The Pleasures of Winter Read online

  As he jumped down to the side of the gully behind her, the plane shifted again. With a creak of metal, the wing holding it in place twisted and the crippled aircraft toppled down. Jack gripped a root, desperately trying to prevent them being pulled down with it.

  ‘It’s OK. I’ve got you,’ he said.

  The crash as the plane hit was shockingly loud. The cacophony of sound grew louder still as every animal and bird in the area screamed in response. Anyone nearby would be bound to hear it. She clung to him for a long moment. Being held by Jack was like being in the eye of a storm. She had never felt so safe.

  ‘Abbie.’ Jack’s voice took on a teasing tone. ‘Much as I’m enjoying this, I think we’d better get out of here.’

  Her eyes shot open. What was she thinking? She was clinging to Jack Winter like a baby monkey. Abbie pushed away from him quickly, straightening her wrinkled clothes to cover her confusion. I am not attracted to him. I am not attracted to him. I just banged my head. Once she felt composed, she raised her eyes to his.

  The sardonic expression was gone, replaced with a glint of amusement and something she couldn’t fathom.

  ‘What happens now? I guess we stay near the plane and wait to be rescued?’

  Jack closed his eyes. ‘Abbie.’ His voice was strained, as if he were trying to keep it under control. ‘What rescue? We are in the middle of the jungle. Miles from civilization. Our priority is survival.’

  Survival? No. No way. This was not turning into one of those ridiculous programmes on TV where everyone ended up spending all day looking for something dry to burn and eating rats.

  ‘They’ll find us soon,’ she said with more confidence than she felt. ‘The pilot sent a Mayday and they’ll –’

  ‘There was no Mayday. There wasn’t time.’

  Her stomach flipped. ‘Transponder?’ she asked hopefully.

  Jack ran his fingers through his hair. ‘I don’t know. You saw the front of the plane. It was pretty smashed up.’

  Abbie took a deep breath. No one knew they were here. Don’t panic. Do not panic.

  ‘Come on, Kev has a medical kit. You can patch up that hand.’

  3

  Abbie battled shock as she sat at the top of the ravine while Kevin examined her hand. Keeping her head in a crisis went with the territory – an easily spooked journalist was useless – but she had just been in a plane crash. Now she was in the middle of the Honduran jungle with three men she didn’t know, and all she could think about was what a great story it would be. Forget the celebrity interview, look at the story I’ve got.

  She was savouring the brief moment of calm when Jack turned round and stared sharply at her and Kevin.

  ‘I didn’t realize this was a dating service,’ he said.

  ‘You think –’

  She spluttered to a halt, lost for words. It was beyond ridiculous. On the plane she had been so overwhelmed by Jack Winter that she had allowed his attitude to slide. But now they were going to be stuck in the wilderness for who knew how long. She shuddered. She couldn’t think about that – and she was just going to have to toughen up around him. Just because he was hotter than hell didn’t mean he wasn’t a jerk. And she knew how to put jerks in their place.

  Kevin finished cleaning up her hand. He grinned at his friend and put his arm around her. ‘Don’t mind Jack. He likes to push people. Now me, I like to stroke them.’ And he rubbed her back in a way that felt suspiciously like a caress. No – she was imagining things.

  Jack scowled. ‘Kev, we don’t have time for you to chase pussy.’

  Abbie felt like he had stung her and she jumped away from Kevin.

  ‘How dare you? What century do you think you are living in? What sort of crude, distasteful, chauvinistic thing is that to say to anyone?’

  She would have continued, but Jack cut in. ‘And we don’t have time for a lecture in feminism either. We’ve got to focus on survival here.’

  ‘Exactly.’ Zeke Bryan was sitting on the ground, holding one arm with the other. ‘I need to get to a hospital at once. I have a broken arm. I need medical treatment, not to listen to this sort of juvenile squabbling.’

  Abbie could see a flicker of annoyance on Jack’s face, but then his expression reverted to neutral.

  ‘Our priority is to survive,’ he repeated. ‘I have no idea if the plane is transmitting any sort of distress beacon. Anyone skilled in electronics?’

  They all shook their heads.

  ‘I’ve lost my cell phone. Any of you got a signal on yours?’

  They checked and shook their heads again. Obviously they were too far away from a mast.

  ‘We’ll camp here tonight, and Kev and I will go down the ravine to bury the pilot in the morning. If anyone’s looking for us they have a chance of finding us. If no one comes, we’ll have to find our own way to civilization.’

  Despite her earlier fury with him, Abbie couldn’t help but admire how Jack took charge. He was a big Hollywood star, but obviously all those leading-men roles weren’t just acting. He was tough and able to think in a crisis.

  ‘No, I’m injured. I can’t be moved,’ Zeke said.

  ‘I appreciate that, Zeke,’ Jack said. ‘But if help is not coming, we have no alternative. Now –’

  ‘What do you mean, help isn’t coming?’ Zeke said. ‘And what makes you such an expert?’

  Abbie could see the effort Jack was making to restrain his temper with the whiny agent.

  ‘I wouldn’t say expert. But when we were filming Jungle Heat, I spent a lot of time with people who were and I tried to learn as much as possible. I know, for instance, that it’s going to rain and get dark soon.’

  The humidity was already pressing down on them like a blanket, making it difficult to breathe. The heat was making everyone sweat, but the heavy air was harder to deal with.

  ‘So, the first thing we are going to do is make some hammocks and a cover for them.’

  ‘Why hammocks? I can’t sleep in a hammock,’ Zeke said.

  ‘Have you looked at the ground?’ Jack asked. Everyone looked down to where their feet sank into the damp soil. The ground was just mud covered by leaves. ‘And it will get worse when it rains. We need to be up above the ground then or we’ll be trying to sleep in liquid mud.’

  ‘What makes you so sure it’s going to rain?’ Zeke said.

  ‘This is a rainforest. The clue is in the name. It rains here every day. Just because the canopy is hiding the clouds doesn’t mean they aren’t there. See that mist?’ He pointed at the silver vapour softening the outlines of the trees. The others nodded. ‘That’s a good indication that rain is coming. We need to get to work.’

  Jack grabbed the two parachutes that he had tossed from the plane and directed Kev and Abbie in how to use his Swiss army knife to cut them up to make hammocks and covers. The bright red material was thin but strong and should do the job. The strings could be trimmed to the right length to act as supports. It was fortunate he never went anywhere without the knife; they’d have struggled to make the hammocks without it. It was a top-of-the-range model he had bought when he made his first film. The tool for picking horse’s hooves wasn’t going to do them much good, but the magnifying glass, saw, scissors and file might come in handy.

  He was glad of the chance to do something physical. He couldn’t believe that in the middle of this crisis he was so affected by Abbie Marshall. The sight of her hand in Kev’s had enraged him. That was the moment he knew she had gotten under his skin. It was insane; he had no business being interested in her. Not even for a quick fuck. Though if he was fucking Abbie Marshall, it wouldn’t be quick – he would draw it out until she was begging for release. He caught himself again. He had to stop thinking like this. Quite apart from the fact that she was obviously a New York princess, the American version of Sarah O’Brien-Willis, the girl who had destroyed his life, she was a reporter. Privileged, entitled and inquisitive. A lethal combination. He could see that her sharp eyes missed very little, and h
e wouldn’t be able to get away with his usual lies.

  Not lies, self-preservation.

  He was glad he had made her angry. If he couldn’t have her, he could make sure she stayed away from him. He had worked on developing an iron-hard self-control, but something told him this woman might crack it. Kev was obviously interested in her. The best thing for everyone would be if Kev and Abbie paired up, but when he saw Kev flirting with her, he couldn’t watch it.

  He wasn’t sure that any of the others realized how vulnerable their situation was. Zeke certainly didn’t. But then that bastard only cared about himself. He had pushed his way to the front of the line, and left Abbie behind on the plane. Not that Jack regretted those moments when her surprisingly bountiful breasts had pressed up against him. Had the fool really expected that it would be just a matter of driving to a hospital? Only years of acting had kept Jack’s thoughts off his face. He put his feelings aside for now: he would make the agent pay sooner or later.

  He, Kev and Abbie worked quietly, anxious to get the camp prepared. He sorted through the rest of the stuff that he had grabbed from the plane. The ready meals and water would keep them going for tonight and maybe for breakfast tomorrow. He handed Zeke a couple of painkillers and a swig of water. The agent might be a whiny bastard but he was white around the mouth.

  The water bottles would do as canteens when they were empty. He tied string around the necks to make them easier to carry. He blessed his jungle instructor who had drilled him in the basics of survival, and who was directly responsible for his personal jungle pack which contained water purification tablets, gloves, matches, a compass, a map, knife, mosquito netting, insect repellent and gloves.

  He searched his pockets a bit deeper and found a solitary condom.

  He couldn’t help it. He laughed, and the sound brought all eyes to him and what he held in his hand.

  ‘You cannot be thinking –’ said Zeke, appalled. ‘This is not the time or place.’

  Abbie flushed. ‘Not if you were the last man alive,’ she said.

  Jack couldn’t resist taunting her. ‘Wait until you’re asked. I could be keeping this for Kev.’

  Kev laughed. ‘Excellent idea. I’ll take that,’ he said and grabbed it from Jack’s hand. ‘After all, I’m more likely to get lucky than you are.’

  Abbie sniffed. ‘Did you forget that I have a fiancé? No one is getting lucky. Unless you two are a lot closer than I thought.’ And she turned her back on both of them.

  Jack and Kev exchanged glances and laughed.

  ‘Pity that stewardess went off sick at the last minute. I know we said we’d be all right without cabin crew, but she looked like a girl who would have been game for a bit of jungle loving,’ Kev said, winking at Jack.

  Abbie’s back stiffened, but she refused to turn round.

  By the time the hammocks were finished, everyone was thirsty, hungry and tired, and the first shift in the light told him that night wasn’t far off. Jack distributed the food, keeping the packets of nuts for the following day.

  He sat on the trunk of a fallen tree. Its roots stuck up into the air, like an umbrella abandoned in a storm. The wood was soft and damp and he was fairly sure it moved occasionally with the thousands of insects that considered it home.

  He put his jacket on the rough bark and invited Abbie to sit beside him.

  Purely to prevent her having hysterics if she sat on a spider, he told himself. Nothing to do with his desire to have her close to him. To smell her all-too-enticing perfume, a perfume that owed nothing to bottles and was all woman. God, he loved her smell. Against his will, his body reacted.

  To distract himself and to remove temptation, he handed her the small bottle of insect repellent. ‘Here, use lots. You don’t want to get bitten.’ The eerie silence of the rainforest was broken by the hum and chitter of insects and the louder, more ominous drone of mosquitoes.

  She gave him a dirty look but rubbed it on.

  The smell was enough to douse his arousal but her mutinous obedience brought out something he needed to keep hidden. ‘Good girl,’ he told her.

  Her back stiffened and her eyes flared. ‘I don’t know what century it is in Ireland, but here you do not call grown women “girl”, not if you value your body parts.’

  Kev and Zeke snickered but Jack just grinned. ‘Oh, I value my body parts, and if you’re especially good, you might get to sample them for yourself. Then you’ll see what all the fuss is about.’

  Abbie didn’t know whether to scream abuse at Jack or pretend she hadn’t heard. She could tell by his grin exactly what he was thinking. He was getting to her and he knew it.

  She was glad of the distraction when he handed out the meal packs from the plane. Each of them got a plastic tray with little compartments for breadsticks, olives, cream cheese, some unidentified deli meat and a tiny portion of mustard. They were snacks rather than full meals, but they were edible and would keep them going. She hated to think what they were going to do for food after this. She had had some survival training, but had never had to use it.

  ‘I can’t eat this, I have a gluten intolerance, my homeopath told me to avoid all wheat,’ Zeke Bryan said.

  ‘Then divide it out and we’ll eat it,’ Jack said.

  She noticed that Jack ate quickly, keeping a wary eye on the sky. It was going to be dark in minutes.

  ‘Find a bush, go do your business and we’ll go to bed,’ he said.

  There was a horrified silence.

  ‘Business?’ Abbie said finally.

  ‘Piss. Take a leak. Spend a penny. Whatever the hell you call it. Just do it, without getting bitten if possible, and get back here before night falls.’

  Kevin laughed.

  ‘That’s impossible,’ Zeke said. ‘I can’t use public facilities. I can’t possibly, er, go in these conditions.’

  Abbie almost felt sorry for the old creep. Of course, he knew he had to do what Jack called his ‘business’ out in the wild, but somehow he seemed to think if he protested loudly enough, everything would magically get better. That was showbiz. When she was a cub reporter she had spent three months as an intern on the paper’s entertainment section and had raced out of it the first chance she got. Showbiz was full of big egos who lived in another world, one where they always had ‘people’ to fix things for them. It was why she couldn’t help admiring Jack Winter even if he was a pain in the ass. He just got on with it. Zeke, on the other hand, had become a spoiled child, and it looked like Jack was rapidly losing patience with him.

  ‘Fine, hold it all night. See if I care.’

  Kevin grinned at her. ‘Want me to come and mind your back while you’re taking care of business?’ he said.

  She would have preferred to go off on her own, but she knew it was safer to have company.

  ‘Yes, please. If you promise not to look. You can watch for spiders.’

  ‘Cross my heart and hope to die,’ Kevin said, making a cross on his chest in a childish gesture. He walked ahead of her until they were away from the other two and they found a clear spot.

  When they were both done and ready to go back, Abbie took a deep breath.

  Kevin smiled at her. ‘Worried? Look, it’s a hell of a situation but I’ve been in plenty of scrapes with Jack before and we always get out of them.’

  Abbie smiled back at him weakly. The last twenty-four hours were catching up with her and she was at the end of her endurance.

  ‘Of course, there’s one guaranteed way to take your mind off things,’ he said, stroking her arm, ‘and it would be a pity to let that condom go to waste.’

  Oh, for the love of … Men!

  Abbie glared at him and stomped back to base. She could hear him chuckling behind her. Jack had set up two hammocks. Yet again Zeke was complaining.

  ‘I’m not sharing a hammock,’ he said. ‘You should have made more. We have enough material for more.’

  ‘But only enough mosquito netting to cover two. If you want to sleep in a hammock
with no netting, be my guest.’

  Jack looked up at her and Kevin, narrowing his eyes as he took in their expressions.

  ‘Bags I’m sharing with the hot girl,’ Kevin said.

  Jack shook his head. ‘You’re not as heavy as I am. You and Zeke together probably weigh the same as Abbie and I do. So that’s the way we’ll have to pair up.’

  And now my night is complete.

  She wasn’t sure she could face sharing a hammock with any of these guys. But the last person she wanted to share with was Jack Winter. In that instant, every cell in her body came alive. She had spent the last few hours trying to ignore how his edgy masculinity and overpowering presence made her feel. She had managed to distract herself by coming up with new ways to be infuriated by him. But all of that was for nothing, she realized now. There was no point. The first moment she had seen him, he had affected her. Now it was worse – his beauty was no longer just abstract, like a piece of art or a staggering vista that she could admire intellectually. Now it was personal. At the image of the two of them lying next to each other, her heart started to beat faster, and between her thighs she could feel an unwelcome pulsing. She was afraid she was going to hyperventilate.

  ‘I’m fine,’ she insisted. ‘I don’t think I could sleep anyway. I’ll just sit here and –’

  ‘Don’t move, Abbie. Stay perfectly still.’

  A quick glance at Kevin’s shocked expression told her that Jack wasn’t joking. Something rustled in her hair and she bit her lip hard, trying not to scream. Something was crawling on her.

  ‘Abbie,’ Jack picked up a stick and moved slowly towards her, ‘whatever happens, don’t move.’

  Stick in hand, Jack lunged forwards. The stick skimmed the top of her head and something dark tumbled into the undergrowth at her feet and scurried away. Her heart thundered. ‘Oh my god. Oh my god, what was that thing?’