A/N: Bad bad bad bad bad bad bad Horsecrazy! I let this go for so long
without updating...and the worst part is that I've already written the rest
of this story. It's completely finished, I've just been lazy about posting
chapters. So you have my permission to kick my lazy ass.
Disclaimer: All aspects of Tomb Raider belong to Eidos Interactive and Crystal Dynamics, not me. Meaning Lara is theirs, Kurtis is theirs, (darn!) and anything else you recognize.
Chapter Ten
____________________________________________________________________
Amazon
South America, August 15th, 2003
Gunderson's final scream dissolved into nothingness, the acute note of terror dissipating in the Amazon's covetous embrace, cut sickeningly short as their bodies came to a final rest against the land far below. Crimson fluid spread across damp soil, its momentary warmth seeping from Gunderson's inert form.
Beside him, Kurtis lay still and silent, beautiful gaze forever blank and staring. Between both heavy eyebrows rested the mark of the bullet's brutal passage, the single trickle of gore already drying to dull chestnut.
* * *
She stepped weakly to the helicopter's opening, her gun-filled hand drooping slackly to one side. Wide-eyed, Lara peered downward through swirling condensation, moist heat curling lazily from the Amazon's surface. *Oh God.*
Numbly, her gaze unmoving from the place he'd disappeared, she slowly holstered her pistol and set one hand against the wall beside her. Its chill exterior cooled sweating fingertips, the comfort only physical as her heart constricted painfully within the confines of her chest.
Lara's head snapped up, to peruse her surroundings.
Silence. Stillness, all around her. She was completely, utterly alone, the chopper devoid of all other life. *Oh God. I've made a mistake...*
She pictured his body, lying broken and mangled far beneath the hovering aircraft, the acceptance in those captivating eyes in the final few moments before she'd murdered him lingering painfully. He'd uttered no protest, made no proclamations of hate or regret. He'd known that to set down her weapon would have meant disaster for both of them, and so acknowledged that at least Lara would be saved if he and Gunderson both took a tumble out the open door.
Her knees trembled and buckled beneath her.
She scowled and thrust herself back up, disgusted at her own weakness.
*I thought you were Karel.* she thought, agony passing all throughout her. *There were only three bodies on the floor...I thought Karel must have disguised himself as one of the soldiers and then taken on your shape to fool me into giving myself over to Gunderson. Kurtis...*
Her eyes slipped closed.
Would the outcome have been any different, had there not been the persistent thought that the Kurtis standing before her, held captive by Gunderson, was actually Karel? Would she have failed to make the shot, unable to pull the trigger on the man she'd come to like and respect despite all her protests to the contrary?
*Yes.* Lara thought miserably. She'd almost been incapable of firing her gun even when she was relatively sure that Gunderson's prisoner had actually been the shape-shifting Nephilim. And now, it turned out she'd killed her companion after all. The fourth body must have merely been dragged off during the struggle, wedged behind one of the large crates, not morphed into Kurtis' enticing figure.
She slammed a gloved fist into the solidity of the wall she leaned against.
A hand closed over her shoulder.
Both eyes flew wide, her elbow automatically plunging backward into waiting flesh, one hand seizing the Glock as she pivoted to face her attacker. The barrel of her weapon came to rest against his throat, and he froze obediently, lifting both hands in the air.
He stood disheveled and tousle-haired, a dripping cut marring the left side of his handsome face. "You mind poking that thing somewhere else?" he said, pitching his voice loud to be heard over the thrum of whipping blades. He jerked a stubbled chin to her firearm, its tip still jabbing painfully into the tender flesh of his neck.
"You prat!" Lara yelled, eyes flashing. She crammed her pistol angrily back into worn leather.
Warily, Kurtis lowered his hands and thrust one back for the Chirugai lying dormant at their feet. It rose obediently to answer his call, just settling onto his extended fingers as a hand seized the front of his shirt. He whirled, stunned by the sudden violence of her motion, and she pulled him to her.
Their lips met in a hard, possessive kiss. It lasted only a moment, so brief that he wondered if it had merely been a figment of his imagination.
His stunned eyes bore intensely into her turbulent ones as they parted.
"I thought I'd shot you!"
"Do I look shot?" he retorted, irritation present in his tone. He didn't understand his sudden anger at her, though he suspected it might have something to do with the fact that she'd pulled so hastily from their embrace, before he'd even gotten a chance to respond to her unexpected kiss.
"You look like hell, but not quite like I-got-shot-hell."
"Thanks. Always good to know I have an admirer." He rolled his eyes.
"You're welcome." she replied sarcastically, and yanked his head down to hers again.
They kissed urgently, his larger mass pinning her against the wall, both strong hands settling on either side of her head, effectively trapping her in place. She didn't seem in a great hurry to go anywhere, however; her body pressed close to his, both hands cupping the back of his neck as her mouth moved willingly against his own.
They broke off after a moment, breathing hard.
The helicopter gave a sudden jolt beneath them as Kurtis moved back in close, his lips just barely grazing hers. "Who's flying the helicopter?" he asked a little drowsily, eyes clouded as though he'd just woken up.
"That would be...no one."
"That's never something you want to hear."
He released her, and brushed past to enter the cockpit. She followed close behind, settling herself in the co-pilot's seat as he easily nudged aside the pilot's limp body and took up the controls himself.
She glanced over at him. "You know how to fly?"
"Yes."
"Well...you're just full of surprises, aren't you?"
He stirred reluctantly, the solid outline of Kurtis' lifeless body shimmering in an ethereal haze. A moment later, it flickered completely from view, and Karel lie gasping in his place, squinting into glaring sunlight with his single undamaged eye.
The helicopter skimmed above his motionless form, a distant black speck against the immense azure sky overhead.
He struggled upright, thrusting Gunderson's booted feet from their position across his legs, gaze tracking the chopper with unwavering persistence until it finally vanished from his sight, disappearing over a far horizon.
* * *
They set down in a small, civilized village just within the parameters of Peru only two and a half hours later. Their quest had fortunately not taken them too far into the depths of the immense Amazon, which stretched over 1.2 billion acres in a vast representation of over two-fifths of the gargantuan South American continent. Thus, the trip from it had not been over-taxing and exhausting, even after their brief struggle with Gunderson and his men.
Their arrival in the helicopter caused a momentary stir in the villagers, who were not used to aircrafts landing in their crop fields. One particularly irate farmer who'd owned the property Kurtis chose to touch down on insisted they pay him money as compensation for the plants they'd surely destroyed. A brief, extremely effective glance at their weapons and hardened eyes stilled the arm-waving and shouting instantly.
Lara disembarked first, swinging her pack over one shoulder and shooting a glance backward at her companion as he tread close behind her.
"Don't you think we should have stopped off in Ecuador? That's where our plane landed, and where you left your bike."
"Not enough fuel. Someone wasn't considerate enough to give us enough to make it another country over."
"Yes, Kurtis, how inattentive of them not to provide us with enough gas to make a proper escape from them." Lara commented, punctuating the sardonic remark with an eye-roll.
"You know, some men don't like a sarcastic women."
"Yes, but not you, judging by the way you mauled me at our campsite."
"I knew you wanted me but were too shy to do anything about it. I was being a gentlemen."
She snapped a hand up and slapped him upside the head as they strode side by side. "You know, Kurtis, some women don't like an arrogant man."
And thus began the start of a long, drawn-out argument between the two as they traversed miles of land, their trek made interesting by traded repartee, the hike to a larger city where they would rent a hotel room for the night an arduous one.
* * *
He lay spread-eagled on the bed, clad only in jeans, the covers beneath his muscular body rumpled and disturbed. Both cerulean orbs traced the enticing curves of her figure as she bent over a small table, unaware of his perusal. She clutched a wrinkled and tattered sheet of parchment in a slender gloved hand, full lips pursed in concentration as she scanned its contents.
The room was cheap, the entire establishment not exactly one which catered to a wholesome family image. The sleazy man staffing the front desk had given Lara an appreciative look as they entered, then shot Kurtis a man-to-man raised- eyebrow glance which could only be interpreted as "Damn, you lucky son of a bitch. Hit the jackpot, eh?"
"You going to stop reading the same thing over and over again, or are you convinced it's going to start talking to you?"
"Don't be an ass." Lara replied without looking at him.
"Turn off the damn light. I want to sleep. We're leaving early tomorrow for Ecuador."
"Is your arm broken? Turn off the light yourself."
*And have you remove my face, along with a couple of other vital body parts, for taking away your reading light? No thanks.* he thought sarcastically, but didn't voice the silent reply.
"Are you coming to bed?" Kurtis said brusquely, unmoving from his position.
"Are you sleeping on the floor?" Lara retorted, glancing in his direction. She quirked one eyebrow and folded the item which had held her so captivated, slipping it into a front pocket.
"Do I look like I have any intention of moving to the floor?" he asked, and thrust the covers up over himself in confirmation. "I'm not diseased. You're not going to die from spending one night in the same bed with me."
"The gentlemanly thing to do would be to offer me the bed and sleep in the bath."
"Fine. We'll role-play. You be the gentleman for tonight, I'll be the woman."
She smirked. "Don't feel offended by this remark, but I have to say you're just about the ugliest woman I've ever seen. Not to mention, you're a little on the hairy side for a delicate lady. Must get a tad ridiculous, having to shave your face along with your legs and armpits."
Kurtis nuzzled his face into the pillow's comforting depths, curving both arms around its bulk. He blinked upward, staring into her beautiful features. "Go to sleep, Lara."
"Bravo. I have to remember that witty comeback for myself. You don't mind if I borrow it for a special occasion, do you?"
His thick brows knit in a glare. "Go to sleep, dammit. On the floor or in the bed, I don't care. Maybe even hanging partway out the window."
"So you can give me a little nudge in the middle of the night?"
"Maybe if you don't learn the beauty of silence."
"You're such a darling man, Kurtis. I bet you're a charming dinner companion."
"I don't attend any of those fancy fairy buffets the rich throw, the kind where you'd refer to your date as a damn 'dinner companion.'"
Lara crossed both arms over her chest, and paced a step nearer the bed. "You do realize I'm one of the 'fancy fairy rich' you speak so fondly of."
He smirked and eased both eyes shut, her image still lingering before him. "Sure. Got it on a file."
"You have a file on me?"
"I found your biography on an Internet site called The Exploits of The Rich And Famous: The Kinky, The Nasty And Various Nude Photographs of Elite Women. You should know your section is the most popular."
"Shut up." she demanded, without the anger she'd intended to inject in her tone. Her fingers seized the pillow he did not have crushed against his body, and it slammed down atop his head.
He cracked an eye at her. "Stop it."
"Or what? You'll use your super powers on me?" Lara challenged, cocking a voluptuous hip slightly to one side. She raised her weapon once more, and he lunged suddenly, the covers hurled from his shirtless body as he wrestled the pillow from her powerful grip. She landed a punch on the side of his head, a well-placed hit which plunged the world to blackness before him for a moment.
A chuckle parted full lips, a moment before he wrapped both strong arms around her waist and heaved backward, spilling them both onto the bed. She fell straddling him, shapely thighs hugging either side of his hard waist.
They stilled all motion, frozen in that intimate position, both hearts suddenly pounding more insistently. Slowly, almost lethargically, Kurtis lifted himself on his elbows, narrowing the distance between them.
Lara rolled off him, pressing her face to the bed's unpleasantly solid mattress to avoid the heat of his gaze. *No. I've already given in and kissed him today. Three times.*
He didn't pursue her, instead settling back down against his pillow, lying face-up this time. She lay rigid beside him, careful not to allow any part of their bodies to touch. Silence hung thickly, its unnerving presence settling heavily across her tense body. "I suppose we should stop doing this." she said quietly after a moment.
"Doing what?" Kurtis replied coolly.
"Groping each other, then pretending it didn't happen, then groping each other again, and retreating into ignorance once more."
"So you think we should grope each other and acknowledge it?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow at Lara. Cautiously, almost tentatively, he reached out and trailed a gentle finger down the exposed flesh of her arm, the featherlight contact prompting a shiver all throughout her. Angry with herself for such a reaction, she seized his hand in hers, and flung it away more forcefully than she'd intended.
"Kurtis, you have to understand something. I'm a loner."
"So am I."
She continued on, heedless of his interruption. "I'm not a social butterfly who flits from man to man, giggling and flirting the whole way. I enjoy handling guns and adventuring into places that have been untouched for thousands of years. That doesn't leave much time for a man in my life. In fact, I've never really had a relationship before. Not a lasting one, anyway. Men are fine to look at, until they open their mouths and begin talking about themselves, and suddenly you cease to exist." Lara finished dryly, rolling her eyes.
"I'm not interested in getting involved." Kurtis responded impassively, without looking at her. *Liar.* a voice whispered in the back of his mind.
"Oh, I see. You were just looking for a little physical gratification, then. The revenge business doesn't leave much time for pleasuring yourself, does it?" she snapped.
"Speak for yourself, Ms. Croft." Kurtis retorted sharply. "Don't tell me you were conducting a scientific experiment on how long two people could go without breathing while they had their tongues crammed down each other's throats when you kissed me."
"Actually, I was attempting to kill your tiny, insignificant little brain by cutting off its oxygen supply. That should only take a few seconds or so, wouldn't you say, when the object is only three centimeters across?" Lara shot back sarcastically.
He surged to his knees, both hands clenching to lie as hard fists against either side of his body. His eyes sought hers, their shimmering depths flashing as pure ice as they faced down, both impressively riled now. "Really. Is that why you seemed ready and willing to go for another hour or so?"
"Get out of my bed!" she snapped again, eyes flashing. "This is ridiculous. You're acting like a child."
"I'm acting like a child?"
"You're right, I'm sorry. That was probably just about the worst insult I could bestow on poor, innocent children everywhere. You're acting like a monkey. One of those big, stupid, lumbering gorillas who couldn't do anything more than punch their way out of a paper bag, if only they could figure out that their fist is stronger than the bag."
"Wow. I think I need counseling now, after that harsh remark." he replied, eyeing her indifferently from beneath thick dark brows.
"Yes, well I think that should have been suggested to you a long time ago. Now, get off my bed. I'd like to go to sleep, if you don't mind."
"It's not your bed."
"I'm declaring it my bed. If you want to argue, please direct your comments to my friend, Mr. Nine Millimeter. He's going to be joining the discussion in another moment or two."
Kurtis smirked, no humor present within the empty twisting of his lips. "You're not going to shoot me."
"There are a lot of men who have said that to me. You're the only one who's survived."
Studying her intensely for a moment, both beautiful eyes probing her own, Kurtis finally settled back down, his body slackening, flopping backward to lie motionless against his designated side of the bed.
Lara peered downward, into the rugged, handsome planes of his face, then turned and began to remove her boots. "If I find you rubbing yourself up against any part of my body during the night, be aware that my gun will make a prompt appearance. I don't care how sexy you are-" She ceased speaking immediately, mahogany orbs widening. *Bloody hell! I can't believe I just said that aloud.*
"Now try telling me you're not attracted to me." he said, a hint of amusement in the low rumbling tone of his voice.
"Don't be such a smug little bastard!" Lara hissed, irritated as much with herself as with him. "If I were attracted to you, I'd admit it."
"Fine. Then say you're not."
"I'm not attracted to you."
"Say it with a straight face, and look me in the eye."
She twisted at the waist with a scowl, tearing her gloves free of perspiring flesh in a swift, savage motion. "I, Lara Croft, am not attracted to you, Kurtis Trent." she repeated, punctuating the statement with a jab to his chest, the poke delivered by a trembling fingertip.
He snatched her wrist in an iron grip before she could retreat, and yanked her against the hardness of his bare chest, their mouths already touching before the space between them had completely dissipated. His toned arms encircled her slender waist, the damp warmth of his tongue flicking out to caress full lips. "Say it now." Kurtis whispered against her ear. She felt his teeth close gently against the tender flesh of her earlobe.
Lara shivered and opened her mouth to protest, her mind clouded by desire and lust. "I'm not...dammit, what was I supposed to say again?"
He smirked, and released her.
*I hate you, you self-satisfied little American prat.* she thought viciously, and contemplated punching him in the head.
He seemed to read her mind, and smirked again, infuriating her even more. "Don't feel bad that you're attracted to me. If I were a woman, I'd be attracted to me too."
"Well, how nice that you're not too much in love with yourself or anything."
"I'm just trying to make you feel better."
"Yes, you're such a humanitarian, aren't you?" She thrust a fist into his shoulder, overcome with the urge to hit something. He was lucky she didn't choose his pointy little head to land her fist on.
"Yeah; you're probably a little envious that I beat you out of the 'Most Loving Person of The Year' award."
"Can we speed this up a bit? We're leaving early tomorrow for Ecuador, and I'd like to get some sleep, if you don't mind."
"Really? You know, I hadn't realized that. I'm glad you pointed that out, Lara, otherwise I might have stayed up all night thinking I had plenty of time to sleep in."
"Sarcasm doesn't become you, Kurtis." she pointed out, slipping beneath the covers and instantly thrusting her body to one side, jerking the shabby blankets from his body and swiftly rolling herself into them, cocoon-like. He bolted upright in response, both eyebrows surging upward in a 'What the hell?' expression. "Sleep well." Lara said, and smiled to herself.
"Shouldn't you be attempting to act like a mature adult?"
"I am. It's the bastard lying next to me who's an immature little wanker."
"Don't throw your damn English terms at me." he snapped, and snatched for the covers she'd pilfered. She smacked his hand away, snuggling down against her pillow.
"Would you prefer that I throw my boot at you instead?"
"Fine. Just stop talking and go to sleep." Kurtis demanded, suddenly furious. There was no use in seeking comfort from the fact that she hadn't been able to deny her attraction to him after he'd kissed her-the admission, or rather non- admission meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. Whether or not she found herself wanting him, she was going to refuse to do anything about it, now that she'd tasted him, satisfied some of the sexual tension churning between them. That was painfully obvious to him.
*The question is, why the hell do I care so much?*
Disclaimer: All aspects of Tomb Raider belong to Eidos Interactive and Crystal Dynamics, not me. Meaning Lara is theirs, Kurtis is theirs, (darn!) and anything else you recognize.
Chapter Ten
____________________________________________________________________
Amazon
South America, August 15th, 2003
Gunderson's final scream dissolved into nothingness, the acute note of terror dissipating in the Amazon's covetous embrace, cut sickeningly short as their bodies came to a final rest against the land far below. Crimson fluid spread across damp soil, its momentary warmth seeping from Gunderson's inert form.
Beside him, Kurtis lay still and silent, beautiful gaze forever blank and staring. Between both heavy eyebrows rested the mark of the bullet's brutal passage, the single trickle of gore already drying to dull chestnut.
* * *
She stepped weakly to the helicopter's opening, her gun-filled hand drooping slackly to one side. Wide-eyed, Lara peered downward through swirling condensation, moist heat curling lazily from the Amazon's surface. *Oh God.*
Numbly, her gaze unmoving from the place he'd disappeared, she slowly holstered her pistol and set one hand against the wall beside her. Its chill exterior cooled sweating fingertips, the comfort only physical as her heart constricted painfully within the confines of her chest.
Lara's head snapped up, to peruse her surroundings.
Silence. Stillness, all around her. She was completely, utterly alone, the chopper devoid of all other life. *Oh God. I've made a mistake...*
She pictured his body, lying broken and mangled far beneath the hovering aircraft, the acceptance in those captivating eyes in the final few moments before she'd murdered him lingering painfully. He'd uttered no protest, made no proclamations of hate or regret. He'd known that to set down her weapon would have meant disaster for both of them, and so acknowledged that at least Lara would be saved if he and Gunderson both took a tumble out the open door.
Her knees trembled and buckled beneath her.
She scowled and thrust herself back up, disgusted at her own weakness.
*I thought you were Karel.* she thought, agony passing all throughout her. *There were only three bodies on the floor...I thought Karel must have disguised himself as one of the soldiers and then taken on your shape to fool me into giving myself over to Gunderson. Kurtis...*
Her eyes slipped closed.
Would the outcome have been any different, had there not been the persistent thought that the Kurtis standing before her, held captive by Gunderson, was actually Karel? Would she have failed to make the shot, unable to pull the trigger on the man she'd come to like and respect despite all her protests to the contrary?
*Yes.* Lara thought miserably. She'd almost been incapable of firing her gun even when she was relatively sure that Gunderson's prisoner had actually been the shape-shifting Nephilim. And now, it turned out she'd killed her companion after all. The fourth body must have merely been dragged off during the struggle, wedged behind one of the large crates, not morphed into Kurtis' enticing figure.
She slammed a gloved fist into the solidity of the wall she leaned against.
A hand closed over her shoulder.
Both eyes flew wide, her elbow automatically plunging backward into waiting flesh, one hand seizing the Glock as she pivoted to face her attacker. The barrel of her weapon came to rest against his throat, and he froze obediently, lifting both hands in the air.
He stood disheveled and tousle-haired, a dripping cut marring the left side of his handsome face. "You mind poking that thing somewhere else?" he said, pitching his voice loud to be heard over the thrum of whipping blades. He jerked a stubbled chin to her firearm, its tip still jabbing painfully into the tender flesh of his neck.
"You prat!" Lara yelled, eyes flashing. She crammed her pistol angrily back into worn leather.
Warily, Kurtis lowered his hands and thrust one back for the Chirugai lying dormant at their feet. It rose obediently to answer his call, just settling onto his extended fingers as a hand seized the front of his shirt. He whirled, stunned by the sudden violence of her motion, and she pulled him to her.
Their lips met in a hard, possessive kiss. It lasted only a moment, so brief that he wondered if it had merely been a figment of his imagination.
His stunned eyes bore intensely into her turbulent ones as they parted.
"I thought I'd shot you!"
"Do I look shot?" he retorted, irritation present in his tone. He didn't understand his sudden anger at her, though he suspected it might have something to do with the fact that she'd pulled so hastily from their embrace, before he'd even gotten a chance to respond to her unexpected kiss.
"You look like hell, but not quite like I-got-shot-hell."
"Thanks. Always good to know I have an admirer." He rolled his eyes.
"You're welcome." she replied sarcastically, and yanked his head down to hers again.
They kissed urgently, his larger mass pinning her against the wall, both strong hands settling on either side of her head, effectively trapping her in place. She didn't seem in a great hurry to go anywhere, however; her body pressed close to his, both hands cupping the back of his neck as her mouth moved willingly against his own.
They broke off after a moment, breathing hard.
The helicopter gave a sudden jolt beneath them as Kurtis moved back in close, his lips just barely grazing hers. "Who's flying the helicopter?" he asked a little drowsily, eyes clouded as though he'd just woken up.
"That would be...no one."
"That's never something you want to hear."
He released her, and brushed past to enter the cockpit. She followed close behind, settling herself in the co-pilot's seat as he easily nudged aside the pilot's limp body and took up the controls himself.
She glanced over at him. "You know how to fly?"
"Yes."
"Well...you're just full of surprises, aren't you?"
He stirred reluctantly, the solid outline of Kurtis' lifeless body shimmering in an ethereal haze. A moment later, it flickered completely from view, and Karel lie gasping in his place, squinting into glaring sunlight with his single undamaged eye.
The helicopter skimmed above his motionless form, a distant black speck against the immense azure sky overhead.
He struggled upright, thrusting Gunderson's booted feet from their position across his legs, gaze tracking the chopper with unwavering persistence until it finally vanished from his sight, disappearing over a far horizon.
* * *
They set down in a small, civilized village just within the parameters of Peru only two and a half hours later. Their quest had fortunately not taken them too far into the depths of the immense Amazon, which stretched over 1.2 billion acres in a vast representation of over two-fifths of the gargantuan South American continent. Thus, the trip from it had not been over-taxing and exhausting, even after their brief struggle with Gunderson and his men.
Their arrival in the helicopter caused a momentary stir in the villagers, who were not used to aircrafts landing in their crop fields. One particularly irate farmer who'd owned the property Kurtis chose to touch down on insisted they pay him money as compensation for the plants they'd surely destroyed. A brief, extremely effective glance at their weapons and hardened eyes stilled the arm-waving and shouting instantly.
Lara disembarked first, swinging her pack over one shoulder and shooting a glance backward at her companion as he tread close behind her.
"Don't you think we should have stopped off in Ecuador? That's where our plane landed, and where you left your bike."
"Not enough fuel. Someone wasn't considerate enough to give us enough to make it another country over."
"Yes, Kurtis, how inattentive of them not to provide us with enough gas to make a proper escape from them." Lara commented, punctuating the sardonic remark with an eye-roll.
"You know, some men don't like a sarcastic women."
"Yes, but not you, judging by the way you mauled me at our campsite."
"I knew you wanted me but were too shy to do anything about it. I was being a gentlemen."
She snapped a hand up and slapped him upside the head as they strode side by side. "You know, Kurtis, some women don't like an arrogant man."
And thus began the start of a long, drawn-out argument between the two as they traversed miles of land, their trek made interesting by traded repartee, the hike to a larger city where they would rent a hotel room for the night an arduous one.
* * *
He lay spread-eagled on the bed, clad only in jeans, the covers beneath his muscular body rumpled and disturbed. Both cerulean orbs traced the enticing curves of her figure as she bent over a small table, unaware of his perusal. She clutched a wrinkled and tattered sheet of parchment in a slender gloved hand, full lips pursed in concentration as she scanned its contents.
The room was cheap, the entire establishment not exactly one which catered to a wholesome family image. The sleazy man staffing the front desk had given Lara an appreciative look as they entered, then shot Kurtis a man-to-man raised- eyebrow glance which could only be interpreted as "Damn, you lucky son of a bitch. Hit the jackpot, eh?"
"You going to stop reading the same thing over and over again, or are you convinced it's going to start talking to you?"
"Don't be an ass." Lara replied without looking at him.
"Turn off the damn light. I want to sleep. We're leaving early tomorrow for Ecuador."
"Is your arm broken? Turn off the light yourself."
*And have you remove my face, along with a couple of other vital body parts, for taking away your reading light? No thanks.* he thought sarcastically, but didn't voice the silent reply.
"Are you coming to bed?" Kurtis said brusquely, unmoving from his position.
"Are you sleeping on the floor?" Lara retorted, glancing in his direction. She quirked one eyebrow and folded the item which had held her so captivated, slipping it into a front pocket.
"Do I look like I have any intention of moving to the floor?" he asked, and thrust the covers up over himself in confirmation. "I'm not diseased. You're not going to die from spending one night in the same bed with me."
"The gentlemanly thing to do would be to offer me the bed and sleep in the bath."
"Fine. We'll role-play. You be the gentleman for tonight, I'll be the woman."
She smirked. "Don't feel offended by this remark, but I have to say you're just about the ugliest woman I've ever seen. Not to mention, you're a little on the hairy side for a delicate lady. Must get a tad ridiculous, having to shave your face along with your legs and armpits."
Kurtis nuzzled his face into the pillow's comforting depths, curving both arms around its bulk. He blinked upward, staring into her beautiful features. "Go to sleep, Lara."
"Bravo. I have to remember that witty comeback for myself. You don't mind if I borrow it for a special occasion, do you?"
His thick brows knit in a glare. "Go to sleep, dammit. On the floor or in the bed, I don't care. Maybe even hanging partway out the window."
"So you can give me a little nudge in the middle of the night?"
"Maybe if you don't learn the beauty of silence."
"You're such a darling man, Kurtis. I bet you're a charming dinner companion."
"I don't attend any of those fancy fairy buffets the rich throw, the kind where you'd refer to your date as a damn 'dinner companion.'"
Lara crossed both arms over her chest, and paced a step nearer the bed. "You do realize I'm one of the 'fancy fairy rich' you speak so fondly of."
He smirked and eased both eyes shut, her image still lingering before him. "Sure. Got it on a file."
"You have a file on me?"
"I found your biography on an Internet site called The Exploits of The Rich And Famous: The Kinky, The Nasty And Various Nude Photographs of Elite Women. You should know your section is the most popular."
"Shut up." she demanded, without the anger she'd intended to inject in her tone. Her fingers seized the pillow he did not have crushed against his body, and it slammed down atop his head.
He cracked an eye at her. "Stop it."
"Or what? You'll use your super powers on me?" Lara challenged, cocking a voluptuous hip slightly to one side. She raised her weapon once more, and he lunged suddenly, the covers hurled from his shirtless body as he wrestled the pillow from her powerful grip. She landed a punch on the side of his head, a well-placed hit which plunged the world to blackness before him for a moment.
A chuckle parted full lips, a moment before he wrapped both strong arms around her waist and heaved backward, spilling them both onto the bed. She fell straddling him, shapely thighs hugging either side of his hard waist.
They stilled all motion, frozen in that intimate position, both hearts suddenly pounding more insistently. Slowly, almost lethargically, Kurtis lifted himself on his elbows, narrowing the distance between them.
Lara rolled off him, pressing her face to the bed's unpleasantly solid mattress to avoid the heat of his gaze. *No. I've already given in and kissed him today. Three times.*
He didn't pursue her, instead settling back down against his pillow, lying face-up this time. She lay rigid beside him, careful not to allow any part of their bodies to touch. Silence hung thickly, its unnerving presence settling heavily across her tense body. "I suppose we should stop doing this." she said quietly after a moment.
"Doing what?" Kurtis replied coolly.
"Groping each other, then pretending it didn't happen, then groping each other again, and retreating into ignorance once more."
"So you think we should grope each other and acknowledge it?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow at Lara. Cautiously, almost tentatively, he reached out and trailed a gentle finger down the exposed flesh of her arm, the featherlight contact prompting a shiver all throughout her. Angry with herself for such a reaction, she seized his hand in hers, and flung it away more forcefully than she'd intended.
"Kurtis, you have to understand something. I'm a loner."
"So am I."
She continued on, heedless of his interruption. "I'm not a social butterfly who flits from man to man, giggling and flirting the whole way. I enjoy handling guns and adventuring into places that have been untouched for thousands of years. That doesn't leave much time for a man in my life. In fact, I've never really had a relationship before. Not a lasting one, anyway. Men are fine to look at, until they open their mouths and begin talking about themselves, and suddenly you cease to exist." Lara finished dryly, rolling her eyes.
"I'm not interested in getting involved." Kurtis responded impassively, without looking at her. *Liar.* a voice whispered in the back of his mind.
"Oh, I see. You were just looking for a little physical gratification, then. The revenge business doesn't leave much time for pleasuring yourself, does it?" she snapped.
"Speak for yourself, Ms. Croft." Kurtis retorted sharply. "Don't tell me you were conducting a scientific experiment on how long two people could go without breathing while they had their tongues crammed down each other's throats when you kissed me."
"Actually, I was attempting to kill your tiny, insignificant little brain by cutting off its oxygen supply. That should only take a few seconds or so, wouldn't you say, when the object is only three centimeters across?" Lara shot back sarcastically.
He surged to his knees, both hands clenching to lie as hard fists against either side of his body. His eyes sought hers, their shimmering depths flashing as pure ice as they faced down, both impressively riled now. "Really. Is that why you seemed ready and willing to go for another hour or so?"
"Get out of my bed!" she snapped again, eyes flashing. "This is ridiculous. You're acting like a child."
"I'm acting like a child?"
"You're right, I'm sorry. That was probably just about the worst insult I could bestow on poor, innocent children everywhere. You're acting like a monkey. One of those big, stupid, lumbering gorillas who couldn't do anything more than punch their way out of a paper bag, if only they could figure out that their fist is stronger than the bag."
"Wow. I think I need counseling now, after that harsh remark." he replied, eyeing her indifferently from beneath thick dark brows.
"Yes, well I think that should have been suggested to you a long time ago. Now, get off my bed. I'd like to go to sleep, if you don't mind."
"It's not your bed."
"I'm declaring it my bed. If you want to argue, please direct your comments to my friend, Mr. Nine Millimeter. He's going to be joining the discussion in another moment or two."
Kurtis smirked, no humor present within the empty twisting of his lips. "You're not going to shoot me."
"There are a lot of men who have said that to me. You're the only one who's survived."
Studying her intensely for a moment, both beautiful eyes probing her own, Kurtis finally settled back down, his body slackening, flopping backward to lie motionless against his designated side of the bed.
Lara peered downward, into the rugged, handsome planes of his face, then turned and began to remove her boots. "If I find you rubbing yourself up against any part of my body during the night, be aware that my gun will make a prompt appearance. I don't care how sexy you are-" She ceased speaking immediately, mahogany orbs widening. *Bloody hell! I can't believe I just said that aloud.*
"Now try telling me you're not attracted to me." he said, a hint of amusement in the low rumbling tone of his voice.
"Don't be such a smug little bastard!" Lara hissed, irritated as much with herself as with him. "If I were attracted to you, I'd admit it."
"Fine. Then say you're not."
"I'm not attracted to you."
"Say it with a straight face, and look me in the eye."
She twisted at the waist with a scowl, tearing her gloves free of perspiring flesh in a swift, savage motion. "I, Lara Croft, am not attracted to you, Kurtis Trent." she repeated, punctuating the statement with a jab to his chest, the poke delivered by a trembling fingertip.
He snatched her wrist in an iron grip before she could retreat, and yanked her against the hardness of his bare chest, their mouths already touching before the space between them had completely dissipated. His toned arms encircled her slender waist, the damp warmth of his tongue flicking out to caress full lips. "Say it now." Kurtis whispered against her ear. She felt his teeth close gently against the tender flesh of her earlobe.
Lara shivered and opened her mouth to protest, her mind clouded by desire and lust. "I'm not...dammit, what was I supposed to say again?"
He smirked, and released her.
*I hate you, you self-satisfied little American prat.* she thought viciously, and contemplated punching him in the head.
He seemed to read her mind, and smirked again, infuriating her even more. "Don't feel bad that you're attracted to me. If I were a woman, I'd be attracted to me too."
"Well, how nice that you're not too much in love with yourself or anything."
"I'm just trying to make you feel better."
"Yes, you're such a humanitarian, aren't you?" She thrust a fist into his shoulder, overcome with the urge to hit something. He was lucky she didn't choose his pointy little head to land her fist on.
"Yeah; you're probably a little envious that I beat you out of the 'Most Loving Person of The Year' award."
"Can we speed this up a bit? We're leaving early tomorrow for Ecuador, and I'd like to get some sleep, if you don't mind."
"Really? You know, I hadn't realized that. I'm glad you pointed that out, Lara, otherwise I might have stayed up all night thinking I had plenty of time to sleep in."
"Sarcasm doesn't become you, Kurtis." she pointed out, slipping beneath the covers and instantly thrusting her body to one side, jerking the shabby blankets from his body and swiftly rolling herself into them, cocoon-like. He bolted upright in response, both eyebrows surging upward in a 'What the hell?' expression. "Sleep well." Lara said, and smiled to herself.
"Shouldn't you be attempting to act like a mature adult?"
"I am. It's the bastard lying next to me who's an immature little wanker."
"Don't throw your damn English terms at me." he snapped, and snatched for the covers she'd pilfered. She smacked his hand away, snuggling down against her pillow.
"Would you prefer that I throw my boot at you instead?"
"Fine. Just stop talking and go to sleep." Kurtis demanded, suddenly furious. There was no use in seeking comfort from the fact that she hadn't been able to deny her attraction to him after he'd kissed her-the admission, or rather non- admission meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. Whether or not she found herself wanting him, she was going to refuse to do anything about it, now that she'd tasted him, satisfied some of the sexual tension churning between them. That was painfully obvious to him.
*The question is, why the hell do I care so much?*