Fatal Pursuit (The Aegis Series)

by Elisabeth Naughton

  “Oh my God.” Marley pushed past the native women in the doorway and ran across the camp toward the warriors. “Jake!”

  “Marley!” He swiveled in the air and looked her way, but his momentum kept spinning him around. “Are you hurt?”

  “No, I’m fine. I’m not hurt. I’m okay. Oh my God, Jake.”

  Footsteps pounded in the dirt behind her. She lurched for him but two warriors stepped in her way, blocking her path. “Wait. What are you doing? Get out of my way.”

  She reached past them for Jake, but they pushed her back and let off a string of words she couldn’t follow.

  Voices echoed all around her. Several other warriors moved in her way.

  At their backs, Jake’s frantic voice rose up. “Marley!”

  She tried to see past the mass of bodies. Jake was still spinning in the air, his arms flying out to the side, trying to stop his movements. She struggled against the hands and arms trying to pull her back. “He’s with me, you idiots. Let me go.”

  “Pahali acutef,” Darla’s voice rang out.

  The warriors stilled and looked toward the voice, but Marley’s gaze didn’t follow. She rushed past the men toward Jake. “Oh my God, are you okay?”

  “Fine, except for being strung up like a piece of meat.”

  She grasped his shoulders, hanging six feet off the ground, and pulled him around to hold him still. “What the hell happened?”

  “What does it look like happened? I nearly got speared trying to rescue you.”

  Warmth filled her chest, and a silly smile she couldn’t stop tugged at the corner of her mouth. “It looks to me like you’re the one who needs rescuing.”

  “No thanks to—”

  “Notuli aku tamen!” One of the warriors stepped close and drew his spear, pointing it right at Jake’s side.

  Jake tensed and reached out to grasp Marley’s hand. “Stop gloating and do something, would you? I’m not in the mood to be dinner.”

  Marley let go of Jake’s hand and moved between him and the warrior. “Whoa. Wait.”

  The warrior lifted his sword and yelled, “Notuli aku tamen!”

  Two other warriors moved up on Jake’s other side.

  “Um. Addison.”

  From the corner of Marley’s vision she could see Jake spinning at her back. Her adrenaline spiked. She held up her hands in a nonthreatening way. “He’s with me. He’s totally harmless, I promise.”

  The warriors looked at each other, then refocused on Jake, their eyes narrowing, spears lowering.

  “That’s not working.” Jake reached out for her arm, catching himself to slow his spinning. “If you’ve got any other bright ideas, use them. Like, now.”

  Marley’s frantic mind caught on something Darla had told her about the Puketi people valuing family. Her heart rate shot up. Her hands grew sweaty. It was a long shot, but they were obviously out of options. “I’ve got one.”

  She whipped around and captured Jake’s upside down face in her hands. “Hold still.”

  “Why? What—?”

  She pressed her lips against his.

  “Mar—”

  “Just go with it,” she whispered before kissing him again. Quick. Easy. Just a brush of lips against lips. But enough to make her belly warm and her fingers tingle against the scruff on his jaw.

  Ignoring her body’s stupid reaction, she drew back and glanced over the crowd, searching for Darla. “He’s not a threat. Darla, he’s with me. We’re together. Tell them he’s with me.”

  The crowd looking on parted. Darla stood at the back of the group with a perplexed expression and nodded toward Jake. “This is your mate?”

  Mate? Whoa. That was a little more than she’d expected.

  “I’ll be your damn anything,” Jake mumbled. “Just get me down from here.”

  “Um, boyfriend,” Marley lied. “Yes. We’re together.”

  Darla didn’t respond. The warriors looked from Darla to Marley and back again. Tense seconds passed.

  Finally, Darla said. “Akutami peli aten fu maku.”

  Two warriors stepped up on each side of Jake. Wide-eyed, Marley shifted back toward Jake to see what they were doing. Her heart beat hard as the males stared at her and then looked at Jake.

  “Marley.” Jake reached his hand out to her.

  “I’m right here.” She closed her fingers around his and squeezed. The warrior on her right pulled a knife from the strap on his bare thigh.

  “They don’t believe you.” Jake tensed. His hand grew damp against hers.

  Marley’s heart shot into her throat. Jake was right. They didn’t believe her. Fear jerked her forward. “Wait—”

  The warrior reached up and sliced through the rope holding Jake’s left leg. The one on the other side did the same to the second rope. Jake’s “Fuck me!” echoed in the air as both warriors stepped back. He landed with a thud against the dirt.

  Hands shaking, Marley dropped to her knees next to him. “Shit. Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” Groaning, he rolled to his side and pushed up, then pressed a hand to his forehead. “Dizzy, but fine.”

  Relief swept through Marley like a tidal wave. She grasped his hands and helped pull him to his feet. “You scared me.”

  “I scared you? What the hell were you thinking stepping close to that edge? When I saw you go down that hillside, I thought—”

  His mouth closed. His jaw clenched, and he shook his head.

  Was that fear she heard in his voice? The usually calm, take-charge man she knew so well sounded rattled in a way she hadn’t expected.

  He turned those dark, intense eyes her way. “Are you hurt?”

  Her pulse picked up speed all over again. And as the worry in his eyes registered, a new set of nerves lit off in her belly. Except these weren’t rooted in fear. These rolled and churned and vibrated with an awareness she knew she shouldn’t be feeling. “Um. No. Not hurt. Not really. Just a little bruised.”

  His dirt-streaked features relaxed, and he reached for her hand. “Thank God.”

  Before she realized what he was doing, he tugged her into the warmth of his body, then closed his arms around her and lowered his face into her hair.

  Surprise made her draw in a quick breath. Her muscles tensed. Her hands opened against his pecs. The scents of dirt and sweat and him filled her senses until she felt lightheaded.

  In all the years she’d worked for him, he’d never once hugged her. Her mind tumbled with an explanation, and then she realized it had to be the stress of the situation. They’d also never been lost in the jungle together, she’d never been swept away in a landslide, and he probably hadn’t been dragged into a native village and strung up in the trees like lunch before either.

  Relief came raging back. Along with a warmth that rippled through every part of her and eased the knot of worry inside. One she liked. More than she should. Sinking into him for just a minute, she closed her eyes and let him hold her. She wasn’t one to need coddling, but this she didn’t mind. Because it reaffirmed that he wasn’t hurt. That they were both alive. And though she’d never admit it to him, this felt better than anything had in a really long time.

  “So you told them we were a couple,” he said into her hair.

  His words popped the cozy bubble of relief. Marley blinked and looked up at the tree Jake had just been hanging from. “Um, yeah. Sorry. The Puketi people are sorta hopeless romantics as a culture. It was either that or watch them flay you. I figured this was the lesser of two evils.”

  “I definitely don’t want to get flayed,” he mumbled. “And since they’re all still staring at me as if I might club you over the head and drag you off into the jungle, we better make this convincing.”

  “Make what convincing?”

  Jake drew back. Confused, she looked up, then suck
ed in a quick breath when she caught the look in his dark eyes. A look that was soft, mischievous, and downright hot all at the same time.

  He lowered his head and pressed his lips against hers. Gentler than she’d kissed him but more intense. More real. More there. Her whole body stiffened. Her head grew light, and her knees wobbled. Unsure if she should react, if she should kiss him back, she moved her hands from his pecs to his biceps and squeezed to hold herself upright so her legs didn’t go out from under her.

  His arms tightened around her lower back, drawing her tighter into the heat of his body as he skimmed his lips over hers again, teasing her bottom lip with the tip of his tongue. His thighs brushed hers. Those tingles in her belly blossomed and spread. Awareness morphed to arousal and then to a heat that flooded her veins. One she knew she shouldn’t be feeling. One she couldn’t seem to stop.

  Sliding her fingers up his shoulders and around his nape, she played with the ends of his short hair, tried to hold back, but suddenly didn’t want to anymore.

  She opened, drew him deep into her mouth, groaned at the silky wet taste. It was wrong. It was just for show. But she didn’t care. He tasted amazing. Felt even better. Especially after all the stress and worry of not knowing what had happened to him. And every time he moved his tongue against hers, she saw stars.

  Her muscles grew lax, her body weak. His hand slinked up her back, slid into her hair, and cradled the back of her head. And then he kissed her deeper, his lips and tongue and seductive mouth drawing the thoughts right out of her head. Making her forget where they were. What they were doing. Why they were in this jungle in the first place. Made her think of nothing but him.

  He drew back long before she was ready to let him go. Dizzy, she gripped his shoulders and pressed her forehead against his throat until the village stopped spinning. His warm breath fanned the sensitive skin of her temple, and then he whispered, “I think that time we fooled them.”

  It took moments for his words to register, but when they did, she slowly lifted her head and glanced over his shoulder.

  The village women had already wandered back to whatever they’d been doing before the excitement. The males were heading toward the wood piled up in the middle of camp, spears in hands, their strides relaxed, as if nothing had happened. Even the children who’d stopped to watch wide-eyed were gone, probably off playing in the mud or river by now. Only one warrior stood by watching them, as if waiting to see if they’d flee.

  She eyed the warrior’s stoic face, swallowed once, then realized she was still pressed up against Jake’s muscular body from thigh to chest. And, oh man, he wasn’t as unaffected by their kiss as she’d thought. The rigid line of his erection pressed against her belly.

  Letting go, she pushed back quickly, only to discover her knees were weaker than she’d thought.

  “Whoa. Careful.” He reached out to grab her, but she caught herself before she landed flat on her ass in the dirt, and wriggled out of his grip.

  “I’m fine.” Holy hell. What the heck was that? “You just surprised me, that’s all.”

  He grinned. “It was your idea first.”

  A warmth she did not need flooded her belly. She looked up at his sexy grin, only to have a whole new set of tingles erupt in her belly.

  Oh . . . crap. This is Ryder. Your boss. Mr. Emotionally Crippled and Aggravating as Hell. Do not start thinking of him as anything else.

  She wouldn’t. She was smarter than that. Way smarter. One kiss did not change reality. She squared her shoulders. “I said I’m fine, and I’m fine.”

  “You sure about that?” His heated gaze traveled down her body and back up again. Her half-naked body. And she realized then that even though she was wearing a tiny top and the shortest skirt on the planet, she was sweating. Profusely. “You look a little flustered.”

  Yeah, no shit, she was flustered. She was also flipping the hell out. Arousal and frustration and disbelief churned in her belly, leaving her confused, making her hot, pushing her right to the edge of control.

  And he was enjoying it.

  Drawing in a calming breath, she planted her hands on her hips and glared up at him. “If I’m flustered it’s because I just had to save your life.”

  She eyed the warrior once more past Jake, thought about making a break for it, then realized her backpack, complete with her passport, phone, and money, was still back in the hut. Even if they got away, she needed her stuff. And more than anything right now she wanted clothes. Her clothes.

  A child rushed up at Marley’s side before Jake could answer and held up a flower. “Atuen ma, Lay-ah.”

  Marley took the flower and smiled down at the child. “Thank you.”

  The small naked girl ran off.

  Jake tipped his head. “Leia?”

  Marley pushed the hair back from her face. “Yeah. Um. They, ah, sorta think I’m a princess.”

  “Princess Leia?” He lifted one brow in total amusement. “You told them your name was Princess Leia?”

  Heat rushed to Marley’s cheeks. “No, I didn’t tell them that. It was a misunderstanding.” One she didn’t want to get into with him now.

  The soft, sexy chuckle that rumbled from his chest only made her cheeks hotter. She turned for the village, needing space, needing to get Jake and these crazy thoughts about that meaningless kiss out of her head. Needing to pull it together before she made a complete fool of herself. “And I wouldn’t get too cocky if I were you. They’re planning some kind of celebration tonight. Something tells me we’re not getting out of here anytime soon.”

  His footsteps sounded at her back. “A party for Princess Leia, huh? As long as I’m not the main course, we’re good.”

  No, they weren’t good. They were as far from good as they could get. Because suddenly all those silly emotions Marley had been experiencing the last few months whenever Jake looked at her were rushing back. And that had bad news written all over it, because Jake Ryder was the last man on the planet she had any intention of getting involved with.

  “Just try not to do anything to get us into more trouble.”

  He caught up with her and gripped her hand. Surprised, she looked up, then tried to pull away, but he only held her tighter and grinned.

  “For effect,” he said. “You may be the savior of the universe, but we are a couple, remember?”

  Marley clenched her jaw and looked straight ahead. But a little thrill rushed through her. Forget about getting into trouble. That warmth flooding her belly all over again told her she was in trouble up to her eyeballs. And, dammit, she liked it.

  Jake leaned forward and rested his elbows on his updrawn knees as he looked toward the enormous bonfire in the middle of the village.

  Drums echoed in the darkness, and males decked out in grass skirts and feather headdresses with red paint in stripes down their arms and legs and across their faces chanted and shook to the beat. Children ran around the edge of the celebration, laughing and singing. Women moved through the villagers with large wooden platters in their hands, serving meats and fruits to those watching the festivities. Several elderly men were seated on the periphery near Jake, animatedly talking and smoking something in long pipes, but he barely noticed. The only thing he could see was Marley, standing on the far side of the fire, listening closely to a middle-aged woman trying to teach her how to dance like a native.

  The woman, wearing nothing but a tiny skirt, grasped Marley’s hand and twirled her around. Jake smiled as Marley’s wavy blonde hair caught the light and swayed behind her. Firelight flickered over every inch of her bare skin—her long, shapely legs, her flat belly and the soft indent of her belly button, and her ample cleavage in the revealing top that was nothing more than strips of fabric tied together.

  Why had he never noticed her breasts before? That was usually the first thing he spotted on a woman. And when had her hair gotten so wavy? Usually
she wore it straight, either down to her shoulders or pulled back out of her face.

  A woman passed in front of him, interrupting his view. She leaned forward with a platter of meat. Feeling stuffed from all the food they’d shoved at him already, Jake held up a hand and shook his head. “Notuli. Thanks.”

  The woman moved on. Jake leaned to his left to see past her. A wide smile split Marley’s face, and she laughed at something the native woman beside her said. Mesmerized, Jake watched as torchlight flickered over her features, making her skin glow and her eyes dance as if fueled by flames.

  “She’s very pretty.”

  Startled by the voice, Jake pulled his gaze from Marley and looked up at the only other non-native person in the village. “Who?”

  Darla nodded toward Marley and the fire. “Your girlfriend. I’m not so old that I can’t see the obvious. May I sit?”

  His girlfriend. Right. Everyone thought they were an item. Not employer-employee. Something in his stomach flipped over, but he figured it had to be the weird food. He seriously hoped that wasn’t boa constrictor he’d eaten earlier. “Sure.”

  Darla lowered herself to the ground at his side and crossed her legs in front of her. “I’m not the only one who thinks so, either.” She nodded toward the fire. “Look.”

  Jake glanced back at Marley. A tall, skinny male covered in red paint who looked to be no more than fifteen grasped both of her hands and spun her around. Marley’s eyes widened, but she didn’t pull away, and the smile rushing over her features told Jake loud and clear that she was enjoying herself.

  He smiled again, just watching her, and wondered why he’d never seen her grin like that before. Yeah, she’d smiled earlier in the day when they’d taken that swim, but it hadn’t been like this. This encompassed every feature, made the skin around her soft blue eyes crinkle, made the tiniest dimple appear in her cheek. And it lit up her entire face, bringing out a side of her he hadn’t known existed.

  The elderly male on Jake’s left handed him a pipe. Pulling his gaze from Marley once more, Jake waved his hand. “Oh, no thanks.”