Cherry Adair - T-flac 03 (26 page)

What was Kyle doing right now? Probably sipping an icy cold drink in the shade by the pool, or he
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might still be asleep.

She slipped behind the low building she'd just checked.

And backed right into someone's arms.

Not missing a beat, she used a quick backward jab with her elbow and was gratified by her assailant's sharp, surprised hiss. His arms tightened. One around her waist, the other hard around her throat. A knife gleamed. She felt the muscles in his arms bunch as he dragged her, kicking and struggling, back into the jungle. She dared not make a sound.

Between their bodies she could feel her useless gun. Her nails dug into his forearm trying to loosen it from around her neck.

"Stay still, you little hellcat." Delanie's foot, ready to deliver a kick, dropped to the ground. She swiveled her head in the hammerlock and glared up.

Kyle.

He'd tied a rolled-up white handkerchief around his forehead to keep the sweat out of his eyes, and his braid hung over one muscular shoulder. His only concession to the jungle was combat boots, which he wore with navy slacks and a pink golf shirt. Half civilized gentleman, half predator.

And totally pissed off.

He let her go abruptly and she staggered. "All you had to do was say hi." She regained her balance on the spongy ground and rubbed her throat.

"Hi? Shit, you might say I'm just a little irritated you didn't stay put." His voice was dangerously soft. He was furious. She noticed the scratches she'd made on his arm. "Damn it, Delanie. What the hell are you doing out here alone? I told you to—"

Stupid is as stupid does, Delanie thought, not blaming him a bit. And because she was guilty of doing just what he accused, no matter
how
good the reason, she snapped back. "Nobody tells me what to do, Wright. I'm a big girl. For your information, the do—"
Locked behind me
.

"You're a
stupid
girl if you think—"

That did it. "I'm not a
girl
. I'm a
woman
. A woman who doesn't need a man to tell her what the hell to do. Got it?" She spun on her boot heel and marched deeper between the trees. Not going anywhere but away.

He grabbed her elbow. It didn't hurt, but it effectively stopped her. "You're hurting me," she said coldly.

"No, I'm not. But I
could
. You seem to forget little details like that."

She shook off his hand and stepped out of his way. "I don't forget
anything
, Tarzan. Not anything." Her temper shot from cranky to downright furious. Hot and tired, sweaty and dying of thirst, she was just spoiling for a fight. And her Maalox had been left at the house. Her stomach and her temper were both flaming.

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Grinding her teeth, she glared at him.

He glared back.

"The plan, since you've had a brain fart, was for you to stay put while I search for your sister." He returned the knife he was carrying to the ankle sheath. "Wasn't that what you agreed to last night when we discussed this?"

"As I recall, you
told
me what was going to happen. I
listened
. And I
was
doing the sensible thing, except I smashed—are you even listening to me?"

Obviously not.

"I'm here to do a job, and I plan on doing it alone. If your sister's here, I'll find her. No help. No assistance, no questions.
Capisce
?"

"Fine. Do you have the k—"

"You could get hurt, damn it! Now go back to the shelter. I have to get back to the house before anyone misses me."

Delanie rubbed an itchy welt on the side of her neck. "Let me know when you're done ranting so I can get a word in edgew—"

"You don't even want to know what these animals will do to you if they find you alive." He was on a roll.

"You saw what Montero did to the pool kid. What do you think he'd do to you, for God's sake?" His eyes narrowed; he was almost gnashing his teeth. "Why the hell do you think I saved your ass in the first place, Delanie?"

"So I could show you just how ungrateful I am and shoot you?" Her hand balled at her side so she wouldn't take a swing at him. "I'm not exactly running naked into the compound waving my arms to attract attention," she pointed out. "I'm trying to tell you—"

To hell with it. He wasn't listening. Delanie grabbed the front of his shirt, stood on tiptoe, and kissed him.

It was supposed to be a shut-up-and-listen kiss. Quick. Dry. Over in two seconds.

But then, this was Kyle. The kiss wasn't quick, nor dry, nor was it over in two seconds.

When he finally lifted his head, Delanie's hand was still fisted tightly on his pink shirtfront.

His eyes glinted. "You know what we're going to have to do, don't you."

"What?"

"Duke it out or make love." His teeth shone white in his darkly tanned face. "Either way, jungle girl, it had better be hard and fast. And now."

Delanie glanced at the ground, literally moving with vegetation and insects, and then back at his face. "I don't like it hard and fast," she lied coolly.

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"Yeah you do." His hand on her belt loop tugged her closer. The placket on his trousers brushed against her, sending an electrical shock shimmering over her skin. He smelled of clean sweat and chlorine from the pool. His mouth looked grim, his eyes hot. She looked up at him, just daring him to push his luck.

His hand shot out to cup her through two thin layers of cotton. He rubbed erotically against her mound.

She backed away. He followed.

"You know doing this here. Now. Is insane, don't you?"

"Yeah." She grabbed his wrist. "Don't start something you won't be able to finish." She walked backward to elude him.

"I'll never be finished with you." His voice was a seductive purr as he stalked her.

"Yeah, right."

"What the hell is it with you?" he demanded as he caught her hips and pulled her against the hard length of his body, looking down into her face with eyes blazing. The muscles in his chest felt like rock against her breasts. Her body burned. "Well?"

"Go to hell."

His mouth crushed down on hers, effectively shutting her up. For the moment. His tongue swept inside her mouth and she reciprocated, spearing him fiercely, not letting him win. He tasted of breakfast coffee.

Hot, dark, and rich. Son of a bitch.

Without letting her up for air, he dragged her T-shirt off her, breaking the lip-lock for only a second. His shirt felt rough on her naked skin as he pulled her against him.

Wedging a hand between their bodies, she snapped open the top button of his slacks, revealing an arrow of dark silky hair. "This is insane… someone will come…"

"Both of us, I hope." He dragged her pants down to sag around her knees. Delanie heard the thunk as her gun dropped to the mossy ground beside her shirt. She staggered, and he hauled her against him again to kiss her senseless.

She came up for air, breath ragged, her struggle with his zipper made impossible by the hard bar of his arousal behind it. His damp breath scorched her swollen mouth.

She bit his lip, then said fiercely against his mouth, "You are
not
taking me on the ground."

"Okay."

He swung her against a tree trunk instead.

«^»

Kyle had almost knocked the breath out of her. Frustration made her impatient, but Delanie finally
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managed to tug his zipper down, sliding her hand into the wedge to find his shaft silken smooth, hard, and pulsing. Her fingers tightened. He kissed her savagely, his teeth raking across her lower lip before he plunged his tongue into her mouth.

He inserted his knee between her bare thighs. His skin was hot and erotic, sliding against her softness as he wedged his foot into the sling of fabric, hobbling her, and stepped on her pants. She had to let go as he lifted her up and out of them, leaving her wearing nothing but her boots and a scowl.

She managed to drag his trousers to his knees, then held a cheek in each hand, digging her short nails into his lean, bare flanks. He took a deep, shuddering breath and she knew he was inhaling the scent of her arousal, which excited her even more.

He lifted her higher and pressed her spine against the hard bark of the tree. Leaves showered down on their heads. Her empty hands now found purchase on his shoulders. Delanie felt the flex and play of his muscles beneath his shirt, smelled the sharp aromatic odor of vegetation and sweat on his skin.

She wrapped her legs around his waist, her fingers stroking across the front of his shirt before she ripped it open. Buttons popped. Cloth ripped. She found the rough mat of hair on his chest and leaned forward to bite him just above his nipple. With a feeling of triumph she felt his growl vibrate through his chest. She bit again.

He grabbed her by her hair, pulling her head back, and like a vampire sucked at her neck until she squirmed against him. Her blood turned to molten lava.

His teeth climbed her throat, taking stinging little nips on the way to her mouth.

Delanie ran her fingers down the dark silk of his braid, then wound it around her hand, holding his head still in a fisted grip. His green eyes, mere inches away, blazed into hers.

She slowly licked a drop of perspiration from his upper lip.

His fingers tightened in her hair.

She arched her spine, away from the unyielding tree, hard against an unyielding Kyle Wright. Between a tree and a deliciously hard place.

The heat they generated made a hazy mirage over them, sweat glistened on Kyle's tanned skin, his hair curled around her fingers like liquid embroidery silk. He bit her bottom lip, hard enough for her to gasp, and then laved it with succulent swipes of his tongue until she felt a throbbing pulse deep inside her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, seeking his mouth with lips and tongue, delirious for the taste and touch of him. Beneath her fingers the muscles in his back rippled as he settled her higher against their bumpy, vertical bed.

He kissed her with a voracious hunger, tasting and insisting she reciprocate. He was heavy against her.

She whimpered with impatience as his erection rubbed erotically against the open heart of her.

"Ever done it against a tree?"

"No." She could hardly get the word out. "And if anything bites me anywhere private I expect you to kiss it better."

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"If anything bites you anywhere private it's going to be me." He crowded her against the broad tree trunk, his chest pressing against her sensitized breasts. Using both thumbs he outlined her mouth, staring into her eyes, before crushing her lips with his. His tongue swept inside, ravishing her mouth, sending a darting, intense pleasure to the juncture of her thighs.

"Damn you," she cursed when he let her up for air, then she pulled his mouth back down to hers. Bark scraped her soft skin. She didn't even feel it. The foliage around her became a blur of vibrant spinning greens as Kyle braced her with the weight of his body.

She drank the moisture from his lips, drunk with wanting him, her blood fevered and surging as she felt his large hand cover her breast. Delanie squirmed, her nipple too sensitive, too engorged for such gentle contact. She arched her back and he plucked the hard nub between his fingers with just the right amount of force to make her shudder.

She climbed his body, her bare legs wrapped around him as he pinioned her to the tree. Her boot heels dug into his butt. She felt one large hand slide beneath her for support. His finger delved deeply, finding her hot and wet, as his mouth came down on her nipple, sucking hard. She heard the soft, feral moan deep in his throat and her pulse spiked, her breath fast and shallow.

"You said…" She tried to talk without panting and found she couldn't. He had big hands. But not big enough. "You… said… hard. Fast… and now!"

He entered her with one quick thrust, filling her completely. Her climax came instantly, before he could even begin a rhythm. Her body rigid, clenching around him, Delanie went deaf and blind. She had the sensation of being shot like a rocket into space.

"Jesus. Not
that
fast," he managed to complain dryly, his chest heaving before he drove into her with a pounding intensity that stole her breath. She bucked and held on, whimpering as he drove into her.

She wasn't done with one climax when she was suddenly catapulted into the next. The orgasm seemed to last forever as Kyle moved against her, bringing with him smaller aftershocks until Delanie couldn't tell one from the other.

She responded in a delirium of need. The powerful weight of his large body hammered against hers as if he would drive her through the tree and out the other side. She couldn't think, she couldn't reason, only feel. She responded like a wild thing.

Bathed in sweat, bodies glued together in a primal mating in this primal place, they shut out everything but their own unquenchable desire.

An affirmation of life.

Kyle came hard, his breath ragged against her ear. Hers was nothing more than thready moans against the dampness of his neck.

Delanie wanted to consume him. Her breath sawed as she labored to drag great gulps of wet air into her tortured lungs.

A parrot screeched high in the treetops.

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She jerked out of her sensual trance and became aware of tree bark scoring her backside and something unpleasant crawling across her shoulder. Sweat stung her eyes.

Kyle kept her pinned to the tree with his hips, flicked the bug off her shoulder with his finger, then reached up over her head to a fork in the tree.