by Desiree Holt
Mallory was quiet, letting him take the lead.
“Got it covered. Remember I mentioned the cabin on stilts—a jungle hut of sorts—that I, uh, have access to on the far side of the island? I set it up some time ago for a sort of op I was involved in.”
“A sort of op?” Eagle glanced over at his friend. “Jesus, Ed. Exactly how many things do you do besides dive tours and fishing expeditions?”
“Just enough to keep my hand in. As I said, I keep it stocked in case of emergency, which I think you’ll all agree that this is.”
Again, there was a long moment of silence.
Rocket shook his head. “I guess we don’t have a choice. Any idea how long this will be for?”
“My guess,” Ed answered, “is no more than a couple of days, while Barrera tears up the town since he won’t find you at the Albados’. When he doesn’t find you, he’ll move on to someone or something else.”
“Yeah, right,” Blaze snorted. “I know his type.”
“And I know Barrera,” Ed insisted. “He has a short attention span. Something else will come along to piss him off. Some unsuspecting tourist will do something, or one of his men will mouth off. If it doesn’t happen by itself, I’ll make it so.”
“I’m not sure I even want to know what all you do,” Viper said. “Just as long as you can get all of us out of here safely.”
“You can count on it. Now let’s get you to your jungle hideaway.”
They had driven for about fifteen minutes past acres of rich green fields before the narrow, paved street changed to a short dirt road barely large enough for a single vehicle. It was almost invisible, thickly overgrown as it was. Ed had the headlights on dim as he moved through the dense flora and fauna that concealed what was obviously a little-used entrance.
Blaze leaned over from the back seat. “Won’t Barrera send his men to search this area?”
“No.” Ed shook his head. “No one goes in here because it’s so easy to get lost. Besides, there are a lot of stories about La Jungla and Barrera’s men are very superstitious. They won’t even look for you here. That’s why I set up the hut here.”
He drove them slowly into the thickness of the jungle, maneuvering around trees and immense bushes. No one said a word for the next ten minutes, until the lights landed on a wood hut with a thatched roof. It sat on stilts in the middle of a miniscule clearing surrounded by giant, thick-leaved trees. A ladder led up to what passed for the door.
“And you have this why?” Eagle asked.
“I had, um, a friend who needed a place with some privacy for a little while here on Santa Marita. Until he could be, uh, extracted. I had a friend who had a friend who did a deal with us, and when the crisis was over, they decided I should keep this in case I had to help someone again. And so here you are.”
Eagle shook his head. “I’m not sure I even want to know what all you do besides your touristy stuff, but thank you.”
“Come on. Rocket, let’s get you and Mallory settled.”
Rocket climbed the ladder first, glad to discover that it was a lot sturdier than he expected. The hut was basically one room, with a large pallet on the floor with pillows and two thick quilts, a couple of sling chairs, and a small counter against one wall that held a camp stove.
Mallory was right behind him, followed by Ed. The others waited below.
“There should be enough here to take care of you for a couple of days,” Ed told them, opening cupboard doors to show them the supplies. “Sorry there’s no indoor plumbing, but there is an efficient outhouse right behind us.”
“Wow,” Rocket snorted. “Thanks.”
“Also, not far from the hut is a waterfall that beats any shower you’ve ever used.”
Rocket lifted an eyebrow. “All the comforts of home, right?”
“It’s fine,” Mallory assured Ed. “From everything I learned about Barrera, I don’t want to cross paths with him.”
“No, you don’t,” Ed agreed. “Okay, be right back.”
He hustled down the ladder and over to the vehicle, opening the rear door and rooting around. Then he was back with a canvas gym bag. When he opened it, Rocket saw a Glock .42 nestled among boxes of bullets. He handed it to Mallory.
“There’s ammo in here for both of you. Mallory, I had no idea about your skills with a handgun or how big a piece you could handle, but this little sweetheart packs quite a wallop.”
She smiled for the first time that night.
“I actually took firearms training and try to hit the range once a week. Thank you. This will be great.”
“Not that I expect you’ll need it, but I always believe in being prepared.”
Rocket shook his friend’s hand, doing his best to convey his thanks.
“I owe you big-time for this,” he told the other man. “I’ll forever be grateful.”
“Save your gratitude until we get you all safely out of here.”
“I’ve got my sat phone.” Rocket pointed to his pocket. “It was in the waterproof bag with my gun. You have the number?”
Ed nodded. “And I know your partners do, too. All right, we’re gonna get going. I want to scope out Santa Marita and see what Barrera’s got going on tonight. See if I can find out how long he’ll have checkpoints at all the streets leaving each town.”
Rocket climbed down the ladder so he could shake hands with each of his partners. No words were said, but they exchanged silent messages.
We’ve got your back.
We’ll get you out of this.
I trust you with my life. Our lives.
Then they climbed back into the vehicle and Ed drove it slowly out of the jungle.
Now it was just the two of them. Rocket looked at the woman standing in front of him. It was the first chance he’d had to take a good look at her. She hadn’t changed much in five years. Not much at all. Her hair was a richer auburn and probably still as wild, but now it was restrained by a ponytail holder. Her body was just as toned. He wondered if she kept it that way through exercise or running from bad guys when she got herself into impossible situations. The T-shirt she wore clung to breasts that his hands itched to cup, and worn jeans hugged a body that still made his mouth water.
Okay, he’d better get them up into the hut before he stripped off her clothes and took her right there on the jungle floor. Besides, he had no idea what her memories of that night were, if they were pleasant or if she regretted every single moment. Right now, her safety was primary.
“Let’s get back up into our hotel room,” he joked. “No telling what’s roaming around out here.”
Mallory frowned. “You mean like apes and tigers and things like that?”
“No.” His mouth quirked in a tiny grin. “None of those. But they do have jaguars. Will that do?”
She gave a tiny shiver. “What else?”
“Spider monkeys. And snakes. Lots of snakes. Oh, and bats. They seem to thrive in jungles like this.”
“Damn, Rocket. I hope you’re a crack shot in case one of them decides to come after us.”
“Not to worry. I’ve got it. But let’s get up there before we have to deal with any of them.”
Mallory climbed the ladder ahead of him, and keeping his shit together was one of the hardest things he’d ever done, what with her very appealing ass practically smack in his face. But at last, they were in the hut, standing there, looking around.
“Let’s see what Ed means by keeping this place stocked.”
He wandered around the small room, opening cupboards to reveal canned goods, boxes of dry snacks and one cupboard filled with bottled water. There was also one with towels and toiletries like toothpaste and mouthwash.
“Glad to see he thought of our personal hygiene,” Rocket joked.
“I hope we won’t be here long enough to drink up all that water.” Mallory looked around the room. “Although we could be hiding away in worse places.”
“Like the cave in Afghanistan?” He tried to inject a little h
umor into his voice.
One corner of her mouth turned up in a hint of a grin. “It had its advantages. You agree?”
More than he could express. He closed the distance between them in three long strides until a sheet of paper would have barely fit between them.
“I have great memories of that cave.” He stared into her eyes, the color in them darkening almost to a forest green. “Can I assume you do, too?”
She drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “Memories I haven’t been able to wipe out of my mind.”
Rocket took a moment before replying. “Same goes.”
“But you never tried to get in touch with me,” she pointed out.
“No, I didn’t.” He chose his words carefully. “I know this probably makes me sound like an asshole, but that was my usual method of operation. The SEALs came first for me in everything. And all the time. I had convinced myself that a relationship—any relationship—would distract me and diminish my ability to operate fully.”
“How very macho and patriotic of you.” She shook her head. “I wasn’t expecting a proposal, Rocket, just something that told me you recognized the hot connection between us. Plus…” She shrugged. “Plus I wanted to thank you again for saving my life.”
“I’m guessing you didn’t try to locate me, either.”
“Do you have any idea how hard it is to locate one of your guys? Even after you’re out of the military? The government guards that information like it’s the secret to world domination.”
Rocket chuckled. He couldn’t help himself. Then his smile disappeared.
“You’d be surprised how many people think they have a grudge against one of us. Or want revenge for something.”
“Alicia said she used every bit of influence she had to learn how to contact you.”
“Okay. So now here we are. Once again, some asshole wants to eliminate you and once again, I’m going to be your way out of here. But we’re all alone here in the jungle. No one except Ed and my partners even knows we’re here. From what Ed told us, I don’t think more than a few people even know this hut exists. What do you say we put all that aside and concentrate on the here and now, and see if what happened five years ago was more than just physical attraction incited by the danger?”
She nibbled on her lower lip, a tiny gesture that made his semi-dormant cock instantly spring to life and push hard against his fly.
Jesus, Rocket, keep it in your pants at least until you find out how she feels.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this when I could be killed in the next twenty-four hours. Barrera will chop off my head, literally, if he locates me. I’m worried about Inez and her family and wondering why he didn’t execute the raid on their house tonight. And the chances of my getting out of here alive are fifty-fifty at best. Right?”
He couldn’t help himself. He just had to touch her, so he cradled her face in his palms.
“One. You will definitely be getting out of here alive, because you have men arranging it who don’t make mistakes and who successfully complete their missions. Two. I personally am not going to let anything happen to you, even if I have to do this all myself. Which, by the way I won’t. Have to, that is.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Three. We’re all alone here in the middle of noplace and I am dying to get just one taste of you.”
She didn’t say anything for a moment, so long that Rocket wondered if he’d be spending time with his good right hand. Then she leaned closer, just enough that he could touch his mouth to hers, feeling her soft lips beneath his firm ones. And damn! She tasted just as good as he remembered, a flavor that was distinctly Mallory. He ran the tip of his tongue over her lower lip. A slow swipe over the velvety flesh sent heat coursing straight through his body.
Jesus!
He hoped he had enough discipline not to get to the finish line before she did, because he wanted them both to enjoy every minute.
When he thrust his tongue into her mouth, sliding it over her tongue, a soft moan rolled from her throat and she pressed her body against his. She lifted both hands to run her fingers through his hair before cupping his head to hold it in place. He drank from her mouth, slipping his tongue everywhere, tasting, licking.
She gave as good as she got, using her own tongue to duel with his, the slide of the soft flesh so erotic he thought his cock would explode. He sucked her tongue slowly into his own mouth, letting his teeth graze gently against the surface. The delicious noises she made set his nerves on fire. He broke the kiss only with great reluctance, then released the ponytail holder so her hair cascaded wildly to her shoulders. He thrust his fingers through it, holding her head in place so he could kiss her again. But then he pulled back.
“W—What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” He shook his head. “Well, something. I want to do this right. While fucking you against the wall appeals to me at this moment, it’s not what I want after five years apart.”
A tiny laugh bubbled from her mouth.
“Me neither,” she told him, “although I must confess that the moment I saw you again, I wanted you the same way I did five years ago.”
The tiny knot of tension in Rocket’s insides eased. Okay, then. He wasn’t going to have to convince her, because she had the same feelings he did. If possible, his cock swelled even more.
“We have no place to be,” he told Mallory, “and no one waiting for us, at least right now. I don’t want to rush this, Mal.”
“Neither do I.”
He wasn’t sure whose hands were shaking more, his or hers, as he slowly unbuttoned her blouse and drew it down her arms. His breath caught at the swell of her breasts above the line of her bra, and the dark nipples visible through the lace fabric. He pushed the blouse down her arms, tossing it to the side, and swiped a tongue across the rounded flesh. Then he placed his lips around one of the nipples and sucked it into his mouth, fabric and all.
Mallory gripped his upper arms, holding herself in place, head thrown back as she arched into his mouth. Another moan slipped from between her lips, the sound so erotic it made him clamp his teeth down on her flesh. When he’d teased the little button until it was swollen and hard, he moved to the other one, finally unfastening the bra and tossing it to the side with her blouse.
Holding tight to his control, he dropped to his knees, unzipped her jeans and slid them down her long, toned legs. The lacy bikini panties came next, leaving every bit of her exposed to his sight and his touch. Pressing his face between her thighs, he inhaled her scent, one that had stayed with him all these years.
Then he rose to his feet, yanked off his shirt and dropped it on the pile of clothing. Next came his jeans
The last thing to go were his boxer briefs, which he had to remove carefully since his dick was sticking almost straight out. Then he lifted Mallory in his arms and carried her to the pallet, stretching her out on the thickly padded fabric. He couldn’t believe his hands were actually shaking. He’d thought about the possibility of this moment for so long that he could hardly deal with the fact that it had arrived. He stretched out next to her, loving the feel of her naked skin against his.
He didn’t know where to start first, which part of her to taste, to touch. He started with her mouth again, stringing kisses along the line of her chin to her neck, aroused even more by the sexy sounds she was making. Palming one breast, he turned his mouth again to the other one, scraping his teeth over the nipple, giving it gentle little bites. It was already aroused from his previous attention, so it didn’t take long until he had it swollen and dark, and turned his attention to the other one.
Mallory writhed and moaned, the sexy sounds urging him on. When he moved his mouth down over the soft swell of her stomach, pausing to tease at her navel, the little sounds grew even louder. Weaving her fingers into his hair, she pressed his head harder against her body, urging him on to more and more.
He was ravenous for her by the time he slid down to the tempting mound of
her sex, opening her with his thumbs so he could taste the slick pink skin he exposed. He didn’t have to nudge her thighs apart. She let them fall wide open on her own, thrusting herself up to his mouth. He traced the flesh on either side of her opening with long swipes of his tongue before taking gentle bites of her clit.
“Oh! Oh! Oh!”
Mallory thrust her heels into the pallet to lift herself closer to his mouth. And when he slid two fingers inside her, she pushed hard against them, riding them, crying out in obvious pleasure as he added a third finger and beginning the delicious glide toward orgasm.
When he eased his fingers out, she gave a small cry of disappointment. “Don’t stop. Please.”
“Not stopping,” he assured her. “Just marking my territory.” With that, he slipped his slick fingers down the cleft of her ass, teasing her hot, tight opening. “One of these days,” he murmured, “I’m going to fuck you here and it will be the best thing you ever had.” Then he pushed them back into her hot, wet slit.
“Oh, god.” Her inner walls clamped down on his hand, squeezing his fingers.
He was torn between bringing her to orgasm with his hand and letting her slick walls squeeze his demanding cock, and the cock won out. He grabbed the little plastic baggie, pulled out a condom and rolled it on, his hand actually shaking with need and desire. Then, kneeling between her thighs, he spread her legs wide, pushed them back so she was completely open and exposed to him, and drove into her with one hard thrust.
“Look at me, Mallory.” He hardly recognized his own voice. “Open your eyes and look at me.”
When she did, he saw the same heat and hunger flaming there, and something indefinable speared through him. Then he could think of nothing except the feel of Mallory and her heat.
They were both so close to the tipping point, so ready for each other, that it took only a few hard pumps of his hips to drive them both over the edge. The moment he felt her inner walls spasm, he fell over the edge, taking her with him. Nothing existed except him and this woman. She had wound her legs around him and now she dug her heels into the small of his back, locking his body to hers while the intense orgasms shook them both.