Catalyst by Dani Worth Read Free Book Online Page B

face. I spotted a small stand of trees a few yards ahead of us and grabbed Bastian to pull him under the canopy of leaves with me. We both bent, breathing hard, eyeing the jungle a few yards to our right.
    “I don’t think they’ll come out in the rain.”
    “They had thick hides, so I don’t see a reason for them not to.”
    “For all we know, their hides can’t handle it. Who knows? But I can see stumps between these trees and that forest, so I’m pretty sure someone cut a path and left these trees here for a reason.”
    A few seconds later, we couldn’t see anything outside of our cocoon of trees. Glancing up, I noticed a manmade tarp lashed to the tree branches with thick cords. “I think this was put here for cover,” I yelled. The rain came in massive sheets that obscured everything, the noise deafening. Sweat built on my skin so hard and fast, nausea sent me to my knees. Bastian immediately knelt beside me.
    I looked at him, saw that red flushed his neck and cheeks. My weather shirt felt like it was smothering me and I realized his must be doing the same thing. I reached for the metal connector at his neck and quickly began unfastening the row of them down his chest. He took over and I turned to my own shirt. I unhooked the ropy belt around my waist and dropped it to the sand. The baggy pants I wore sagged. Within seconds we were both naked. I breathed a sigh of relief even though it was still unbearably warm under these trees. Steam rose from the ground as the hot rain hit it.
    “What a miserable fucking place,” Bastian yelled as he stretched flat.
    I reclined beside him, careful not to touch him. I couldn’t imagine body heat on top of this. I hoped storms were fast here.
    They weren’t.
    At least this one wasn’t. Hours passed and all Bastian and I could do was lie still and sweat. Exhaustion hit me at some point, but I was too uncomfortable to sleep. The heat drugged me until I lay in a state of misery. I rolled my head at one point to find Bastian in the same state, only he watched me. I offered a tremulous smile before turning away.
    When the rain abruptly stopped, my ears rang for a full thirty seconds before I could sit up. The sand below us was soaked and it caked the back of my body, crawling into places I really didn’t want sand. Groaning, I shook my hands to dislodge what I could. “We’ll have to rinse off in that lake—clothes, too.”
    He nodded and snatched his clothes off the ground. Clumps of sand fell from them as he walked to the edge of the lake. A more welcome kind of warmth filled my gut at the sight of his long, stunning body from the back. Nice, lean muscles rippled in his thighs. Fine auburn hair looked soft on his legs. The long, luxurious hair on his head was darker from the sweat and humidity and it stuck to his back, ending just above the most incredibly round and firm-looking ass. He turned and must have read the complete lust I was feeling on my face because a sexy smile stretched his lips.
    I was too tired for anything fun, though.
    Exhaustion weighted down every muscle in my body as I grimaced and decided to skip the rinse. I wasn’t walking around naked until I knew where we were and why we were here. I brushed off as much sand as I could, stumbled while pulling on my pants, and sucked in a startled breath to find Bastian had come back. I must have zoned out. He caught my arm, holding me up with a strong, steady grip. Staring up at him, I took in the dark color of his sweat-soaked hair as it stuck to his face, neck and chest. Even shiny and bedraggled, the kid had a beauty that stole my breath. He looked back, intensity narrowing his eyes until I felt the answering response in my lower body.
    He was getting under my skin.
    Bastian grinned and began pulling wet strands of hair off my face. “This planet sucks.” He knelt and rummaged in one of the satchels. “There must be something we can tie our hair up with in here.”
    I chuckled. “You think the space