“If you’ll recall, I tried.”
“Not very hard.”
She stared at him, aghast over his righteous defense of his actions. “I chose being kissed over being killed.”
“You were never under threat of dying and you know it. One word. You only had to say one word and I would have left you alone.”
“This morning maybe, but what about last night?”
“That was different.”
“Because you were drunk?”
“Yes.” He could see that she considered inebriation a flimsy excuse. “Well, what was I supposed to think?” he demanded defensively. “How is a man supposed to react to a whore’s solicitation?”
“I’m sure I don’t know,” she said coldly.
“Now you do. He reacts to a whore exactly the way I did to you last night. The dress, the hair, the suggestive smile, the whole damn package was an offer no man could refuse. So don’t go condemning me for taking your bait!”
“Sister Kerry, are you all right?”
They both looked up. Joe was standing just beyond the circle of the firelight. His hands were balled into fists and his eyes were trained threateningly on Linc.
“It’s all right, Joe,” Kerry reassured the boy. “Go to sleep. Tomorrow will be a difficult day.”
He looked reluctant to relax his vigilance, but eventually he backed toward the truck and climbed into the cab, where it had been decided that he and Linc would sleep.
Kerry and Linc stared at the dying embers of the fire. The silence was as dangerous as the
jungle that surrounded them. “What made you decide to do it?” he asked.
“I needed someone’s help.”
“No, I don’t mean recruiting me. I meant what made you decide on becoming a...you know?”
“Oh.” She pulled her knees against her chest and propped her chin on them. “Things. Circumstances.”
He was going to be furious if and when he ever discovered the truth. This morning’s rage would be mild compared to the hell he would raise when he found out. She already dreaded the day. But until they were out of danger and in the United States, she had to continue with her lie. It served as protection against him.
And, if she were scrupulously honest, protection against herself. For all his rough edges, Kerry found him attractive to a disturbing degree. Lincoln O’Neal could have stepped out of a feminine fantasy catalog. He was ruggedly handsome, lived an extraordinary lifestyle, courted danger, and flaunted his disregard for established rules of behavior.
He would be an excellent lover. He had treated her roughly; his caresses had been somewhat crude; but his brazenness had held an appeal all its own. He was the kind of challenge no woman could resist. A maverick to tame. A hellion to redeem.
Kerry could deny it until she turned blue in the face, but the truth was that he had aroused her. So, to keep herself from doing something extremely foolish, she would consider herself as unavailable as he thought her to be. In a way, she was even now taking a vow of chastity.
He was impatiently jabbing a stick into the fire. Frustration was evident in his every movement and in the gritty sound of his voice. “Being what you are, how could you do what you did last night?”
“I was desperate. Surely you can see that now.”
“But you were so damned convincing.”
She felt flattered and ashamed at the same time. “I did what was necessary.”
She could feel his gaze on her and couldn’t prevent herself from meeting it. Across the fire, they stared at each other. Each was remembering his caresses, the forbidden places where he had touched her, the thorough, intimate kisses they had shared. Their thoughts ran parallel. They were on tongues, and breasts, and innuendoes that would have been better left unsaid.
Linc was the first to look away. His expression was tense. He swore beneath his breath. “Maybe you missed your rightful calling. You played your part so well,” he said scornfully. “But then you had to, didn’t you? You had to be certain I’d go along with you, so you lured me with a few feels. A few tastes of you—”
“Stop it!”