Page 20 of Risks of Temptation

"Nowhere."

"Ma belle, don't lie to me. I have arnica. It will help you heal faster."

I stay quiet.

He releases my sleeves and they fall back over my arms. The tube of arnica is in his kit, and he squeezes some on his fingers, then gently rubs it over my biceps. "Later tonight, when we go outside, will you show me? I can put it on in the dark so no one else can see. Would that be better?"

Your hands all over my body?

My initial reaction is conditioned from years of not letting anyone except Naomi or a handful of women I trust touch me. Men are not part of that equation. I open my mouth to tell him no but hesitate and shut it.

He patiently waits for me to answer him.

"If I tell you to stop, will you?" I whisper. The question rolls out of my mouth with no analysis, and heat scorches my face.

His face hardens. "Always."

This man in front of me could hurt me worse than any man who ever has. He could break me in two with his bare hands. The aura around him exudes confidence. I'm pretty sure he's a trained killer. His gun sits on his hip. Death surrounded us at the pit. Even in the darkness, I could see the outline of corpses on the ground around us. He played his role in it. I don't question that. Continuing to be around him, letting him touch me in any way, and going down a path to explore this new feeling and sense of comfort I have around him is a risk. Besides the physical, he could crack something else. In thirty-five years, no one has possessed it. My body may have been Zaka's to steal, but no man has made my gut stir with flutters or ignited the zings rushing through my blood every moment I look at or am near him.

He could destroy my heart.

I should run as fast as I can.

"O-okay. Later tonight."

Relief fills his face. "When did you eat last?"

"Yesterday."

His lips turn up. "Want to have dinner with me?"

Is he asking me out?

I'm in the jungle in a tent with a dozen other people around me. Time to come back to planet earth.

"Sure. Thanks."

He winks and stands. "Let me help clean up the other women, and I'll be right back."

I watch him with the other women, listening to his deep voice and staring at his T-shirt that moves with every muscle's flex. My sex throbs with growing intensity. I squirm on the bed.

Is this what people mean when they say your panties are in a twist?

He doesn't call anyone else ma belle.My ego soars, which is something that doesn't happen very often.

Malin finishes putting a bandage on Vanessa. He comes back to me and cautiously sits down by my side. "Are you hungry?"

"A little," I admit.

He pulls something in a package out of his pocket. "This is better than anything in this camp."

I try to stop smiling, wondering how to play it cool. But I'm clueless, like always.

Malin rips it open, breaks off a piece, and hands it to me.

I take a bite, chew, and swallow. "Mmm. Tastes like a candy bar."

"It's a concentrated bar of macros. This is my favorite one. I snagged it earlier for you." He winks again.