by Selena Kitt
She bounced to her knees, wearing only her panties. She reached for the bottom of his shirt, trying to pull it up his chest and over his head. He took the job from her, tossing his shirt to the floor. She barely noticed, her fingers were so busy with the snap on his jeans. She couldn’t undo it. Frantic, she slipped her fingers eagerly inside.
He groaned a half laugh, tugging her fingers free. “Just a minute.” He kicked off his shoes then stripped off the rest of his clothes in what seemed like one motion. There was such a wonderful expanse of sun-kissed skin and muscle before her; she didn’t know where to start. Her fingers spread across his chest, exploring, learning, loving him.
She followed the triangle of chest hair down to his navel where the erection prodded her hands. Not able to resist touching him, she stroked him, her fingers circling and sliding down the long lean length of him. Then back up. He moaned. She bent her head on impulse and kissed the very tip. He gasped and flipped her onto her back.
“There’s only so much of that I can take right now,” he whispered. Holding her gaze, he captured her wrists and tugged them above her head in a gentle grip.
Her gaze widened. He lowered his head. He stroked and caressed and nuzzled the smooth skin on the side of her neck, the delicate undersides of her plump swollen breasts. She ached with wanting – twisted and moaned with need. It had been so long since she’d been held. So long since she’d been loved like this.
No. It had never been like this.
Tugging her hands free, she caressed his shoulders and back, loving the small catches of breath she heard from the back of his throat. He raised his head and dropped a deep, drugging kiss on her lips, their tongues dancing deliciously. He trailed his mouth downward, leaving a pathway of heated kisses to her breasts.
Mindless, she arched her back and he obliged, taking first one nipple then the other deep inside. His hand slid across her belly and down to the juncture of her thighs to explore her dewy curls. She parted her thighs for him, opening for his touch. Wanting him. His wicked fingers stroked and caressed, teased and tormented until she surged wildly against him, twisting, searching for satisfaction and surcease.
“Dane,” she whispered, reveling in her body’s response, in the heat coursing through her. “Please.”
His magical fingers found the sensitive bud and her hips bucked. She cried out, “Dane, now.”
Moving up and over her, he bent and shifted her thighs slightly wider, settling himself deeper. Resting on one arm, his hand buried in her hair, his other arm slid under her hips to hold her still. He sat at the center of her. Waiting.
Reaching up, she pulled him down to her, raining fiery kisses wherever her lips could reach. He tightened his grip on her hair tugging her toward him and sealed their lips in a kiss that promised and delivered…everything. And plunged deep into the heart of her.
She cried out. Her legs wrapped tighter around him. It wasn’t enough. She needed more.
He settled on top, his kiss gentle, waiting for her to adjust to the invasion, to his size. “Are you okay?” he whispered against her lips, the strain of holding back obvious in the corded tendons on his neck and face.
Wiggling her hips, she purred against his lips, “Better than okay.”
He dropped his forehead to rest on hers, staring deep into her eyes and he started to move. Slowly, at first, almost experimentally. Then he picked up speed, plunging harder and deeper than ever before, driving them closer to the edge. She cried out with each thrust, wanting, striving, needing more. Dropping one hand between them, he touched the tiny nub in her curls and that did it, just that one stroke of his finger and she soared free, crying out as the explosion overwhelmed her.
She barely heard his shout of release and her body flew apart a second time as he emptied himself into her.
Exhausted, he collapsed, rolled quickly to one side, and tucked her up close against him.
She curled into him, happier than she could ever remember. Sated, feeling a peacefulness she hadn’t expected, she dozed off to sleep.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The next day Jade sat out on the garden patio, a coffee in hand. She loved the brilliant green of the palms. Dane had left a couple of hours earlier. She couldn’t stop smiling. He hadn’t quite kept his promise, but came damn close. They’d napped, made love, talked and laughed and made love again…and again.
She should be exhausted. Instead she felt invigorated, full of energy – and very content. She smirked. Maybe ‘very satisfied’ was a better way to describe it.
“Wow. So what has put that look on your face?” Meg and Bruce walked over to join her.
“What?” Jade tried to rearrange her features but thoughts of Dane filled her heart to bursting. Keeping those feelings inside just didn’t work so well. And there was no way she’d be able to hide their relationship for long. She grinned. “Dane is hot, isn’t he?”
Meg giggled.
Bruce rolled his eyes. “Shall I go away? Leave you two together to have this girl talk.”
Jade laughed. “No need. There’s nothing to discuss.”
“That’s not what it looks like from here.” Meg sat down in the chair next to Jade.
“True enough.” Bruce ordered coffee.
As they sat in the sunshine, Dane’s truck drove into the parking lot. Jade’s heart lightened. It was hard to greet him in front of the others. Part of her wanted to race over and kiss him and another part of her wanted to flatten him on the ground and have her way with him right there and then – again.
She didn’t know how to greet him…especially in front of an audience. Then he came into view. Dane wasn’t alone. A very unhappy-looking John was at his heels.
Standing, she pulled over a couple of chairs and ordered two more coffees.
Bruce rose and shook John’s hand. “Good to see you. Sorry you’ve had such a bad couple of weeks. Any news on Peppe’s whereabouts?”
John grimaced, and sat down. “Thanks. It’s been rough. No news. I’ve checked his place a couple of times. I’m sure he’s returned and left again, but he’s sly, coming and going in the night. He left a box full of papers open on the kitchen table. Papers I’d never seen before.”
Dane gazed at Jade, gave her an intimate smile then winked at her. She hid her grin from the others while her insides melted. She gave him a quick wink back, hiding her own smile. Now, at least, her nerves could settle down. She tuned into the conversation.
“There was a family tree on the top of the papers. Peppe and his wife, Anne, were first cousins. I don’t know if that even makes a difference, but I passed the information on to the doctors.”
That bombshell took a bit to settle in.
“So then Tasha’s mental instability could be a direct result of faulty genetics?” Jade shook her head slightly. Why don’t people consider the results of their actions? “What about Emile? Was he fine?”
“As far as I could see. We’ll never know how he might have developed over time.”
Dr. Mike frowned. “In Tasha’s case, it could be a contributing factor. That’s something for the doctors to determine.”
Staring almost bitterly at each person in the group one by one, John nodded. “I guess so.”
Jade winced. “I just hate that it’s turning out this way.”
Bruce leaned back. “We all do.” He picked up his coffee and had a sip. “Sometimes things happen and there’s nothing we can do but accept and move on.”
“Some things we aren’t ever going to know or understand.” John stood up, leaving his coffee untouched. “It was nice to see you all again. I’m going to the hospital.” He turned to Dane. “Are you coming with me?”
Dane stood up, smiled good-bye at everyone and turned to leave – stopping beside Jade. He bent and gave her a quick hug, dropping a brief kiss on her lips. “I’ll stop by a little later.”
Her cheeks warmed. Not trusting herself to speak, she smiled good-bye.
The rest of the group had knowing smil
es on their face but stayed quiet – thankfully.
Jade took the rest of the day off. She relaxed, did laundry, did her hair. In short, she just lazed around and did nothing work related. She couldn’t remember the last day she’d taken for herself. She called Duncan, but her brother wasn’t home. Restless, she realized she had a whole Saturday afternoon stretching ahead of her… She’d start with a stroll.
She walked out the front door of the hotel and took a deep breath of the humid air outside.
Keeping to one direction, enjoying the flavors of Jacmel, she found herself in a small center where vendors hawked their wares. She avoided the crowds surrounding one noisy vendor selling food she didn’t recognize. As she went around that, she almost walked into another person. Flustered, she apologized and tried to get out of the way.
Her arm was grabbed. She jerked back instinctively, spinning to see who had grabbed her.
Magrim.
Dressed in a loose multicoloured blouse, with dozens of equally colourful beaded necklaces wrapped around her neck, Magrim jingled loudly as she tightened her grip on Jade’s arm. Her black eyes stared up at Jade. “What you believe is wrong. Only the truth can set you free. You are in great danger until you find the truth.”
Jerking free, Jade swallowed hard. She closed her eyes briefly and fought the urge to run all the way back to the hotel. But if Magrim knew something about what was going on, then Jade wanted to know it too. “Magrim. What is the truth?”
“Evil spirits dwell in those close to you. Save yourself before it is too late.” Magrim sat back down on a chair, going quiet and still.
Jade stepped away, cast another look Magrim’s way, then bolted for the hotel. Her panic gave her feet extra speed as she dodged the crowds, ran across the roads, not daring to slow down or look behind. She only wanted the safety of her hotel room. And Dane. She wanted Dane.
She entered the hotel with sweat running down her back, gasping for breath. She ran into the office and found Meg. “Oh, thank God.” She slapped her purse down on her desk, collapsed into the closest chair and spilled out the sorry mess.
Meg gasped then said, “That’s nuts. Danger still? Evil spirits in those closest to you? Surely, all that bad stuff is over?” Meg could only stare at her, shaking her head. “I know there’s no science to it. I know that and I’m still freaked by what she told you.”
“I hear you. Why can’t she tell me stuff like ‘you’ll meet a tall dark and handsome man’?” Jade frowned. “Isn’t that what they’re supposed to say?”
“Yeah, except Dane isn’t dark.” Meg smiled broadly and shook her head.
“True enough.” Jade ran her fingers through her hair. “Christ, she scared me.”
“Can you ignore what she said?” Meg suggested, a frown forming as she studied Jade’s face.
“I’d love to,” Jade muttered. “But since I told you what she said, aren’t you already considering the handful of people that we’ve met since being here?”
“Considering what? Wondering if they’re evil? What is evil anyway?” Meg exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.
“I don’t know. I don’t want to know.” Shuddering, Jade sank lower in the chair.
Reaching out a gentle hand, Meg patted Jade’s arm. “I’m sorry. I agree the trip has been fraught with weird accidents and happenings, however, let’s not let our imaginations take the place of commonsense.”
Jade released a big sigh. “Right. Got that. Ignore Magrim.”
“Jade…”
She spun around, startled at the unexpected voice. “Dane. Hi.” Standing up, she headed toward him. When he opened his arms, she ran right into them.
A grin lit up his face then he became more serious and stepped back to study her. “Nice welcome. But what’s wrong? You look like you just ran a marathon.”
“I’m fine.” She shook her head. “Just a little weirded out. That’s all.”
At his puzzled look, she explained about the woman and her prophecy. When she finished, the ‘nasty’ bubbling up in her eased back down again. Anything to do with Magrim set her nerves on edge.
He frowned. “Let’s go find her, ask for more information.”
Jade stepped back, shaking her head violently. “No. No way. You can go. I’m staying here. I don’t want anything to do with her.”
Dane glanced over at Meg. “Are you game?”
With a raised eyebrow Meg stood up, a pensive smile on her face. “Actually, you know, I’d kinda like to go.”
Jade gave a mock shudder. “You two are nuts. Feel free. Not me. No way. I’m going to sit right here and have a coffee.” She nodded, liking that idea better and better. “Where it’s safe.”
Meg studied her curiously. “Have you forgotten? She said the evil is close to you.”
“Gee thanks.” Jade turned around, hating the clarification. “So maybe, according to her, I’m not so safe… But I feel safe and that has to count for something.”
Meg reached out and gave her a quick hug. “That it does. Dane and I’ll walk over, talk to her and walk back. We’ll be maybe twenty minutes. You okay for that long? Which direction?”
“Oh yes. I’m just fine. Shoo…run along.” She used hand motions to push them out the door. “I went that way.” She pointed to the street across from the hotel. “No turns and about five minutes straight forward…that’s where I found the vendors. Go. Get this foolishness over with and come back safe and sound.” She waved them away. “Hurry up. Go.”
Meg and Dane laughed in astonishment. “Are you sure you won’t come with us? Maybe you should. See her for what she really is?”
“Nope. I’m good right here. I’ll go sit outside in that chair right there,” she pointed to a deep cushioned lounge chair in the shade out on the patio, “and that’s where I’ll be when you come back. Sitting there, enjoying my coffee and my day.” To prove her point, Jade picked up her purse and walked out with them. She headed to the chair and plonked down, waving good-bye with a big smile.
Dane shook his head then followed Meg through the small gate. Jade sat and watched them leave. Dane turned back to look at her before heading off.
She smiled. God, he looked devastating, close up or in the distance. She sighed happily, but waved him on when he hesitated. He’d be back soon enough and they could spend time together then.
With a wave, he turned and hurried to catch up to Meg.
As soon as they disappeared, Jade dropped the smile. Her face hurt from trying to put on a good show. She wasn’t smiling inside. In fact, Magrim had terrified her this time. She’d hated to be so susceptible to the crone’s words but some scary shit was going on. She knew the others thought she was foolish. She didn’t care what they thought – she was too busy being scared.
“Is she always like this?” Dane asked Meg as he caught up with her. Meg could move. Those long legs of hers easily matched his stride. He preferred walking with Jade though, and he missed her already. He’d stopped in at the hotel hoping to spirit her to the beach for the afternoon.
Then she’d told him about Magrim. Best to get to the bottom of this business and ease her mind. Truthfully, he found Jade’s behavior kind of cute. She was such a contradiction of science and belief. Look at the difficult job she did identifying dead bodies and how efficiently she did that. Yet she was also freaked out by an old woman’s words. Surely her scientific background would allow her to throw off such words as nonsense? Anyway, the fact it didn’t made Jade even more interesting and appealing…and brought out his ‘knight in shining armor’ instincts…to rescue and protect.
Meg’s voice pulled him out of his reverie. “To a certain extent. Jade is blessed with a strong imagination. Anytime we have a scenario to puzzle through she comes up with the more morbid conclusions. Take the first earthquake victim – that was a little different. Jade is sure that person was living as a captive, was a sex slave or something along those lines…and that she was murdered. Jade might be right… Then again, she might not be
.”
Odd. Dane didn’t understand how Jade had come up with that hypothesis in the first place. “I’m sure lots of people suffered major injuries from this disaster, why would she think anything of that particular victim?”
Meg leaned closer, dropping her voice to a whisper. “That would be because of the chains around the woman’s ankle. Something we’re trying to keep quiet.”
Dane came to a halt. “Chains? Around the ankle of a skeleton? In the mass grave? Are you serious? That’s enough to spark anyone’s imagination.”
“I know, right?” Meg halted beside him. They’d almost reached the busy street corner. A park stretched across the one side while vendors fought for customers and space on the other.
Dane shook his head. Chains. “Did anyone ask John about them?”
“No. But we’ve spoken to the authorities; they want more evidence before they worry about another body in a mass grave. They’re short-staffed and have too many other problems right now. Actually, I think they’d like to see us walk away from this, just disappear for good. I know the medical problems they’re dealing with are brutal, what with cholera and tetanus…and more. Plus the crime rate has spiked too. They don’t want to deal with old, unsolved crimes right now. For all anyone knows these women liked to wear steel anklets.”
Her tone, made Dane look over at her sharper. “Did you say women? How many?”
“Three, so far.”
Dane whistled. “Jesus. No wonder Jade is freaked out. I can ask John if he knows anything about it. He helped move the bodies. If he saw something, I’m sure he’d tell me.” Dane couldn’t let go of that idea as he followed Meg through the crowd. He phoned John. “Hey. I’m talking with one the team, and they found something odd in the grave. They found a body with chains on the ankles. Did you see anything like that when you buried these people?”
