by Angela White
Liquid heat and nervous tension flooded Angela as Marc eased her back without waiting for a response.
“Let me make you feel good, baby.”
Angela couldn’t fight that desire-laden request. It said these chills running along her skin would become shudders of pleasure if she let him do what he wanted.
She leaned against the tent wall, trapped between it and him. She slammed her lids shut. He won’t hurt me.
Marc slipped out of his coat, understanding she was on the edge of calling it off.
Angela didn’t want to be tense, but it wasn’t something she could help. At moments like this, she’d always been scared.
Marc was in his own mind and missed the reluctant surrender for the feel of rubbing against her. He knew she wasn’t relaxed, but he wasn’t sure if he could stop without at least touching her.
Marc slid a finger between her legs.
Angela stiffened as lust, fiery and strong, shot through her stomach. “Mmm!”
Marc throbbed. “Yeah, me too,” he agreed, pushing slightly.
Angela forgot to be tense as desire reminded her that it had been months since she’d done this for herself–long before the final slaver battle.
Starting to sweat, Marc carefully repeated the exact movement, making her hips arch.
Angela shivered as he stroked her through the jeans, breasts tingling, scalding heat flowing.
Marc rubbed against her heat, sliding into that hazy place where satisfaction was what mattered. He felt her breathing roughen, hips shifting restlessly. He slid his lips along her jaw, moving closer to rock gently against her thigh. As he did, he thrust inward again with his finger, harder than before.
“Oooo…”
Need, thick and demanding, shoved into Marc’s mind. Take her!
Marc locked down on his lust, free hand coming up to slide along her hip. He gently lifted the edge of her shirt and stroked his thumb across that satin skin as he slowly withdrew his finger.
Angela arched, lost.
Marc let his hand settle over her breast as he thrust forward and they both groaned.
He leaned back to look at her. “I want to touch.”
Angela knew what that meant, but with him thrusting his finger against her like that, it was hard to stand, let alone think.
When she didn’t answer, Marc drew in a breath and lightly rubbed her nipple as he tugged her zipper down.
Beautiful bare skin flashed in the lantern light, and Marc felt a bit of his control snap off. He wanted to be naked, rutting and spewing inside that body.
“Wait. We’re in the training tent. What if someone–”
Marc’s answer was to drop his mouth back to hers and send his hand to her other breast, rubbing that rocky tip in hard circles.
“Mmmm…”
Her moan against his lips was enough to make Marc have to count to ten in his mind. His hands didn’t pause, though. He would have a little of what he’d been denying himself.
Angela shivered at the cool air as the buttons on her shirt began to pop open.
Marc sensed the withdraw coming. To counter it, he sent both hands to her nipples and pinched lightly as he moved between her legs. Hard enough to hammer nails, he thrust forward as she arched, giving them both an incredible spark of lust.
In the clubhouse that night, he’d done much the same, though, the inside of his jeans had been coated more than once by the time they were finished. This time, Marc put his hand inside her pants and let himself touch that slick pussy.
Angela cried out, grip on him tightening.
Marc throbbed at the feel of her hands in his hair, lips moving against his neck in hot lust. He dipped his head and brought his finger up, tasting her.
Sweet! Marc shuddered. His hand went back to her body, swirling his finger over that sticky nub and Angela stiffened, muscles clamping down.
“That’s so good!” she groaned against his cheek, hands tangled in the silken hair she’d dreamed of for so long. When he used his knee to nudge her legs open further, she trembled, no longer caring about who might see them.
Marc’s rough breathing sent chills over her as he thrust, pinched, and continued to use that amazing timbre on her. “Next time, I want to kiss you…here.”
He squeezed as he tugged and Angela exploded, nails ripping into his shoulder.
“Oh, Brady!”
Marc ripped his jeans open and positioned them, eager to steal a few seconds for himself. He thrust against her slick heat, drawing another arch and moan when he hit that pulsing nub. She was so wet!
One tilt and thrust, buddy-boy, the Marine inside reminded him ruthlessly. A shift into heaven.
But only once, his heart protested. She’ll never let us get this close again.
She wasn’t a camp whore. He couldn’t make the mistake of treating her like one. And that wasn’t nearly enough for Marc, anyway. He reluctantly stepped back. Need time alone–now!
Angela’s hands slowly left his shoulders, surprising him when they kept going down to his tense forearms.
“Do it while I’m here to watch.”
Marc forgot how to breathe. If he didn’t get a release right now, she was in danger or his vow of fidelity was. A man could only take so much.
The thought of Marc using a camp whore to keep from scaring her or being a little rough had Angela’s womanly instincts protesting. She would rather he threw her down and had his way than to send him into someone else’s arms, for any length of time.
“Come on.”
Damn. He’d been counting on her leaving now. Didn’t she understand that he was–
Angela took his wrist and moved it to where it was needed, meaning to let go.
Marc watched his big paw wrap around himself as if he was alone, trapping her hand. Flames shot into his groin.
Angela observed in fascination as Marc began to stroke, seeing how his glowing blue eyes traveled over her lips, her hair, the skin he could see. Still pulsing, she slowly opened her shirt with her free hand.
It was what she’d done to end their first night together at the clubhouse, and Marc shattered. He yanked her against him, one big hand going to the small of her back to keep her in place, the other jerking furiously between them until he was grunting in thick satisfaction with every stroke.
Angela felt his pleasure. His lust was fierce, shooting through her in dizzying waves, and she knew instinctively not to let him take her to the ground, or make any move to escape. She helped things along instead. She shifted the fingers under his.
The iron bar in their grip swelled, jumping eagerly at her attention.
“Again,” Marc begged against her mouth, breathing coming in short bursts.
Angela squeezed as he jerked and Marc groaned hoarsely, “Yeah, baby!”
Angela repeated the movement, delighting in the power she held over his body. She wanted to play a bit, but the witch sent a quick warning. “If you stop, he won’t.”
Able to feel how much he needed the release, Angela pressed a slow kiss to Marc’s sweaty jaw and shifted her fingers again. “Love you, Brady.”
“Uh! I...ggrrrrr!”
His grip tightened and he shoved forward, sliding between her damp thighs. When his hand moved, going to her hip, Angela spread her legs. If this was what he needed... She braced.
Marc grabbed her thighs, forcing them closed as he exploded.
Angela held him as he shuddered, absorbing the energy. Even at the most out-of-control moment for a man, Marc had kept her safe, but more than that, she’d been braced to take whatever he needed. She hadn’t frozen or even flinched. Though there hadn’t been a lot of time, she thought with a small smile. It broke another barrier around her heart. She was healing–sexually–and she had Marc to thank for it.
Breathing mostly back to normal, Angela leaned her head against the canvas, grinning. “When can we do this again?”
Winded and amazed that she wasn’t filled with his seed, Marc let go of her legs and slid to his
knees. “Two...minutes. Need fluids.”
Angela giggled. Being his woman was wonderful.
Outside, most of those who saw the entwined shadows went on about their business or sought comfort where they could find it, but not all of them.
Adrian moved through the darkness toward the firing range instead of the shadows where relief lurked. Jack Daniels and jealousy would be his companions tonight.
Chapter Eleven
June 2nd
1
“Remember to pivot on three and look. If you don’t look, you can’t pass. Go!”
Aware that the routine exercise would be a part of their first test, Cynthia got into the rhythm, ducking and remembering to look as she held her body under rigid control.
The rookies rolled together across the training area that had been cleared for this, nine souls working together to cover the targets coming at them from dozens of angles.
Cynthia spun awkwardly, caught herself in time to recover, and was there to lay a steadying hand on Samantha’s arm as she also spun wrong. They dropped into their places, attention going overhead. They drew as they rolled, dry firing at the targets to their right.
Sweating, Cynthia grunted heavily as she spun again, starting the routine over, and heard Samantha echo the sound. This was the hardest thing the males had tried to teach them so far, this teamwork, and she wasn’t the only one struggling with it.
“Take five.”
The group of Eagles dropped to the floor in relief at Doug’s call. It was the tenth time they’d run it in two hours, and though it was getting better, it still needed a lot of work.
Now that they’d all been evaluated by the senior men, Cynthia had been put with Kevin, who’d already been training her on most of her Eagle duties. Samantha was still with Daryl. Leslie was XO training with Jeremy, a fact that Jax and Samantha were upset over without being able to express why.
Cynthia moved toward their head trainer for the day. “Can I ask you something?”
“Yes.” Kyle shrugged, clearly not in the mood to be here. “But at your own risk.”
“Why didn’t you ever bust me?” Cynthia leaned against the tent wall. “I know you saw me tracking Adrian plenty of times.”
Kyle didn’t bother with the expected sneer. He didn’t hate her anymore. “We needed you busy. You chose the activity, and we made sure you saw what we wanted you to.”
Not a bit hurt, Cynthia fired her next question. “Are you going to claim Jennifer publicly?”
Kyle’s expression tightened, mind going straight to the pregnant girl he’d left in the chair with a heating pad for her back. “None of your business.”
“That’s interesting.”
Kyle smothered a growl, waiting for the next dig. Hate her still or not, there was little love between him and the reporter.
“If you wait much longer, you might lose your place,” Cynthia told him quietly. “Action is about to be taken.”
Kyle turned to snarl and found himself alone along the tent wall. Was it time for the next step? He’d been waiting publically, but inside, it was a done deal.
Coughing, Daryl slid into Cynthia’s spot. He hated the smell of the perfume Cynthia wore. Damn flowers. “Word says you can expect a visit from the den mothers.”
“And a call to the moral board after that?” Kyle guessed.
Daryl shrugged. “If you don’t obey what they decide, yes. They’ve set it up to talk to her, too.”
“They what?”
Daryl took a step back. “They always check on the new females, Kyle. You know that.”
Kyle cursed, storming from the tent in a show of Italian temper that the camp rarely witnessed.
He climbed the steps to the new female shower camper a minute later, with no thought to the rules and caught Hilda and Peggy mid-undress.
“I need to see you!”
Peggy, not flustered by most men like the younger females were, had a good idea what had brought him here and nodded. “Okay. We’ll wash, you talk.”
Hilda’s mouth dropped open as Peggy removed her shirt, exposing her bra and a waist that was still slender.
Kyle blinked. “Put your clothes on.”
“Wait until we’re done.”
Kyle crossed his arms over his chest. “No.”
He didn’t bother keeping his eyes on the molding stall doors or the foggy windows that were screwed shut to keep out the draft and curious teenage boys. He leaned against the door that was now being knocked on by Doug, the guard on the campers.
“Is everything okay?” Doug called.
“Go away! We’re all full here!” Kyle shouted as Peggy stepped into the stall and closed the half door.
“What the hell, Kyle?” Doug’s bewildered voice faded.
“I want you to support me and Jennifer,” Kyle demanded.
Neither woman responded with anything more than frowns.
Kyle’s tenor rose. “And, stay away from her!”
“You’re not exempt from the rules,” Peggy warned, carrying a grudge against any male who wanted an underage girl. “And doing this isn’t helping your cause.”
“Depends on what we can work out,” Kyle said.
Hilda’s gaze flew to his in denial.
Kyle scoffed. “Tell me there isn’t anything you two want, and I’ll call you both liars.”
Again, neither woman spoke.
“What is this?” Kyle groaned. “A guessing game? Tell me what you need!”
Now that he’d said the right word, Peggy grinned, a harsh smile befitting a sly female determined to have her way. “When the time comes, support Angela, not Marc or Kenn. Do that, and you can have any willing female in this camp.”
“So long as there’s no physical contact until legal age,” Hilda added.
It took Kyle a minute. What...who... A bit stunned, he uncrossed his arms. “And they say men are ruthless!”
“Yes, but we’re also survivors, Mr. Reece,” Peggy sneered bitterly. “And she’ll make sure that we stay that way.”
Kyle opened the door. “I’ll get back to you. Until then, leave us both alone.”
He slammed the door, ignoring Doug and the other scowling guards.
Kyle paused on the landing, caught in a haze of longing as Jennifer tilted her chin up to catch the sun’s warm rays. She and Dog were walking by, ignoring everyone around them to enjoy the beautiful day, and Kyle forgot how to breathe.
Jennifer felt the heat, the strong, protective presence that was Kyle, and immediately started searching. She found him nearby and gave a small wave, detouring.
Kyle held up a hand, telling her to wait.
He slid back inside the shower and gave Peggy’s now naked chest an appreciative leer. “Nice, Ms. Kelly!”
He enjoyed their startled expressions for a moment, letting the tension build. As they both started to speak, Kyle delivered scorn and surrender. “You’re conspiring against Adrian. You’ve offered a deal for a teenage camp member, to get what you want.”
Kyle dropped his eyes in respect. “And it worked. Give us your approval and so will I, if the time comes.”
“It’s the right choice–unlike the one you’ve made with that little girl,” Hilda stated.
“Don’t think you can push me any further than this, ladies.” Kyle’s demeanor became dark and dangerous. “You have no idea how big of a mistake that would be.”
Peggy studied him, this big killer with the bleeding heart showing for everyone to judge. She relented reluctantly. “Walk the line we’ve set, and you’ll have what you want.”
Kyle understood the word choice, and now flung it back at her. “Need, Ms. Kelly. If I only wanted her, I would have made a different deal, and it wouldn’t be with you!”
Peggy and Hilda exchanged satisfied nods as Kyle left. He would love Jennifer, and their plans would have the support of the top Eagle in camp.
The two females looked up in surprise when the camper door immediately opened again.
Doug limped inside, hand up to cover his view. “Everyone okay in here?”
Hilda opened her mouth to answer, and Peggy stopped her with a quick motion.
Understanding what would happen, Hilda quietly grabbed her towel. She’d thought Peggy had a spark for the big Irishman, but hadn’t been positive.
Doug cleared his throat, not hearing anything except running water. What had Kyle done? “Hello? Hilda? Ms. Peggy?”
Steadily running showers and silence.
After the way Kyle had stormed in and blocked the door, then stomped away without answering him, Doug knew he would have to look. He slowly lowered his hand, braced to see anything.
Anything, but beautiful breasts being lovingly washed without a thought for his shock.
“Son of a...”
Peggy snickered, making sure he was getting her best angles. Age hadn’t been unkind to her, but it hadn’t been exactly generous either. “We’re fine, Doug. Thank you for coming to make sure.”
Hilda didn’t approve of the way Peggy was letting him know she was interested, but it was amusing to see Doug’s jaw drop and his eyes grow dark. Hilda hid a grin.
The big man nodded, gaze glued to Peggy’s chest. In the halls below, shifting began. “Yeah, um, it’s my…” Doug trailed off, aware that he was staring, but that tone! It said if they were alone, more than looking might be allowed!
Peggy slid under the water, studying him from under lowered lashes as his eyes glowed like the bonfire. She was enjoying the rush. “Was there anything else you wanted…needed, maybe?”
“Aye!” It was almost a growl, and Doug tried to snap out of it. “I mean, no! I’ll go now.”
He didn’t budge.
Peggy thought of her late husband, of the way he’d been so big and quiet. Was it okay that she liked the same things in Doug, was drawn to him because of it? She hated his dreads, though. They would be the first thing to go.
Peggy swept his faded red vest and army jacket, seeing how raggedy both were becoming after so many hand washings. Bet there’s a story attached to them, she thought. Other than just a symbol of his time in another war zone.
Hilda stayed quiet, waiting for the kind giant to be gone so she could dress. She had enough to do with the things Adrian had her working on. She didn’t need to add man trouble to it. She was perfectly happy being Safe Haven’s top Den Mother, thank you very much.