the mission, she watched him with some envy, the way his muscles strained, showing the power in that tightly controlled body, while he tried to move the second man off of her. “Yeah,” she said, breathing a little easier, but still feeling light-headed.
“Get you out of there in a sec,” Bjornolf said, his voice rough. Despite Bjornolf’s strength, the other man took some time to move. The man was big, and the deadweight made it even harder for Bjornolf to lift. He finally managed to pull him off of her enough so that she was able to shimmy out from underneath him. She was still sandwiched between the two massive downed trees. As soon as she was free, Bjornolf dropped the man into the place where she’d been lying flat on her back.
He quickly leaned over the fallen tree and offered his hand to Anna, his gaze lingering on hers. She clasped his large hand, letting it engulf hers, which seemed suddenly tiny in comparison. In a flash, the jungle felt steamier, as if the temperature had risen another twenty degrees and the humidity levels had increased just as much. He pulled her up while she used her boots to dig in for purchase. After he helped her climb the rest of the way over the dead tree, she landed on the other side and took another deep breath.
“You okay? No injuries?” he asked, his words hushed. He focused on her expression, reading it, reading her.
Pride was all that had been injured, but she wasn’t about to admit that. She was sure he knew it already. She shot him a thumbs-up. Given the dangerous situation they were in, talk could prove deadly.
Everything was quiet as far as weapon fire was concerned, the jungle noises again reigning. Bjornolf headed back with her to where the team had been. Everyone was waiting, watching, protective of the family, but not moving until Bjornolf and Anna had been accounted for.
The men looked over Anna, worried. She gave them a thumbs-up and headed out again to provide security. Before she moved, she saw Bjornolf and Hunter exchange glances. She was certain Bjornolf wanted to switch places with her, but she wasn’t about to give up her job. She liked providing security on the outskirts, making certain that no harm reached the family they were attempting to get to safety.
She couldn’t help but respect Bjornolf for carrying the little girl, and she had seen the other team members admire him for it. Bjornolf might not be willing to admit to himself that he was quickly becoming part of their team, but this cinched it for her. A more disquieting thought came to mind—him as a father, protecting one of his own.
And her… the reminder that she had lost her own.
She shook her head at herself for such a fanciful notion concerning Bjornolf having kids of his own. He would never be the kind of man to settle down. Of course she’d thought the same of Hunter and Finn, and look what had happened to them.
Watching for any sign of movement, Anna resumed the slow, tedious trek with the team. They traveled for another couple of hours, took a break, then moved on until Hunter stopped them and went exploring on his own. When he returned, he led them to the base of a hut on stilts.
Anna looked up at the thatched-roof hut, which was silent and vacant. She sniffed the heavy, wet air. The area smelled strangely of jaguar and tangerine-scented soap.
Hunter said to her, “You and Bjornolf can take turns on guard duty inside the hut.”
She noted then that Bjornolf had already carried the girl up the wooden steps.
Anna frowned at the odd scents so close to the hut and then said, “All right.”
She normally did whatever Hunter said. He was the team leader, and she respected him. But she couldn’t help feeling that Bjornolf had said something to him about giving her a break. Sure, she was dead tired. So were the rest of them. But she wanted to hold up her end of the mission.
“Need a hand up?” Bjornolf asked, peering down from the screened-in porch, a small smile on his self- assured mouth and his eyes lit up with amusement.
She gave him a scathing look and climbed the steps. She tried not to show how difficult that was with all the gear she had on and as tired as she was.
When she reached the top of the rickety wooden steps, Bjornolf gave her a hand and pulled her into the enclosed porch—without her permission. Reminding herself that he would have done the same for any of the guys, she gave him a quick nod and thanked him.
Before she could remove her field pack, he was doing it for her. His large hands deftly moved to the buckle around her waist and began unfastening it. The experience was way too intimate. She felt as though he was going to strip her down the rest of the way. She was certain he would not have offered to help remove one of the men’s packs for them. Unless the man had been wounded.
She was annoyed with herself for having no control over the way her heartbeat increased or the way her temperature shot through the canopy, making her feel as though she was sweltering in an overheated sauna. Worse, her thoughts were straying to carnal possibilities instead of remaining where they should—that he was just being helpful.
With her sensitive wolf’s hearing, she could hear his elevated heartbeat, and the heated gaze he gave her said he was feeling it, too. Thankfully, he didn’t say anything to her. He didn’t need to. She smelled his interest in her. A wickedly lascivious thought came to her—wouldn’t it be nice to relieve some of the tension from the past couple of days by indulging in a sexual frenzy with a really hot guy like him?
She smiled at the notion. His brows rose as if he was interested in what she was thinking, and she smiled even broader. He’d never know.
Once the buckle was unfastened, the weight was instantly withdrawn from around her waist and she could breathe easier. He pulled the heavy weight off her back and laid the pack on the wooden floor of the hut.
She peered through the screen door and saw the two kids and their mother huddled on cots, sound asleep. The two brothers were settling down on sleeping bags, courtesy of two of the SEALs. She was glad the family had a place to sleep off the ground and more comfortably tonight.
“You want the hammock or your sleeping bag?” Bjornolf asked, motioning to the hammock tied to the ceiling of the porch.
The hammock would be cooler, she thought as she sat down on the floor to take off her boots. “I’ll sleep on the hammock.”
“Good.” He sat down on the floor next to her and began removing his boots. She frowned at him. “What are you doing?”
“The same as you. Getting ready to lie down for a bit.”
“I thought one of us was going to have first watch.”
“I am. Believe me, if anyone tries to come up here, he won’t know what hit him.”
He would shift into a wolf.
She stared at him, then glanced at his pack. He didn’t have a sleeping bag. “Where’s your…” She looked over at the screen door to the main room. He’d given his to one of the men. Great. So he planned on sleeping in
Then again, he’d breathe her in all night as well. She stifled a groan.
“Why are you here, watching them and watching us on this mission?” she asked with a heavy sigh.
He shrugged and pulled off his camo shirt and laid it next to his boots. He yanked his T-shirt off after that, baring his beautiful chest and all those ripped muscles. “I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone under threat of death, but I figure the secret is safe with you,” Bjornolf said.
Anna looked up from his sculpted abs, dying to know what the secret was and more than surprised that he would reveal what it was to her and nobody else.
“Meara asked me to watch over Hunter and Finn.”
Anna chuckled under her breath. “Sounds like Meara. The guys are glad to have you here. And little Elsie, too.”
“What about you?”
She didn’t know how he managed to fluster her so, but she felt her whole body flush with renewed heat. “Yeah, thanks for the help back there.”
“You’re welcome.” Bjornolf stretched his arms behind his back. She watched as his muscles moved. “Elsie and her little brother shouldn’t have been put through this hell.”
Anna glanced at the room, wondering if the parents were asleep.
