The Pleasures of Winter by Evie Hunter Read Free Book Online

of the last twenty-four tumultuous hours. It was nothing new to her, having to operate on the fly and only getting to take in the full picture later. She was an experienced reporter, after all – she should have something to bring to the party instead of being told what to do all the time.
    But when she tried to focus, her mind was a jumble ofimages and emotions. Worse, she kept flashing back to her wake-up call that morning – Jack Winter’s hands moving deliciously up her body, his fingers pinching her nipple, that bulge against her ass. She felt little flickers of pleasure again.
    No!
She couldn’t let herself spend any more time in this state. She dug the Kindle out of her rucksack and opened the thriller she had begun reading a couple of days earlier. After a few minutes she was lost in the world of Norwegian cops and criminals. She was surprised when she heard the men’s voices and realized an hour had passed.
    They told her that when they got down to the bottom of the ravine, nature had done the job for them. They found the remains of the plane, torn apart and buried under a river of fresh mud. Abbie shivered at the reminder of the dangers of the rainforest.
    It was going to rain soon, Jack said, so he got them to pack up their little camp as quickly as possible. He handed Zeke a small waterproof poncho. The agent was white about the mouth and moved with difficulty. Jack gave him another couple of painkillers and a slug of tequila. Not the ideal combination, Abbie thought, but she guessed whatever helped the injured man stay on his feet was worth it.
    There was some silk left over from the parachute. Jack made a cap out of a piece and told them all to do the same. ‘It will keep the insects out of your hair,’ he said. He grinned when they all jumped to attention.
    After her encounter with a spider the previous night, Abbie was determined not to repeat the experience. She went behind Jack to check how he had tied the knot. Shewas shocked by the dark stain on his shirt. How had she not noticed it before?
    You’ve got blood down your back,’ she said.
    He twisted round to look and made a face.
    ‘I forgot about that. I gashed my head in the cockpit when the plane was coming down. Didn’t realize it had bled so much. You’re not afraid of blood, are you?’
    Abbie ignored the jibe. She wasn’t as weak as he seemed to think.
    ‘Sit down while I look at it,’ she said in a voice that was gratifyingly cool and businesslike. ‘You should have mentioned this last night. Did your survival training not mention the risk of infection out here?’
    He grinned but sat, allowing her to fuss over him. She parted his hair, checking the cut. It was long, but was beginning to heal.
    ‘It looks fairly clean. Lucky you’ve got thick hair.’
    She rooted through their tiny first-aid kit and found an alcohol wipe. As she parted his hair again, she was suddenly aware of the intimacy of what she was doing. Her fingers seemed to have a will of their own as they lingered, taking longer than was necessary to locate the cut. She rubbed it with the wipe. The sting made him hiss.
    ‘Big baby,’ she scoffed and sprayed on disinfectant.
    He looked up at her. ‘Oh, I’m no baby.’
    She flushed and busied herself packing away the kit.
    Next time she checked, Jack was studying his compass. ‘Time to move out,’ he said. ‘From what I saw from the cockpit, there’s a lagoon and a settlement of some sort if we head north, so that’s our best bet.’
    She was glad someone had a plan. Before they could move, the heavens opened and dumped what felt like the contents of an ocean on their heads. They stood under a thickly leaved tree trying to shelter from the downpour, but it was like using a tissue to shelter from a waterfall.
    ‘I always wanted to see Niagara Falls, but this is almost as good,’ Abbie said.
    They all huddled together. Yet again she found herself pressed against Jack Winter’s chest. It had been a full day since