Guilty Pleasures

by Tori Carrington

  “Stop there.” A voice came through a speaker.

  They did.

  “Who’s the mug?”

  Mara nearly sagged in relief. This was definitely Trent.

  She hadn’t been sure what would go down if someone else had been assigned the post.

  “A friend,” she said.

  “He looks like a cop.”

  “Don’t we all?”

  A laugh.

  A moment later, the shed door opened and a lanky nineteen-year-old came loping out, his short-cropped red hair, freckles and infectious grin unchanged since the last time she’d seen him. He came to stand in front of her and she threw her arms around his tall frame.

  “Hey, kiddo, how goes it?”

  “One thing about the desert—it doesn’t change,” he said, awkwardly returning her hug.

  “It changes you.” She finished the sentence.

  She stepped back.

  “You look none the worse for wear.”

  “I’d say the same of you, but it wouldn’t be true. What’s with the hair?”

  “I take it you’ve been out of touch for a while.”

  “They keep me blind and stupid. You know that.”

  She smiled. “Yeah. Long story. Anyway, I think I make a great blonde. Don’t you?”

  “I prefer you with black hair.”

  “Blond is my natural color.”

  “I know. But I prefer black.” He openly stared at Reece, who’d dropped his hands, but was obviously being careful not to look like a threat.

  “Trent, I want you to meet Reece. Reece, this is Trent.”

  Reece held out his hand. It looked for a moment like Trent wouldn’t take it. Then when any other man might have rescinded the offer, the kid finally gave his hand a brief shake.

  “I’m guessing your visit has nothing to do with pleasure,” he said, turning his attention back to Mara.

  “Oh, I don’t know. Depends on your definition of pleasure….”

  14

  THE KID WAS CRUSHING on Mara so hard, Jon was surprised he wasn’t drooling. As she requested, he hung back, which gave him a chance to watch the two interact. If he hadn’t known Trent was involved in the militia, he would never have put him there, which is probably what made him a valuable asset. He looked as though he should be on his mom’s couch somewhere, playing video games and snacking on chips with piles of comic books around him.

  Funny thing was, Jon could still imagine him doing all that…only in a militia bunker, as isolated there as he would be at a parent’s home.

  Of course right that moment he was little more than a smart, attention-hungry puppy, running around Mara’s ankles and licking her hands when he could reach them, even though his movements were slow and sluggish as if he wasn’t getting enough to eat.

  “Judge Judy?” Mara asked.

  “People’s Court.”

  “Eight minutes to Judge Whompner.”

  “What?”

  Trent missed the Rain Man movie reference, but Jon got it and smiled.

  Mara tsked. “You need to switch to the movie channels every now and again, kiddo.”

  “Yeah, well, they canceled those. I only get basic stations now. It sucks, ’cause I was getting into Spartacus.”

  “Seeing as they stuck you out here in the middle of nowhere by yourself, they could at least make sure you had premium channels.”

  “I know, right.” They had begun walking toward the shack. “So what brings you out this way, Mara?”

  Jon naturally tensed at the question, feeling more than a bit naked without his gun. While the kid appeared harmless enough, with everything going on, he would prefer to be prepared for anything just the same.

  Mara leaned closer to Trent as they walked a few feet ahead of him. He couldn’t make out what she said.

  The kid stopped walking and stared off into the distance when she finished.

  He had to give Mara credit. Rather than continue to try to convince Trent of whatever she’d asked of him, she merely stood waiting him out. Not many people were good at that art.

  “I don’t know, Mara,” the kid finally said. “It could be my ass if they find out.”

  “They won’t. Besides, it will be my ass if you turn me away.”

  Trent looked at her for a long moment.

  “Okay.”

  Jon blinked. Although he agreed a world without Mara’s fine ass in it would be a sad place, indeed, he wasn’t sure he’d have agreed so readily.

  He rubbed his chin and stared back at the SUV. What was he talking about? His position wasn’t that far removed from Trent’s.

  Mara glanced over her shoulder at him, smiling. He was taken aback for a moment, then returned the smile. She nodded for him to follow.

  She and Trent led the way about a hundred yards out in the shadow of a bluff. Then she and the kid began kicking around in the sand. He stood off to the side as Mara found a thick chain, the links of which measured about three inches wide, then Trent found another. Both of them rolled their chains around their shoulders then began walking away from the bluff with some effort. Slowly, the sand shifted and a large steel sheet slid open, revealing an entryway to an underground storage room.

  Trent dropped the chain. “I just inventoried the ammo the other day. You should be able to take a few boxes without raising any brows.”

  Mara hugged him again. Strangely, Jon couldn’t help but feel a brief sting of jealousy. The goofy way the kid grinned, it was as if she’d just given him the mother of all puppy treats.

  He gave an eye roll, directed more at himself than anyone else, and followed when Mara motioned for him.

  The gritty sand that had fallen when the top was open crunched underfoot as he descended the stairs behind her. The room was dark without a direct source of sunlight. Then Mara pulled a chain off to the side.

  Holy shit.

  “Holy shit,” he said aloud.

  Did he say room? The underground area looked more like it was the size of her warehouse…and was stacked to the ceiling with every firearm imaginable.

  “Think any of these will do?” she asked, coming to stand next to him.

  Jon picked up an old Winchester from a shelf and admired its well-oiled patina. He’d never seen one of these up close and personal, but he was pretty sure this was an 1873 First Model, better known as The Gun That Won The West.

  Oh, yes. A few of these were going to do just fine. Not for the fight, but he was taking it nonetheless.

  * * *

  MARA WAVED THROUGH THE OPEN Blazer window as she drove away from Trent and his deceptive shack. She looked over to find Reece strapping his holster and gun back on, the expression on his face beyond amusing.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “What? Oh, yeah.” He ran his hand over his hair.

  She guessed it was maybe ten minutes or so into their “shopping” expedition that the light in his eyes had turned from “kid on Christmas morning” to “damn, this is some serious shit.” He’d been helpful in getting the arms out to stash in the back of the car, catching Trent when he tripped on the chain and nearly fell, his arms filled with boxes of ammo. Mara had smiled at the automatic action.

  Yes, Reece was a good egg.

  She found herself wishing they had time to stop somewhere between there and the compound.

  What was she talking about? She did have the time….

  “I knew these guys were well armed,” Reece said quietly. “I just had no idea how well armed. There’s enough in that room to defend the entire country. Country? Five of them…”

  She drove for ten minutes, then pulled off the main road again, heading up to the base of a butte, the idea in her head taking root and refusing to budge. />
  “What are we doing now?” he asked.

  As soon as they were in the shadow of the butte, she rolled down the windows, shut off the engine and then climbed so she was straddling his hips on the bench seat.

  He looked at her as if he couldn’t have been more surprised had she dropped a rattlesnake in his lap.

  “We’re doing this…” she said, then leaned in to kiss him.

  * * *

  HOLY SHIT…

  Those seemed to be the words of the hour, Jon noted as Mara kissed him.

  Of all the things she could have chosen to do, this would have been the last thing he expected.

  And he wasn’t sure how he felt about it.

  They’d just come from an arms munitions site the military would have killed to have, and were heading toward what might end up being The Last Stand at the OK Corral. And she wanted to fool around.

  She squeezed his hips between her knees and rubbed her pelvis against a certain, traitorous part of his anatomy that was always up for anything she had in mind. Key word being up.

  She was nuts.

  She was also hotter than the Arizona desert.

  He groaned, giving himself over to the emotions she was drawing out.

  Good God in heaven, this bobcat was going to be the death of him.

  That wouldn’t bother him so much if he wasn’t just a little bit afraid that it might be true.

  He lifted his hands to frame her face and pulled her back a bit to look at her.

  Damn, but the blond short cut was sexy as hell. The way a lock swooped down over her right brow brought out the green in her hazel eyes and, just as the slicked-back wet look had done the night before, further emphasized the plumpness of her lips.

  “Did you really pull off to the side of the road to make out?” he asked.

  Her mouth quirked upward. “Mmm-hmm… Any objections?”

  She curved her hand over the bulge in the front of his jeans. He pressed against her shameless touch. “Not anymore.”

  She laughed then kissed him again. And again.

  His physical desire for her outpaced even that from last night, if that was at all possible. Within minutes, they were both breathless and restless. She clawed at his T-shirt, ripping it off, and he did the same with her tank. He went to work on her jeans, and she did the same with his.

  Finally they were stripped down and naked in the front of the Blazer.

  Hell, he couldn’t even remember doing this as a teen at midnight, yet here he was with Mara in the middle of the day, hungrier for her than any man had a right to be.

  She straddled him again, kissing him senseless, then leaned back and reached between them, sheathing him with the condom she’d taken from his pocket then placing him against her. She waited for a heartbeat, biting slightly on her bottom lip, then she slid down over him, slowly, taking him in, inch by sweet inch, her lashes fluttering closed and a soft sound emerging from deep in her throat.

  Jon grasped her hips, holding her still for a long moment. Had there ever been a hotter sight?

  15

  IT NORMALLY TOOK Mara a good long time to work up to this state of arousal and she and Reece had just begun.

  There was something about him, about them together, that put her instantly outside herself, open to sensations and emotions she’d normally have to work at to achieve.

  She rocked her hips, feeling red-hot ribbons of desire unfurl throughout her body.

  Yes…

  A part of her brain that still functioned told her the urgency of their situation might be partly to blame. When faced with the threat of death at every turn, enemies all around, things tended to emerge simpler than they did in everyday life.

  Now…

  Well, now, right now, nothing else mattered. There was only her. Him. Their joining.

  “Damn,” he whispered in her ear. “I need you to stop moving for a second.”

  Mara was tempted to ignore him. She knew he was close to the edge and wanted to push him into a free fall. But she wanted this to last.

  She reluctantly slid off him, resting her temple against his, breathing in the masculine scent of his skin.

  “Here, let’s move to the back,” he said, gesturing toward the back seat.

  Without hesitation, she climbed over the bench and he followed. Before she could sit upright, he glided over her, pressing her against the cool leather and kissing her deeply.

  Mara curved upward into him…against him, even as he nudged her knees apart and eased between her thighs.

  He reentered her in one, smooth stroke.

  Her back arched and she clutched his arms as if to steady herself although she was already anchored.

  “God, you’re so beautiful,” he whispered into her ear, nuzzling the rim with his nose. “I don’t ever want this to end.”

  Her spine melted, her every molecule responding to him physically and emotionally.

  He moved and she moved with him, stroking, caressing, sighing, moaning. Then he was withdrawing again and turning her over, easing her up onto all fours, his front plastered against her back. She felt his hand against her tattoo, drawing firm lines over it, then smoothing his palm across the width of it.

  Mara reached over to draw his head closer to hers, kissing him over her shoulder.

  His fingers budged from where they were pressed against her trembling stomach, traveling up to pluck her nipples, then drifting down, and down farther yet, his thumb parting her, pressing against her clit. She gasped and he thrust into her, chasing out whatever little breath remained in her lungs.

  No… she wanted to say. Not yet.

  Not yet…

  Even as she thought the words, her body betrayed her, swirling tremors beginning at her core and growing ever wider, until she couldn’t think, couldn’t move, could do no more than surrender to the overwhelming sensations.

  “I’m coming,” Reece said through his teeth, grasping her hips tightly.

  “I’m already there….”

  * * *

  JON WATCHED AS THE SUN began its slow descent toward the horizon from where he leaned against the side of the SUV, noting the way the bright orange orb appeared to grow in size, a trick of the atmosphere, pollution.

  He glanced through the open window at where Mara still slumbered in the backseat. He’d draped a T-shirt he’d fished from his duffel over her, but she’d shifted so it barely covered her waist and breasts.

  He experienced a wave of protectiveness wash over him.

  Ironic that the first woman he’d felt that way about was probably the last one who needed it?

  He squinted into the sunset, considering everything that had happened over the past two days, then took a drink from one of the iced water bottles Mara had bought at the market. He wanted to access his cell phone, but didn’t dare, and actually, in an odd way he couldn’t quite explain, he felt better, more focused without it.

  He heard rustling behind him and turned to find Mara stirring.

  She blinked open her eyes, lifted her head and looked around.

  “Hey,” he said.

  She met his gaze and smiled. “Hey, yourself.” She yawned then looked beyond him toward the sunset. The smile disappeared, seeming to take the warmth with it.

  “Almost time,” he said.

  He could virtually hear the sand pouring out of the hourglass; he only hoped it represented the minutes of the day and not anything more significant.

  Mara sat up, collected her clothes from where he’d laid them on the back of the seat and began getting dressed. “I’m thinking maybe we have an hour…maybe less.”

  “I’m thinking you’re right.”

  She finished pulling on her boots and fixing her hair in the rearview mirror. “Are
you sure you’re up for this?”

  Was she asking him if he wanted to reconsider? Back out?

  Yes, he realized, she was.

  “I’m certainly not letting you go in there without me,” he said.

  “That doesn’t answer my question.”

  “I’m positive.”

  He held her gaze for as long as it took to convey his feelings. When she looked away, he opened the door and handed her the water bottle. She took a long sip.

  “How far away are we?” he asked.

  “Twenty minutes. I didn’t want to come in too close in case someone from the compound spotted me,” she said. “They’re all over.”

  He nodded. “I figured as much.” He looked back out at the sunset. “Is it okay if we make a stop first?”

  “Sure. Where?”

  He glanced back at her. “My mom’s place.”

  * * *

  MARA DIDN’T QUITE KNOW how to respond.

  “She’s not far from here,” he said. “And it wouldn’t be for long.”

  Was it her or did he look almost shy?

  “I figured since we were out this way, I should drop in and say hi. She’d kill me if she found out I was nearby and didn’t come home.”

  She couldn’t help smiling at that.

  Her mother wouldn’t have thought anything of her being a block away and not stopping in. In fact, Tatiana would probably be a little chilly if Mara didn’t give her at least a week’s notice. Unexpected visits messed with her chakras, she said, and interfered with her creativity, which in recent years was with clay. Mara had learned the hard way, as the only child of a single mother, that you never wanted to mess with Mom’s chakras.

  She supposed it was one reason why she’d loved spending time with her dad. Although her parents had never married—and she was a result of a brief affair while her dad was home on leave—he’d always been a great father, picking her up the instant he was in town and keeping her until it was time to go, making her a priority and playing the role of daddy as dedicatedly as he did that of solider.