Barrett, Julia Rachel - Pushing Her Boundaries (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Julia Rachel Barrett

  * * * *

  Maggie vanished around the northern edge of the island. The woman had a stubborn streak a mile wide. She could get herself killed. Robert and Patty have to be the two most idiotic, inconsiderate, wrong-headed, incompetent, dangerous, stupid people I have ever met in my entire life. They’ve put us in an untenable position and if Maggie gets hurt, I swear…

  Mace knew he had to do something before he grew so angry he couldn’t function. Keeping one eye on the southern tip of the island, he rummaged through their gear. They didn’t have much, a pack of matches in his jacket pocket, two quarts of water, a single-burner stove, one sleeping bag, one sleeping pad, and a tarp. Other than those few items, they had their clothes. He searched Maggie’s backpack. She had plenty of extra clothes along with her birth control pills and a bottle of migraine tablets. She’d zipped those securely into a waterproof plastic bag. Smart girl. I imagine those are the two things she doesn’t want to lose.

  He re-packed everything and wandered along the shore in the direction Maggie had gone. He couldn’t go far without wading into the water. The forest was too thick. There was no sign of her and there was no sign of Robert and Patty. He could tell from the wave action along the southern shore that the wind had picked up even more. The clouds were building in the west and the temperature was dropping. Mace glanced at his watch. She’d been gone thirty minutes.

  Look, she won’t do anything risky. Be patient. It’ll probably take her forty, forty-five minutes to get there and come back. He glanced south. The expanse of open water was whitecaps and chop, stretching all the way to the channel Maggie had shown him. We can’t get out of here today. There’s no way in hell we can paddle through this shit. I could wring Robert’s scrawny neck for putting us in danger. Thank God Maggie keeps cool in a crisis. Mace thought back to the incident on the flight. Yeah, that’s Maggie, a tigress in my arms, but calm when things fall apart. Mace felt the corners of his mouth turn up. Despite the circumstances, he couldn’t help but smile. Yeah, she’s a tigress, all right. I’d like her in my arms again… His thoughts were interrupted by an icy stinging sensation on his cheek.

  What the hell?

  Another ice pellet hit his cheek, and then another. It was sleet, goddamn it, sleet. Great, just great. What else can go wrong? He needed to set up a shelter, fast, and then find Maggie and get her back here as quick as he could. Mace returned to the downed tree where they’d stowed the gear. Working efficiently, he pulled out the plastic tarp and opened it up, tying each end to a tree, forming a makeshift tent. Using Maggie’s Swiss Army knife, he sawed branches from some of the smaller white pines, spreading them over the cold, damp ground to make a dry bed. Opening his pack, he pulled out a pair of sweats and some old T-shirts, covering the pine needles with clothing. One narrow sleeping pad for the two of them was not going to do the trick. After tossing the single sleeping bag beneath the tarp and checking to make certain it would stay dry, he rolled up his pants and slid down the bank into the shallows, determined to reach Maggie before something worse happened.

  * * * *

  The shallows weren’t as shallow as Maggie expected them to be, and the footing was slick and uneven, far more uneven on the north shore than it had been along the east shore where she’d started out. It was beginning to look like she’d bitten off more than she could chew, but if she could manage another two hundred yards or so, she’d have a view of the open water to the west. Does it really matter if I spot Robert and Patty? Do I care? Well, yeah, I guess, I care a lot…they have the food pack. Idiots, complete and total idiots. The first rule of wilderness? Stay together. The second rule? Make certain every canoe carries provisions in case the people who carry the provisions are fucking ignoramuses. I knew I shouldn’t have gone on this trip. I had a bad feeling about it from the moment Lynn brought it up, and that bad feeling had nothing whatsoever to do with Mace. I should have stuck by my guns and said no.

  She and Lynn had argued this morning. Maggie had wanted to back out of the canoe trip, to stay at the cabin, or better yet, ask Jeff to haul her back to the marina. But for god only knows what reason, Lynn had insisted she go on this trip. She’d begged and pleaded, saying in a tearful voice that she and Jeff needed time alone, that there were issues they had to work out. She claimed she’d want Maggie by her side at the end of the week, yet she refused to give her any details, a sure way to keep Maggie in limbo. She wasn’t satisfied until Maggie agreed to go. Well, she hooked me all right. I wonder if Lynn is pregnant. She wouldn’t be the first woman to have to rush her wedding. As if getting in an automobile accident and breaking an ankle isn’t bad enough…or maybe she’s just playing me, because she knows I’ll do anything for her…

  Maggie slipped on a slimy rock and fell face first into the chilly lake. She struggled to get her feet underneath her. Finally balancing on her hands and knees, she stood up, soaked to the skin. “Damn it!” She shook the water from her hair. “That’ll teach you. Pay attention,” she muttered.

  Moving forward toward the far side of the island, Maggie suddenly stopped. Mace was right, this is a stupid idea. As she turned around, a strong gust of wind hit her, knocking her back down into the water. This time she scrambled to her feet quickly. “Ow!” Something stung the exposed skin on the back of her neck. What now? She turned to look, facing a wall of approaching sleet.

  “Oh fuck!” Maggie wanted to make a run for it, but there was no way she could move fast, the footing was too bad. Churned by the wind, the previously clear water had grown so cloudy she could barely see her feet. She scouted the shoreline as she slogged through the shallows, hoping to find a break in the steep rocks so she could take shelter under the trees. There was nothing, at least nothing nearby. Her best bet was to push on and make it to the lee side of the island, back to Mace.

  * * * *

  Mace turned the corner, leaving the sheltered side of the island, and the wind hit him full force. Carried by the strong gusts, sleet tore at his face, arms, and hands. Mace pulled his baseball cap lower and peered out from beneath the brim. There she is. Maggie stumbled in his direction, soaked to the skin. As he closed the gap between them, a blast of wind drove her to her knees. Shit. He had to reach her before she was injured or worse.

  “Maggie!” he yelled her name into the wind. He could tell she didn’t hear him, and she had yet to look up. He cupped his mouth with both hands. “Maggie, I’m coming.”

  She lifted her head and their eyes met. She struggled to her feet and began moving toward him again. Fifty yards separated them. Mace moved faster. Twenty yards…ten…and then she was in his arms, breathless, pale, her skin cold as ice to his touch. She clutched his bare forearms with frozen fingers. Her teeth chattered. “Mace…I’m not…I’m not thinking clearly. I need to get out of here, out of this…”

  “I know, Maggie.” He turned, bringing her with him. He shoved her in front of him, sheltering her with his body. “You’re hypothermic. C’mon, we have to get back to the other side of the island.”

  “I’m…I’m sorry. I don’t know how much farther I can walk.”

  Mace wrapped a rock-solid arm around her waist, stabilizing her in the waves. “You can make it. You will make it. I’m with you now, and I won’t let you fall. Ten minutes, Maggie, hang in here with me for ten minutes and we’ll be out of the worst of it, I swear. You can count on me.”

  “I was stupid to try this,” she mumbled.

  “No, you weren’t stupid. You were brave, very brave.” He propelled her forward. “Let’s get moving. We can talk about stupid later, and believe me, it’s not you.”

  Even though they made steady progress, it seemed to Mace as if it took hours to get Maggie out of those gale-force winds. She gamely tried to stay on her feet, but he could tell she was fading fast. He had to get her warm and dry and it had to be as soon as possible. Unfortunately, possible was two hundred yards farther down the shoreline.

  “Stay with me, Maggie.” Mace urged her forward. “Stay with me, baby.
Almost there.” By the time they reached the beach, she could barely move. He dragged her up the bank, half carrying her, and hauled her through the falling sleet and rain to the shelter he’d set up. Jesus, she looked half-dead. Her eyes mere slits, she watched him with a blank expression.

  Mace ripped the sleeping bag from its stuff sack and unrolled it, spreading it out so they could both fit inside. Without hesitation he stripped Maggie’s soaked clothing from her wet, limp body. Using his sweats, he dried her as quickly as he could. After removing his own clothes, he wrapped them both in the sleeping bag. He pressed her against his chest, stretching himself out full-length against her, warming her with his naked body. His own back was exposed to the elements, but Mace barely noticed. Returning Maggie’s body temperature to normal was his only concern. If he didn’t warm her fast, she would die.

  Mace slid one arm beneath Maggie, anchoring her to him, holding her as close as possible. He rubbed his other hand along her arm, trying to create some friction and generate more heat. At least the tarp protected them from the wind, rain, and sleet. It stayed dry beneath the makeshift tent, and the pine branches he’d laid down kept the cold from seeping up from the ground.

  “C’mon, baby, wake up.” He ran his lips along her cheek. Her skin still felt icy cold. He needed to reach her. “Maggie, get that sweet ass of yours back here so I can fuck you again.”

  That got a rise out of her. She stirred against him and mumbled something.

  “What was that, baby? Hmmm? Talk to me, Maggie, c’mon girl. Give me a good smack upside the head. I’ll enjoy the hell out of it.”

  “I said,” she whispered, “that if you think saving my life means you can fuck me up the ass any time you want, you’ve got another…” Her voice drifted off.

  “Uh-uh, Maggie, get back here. I’ve got another what? What do I have coming to me?” He gave her a little shake. He couldn’t help the fact that he had an erection, a big, throbbing, painful erection. She was naked; he was naked, so despite the awful circumstances, he had an erection. He pressed himself against her belly, rubbing himself up and down her damp skin. “Wake up, Maggie, before I use this, before I take advantage of you in your weakened state.”

  She pressed her palm against his chest. “Like hell you will.”

  Mace chuckled. “That’s my girl. Welcome back, baby. I was beginning to think I’d lost you there for a minute.” He kissed her forehead. Thank God you came back to me. Mace tucked her head into his shoulder, nestling her against him. “Are you warming up now?”

  “Yes, Mace, yes, thanks.” Her voice sounded husky, raw. “I’m really sleepy. Do you think it’ll be okay, if I fall asleep, I mean?”

  “Yeah, baby, it’ll be okay now. Go to sleep. I’ve got you. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  Maggie snuggled as close as she could, resting her hand on his abdomen, just above his erection. Mace resisted the temptation to shift his hips just a little, so that her hand would brush the tip of his penis, but he knew he couldn’t be so crude, not at a time like this.

  “Thank you,” she murmured against his shoulder. “I would have died out there if you hadn’t come for me.” Mace heard her sigh.

  With his free hand, Mace brushed the hair from her eyes. He ran gentle fingers through her damp curls. “I’ll always come for you, Maggie. Always.” He waited to hear a reply, but the only sounds he heard were the moan of the wind in the trees above, the patter of rain on the tarp, and Maggie’s quiet, even breathing.

  * * * *

  Although the rain had stopped, Maggie was reluctant to move. She might be naked, but she was warm and dry and snug in Mace’s arms. He came for me. Mace Williams came to find me without a second thought. He risked himself to bring me back. And he refused to let me stop moving. She buried her nose against the side of Mace’s neck, inhaling. He smelled of crushed pine needles and clean, fresh rain. I’ve never smelled such a fuckable man in my entire life. She wiggled her hips against him just a little, testing the waters, but he didn’t move. What are you doing? You’ve sworn off men, remember? Yeah, but… Every detail of the night they’d spent together in Lynn’s apartment flooded back, in vivid, living color. God, I want him. I want this one man. Hey, you’re stuck in the wilderness. No food, no cell phone, nobody knows where you are, and you’re thinking of sex? Are you insane? Probably. Mace might be asleep, but it was obvious that a certain portion of his anatomy wasn’t. It pressed against her belly, insistent, hard, impossible to ignore.

  “Mace.” Maggie nuzzled his neck. “Mace.”

  He opened an eye. “Hmmm? You all right?”

  In answer, Maggie stroked the silky underside of his erection.

  Mace opened both eyes and grinned at her. “Feeling better, I take it?” He rubbed himself against her open palm.

  “Much better.” She slid down his body in their cramped quarters, her lips trailing from his neck to his collarbone, coming to rest at last on his small, hard bud of a nipple. Mace groaned.

  “Do you know what you’re doing?”

  “Um-hmm.” Maggie hummed the word; she didn’t stop sucking on his nipple.

  “Are you in complete control of your faculties?”

  “Yes,” she murmured against his chest, and she moved her mouth lower, to his taut abdomen. She licked his navel as her free hand traveled to his inner thigh.

  Mace made a low, growling noise and shifted his hips so that the head of his cock brushed her lips. “Where are we?”

  “In the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.” She licked him. Maggie heard him say, “Fuck, yes.”

  “What happened to us?” His voice sounded hoarse, raspy.

  “We’re stranded,” Maggie said, just before she wrapped her lips around him and took him deep in her mouth, sucking on his hard, steely erection. Mace wiggled around in the cramped space to make it easier for her, thrusting his hips and withdrawing, thrusting and withdrawing. Maggie felt herself grow hot and wet with wanting him. She knew in minute detail how incredible those thrusts would feel when he filled up her pussy.

  “C’mere.” Mace’s hands reached down for her. Maggie let go of him with a reluctant sucking sound as he pulled her up his body. “I want those sweet tits of yours.”

  Mace dangled her above his mouth. “Christ, you have the most beautiful breasts. Gimme…” He took a nipple into his mouth and bit down. Maggie gave a little squeal, she couldn’t help it. Everything the man did set her on fire. He switched his attention to her other breast, his hands on her rib cage, holding her suspended over his mouth and that club between his legs. Moaning, she tried to slide onto him, but he stopped her.

  Mace pulled his mouth from her nipple. He looked up at her. “Maggie…” His voice sounded ragged and harsh, painfully raw to her ears. “Maggie, make sure this is what you really want, because I would sell my soul to fuck you right now.”

  Maggie smiled and she lowered her face to his, brushing her lips over his. “Yes, I want you.”

  “You want me, or you want my dick?”

  “Can I have both, just this once?” Maggie slid the tip of her tongue between Mace’s lips.

  Instead of answering her, he ran his cock through her slick folds, rubbing against her clit. The contact felt electric and Maggie jerked in response. Mace lowered her onto his chest and threaded his hands in her short curls. He brought her mouth back to his, kissing her with great tenderness, his movements lazy, slow, as if they had all the time in the world. When Mace finally let her go, Maggie lifted her head, dazed. We do have all the time in the world. We have nothing but time.

  Deftly, Mace shifted their positions. He loomed above her, spreading her legs apart with his knees. “Be careful what you wish for, woman, you might just get it.” With those words, he thrust inside.

  Maggie arched to meet him, biting her lower lip, overwhelmed by the power of the man, the heat of him, the perfect way he filled her emptiness. Mace rose up on his elbows, keeping most of his weight off her as he pumped his hips, while she placed a hand o
n each side of his face and drew his mouth down to hers. She managed to kick one leg free of the sleeping bag and wrapped it around Mace’s ass. He has a glorious, tight little ass.

  “Oh god…” She tore her mouth from his.

  Mace panted. “Come for me, Maggie. Come for me, baby.”

  He thrust harder, deeper, and Maggie responded, thrashing beneath him, careening toward orgasm. “Yes, Mace…yes…yes…yes…oh, that feels so good…”

  “That’s it, baby, that’s it. Fuck, you’re gonna make me come. Right. Now.” Mace grew so fierce that Maggie felt as if she was once again buffeted by a storm. He pumped into her, hard as that proverbial club. Burying himself deep inside, he came with a growl, kicking her right into a second orgasm.

  Both held still for the longest time, seemingly capable of nothing more than breathing. Looming over her in the twilight, Mace hung his head, limp. At last he pulled out of her. He rearranged the sleeping bag, keeping his body between her and the outside air. He wrapped her in his strong arms and they both lay back on the bed of pine needles, spent. Maggie’s body still quivered with longing for the man. I’ve never, ever felt like this before. Oh my god, what am I going to do?

  * * * *

  “Have you had anything to drink today?”

  Mace opened his eyes at the sound of her voice. “What?”

  “I asked if you’ve had anything to drink today. It’s one thing to go without food; it’s something entirely different to risk dehydration. We need to drink. Where are the water bottles?”