The woods closed in around them, dark and deep, and she thought, This is the safest place I'll ever be, we are the safest place I'll ever be, and lost herself in them, in the pulse they made together. They rocked each other closer, higher, hotter, the pressure building inexorably until she was tight everywhere, the sizzle bubbling beneath her skin, craving his touch, his hands, his mouth. Her breaths became sobs, and he rolled, pinning her beneath him, and the weight of him bearing down on her, pulsing deep inside her, made her clutch at him as he held her tighter. He whispered, "Let go, Lucy," and she gave herself up, felt the kick in her blood and then the surge, and she cried out and let him take her, over and over, shuddering safe beneath him, mindless with lust and love.

When J.T. moved away from her hours later, Lucy roused at the loss of his heat, then came awake completely as he stood. "What?"

"It's almost dawn," he said from the darkness, making rustling sounds as he got dressed.

Lucy yawned and peered into the darkness. "I can't see it." She lay back, still half asleep, and saw the stars overhead, a million pinpricks of light, a million possibilities ahead of her. And all of them with J.T.

She laced her fingers behind her head. "There are an awful lot of stars up there in a very dark sky. I don't think that's dawn."

"It's close," he said, and she decided that anybody who camped with gators probably knew when dawn came better than she did. "We call it BMNT in the Army," he added. "Beginning morning nautical twilight."

Oh, good. Military terms. That was what she wanted to hear. So much better than, Last night was the best of my life, and I'll love you forever. "Nautical. Are we at sea?"

"No. But this is when the bad guys always attack. So we always do stand to."

" 'Stand to'?" Lucy stretched. "Sounds good to me. Can you stand to lying down?"

Wilder laughed and she liked the sound. "It means get ready for the Indians to come riding in. They always attack just before dawn in the movies, right?"

Guess that's a no. Just her luck, she'd fallen for the one man in the world who wasn't interested in morning sex but who was worried about Indians riding in. Low sex drive and politically incorrect. Probably because he watched too many damn Westerns. Well, they could work on that. She sat up and felt around for her clothes, finding her shirt first and putting that on, then her jeans, wondering how long it would take to convince him that they were soul mates. She'd probably have to bring him back to consciousness after she dropped the forever part on him, so the soul mate thing could be even trickier. More sex, she thought. That might help. It would help me. She stood up, still half asleep, wishing they were in a hotel room someplace so that she could close the curtains and drag him back to bed.

Dragging him back to swamp in the approaching daylight did not appeal as much. For one thing, she really did not want to see where she'd been sleeping. Not that there'd been much sleeping.

But tonight, definitely a bed, she thought. "You ever had room-service breakfast in bed?"

"Nope."

What a surprise. "We'll try that next time," she said, keeping her voice light. "But we have to be in a room first."

"Here." He handed over her bra, and she said, "Thank you," automatically and squinted at the ground to find her underpants. "This afternoon, before the shoot," she told him, when she had her underpants and bra rolled into a ball. "You and me. In a hotel room. Yours, mine, I don't care, but there's going to be a bed."

"What makes you think I'm that easy?" he said.

She stepped across the bedroll and pulled him to her, kissing him good, feeling herself shiver because it was him.

"Right," he said when he came up for air. "This afternoon. Hotel room."

"Damn straight," Lucy said, and kissed him again, loving the way he made her head reel. "You are definitely my Animal of the Month," she said, and kissed him one more time, and then she sighed and started off for the road until he caught her. "I have to get back," she said, tickled that she'd gotten him that easily, and he turned her in the opposite direction.

"That's back," he said, pointing through the woods in the other direction.

Okay, so you're not that easy. "I knew that," she said, fighting a grin. "I was just testing you."

"How'd I do?"

"You're adequate," she said, and he swatted her on the rear as she stepped across the bedroll and headed back for the camper.

By the time Lucy hit the edge of base camp, the sky was just beginning to show pink in the east and she was awake enough to realize that walking out of a swamp with some of her clothes in her hands could cause comment. And then there was the goofy smile she was pretty sure was still on her face from being swatted on the butt by a tight-assed military man.

Such a human thing for him to do. Much like the things he'd been doing for the rest of the night, she thought, and grinned again. She sidled around the back of the trucks and made it to the camper without seeing anybody, feeling stupid for sneaking, but too damn happy to really care. She'd had great sex with an epiphany in the middle. Let 'em comment.

Then she yanked open the door and saw Daisy sitting at the camper table, yawning.

"And where have you been, little girl?" Daisy said, grinning sleepily.

"In the woods with a wolf." Lucy climbed into the camper. "Why are you up before dawn?"

"I left my pills in the motel, so I couldn't sleep," Daisy said, and Lucy felt her giddy happiness slip away.

"But you were so tired and happy-"

"I was thinking about what you said," Daisy said. "About not shooting tonight. They'll never let you cancel, Lucy. I appreciate you trying, but they won't stop."

Oh hell. Lucy kicked herself. One night of lust in the woods and she forgot about everything but herself. Daisy was right, there was no way Nash was just going to roll over because she said so. Well, at least they had J.T. on their side. She was developing a touching faith in his ability to save people.

"But if we make it through this, we're going back to New York with you," Daisy said, and Lucy stared at her. Daisy shrugged. "I'll get a job or work with you, and we'll find a school for Pepper, and maybe I can go to school nights. But you're right, from now on we're together."

Lucy sat down in the chair across from her. "Daisy, I know you're not happy about New York." So maybe I'll move down here and start over. In the clear light of a satisfied morning, that option was looking better. Not practical, probably not even possible, but better.

"It isn't New York. I wanted to make it on my own," Daisy said.

"You have been." Lucy leaned across to take her hand. "That's what's been wrong. Nobody makes it on their own. God, I'd be nuts if it weren't for Gloom. You're supposed to have backup."

"You never did," Daisy said.

"Of course I did," Lucy said. "I had you."

Daisy blinked at her. "I was your backup?"

"Always. You were always there for me." She tightened her grip on Daisy's hand. "And I'm so glad you're going to be with me again. I know it's selfish but I so much want you with me."

"Oh." Daisy blinked and swallowed. "Oh, that's really good, that I was your backup. I know it's not true, but it sounds so good."

"It's true," Lucy said, and thought, I'm just not sure I want to go back

to New York now. How wimpy was she if one night of great sex could make her move next door to alligators? "About New York-"

Somebody knocked on the door of the camper and opened it.

"You left-" J.T. said, and stopped as he saw Daisy. He was holding Lucy's WonderWear, which Lucy took from him smoothly.

"Thank you," she said.

"Why does he have your WonderWear?" Daisy asked Lucy, grinning at her.

"Because we had hot animal sex in the woods last night," Lucy said.

J.T. swallowed. "So. Well. I have to go now."

"Chicken," Lucy said. "But go ahead." Her smiled faded. "I have to call the hospital to check on Stephanie, and go talk to Gloom, and then Finnegan will probably call again-"

"Again?" J.T. said, stopping with the door half closed. "When did he call?"

"Yesterday at the accident, after I threw Nash's phone in the swamp," Lucy said. "He wanted to know if the van was all right and I said no…" Her voice trailed off at the look on his face.

"How did he know the van was missing?" J.T. said.

"Nash probably called him," Daisy said.

"No," J.T. said. "I heard the van go when I saw Nash on the phone, he called whoever it was who stopped the van. I thought it was Finnegan, but if Finnegan called looking for Nash, ir was somebody else." He frowned at Lucy, all business. "Why'd he call you?"

"I threw Nash's cell phone in the swamp before Finnegan could answer," Lucy said, feeling a little chilled by his focus on work. "So who called Finnegan?"

"The mole," Daisy said, "whoever that is," and Lucy watched J.T.'s face clear.

"I know who that is," he said and left.

Lucy got up to follow him. "Go back to bed," she said to Daisy. "I'll take you and Pepper to the hotel when we get back."

"Okay," Daisy said. "But when you come back I want to know who the mole is." She raised her voice as Lucy went out the door. "And everything you did last night!"

Lucy picked up speed to get to the Jeep before he left without her, telling herself that being disappointed because he was back in mission mode was ridiculous. J.T. would find the mole, she knew that, because he would always come through for her.