Out of Luck

by Kendall Talbot

  It both surprised her and saddened her that she wanted more. On one hand, she told herself that it was her desperate loneliness that was driving her attraction to him. But on the other, she knew it was much more than that.

  It didn’t bother her one bit that Marshall had killed people. She would have killed them herself if she’d had the opportunity. It was a case of kill or be killed. Every one of those men deserved to die. She was just lucky she had Marshall on her side.

  Or she’d be one of those bodies left to rot in the middle of nowhere.

  She had no doubt about that.

  It was an eternity before the engine slowed, lurching her from the abyss her brain had slipped into. After a series of serpentine bends, the scenery changed from fields of nothing to streets lined with a mixture of housing. Most were still shrouded in the blackness of night.

  Marshall angled the motorbike off the road onto a dirt track, and when she saw Aleyna’s house, Charlene just about cried with relief. The bike shuddered to a stop, and it took all her effort to peel her fingers off the rim of the sidecar.

  Despite the engine being shut off, her body continued to quiver. Groaning at the agony in her limbs, she tried to lift herself out, but her legs refused to move.

  Marshall raced around to her side. “Okay, here we go.” His voice was a wonderful melody after hours of the roaring engine. He helped her from the sidecar, and just when she thought her legs would buckle beneath her, he hooked his arm around her waist for support.

  Aleyna and her siblings appeared from nowhere, and although she was aware of them, Charlene felt like she was in a fog. Between them and Marshall, they spoke a thousand miles an hour in Spanish, and she was helpless to comprehend. Marshall barked orders at them, and they raced back and forth from the house carrying out his urgent instructions.

  Within a couple of minutes of arriving, they were on the move again. This time it was back into the bushes and down to the creek where Marshall’s runabout was secured.

  Charlene’s trembling legs only just managed to deliver her safely into the boat, and she sat on the middle seat with her suitcase beside her. Marshall accepted a couple of other bags from Aleyna and put them at Charlene’s feet. Next second, he pulled the rip cord and they roared away.

  She tried to stay awake, but the lull of the rocking boat had her dozing in and out of consciousness. At one point, she glanced at the horizon and noticed the sun kissing the ocean. It was only now that she realized she’d been awake for over twenty-four hours.

  “Okay, Charlene, wake up.” Marshall gently rubbed her shoulder.

  Groaning, she opened her eyes and was surprised to see them pulled up alongside Marshall’s boat. “Okay.” She croaked her response, and shoving sleep from her brain, she worked with Marshall to climb aboard and secure the runabout to the back.

  He helped her downstairs, and deciding a shower could wait, she poured herself into the bed.

  She vaguely heard the rumble of the engines before sleep overwhelmed her.

  * * * *

  Charlene snapped her eyes open, and it was a couple of thumping heartbeats before she realized where she was. The sound of the engines had her assuming that Miss B Hayve was still motoring toward America.

  She dragged herself upright and fought a wave of dizziness by clutching onto the wall. Her entire body ached, yet it was her hunger pains that were commanding attention now. Sunlight streamed in the windows, and she squinted against the glare as she crawled toward the kitchen. At the galley, she pressed the intercom button. “Would the captain like a toasted sandwich?”

  “Hey, there.” He chuckled. “I thought you’d sleep for a week.” The boat lurched to a slower speed, and then the ensuing silence indicated he’d turned the engines off altogether. Charlene helped herself to a bottle of water from the fridge, and before she’d even opened it, Marshall had slid down the stairs.

  “I can’t believe you’re up.” Marshall had obviously cleaned up while she’d been sleeping. His beard was nicely trimmed, and his manly scent was enchanting.

  “My rumbling stomach woke me.”

  He placed his hand on her arm, and his warm, tender touch had little butterflies dancing across her stomach. “Here, let me make you something while you have a shower.”

  She looked up into his stunning eyes. “I smell that bad, huh?”

  “It’ll make you feel better.”

  “Just being with you makes me feel better.” The words slipped from her mouth before she could stop them, and a blaze of embarrassment raced up her neck. She stepped back and cleared her throat. “I’ll, ahh, I’ll go freshen up.”

  The copper flecks in his eyes twinkled in the sunlight. “Take your time. There’s a towel in the cupboard.”

  Charlene took her toiletries bag from her suitcase, stepped into the tiny bathroom, and cringed at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair looked like she’d wrestled with a wildcat. A hideous bruise surrounded her left eye, and a dribble of dried blood trailed from a jagged cut on her cheek. Reaching up, she winced as she touched the wound. She had no recollection of how she’d gotten it.

  Dragging her eyes away from the mirror, she turned the taps to full, stripped off, and stepped into the shower. The hot needles stung her scalp, and in contrast to the wound on her cheek, she could vividly recall Diego yanking her hair out. Just washing her hair hurt, and the rest of her body was just as painful. Bruises were dotted all over her body.

  By the time she stepped from the shower, she felt remotely human again. She dried herself with the towel and then wrapped it around her body. When she went to pick up her clothes, she spied the rolled-up strip of fabric that she’d hidden in her bra. Charlene wrapped her hand around the ragged scroll, clutched it to her chest, and said a silent prayer that this tiny inscription would finally give her answers to the questions that’d plagued her since Peter’s death.

  She stepped from the shower, and Marshall’s eyes raced up her body. Her heart danced a jig at the pleasure in his eyes. Never before had a man looked at her with such desire. It took all her resolve not to step up to him and wrap her arms around his body.

  He cleared his throat. “Feel better?”

  She nodded. “Somewhat. I’ll just get changed.”

  “Sure.” He rubbed his hand over his beard stubble and gave her one last glance before he turned back to the kitchen.

  Hiding behind the open cupboard door, she tugged on a button-up shirt and a pair of shorts, and placed her filthy clothes inside her case with the rolled-up note. With the towel wrapped around her hair, she stepped back into the kitchen. “Smells good.”

  He turned to her, and the corners of his eyes crinkled when he smiled. “Bacon always smells good. But before we eat, let’s treat that cut on your cheek.” He placed his hand on the small of her back to guide her toward the bed, and his delicate touch shot unprecedented pulses through her.

  “Sit.” His deep voice oozed authority.

  She sat on the end of the bed, and he placed a tube of lotion and a few other first-aid items at her side. Then he knelt down in front of her, meeting her eye to eye. When he placed his hand on her knee and she inhaled his glorious scent, her whole body seemed to shimmer.

  She watched his eyes as he cupped her uninjured cheek and angled her face to examine the wound. His full, kissable lips were fascinating, and as if he knew she was watching, he ran his tongue over them.

  She cleared her throat. “How bad is it?”

  “It’s only a flesh wound. No stitches required.”

  “That’s good.”

  “You’re lucky. You took one hell of a beating out there.” He reached for the tube of cream. “Where’d you learn to fight like that anyway?”

  “Self-defense classes.”

  “Right.” His eyes flared. “Mental note not to wrestle with Charlene.”

  She chuckled. “It’s
the first time I’ve ever fought anyone outside of the classroom.”

  Using a tissue, he dabbed the cream onto her face, and she flinched despite his delicate touch. The look of concern on his face was really sweet, and she had an overwhelming desire to lean forward and kiss him. But she fought the craziness. They barely knew each other, and in light of what he’d just gone through to save her, he probably couldn’t wait to get rid of her.

  “You were amazing.” His words caught her off guard.

  “Really?” She thought he’d be furious.

  “I couldn’t believe it when you took those guys on at the Hershey factory.” His tone was a soothing melody. “You still had your hands tied behind your back.”

  “You were there? How did you find me?”

  “It wasn’t easy, that’s for damn sure. What the hell were you thinking going off on your own?”

  She clenched and unclenched her jaw. “I am on my own. I told you that.”

  His eyes softened, and when he tilted his head and captured her gaze, her heart fluttered. It wasn’t pity in Marshall’s eyes, it was understanding. He leaned forward a fraction, and his tongue glossed his lips. When his gaze flicked from her eyes to her mouth, anticipation sizzled between them like a bolt of electricity. Reaching up, she removed the wet towel from her head, allowing her hair to tumble down her shoulders, and when his eyes blazed, Charlene couldn’t hold back a moment more. Hoping she was reading his signals right, she did the craziest thing. She closed her eyes, leaned toward him, and silently begged him to kiss her.

  Within a heartbeat, his lips touched hers, and she melted at the sensation. It was delicate at first, his kiss soft, innocent, barely a tease. But when his hand curled around her neck, their kiss deepened. He smelt divine, a heady scent of fresh soap and hot-blooded man. His hands brought shivers across her flesh as he glided them up and down her neck. Fire and passion mingled together, and she opened her mouth, allowing his tongue to explore.

  Her hands cruised across his shoulders and delved into his thick hair, pulling him to her. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she urged herself to stop, deeming it to be too soon, yet she couldn’t. She wanted him, and if his kiss was any way to judge, Marshall wanted her too. Her body pulsed, and her heart danced, and she lost herself to the moment.

  The injuries and hunger pains that had dominated her thoughts when she woke up faded into oblivion, replaced instead with delicious throbs that had her battered body coming alive.

  It’d been an eternity since she’d experienced such heavenly sensations, but they’d never been this special, nor this intense. She traced her hands down his back, feeling the heat of his flesh beneath her fingers, and a moan tumbled from her throat.

  Marshall pulled back, concern clouding his eyes. “You okay?”

  His eyes and his words told her everything she needed to know; the two of them had slipped from casual acquaintances to become so much more. That thought alone was a wonderful aphrodisiac that had her mind racing and her body aching. “I’m better than okay.” She slid her hands beneath his shirt and raised it up over his head to reveal his superb body. Marshall had muscles in all the right places, and his chiseled chest glistened in the filtered sunlight.

  The passionate restraint that’d held them captive evaporated in a flash, and while Marshall fumbled with the buttons on her shirt, Charlene explored the planes of his chest. She ran her fingers through his coarse chest hair and circled his hardening nipples with her fingers.

  A delicious shudder tickled her flesh as he peeled the shirt from her shoulders. Marshall eased back to take in her nakedness. Her nipples peaked and hardened beneath his heady gaze. He reached up and sucked in a sharp breath as he touched his finger to a bruise above her right breast. “Oh, Charlene.”

  “It doesn’t hurt.”

  He leaned forward and kissed the bruise, barely touching his lips to the purple mark. His hand curled beneath her breast, and she placed her hands on the bed covers and arched her back toward him, offering him more.

  Marshall didn’t miss a beat. He leaned forward and trailed his tongue from one breast to the other, drawing out her nipples until they were hardened pebbles.

  Her mind became a vacuum. Her senses became heightened. The touch of his lips…the caress of his hands…the deep moans tumbling from his throat…the smell of his body. Months of torment were whittled away.

  Nothing in the world mattered but the two of them. Right here. Right now.

  He ran his tongue around her nipple, creating a thrilling tingle that started at the tip of her breast, and cruised all the way down to the throbbing pulse between her legs. She drove her fingers through his unruly curls, dragged her nails across his scalp. He moved his hands up and down her thighs, each time edging higher. She parted her legs, letting him know she liked it. The sensations shuddering through her were like nothing she’d ever experienced before. And she wanted more.

  She wanted it all.

  Charlene flopped back on the covers and wriggled out of her shorts. Marshall reacted by standing up at the end of the bed, and it was impossible to miss the bulge in his pants. His eyes cruised up her body, drinking in every curve of her flesh. It was the most erotic moment of her life, and her body pulsed with a need to have him with her. In her.

  He whipped his shorts off, and his manhood bounced toward her, large and proud.

  She licked her lips at the glorious sight. Never before had she wanted a man so much. He paused there, and as much as she enjoyed the tantalizing moment, he seemed to as well. His chest rose and fell with rapid breaths. He licked his lips, leaned forward, placed one knee on the bed, then the other, and crawled up her body, taking his time to kiss every one of her bruises.

  Her hands roamed over his flesh, greedy to explore every defined muscle. He paused at her breasts, licking, caressing, sucking, and Charlene writhed beneath the delicious onslaught.

  When he drew himself up to gaze into her eyes, she imagined he was looking right into her soul. His lips lowered to her, and she opened her legs, letting him know she wanted him.

  He entered her gently, taking his time to ease into her in one slow glorious movement. It was exquisite. Utterly perfect.

  They moved together as one, slowly at first, each displaying measured control. She opened her eyes to see Marshall’s eyes flicker beneath his eyelids, lost in their own blissful world. She lifted her hips, and his thrusts grew deeper. Faster. As did his breathing.

  She let herself go and rode a climax that had her calling out with pleasure.

  Marshall’s eyes shot open, but he didn’t seem to be seeing. When he squeezed them shut again, he released a primal growl and thrust into her again and again until finally he collapsed to her side, panting.

  Charlene nuzzled into the crook of his arm and resisted wincing as she rolled to face him. As she trailed her fingers up and down his chest, she wondered if meeting Marshall had been her fate—so many puzzle pieces had had to slot into place to put them in this bed together.

  When he leaned forward and kissed her forehead, she decided it had been.

  Chapter 26

  Marshall admired Charlene’s gorgeous physique as she crawled off the bed and strolled to the bathroom. His body hummed with after-sex contentment, something he hadn’t felt in a very long time. Too damn long. He’d been shocked when Charlene had let him kiss her. No, shocked was a fucking understatement. He’d been blown away. She was young and stunning, and didn’t need a has-been like him in her life. Yet she’d been the one who’d initiated the sex. Not that he was complaining.

  But he did wonder if it was some kind of crazy notion of hers, just to thank him.

  He hoped like hell it was more than that.

  Marshall crawled off the bed, tugged on his clothes, and returned to the kitchen to finish the bacon and cheese toasted sandwiches. He still had so many questions that needed to be answered, and bef
ore they anchored on American soil, he was determined to get them.

  When Charlene stepped from the bathroom a short time later, her face was delicately flushed, and she smelled incredible. But it was her cheeky smile that caught his attention. He turned to her. “What?”

  She curled a hand around her wet hair and shrugged her shoulder. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

  “Nope. Damn surprise to me too.” It took all his might not to pull her to his body again.

  She stepped closer. “Are you complaining?”

  “Hell, no. That…” For the first time ever Marshall was lost for words. “That just doesn’t happen to me.”

  “Hmm, shame.” She glided her fingers up his arm, and he clutched her hand.

  “Charlene…look, there’s no doubt we have some chemistry or something going on here. But—”

  “But what?” she stepped back, frowning.

  He turned to the sizzling toasted sandwich maker and lifted the lid. “But you’ve been through a very traumatic experience.”

  “And?”

  “And people do all sorts of weird shit after trauma.”

  “Weird shit? Is that what you call it?”

  “You know what I mean.” He plucked the sandwiches out and placed them onto two plates.

  “No, I don’t actually. I certainly don’t make a habit of flopping into bed with every man I meet.”

  Marshall wanted to punch himself. Charlene was affecting him in so many ways, both physically and emotionally, but he had to tread lightly. He’d fallen off the rails before. And fallen so bloody hard it’d taken him years to find the tracks again. He had no idea where this—whatever this was—was going, but he’d rather cut it short now than risk crashing and burning big-time.

  He turned to her with the plates in his hands. She had her arms folded and her butt against the counter. Despite the incensed look on her face, she was as sexy as hell.

  “Come on, let’s eat, and chat, and see where the conversation takes us.”