Heat blasted him. Neurons snapped and fired, transmitting exquisite feeling from his brain to every part of his body. He shook, the breath rasped in his throat. His pulse pounded so hard it was a wonder he didn’t pass out. Tension coiled in his gut and he knew he couldn’t hold on much longer.
Then Gili slid one hand down and cupped him between the legs. His body contracted, tension coiled tight. She continued on, pressing at the sensitive flesh before coming back to deliver another devastating caress to his sex.
He was panting now, unable to stop the thrusting of his hips. His gut tightened and his back stiffened until he thought he’d snap. Her mouth burned. An exquisite torture in a sea of molten desire.
His control unravelled. He braced both hands against the sandstone and tossed his head back as the spiral of pressure in his lower body tightened even more. “Ah hell, much more and it’ll all be over.”
Hands shaking, he levered himself away from the wall of the tunnel and grabbed her hair, tugging. “When I come I want to be buried deep inside you,” he growled.
She released him with an audible pop and a final lick. She walked her fingers up his body, and standing, quickly shucked her bikini panties before linking her arms about his neck. “Ooh, a man after my own heart.”
Using him for support, she pulled herself up and wrapped her legs about his hips. He slipped his hands under her backside and supported her weight, groaning out loud when she positioned her damp core over his hard erection. If he hadn’t stopped her, she would have taken him in right then and there.
“Wait,” he gasped. “Need condoms.”
“So take me to your lair, you sexy cowboy. Or I’ll take you right here.”
He chuckled. “Lady, you’ve learned a lot in the last six years.”
She grinned before biting at his lower lip. “You ain’t seen nothing yet, babe. Now get moving.”
Morgan stepped back from the side of the tunnel and almost tumbled on his rear end, Gili still clinging to him. “Crap, forgot my briefs.”
Gili burst out laughing. “Hmm, I’ve heard about hobbling horses, but I didn’t figure it would work as well on a man.”
“Yeah, well, we don’t exactly use men’s underwear to do the job as a rule.”
He lifted his feet one at a time and kicked the shorts away. Then he turned and shuffled down the tunnel to their campsite. The flashes of light, though more muted now, accompanied them. This time he felt every pebble and rock under his bare feet. Amazing how he ignored it when he thought Gili was in trouble.
When he reached his sleeping bag, he dropped to his knees, but Gili stayed plastered to him, her legs still about his hips. He wasn’t complaining. Without losing his hold on her, he used one hand to drag his pack closer. Digging around in the contents, he came up with a box of prophylactics. Gili burst out laughing when she saw the size of the box.
A tide of heat swept up over his face. “I, er, I grabbed them when I went back to the homestead this morning.” He gave a sheepish shrug. “Never know when they might be needed.”
“Then you acted the asshole for the rest of the day.” She shook her head, a grin tilting her lips. “What am I going to do with you?”
He ripped open the box and held up one of the little foil packets. “Love me?”
“Equals?” she inquired. A lift of her eyebrows underscored the question.
“You bet.” He ran the edge of the foil across her lips. “The way I feel right now, I’ll even be your love slave and let you be in charge.”
“You’re on.” She grabbed the condom from his hand and ripped open the packet. “On your back, slave,” she ordered as she pushed him.
Morgan tumbled down onto the sleeping bag. Gili leaned over his lower body, staring at his erection, licking her lips as if she wanted to swallow him whole. Hell, it was the greatest turn-on he’d ever known.
His mouth quirked at Charlie’s name for her. Gili lubra. Flame woman. She sure was that. He felt like a moth drawn to the light, about to bash his brains out to get to the heat. He couldn’t have walked away from this tonight if he’d wanted to.
“Hey, I’m dying here, woman.”
“Patience, patience. I’m trying to work out what to do first.”
Morgan loosed a crack of laughter. “You don’t know?”
She pinched him on the thigh in retaliation.
He laughed again. “Basic Anatomy 101, my dear. Tab A fits into Slot B, but first the old fellow needs his rubber raincoat.”
Gili slapped him on the thigh. “Smarty.”
She grinned at him, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Nooo, it’s like this, you see. Should I just roll this bit of rubber over you and go for it?” She palmed him and held the condom up.
He nodded vigorously.
“Or I could do this.” She leaned forwards and trailed the tip of her tongue along his length.
“Or this?” She buried her head between his thighs, her tongue sweeping across the sensitive flesh of his testes, lips closing around him. “Hmm-hmm, delicious,” she mumbled with a further lick.
Morgan came half off the sleeping bag. The vibrations of her voice hummed through his lower body. His cock got into the game and stiffened even more. He groaned, loud and long.
“Decisions, decisions,” she whispered, playing her hand over the head, massaging the engorged flesh.
“Fuck, woman!”
“Oh, yeah. Maybe that’s the answer.”
With a chuckle, she rolled the condom down over his hard width. Morgan shuddered. Never had he known the issue of protection to be so erotic. Then she lifted up and straddled him. Before he could draw breath, she’d positioned him at the entrance to her body and pushed down.
“Oh, yeah.” She took him deep until he was fully seated inside her satin sheath.
Morgan groaned. He clamped his hands on her upper thighs and struggled to even out his breathing. She didn’t move, just tightened her internal muscles around him. Tremors ran through his body. The blood pounded in his veins, sweeping liquid fire throughout his whole being. An errant thought flittered through his brain.
Flame woman. Yeah, she was well named.
“You ready, cowboy?” She lifted up and lowered herself again. Her mouth curved in a smile, she slowly rotated her hips, all the while clenching her muscles to hold him deep.
“Holy crap,” Morgan whispered. His brain went into a spin. His body wasn’t far behind. Tension gripped his stomach, driving down to thicken his erection even more.
“You like?” she asked with another twist of her hips.
Right then, Morgan wasn’t capable of answering. His mouth was dry. His brain felt as if it had turned to mush. All he could do was feel. The tightening of her muscles. The heat of her. The moisture that flowed from her and bathed the base of his cock.
His fingers dug into her upper thighs and he raised his hips, pushing deeper into her heat. As if that was the signal she waited for, she started to ride him. Slowly at first, each glide of her body a sensual delight that blew his mind. Then faster, the breath gusting from her mouth, breasts jiggling. Sweat glistening on her chest as she tossed her head back and breathed his name.
He followed her, movement for movement, his hips thrusting upward, his body pounding into hers. He palmed her breasts, plumping the satiny flesh with his hands. When he took the nipples between his fingers and squeezed, she cried out.
“More,” she gasped. “Harder.”
Morgan reared up, wrapped his arms about her and held her close. So close he felt the hard points of her nipples spear his chest. Gili sat in his lap now, his erection buried deep. Her hands clutched at his shoulders, nails digging in as she used his body to help her move.
She lifted and slid back down. Hard. Fast. Until Morgan’s breathing was as fragmented as hers. He felt the first of a series of little spasms deep inside her, muscles contracting and relaxing, dragging him closer to the edge. God, he wouldn’t last much longer. He was about to explode.
Angling
one hand between their bodies, he slid his fingers between her wet folds, gliding across the little bundle of nerves hidden there. She jerked, grinding against him. When he took the swollen bud between his fingers and applied pressure, the minute spasms in her sheath burst into raging convulsions as Gili climaxed.
His own control was at an end. Every contraction of her internal walls clamped on him until a hoarse cry dragged from his throat and he drove into her with everything he had.
He came with a roar. The blood pounded through his veins. The breath caught in his chest. Pleasure such as he’d never know before rolled through him, sharp and satisfying. He was incapable of doing anything but hanging on to Gili and riding the tempest out.
When the storm finally abated, he sagged, dropping his forehead to rest on Gili’s. He waited for his breathing to slow a fraction and then pressed a gentle kiss on her lips. “Holy effing hell,” he whispered.
“Oh, yeah, baby.” She grinned at him, her eyes drowsy and filled with satisfaction. “I think you’ve worn me out. Can we wait a few minutes before we get to the effing bit again?”
Chapter Ten
Gili frowned and, eyes still closed, raised one hand to brush at the side of her face before settling again. She gave a long sigh and scrunched down, pushing her cheek into the pillow beneath her as her body relaxed.
Then that wretched tickle again, this time on her ear. She growled in annoyance and flapped one hand above her head, fighting to stay asleep. Another sweep around the furled edge of her ear and she gave up. Damn it, that had been the best night’s sleep she’d had in ages.
“What the—”
“Time to rise and shine, Gili lubra.”
She skewed her head sideways and cracked open one eye. Morgan’s face came into view, as did the hank of her hair that he’d obviously been about to trail around her ear again. Opening both eyes, she yanked her head up and back, pulling away from his touch. “You woke me up.”
“That was the general idea. We need to get breakfast over and done with. This place will be crawling with rug rats inside of another hour or two.”
“Don’t want to move,” Gili grumbled. No wonder she’d been so warm during the night. She’d used Morgan not only as a pillow, but as a mattress. Somewhere during the night, she’d crawled atop him and stayed there.
“Hmm, comfy.” She wriggled around, spreading her legs so they fell either side of his body.
Morgan slid his arms about her waist and anchored her in place. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Besides, we do need to get up.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” she teased. “We could stay here for the rest of the day, or until something…else comes up.” She centered her body over the hard ridge of flesh she felt growing between her spread legs.
Morgan suddenly rolled her over onto her back, using his weight to pin her in place. “Enough of that, woman, or I won’t be able to crawl out of here, let alone walk.”
“Spoil sport.” With a grin, she lifted her head and planted a soft kiss on his chin. “Okay, I give in. Up and at ‘em.”
He returned her kiss before jumping to his feet. Reaching for his backpack, he squatted down and dug around for fresh clothes.
Gili groaned softly and rolled onto her side for a better look. She soaked in the view. Hmm, muscular thighs, taut buttocks, and broad shoulders tapering down to a narrow waist—all heavily tanned except for the curve of his rear end. Stunning.
Her mouth watered and she wanted desperately to drag him back to bed. But it wasn’t to be. There was work to finish on the Aboriginal village.
She raised herself up on one elbow. “Morgan?”
He stood and pulled on a pair of briefs before stepping into his jeans. He slanted a quick glance at her as he zipped his pants and buckled the leather belt about his hips. “Yeah, what’s the problem?”
“Can I just say two things without you getting angry at me?”
“Hmm, not certain I like the sound of that.”
“Thank you for not being an…” She let her words trail off.
“An asshole?” he supplied with a grin.
“Yeah, that.”
He dragged his t-shirt over his head before hunkering down beside her. “No strings, equal partners, yes?”
She nodded.
“You realize I won’t let you take it away, don’t you?”
“The opal? Yeah, I know. But you have to know I’ll try. Too many people, um, things, depend on me finding it.”
Should she tell him about the threat to her parents now? Oh, she wanted to, so badly, but she couldn’t take the risk he’d think she was manipulating him. Not yet, anyway. Not until she knew her parents were safe. Somehow, she had to find a way to get in touch with them. She just prayed they were somewhere Jeremy couldn’t find them.
“You’ll try and I’ll stop you,” Morgan said. “But for today we declare a truce, okay?” He slapped her on the top of her thigh. “Now out of bed, woman. I’m hungry.”
“One last thing, Morgan. Despite what that bastard Jeremy told you, I wasn’t the one who set up that scenario in Iran. Whether you believe me or not, I knew nothing about it.”
He took her hand and helped her to her feet. “I’ve been having some second thoughts about that. I’m beginning to think I might have made a slight miscalculation there.”
As Morgan turned and strode from the mine, Gili’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in shock. “Well, how about that?” she whispered.
“Missy Gili, over here. Come sit with me.”
Gili glanced across the clearing in the center of the village to see Piri jiggling up and down on a log he’d appropriated as a seat. The Aboriginal settlement swarmed with children, their high-pitched voices vying for supremacy amid the deeper tones of the adults. It looked like a scene of total confusion, but even Gili could see the controlled organization among the chaos.
The mass of juvenile humanity appeared to be broken into groups of maybe seven or eight children, with an adult helper, whether parent or teacher, overseeing their conduct. Other adults milled about, carrying sleeping bags and camping paraphernalia into the gunyahs. In amongst it all stood Morgan, tall, rugged, the man on the land. The person who knew the best and the worst this harsh land could offer.
“Piri, are you listening to me?” Morgan dragged the child’s attention back to him.
The little boy hung his head. “Sorry, Morgan.” Then, as if he couldn’t help himself, he flashed a wide smile. “But I wanted Gili to sit with me.”
Gili chuckled as she joined Piri. The kid would be a heartbreaker when he grew up. She focused on Morgan, surprised to see him staring at her. The corners of his lips tilted up in the beginnings of a smile, almost as if he wanted to reiterate Piri’s words. Warmth blossomed in her belly and spread throughout her body. She hugged Morgan’s look to her. She’d agonized about how he’d react this morning after their night together, but it looked like she’d worried for nothing. It was a good start. Who knew where this adventure would end, but for now, she’d take what was on offer.
“Okay, everyone, listen up.” Morgan waited until the children focused on him before going on. “We’re not only here to experience how the Aboriginal people of Australia lived in the past, but also to try our hand at a little noodling. Can anyone tell me what noodling is?”
Piri jumped up and waved his hand in the air, his little face alight with excitement. “I can, I can. It’s when we go over what the other miners have left behind in the mullock heaps.”
“Very good, Piri.”
Gili nudged her small friend in the ribs. “Hey, Piri, what’s a mullock heap?” she whispered so she wouldn’t interrupt the flow of Morgan’s lesson.
Piri pointed to the soil dumps that rose like sentinels around the campsite. “The leftover dirt from the mine workings. They’re called mullock heaps.”
Gili smiled. Learn something new every day.
Actually, it was all very interesting. She’d researched the Dreamtime Fir
e before she’d arrived, but not so much the process to get the opal out of the ground. Now she wished she had. With a shake of her head, she silently admonished herself for the oversight. She turned her attention back to Morgan.
“It’s against the law to fossick for gem stones unless you have a Fossickers’ License. Did you all remember to bring your license with you?”
“Yes, Morgan,” the children parroted as a whole.
Morgan walked across to Gili and handed her a plastic-coated square suspended from a cord. Inside was a Fossickers’ License made out in Gili’s name. “I thought you might like to have a go with the kids. I had one of the parents pick it up before coming out here.”
He winked at her before turning back to the children. “Now, you all know the rules of the outback. No wandering off on your own. Sunscreen and hats on at all times, and don’t forget to take your canteen with you. We don’t want anyone getting dehydrated. Sunstroke’s a serious thing out here.”
The kids scampered off, herded by their adult minders. A smile flitted across Morgan’s face as he watched them. His jaw softened and his eyes gleamed. Gili had no trouble working out that he enjoyed his time with the children. It was there on his face.
She loved seeing him like this—open, friendly, full of laughter. He was a different person when he was interacting with the kids.
“Come on, Gili,” Piri cried out, jumping up in front of her. “Let’s go find a really big opal.”
Another little palm slid against her hand. She glanced down to see a tiny girl with a froth of blonde curls framing a pale, heart-shaped face, and an exquisite set of deep blue eyes.
“Can I come with you, too?” the child asked.
Piri grabbed Gili’s free hand and pulled her down to his height. Then he put his mouth close to her ear and whispered, “That’s Jen. The other kids say she’s slow, but I just reckon she thinks a lot. She’s smart when she wants to be.”
Gili felt her heart turn over at the ingenuity of Piri’s words. How did he get so smart so young? The excitement on his face made her smile. She grabbed the tiny miner’s pick he shoved at her and tucked it under her arm before she bent to pick up the metal sieve from the pile near the log.
Hidden Fire Page 14