CHAPTER TEN
Brody wanted to spank Olivia at the same time he wanted to put her behind him and beat his chest while he roared. She brought out a jealous side of his nature he didn’t even know he had.
His entire body still shook with the rage that had coursed through him when he saw her in Rodrigo’s arms, his mouth on hers. He’d seen red and every smidgen of his training as a soldier and a ranger had left him. He’d been a primal being, not a man.
Even now he had trouble controlling himself. Manuel, Rodrigo and his bitch of a mother pushed them through a trapdoor in the kitchen floor. It led down a set of narrow stairs into what appeared to be a hiding spot. Likely it was used when they were hiding from the army or other outlaws. They might even hide goods, or people down there when needed.
It was dark, pitch black, and several scurrying sounds alerted him to four-legged critters crawling around the dirt floor with them. Rodrigo pushed just enough to make Brody tumble down the last two steps and land on his knees, unable to stop his fall with his hands tied behind his back. The bastard’s laugh was like rusted nails on his skin. He held up the lantern and tsked while Manuel stood by holding Brody’s gun, his big face never reflecting a single emotion.
“Pobrecito. The big gringo is weak and frail, Mama. He can’t even stay on his own feet.” The outlaw just smiled as he walked around Brody, the pistol in his other hand. He gestured to Olivia, who stood a few steps from the bottom, her hands also tied. Her eyes were wide with fear and anger. “Your hero, señorita.”
She walked to his side, her back straight and shoulders squared. Olivia was a soldier whether or not she knew it. Awkwardly, she reached down and pulled under his arm until he got his footing and rose.
Brody was proud to stand next to this woman. His woman.
“We came here to do business.”
“You came here to sniff around,” Lucinda said from the step where she stood. “I do not like gringos who lie.”
“Everyone lies. I told you the truth about doing business.” Brody’s hands were starting to go numb, but he didn’t react to the pain. “We need a buyer for our goods.”
Lucinda shook her head. “I do not think that is all you came for. We will find the answer one way or the other.” She shared a look with Rodrigo before she disappeared back up the stairs.
Rodrigo held the lantern up. “You stay here until you tell us what you want. What you truly want.”
When the outlaw moved toward Olivia, a growl sounded and Brody was surprised to realize it had come from his own throat. He had just snarled at another man for moving toward his woman.
Damn, that felt good.
He still wanted to pound the shit out of him, badly enough he could taste it.
Rodrigo held up his hands and chuckled again. If there was one thing Brody promised himself, it was to stuff that obnoxious laugh down the bastard’s throat.
“I won’t touch her. For now.” With one last wink at Olivia, Rodrigo turned. “ Vamanos, Manuel.” The outlaw bounded up the steps with the lantern, followed by his hulking man. The thud of the trapdoor closing made Olivia jump beside him. Total darkness closed around them.
For a moment, the only sounds were their breathing and the occasional scuttle from the corner.
“Well, shit,” Olivia snapped.
At first Brody could hardly believe his ears; then he started laughing. He couldn’t help it. The situation was grave as hell, but knowing she was still fighting, and now cursing, gave him a fresh burst of fight.
“Shit is right. We’re in it up to our noses and now we’ve got to get out of it.” He twisted his hands but only succeeded in tightening the already too-tight rough rope. “Turn around and let me see if I can loosen your knots.”
She bumped into him, her trembling hands cold as ice. He knew she was scared but he held his tongue. Her impulsive streak had led both of them to this. Trying to find a buyer was risky enough, but bringing a woman with him into Mexico had to be the dumbest thing he’d ever done. It didn’t matter if he was falling in love with her or that he had been the one who’d announced she was his partner. If he could rewind the clock, he would have left her behind.
At least she’d still be safe.
Instead, she was tied up in a dark root cellar in Mexico. They would both probably be dead within a day. His fingers were going numb and all he could do was pluck at the knots.
“Damn. I can’t even feel my hands anymore.” He gritted his teeth.
“Did you see anything down here we could use to cut the ropes?” She tugged at the knots on his wrists while she talked.
“There’s nothing down here but dirt and rat shit.” From what he saw, Lucinda kept nothing down in the cellar. Likely so she could use it for situations like this. Maybe there were even bodies buried beneath the dirt under his feet.
“Did he have to tie the knots so tight?” she growled and a second later, he felt her tugging at his knots, with her mouth.
“What are you doing?”
He didn’t know whether to be proud of her or tell her to stop. The rope was rough on his skin. It would tear up her mouth. Her lips grazed his palm as she snarled at the knots and the wet swipe she left behind could have been spit, snot or blood.
“Stop, Liv.”
“No.” She kept at it, the wet spot growing larger.
The idea she was bleeding on him to loosen the knots was impossible to accept. He was a man, a Texas Ranger, for God’s sake, and his woman was sacrificing herself for him. What the hell kind of man was he? He needed to be the one to save her—she’d already saved him more than once.
“Stop.” His voice had turned colder than the air, harder than the steel in her spine.
Olivia ignored him. Again. Frustration roared through him.
He started to step away and force her to stop when she gave one more huge tug and groaned loudly. To his surprise, the rope loosened. Olivia finally let go and he heard her rear end hit the dirt floor.
“That tasted disgusting.” She spat somewhere to her right.
“Dammit, Olivia. I told you to stop.” He feared that Manuel was stationed at the top of the stairs, but his voice came out as a low growl. How dare she not listen to him and continue doing what would hurt her? Women were not supposed to behave like she did. Yet she continued to do it.
What did that say about him? He was either half a man or he was lucky enough to have found the one woman in the world who acted like a man, but looked like a woman. With soft skin and a steel spine, she was still his conundrum. One who drove him absolutely loco.
“Too bad for you. I did what I had to.” She grunted and pushed against his leg. “Now help me up so you can untie me.”
He yanked at the rope until he was able to free his hands, then reached down and pulled her to her feet. He wanted to be rough with her because he was furious, blinded by his pride and his frustration.
But he wasn’t.
Instead, he wrapped his arms around her. The thump of her heart against his diffused the righteous anger churning inside him. She pressed her forehead into his neck and blew out a breath, the gust cooling his overheated skin.
“Can you untie me, please? I promise I’ll say I’m sorry if you do.” She made an odd sound and tried to move out of his arms.
“Not yet.” He held on tight, unable to let go. A rush of emotion almost overwhelmed him and he needed to hang onto her. So much of his life had been spent in blissful ignorance of emotions. Until Olivia had to spoil it for him.
Now he was caught in her net, stuck in her web, or whatever else he could think of to call it. He was worried about her, being angry, amused, annoyed, hell, even in love with the damn woman.
What had she done to him?
He swallowed the lump that had appeared in his throat, another nuisance brought about by the infuriating woman in his arms. There had to be a way to save her, regardless of what happened to him. Brody could not watch her die.
“If you don’t untie me, I’m going to kick you in your man parts.”
Brody found himself wondering if she really would kick him and realized he already knew the answer. Of course, she would. He reluctantly let her out of his arms and spun her around.
After untying her, he rubbed her hands to get the blood back in them, and his. A small moan sounded from her and it sent a zing through him, at a completely inappropriate time. He sent his stupid cock a stern order to stop listening to Olivia and released her hands.
“Now we need to get out of here.”
“And how do we do that? Manuel is likely sitting on the trapdoor.” She moved away from him in the dark.
“What are you doing?” He was having trouble thinking straight.
“Looking for something to help us. What are you doing?” Rustling sounds and shuffling sounded from the other side of the cellar.
“Trying to figure out why you scramble my brain.”
“That’s not helpful, Ranger. We need to get out of this place before they decide to bury us down here.”
Apparently, she’d had the same thought as he about the dirt floor beneath them. As he listened to her feel her way around the basement, he couldn’t help wondering what any other woman would do in the same situation. Probably fall to pieces.
Not Olivia. Not his woman.
His mind took that moment to start working again.
“Oh, dear God, what was that? I’m going to need to wash my hands.” She stopped moving. “Are you going to help?”
“No.” He walked toward the stairs.
“No?” She shuffled back toward him.
“No. We don’t need to find a weapon. We need to get Manuel down here.” He held out his hand and somehow her small hand slid into his. Yes, yes, that was exactly where she belonged.
She squeezed his hand. “What’s your plan?”
He grinned into the darkness. “We’re going to trick him. Do you remember showing your wares for the outlaw back in Texas?”
She chuckled. “So I get to bare my assets again?”
Brody squashed a spurt of jealousy. “They’re certainly pretty enough.”
“You think they’re pretty?” To his surprise, he heard doubt in her voice.
“Jesus, Liv, I can’t stop thinking about them.” He reached down and cupped one breast. “They are just like the rest of you. Beautiful.”
Her breath caught and the silence was thick between them.
“Thank you.” For Olivia, humble was a first.
He kissed her hard. “You’re welcome. Now let’s seduce Manuel.”
Olivia’s throat was dry, her heart pounded and her stomach quivered. It wasn’t because of the danger, or the fact she was currently unbuttoning her blouse. It was because Brody had told her she was beautiful. Beautiful.
It made her a bit giddy. And apparently stupid because what she should have been thinking about was Manuel and getting out of there, not what the ranger thought of her.
When he reached for her blouse, she reminded herself he was just helping her get ready. His nimble fingers made quick work of the top half of the buttons and soon the dark, damp air caressed her skin. It was likely a good thing he couldn’t see very well or he would have noted how hard her nipples were.
“Did you loosen your hair?” His voice wasn’t romantic in the least as he spread open her blouse.
“Doing it now, boss man.”
“For once could you stop fighting me and do what I ask?” He stopped and his hot breath blasted across her cheek.
This was her opportunity, the moment to tell him what she thought, felt and needed.
She could be rejected.
She could be insulted.
She could be laughed at.
Despite all that, Olivia reached down deep inside and summoned up the courage to speak.
“If you would ask me, I would follow you to the ends of the earth, barefoot. But you don’t ask.” She reached out blindly and found his whiskered cheeks, cupping the rough-hewn jaw she knew so well. “You bark, order and tell me what to do. In case you hadn’t noticed, Ranger, I’m already in love with you. All you have to do is ask.”
Oh, Lord, her stomach picked that moment to get antsy. How embarrassing it would be to vomit on him after telling him she loved him.
The silence between them ticked by with the beats of her heart. Finally, she felt another gust from him. This time, it was a sigh.
Her heart cracked and she caught her breath against the sudden pain. It hadn’t been worth the risk. She had thrown herself wide open for him and he had rejected her. Her luck with men was lousy. There was something about Olivia that made them sample the goods but not stick around to sit at her table.
Intent on forgetting what she’d just done, she removed her hands and made to finish her hair. He grabbed her wrists, stopping her cold. Her aching heart thudded against her ribs as she waited for him to speak.
She waited ten long seconds before she gave up again and tried to pull away from his hold.
“No. I mean, no, please.” Brody sounded different, softer and unsure. This was not the ranger voice she knew. Could her little speech have meant something to him? Dared she hope?
“Brody?”
He pulled her hands toward him and to her surprise he kissed them, his lips warm against her skin.
“I ain’t good with much, but I’m good at being a soldier, at being a ranger.” He slid her hands into his and held tight. “I ain’t very good with people either and don’t give much thought to anything but what needs doing. I’ll try to remember to ask instead of tell.”
It wasn’t the confession of undying love she wanted, but it was enough to make her eyes prick with emotion. He did care for her. She knew that now. He didn’t know how to tell her, so he offered to show her.
By asking because she wanted him to.
It was enough for now. She would take it like the gift it was and be patient for more. Or at least as patient as she could be.
“Thank you, Brody.” She leaned in and found his lips for a soft kiss.
He stood up, bringing him with her and found her mouth again. This wasn’t soft and it wasn’t quick. He plundered her mouth, his tongue rasping against hers, even as he ground his hips against hers. This wasn’t the time to be losing themselves in a kiss, but she didn’t care.
She wrapped her arms around him and pushed her already hard nipples against his chest. Her body was alive, pulsing with a thousand points of light. This was what she found with him, what made them a match. Her former fiancé had never moved her to heights with a simple kiss.
Brody groaned low in his throat, an animal sound that vibrated through her. She scratched at his back, eager for more, to join with him.
Brody tore his mouth away and sucked in a breath. “Much as I’d like to take you right here, right now, I can’t.” He started to pull away from her and she heard herself mewl.
Mewl?
Olivia didn’t remember ever making such a noise. Then again she had never ached with such a need before. Her entire body thrummed with the intense desire to spread her legs and bring him inside her. She needed it. Now.
She reached for him and found his cock hard and pulsing beneath his trousers. As she squeezed, he hissed out a breath.
“We can’t.”
“Please.” She yanked at his buttons, needing him. Now.
He halfheartedly tried to push her hands away. As soon as she released his staff, he stopped pushing away and instead thrust his cock into her questing fingers.
She leaned down and licked at him, his taste salty mixed with his own unique flavor. Her need was desperate, to possess him and be possessed by him.
“I can’t last.” He reached down and picked her up. “Spread your legs. Uh, please.”
Olivia couldn’t stop herself if she tried. She was already wet, throbbing with need, the moisture already coating her folds. She opened her legs wide, wrapping herself around him. He leaned her up against the wall and fumbled to find her in the pitch black.
“Hurry.”
“I’m trying, dammit.”
She squirmed against him, hanging onto his shoulders, her entire body on fire. He pressed at her entrance and her nails dug into his back.
“Yesssss.” Pure pleasure coursed through her and he joined with her in one hard thrust. Oh, yes, yes, yes, this was what she needed. Needed.
His mouth found hers. “You’ve got to be quiet or we’ll have company before we’re done.”
Olivia had forgotten where they were but his reminder didn’t put a damper on her need. She squeezed his cock with her inner walls, enjoying the shudder that went through both of them.
She whispered in his ear. “Then fuck me fast and hard. Please.”
If anyone heard her now they wouldn’t believe it. Olivia Graham had become a wanton.
And she loved it. She loved him.
She spurred her man into action by squeezing him again. She reveled in the feeling of having him embedded within her. She’d never felt so perfect, so right, anytime in her life. Brody had been made for loving her and she had obviously been made to hold him inside her. Perfect.
He grasped her hips. “Get ready, honey.”
Olivia hung onto his shoulders, her nose pressed into his collarbone, breathing in his scent. He filled her in every way possible, from her heart, to her body, to her head. Brody became part of her in that moment.
As her body began to reach its peak, she pressed her mouth against his neck, tasting him. The salty tang on her tongue sent her over the edge. She moaned into his skin and she felt an answering moan from him against her temple. He slammed into her, sending her into a whirlpool of pleasure.
She closed her eyes tightly, stars exploding behind the lids. He whispered her name as his seed pumped into her, his cock still as hard as stone.
“Jesus, woman, what have you done to me?” His shaky question made her smile.
“I’m fairly certain the same thing you just did to me.”
He chuckled, the gust of air cooling her overheated skin a little. “We shouldn’t have done that.”
She found his mouth and bit his lip. “What did you say?”
A beat passed, then another, before he spoke. “I’m glad we did that.”
This time she kissed him. “Me too.”
She squeezed him one more time, sending tingles straight from her core out to every nerve ending. With regret, she lowered her legs until her feet touched the dirt floor. He pressed a piece of cloth into her hand without a word.
Again, she was touched by the unspoken way he expressed himself. Although he didn’t say the words, she knew he cared. She cleaned herself up and straightened her clothes. When she took a step forward, her legs shook. Hell, her entire body shook from not only the effort to hold herself up but from the sheer bliss she’d just found with Brody.
He pulled her into his arms. His heat surrounded her and she leaned into him. Brody kissed her forehead. “Are you ready?”
“Yes. I’m ready.” The steady tattoo of his heart beat against hers and she knew then everything would be okay. They had to stay together and work together, but that certainty was enough for her to find another burst of energy and strength.
Time to seduce Manuel.
She pulled away from Brody and ran her fingers through her hair. “You need to lie on the floor.”
“What?” His tone told her there was a deep scowl on his face.
“This won’t work if you question my plan.” She turned toward the stairs. “Lie on the floor, please.”
She felt rather than heard him cursing under his breath, but it was followed by shuffling as he got on the floor. Olivia had no time to enjoy her triumph. She had to get Manuel downstairs, which was easier said than done.
The plan would fail if he wasn’t there or worse, if he ignored her. She had to convince him to get back down there somehow.
Olivia dug down and remembered how she’d felt when she’d come home to find the carnage at her home. The terror and pain at the knowledge her parents were dead and Benjy gone. She tasted all the horror and her stomach roiled at the memory.
Then she put her hands behind her back, opened her mouth and called for help.
“¡Manuel! ¡Ayudame, por favor! ¡Ayudame!”
Tears rolled down her cheeks without even calling them. Memories were powerful enough to evoke the kind of raw emotion she found coursing through her. Perhaps it was due to the fact she’d just confessed to Brody how she truly felt or her very real fear they would die.
It didn’t matter the reason. She heard terror in her own voice, and no doubt the big man upstairs heard it too.
Heavy thumps sounded above her and she repeated her cry for help.
“¡Manuel! ¡Ayudame, por favor! ¡Ayudame!”
The trapdoor opened a sliver, sending a painfully bright shaft of light down into the inky blackness. The sting in her eyes lent more tears to her eyes.
“¿Que paso?” Manuel sounded unsure. Step one, complete.
“Necessito ayuda, por favor, señor. Mi hombre es muerto.”
Olivia wondered if Brody’s eyebrows had gone up when she’d told Manuel he was dead.
“¿Muerto?”
“Sí, muerto. Por favor, Manuel, ayudame.” A small sob bubbled up and she let it loose, then stepped into the shaft of light so he could see her.
She wondered what he saw. A woman with wild hair, a blouse open to her breasts, swollen red lips, tear-stained cheeks. She could only pray he found her appealing or her plan wouldn’t work.
A full minute passed before she heard Manuel curse and open the trapdoor completely. His heavy footfalls down the steps made small dirt clods vibrate on the wood beneath him.
Step two, complete.
Olivia backed up so he could still see her but she was out of the direct light.
“Gracias, Manuel.” She gestured to Brody’s prone form with her shoulder. “Aquí.”
Manuel didn’t turn to Brody. He licked his lips as his gaze traveled down her body, then back again, stopping on her breasts. Without any underthings, they were clearly visible and her nipples were clearly hard. Stress or leftover passion may have been the cause, but either way, the sight drew him like a moth to flame.
“Señorita, puedo darle el placer.”
I can give you pleasure.
Olivia opened her eyes wide and prayed Brody was as fast and as capable as she thought he was.
“Señor, mi hombre necessita ayuda.”
Manuel stepped toward her, apparently uncaring that her man needed help.
Step three, complete.
She didn’t even see Brody move. One moment Manuel was looming over her, the next he was face first in the dirt with the ranger’s arm around his neck.
“Gun.”
Olivia jumped at Brody’s terse hiss and reached for the pistol tucked into Manuel’s waistband. Before she could even straighten up, the tables had turned and suddenly Brody was on the bottom, being choked.
She didn’t think, she simply pointed the gun at Manuel and pulled the trigger.