Anonymity (8 page)

"This is kind of creepy," Alyssa said for his ears only.

"I feel like we're on the Discovery Channel or on a National Geographic shoot." He grinned down at her. "It'll be fun. Think of all the stories you'll have when you get home."

"Some I'll keep to myself." She squeezed his hand.

A New Zealand ex-pat introduced himself as the driver of the bus. He'd appeared from one of the tree houses and introduced a native
Belizean as his wife. Reggie shook his hand while the tourists took their time climbing into the bus.

A quick look at the dense forest around them reminded him of what they hadn't seen during their brief introduction to the mainland: jaguars. He looked at the thick trees and wondered what watched back.

"What are you thinking?" Alyssa asked Savannah who'd hesitated outside the bus to look up at the tree houses.

"I'm thinking this is a long way from Dallas," Savannah answered with a sigh. "Let's go. Adventure awaits."

Bill helped Reggie carry the cooler onto the bus while the rest of them claimed their seats. Alyssa settled near the back and began fiddling with the window to lower it. Humid air filled the bus along with a heavy musky scent. Some of the seats had been repaired with duct tape.

With only a dozen people in the group, they each had
a seat to themselves. He tossed his backpack onto a cushion before struggling with his own window. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Alyssa leaning her forearms against the open window, looking up at the tree houses, and smiling. Contentment oozed from her.

"We have about a half an hour before we reach the next river," Reggie said from where he stood at the front of bus. "Sandwiches are being passed around. I need to make one stop along the way, but I will be quick."

"Could you live here?" Alyssa tapped his shoulder and nodded toward the tree houses. "Is this your kind of place?"

He thought of his contemporary home in a gated community with its manicured lawn and frowned. Okay, so maybe he hadn't shaved much while on vacation, but he wondered why she'd think he was a tree-house-in-the-middle-of-nowhere-kind-of-guy. "Are you serious? Could you?"

She bit her lower lip before meeting his gaze. "Not long term, but I think it would be fun for a vacation sometime. I read online that they have tree house resorts here, too. Maybe next time I'll mix it up between mainland and island."

"We stayed in a tree house resort in Costa Rica." Bill's head popped up from over the seat in front of him. "It was fun, highly recommend the experience."

"Are you serious?" Savannah switched seats to sit across from Alyssa in the very back. "Don't listen to Bill. He's part animal. The mosquitos there were a nightmare and, if you didn't shut your windows, the howler monkeys would get in and destroy your room. Freaky."

"Have you all travelled a lot together?" Alyssa settled down in her seat and focused her attention on Savannah.

He grabbed a sandwich that was tossed in his direction, settled his back against the windows, stretched his legs out on the seat, and sighed. When the rickety bus jerked forward, he laughed at the collective gasp from the occupants.

As he savored the ham and cheese, he listened to Alyssa laugh with Savannah. Looking out at the
canopy of trees lining the dirt road, he wondered about her perception of him. She'd met him after he'd spent a day kayaking, had spent the night laughing and making love, but didn't know him at all.

He leaned his head against the torn seat and closed his eyes for a minute. If her perception of him was so far off base she could imagine him living in a tree house, then how far off was his assessment of her? Now that he gave himself a time-out to
imagine her life, he pictured her in a small town where she knew everyone, maybe working as a teacher or something social. Given how compact her body was, she could be a Pilate's teacher or a Yogi. Probably from California or Arizona. She had a New Agey ease about her that was hard to ignore.

But he'd never know. That was the deal. He crumpled up the sandwich wrapper and sighed. He made deals for a living, yet he suddenly wondered
why he had so easily gone along with this one without negotiating the terms.

* * *

Chapter Five

A bus ride and another boat later, they'd finally reached their destination. Too humid for the long sleeves, she'd stripped down to the tank top on the second boat ride. From the gathering point, they couldn't see much except a cleared trail and towering trees that formed a canopy over them. Roaring in the distance reminded her that she truly had no idea what the hell she was doing. The next time she decided to blow her comfort zone and reinvent herself she'd do more research before booking excursions that involved crocodiles, snakes, and creatures that roared.

Luke stuffed his hands int
o the back pockets of his jeans and frowned toward the sound. His days' growth of stubble looked sexy as sin. "I hope that's not a jaguar."

"You really like throwing out ominous comments, don't you?" She dropped his hand and moved closer to the group, pretty sure any predator would pick off the last in line.

He laughed before leaning close to her ear and whispering, "Have I told you yet today how delicious you look? When we get back to the resort, I want to pour tequila on your body and lick it off."

She squirmed where she stood, his suggestion making her wish they were back at the cabana now instead of standing in the middle of a jungle about to go on a three mile hike. Who had she thought she was when she booked this particular excursion?

"I heard that." Bill looked over at them, his smile all-knowing. "You two are out of control. If only your brothers could see you now, Luke."

Heat that had nothing to do with the temperature flooded her face. Maybe she wouldn't see these people ever again after this trip, but she had to spend the rest of the day with them. She elbowed Luke who only laughed.

"It's the Howler monkeys again. They're the ones roaring, by the way. They sound like a jaguar, don't they? They're horrible creatures," Savannah groaned and pointed to the canopy of interlocking branches above them. "Careful. They like throwing poop on people."

"I'm sorry, they like to do
what
?" She moved closer to the model-type, certain any flying crap would hit the tallest one in the group first.

Whatever mood Luke had kindled with his sexy stubble and sexual suggestion evaporated at the thought of being hit by flying feces. Camera in hand,
she walked between the towering trees, thankful it was a small group so they could easily stick together.

"Lamanai comes from the Mayan term submerged crocodile," Reggie began when they all gathered around the first temple that peeped out from the jungle. Between the overwhelming sound of tropical birds and the occasional
Howler monkey roar, she strained to hear him

Mayan ruins spread out across a clearing in the jungle. An active excavation, Lamania was still evolving compared to the ruins that had been unearthed in Mexico.
Left to tour on their own for an hour and told to stay on the marked paths, Luke snagged her around the waist and pulled her behind one of the crumbling temples as soon as they were alone.

"What are you doing?" She glanced around for snakes or crocodiles or anything that could kill them.

He pressed her back against the stone and kissed her breathless. His hand shimmied beneath the tank top and closed over her breast.

"You have a thing for public places, don't you? It's probably illegal. You're going to get us thrown into jail." She laughed even as her fingers twisted into the back of his hair to hold him close while his mouth trailed heated kisses down the side of her neck.

"I can hear that call back home now," he said against her skin, "hey, mom, I need bail money because I was arrested for having sex in a Mayan ruin."

"You're crazy." She grabbed his face and pulled his mouth back to hers.

They clung to each other in a hungry embrace and groped each other through their clothes.

"I needed a taste. It's been hours." He lifted her tan
k top and bared one of her breasts from her bra.

"Luke, stop. We're in the middle of a jungle with tour groups
wandering around." She closed her eyes and dropped her head against the stone. It felt good being worshipped, which was exactly how he made her feel. Like a Mayan Goddess being cherished by a lover beneath a canopy of watchful eyes.

The idea of being watched snapped her back to reality.

"Stop."

"You don't really want me to stop, do you?" His breath was hot against her nipple.

She made eye contact with a large iguana studying them from a rock about five feet away. "Yes and no."

He
raised his head and kissed her until she forgot about the iguana, the poop throwing monkeys, the tour groups, the snakes, and the crocodiles. His kiss erased all other thoughts.

"Did you really think I wanted to have sex here?" He laughed against her mouth. "Sexy idea, but I'm not that far gone from reality.
I only needed a taste to hold me over until tonight." He fixed her bra and tank top while kissing her again. "It is tempting, though."

She reached her hand
beneath his waistband and found his erection. Two could play at his game.

He pressed his forehead against hers. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Just kiss me."

He did as he was told, his tongue sliding against hers while her hand moved over his hardness. Territorial. That's exactly how she felt over his body after last night. He belonged to her and she belonged to him, at least for now.

"You'd better stop," he said into her mouth, eyes heavy with desire. "We have a long hike still and... I think you need to stop."

She grinned, enjoying having the power to make him squirm. She pulled her hand free, rubbed it over the front of his
jeans, and tilted her hips into his. "I can't wait for that tequila."

"Me either." He dragged his hands down her arms before stepping away from her. "A taste isn't enough."

"Why were you so quiet on the way here? Once we got on the bus, you became a mute." She reached for one of her water bottles and guzzled it. Her blood felt like a lava flow after that brief encounter.

"Promise you won't get angry?" He drank from his own water bottle, eyes locked on her face.

"That's never a good opening question." She took her time securing the lid. "I promise, what's wrong?"

"How do you perceive me?
How will you describe me when you get home? What's the story going to be?" He'd pushed his sunglasses to the top of his head and stared at her with an intensity that rocked her back on her heels.

Surprised, she tore her gaze away and busied herself with arranging her water bottle back inside the backpack. "
I hadn't thought about it, really. I'll say you're a gorgeous man who should work at a nudist colony and that you made me happy. You have, you know. I like being with you. We are still having fun, right?"

"Definitely, yeah." He
fell into step with her as they walked back onto the trail.

"I mean...we were just making out behind a temple..."

"I know. I was just wondering what your impression of me is. This ask-no-questions-give-no-answers arrangement is new to me, that's all. It's weird...like a one night stand that's continuing on and on, never ending—"

"
Wow, that sounds horrible. Thanks a lot."

"No, I'm happy about us, I am. That's not what I'm saying."

"What are you trying to say?"

He laughed and shook his head. "Seriously, forget it. I think too much."

"I've noticed." Rattled, she started thinking of other answers she should have given.

"For the record, I shave on a regular basis when I'm home and I can't ever imagine living in that village. I know you met me when—"

"Okay, whoa." She stopped and adjusted the backpack straps over her shoulders. "You're used to impressing women with whatever it is you do for a living, aren't you? Did I insult you when I suggested you could fit in living in a tree house?"

The thought
simultaneously amused and intrigued her. Up until this minute, she hadn't wondered about his life back in the States. Actually, as far as she knew, he could be Canadian. She had no idea and that's how she'd wanted it.

When he looked guilty, she laughed and snagged both of
his hands in hers. "You know what impresses me? You laugh a lot. You get along with everyone you meet, very sociable guy. You obviously have a big heart, I can tell because of the way you talk about your family. You kiss me like I'm the only woman in the world. That impresses me, Luke. I didn't mean anything by the tree house comment."

His
embarrassment only made her desire him more. He pulled her down the trail where the High Tower of Lamanai loomed over the trees in the distance. The sounds of nature, the overwhelming scent of flora, and the view of ruins from an ancient city laid out in front of her planted her firmly in the moment.