valuable skills."
Her face has color in it again, but this time, it's not from sex. "It isn't the same thing."
My cock twitches. "You are the sexiest woman on earth."
Her face burns. "Don't try to butter me up."
"I'm not. Your little pissy attitude you have going on is annoying me and turning me on."
She turns and tries to hide her smile.
I sigh and kiss her forehead. "I can't get you to Omoa and then find a way to Belize City within forty-eight hours. I'll miss Gustave's deadline."
She leans into me and murmurs in my ear, "Then I guess you're taking me. If you're a good boy, I'll pay extra attention to your cock."
Dirty, sexy woman.
"I think I've created a monster," I tease her.
She cups my cheeks. Her eyes soften. "Tell me you're glad I'm going with you."
"I don't want to put you in danger, ma belle."
"I understand that. But admit that the part of you that has nothing to do with worrying is happy I'm coming with you." Her eyes drill into mine, pleading with me.
"The selfish prick in me can't stand the thought of you being away from me for one minute, never mind days, or weeks, or months. He's throwing a party right now."
Her gorgeous face lights up.
I shake my head and mutter, "You're going to be the death of me, woman."
She leans into my ear. "But your cock will die happy, right?"
I chuckle. "Is this a new side of you?"
"What?"
"The cock-talking vixen."
"You don't like it?"
"You know I do."
She smirks. "Guess you'll have to keep me and see."
But it's not an option. I already know if she lets me, I'm keeping her forever.
13
Emilia
We're drying off when Malin says, "Stop. We need to cross the river."
"Why?"
"If we backtrack, we take the risk of running into Kalim and the other guys on the team. I'm sure they've found out by now what we've done. I don't know if Interpol will tell them to come back, but my guess is Louis will have them tracking us."
A rush of endorphins hits me. "Do we need to worry?"
A thick line forms between Malin's brows. "You're doing it again."
"What?"
"Looking excited about danger."
"Sorry?" I wince, but he's right.
He assesses my face for a moment.
"What?"
"I didn't take you for a woman looking for instability."
I'm not.
Maybe I am.
"I'm tired of being insignificant and boring," I blurt out.
His face falls. He steps forward. "There's nothing about you I don't find interesting. Danger isn't the way to change your life."
The blood in my ears thumps in tune with the rushing water. Monkeys jump and grunt in the trees around us. Malin's gray eyes darken the longer I don't respond to him.
"I haven't felt alive since I was ten. Since you rescued me, I..." I glance at the rock he just made me come unglued on, not sure how to put it into words.
Something is happening to me. I don't understand it. I'm not sure I want to. But for once, the anxiety plaguing me daily is gone. Confidence isn't something I've ever had before. Now, it runs through my veins. I don't know how long it will last, but I don't want it to go away. It feels better than how I was only a few days ago. And Malin makes me feel strong.
"Ma belle—"
"The person I've been my entire life is weak and scared. Everything freaks her out. She misses out on things others take for granted. I don't want to be her anymore."
Malin wraps his arm around me, palming my ass and tugging me into his hard frame. "I don't want you to change. I like you as the person you are."
"Yes, you like the woman who says dirty words and falls to pieces by your touch. You're able to command her to get on a rock to control every aspect of her body. She's the one who can stand here naked, in the middle of a jungle, and not feel self-conscious or shameful. That's the woman you like. The one I left in the pit, she isn't someone you would even look twice at."
His eyes turn to slits. "You're right, and you're wrong, ma belle."
"Oh?"
"Everything you said is true, except the last part. I saw that woman in the pit. I became obsessed with her before I even met her. The moment I took your hand, it wasn't a 'what if you became mine,' it was a when. Everything about you fascinates me, but this sudden attraction to danger you've seemed to develop overnight worries me."
I trace