Two Dauntless Hearts

by Elle James

  “I want to be inside you so badly,” he whispered against her lips.

  “I want it, too,” she responded, her voice husky, heavy with lust.

  “But first, I need to show you how good you can feel.” He kissed a path along her jaw and down the length of her neck to the pulse beating wildly at the base of her throat.

  “I’m feeling pretty good right now,” she said, her body writhing beneath his. “Any better and I might spontaneously combust.”

  Pitbull chuckled. “Darlin’, you haven’t felt anything yet.”

  “No? I could swear I am right now.”

  He sucked the nipple of her right breast between his teeth and pulled hard.

  Marly arched her back, rising with every flick of his magical tongue on her nipple. “Oh my,” she moaned. “I see what you mean.” She couldn’t breathe. Every time she tried, he touched another nerve and made it sing. In the process, Marly gasped and sucked in a deep breath, tension drawing her body tight, like a bowstring.

  Just when she thought it couldn’t get better, he switched to the neglected breast and treated it to the same enchantment.

  By the time Pitbull abandoned both breasts and moved south along her rib cage, Marly was so aroused she thought she might come apart.

  Pitbull never let up. He kissed, nipped and flicked his way over every rib and then lower, to the triangle of hair covering her sex. He kissed the curls, parted her folds and tongued that narrow strip of flesh.

  Marly had only ever heard of a man touching a woman there with his tongue. She wasn’t a virgin, having had sex with a missionary’s son when she was in her early twenties, but she’d never had a man do what Pitbull was doing to her.

  She drew up her knees and dug her heels into the mattress, lifting her hips, urging him to continue.

  Her blood burned through her veins, her heart beating so fast, she could barely catch her breath. And she didn’t care, as long as Pitbull didn’t stop.

  He slid a finger into her channel, and followed it with another, and yet another, stretching her entrance. At the same time, he sucked her nubbin between his lips and flicked it with his tongue.

  “Oh, sweet heaven, what you’re doing to me!” she cried.

  One more flick and she came apart. Tingling started at her center and spread outward to the very tips of her fingers and toes. Finally, she knew. This was what all the fuss was about.

  He continued tonguing, flicking and pumping his fingers until she’d dragged out every ounce of her release. When she came back to earth, she lay still, as emotionally and physically spent as if she’d been running a marathon.

  Pitbull climbed up her body and leaned across the mattress to reach into the nightstand.

  “Remind me to thank Talia for thinking of everything. She stashes condoms in the drawers.” He reached in and held up an accordion of condoms.

  “An excellent idea. It’s not like you can walk around the block to the local drugstore to stock up.” Marly took the strip of condoms, tore off one and opened the package.

  He held out his hand. “I can do it.”

  Marly shook her head. “I want to.”

  “Let me guess...you’ve never applied one.”

  Her cheeks flushed red. “You know too much about me without me even saying anything.”

  “You aren’t hard to read, darlin’.” He touched her cheek with the backs of his knuckles.

  She leaned her face into his hand. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  “You should. Too many women hide who they are. I like that you don’t. Marly, you’re real.” He kissed her and slid between her legs, his erection nudging her entrance.

  Marly drew up her knees and lifted her hips, wanting him to consummate their lovemaking. Wanting him to fill that empty space that was more than physical.

  He bent to kiss her again, easing into her as he thrust his tongue into her mouth. He moved slowly at first, then increased the speed, rocking in and out of her.

  Marly raised her hips with each of Pitbull’s thrusts, matching his rhythm, wanting him deeper and harder.

  Soon he was pumping in and out, faster and faster, the sound of skin slapping against skin and their combined moans filling the air.

  That same feeling she’d had when he’d been touching her and making her crazy welled inside. Her core tightened, and she dug her heels into the mattress and raised her hips one last time.

  Pitbull’s body tensed. He buried himself deep inside her, giving her his full length. His body and shaft pulsed with his release.

  That she’d brought him to this culminating conclusion catapulted Marly over the edge, and she shuddered with her own reaction. She rode the wave all the way back to earth, where she collapsed against the sheets on a sigh.

  Pitbull chuckled and rolled with her to lie on his side, facing her. “Like that?”

  “Mmm,” she said, not yet up to forming words. What they’d done had gone beyond good. “That could easily become addicting,” she whispered, her eyes closed, sleep tugging at her senses.

  “Agreed.” He kissed her eyelids and the tip of her nose. “Sleep, sweetheart.”

  After making love like that, surely she could stay awake and figure things out with him. But no, she drifted to sleep, a voice at the back of her mind wondering...

  How am I going to let him go?

  Chapter Nine

  Pitbull lay awake long after Marly fell asleep.

  She’d said something softly as she drifted off.

  He’d leaned close to hear, but the words were little more than a whisper. She might have said something like let him go. But Pitbull couldn’t be certain. For all he knew, she’d been having a dream already.

  Let him go.

  Was Marly already thinking about their separation? The longer he lay there with Marly in his arms, the more Pitbull realized he didn’t want to let her walk out of his life. But they didn’t have a choice. Their situation was well past ridiculous.

  He was a navy SEAL based out of Virginia. She was an African bush pilot. Unless things heated up in Africa, this was likely the last time they’d be together without making great sacrifices—as in complete career changes on one or both persons’ parts.

  He brushed a loose strand of her hair back behind her ear, the simple touch tugging at his gut. He wanted to do this again. Not just for the night. If he was lucky, the plane part wouldn’t be in until the end of their vacation week. That would give him a few more days with Marly.

  It wasn’t enough, but he’d have to be satisfied with it. He’d make it special. Then when he had to say goodbye, he’d have no regrets.

  Right. No regrets. He already regretted the day of their parting. Damn. He’d made the ultimate mistake. He’d fallen for the woman.

  He must have drifted off in the early hours of the morning, while the sky was still dark and the crickets still chirped. The next thing he knew, sun was streaming around the edges of the blinds, filling the room with light.

  He blinked his eyes and glanced at the green numbers on the digital clock beside him. Eight fifteen. He tried to remember where he was. When he did, he sat up straight in the bed and stared around the room. “Marly?” he called out.

  When she didn’t respond, he leaped out of the bed and searched the bungalow.

  Marly was gone, along with her dress and the silver high heels.

  Pitbull jammed his legs into a pair of jeans, pulled on a T-shirt and pushed his feet into socks and shoes. He was out the door without tying the laces. Something inside him told him to hurry or he’d miss her.

  He ran along the path to the main house, up the stairs and into the foyer. Voices sounded in the dining room. He ran to the room, hoping to find Marly and allay his fear of losing the woman.

  Pitbull paused in the doorway of the dining room, searching for Marly. She wasn’t there
.

  “About time you dragged yourself out of bed.” Buck lifted his mug of coffee in a mock toast.

  Talia motioned toward the counter against the wall. “Coffee’s fresh. Grab a cup and take a seat. The chef made Belgian waffles with strawberries and whipped cream.”

  “Dessert for breakfast.” T-Mac rubbed his belly. “I’ll have to do three hundred sit-ups to burn that off.”

  “For a week,” Harm added, also rubbing his belly. “They were delicious.”

  His team was talking about food when all Pitbull could think about was where Marly was.

  Talia smiled. “If you’re looking for Marly, she left thirty minutes ago with Henry and the guards. Her part came in, and she wanted to get started installing it before it got too warm. That, and she wanted to make sure her plane was still where she’d parked it. You never know, with the poachers and scavengers who find their way into the protected sanctuaries.”

  “Is there a truck I can use to go check on them?” Pitbull asked.

  Talia shook her head. “I’d like to loan you the truck, but I have only one available, and I have a safari to conduct today with the rest of your crew.”

  “Are we going anywhere near Marly’s plane?” Big Jake asked.

  Talia nodded. “We can.”

  “Then you can drop me off? She might need help,” Pitbull suggested. “Besides, that would free up one of your guards for the safari.”

  Talia smiled. “You and your team have proven they don’t need guards. They can take care of themselves.” She glanced at her watch. “We leave in ten minutes. I suggest you grab a bite to eat in that time.”

  The others stood and pushed their chairs in to the table.

  Buck leaned close as he passed Pitbull. “Not like you to sleep late, Percy.”

  Pitbull scooped fluffy yellow scrambled eggs onto his plate, ignoring his friend.

  “Wouldn’t be because you were up all night, now, would it?” Buck said.

  Pitbull grabbed a biscuit and threw it at Buck.

  The jerk grabbed it midair and took a big bite out of it.

  “What Pitbull does at night is none of your business,” Big Jake said.

  “Thanks, Big Jake.” Pitbull stuffed a forkful of eggs into his mouth.

  “Although, what Ms. Marly was doing coming out of your bungalow at the crack of dawn left me wondering.” Big Jake chuckled and ducked the second biscuit sailing through the air.

  Harm caught it. “No use wasting good food.” He palmed it and left the dining room with the others, all of them talking and laughing.

  At Pitbull’s expense.

  Marly would be appalled they knew so much about her comings and goings. He’d warn her to be ready for some ribbing when she got back to the resort.

  For the moment, he could barely wait to get in the truck and on his way to where she was working on the plane. He hoped like hell the poachers hadn’t returned and decided to take whatever they wanted of the plane and its parts. Two guards and one tough woman weren’t much against a band of scavengers armed to kill.

  He jammed more food down his throat, tossed back a glass of orange juice and ran out the door, headed for his bungalow. Inside, he settled a hat on his head and his weapon in the holster beneath his left arm. He slung his M4A1 assault rifle over his shoulder. He night need it. The rifle would take down an attacker from a lot farther away than his handgun.

  The truck was waiting in the drive at the front of the main house, his teammates standing in the back.

  Buck and Harm each reached down, grabbed one of his hands and pulled him up into the back of the truck.

  Big Jake pounded on the top of the cab, signaling they were all aboard. The truck lurched forward. The men sat on the wooden benches and settled in for a long day of viewing some of the most beautiful animals in the world.

  Pitbull counted the minutes until he could put his gaze on Marly. He didn’t like that she was out on the savanna without him. Then he realized, once he was gone from Africa, he wouldn’t know where she was at any given time. Her job took her all over. She could be facing poachers, angry villagers and rebel fighters in just about any country on the continent.

  “Worried about Marly?” Diesel asked over the roar of the engine.

  Hell yes, he was. But he didn’t have to let on to his buddies. He forced a shrug.

  Diesel’s lips twisted into a wry grin. “I swore I’d never get involved with any one woman. Life as a navy SEAL was hard enough without having to worry about someone else. But then I met Reese.”

  Pitbull glanced over at Diesel. “Who said I was involved with anyone?”

  Diesel chuckled. “You’ve obviously got it bad for our pilot.”

  “So? Doesn’t mean I’m going to do anything about it.”

  “No?” Diesel’s eyebrows rose. “You’re going to end it when we leave?”

  Pitbull nodded.

  “And it’s going to be that easy?”

  Why wouldn’t Diesel shut up? Pitbull didn’t want to think that far ahead. He’d handle one day at a time. When Marly’s time with them was up, he’d deal with it then. “Look, I don’t want to talk about it.”

  Diesel held up his hands in surrender. “Okay then. We’re not talking about Marly and how much you’re starting to care for her. I get it. I fought my attraction to Reese when I first met her in the jungle. Over the next few days, I’d grown fond of the woman and admired her strength and intelligence. By the time our mission ended, I knew I couldn’t just walk away.”

  “Why are you telling me this?” Pitbull didn’t want to hear what Diesel had to say. He knew a relationship with a SEAL was doomed from the beginning.

  “We decided to give us a chance. Granted, I’ll be away a lot, but that doesn’t seem to matter to her.”

  “At least she’ll be on the same continent as you, when you’re home,” Pitbull grumbled.

  “Yeah, there is that.” Diesel stared out at the grasslands. “If two people are committed, they find a way to compromise.”

  “That’s just it,” Pitbull said. “We went into this with no strings attached, agreeing on no commitment.”

  The corners of Diesel’s lips quirked upward. “Yeah. That’s how it starts.” He clapped his hands together. “I guess you two will figure it out. If she’s still working on that plane of hers, maybe we should leave T-Mac to help.”

  “Marly knows what she’s doing, and I can hand her tools as well as anyone else.”

  “In that case, the guards could hand her the tools and you could go with us on the safari.” T-Mac leaned into the conversation. “Let’s see what she’s got going.”

  Half an hour later, the truck pulled to a stop in front of the stand of trees, and the men leaped out of the back. Talia and Henry dropped down from the front.

  Marly stood on a ladder, her head bent over the engine compartment. She straightened and turned toward the arrivals. Her gaze sought Pitbull’s and then shifted to Talia. “I thought you guys would be on safari today.”

  “We wanted to check on your status before we headed out,” Big Jake said. “How’s it going?”

  “Fine. I almost have the fuel pump in. Just have to connect the hoses and fire it up to see if it works.”

  “Need any help?” T-Mac asked.

  “No, I don’t think so,” she said. “I’d like to get it running and at least move it to the landing field near the resort.”

  “How about we stay long enough to see if you get it started?”

  “Don’t delay your event for me,” she said. “I’ve got this.”

  “We don’t mind. We have a vested interest in that plane starting,” Harm said. “It’s our ride back to Djibouti.”

  “Okay, give me another minute while I attach the hoses.” Marly’s gaze slipped over Pitbull, and then she turned back to her work.

 
Pitbull wished the others would leave and take the guards with them. He’d like to have Marly all to himself. They had some talking to do after last night. This no-strings-attached business wasn’t feeling right to him. He wanted to know what she was thinking. Was she still on track for saying goodbye, so long, have a good life, at the end of the week? Because Pitbull wasn’t so sure he was on board with that scenario.

  With everyone standing around, he couldn’t have that conversation. Hell, he’d have to wait. And Marly didn’t appear to need anyone’s help fixing the engine.

  The woman was an amazing mechanic, and damned cute in her flight suit. Pitbull wanted to get her alone so that he could peel the flight suit off her and expose that hot pink bra and her silky, soft skin beneath. His groin tightened at the thought. He turned away before anyone could notice.

  A few minutes later, Marly climbed down the ladder, moved it away from the plane and started to pull the camouflage netting away from the propeller and fuselage. Soon everyone was helping to untangle the netting from the plane and folding it up to be stowed behind the truck seat.

  “Well, here goes nothing,” Marly said and climbed into the plane.

  Pitbull held his breath and waited for the reassuring sound of the engine starting up.

  Inside the cockpit, Marly flipped through what appeared to be a checklist. Finally, she set it aside and stared out at the propeller. The engine turned over and caught, and the propeller spun.

  A cheer went up from everyone standing on the ground.

  Pitbull grinned when he saw the smile on Marly’s face. She gave a thumbs-up signal through the windshield.

  “We might want to step back while she pulls the plane out of the trees,” Big Jake said.

  Henry moved the truck, and everyone else shuffled to the side.

  Marly taxied the plane out of the shadows and stopped. She applied the brake, left the engine running and lowered the cabin door. “I’m going to fly it over to the resort landing strip.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Pitbull called out.

  “Why?” Buck said with a wink. “She’s got it going. Besides, what do you know about planes? You don’t even like them.”