Intent. Deadly. A predator waiting to pounce.
Then, for a moment his eyes had flashed with sexual heat so intense, her body had responded as if he’d stroked all her sensitive female places. The promise in his eyes had scared her with its ferocity and she’d fought the urge to run.
Some higher instinct had kicked in though, convincing her that if she fled, it would break the fragile hold Kai had on his control. He’d chase her. Catch her. Conquer her.
Only now, alone in the darkness, could she admit she’d been secretly disappointed when Kai backed away. To have all that male intensity focused on her…the promise made her shiver with anticipation.
Instead, Kai had shut himself down with a palpable effort. Leaving her nothing to do but work her frustration out by vigorously clearing the vegetation from her path.
A tense, wary silence hung between them throughout the afternoon. When they’d finally found a place to camp, they’d fallen into their routine without speaking. He set up the hammock while she looked for food.
Now it was several hours past dark and she couldn’t sleep, despite the exhaustion that made her body feel heavier than concrete.
It didn’t help that she was hyper aware of Kai sitting watch in a tree at the edge of camp. She swore she could hear him breathing.
“Susana?” Kai’s whisper carried across the small clearing.
“Yeah?”
“I’m…sorry…for the way I acted this afternoon.”
She couldn’t help but smile at the reluctance in his tone. But although she waited, he didn’t offer an explanation. Well, what did she expect? Whatever demon he’d been fighting, he was a man used to keeping secrets.
“Apology accepted,” she said. Even though she understood why he didn’t elaborate, it still hurt. She’d believed they were becoming friends.
Half an hour later she sighed and shifted position again in the hammock. Sleep just wasn’t coming. Too many images crowded her mind.
Kai tossing and turning with fever. Kai sprawled on his back after they’d crossed the river. The look he’d given her when she’d unbuttoned her shirt the other day. The heat in his eyes this afternoon.
The kiss.
Despite his surly attitude, she didn’t want him way across the camp, emotionally distant and in guard-dog mode.
She wanted another explosive kiss.
Remembering the hot urgency of his lips, parts of her tingled into awareness. Oh, yes, she definitely wanted more. Forget sleep.
She rolled to her side and raised the mosquito net high enough for her to slip underneath. The chemical light stick she’d used earlier while getting ready for bed still glowed where she’d tucked it under her backpack. She picked it up and used it to guide her toward Kai.
“Susana?” Kai’s soft question was followed by a muffled thump as he jumped off his perch. “What’s wrong?”
“Come here and I’ll show you,” she replied huskily. From Kai’s hesitation, she knew he recognized her invitation.
Please don’t turn away. I need this. And I think you need this even more.
She was surprised by that last thought, but it felt right. Whatever emotions had been riding him this afternoon had wound Kai so tight, she feared he was on the verge of snapping.
She met his eyes. Their amber depths reflected the meager light from her chemical stick. With several days’ worth of beard giving his face a fuzzy outline, he resembled a jaguar more than ever.
She wanted to stroke him. Starting with his face and moving down.
He must have seen her desire, because his eyes flared. But then he quickly took a step back.
“No,” she protested. In two quick strides she closed the distance between them. She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his chin.
His muscles jumped underneath her lips. Ah, ha! He wasn’t immune.
“Don’t run from me, Kai.” Keeping her hands to herself so he wouldn’t feel caged, Susana pressed a series of light, nibbling kisses along his jaw and across his cheeks.
The tension roiling off him was like a physical push against her skin. She ignored it and continued exploring his face with her mouth. When she took his earlobe between her teeth, he shuddered. Smiling, she reached up and flicked her tongue into his ear.
His breath shot out in a long hiss. He grabbed her and set her away from him. Stared at her with a slight frown.
Her heart sank. He didn’t want her.
But then he exhaled sharply and reached for her. His hands cradled her head while his mouth plundered hers.
God, he tasted like everything sinful. Rich chocolate. Full-bodied wine. Smooth coffee.
He lifted his mouth to take a gulping breath and she trembled, she actually quivered damn him as she waited for his next kiss. So much for staying in control. Once again, Kai’s kiss had sent her arousal status from medium to nuclear in a matter of seconds.
He shifted away from her, breaking the sensual haze.
“If we’re going to continue this…” he said as his fingers closed around hers
She narrowed her eyes and dug her fingernails into his palm. “No if.”
He paused and she sensed an internal struggle.
Hell no. She raised his palm to her mouth, bit lightly at the base of his thumb, then soothed the spot with a kiss. “Make love to me, Kai. Now.”
He swallowed heavily. “Uh…right. But not vertical.” He extracted his hands from hers, pressed a quick kiss to her lips, then tugged her across to her hammock.
Uh-oh. “Kai?”
He chuckled, and the rare display of humor warmed her. “No hammock. Promise. Well, not tonight, anyway.”
She batted at him with her hand. He leaned away with another chuckle and she swore her heart melted at his playfulness.
“I know what I’m doing,” he said. “Trust me.”
Trust him? He had no idea how much she trusted him. So much she couldn’t examine it too closely or she’d scare herself.
A minute later Kai had tugged the mosquito net lower on the hammock, so it created a deeper drape over the ground where his survival blanket bed lay.
Then, with a bow and a hand flourish, he indicated that she should precede him into the cocooned space. “Our bower awaits, Madame.”
This wasn’t at all the spontaneous seduction she’d intended. As she settled herself on her back on the blanket, then placed the light stick on the ground above her head, she wondered if the mood was lost for Kai.
Damn, she hoped not. Her blood still sizzled with need. “Kai,” she muttered when he didn’t immediately follow her. “If you don’t get in here right now, I’m going to get violent.”
“Just a sec.”
She heard him move away. He walked around their camp, pausing every few seconds. What the heck? She was fully aroused and he was calmly setting the trip wires? Something was seriously wrong with this picture.
But then he was back, shimmying underneath the mosquito net. Since there wasn’t enough room for him to have his own space, he had to position his body on top of hers.
She sighed in delight as he covered her. She separated her legs and wriggled her hips until he nestled right where she needed him to be. Ah, yes, that felt good.
“Hello,” he said against her ear. “Where were we?” His tongue penetrated the sensitive canal, mimicking her earlier movement. Probing and retreating until she writhed, moaning his name softly.
She raised her hands and grabbed his ears, intending to move his mouth where she really wanted it—on hers.
“Uh-uh, sweetheart.” Kai snagged her hands in his and pressed them to the blanket.
“Kai!” Her protest turned to a gasp as he moved his lips across her face.
“Payback’s only fair,” he murmured between kisses. “Just relax.”
She arched once under his hands, testing his hold. When it didn’t loosen, she softened and ceded control, letting his teasing kisses swamp her. Returning kisses to whatever part of him she could reach.
Her
eyes drifted closed as her arousal built.
Then Kai was gone, the absence of his body warmth making her shiver. “Kai?” She opened her eyes.
He knelt between her legs, head pushing into the hammock above. His fiery eyes burned into her while he unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged out of it.
She licked her lips as he slowly revealed taut, sculpted muscles that would be the envy of any male model despite the scars. She reached forward, tracing the line of silky, dark blond hair bisecting his abdomen.
The muscles of his stomach leapt under her touch. So she stroked him again. Then she hooked a finger over his waistband and tugged. She wanted him closer, so she could put her mouth on him.
“Come here.”
“Not yet.” He pushed her hands away.
Awash in anticipation, she let her hands lie quietly at her sides.
Keeping his eyes locked with hers, Kai slowly undid the buttons of her shirt. Like a blind man, he explored each section of exposed skin with the tips of his fingers before moving on to the next button, skipping over the fabric of her bra. When the last button was free, he pulled the shirt wide.
Then he simply stared at her. With eyes so hot and full of male appreciation that Susana gasped.
His chest heaved once. Then his hands were on her. Reaching beneath her with a curse to undo the hooks of her bra. Yanking free the buttons of the cuffs of her shirt so he could remove her arm from first one sleeve, then the other, then slip her bra away.
When she was completely bare, he groaned and lowered himself slowly to rest against her.
The weight and heat of him was just what she wanted. She arched into him, loving the friction of her taut nipples against the even tighter muscles of his chest. She could stay like this forever, it felt so right. Like finally finding a home after years of wandering.
But Kai didn’t pause to savor the moment. He gently shackled her wrists with his hands and lowered his head.
Kai let his open mouth hover just below Susana’s ear, warming her skin with his breath. She squirmed and tried to move her left hand, but he kept her wrists pinned down.
“Kai,” she seethed. “Get on with it!”
“Not yet.” His smile pressed his lips against her skin. Too tempted, he gave in and tasted her. Lapped at her like she was the finest cream and he a starving cat.
Her taste was rich. Overwhelming. Addictive.
One taste wasn’t enough. He went back for more, exploring the length of her neck, then the hollow behind her ear. The line of her jaw invited nibbles, the hollow of her throat a tiny bite. And every inch he tasted and kissed released a unique scent.
Dirt and sweat. A hint of soap and bug repellent.
Rising through it all, though, was the smell of Susana. Hot. Musky. So tantalizing, he wanted to keep on inhaling until his lungs were full of her.
“Kai, what are you doing?” Susana wriggled her shoulders, bumping her collarbone into his nose.
“Smelling you.”
She stilled. “Why? We’ve been in the jungle for days.”
He shook his head, letting his nose trail lightly across her skin, down to her armpit, where he inhaled deeply. “You smell like woman. Rich. Seductive.” He slewed his eyes upward to see her expression. “I like it.”
Her eyes were narrowed, regarding him with suspicion. “Really?”
He laughed and nuzzled against her. “Yeah. Your scent is more potent now. Less civilized.” He inhaled and pressed his hips deeper into the juncture between her legs. “It calls to me.”
He moved his nose back to the soft space behind her ear. “I want to absorb all of you into me,” he whispered against her lobe. “So that if I became deaf and blind I could still tell when you walked into a room, because your scent was part of my DNA.”
Susana arched her back and moaned. “Jesus, Kai, you’re killing me. I want you.”
“I know, sweetheart. But we have so much farther to go.”
Susana wasn’t sure she could survive much more. She was already on the brink of an explosive orgasm, if Kai would only stop teasing.
She was no stranger to loving. Her appetite was healthy and her looks guaranteed that she could always find a willing partner.
But Kai undid her. She’d never expected that here, in the depths of the Amazon jungle, after having no access to a bath for a week, she’d find a lover who made her feel cherished simply for being herself.
She hadn’t realized how desperately she needed that. Until now.
Kai’s lips found a particularly sensitive spot at the side of her breast and she writhed at the wave of pleasure.
Mmm. She felt like the first and only woman on earth. Infinitely precious and desirable.
His mouth trailed up the side of her breast. Hesitated until she felt like screaming. Then his head darted forward and, finally, finally, her flesh was in the warm haven of his mouth.
She’d always had sensitive breasts. At the third pull of his mouth, she felt the orgasm start to peak.
“Oh, no you don’t,” Kai murmured. “Not yet.”
He let go of her hands so his fingers could explore her other breast. She tried to push him away, but he only suckled harder, pressing her nipple to the roof of his mouth.
Her throat struggled to find the words to tell him to never stop. As if reading her mind, he raised his head. In the faint green glow from the light stick, his eyes glittered.
“Now,” he growled.
His fingers teased her right breast into agonizing arousal, while his mouth continued the sensual assault on the left. The pressure built to a crescendo that would not be denied.
“Kai!” She closed her eyes as the orgasm tore through her. Stars exploded behind her lids.
Then she was limp. Floating.
And clearly she’d unleashed a beast, because Kai didn’t stop. He shifted his lips to her other breast. His fingers traced her waistband. Then dipped below, searching.
When he didn’t find what he expected, he raised his head.
She took advantage of the moment to push him back on his knees. She unfastened the snap on her pants as she answered the question in his eyes. “Brazilian wax. I had it done last month before a formal fundraising event. I didn’t want anything to mar the line of my skintight evening gown.” She lowered her zipper. Kai reached forward and helped her slide her pants and undies down her legs.
He sucked in a breath. One finger reached out and traced her bare slit.
“You’re just starting to grow out,” he said. His voice wavered. “I’ve never…” He shook his head and his lips curled in a crooked smile. “Damn. I think I like it.” The smile he gave her said he more than liked it.
He started to lower his head, but she stopped him. “Not until you remove your pants, buster.”
With a strained laugh, he hurried to comply. And then Mr. Always Prepared pulled a condom out of his pocket and sheathed himself.
She reached for him, desperate to feel him inside her. But once again he pinned her hands.
“I’m not finished yet,” he warned her. And proceeded to savor her bare body with lips and tongue, bringing her to the brink time and again, but always knowing just when to pull back to stop her from flying.
The fire within her burned hotter with each touch of his mouth, until it was a wonder her heat didn’t ignite the nearby trees.
And she cursed him for not letting her fly again. She swore first in English, then in Portuguese. Then in several languages no longer spoken. When he only laughed, she bent her head and bit him on the shoulder.
He bucked in surprise, then took her mouth in a ferocious kiss.
Yes! She tangled her tongue with his. Nipped at his lips.
His hips pressed forward, seating himself fully within her. He was so hot, and filled her so tightly, she closed her eyes on a long, low moan.
Completely lost in sensation, she didn’t realize he’d stopped moving.
She opened her eyes. Shivered.
She’d never seen such
an expression on a lover’s face. Satisfaction hid in the background, but Kai’s eyes were wide with awe and…relief.
But not physical relief. No, this was some deep-seated emotional relief that had tears shimmering in his eyes.
Dear God, was he feeling this same sense of completion? Of being home after years of wandering?
She smiled and traced her finger down his cheek to his mouth. “Hello there,” she whispered. For the briefest instant, she thought she saw all the way into his soul. Into cold loneliness and grief.
But then she shifted her body to relieve the pressure on her sore shoulder, and the spell broke.
Kai sucked her finger into his mouth and began moving his body in a hard, unforgiving rhythm. Yet some of the connection remained. Even as her hands dug into his shoulders and her legs grabbed his hips, she felt like he also touched her soul.
And when the pressure was too great and she burst apart, she had absolutely no doubt that Kai would catch her. Because in this moment out of time, they were one.
Chapter 15
Saturday, Night
Boa Vista, Brazil
“Have you found her yet?” Mark Tonelli demanded, his fingers tightening on the sat phone.
“No. The tracking device never reappeared and she hasn’t returned to her dig yet.”
Mark could hear a faint roar on the other end. “What’s that?”
“Military cargo plane. Flying low.” The unease in the mercenary’s voice sent Mark’s instincts on alert.
“What are the markings?” Was it Jamieson’s men? Or just a bad coincidence that the Brazilian military was running maneuvers over that deserted section of jungle?
“Can’t tell in the dark.”
Mark let out a huff of annoyance. “Then how do you know it’s military?”
“Was in the army for ten years, wasn’t I? I know what a fucking transport plane sounds like. What it looks like silhouetted against the horizon. Been circling, like it’s looking for a good place to make a drop. You expecting competition for the woman? ‘Cause we’re not equipped to deal with a platoon of soldiers.”
Mark cursed. It was bad enough that his mercenaries were dependent on the small group of private soldiers that had fished them out of the river. He’d feel better if he knew who’d hired the soldiers and equipped them with the tracking device locator. “Have you learned any more about your rescuers?”
Betrayal (SSU Trilogy Book 2) (The Surgical Strike Unit) Page 14