon as he alternated from one breast to the other. She could have stayed like that forever—he drinking from her flesh—but his delicious little bites came to an end.

Working his way up her chest to her neck, and then to her lips again, Anson lowered her to her back while claiming her mouth in another passionate kiss. Yes, yes, she wanted this. She wanted this so badly that she didn’t hesitate to help as he knelt up and began to push down his boxers using only one hand.

Pausing for a split second in worry, her fingertips touched the bandage. “Your wound…”

Having tossed his boxers aside, he bent over her, his naked flesh pressed against hers. “Shhh,” Anson commanded as he conquered her mouth completely. “I’m fine.”

Even if this wasn’t the best idea for his injury, Natalia knew she couldn’t stop. She didn’t want to. She wouldn’t. This was nothing like she’d ever experienced. This was not some monster abusing her, demanding she display herself to him. Not a man whose anger at his own inability to perform drove him to force her to absorb the brunt of his anger. Anson was a man who was allowing her to choose… a man she not only knew she could trust with her very life, but a man she wanted with every ounce of her soul. She wanted Anson Steele to claim her and make her his.