by Karen Anders
She looked him up and down, arched an eyebrow. He just smiled.
She let out a breath and left.
*
Regardless of what he was wearing, Rock moved like he was invisible. Combat boots, bare feet, battle dress uniform, loincloth. It didn’t matter. Even naked, he was still a marine. The only problem with the loincloth was there was no place to tuck his gun. But it fit quite nicely in his hand, his KA-BAR snugly tucked into a sheath strapped to his ankle.
He stopped without making a sound and went to one knee. Boot prints, fresh ones. He looked around.
“I know you’re out there,” he said, low and threatening. “I don’t like to be followed.”
There was no answer.
Damn, this guy was good.
The back of his neck prickled. He was sure there was someone watching him. But this had to be someone who was on his side. He didn’t care. He never did like surprises.
But he’d saved Neve’s life.
Yeah, right. He’d shake his hand and give him a medal after he punched him in the mouth.
Everything around the little village was as quiet as could be, except for the usual jungle noises; no two-legged predators walked. Didn’t mean Rock would let down his guard.
He headed back to the hut, his stomach grumbling. As he entered the village, the smell of cooking fish made it twist even more. He would go get Neve, and then they’d get a meal.
When he entered the hut, it was his turn to freeze and send his eyes over her. She had on a halter top, but it hadn’t been made for a woman with such—how did he put this?—full breasts. She flowed over the top of it, the swell of her breasts creamy and inviting. The short, colorful skirt snugged around her waist, set off her beautiful tanned skin, the length of her legs making his mouth water.
“The top doesn’t fit. Did you do this on purpose?”
He couldn’t have planned it any better. “You make me crazy with all that beautiful skin showing.”
“Really? My skin?” She looked down then back up. “I don’t think it was exactly my skin you were looking at, so can it. I’m starving.”
She turned to leave, but he grabbed her arm and swung her back around.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“You’re not going out dressed like that.”
“Oh, for the love of God, you wanted me decked out like this for a little scintillating role-play?”
“Not exactly, but it turned out damn fine for me.”
“You are such a man.”
“I know.” He pulled her against him and she stumbled hard, colliding with his chest and pressing all her sweetness up against him. “I’m guessing that’s what you like about me.”
“Rock, we don’t have time for games.”
“We have time to let Opal cool her heels and think about this reckless plan of hers. We’ll talk to her in the morning and get the information out of her, then be on our merry way. In the meantime, I’ll get us some dinner. You, stay.”
“What? Did you just order me to heel?”
“No. I asked you to please stay here.”
“I think all this skin is making you a little disoriented.”
“Haha.” He kissed her soundly as she pressed on his chest. “Actions speak louder than words,” he said huskily as he headed for the door and some of that delicious-smelling food. “Be right back.”
The fish, vegetables and tubers were excellent, along with the fruit. He decided to make one more perimeter run, and when he got back, Neve was sprawled across the hammock, facedown and naked. The gods were torturing him, he thought. He stared as any red-blooded man would. Her hand dangled off the edge, her hair covering her face. He pushed it back, his gaze traveling over her long slim body. He grew hard instantly, painfully, and yet he let her sleep. He poured himself some more of that fruity-tasting beer and sat down in a chair. He propped his feet on the other chair and laid his gun on the table.
Maybe he should have contacted Tristan. He had to wonder what his best friend would think right now as he sat here and ogled his baby sister. It seemed almost a betrayal, but Neve... God, she was so damned beautiful.
*
Rock jerked awake, his body stiff. He must have slept for a while. He slapped his hand over his gun, instantly aware. He slipped off the chair, tracking shadow and moonlight with his eyes, then relaxed when he saw her. She stood at the low rail, the balmy jungle breeze pushing her hair back along with the T-shirt she wore.
One of his.
Hell of a sight, he thought, like a fantasy played out: hair flying, the thin fabric whipping and molding to her body in the moonlight.
“Neve.” She didn’t open her eyes, but from her posture he could tell she knew he was there.
“I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“That chair wasn’t the most comfortable.”
“You should have come into the hammock with me.”
He came to her, leaving the gun on the table. “I wanted to make sure we weren’t followed.”
She smiled softly. “Always vigilant, huh?” she said, staring out into the night. “This is a beautiful place.”
The jungle stretched out before them, a verdant, living, breathing green monster, dripping in moisture under a canopy of twinkling stars. “I guess.”
Neve smiled. “Spoken like my true alpha marine.”
He wished that was so and he could get her out of here, but she wouldn’t acquiesce to him because she was more an Amazon warrior, yet she proved to be his ultimate temptation. Everything he wanted in a woman. He’d sat there watching her sleep and knew it to be true, but that fact was evident years ago when he’d first set eyes on her. He wished he could tell himself she was the best screw he’d ever had and that was all it was. But that would be a complete lie, and playing games with himself was never his style.
He didn’t want her body; he wanted her soul.
He took a step, crossing over the line for the millionth time and moved behind her, sliding his arms around her waist.
“Nice backrest,” she murmured, leaning back and sliding her palm over his hand.
Just to feel her soft length against him was enough to make him rock-hard. The sleek curve of her throat beckoned him, and he pressed his mouth there, feeling her pulse beneath his lips. It nurtured something in him, this need to close the distance between them, and when she twisted enough to kiss him, pushing his hands where she wanted, Rock wanted her more than ever. He slipped his hands underneath her T-shirt, exposing her warm skin to the moonlight, circling her nipple with his thumb, his free hand sliding down to lay flat on her belly. She wiggled in his arms, pushing his hand, deepening his touch. He slid lower, his fingers diving between her legs as she melted and moaned beautifully, a delicious purr as she pushed back on his erection. She turned, sliding her hands across his chest, then her mouth was on his nipple, lips tugging.
“The jungle is not the only beautiful thing here tonight,” she whispered, cupping him through the flimsy cloth that covered his groin, sliding her tongue over his nipple as his world shuddered.
Her hands at his waist, she pulled at the swath of material and it fell off his body.
“Oh, I like the easy access, adds a new meaning to the word package.”
“You won’t hear me complaining,” he said on a gasp as she flowed down with the rectangle of cloth now in a pile at his feet. She wrapped her hand around his erection, stroked him his full length, then closed her mouth over him.
“Neve, damn.” She worked him over until he was breathing hard and wanting more from her, then he dragged her up the length of him.
His mouth came down on hers hot and heavy, making his already labored breathing more intense, electrifying his nerves. The power of it drove him back against the rough wall, and his mouth left hers, storming a path down her throat to her breasts. He tasted her, the flavor of her groan exquisite; he was sucking her as if starved, taking it deep, then pulling.
Neve writhed, her hands running over
him as if she couldn’t get enough of the feel of his skin, her hands tugging and pulling, urging him, wanting the thrust of him. Her body bowed with each contact as his mouth wet a path to her center. She gasped, a soft inhalation that turned him on all the way, and he pushed her thighs wider, and knelt.
Her scent was heady, arousing, and he took what he wanted, glad that in the process it was good for her. She gasped for air as he tortured her, each stroke deepening with pressure, her climax a forgone conclusion.
“Rock,” she pleaded.
He rose, his breathing as harsh as hers, wrapping his hand around her knee and lifting her leg to his hip. He didn’t need to respond as her eyes met his.
He thrust, sliding deep, his penetration making her groan as she flexed against him and the wall, moonlight limning their bodies, his muscles thick and heavy, hers sleek and supple, both of them gleaming. He withdrew and thrust again and again, her flesh tight and silky against his erection. He smoothed his hand down her body, pulling at her nipples, teasing her sensitive core.
She leaned up and he cupped her behind, pulling her legs around him, then he pressed his back against the wall and slid down. With a soft cry, she took control, straddling, her hands on his shoulders. A slender beauty undulating in the dark. He’d never forget seeing her like this, her ripe body ribboned with passion. He looked down and watched her move over him, taking him inside her with abandon, wondering why it felt so amazing with her, and then he didn’t give a damn. He kissed her, gripping her hips, and pulled her harder and harder. She cradled his face, her gaze locked on him as she came, pulsing with him, shuddering and flexing as the eruption ripped through her like a creature of madness and hunger.
He groaned, his kiss all-devouring, his hips uncontrollable in a wild ride till he caught up with her—and burned. Rock’s mind went blank, sensations hammering him, and he fell back with her, cupping her behind and trembling for long delicious minutes.
She turned her head so that her mouth was against his ear. “You really know how to storm those beaches,” she murmured and he pulled her close and laughed softly.
Chapter 13
Cradling her face, laying a sweet kiss over her mouth that made her heart turn over, he said, “You are a piece of work, lady.”
“Right back at you, Marine.” He did things to her, erased old pain and loneliness. She knew this was a time out of time and couldn’t last, but discovering Rock and being with him was one of the most profound experiences of her life. She didn’t want to give her emotions free rein because so much was up in the air with them, least of all the outcome of this dangerous and risky venture they were currently on. Even though she didn’t want him in harm’s way, she couldn’t, at this moment, wish for him to be anywhere else.
In a powerful move, he rose off the floor, carrying her, still intimately locked with him, to the hammock. He backed into the suspended bed with the kind of balance that astounded her and maneuvered them down into it where she slid against him tightly.
“That was pretty impressive,” she said, using both hands to massage his shoulders, and she felt him smile.
He brushed back the hair at her temple, then lowered his head and kissed her. “I do have skills.”
“I wasn’t talking about the sex, but that was good, too.” He laughed as she sighed.
Neither of them spoke for several moments, content with gentle stroking and even gentler kisses. Finally, Rock eased his upper body away from her. Neve smoothed her hands up the contours of his biceps, her voice husky as she whispered, “Rock?”
Bracketing her face with his hands, he leaned down and kissed the bridge of her nose.
“Uh-huh?”
“We have to find a way to get the information out of Opal and keep her safe. We owe that to her. She really saved our bacon.”
“She’s not going to be easily swayed.”
“She’s stubborn.”
“Like someone else I know.”
She pinched his waist and he pulled her tighter to him. After a comfortable silence, he tucked in his chin and brushed a kiss against her forehead. “Neve?”
Drowsy with contentment, she sleepily watched the shadows of the leaves on the wall, comfortable in the cradle of his arms. “What?”
He hesitated, then said, his voice quiet. “You could stay here with her, encourage her to tell us where the compound is, and I could go take care of it.”
She lay absolutely still for a split second, then she rose on one arm, bracing her hand on his chest as she looked down at him. “No freaking way am I going to let you do this alone,” she said fiercely.
Meeting her gaze and smiling so softly it made her heart turn over, he carefully tucked her hair behind her ear. His tone gruff, he said, “Pretty much the response I expected, but it was worth a shot.” Taking her with him, he rolled onto his back. Making room for her knee between his, he nestled her head on his shoulder, his touch gentle as he stroked her arm.
Cupping his jaw, she caressed the curve of his cheekbone with her thumb. She didn’t know what was going to happen tomorrow, but she knew she was never going to allow him to take on Set without her.
She’d rather die trying to save her own life than cower in the dark and wait for Set to make his final move against her.
She really hadn’t let go of the incident with the drug runners. It had been pushed to the back of her mind, but she needed to bring it up to him.
“Rock?”
“More sleep, less talk,” he murmured.
“Just one more thing.”
“Okay.” He let out a deep, tired breath.
“I think someone covered me from the ridge when those drug runners were closing in on me.”
He didn’t give anything away, but he was quiet, then he said, “What makes you think that?”
“I didn’t kill all of them. I had help.”
Covering her mouth in a drugging kiss, his fingers snagging in her hair, Rock pulled her head down, distracting her. “It was most likely a crossfire. We’re just lucky as hell you weren’t hit. I don’t even want to think about it.”
Catching her by the hips, he drew her fully on top of him, then settled her between his thighs, running his hands along her rib cage until he reached her breasts. His touch sent spirals of sensation through her, and Neve closed her eyes, yielding to his mouth. She could trust him. Rock wouldn’t lie to her.
She could trust him.
*
Neve didn’t make it up before him, but she saw her meager stack of clothing all dried and folded on the table. She rather liked the pretty skirt, so she donned that and one of her tank tops.
This whole trip had been a time of discovery for her. She’d found an astounding physical intimacy with Rock. That had empowered her, and he had uncovered a sensuality in her that she hadn’t even known she possessed. Being part of a team, really part of a team, was also something of a surprise. She found that she enjoyed it, that giving a little didn’t mean she couldn’t still be strong, power in flexibility, bend in rigidity.
But even with this wonderful connection, at some point she was going to have to deal with reality. But right now, with the future unknown and dangerous, she would take this time with Rock as a gift. She was smart enough to know that there were countless complications, and any one of them could destroy something so fragile and new. That realization filled her with such cold, hard dread that it sat like a rock in the pit of her stomach.
And there was Rock himself. He was still a bit closed to her, and she worried that there was something more to that incident at the drug runner camp, more to Rock than he was voicing. The only thing that was for certain was the here and now. She made up her mind that she was going to cherish the gift she had been given for as long as it was hers to hold. She would make the most of what she had today and worry about tomorrow—tomorrow.
She left the hut, and as soon as she was steps away from the stairs to Opal’s place, the sky split, letting loose torrential rains. Neve ran for cover, the mud
splashing on her calves. She climbed the stairs, then knocked.
“Are you the second wave?”
Neve tilted her head and said, “Rock’s already been here?”
“Yes, and he was very...intense,” she groused, pushing past Neve to sit on the edge of the porch.
“Was he successful?”
“In getting me to tell him where the White Falcon is? No. I won’t leave my brother to him, and I won’t give up going myself. I have to. This is my fault.”
“How is it your fault?”
“I was panning for gold. I wanted to go to the city and make my way there. I like clothes and wanted to maybe see about designing them. I encroached too close to his compound and when he caught us, he took José as payment.”
Neve curled her arm around Opal and squeezed her close. “This is not on you, hon. It’s on Ammon Set. I think you can trust us to handle this for you and get your brother back. Just tell me where to go.”
Her shoulders slumped, and she looked out into the jungle, tears tracking down her face. “I will think about it and have an answer for you this afternoon.” She turned to Neve, her face earnest. “What do you want with the White Falcon? Why is he a threat to you or Rock?”
“I failed to rescue his family from the sea. I work for the coast guard in the US, and they were all killed in a boating accident off the coast. He blames me.”
“For trying to rescue them? That is sick and twisted. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry that happened to you.”
Neve hugged her harder. “We promise to bring your brother back safe and sound. Rock and I are a team, and we’ll make sure we get him out of there and back here to his family.”
Opal rose and smiled softly, “I know you mean that, and it’s not that I don’t believe you. It’s not about you two at all. It’s about me and my responsibility to my brother and my father. I need some time to make peace with this. After the celebration tonight to wish you well on your journey, I will give you an answer.”
Neve stood, too, and nodded. “All right, Opal. Rock and I will wait until then. We can’t stay here any longer. We’ve got to move forward.”