Hinekiri (25 page)

“I want you to touch me. My breasts. They ache. Please let me turn over.” Hinekiri forgot her silent vow not to beg. She needed his touch.

“Kneel up on all fours,” he instructed.

Hinekiri paused a beat, sure she hadn’t heard correctly.

“Hinekiri.” Her name was a verbal lash. She understood him. She got it. He wanted to direct things this time. His way. They were making love his way.

By the goddess, she wanted to please him so much. She pushed up with her hands, her heart thundering.

“That’s good. On all fours.” Richard stroked her swollen folds and murmured quiet encouragement. “You’re so beautiful, Hinekiri. I love you.”

Hinekiri finally arranged her body exactly as he’d asked. Richard covered her body with his, leaning over her in a dominating position. He ran his hands across her bottom, her ribs and finally, he touched her breasts. The warmth of his skin seeped into her back while his cock poked into her legs. Uncomfortable but letting her know how much he desired her. It was this last bit of knowledge, along with his avowal of love that finally broke through the last barrier of fear.

She trusted him.

Chapter Thirteen

Richard teased her nipples, tugging firmly until the ache she thought had been unbearable became something else—a sultry, nagging promise of things yet to come. Her nostrils flared at the scents of moonflower, her arousal and the masculine musk that surrounded her. He pressed a kiss to the tender skin behind her ear.

“I’m going to make love to you now, Hinekiri.”

“Yes,” she whispered, acknowledging the feelings that coursed through her mind, her body. She wasn’t ready to say it yet, but she did love him. He was like her matching half.

Hinekiri felt Richard’s cock poised at her entrance. Tension clawed through her but this time it was the good kind. He plucked at the tip of one breast while the flare of his cock slipped farther into her body.

His mouth brushed her ear and a hand smoothed over her loose hair. “I love the way you feel. Your hair. Your skin. The way your inner walls squeeze me so sweetly.”

Hinekiri trembled, the need to move backward and force more of his cock into her pussy a siren song. Instead, she resisted, knowing he could construe her actions as trying to wrestle charge from him rather than enthusiasm. This truce was too new between them, the trust fragile.

Richard pushed a little more but before she could savor the fullness, he retreated. A groan of pure disappointment erupted. Raw and needy, it gave away the state of her emotions. Hinekiri didn’t care. She wanted him. Needed him.

As if he were aware of the clawing tension thrumming her body, he thrust into her again. The wet sound of arousal brought a shuddering laugh from Hinekiri.

“I love that you want me so much,” he confessed, pushing into her again.

Hinekiri tried not to worry—the horoscope had been right so far. How could things change? She pushed aside the disturbing thought and concentrated on how he made her feel.

It was a delicious assault, the hard ridge of his cock filling her slowly and sweetly.

Richard nipped her earlobe and the sensation spiraled down through her breasts to her core. He pulled back again. She expected another slow impalement and him stopping before full penetration. Instead, he thrust hard. He gripped her hips and used one hand to tease and skate across her slippery folds. Blistering waves pounded through her as he stretched her to capacity. The delicate brush of his fingers was too much. For an instant, she balanced on a sword’s edge. Pleasure tingling and pulsing with the potential to become better. More.

Richard withdrew and pushed inside her, plucking and playing her clitoris like a master. The sensation soared, building. Hinekiri trembled. She gasped. She sucked in a hoarse breath, expelling it with a hushed scream as she convulsed around his cock. Hard and fast, the waves of climax pounded her.

A raw, guttural cry reverberated through the room. She felt Richard’s cock jerk with explosive contractions that went on for long seconds. They collapsed on the bed in a tangle of limbs.

Richard gathered her in his arms, spooning around her body. He pressed a kiss to her neck. “Thanks for trusting me,” he whispered. “I love you.”

Hinekiri allowed him to cuddle, their sweaty skin clinging together. For the first time, his words didn’t elicit a surge of panic. For the first time she started to believe.

* * * * *

“Hinekiri, sweetheart. It’s time to get up.”

Hinekiri cracked open her eyes. She was warm and cozy and didn’t want to move an inch.

“It’s dark out. We need to go and play hyena men in the village.” Richard moved and tapped her bare butt with the palm of his hand.

Hinekiri started, the sting of contact bringing an astonishing arousal along with the surprise. She moved a fraction to grin over her shoulder at him.

“Oh no you don’t. You are not going to distract us. We promised Livingston we would help.”

Hinekiri sighed. The man was right and she liked that about him. He was loyal and if he made a promise, he kept it. Richard was decent and honorable and he loved her. A tiny smile played about her lips until she remembered that departure day loomed. “We’d better get moving then.”

They showered, dressed in dark-colored clothes and retrieved the hyena pelts that Livingston had procured for them. Hinekiri tugged her boots from the bottom of the wardrobe and put them on her feet instead of the sandals and lighter shoes she’d worn for most of the holiday. They both grabbed their guns and concealed them beneath their clothing. After dodging the night porter, they skirted the private cabins near the waterhole and headed for the narrow track that ran around the base of a kopje toward the village.

“I wonder what Killer is doing? I expected her to demand food the minute we left the bedroom,” Richard said in a low undertone.

Hinekiri gave a wide yawn and followed Richard. “She’s probably visiting with Harry.” She took care to speak softly, knowing how voices carried in the still of the night.

Richard grunted and melted into the shadows with cop-like stealth. He was good at that. Hinekiri sighed, thinking about her long mental list of his good points. Apart from telling her he loved her all the time, he didn’t annoy her like her past male friends. In fact, her list was decidedly lopsided.

They were almost at the village when a soft
whoop-whoop
came from the middle of one of the low, scrubby bushes that edged the track. After a quick glance at each other, they stepped off the track and merged with the night. The grasses rustled in the breeze and the call of a lion sounded in the distance.

Soft voices carried on the wind, growing closer. Hinekiri caught the glow of a torch and squeezed farther away from the track to avoid detection. A branch jabbed her in the butt and she couldn’t help thinking that Richard’s hand felt much better. It didn’t matter if he was caressing or smacking her butt, she liked the man’s moves.

The sound of footsteps approached. Three men in single file.

Poachers?

The lion roared again and the man in the middle let out a nervous laugh. “Ghosts,” he whispered.

“No,” the lead man said sharply, but Hinekiri caught his quick glance over his shoulder and the careful way he surveyed his surroundings. The man was scared silly.

They let the men move ahead before moving.

A rustle and another low
whoop-whoop
sounded and a hyena slinked from under a bush. “Poachers,” he said. “Livingston sent me to warn you.”

Hinekiri’s mouth twitched and she noticed Richard’s did too. It was difficult to reconcile the creature’s appearance with its plumy English accent.

“We need to put our plan into action,” Richard murmured.

“Livingston has ascertained their meeting place,” the hyena said. “Follow me. I know a shortcut.”

They scrambled through thick bushes. Some bore lethal thorns. The hyena led them over a rocky outcrop and through a gurgling stream before slowing. Hinekiri took a moment to extract a thorn and rub at a stinging patch on her cheek where a branch had snapped back and hit her.

“We are almost there,” the hyena said. “I will take you to Livingston.”

Hinekiri fell into step behind Richard and the hyena, glad she’d worn her boots after their cross-country trek.

Livingston appeared from the shadow cast by an acacia tree. “Ah, good. Alfred found you in time.”

“Are you all in position?” Richard asked.

Hinekiri stood shoulder to shoulder with him. Bugs danced around the inside of her stomach, escalating the sick sensation inside. They had worked so hard at this plan, training the animals to trick the poachers and play on their ingrained superstitions rather than attack openly. What if it didn’t work?

“Yes.”

“Are you sure this is the meeting place?” Hinekiri asked.

“Yes. Killer and Prince Harry brought the information themselves. They noticed a new visitor to the lodge. It seems he had several from the village during the day. They eavesdropped on him and are positive he is the leader. Prince Harry and I may not be a suitable match but we both have our clan’s futures at stake. The information is good.”

“Is Killer here?” Richard asked.

“Killer is waiting with Prince Harry in position. It is an ideal position for an ambush since there is one way in and out for men with vehicles.”

“Right,” Hinekiri said. “We’ll get into position too. I presume everyone is waiting near the clearing?”

“Yes. I’ll double-check everyone is ready.” Livingston nodded and trotted into the dark shadows.

“Over here.” Richard took her elbow. “We’ll put on the skins and leave the bag here behind the tree.”

“I’m still worried the poachers will open fire with their guns instead of running.”

Richard squeezed her arm. “I know. As long as we stick to our plan of showing ourselves fleetingly and one at the time, it should keep them off balance.”

Hinekiri threw the hyena pelt over her shoulders and donned the mask they’d made to go with the pelt. With their dark clothes and in the nightlight, they looked enough like the mythical hyena men to scare the locals silly.

“That’s a Jeep coming,” Richard whispered. A soft
whoop-whoop
echoed through the clearing to back him up.

“Showtime. We’d better hurry.”

Richard grinned and squeezed her hand before they hurried to their positions.

The Jeep pulled up in the clearing. The motor stopped.

The bugs inside Hinekiri’s stomach commenced a vigorous war dance. It was so important that they scared off the poachers. She’d seen what happened to the inhabitants of planets that killed off the native creatures and habitat. The worlds became out of balance and many died, becoming barren and uninhabitable. If Janaya intended to settle on the blue planet, she and her offspring should have every opportunity to flourish.

Several men walked down the road to join the men in the Jeep. Two more Jeeps came but still they waited. Hinekiri peered through the gloom trying to work out why they were delaying. Then another Jeep drove up the road and pulled to a halt. A white man climbed out and immediately the locals stopped their casual chatter.

Hinekiri tensed, ready to spring into the open so the men could see her. Without warning, a bright light came from overhead. The air whistled through Hinekiri’s lips in shock.

Torgon.

They hadn’t seen any Torgon since the dogfight on the flight over.

Fodo crap. Her mind spun busily. They could still carry out their plan. She opened her mouth to shout instructions but Richard barked them out first.

The animals held position and Hinekiri was proud of them. The Torgon spaceship descended slowly, its bulky body glowing a weird purple.

“What the hell?” the poacher leader cried. Around him, his men were in panic, running into each other and several had already taken off down the rutted road, heading for safety.

“Now!” Richard shouted.

“Go now!” Hinekiri called almost at the same time.

They moved out into the clearing, closely watching the men who had retained their weapons. They each had a hyena to broadcast suitable sound effects. The howls and
whoop-whoops
that came from the creatures’ throats were truly spine-tingling. Hinekiri was proud of them. Her arms rose into the air to make herself appear bigger and more frightening.

A local screamed, the sound raising a series of goose bumps along her arms and legs. She approached the hapless man and his eyes rolled, the whites appearing huge in his dark face. Richard moved closer at the same time, sensing he was a weak link and susceptible. Their hyenas let out scary
whoop-whoops
. The creatures were enjoying themselves—she could tell by the wash of hot breath on her leg. In the past, they hadn’t come close enough for her to experience the heat part of their sound effects.

“Torgon landed. Coming out,” Killer barked in warning.

“Hell,” Richard muttered. “What are we gonna do now?”

“We need to get rid of the poachers,” Hinekiri said.

“Attack!” Richard ordered.

“Attack!” Hinekiri hollered.

“No killing. Scaring only,” Livingston barked out the additional order.

Richard grinned at Hinekiri before pulling out his gun. Hinekiri’s hand closed around her gun at the exact moment. Damned if she didn’t know exactly how he felt and what he was thinking because she felt exactly the same way. It was uncanny the way they worked together so smoothly as a team. She kept an eye on the ship and watched the door open before glancing back at the poachers.

A gun fired, the shot squeezed off by a panicked local. One of the hyenas let out a shrill cry of pain.

“Hyena down!” Killer shouted. “Medical attention required.”

Hinekiri caught the flash of movement as several hyenas raced to aid their downed friend.

“Hinekiri, watch out. He’s going to fire.”

As one, they slipped into the bushes and out of range. Richard was right. The poacher leader was the worrying one.

“Maybe the Torgon will scare him off.”

Hinekiri moved closer to the poacher, wanting to keep a close eye on him in case he decided to start shooting. But she needn’t have worried. He took a final look at the purple glow emanating from the Torgon ship and ran for the Jeep. A small mauve creature leapt for the man’s leg, slowing his escape. Killer. Hinekiri watched her jaw snap down and an eerie cry erupted from the man.