His lips fully covered hers. The kiss wasn’t gentle or even demanding. It was as wild as the jungle around them. Her tongue met his in a frantic dance of need. When his fingers finally found her aching nipples and closed around them, she screamed. But his kiss didn’t lessen, it became feral. Her fingers curled into his shirt, holding on for dear life. She was sure at any moment she’d soar into the sky as the need twisted tighter and tighter inside her.
Releasing her mouth, his lips began working their way down her neck. He drew a nipple into his hot mouth and began stroking her clit. She flung her legs wide. “Nick,” she panted.
“Hang on sweetheart,” he muttered against her stomach. “I have to taste you. A pre-dinner snack.”
She felt his tongue where his fingers had just been. The late day sun added to heat radiating from her skin. Sucking her clit, he buried a finger deep inside her, again finding her spot. She threw her head back and watched fireworks fill the bright blue sky. God, even sex was better in the Amazon. She withered and her hips rocked uncontrollably. Instead of stopping, Nick worked a second finger inside her and met her thrusting. His thumb replaced his tongue on her clit. As she rapidly, approached her second climax, she opened her eyes. Nick looked up at her from between her legs. Knowing he was watching her caused her to pause.
“Don’t, sweetheart. You’re beautiful. Don’t deny me this.” He kissed the inside of her thigh and rubbed her clit. She couldn’t have stopped if her life had depended upon it. Answered need ignited the rockets inside her, sending her flying into the heavens.
She felt Nick lift her up, but she didn’t have the strength to object or ask where he was taking her.
“Wait here.” He kissed her forehead, placing her on a sleeping bag, and pulled a sheet over her.
~* * *~
Nick gazed down at Leigh. Never had he wanted something as badly as he wanted to strip off his clothes and bury himself inside her. However, they did need shelter and the tent wouldn’t pitch itself.
He’d setup over five hundred tents since starting Eden ’s Exploration but tonight he was all thumbs. Sexual frustration somehow affected his ability to do mundane tasks. He’d finished tying the last anchor cord when Leigh walked up. She wore a light green ribbed tank without a bra, which was apparent by her still hard nipples, and tiny blue silk panties hugging her hips.
A smile pulled at the corner of her lips. “I believe I’m failing to keep up my side of the tour agreement. How can I help?”
Numerous things ran through his mind but they all involved his cock and her pussy. All of which he would suggest later, after they had eaten. “You can pick out the menu for tonight.” He pointed to the plastic container.
She went and bent over the storage container. Not knelt but bent. So her ass was high in the air. He thought it was impossible for his dick to get any harder but damn if it didn’t.
“ Oranges , rice, salsa, and canned chicken.” She piled things in the dirt. “Any suggestions?” She looked over at him.
He stood. “Many, but they are all for after we eat.”
Her eyes locked on the bulge in his shorts and he smiled.
Dangerous Men, Dangerous Places
Chapter Seven
The sun had sunk below the canopy to the point it could no longer cast shadows. The darkness settling around Leigh was like being blanketed in black velvet, the coolness caressing the bare skin of her arms. She heard the rustling in the vegetation as nocturnal animals woke.
Wordlessly, Nick moved around the campsite securing everything for the night. She pulled the hoodie Nick gave her tighter as self-doubt ate a hole in her confidence. Nick had sent her to places she’d considered pure fiction in the brief encounter at the washbasin. How could she return that? Her bag of sex tricks was at best high school level.
“I’m going to wash up,” he announced.
Was that an invitation? She’d taken a shower one time with David and it was lackluster to say the least. A deep rumble echoed from the depth of the jungle, reminding her of the wildness surrounding her. This was her fantasy. She could be Jane to a Tarzan.
She stood and followed Nick. Where the flickering flames of the fire had seemed in harmony with the darkness of the jungle, the pale yellow light of the lantern was somehow offensive. Nick had removed his shirt. She paused, studying the hard lines of the muscles defining his back and the tattoo of a leaping jaguar. Its hind legs rested on his left hip with its tail curling around his ribs. The cat’s front claws were extended on his right shoulder.
“Now who is the voyeur?” he asked.
“Nope, I’m a Girl Scout coming to offer my assistance.” She slid between him and the washbasin, taking the cloth from his hand. Kissing his taut nipple, she unbuttoned his shorts. She dipped the cloth in the water and squirted the bio-soap on it. “Your body is like visiting the zoo.” She moved the cloth across the caiman tattoo resting at the base of his rib cage. Pushing his shorts down, she found he was commando. She wrapped her fingers around his thick erection.
“You haven’t seen just how wild I can become.” He placed a finger under her chin, forcing her to look up. “Joking aside, Leigh, you need to understand I never sleep with the guests. Not once in the six years I’ve owned and operated Eden ’s Exploration. It’s a solid rule. I don’t even hook up with them once the tour is done. No intimate relations of any type.”
A lump formed in her throat as her mind processed what he was telling her. They both were entering into something new. “I don’t pick up guys.”
“I didn’t mean to imply you did,” he quickly interjected before she could continue.
She shook her head. “I know. This entire trip was forced on me by my friend who couldn’t come as a way to break me out of my rigid routine.” He stiffened and started to back away, and she realized he thought she was just using him to satisfy some friendly dare. “The tour was what she and I had planned. I’m not sure exactly what is driving me. I know I want you more than any man I’ve met and it has nothing to do with trying to break out of my OCD planning shell.” She rose on her toes so she could brush his lips with hers. “I need you inside me. Never have I wanted to feel a man’s cock pounding into me, pushing me to some unknown ecstasy. Until you,” she whispered.
Growling, he moved his hand from her chin to cup the back of her head. His fingers tangled in her hair, pulling her head back to give him the angle he needed to deliver his savage kiss. Her lips parted allowing her tongue to enter into a dance with his that she was sure dated back to the beginning of mankind.
He gripped her ass with his other hand, lifting her off the ground. Again, more out of instinct than thought, she wrapped her legs around his waist. Somehow, he managed to free himself from his shorts and get them to the tent without her noticing. Because the next thing she knew, she was sprawled out on the sleeping bag, Nick jerking her panties off.
“Take your top off,” he demanded flipping on a flashlight. “I want to feel every inch of your skin against mine. No barriers.”
She pulled the tank over her head and sat up. Leaning forward, she flicked her tongue across the head of Nick’s penis.
“Leigh, my control is stretched to the maximum without you—” His words were replaced with a hiss as she drew him into her mouth. Reaching between his legs, she dragged her fingernails up his thighs until she cupped his sac. “Fuck,” he groaned. She felt his fingers again tighten in her hair, holding her in place as his hips began to jerk.
A surge of satisfaction rippled through her knowing she was responsible for his need, which gave away to a burning desire between her legs. She would have thought to be dominated like this would be a turn-off but it was far from it. Every inch of her body quivered with hunger that only Nick would be able to feed.
He pulled himself out of her mouth and the tent was filled with the sounds of both of them trying to catch their breath. Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out a condom and handed it to her.
David had always put on his own co
ndom, as if it were some high tech operation she was incapable of performing. Judging from the shaking of her hands as she tried to open the small package, maybe it was. She waited for Nick to jerk it away but instead his fingers began toying with her hard nipples. How did he think that helped?
“Neither of us will be satisfied until you put that on my cock,” he instructed as his fingers closed around her nipples, gently pulling them. “I’ll just continue to tease you. Bringing you close but denying you the final gratification.”
She moaned, licking her lips, her hips rocked in a desperate attempt to find the satisfaction he alluded to.
“Open the package, Leigh.” He cupped her breasts. His strong fingers massaged them as he lowered his head, sucking her taut bud into his mouth.
She arched her spine, dropping her head back. When his finger slipped into her, her entire body lurched as the beginnings of a pleasure tidal wave formed. Suddenly, it all ended. His finger and mouth gone.
“Maybe you changed your mind about wanting me in you. Maybe this is all you crave.” Nick moved back. “Maybe that is why you haven’t opened the condom.”
She looked down and realized she’d dropped the package. Grabbing it she tore it open. Without a word, she slid it over his erection. He pushed her back down on the sleeping bag and spread her legs wide.
“Is this what you want?” he asked.
Was he insane? If he didn’t fuck her, she would be. He stared down at her, the dim glow of the flashlight masked his face in shadows but she knew he would demand an answer.
“Yes, I need you in me. Now. No more playing. I can’t take it,” she pleaded. He lowered his body, covering hers. Resting his forehead on hers, he filled her in a single thrust. Arching her back, she screamed as the flames of answered desire raced through her.
Nick repeatedly pulled out and drove back into her, pushing her up and over multi-peaks of pleasure. Finally, she felt him stiffen and knew he’d reached his own climax.
Content, secure, and happier than she ever remembered, she drifted to sleep in his arms.
Dangerous Men, Dangerous Places
Chapter Eight
Before the first rays of dawn penetrated the campsite, Nick roused Leigh and took her to a small inland lake. They spent an hour watching various wildlife visit the popular watering hole. Leigh clicked pictures and told him what she’d learned about each animal.
He decided last night, while holding her and listening to her breathe instead of following the tour route, he’d make this his base and show her sites few ever saw. They would spend eight days enjoying the Amazon and seven nights learning the secrets of each others’ bodies. If things went as he hoped, there would be plenty of time to take her on the actual tour–as his wife. He would have a Tony and Maria tale to tell their children.
On their way back, Nick noticed the vegetation had been broken. When he examined the area further, he found boot prints. Now the morning bird’s serenade, a balance of beauty and wild that usually filled Nick with a peace, was shattered by the four men standing in the campsite with guns. The three assholes who flew in with Leigh stood next to the tent.
The fourth man, Hector, rested against a tree. A smug smile on his dark face. Eden ’s Exploration had always managed to stay removed from the local drug cartels. Currently, Hector was challenging Angel's authority. In an effort to undermine Angel’s hold, Hector had been persistent in wanting to include Eden ’s Exploration in drug trafficking. Several times he’d approached them with offers to use the business as a guise to smuggle drugs out of the country.
The last time Ty and he had been very clear in their refusal. Nick had told Hector if he ever again saw him again, Nick would contact Angel and personally assist his rival in locating the perfect jungle grave for Hector’s body to rot in.
“Where are they?” Ben asked. “What if they heard us and are on their way back?”
“Back to where?” Paul snarled. “We’re in the middle of the fucking Amazon. It’s not like it’s a three block stroll to the nearest police station.”
Nick silently cursed himself. Why hadn't he been more through in questioning the three guys? The fact they had made it through customs without being detected should have made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Of course, Hector had arranged the entire thing as a way to entrap them into letting him use their business.
Destroyed were all his plans of making love to Leigh before heading out to finish his personal tour of the jungle. Now he had to figure out a way to get to their kayak’s without being seen.
“They have gone nowhere. Their packs are still in the tent, the kayaks are here.” Hector kicked the food storage container over. “Nick, I know you can hear me.” The man ground his heel into a package of noodles.
Leigh shot him a glance and he motioned for her to remain silent. What had happened to Ty? How had the men escaped?
“It would have been a simple execution. The purpose is to make so your business partners understand reason.” Hector shot the water barrel. “Now you’ll die in the jungle feasted on by insects for years to come. No body for yours or that of the pretty American woman’s family to mourn.” He waved his gun. “Put their packs into the kayaks and shove them into the river.”
Nick watched the three men, who should be on a plane headed back to the United States follow Hector’s instructions. Leigh’s faint strawberry scent tickled his nose and he clenched his jaw. No matter how close he was going to stay to the campsite, he never left without at least one of the packs. It was basic common sense. He never knew if someone would twist an ankle or if a local drug lord would ransack his campsite. But because of that sexier than hell strawberry smell, he’d repeatedly made stupid mistakes and this latest one could very well cost them their lives.
The empty kayaks swirled in the current and drifted out of sight.
The pop pop of Hector’s semi-automatic gun sent nearby monkeys into a fit of shrieks. Two of the assholes crumbled to the muddy river’s edge.
“What the fuck?” Paul asked. His eye wide and even from the distance, Nick could tell the man quivered with fear.
“They were stupid.” Hector shrugged. “If we are to continue business, you will bring smarter friends or next time all of you will die.”
Paul looked down at friends.
Leigh’s fingers dug into his arm but he didn’t dare look at her. He knew fear would be clear in her face and it would piss him off that he couldn’t do a fucking thing about it.
“Nick, if you walk into the camp right now, I’ll gun you and the woman down as I did the dumb Americans.” Hector lit a cigarette. “I respect you and I’m sorry we couldn’t come to a business arrangement. You are the one I have to kill because I know regardless of what I did to the others, you’d never agree. Foolish but still an honorable thing.”
The only sounds for several long minutes while Hector waited belonged to the Amazon. The jungle was never entirely silent.
“We go.” Hector slung his gun across his shoulder.
“What if they make it back to Eden ’s Exploration?” Ben asked. “Shouldn’t we look for them?”
“They have no supplies, no food, and no kayaks. It is a two-day walk back to Eden ’s Exploration. No one will know they are gone for seven more days but if you wish to roam the Amazon looking for them, American, good luck.” Hector walked off in the opposite direction.
Ben stood for several seconds scanning the vegetation. “Wait,” he yelled and jogged after Hector.
Leigh sagged against him. “Be still for a little longer,” he whispered against her soft, silky hair.
With the distant grumble of an engine starting, Nick knew the human threat was no longer present. Now it was just figuring out how to survive the Amazon.
Dangerous Men, Dangerous Places
Chapter Nine
Leigh studied the flat green bug crawling up her leg. What started out as the prefect morning for her Jane and Tarzan fantasy had turned into a nightmare. Tarzan was still pr
esent, the warmth of his body and the sound of his steady breathing were the only things keeping insanity brought on by pure terror at bay.
“It will be okay, Leigh,” Nick whispered, moving around her. “They are gone.”
“So I can wake up now and we’ll be nude in the tent. You will make love to me again. Then we’ll have some breakfast and start day two of the tour.” She flicked the bug away, careful not to kill it. Watching two men being gunned down filled her quota for violence for the rest of her life.
“Sweetheart, look at me.” Nick cupped her chin and forced her to meet his gaze. His gray eyes held hers. “Trust me. I’ll get us out of this.”
She nodded, unable to form words.
“Stay here, I’m going to see what I can salvage from the camp.”
Wordlessly, she stood and followed him.
“Leigh, I want you to stay hidden in case they return.”
“Nope.” She drew a deep breath and straightened her back. Today was Thursday and once upon a time that meant spaghetti with either meatballs or Italian sausage depending on the week. Gone were those days. She’d had incredible sex with and spent the night in the arms of a man she’d known less than twenty-four hours, watched two men be gunned down, and now she was going to have to survive a two-day jungle trek without any supplies. The next person who suggested she needed to break out of her rut, she’d punch.
“I don’t think hiding is something I’ll ever be able to do again.” She went over to the rain barrel to see if any water remained. “Is it really a two-day hike back to the base? We kayaked that far?”
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