Hawk cruised over to where Beth was searching through her pack. Wolf was out of control. Sure, he was worried sick about Loretta, and he was entitled, but it was more than that. Just what, though, was anyone’s guess.
As he drew nearer, the memory of Beth’s breast filling his hand as he caught her had him grinning. He should have been remorseful considering the day she’d had, but it had been accidental, a reflex action that had scored dividends, and he was only human after all. But her face now was sad.
Her judgment call put her through hell today, and whether Wolf accepted it or not he was riding her too hard.
“Don’t mind Wolf; his bark’s worse than his bite.” He excused his friend’s behavior as he hunkered down beside her.
“I don’t know about that, his bite’s pretty darn savage.” She stopped rummaging and gave him a frank look.
He knew what she saw. Not handsome in an archetypal way, the guys were always making fun of his ears, but girls often told him he was sexy with mischievous eyes. And he was big, not as tall as Zach, but broader, not lanky like many men his age, and she’d been impressed with his strength; she’d said as much today after feeling his muscles as he’d practically carried her those last few miles.
“Thanks, Hawk. I appreciate you taking my side, but I don’t want to come between you and Zach.”
“Ah, forget it, it’s no biggie.” He wanted to make her face light up, give her something else to think on. Today had been rough, and the next few could get rougher. “So, you and Loretta went to the same high school.”
“That’s right, we’ve been friends a long time, and I’ve got so many good memories. Heavens, some of the things we did could fill a book.”
“You got up to a lot of tricks, then, tell me about some.”
“Yeah, we did. Loretta used to come up with the craziest schemes. I was rebellious, having been forced to change schools when we moved. I could have commuted to my old school, but the folks wouldn’t hear of it, so I acted up out of defiance. I remember this one time, though, even I couldn’t believe what she did.”
“Oh yeah, what was that?”
“We had this substitute teacher, Mr. Lewis. Loretta was crazy for him. For the life of me I couldn’t see why, but there’s no accounting for taste in the romance stakes, is there? I mean it wasn’t like he was super-hot or super-cool, he was just kind of goofy with freckles and awful red hair.”
As the words left her mouth her face turned beet-red, so he cut her some slack. “So what happened?”
She cleared her throat and gave him a weak smile. “Loretta was desperate to be noticed and went to extreme lengths. One day after school, I came across her crouched over the rear tire of his car about to release the valve. I almost had a fit and begged her to stop, but Loretta being Loretta, wouldn’t listen. The next thing I knew, Mr. Lewis was looming over us, and five minutes later we were hauled into the principal’s office. I found out then that she’d done it twice before. I swear I could have shaken her.”
“Loretta sounds a bit wild, but maybe she just wanted to feel special.”
“You know, that’s what my mom always said. I guess when her dad abandoned her, and with Zach away so much, and only a housekeeper for company, she was lonely. I think that’s why she spent so much time at my place. There was always something happening with three brothers, and the folks just treated her like part of the family.”
“You’ve been a good friend. Wolf doesn’t realize that yet, but when he does, he’s going to feel like a total ass.”
“I doubt it.”
“Sure he will, and speaking of the total ass, he said you got sprung smoking dope.”
“Not me!” Her voice pitched higher and her laughter trilled. “That was never my scene. If I’d have been caught doing that, my dad would have nailed my hide to the wall and grounded me for life.”
Beth stood and dusted down her skirt. “Nature’s calling, and I thought I’d wash up. Sounds like there could be a stream nearby.”
He cocked his head and listened. “That direction.” He pointed the way. “And not far would be my guess. I’ll come with you, can’t be too sure what might be lurking around down there.”
*
Havoc was spot on, Zach thought as his ears tuned into Hawk and Beth’s conversation, and not much of it made sense. But as Hawk slung Jacinta over his shoulder, Zach leaped to his feet. There was wisdom in Hawk’s words. Someone would have to accompany Beth to the pool, and Hawk would do it over his dead body. Besides, he wanted answers, and he wanted them now.
“Sit down, kid, I’ll take her.”
“Forget it, I’m not going with you.”
Her defiant words set his teeth on edge. “Yes. You. Are.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Zach, and there’s nothing you can do or say to change my mind.”
“We’ll see about that.” He reached out and gripped her upper arm and frogmarched her in the direction of the stream.
She twisted and shook her arm. “Let go of me, you brute.” Her voice was shrill, the words terse, but he held tight as she tried to wrench away.
Hawk leaped up, blocking the pathway. “You heard the lady. Let her go, man.”
“Butt out, kid,” he barked but didn’t relinquish his hold on Beth.
Havoc slapped his knees and slowly got to his feet. He was taller and broader than both Hawk and him, and towered over them with a withering stare.
“Both of you stand down.” Havoc then turned and addressed Beth. “It’s like this, love, you can’t go alone, so how about you let Wolf take you while I make camp and Hawk guards Hernandez. Okay?”
Beth’s eyes were chips of green ice, her mouth a compressed line, her face pinched. She looked from the big man to the kid and then glared at him.
“If I must.”
Her bottom lip protruded and she flung her shoulder to shake him off, so he let his hand fall away. The Aussie had handed him victory.
Havoc gripped his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “And you ease up, mate.” The words came in a low voice with a hard edge.
Zach nodded and took a couple of deep breaths. “Stream’s this way,” he said, picking up his pack and leading the way, his ears alert for her footfalls behind. When he heard her following, he was satisfied and took out his machete.
The creepers and lianas formed a thick wall, but he carved a path through the foliage as easy as a hot knife cuts through butter. Instead of dissipating, with each stroke his anger increased. Beth told a different version of events, so was she lying? But then there was the tattoo or lack thereof—he’d made a complete ass of himself over that. But it wasn’t the only source of his anger. The knife at her throat, and the pink swatch of fabric torn and discarded in the clearing ignited a fire in his gut that was hard to control. Still, he needed answers.
The trickle of water was getting louder as he slashed a path to the source. Beth still hadn’t uttered a word and that was fine by him. He wanted to be looking into her eyes when they had it out. The next blow of the blade created a window view of cool green water. The one after that turned it into a doorway.
He stood back to let her go first, and after following her through he confronted her. “Right, you and I need to talk.”
“I’ve got nothing to say, and you can have nothing to say that I’d care to hear, so how about I just wash up and be done with it.”
She dismissed him and turned to walk away. His anger ratcheted, and he shot out his hand and swung her back to face him. “Don’t turn your back on me, Beth. We’ve still got plenty to say.”
“Like what?”
“For starters, you can explain why the hell you didn’t enlighten me that you weren’t part of the pot-smoking antics that day you showed up at home wanting math tutoring.”
“What chance did I have? You jumped down my throat the moment you answered the door. And for the record, Zach, I wasn’t the one in need of tutoring.”
That piece of information was another uppercut to the jaw, and he took a moment to digest it before plowing on. “Loretta had boyfriends at school, right?”
“You know she did.”
Well, no, he didn’t, actually. He cleared his throat. “Who was she dating about a year before that night when we kissed?”
She thrust out her chin and crinkled her nose. “What has that got to do with anything?”
“Just answer the question. Please.”
She pushed out her lips and her brow puckered in thought. “There were a few guys she dated at school, but no one I can recall at that particular time. Jeremy and she had been tight, but he’d moved out of state months before, so sorry, can’t help you with that one. Now if you’re done interrogating me, I’d like to wash up.”
Zach’s arms were like leaden weights by his side. His gut twisted and his mind flew back to the e-mail he’d found. Had Loretta lied? She’d been shaken when he’d confronted her, but her story seemed so plausible. But if she had, then that meant last night Beth…Hell, and Hernandez had almost…he shut that thought down. There was still more to say on her disregard for her own safety.
“We’re not done, not by a long shot. What on earth were you thinking? There’s other ways to get Loretta back, you could have been raped or worse.” He shuddered at how close she had come to the former.
“We’ve been through this already, so get off my case.”
“Then stop being reckless and start following orders.”
“Go to hell, Zach.”
She turned to walk away again, but he stepped in front of her, blocking her retreat. “I’m not through with you yet.”
“Oh. Yes. You. Are.” She shoved him in the chest and glared with eyes ablaze.
He held his ground. Her damaged face, the pink scrap on the jungle floor, her sass, Hawk’s interference, the memory of her pliant in his arms, all combined had him wound so tight he was either going to kill her or kiss her. Killing her was out of the question, so without another word he clamped a hand on both of her shoulders and leaned her up against a nearby tree.
“Let go of me, you bastard.”
She squirmed and tried to fight, to force him away, but he was stronger. Raising one hand he tunneled it through her hair, gripping the back of her head, the other he dropped to the small of her back, forcing her hard up against his body. When she opened her mouth to let fly, he lowered his head and pressed his lips against hers in a punishing kiss.
The flat of her hands landed on his chest and pushed, but he was determined and in control. He kept working her mouth until she stopped struggling and her lips parted. That was the first good thing that had happened all day, he thought, thrusting his tongue between them.
Her mouth was a velvet cavern—sweet, soft, and pliable. Unlike her body which was still tense and rigid. His hand slid up her back, massaging, kneading, while his lips caressed her mouth. They were swollen and sore from the fight, but he wasn’t about to let an insignificant thing like pain stop him.
When she relaxed and melted into him, his heart soared. He’d been a dumbass son of a bitch for way too long. But that was about to end. Their lips moved in unison, and when her darting tongue slipped into his mouth, he kissed her with a passion he’d never known before.
His grip relaxed as he slid his hand below her waist, molding the twin globes of her bottom. The outline of his jocks beneath her skirt jarred his memory, causing him to scowl.
It came as a shock when she pushed away, the heel of her palms firm against his chest.
“No, stop it,” she cried. “I know what you think—I’m nothing but a troublemaker, a liar, and a tramp, so leave me alone.” Her eyes were twin liquid pools, her full bottom lip atremble.
His heart wrenched. “Beth…”
“No,” she cried and pummeled his chest as he tried to take her back into his arms.
“Don’t. And I’m so not your type, so why are you doing this? What reason could you possibly have?”
“I don’t have a type.”
“I’ve seen the photos. Every time you got a new girlfriend, Loretta shared the pictures. Models and movie stars, tall and thin, gorgeous and glamorous, all of them, no wonder you deserted me that night.”
“I left you because you were young and I’d made a vow, for no other reason, and if I have a type then she’s a pint-sized curvaceous curly-headed woman with a sassy mouth and cool green eyes, and I…I’m so sorry I doubted you.”
Startled eyes turned to his, and he held his breath, waiting, praying. It was the longest few seconds of his life.
“Honestly?”
“Honestly.”
She blinked rapidly, lips parting, and the makings of a smile appeared as he raised his hands to cup her face. Their gazes locked, and with deliberate slowness he lowered his mouth to hers.
He met no resistance, and for that he was grateful, as his tongue plundered and explored, sliding in and out in an intimate dance. From then it took mere seconds for the fire to reignite and burn brightly between them like a naked flame.
Awash with savage need, his cock was an iron bar as he pressed against her. When she tilted her hips, he took it as a sign that her urgency mirrored his own. Their mouths parted as he pulled away and pinned her with his gaze.
The jungle noise faded into the background as she responded to his questioning eyes. The nod was subtle and his body thrilled. Small nimble fingers unbuttoned his shirt and shoved it from his shoulders where it fell to the earth in a flurry of khaki. Her smile came easy and her eyes brightened as she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his chest. Warm and smooth they blazed a sensuous trail across his pecs, lingering on his nipple with a sensual caress.
His breath hitched and his body blazed under her touch. He’d had countless women before, even a ménage, and the sex had always been hot and intense, but this was different. This was Beth. And nothing before measured up. This time his emotions were engaged and he craved her with a fever hotter than the flames of Hades. His balls ached. The need to fill her with his seed, to take her virginity, to make her his own was a primitive burning force.
“I want you, Beth, more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life,” he confessed, his throat thickening.
“I want you too, Zach.”
The words caused his heart to swell and brought a smile to her face; still, he had to be certain. Their situation was surreal and he didn’t want any regrets later. “Are you sure, after everything that’s happened? Because if we do this, you’re mine. Make no mistake, Beth, there’ll be no going back, understand?”
She nodded, her brown curls bouncing around her face in untamed disarray. She flashed her teeth, and he grinned. His mouth moved over hers in passionate want, and she kissed him back with sweet surrender.
Remembering her fantasy with Richard Gere, he swept her into his arms and held her high, savoring her taste. The kiss was prolonged and she stole his breath as he carried her a dozen paces before laying her down beneath a sturdy tree. He was all fingers and thumbs as he undid the tiny pearl buttons on her blouse, and after separating the two sides he gaped at her in awe.
Her cleavage was lush, her breasts big and beautiful, he planted a kiss between them as he unsnapped her bra and freed the twin mounds. “These. Are. Amazing,” he said, punctuating his words with kisses and then gently suckling each nipple in turn.
She giggled. “I always thought them too big.”
“They’re perfect, and later we are going to have some fun with these babies.” He kissed each one. “But for now…” He let the sentence drift away.
Neither of them uttered a sound as he unzipped her skirt and shimmied it over her thighs, dragging his jocks with it and revealing her nakedness. He explored her body, his hands mapping over flared hips, contoured waist, and the soft mound of her belly. The glistening moisture clinging to the thick thatch of dark springy curls at the apex of her thighs had his cock lengthening.
He toed off his boots, and after unzipping his fly he discarded his pants with an urgency reminiscent of a teenager on prom night. He tugged her closer, molding her against him, massaging her bottom with his hands. His tactile senses, heightened by the texture of her satin skin, intensified his arousal.
When Beth fluttered her hand over the hard plains of his body, her fingers fanned the flames of his desire, and the passion that had been smoldering between them for years ignited and burst into a ball of flame. White-hot and out of control.
“You are so beautiful.” He groaned, nuzzling the softness just below her ear. The tips of her exquisite breasts pebbled and pressed against his chest as he positioned his body between her thighs.
Cock rigid and poised nestled against her pussy, his arms supported his weight. Their eyes connected and locked. “Okay?” he asked and waited for her consent.
When she gave a delicate nod he kissed the tip of her nose, and then with measured control slid into her virgin channel.
The smooth walls of her inner sheath gripped him like a silken fist as the head of his cock disappeared into her heat. She was hot enough to start a fire and wet enough to put one out, and oh so very tight. He lowered his mouth to hers, and with deliberate slowness took her with a kiss.
The sharp intake of her breath was as telling as the brief resistance he felt give way when he pushed in his length balls-deep. He knew what it was, Beth wasn’t the first virgin he’d taken, but she would be his last.
“Are you okay, baby?”
“Mm, yes, I think so.”
“The worst is over, it only gets better from here, just relax now and enjoy,” he whispered into her ear as his cock glided in and out of her silken channel.
Her response to his rhythm was slow at first, but as he rocked back and forth with gentle insistence she quickened the pace and met him thrust for thrust.
The feel of her breasts against his chest, her tight little pussy, and her cries of pleasure all inflamed his desire. He thrust his hips faster as she bucked against him, her velvety walls squeezing his cock. Harder, deeper, heightening their pleasure until he was riding her hard.
Her whimpers filled the air and shattered the stillness of the jungle. “Zach, oh my gosh. Zach, oh my, oh my,” she cried.
“Let it go, baby, give it up for me,” he encouraged as he kept up the pace, rocking into her like there was no tomorrow until she went over the edge, taking him with her as his own orgasm crashed down upon him.
That his girl was a screamer was an unexpected surprise, and as he came back to earth with a thud the realization hit, he’d just ridden her bareback. Funny, with anyone else that thought would have scared the crap out of him, with her it didn’t matter. The thought of her big with his child sent a warm rush through his body.
“Are you okay, honey?” he asked, slipping out of her pussy. His still semi-aroused cock held traces of her virginal blood, a testimony to his wrongful accusation. He was an ass and an even bigger heel, and he would make it up to her for the rest of their lives.