THE MARINE & THE DEBUTANTE

by Maureen Child

  "You tell me," he ground out and half turned her until he could see at close range what he'd only just spotted. On her shoulder, a large purple bruise discolored her skin, and she flinched as his fingertips smoothed over it gently.

  "Oh, that."

  He hadn't seen it before. But then, since the moment they met, they'd been in the dark. Either at night, or in the cave. "Yeah, that."

  "It's nothing. Just a bruise."

  "They hit you?" he asked unnecessarily, fighting the urge to run back the way they'd come, find the SOBs and give them a few bruises.

  She shrugged out from under his touch and looked over her shoulder at him. "Just one of them. Generally they treated me pretty well, considering. This was just the one time."

  "Once is enough."

  "Exactly my thoughts," she told him, and gave him a brave smile that tore at his heart. And she hadn't said a word of complaint about this, hadn't whined or asked for sympathy, despite the fact that her shoulder must have been hurting. There was a slender thread of iron in this woman, making her so much more than she seemed. Travis pictured her, alone, scared and facing down her captors. He was willing to bet she'd given as good as she got. Hell, she'd bitten him, and he was rescuing her. Maybe this was the only physical bruise she carried, but how many others stained her heart? Her soul? And she hadn't let them stop her, either. A swell of pride filled him.

  He reached out again, giving in to his instincts, and this time caressed her cheek with his fingertips. Her eyes closed as he touched her, and he felt her tremble shake through him, too. Trouble, his brain shouted, but thankfully, his body wasn't listening. His blood felt as if it was boiling in his veins. Every breath staggered in and out of his lungs, and his heart pounded hard enough to shove through his rib cage. He wanted her. Needed her. Here. Now.

  The slide of his fingers across her skin sent shafts of pure, white heat slicing through him and it was all he could do not to grab her, pull her close and cover her mouth with his. But despite the rush of need choking him, there was still a small, rational voice in the corner of his mind screaming at him to back off. This wasn't real. None of this. It was a world apart from reality. Like this oasis in the middle of a desert, his time with her was a spot of glory in the middle of an everyday life. And soon, they'd be back in civilization. Back to the real world—where he and the princess, under normal circumstances, would never have met.

  He pulled back, but Lisa reached up and caught his hand in hers, holding it to her face, stroking her fingers along his. "Travis…"

  "This'd be a big mistake," he said, his gaze shifting from her eyes to her mouth and back again.

  She licked her lips, and his insides tightened even further. Which didn't really seem possible.

  "It doesn't feel that way right now," she told him, and her voice was soft, welcoming.

  "It will by tomorrow." He knew it. And if he had one active brain cell, he'd break this off and walk away now. While he still could.

  She turned her face into his palm, then looked at him again. "All my life, I've worried about and planned for tomorrow. For once I'd just like to claim today and let tomorrow take care of itself."

  An invitation.

  One he couldn't have refused.

  Even if he'd wanted to.

  Pulling her closer, Travis bent his head. His gaze locked with hers, he moved in slowly, deliberately, giving her time to change her mind. Praying she wouldn't. Seconds ticked past. Closer. He inhaled her scent, warm and wet and woman. Closer still. Just a breath away now and he could almost taste her. She tipped her head back and leaned in toward him. Her blue eyes looked deeply into his, and Travis swore he could see straight into her soul.

  Then their lips met, his eyes closed and thought stopped. Sensations poured through him, swamping him with the force of a tidal wave and he rode that swell, loving the ride. Gathering her tightly to him, his arms came around her as he deepened the kiss, parting her lips with his tongue, sweeping into her warmth, tasting her. She sighed into his mouth, and he took that small breath for his own, swallowing it and tucking it away inside him as though he might need that extra breath later.

  Her tongue entwined with his, and she reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck, scraping her fingers across his nape. He shuddered at her touch, wanting more, needing more. Breaking the kiss, he dragged his lips along the line of her throat, tasting sand and fresh water and her soft, smooth skin. It fired his blood anew and sent desire pumping through him.

  She moaned and tilted her head to one side, offering him access.

  "Travis," she whispered, and her voice broke on his name. "Don't stop."

  "Don't worry about that," he promised. Hungrily he moved his hands over her body, and she arched into his touch, silently urging him on. His fingers found the side zipper on her dress, and in an instant he'd pulled it down and slipped one hand beneath the torn yellow fabric. He cupped her breast and she gasped as the same, nearly electric shock of pleasure jolted them both. Her bra was nothing more than a bit of lace and a couple of straps. No match for a Marine.

  His thumb caressed her hardened nipple through the lacy material, and she sighed his name, fueling the fires within. She filled him. His mind, his heart. All he could see and feel was her. This woman. This incredible woman who did things to him he never would have thought possible. Need roared up inside him, demanding to be fed.

  He'd never known anything like it. Her passion simmered inside him, but it was more than that. He couldn't name it and didn't want to bother to try. It was enough that he could fill his hands and his heart with her.

  Hands fumbling, mouths tasting, they pulled at each other's clothes in a frenzy to mate. To feel skin against skin, heat to heat. And when they were naked, he laid her back on the grass in a patch of shade thrown from the surrounding date palms.

  A desert wind sighed across them, carrying the scent of the far-off sea and the heat of the sun. Travis speared his fingers through her hair, loving the feel of the silky, wet strands sliding over his skin. He cupped her face, turning her gaze to meet his. Reading the passion in her eyes, he dipped his head to hers and claimed another kiss. He took her, reveling in the feel of drowning in her warmth.

  Lisa reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. She wanted to feel all of him pressed to her. His broad chest, sprinkled with a dusting of dark hair, was tanned and muscular. Soft and rough, hard and smooth, their bodies moved together, scraping flesh to flesh. Her fingers trailed down his back, loving the feel of him beneath her hands.

  His callused palms moved down her length, stroking, caressing until Lisa writhed beneath him, lifting her hips, arching into him. Her legs parted in eager anticipation and when he touched her center, she groaned aloud.

  Too much, she thought, her mind racing. It was all too much. Sensations escalated. Fire. Heat. A dazzling of sparks shooting through her blood. She looked into his eyes and saw a passion she'd never seen before. Five times she'd been engaged and yet she'd allowed none of her fiancés to touch her like this. There'd been no sparks. No magic. No hunger for more than the occasional kiss and cuddle.

  She'd thought there was something wrong with her. Assumed that she was frigid. Accepted the fact that she lacked that certain something that made a woman want to be touched, explored, desired.

  But there hadn't been anything wrong. She simply hadn't been with the right man.

  Here, in this unlikely place, with a man who'd risked his life to save hers, she'd finally found him. And herself.

  He dipped one finger into her heat and Lisa cried out, "Oh, Travis."

  "I want you, darlin'," he said, his voice a whispered hush. "But—"

  "But?" she repeated, suddenly terrified that he would stop touching her. That he would pull away before she knew the rest. Before she could finally experience what she'd waited all her life to feel. Had she finally found the right man only to have him turn from her?

  "I don't have any protection," he said on a disappointe
d groan that shook her to her bones.

  Her eyes flew open, and she stared into the chocolate depths looking down at her. "Protection?" Her brain had become so fuzzy she'd forgotten something that no woman should ever forget.

  "Condoms." One corner of his mouth lifted into a sad smile. "Not exactly standard equipment for a recon mission."

  Her body was tingling. His finger stroked that most sensitive piece of flesh and she quivered in his arms. Desperation rose up inside her. He couldn't stop. They couldn't stop. She had to finish this. Had to ease the ache building inside.

  "It's okay," she murmured, lifting her hips into his hand, driving his finger deeper. "It's safe. I'm healthy."

  "Me, too," he assured her, slipping another finger into her depths and stroking her body from the inside.

  "Oh…" she sighed, licked her lips and asked, "Then what're we waiting for?"

  "Am I glad to hear you say that," he said, and moved to cover her body with his.

  Kneeling between her thighs, he shifted his hands to her bottom and lifted her hips high enough to ease his entry.

  Lisa felt cherished, adored, and for that feeling she would risk anything. She tipped her head back into the grass, stared up at the lightening sky, then closed her eyes, the better to concentrate on what was about to happen to her.

  He entered her body with one, swift, sure stroke and she gasped at the intimate invasion. So hard. So powerful. Like nothing she'd ever known before. And so worth waiting for. Her body ached and she felt herself stretching to accommodate him. After a few seconds ticked past, though, she began to wonder why he wasn't moving.

  She opened her eyes to find him staring at her, irritation glittering in his dark-brown gaze.

  "What is it?" she asked breathlessly. "What's wrong?"

  "You're a virgin," he said flatly.

  She smiled to herself, rocked her hips and took him deeper inside before saying, with some satisfaction, "Not anymore."

  "You should have told me."

  Ridiculous to be having this discussion now, she thought and moved again, twisting her hips this time until she saw a muscle in his jaw twitch as he tried for control.

  "Could we—" she reached out to let her fingertips trail along his chest until that wall of muscle trembled "—talk about this … later?"

  He groaned, clenched his teeth and nodded. "Right. Later. For sure."

  "Oh, for sure."

  He moved, rocking his hips, pushing himself so deeply inside her that she was sure she felt him touch her soul. He leaned over her, brushing his mouth over hers, then shifting to take first one nipple then the other into his mouth.

  Lisa groaned, giving in to the spiraling whirl of feelings coursing through her. She felt as though she were racing through the darkness, headed for a glimmer of light that hung just out of her reach. Every aching muscle in her body strained for it. Tension built in a rush. He pushed her higher and higher, and when Lisa thought she couldn't stand the suspense any longer … the fireworks began.

  The tingling deep inside built into a shower of sparks that cascaded through her, splintering the imagined darkness, covering her in bright, glorious color. So much more than she'd ever expected. So much better than she'd hoped. And it was all because of him. This one man who'd crept into her heart and carved his name there.

  He felt her body climax, and the contractions shimmered through him, urging him to completion. And it was completion, he thought, staring down into those lake-blue eyes of hers. It was a homecoming. To a place he'd never been before.

  To a place he never wanted to leave.

  Her gaze locked with his as he emptied himself into her, and when he murmured her name, she cradled him in her arms and softened his fall.

  * * *

  Chapter 7

  «^»

  He wasn't sure how long they lay there, but it was long enough for the sun to shift and the skimpy shade to swing wide of them. The sun poured down from a clear, empty sky and bathed them both in a heat that burned.

  Rousing himself, Travis held on to her tightly and rolled them off into the shade again. The cool of the grass pressed against his back as he stared up at her, lying flat on top of him. "So," he said, "it's later. Talk."

  She stretched and damn near purred, rubbing her legs and upper body against him until he felt himself go hard and ready again.

  Okay, this wasn't going to work. If he expected to talk to her, then he'd better keep some distance between them. A couple thousand miles ought to do it.

  He set her to one side, rolled away and snatched up his clothes. Then, tossing her dress and underthings to her, he said flatly, "Talk."

  She sighed and he got the message. She plainly didn't want to have this conversation. But she should have told him. Maybe it would have stopped him from making love to her. Maybe not, but she should have said something.

  Throwing her a quick glare over his shoulder, he yanked on his clothes. "Why didn't you tell me?"

  "It's not exactly something I advertise, you know."

  Damn, she didn't even look embarrassed to be lying naked in the dappled shade. For a recent ex-virgin, she was getting the hang of this sensuality thing real quick. Which brought him right back to the question at hand.

  "How could you be a virgin?" he demanded, throwing his hands wide as he turned for another eye-popping look at her. "Do you live in a city filled with blind men?"

  One corner of her mouth lifted. "Thanks. I think."

  "Oh, it was a compliment, believe me." He pulled his socks on, then reached for his combat boots. "But I don't get it. Have you been locked up in a convent or something?"

  He heard her clothing rustle as she dressed and tried to keep from imagining her breasts as she hooked her bra.

  "Of course not."

  "Then what the hell were you waiting for?"

  "It's not that I was waiting, exactly. The point is," she was saying, "I just never … wanted sex. I've never met anyone who—I mean I never wanted them to—I sort of figured I was frigid."

  "Hah!" He couldn't help it. The short, sharp laugh shot from his throat before he could choke it off. He tied up one boot, then looked at her. Her pale skin looked tempting beneath that scrap of lace—and just a little pink. He'd rolled her out of the sun just in time. His hands itched to hold her again. His mouth watered at the thought of tasting her, and other parts of his body stood up at full attention. "Frigid? Honey, if you were any hotter, you'd have melted me."

  A smug smile curved her mouth as she tugged her dress over her head. The worn fabric hid her body from him, and Travis figured that was just as well. Keep them both out of any more trouble. They had plenty enough already.

  "So, it was … good."

  It wasn't a question and yet it was.

  "Beyond good," Travis said, and knew it for the understatement of the century. "But you know that."

  "Yes, I do. What I don't know is why you're making such a huge deal out of this," she said. "We're both grown-ups. We made a choice—which I for one, don't regret for a single minute."

  "This isn't about regrets."

  "You could have fooled me."

  "I didn't say I regretted anything."

  "Then for heaven's sake, Travis, what exactly are you saying?"

  He pushed one hand across the top of his head, stared off into the distance for a long moment before turning to glance at her briefly. "The plain truth is," he continued, tugging on his other boot and tying it up, "this changes things."

  "Like what?" she asked. He turned around again to look at her.

  "First off," he started, and it pained him to even say the words, "I'm thinking that if you were a virgin, you weren't 'safe.'"

  "As a virgin," she pointed out, "I was perfectly safe. I've hardly been able to contract any diseases, now have I?"

  "No," he agreed, "but you may have just contracted a baby."

  She blew a puff of air at him and waved her hand dismissively. "Please. Women try for years to get pregnant. One time is ha
rdly going to do the trick."

  "I'm willing to bet lots of 'happy couples' have told themselves that."

  "You're worrying over nothing," she told him, and yanked the zipper of her dress up.

  "And you're not worrying at all," he countered.

  "What would be the point?"

  "Excuse me?"

  "Well, whether I worry or not, the damage is done, so why worry ahead of time?"

  "And how comfortable is your head, stuck so firmly in the sand?"

  One pale-blond eyebrow lifted. "I'm not going to let you spoil this for me."

  "Spoil it?"

  "That's right. I've waited all my adult life for this experience, and now that I've had it, you're not going to ruin the memory of it."

  "Well pardon the hell outta me."

  "It won't be easy," she told him, giving him a look that could have fried bacon, "but I'll try."

  He snatched up his weapon, slung it over his shoulder, then pushed himself to his feet. Staring down at her, Travis's gaze flicked over her thoroughly, from the top of her still-damp head to the soles of her feet. And it was all he could do not to grab her up and start the magic all over again.

  But he called on years of training and withstood the urge. Barely. This was so not good. He'd finally met the woman who not only electrified his body but touched his heart—and she was farther away now than ever. There was no future here. He knew it. And so, he suspected, did she.

  Marines and debutantes just did not mix.

  "Listen, princess—Lisa," he corrected, "you are my mission, not my date. I screwed up here and—"

  "Oh, thank you very much," she snapped, scrambling to her feet so that she could glare right into his eyes. And it was quite a glare.

  "All right," he admitted, "that came out wrong."

  She folded her arms over her chest and tapped her foot in the sand. "Was there a right way to say that?"

  "Probably not," he muttered, wondering how this mission had gone so wrong so completely? From the minute he'd slipped into that shack to free her, it seemed as though everything had gone against them. Missing their ride. Having to hide out. Hiking across the desert. And now this. But this he had no excuse for. This he'd done all on his own.