“Fine.” Lacey held his stare with her own. “My family has questioned my beliefs, my moral moorings and just about everything I feel tethers me to who I am. If that’s what you believe, then fine. That’s what you have decided, and who am I to challenge that? It’s not like you’re promoting...killing babies or puppies. You just don’t want to mix business with pleasure. I can respect that.” Even if the idea of tangling with Shane had a whole lot of appeal, the more she got to know him.

Shane leaned back, gaze narrowed.

“Every time I think I’ve got you figured out you surprise me.” He shook his head. “And here I thought you lived for fighting.”

“I don’t like fighting. We just happen to disagree a lot.”

“A lot? How about on every fucking point?”

“We agreed coconut and rum was a good idea, didn’t we?” She lifted her half of the fruit.

“I wouldn’t call that a good idea.”

“What would you call it?”

“Irresponsible.”

“Did that little swig get you drunk?”

“No, but alcohol—”

“Please don’t lecture me.” She leaned back and closed her eyes.

“Fine.”

“We agreed on how to move the tree,” she said.

“We did.”

“And...we...hm...” She opened her eyes, only to find Shane staring at her.

Yeah, that heat wave assailing her body had nothing to do with liquor or humidity, and everything with the man watching at her. Too bad she’d just promised to keep to her proverbial corner, otherwise she might have kissed that frown right off him.

“You’re the most infuriating woman I’ve ever met, you know?” Shane’s hand slid closer, until his forearm pressed to her knee.

“I’ve heard that before.” Lacey sighed.

“You’re impulsive and stubborn.”

“My parents swear they don’t know where I get it from.” She clasped her hands around her knees to better control them.

Shane leaned closer.

She licked her lips.

He didn’t want to want her, and yet he did. She could see it in the lines of his frown and brow when he stared at her. When they fought. He didn’t understand her, and yet here they were, being pulled toward the other all over again.

Therein lay the problem.

She could see the tiny flecks of gold in his brown eyes now.

“You said you didn’t want to kiss me,” she whispered.

He stopped, studying her lips.

“Is that what I said?”

“I think so.”

“Then I misspoke. My apologies. I shouldn’t kiss you, is what I should have said.” He lifted his hand and traced her lips with the rough pad of his finger. “Wanting to seems to be my problem.”

“This is unfair, seeing as how I just promised I wouldn’t kiss you.” His hand curled around her jaw as she spoke.

“I don’t remember hearing a promise.”

“It was implied.”

“Implied doesn’t make a promise.” He pressed his hip to her knees, barely any distance at all left between their mouths.

“Oh, my mistake then.” She tightened her hold on her knees.

Lacey had put herself out there already only to get turned down. If Shane wanted to kiss her, he’d have to go all the way himself, because she’d only be a good girl for so long.

Shane’s body froze. His fingers were curled around her face, his thumb pressed to her lower lip. His arm and hip caged her knees. All the while his eyes searched her face, as though he were reading her secrets.

“Tell me you don’t want me to kiss you,” he whispered.

“That would be a lie.” She turned her head from side to side, stroking his thumb with her mouth.

“Lacey...”

“Would it make your moral compass feel better if I reminded you that I am not a paying client?” she asked.

“No.”

“I don’t know what to tell you then. I am honor bound not to kiss you, which is probably a good thing. You want to kiss me, and yet it goes against your ethics not to.”

“Why is that a good thing?” His gaze narrowed and he pressed his thumb a little harder.

She parted her lips, licking the tip of his finger. That wasn’t breaking her implied promise, was it?

“Because I have impulse control problems, remember?”

“What does that mean?”

“I’m not sure I’d want to stop with just a kiss.”

Lacey held her breath. She wasn’t as free with her body as some might think, but she also didn’t see the point in denying that sex was natural and good for a person. The physical connection, the endorphins—they was healthy. But some people had funny ideas. So far, she hadn’t been able to figure out what Shane would think of her, but she knew she wanted him. That he’d gotten under her skin like no man she’d been with before.

His cheeks sank in and his gaze went infinitely harder.

“Lacey...”

He said her name with a ragged quality that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I thought we were being honest.” She tried to chuckle, but her throat was dry.

Shane grasped her knee and uncrossed her legs for her, then stepped between them, his thighs pressed to the edge of the tailgate. He let go of her face and grasped her by the hips, yanking her none too gently forward until they were pressed intimately together.

Lacey remembered this from yesterday.

With her hands now free of their responsibility to keep to themselves, she flattened her palms against his chest, marveling at the feel of him. She’d seen plenty of fit men in her life, most honed that way from a natural inclination. People like herself who were simply prone to more athletic entertainment. Shane, however, was built with intent, his every fiber a weapon. He was this way by his own design.

“My turn,” he muttered.

He slid his hand up her stomach, watching the way the fabric of her too-large tank top bunched and shifted.

Given that they were in the middle of the jungle, it wasn’t exactly prudent to strip bare ass naked, but she could enjoy a bit more intimate feel.

Lacey reached down through the neck hole and released the front closure on her bra, freeing her breasts. That done, she guided his hand up under her shirt and leaned back, relishing his touch, the feel of his calloused hands on her skin.

“Fuck,” he muttered.

She hiked her knee, pressing her calf against his ass and brought him in closer.

Shane slid his hand into her hair grasping a handful of it. She sucked down a breath, giving control over to him. He was an alpha, always in control type. It was burned into his soul. She could no sooner expect him to be anything else than she could change her stripes. They were who they were.

He pulled her closer, his nails scraping her scalp. The hand over her breast squeezed. She slid her hands around his shoulders, content to give him this control.

Shane’s mouth slid over hers, not quite kissing.

“I was just going to kiss you. Now I want to fuck you,” he said against her mouth.

She covered his hand with hers, arching her back.

“Why fight it?” She nipped his lower lip.

He twisted the hand in her hair and she hissed. Damn, he seemed to know just how far to go before backing off.

Shane studied her mouth a moment, then leaned in. While his touch remained firm, his lips were soft, gliding over hers. His fingers stroked her breast, toying with her stiff nipple. He suckled her lower lip, gently biting down on the morsel of flesh before letting it go. She groaned into his mouth, more than willing to give him complete control if he’d touch the rest of her like that.

“Get in the truck,” he said.

“W-what?” She blinked at him, finding it hard to speak.

“We’re exposed out here.” He glanced up, his gaze scanning the trees.

“O-oh.”

Shane stepped back, letting go of her hair and robbing her of his touch. She nearly collapsed against the tailgate without him holding her up.

Lacey slid to her feet, wobbling a bit, while Shane remained rooted to the spot watching. She didn’t know if he meant to stay out here or what was going through his head, but she also couldn’t argue with the logic. She made it to the passenger side and stared at the door handles, her mind too lust-fogged to figure them out.

Shane reached past her and opened the front door, then leaned in, scooting the seat all the way back.

Well, that was a bit of a hint she liked.

“Come here.” He took her hand and pulled her to him.

He kept one hand around her waist and the other removed the holster from his hip. He placed it on the dashboard and turned his attention on her.

“Do I get to touch you yet?” She leaned into him.

“You can touch whatever you want.” He perched on the seat.

“What happened to, it’s cooler outside?”

“I’m not an exhibitionist. Come here.”

She’d never been happier to be in an old truck with a lot of head room.

Shane’s big body took up most of the seat. He pulled her across his lap and shut the door, the mostly-open windows providing some breeze.

She slid her hand up under his shirt. He’d taken off the Kevlar vest earlier while building the blind.

“What do you like?” he asked.

“I’m a simple girl with simple tastes.” She swallowed. There were a few line items to cover. While she had herself covered and was up to date on her birth control measures, she liked to play it doubly safe. “Do you have protection?”

“It just so happens I do.”

“Good. Touch me?” She lifted his hand to her breast again.

This was what she liked most about the rush of lust. The honest connection.

They were both turned on. He did it for her, as crazy as that sounded. The rest was just a combination of friction and stimulation.

Shane slid both his hands up under her shirt, palming her breasts, kneading them, and plucking at her nipples. She groaned and bit her lip.

Lacey braced her hands on his shoulders and straddled his lap, her knees finding just enough space up by his hips. He pulled her closer, shoving her shirt up and licking one breast then the other.

She sat back and grasped his belt. With his help, she got the catch undone and his pants unfastened. Shane sat back and let her do the honors of unveiling his erection. She tugged his boxers down, his stiff cock bobbing toward her. She wrapped her hand around it and felt the pulse of his need against her palm.

How much would this control freak of a man be willing to let go?

Lacey stared into his dark eyes and stroked his cock. He tucked his chin and watched her.

Could she have a taste?

She grinned at him and slid back.

Shane sat up and grasped her hair again.

“Turn around,” he said.

“But—”

“I need you to turn around,” he said again, slower.

Lacey perched on his thigh and did as he asked, sitting on his lap, looking over her shoulder at him. He reached around her waist and pulled her back until she was draped over him. One hand snuck back up her shirt to cup her breast, while the other slid into her too-large shorts.

All the breath in her lungs stuttered out. She braced a foot on the dash and her hands on the armrests.

Shane cupped her mound, sliding his fingers through her folds. There was nothing timid about his touch. He knew what he was doing and how to go about it. He stroked her pussy. She dropped her head back against his shoulder, surrendering herself to this moment.

“How ready are you?” he asked against her cheek.

“Ready.”

“Hm.”

He slid his fingers into her and she groaned, shifting her hips, seeking a deeper penetration.

“God damn,” he muttered.

“Shane.”

“I know. I feel it, too. You’re so fucking wet.”

“Because I’ve been thinking about you.” She shifted her hips, his cock pressing against her ass.

“Don’t tell me that,” he growled.

“Why not?” She covered his hand at her breast with her other hand.

“Because I already want to pound into you so hard you’ll scream and tell me to stop.”

“That sounds like a dare.” She rocked her hips, fucking herself on his fingers and stroking his erection at the same time.

“I’m not kidding, Lacey.”

“I wouldn’t mind screaming.”

“God damn it, Lacey.” He pulled his hand from her pussy and yanked at her shorts.

She lifted her hips, helping him strip her of the necessary clothing.

His cock slipped between them, resting against her. She cupped his length, stroking him with her fingers.

“Lacey.” Shane said her name as a warning she ignored.

He fumbled with something, producing a condom. She tried to snatch it from him, but he pushed her hands away. She chuckled and leaned back, letting him have his way. This time.

Shane rolled the condom on, giving his cock a quick squeeze.

“Lean forward, hands on the dash,” he said.

“Anyone ever tell you you’re a little bossy?” She glanced over her shoulder.

“No, they’re usually too busy screaming my name.”

She laughed.

Lacey planted her hands on the dash and arched her back.

Shane reached between them and fit his cock against her. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her back. His cock slid into her as though they were made for each other. She groaned, her sex throbbing at the sudden intrusion. He held her against his chest and worked his hips, fucking her from behind. His thrusts were hard, nothing gentle about it.

She whimpered, half crazed from lust.

“Lace,” he growled her name.

She turned her head toward him, finding his mouth with hers, kissing him.

He cupped her mound, his fingers toying with her clit.

God damn.

It was too much.

She covered her breasts, trying her best to sooth their ache.

He thrust and she groaned into his mouth. His tongue slid past her lips, invading every part of her body he could.

She gave up the pretense of moving, and let him control her body, stroke her, kiss her, fuck her. He pressed his fingers on either side of her clit, not pinching it, but applying just enough pressure that it broke her. She let out a ragged cry, mostly muted by his mouth, as her body seemed to shatter apart. Her orgasm fluttered low in her belly, bubbling up with such intensity she nearly sobbed.

“That’s it,” Shane muttered against her lips.

“Shane...”

“Lean forward?”

She nodded, willing to do just about whatever he asked at this point.

He helped her, bending her over the dash, and covered one of her hands with his. He squeezed her hand, maybe in warning?

Shane thrust, harder and deeper before. She gasped, her sensitized body rubbed raw. He withdrew and thrust again.

“Oh—Shane!” Lacey bent her head forward and squeezed his hand.

“Hold on, sweetheart.”

She shut her eyes. It was all too much.

He thrust again and again, the whole truck shifting with his movements. She pushed back, meeting him. This was for Shane, what he wanted—needed—from her. She heard him groan and he clenched her hand back. The arm at her waist tightened, guiding her thrusts. Her toes curled, and she dropped her head forward against the dash.

“Oh, God. Oh, God—Shane!”

Her voice hitched into an almost scream as her vaginal walls tightened with a second orgasm. This time, her body failed her. It was all too much.

Shane wrapped his arms around her, thrusting deep. He gathered her against his chest and leaned back, shifting his hips in a circular motion. He buried his head against the crook of her neck, groaning.

Holy shit.

He hadn’t been kidding.

She’d never again take Shane York at anything other than his word.

Marcos pressed the phone to his ear.

“Anything?” he asked.

“No, we haven’t been able to find the truck again,” Alex replied.

“Damn it.” Marcos turned and peered out of the window.

The sun was setting. They’d searched the house the teens had seen Lacey enter, but it was empty. Their quarry was gone, and the only lead they had was Lacey and a man in their stolen truck.

They could waste hours—days—searching the countryside for them.

“Load up. Stop looking for them and head to Montego Bay. They have to go to the airport sometime. We’ll get them there.” Marcos hung up.

His men had scoured the roads from here to Kingston and from here to Montego Bay throughout, during daylight hours. Traffic was slow, due to poor road conditions, so there’d been ample opportunity to spot the stolen truck. That gave them zero leads on the other targets, but at this point he was more concerned about Lacey than his client’s wishes.

First, he’d take care of the threat to him and his son. Then he could handle the issue of cash flow.

Shane had made a tactical error. A very crucial one, and now he was fucked.

He’d underestimated Lacey and the gravitational pull that brought him back to her at every turn. At first, he’d simply been curious, wondering what it was about this wild woman that intrigued him.

Lacey was a drug, one he was hooked on. It wasn’t just that she was attractive, it was something else about her. That wanderlust of hers was rubbing off on him and now he found himself wondering—what else was out there?

If it wasn’t for work, Shane hardly went anywhere. What was the point of spending all that money, just to be somewhere new?

Listening to Lacey made him rethink his stance on frivolous travel. The way she saw the world and people opened his eyes to the possibility that maybe there was more out there than he’d realized.

Shane stared down at her, tucked against his chest, clothes on, half on top of him. They’d moved to the back seat earlier, and though it was wider, he would have rolled into the floorboard already if he hadn’t scooted both the front seats back as far as they would go. It made their little nest a snug fit, but that was okay. He had Lacey right where he wanted.

And that was the problem.

He couldn’t remember the last woman who’d left this much of an impression on him. Who drove him crazy by breathing. And he’d known her—what? Four days? Half of that was spent avoiding her.

It had to be the Jamaican air.

He turned his head and coughed to choke the laugh.

Yeah. Right. Blame it on the island.

The only way for him to have saved himself from the attraction driving him toward Lacey would have been to leave her where he’d found her. With her kidnappers. There wasn’t a world that existed where he’d do a thing like that. Which meant he had to figure out what to do about it.

Was there anything to do, though?

Lacey wasn’t like most women he dated. Really any woman he’d ever tangled with, period. His typical girlfriend was quiet, kept to herself, didn’t make a fuss when he left...

Damn.

Had he ever been with a woman who’d really wanted him? Or was he just a passing convenience for them?

As much as Lacey drove him crazy, he knew where her heart lie, what her passions were. She didn’t do anything half assed. Even a fling with him.

And that’s what this was. A fling. A dangerous flash in the pan that was bound to leave scars. He couldn’t tangle with a creature like her and expect to be left unscathed. When she was done with him, there might as well be the letters L-A-C-E-Y carved into his heart.

Chances were high that as soon as they touched US soil, she would flit away and he’d never see her again.

That didn’t sit well with him. He was staring down the barrel of a firing squad of feelings. What the hell was he supposed to do when she was gone? What else should he have expected from her?

She was a free spirit, who would never be happy in one place, or maybe even with one person. That knowledge was a ding to his ego, but denying the truth was ignoring a big chunk of who Lacey was at heart. He’d barely met her and he knew that much was true.

He kissed her brow.

What he wanted was a week of today, a bed and a whole case of rum to drink off her tits, but that was unwise. Appealing, but trouble. Lacey left her mark wherever she went, and he wasn’t a fling kind of guy. It just wasn’t in his genetic makeup.

No, they’d both be better off if this was it. They could chalk it up to the danger, adrenaline, life-affirming need. There were a dozen different names for it, but for him there was just one.

Lacey.

She wasn’t the logical choice of a woman for him, but she was the one who’d fallen into his lap and wouldn’t be ignored. Part of him admired—and resented—her freedom. He’d gone from high school and his parents telling him what to do, to boot camp and drill sergeants. Even now, technically a civilian, he was still taking orders. He’d never be the kind to throw caution to the wind—people got hurt when that happened—but maybe it was time for him to do something selfish. Something...new.

He watched the bits of sky he could see out of the window fade from blue to orange to indigo, the stars coming out in force to chase the storms away. He’d like to see what the sky looked like in other parts of the world, and not be watching his six for enemy combatants.

What would that be like?

He had no idea.

Perhaps he’d ask Lacey for pointers on where to start.

Speaking of starting...

It was time.

They’d hidden out, bided their time, and now they’d make a go of it again and hopefully reach Montego Bay.

“Lacey? Sweetheart, wake up.” He brushed her hair from her face and wiggled the fingers on his arm trapped under her. Pins and needles stabbed his nerve endings, but he still wouldn’t move her before she was ready.

She groaned and turned toward him, burying her face in the crook of his neck.

Shane chuckled and wrapped his arms around her.

“I know, it’s been a long couple of weeks for you, but it’s almost over. Come on.” He smiled and stroked her back. On a whim, he bent his head and kissed her cheek.

She turned her head, finding his lips with hers. Her hand curled into a fist, bunching his shirt up in her grasp. She sighed, a pleasant, sated sound he could listen to all night.

“Time to go,” he said.

“Do we have to?” She blinked at him, her eyelids still heavy with sleep.

“Yes.”

“Five more minutes?” She buried her face against his shoulder.

“To what? Sweat?”

“I was going to say cuddle, but I guess that’s a more truthful description.”

“Rain check that five minutes until we get to a hotel.”

“I like the sound of that.”

Shane did, too. He was pretty sure they’d have at least one night before this mess was put to bed.

“Fine.” She sighed and sat, perching on the seat between his legs.

He pushed up, scooting to his side of the truck before other ideas took root. He’d only had the one condom, after all, and they had places to be.

Shane got out of the truck, keenly aware of Lacey on the other side. He stretched and did a little mental exercise, running through what to do, the dangers and goals, in the hopes of killing his post-nap boner.

It didn’t help all that much.

He grabbed his vest from the front seat and slid it on over his shirt before climbing behind the wheel. Lacey was already sprawled in her seat, by all appearances ready to crash again.

Shane started the truck, turned and eased them back, pushing through the brush until their wheels were back on the road.

They could either go the way they’d come, or continue north.

What would Shane do with a limited number of men, resources spread across an island and a payday at risk?

He’d go for the bottleneck. The one point they would all converge on.

The airport.

Shane turned, pointing the nose of the truck south, toward Ochi Rios, and the fastest route to Montego Bay. He went slower, headlights off, windows down.

“What’s that sound? That buzzing? Is it a bird?” he asked after a while.

“No.” She laughed. “Crickets.”

“Doesn’t sound like any cricket I’ve ever heard.”

“It’s the Jamaican field cricket. I think...the only place it’s at in the US is Florida, but I could be wrong. I am a reptile girl, after all.”

“And what kind of reptiles live in Jamaica?”

“Lots. There’s iguanas, boas, anoles, geckos. I’d actually hoped to maybe spend a week working at the crocodile conservatory. The local population has been poached to almost nothing and they’re trying to bring it back.” Lacey turned her face into the breeze, eyes closed.

“Why’d you pick reptiles? Seems like...an odd thing to focus on.”

“You always know where you stand with a reptile. Their behavior is fairly predictable. In general, they’re driven by the need to eat and reproduce. As long as you know what they’re after, you can be a step ahead of them. You don’t get that with mammals. We’re swayed by our attachments.”

“Predictable. That’s not a word I would have thought appealed to you.”

“My psychologist friend says it’s rooted in my Middle Child Syndrome.”

“Oh?” Shane was a middle child of five. He knew all about being overshadowed by more successful siblings.

“My parents only had my older sister and I, but they kept trying for another kid for years. I know I resent them for feeling ignored and passed over. My older sister is amazing. She really is, and maybe if I’d been more like her things would...be better. I always liked animals better than people—which is why I started veterinary school. Things happened and I had to switch to a shorter degree plan.”

He didn’t need a neon sign to sense that they were treading deep waters. Whatever made her switch her path had set her on a different life course than the one she was on now.

“I should be recording this. Actually...I think I’m still recording.” Lacey peered at the pack attached to her belt.

Hold on... Did that mean...?

“You were recording...this whole afternoon?”

“Oops...” She glanced at him. “I haven’t uploaded it!”

Shane swallowed.

“I’ll delete it, I swear.” She chuckled.

He turned at the first cross street, the highway not far away.

“I’m sorry. I’ve never done that before.” Lacey chuckled. “This trip is full of firsts.”

“It’ll be over soon.”

“It hasn’t all been bad. Whatever doesn’t kill you, right?”

“There are worse fates than death.” He peered both ways at the highway intersection, waiting for a long enough break in the flow of vehicles to dart out. Like letting your team down and getting one of your best friends shot and nearly killed. Cisco was still in the hospital and that was Shane’s fault.

“Are we talking about me or you, now?”

“Does it matter?”

“I guess not. How long ‘til we’re in Montego Bay?”

“Little over two hours.”

Then home, and back to life as usual. Somehow, that didn’t hold quite the same appeal as it usually did.