He turned back around with instant regret on his face at her rare moment of vulnerability.
“Oh, baby, I’m sorry,” he said as he kneeled down and placed his hands beneath the hem of her shirt and began pulling it over her head. “We need to get you out of these saturated clothes. I promise that I just want to get you dry,” he said gently as her shirt was tossed in the corner and he reached around to unclasp her bra.
He rubbed her upper body with the towel and gently pushed her backward while he undid her slacks, then pulled them and her panties swiftly from her body, leaving her lying na**d before him. She watched the flare of heat light his eyes, but true to his word, he just dried her off, then pulled the warm shirt over her head and covered her nakedness from his view.
“Even near death you are a stunning woman,” he whispered as his arms wrapped around her and he pulled her into his tight embrace.
Exhaustion was overpowering Lia as she leaned into the security of his body. She couldn’t think of anything past her near drowning.
“Come on, baby. We need to hold each other beneath the blanket, keep our bodies warm since you are still in shock. Then we’ll go through the supplies and figure out what comes next.”
“OK.” Lia felt only relief as he laid one of the blankets on the tent floor, then stretched the other one over the two of them as he held her in his arms.
Lia had shivered for what seemed like hours. But as his arms comforted her and the shock began to wear off, she started feeling a bit of warmth. She would be angry with herself for falling apart, but for now, she was just relieved to be safe. She drifted off to sleep knowing Shane would watch over her.
Chapter Seven
Rafe
Rafe didn’t even attempt to hide the smile as he walked by Ari’s side. He was finally getting her to come to his house. So what if he’d agreed there would be no touching? He could seduce a woman with just his words.
Confidence.
Rafe had it in spades. He wanted Ari back in his life, and he would get her. Being away from her for two years, only catching brief glimpses here and there, had changed him in ways he couldn’t even explain to himself.
The word docile wasn’t in his vocabulary — for himself, that was — but he had learned a thing or two about give and take. He would win her this time rather than force her. The prospect was oddly enjoyable.
“My driver is parked over here,” he told her. He lifted his hand to place it on her back, but he caught himself in the nick of time and instead pointed. This no-touching business was going to be a real pain in the ass.
“I can follow you in my car,” she insisted.
“It’s late, and I would feel much better if you just came with me,” he replied. He was trying to be more patient, ask instead of tell, but he was still a man, and he’d never gone out with a woman without getting her to the destination in safety.
“Well, that’s just ridiculous. Then your driver will have to go back out to bring me to my car. That’s unnecessary. Besides, the campus gets a bit spooky late at night and I’m not comfortable with coming here then.”
Rafe thought for a minute before picking up his phone and speaking. Then he turned toward her. “Give me your keys. I will have your car delivered home for you.”
The way he spoke was just like the man she’d met in the beginning of their relationship three years earlier. Her eyes narrowed as she focused on him, ready to unleash her wrath.
“First off, Rafe. This isn’t a date. Secondly, I’m not the same scared little girl who was shaking in your office three years earlier. No. I will not give you my keys. I will admit that I want to look at the journal, but if you are going to be a high-handed ass, then I will just go home and keep searching the Web for old journals.”
As she stared him down with her hands on her hips, Rafe felt his adrenaline spike. Damn, she was incredible when her temper caught fire. He wanted to take her right there in the parking lot on the hood of the nearest vehicle.
Patience, he reminded himself. He wanted to win her, not break her. He wasn’t lying to her when he said he would do things differently.
“Fine.”
Ari looked at him with suspicion, not understanding his easy acceptance. He could see why she was so confused. She’d never won a battle with him — at least not one that he could easily recall. OK, maybe she’d won a few skirmishes, such as when she’d made him compromise in the jet so long ago. But that was still rare enough that he was throwing her off-kilter with his new ability to compromise.
“Good. Then I’ll see you at your house.” She moved forward, walking through the dark parking lot, several of the campus streetlights flickering. The college really needed to do something about that.
When the two of them arrived at her car and he walked to the passenger side, she looked at him with her eyebrows raised. She paused before unlocking her doors.
“I will just ride with you,” he said in explanation. He could see that she was trying to decide whether this was an acceptable compromise or not. When he just stood there, she sighed and clicked the button on her keychain twice, unlocking the doors.
Rafe slid into the small passenger seat with a great deal of satisfaction. He hadn’t been able to get her to ride with him, but at least they were still traveling together. They’d both won a bit of that battle. Now, they just had about a million small skirmishes to go — perhaps he should change the word to squirmishes because of what they’d both likely be feeling before it was all over — and then he could have her lying beneath him once more. He took a minute to inform his driver that he was with Ari and to meet him at home.
“Do you remember the way to my house?” he asked as he buckled his seat belt. He wasn’t comfortable having her as the one driving, but he’d keep his mouth shut.
“Yes.”
His heartbeat accelerated slightly at her quick response. She wasn’t as over him as she wanted him to believe. He wondered if she’d ever driven by his house during the night. Had he ever stood at his window as she was passing?
No. He surely would have felt it to his very soul.
The two of them had a connection, a bond that couldn’t be broken. The ties might have been loosened, but every moment they were together, the bonds were growing strong again. It was only a matter of time before she realized this and let him back into her life. They needed each other. It was as simple as that.
“You do realize that red means stop, right?”
Ari slammed on her breaks, obviously flustered. The flush in her cheeks made him want to lean over and kiss her. Damn, he wanted to touch her like nothing else. He wanted to run his hand up the lean muscles of her legs, and not stop. Next, he wanted to lean over and slide his tongue along the silky skin of her neck before pulling her against him and kissing her the way a woman should be kissed.