I persuade you not to go back into that jungle after Varak?”
“You can’t.” His lips were brushing her ear. “I can make this work, Jill. All I have to do is figure out the best way to do it.”
“You mean to keep him from using that machete on you. It’s the wrong thing to do,” she said passionately. “We can go at it another way.”
He didn’t answer.
And he wouldn’t answer, she thought. “Stubborn jackass.”
“Only when I know I’m right. Relax. We’ll talk later.”
But he wouldn’t listen then either. “No, we won’t. You’re already making plans, and they don’t include me. You’re scared that I’ll break apart. It’s been like that from the beginning.” She added, “So you shouldn’t be upset if I make plans that don’t include you.”
He stiffened against her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that this is my story, and I’ll do anything I can to make it come out right. You’re about to mess it up.”
“I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Ditto. Do you want it more clear? It seems I’m going to have to take events into my own hands.” She tried to relax her muscles and took a deep breath. “So I’m going to do as you suggest and lie here and take a little while to pull myself together. Because you were right, that video shook me up. But it probably shook you more than it did me because I promised myself that I’d never let any of those men hurt me again. They’re no more than a passing memory to me now, and soon, they won’t even be that. And it doesn’t change anything that one of them was Varak. It will just take a little longer to forget him.” She closed her eyes. “I’m going to try to sleep. When I wake up, I hope you’ll make love to me because l found it wonderful, and I’m not at all sure that we’ll ever do it again.”
“Are you finished?” Novak kissed her ear again. “I don’t know what’s happening with you, but I’m very good at working through problems. That all sounded very final. But I assure you it is not.” He held her closer. “By all means rest. Because once we start, we’ll be doing it again and again and again…”
Chapter
17
Jill moved silently across the dimness of the hut.
“Come back,” Novak murmured, as she reached the door. “There’s still plenty of time.”
She glanced over her shoulder. Novak was only a glimmer of strength and sensuality in the half darkness, but she still felt a hot tingle of sensation run through her. Ignore it. The hours with him that had gone before had made her body too accustomed to the sheer sexual eroticism of what they were together. Her breasts still felt heavy. Her skin felt satin-smooth and pliant. “You’re wrong. We’re out of time. Maybe I’ll see you later, Novak.”
The next moment, she was out of the hut. She drew a deep breath of the moist, humid air and started up the path toward the museum. It was only a little after six, and she’d been tempted to go to Hajif’s, but she’d be too close and available to Novak there. Last night, he had shown her that he would have no qualms about bursting into Hajif’s home if he wished.
And she did not wish to see Novak anytime soon. The sex had been too hot, and there had been that element of domination of which she was always aware with Novak. He hadn’t liked it that she’d refused to communicate with him in any other way than the one that had driven both of them to the edge and beyond. If she’d stayed any longer, she would not have been able to fend off either arguments or conversation.
Conversation? They were so far apart, it was a totally foreign concept. He just wanted her to say that he was right, and he wasn’t listening to her. And she was so frightened that Varak would kill him that she was desperate to try anything that would leave Varak out of the equation.
And that meant leaving Novak out of the equation as far as she was concerned.
Okay, then, start as she intended to continue.
Check in with Eve, then explore the path that had been beckoning to her since yesterday afternoon…
* * *
“You’ve been very restless this morning.” Eve looked up from her Mila reconstruction as Jill put coffee in front of her. “Everything okay?”