“What?” she said, casting him an annoyed glance, arms folding defensively over her chest.

“You look nice.”

Her mouth opened as if she was about to give him a smart-assed reply, then she closed it, eyes narrowing.

“Really,” he said. He wanted to tell her that it was okay to accept the compliment, that it wasn’t demeaning or anything for someone who tried so hard to be just one of the guys. “Really nice,” he said, in a way that meant his appreciation of her beauty had nothing to do with wanting to get her into the sack.

Not that he wouldn’t love that, but he hadn’t meant the compliment in that way.

“Thank you,” she said, her voice sounding a little suspicious.

Okay, so maybe the appreciative look he gave her did border on lingering, and definitely indicated that he was interested.

“Señor?” a young dark-haired woman called, coming up to him and handing him the bags of food, the spicy scent making his stomach rumble with anticipation.

“Muchas gracias,” he said, thanking her.

His mouth was watering, too, but that had more to do with the way Anna looked than anything to do with the food.

Anna quickly took some of the bags, then they left the eatery.

“So… about the sleeping arrangements…” Bjornolf began.

She glanced his way before they crossed the narrow dirt road. “What about them?”

“I couldn’t help but notice that both Allan and Paul jumped right in to protect the woman and her children,” he said, unable to keep the sarcasm from his voice. He knew they also wanted to protect Anna, though he wouldn’t say so because he figured that wouldn’t set well with her.

She smiled at him, the warmth of that wicked expression going straight to his groin.

“Hunter made the assignments. But… you wanted the job?” Her brows were raised, her eyes wide with innocence, but he knew she was feigning that virtuous look.

“Nah,” he said, “but Finn or Hunter could stay with them, and you and I could eavesdrop on William and his brother again.”

“I doubt they will say anything more to each other. At the hut, we were apart from them on the porch so they probably figured we couldn’t make out anything they said. They may be a bigger threat to our mission than the mother and kids are. That means you should stick with them. The reason I was asked to come along was to offer female companionship for the mother and to be a surrogate mother for the daughter and the son, should their mother have died.”

That was the first he’d heard of the role she was supposed to play. He really hadn’t thought she wanted to be around the children. But if the battle had gotten out of hand, she would have stepped in to mother them. That put a different spin on her part in the operation. He would like to see how Anna interacted with the children.

Lively salsa and pop music began to drift from a couple of bars catering to locals and foreigners alike, while Christmas carols played somewhere off in the distance as Bjornolf escorted Anna to the cabana where she’d stay the night. Allan opened the door to let her in.

Bjornolf took the opportunity to lean over and kiss her ear, still annoyed they were able to stay with her and not him. Wouldn’t it be better for Anna and him to spend more time together before they had to play the role of husband and wife on the next mission?

He wondered if Hunter had already told her about it.

“Sleep tight, Anna,” he whispered, and he saw a shiver go through her.

She smiled at him. “I will miss sleeping with you tonight,” she teased, winking at him.

What the hell. He needed a good night’s sleep for as much time as they’d have to sleep. He moved the bags of food to one hand, quickly slipped his arm around her back, and kissed her. He felt her tense ever so slightly. Not enough to stop him, and she didn’t make any move to shove him away.

His mouth covered hers, and she kissed him back, tentatively. He licked the seam of her lips, pressed his body against hers, and showed her what she did to him, even if she wasn’t going to encourage his kiss.

A small smile curved her lips, and the most devilish sparkle lit her eyes as she looped her arm around his neck, the bag of food resting on his back, and kissed him as if the world would end tonight. He growled against her mouth, feeling the way her rigid nipples pressed against his chest, her tongue sliding into his mouth, probing, tasting, teasing him.

“Ahem,” Allan said. “Our food is getting cold.”

Bjornolf expected Anna to pull away, and she did move her arm down from around his neck. But instead of stepping inside the cabana, she handed the bags to Allan, her gaze still on Bjornolf.

Freed of the bags, she wrapped both arms around his neck and kissed him again. “For helping us out back there.” Then she pulled away and said, “Night.” She closed the door to the cabana and he heard the lock click.

He wanted to howl! He stood staring at the door for a minute, still wondering how he’d gotten so damned lucky. He’d thought it was going to be like the first date he’d had when the girl had slipped inside her parents’ home before he had a chance to give her a kiss. Only Anna was one hot she-wolf.

He chuckled and headed next door. Next time, he’d plan the logistics better so he didn’t have his hands full of anything but Anna. Finn unlocked the door for him, and Bjornolf left the food on a table while Hunter gave them the guard schedule. They ate the spicy tamales and mango-pineapple cranberry sauce—typical South American fare for the holidays—and drank the beer, and then it was time to sleep. Bjornolf took first watch.

Afterward, Hunter took Bjornolf’s seat at the window while Bjornolf lay on his sleeping bag by the door. But he found sleep wouldn’t come. He finally got up and looked out the window, watching the cabana where Anna was staying, unable to quit worrying about her.

Still observing the street, Hunter said to Bjornolf, “Sleep. You already had guard duty. You need to be well rested for tomorrow. The women will be all right. Hell, you couldn’t have gotten much sleep last night.”

Bjornolf frowned at him. “I don’t need much.”

“Anna is a big girl, and she will be just fine.” Hunter continued to watch their surroundings.

Bjornolf smiled to himself. He saw Finn watching him from his sleeping bag, nodded to him, and retired to his own, wishing he was sleeping on Anna’s bag and smelling her delightful scent instead.

***

Still feeling her lips swollen from Bjornolf’s hot kiss and wishing she could have had a lot more, Anna climbed into the double bed nearest the window, thankful that both Paul and Allan insisted she take the bed—while the mother and kids slipped into the one closest to the wall of the cabana.

Anna turned to Helen Wentworth. “What are your plans for Christmas?” she asked softly so she wouldn’t wake the kids.

The woman turned around on the bed and looked in Anna’s direction. The room was dark, but because of Anna’s wolf vision, she could make out the woman’s facial features perfectly.

“The usual. Christmas party at the company. Open a present Christmas Eve with the kids. The rest of the presents Christmas Day. You know. Because Santa will have left their gifts after they’ve fallen asleep that night.”

“Yeah,” Anna said, forgetting that was the way it was supposed to be.

“You?”

Anna only wanted to ease Helen into talking about what was going on with her husband and his brother. She didn’t want to get drawn into a discussion concerning her Christmas plans. Which meant avoiding the holidays as much as possible. “Haven’t decided yet. So what do you have to eat?”

Helen took a deep breath and expelled it. “Turkey, ham, sweet potatoes… too much food, really.”

“Yeah. Wreaks havoc with a diet.”

Helen smiled a little.

Now for the tough part. “So what were you doing in the Amazon exactly?”

Helen didn’t say anything. Paul was watching Anna, a frown furrowing his brow. Anna didn’t expect the woman to know what her husband and his brother were up to, but if Helen had heard anything at all suspicious or out of place before they were taken hostage, she might have a clue.

“One of the major firms my husband owns has to do with pharmaceuticals. He had a business trip down here, and he wanted to take the family on a vacation at the same time. I would have preferred somewhere else, honestly. My idea of a pleasure trip is visiting the Swiss Alps or the Riviera. He said we’d have a fun adventure.”

The mention of a business trip surprised Anna. “So he had some business meetings before you all took the trek into the jungle?”

“Yes. A couple of meetings. The cottages had a swimming pool. I took the kids swimming. We were there a day before we went on the trip into the jungle.”

“Who all knew you were going to be here?”

“Everyone. It wasn’t a secret.” The woman closed her eyes, then opened them. Her eyes shimmered with tears.

Anna glanced at Paul. He was still watching Anna, his eyes meeting hers, waiting for her to say something that would encourage the woman to speak the truth.

Time to drop the bombshell. “I know that we weren’t supposed to rescue you.” Anna let that information sink in.

Helen’s heartbeat kicked up another notch. She was barely breathing, as if she was afraid she’d give her rattled emotions away.

“My team knows, too,” Anna added, to emphasize that they weren’t about to be bamboozled by William Wentworth.

Helen swallowed hard, then bit her lip.

“You don’t want to lose custody of your children,” Anna prodded, shifting the focus so abruptly that Helen’s eyes widened.

“What do you mean?” Helen asked, trying to sound innocent, her words choked by unshed tears.

More silence. Heavy pauses were important, unsettling to someone being interrogated. The time gave the person being questioned a few seconds to reflect, to sweat, to make mistakes.

“We came here to rescue you, but your husband and his brother had some other agenda. We were set up, Helen.”