Jungle Inferno

by Desiree Holt

  He was as good as his word, lounging easily in one of the Italianate chairs pulled up to a wood and marble table. A sudden attack of nerves swept over her, a partner to the unexpected pulses throbbing everywhere in her body and the unfamiliar heat of desire. Had his feelings changed since the last time they’d been together? Did he still want her the same way? Was it just sex? God, she hated to think that.

  No, no, no. Don’t make yourself crazy. This is Mark. It will be even better than the last time.

  When she sat down she folded her hands in her lap until she could control their shaking.

  “Don’t look so anxious.” He grinned. “I’m not going to eat you.” Then his voice dropped. “At least not out here in public.” Faith felt a blush creep up her face to her hairline. How embarrassing. At her age she should be way past blushing. “I, um…” She fumbled for words. Just being in his presence already made her want the things she remembered. His touch. His mouth. His cock inside her.

  Mark waved at a waiter. “Let’s have a drink and talk about nothing and just relax. You’re wound up tighter than a drum and I’m not far behind you. That sound good?”

  She nodded. “I’d like a White Russian, please.”

  Mark cocked an eyebrow. “Well past the single glass of wine stage, I see.”

  Faith chuckled and felt the knots inside her unraveling. “I’ve grown up, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

  His eyes darkened again. “Oh, Tidbit, I’ve noticed. Believe me.”

  The conversation over drinks was light and insubstantial. Her books, her career. His career in the Army, although she knew there was very little he could tell her. An Army Ranger, after enough missions under his belt he’d volunteered for the vaunted Delta Force, responsible for conducting Special Operations around the globe. She knew his parents worried all the time about the dangerous path he’d chosen but looking at him now, Faith hadn’t a doubt in the world that in any situation Mark Halloran could take care of himself.

  “Another drink?”

  Faith’s mind had wandered back to her prom night and Mark’s words startled her. “Oh, well, maybe after we eat. I’m not sure I remember the last time I put food in my stomach today.”

  He leaned across the table and took one of her small hands in his larger, warm one. “Tell me if I’m out of line here, Faith. Or if I misread the signals I’ve been living on all this time. But would you scream and run off if I suggested we order dinner from room service?”

  Her eyes widened and those pulses kicked up a notch. “Room service?”

  “Mm-hmm. After.”

  She met his eyes directly. “After what?”

  “After what we’ve both been thinking about all these years. Right?”

  His fingertip caressed her knuckles. “I was wrong to stay away from you, Tidbit. I thought I had nothing to give you, that I’d be unfair asking you to wait. But Faith, I swear it’s been pure hell without you.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “There’s not much fun in being noble.”

  Faith raised her eyes and saw the intense look on his face, the desire heating his eyes, felt her breasts tighten and the throbbing between her legs intensify. She remembered that time—the only time—and she wanted it again. No other man had ever come close to making her feel what Mark had.

  “I don’t think the restaurant’s where I want to be right now,” she told him.

  Mark lifted her hand to his lips and brushed a light kiss on it, then signaled for the waiter. “Are you concerned about people seeing us go up to your room? I don’t want to compromise your situation. We could go somewhere else.”

  Faith smiled. “I’m fine, Mark. No one’s spying on me here and no one can really find me. That’s why Abigail picks places like this. Besides, wait until you see the room.”

  His smile melted her insides. “Then lead the way.”

  The waiter had brought the check and Mark dumped some cash on the table, then followed Faith out to the elevators.

  She hadn’t been kidding about the room. Sumptuous was the only word Faith could think of to describe it when she checked in. The bedroom, decorated in shades of gold and burnt orange, was centered around an oversized king bed. Wall sconces provided soft lighting and the nightstand and dresser held every conceivable type of convenience.

  She blushed as she opened the nightstand drawer to reveal a box of condoms discreetly tucked away.

  Mark laughed. “I like a place that thinks of everything.”

  “We can have music too,” she told him and showed him the concealed sound system.

  “I think music would be great.” He reached around her to turn it on, then fiddled around until he found what he was looking for. Soft instrumental music flooded the room, a slow melody that reminded Faith of the prom.

  Mark pulled her into his arms. “We haven’t danced in a long time, Faith. Remember how good we were together?”

  She fitted easily into his embrace, her hand resting in his, her head nestled against his shoulder. She could feel his heart beating against hers and realized he was as nervous about this as she was. Their one and only time had been so long ago. Would they still want each other as much? Would it still be as good?

  “You feel so soft in my arms,” he murmured, as they swayed to the music. “I love holding you.”

  Faith could feel just how much he loved it by the thickness of his erection pressing into her soft abdomen. Her nerves tingled in response.

  Mark feathered kisses across her forehead and her cheeks and along the column of her neck. She was barely aware of it when his hands moved between them and he began unbuttoning her blouse.

  “So soft,” he repeated, his hands moving over her, his mouth never still.

  She barely realized she was naked from the waist up when his mouth captured hers in a drugging kiss that swept away the sense of anything but here and now. When his lips moved from her mouth to her shoulder and down to her breasts she arched up into him, eyes closed, swept by such a feeling of desire she could hardly stand.

  She felt his body move and realized he was kneeling before her, his hands making quick work of her silk skirt and sliding her pantyhose and thong down to her ankles. One by one he lifted each foot and removed her shoes and the delicate lingerie.

  And then she was totally naked before him. She heard the hiss of his breath as he touched her thighs, her knees, even her ankles. When he pressed his mouth to the heated flesh between her thighs and gave her pussy a hot kiss she shook with sensation, clutching at his shoulders for support.

  And then she was totally naked before him. She heard the hiss of his breath as he touched her thighs, her knees, even her ankles. When he pressed his mouth to the heated flesh between her thighs and gave her pussy a hot kiss she shook with sensation, clutching at his shoulders for support.

  “I’ve waited so long for this I could do it forever.” His voice was husky. “I could make a meal of you, Tidbit and I don’t think one meal would be enough.”

  He picked her up, reached down with one hand to pull back the bed covers and placed her with infinite care on the clean cotton sheets. She felt his body shake with the effort to hold back and go slowly. She wanted to shout, You don’t have to wait but she knew he wanted to make this special for her. For both of them.

  She opened her eyes and saw his burning into hers, holding her gaze while he stripped off his clothing. She gasped at the sight of his magnificent body, his erection jutting proudly in the pale golden light from the bedside lamp. His body could have been the work of a sculptor, shoulders broad and hips narrow, thick muscles well-defined.

  They stared at each other for a long moment and then he was beside her, his strong body pressing against hers. His hands did a slow minuet on her skin, dancing from breasts to thighs and everything in between. Every pulse in her body began to throb, moisture pooled between her thighs and her breathing hitched and stuttered.

  His mouth was seductive, tasting her lips, invading her with his tongue, darting and retreating until she wa
nted to open her own mouth and swallow him whole. And it was everywhere, following the patterns left by his hands, savoring every inch of her as if it were the finest ambrosia.

  Her fingers moved through the matted curls covering his hard, muscular chest, touching his nipples, grazing the points with her fingernails. Loving the feel of him hardening against her when she did. The sensation of him pressing down on her, consuming her with his touch. Their bodies danced as one, until she could hardly tell where his body ended and hers began. Nothing she had ever dreamed could compare to the reality of this, a sensual mating that took her beyond every peak, dropped her through every valley and lifted her again.

  She moaned beneath him, reveling in the feel of his hair-roughened skin against the smoothness of hers. His nips and licks drove her crazy, speeding up the tempo of the dance, a wildness invading her. He drank of her as if she were a fine wine, his tongue lapping each drop like a liquid treasure, while his clever fingers stroked and plucked and teased at the quivering walls of her cunt.

  Beneath him her body arched upward, urging him. Heat raced through her like wildfire, the pleasure burning her alive. When he moved to kneel between her thighs she almost climaxed from the sheer anticipation of what he was about to do. He bent his head and that first lash of the tongue shot such pleasure through her she could hardly breathe.

  Again and again he licked her, his thumbs opening her moist pussy to his eyes. The heat she saw in them nearly scorched her. His breath on her labia was a warm, moist breeze that sent shivers racing through her.

  He ate at her, just as he’d promised, exploring the inner walls of her cunt with his tongue, scraping it along the sweet spot and rimming the opening. She bucked beneath him but he held her firmly in place, his tongue dancing over every sensitive surface. When her orgasm erupted he let her ride his tongue, the walls of her pussy clenching it, until the last aftershock died away.

  But when he reached out to open the drawer with the condoms in it, she batted his arm away and shoved him to his back. Only the element of surprise gave her the ability to move his hard, muscular body that way.

  “What?” he asked.

  “I’ve been waiting to do this for a very long time,” she whispered.

  Wrapping her slim fingers around his swollen cock, she placed her mouth over the broad, flat head and drew it into her mouth. It tasted just as she’d imagined, hot and hard, but the skin covering it was like velvet. Such a bolt of heat flooded her that she almost couldn’t breathe.

  “Careful.” His voice was tight. “I’m so close to ready, darlin’.”

  But she wanted this pleasure, even if just for a few moments. Sliding one hand between his concrete thighs she cupped the soft sac of his balls and rubbed her fingers over the pleated skin. Every muscle in Mark’s body tightened as he reached for control but he was obviously determined to let her do this.

  Pulling her mouth back she licked delicately at the surface of the head, dipping the tip of her tongue into the slit.

  “Enough.” His voice was a low growl.

  Grabbing her arms he rolled her to her back. Now he did yank out a condom, ripping the foil with his teeth and rolling it on with a dexterity she chose to ignore.

  “No more time for foreplay,” he rasped.

  He thrust into her with one hard stroke, then held himself still to give her time to adjust to him. But not too much time. In seconds he was rocking into her, a gentle motion that pulled at the walls of her cunt and sizzled her nerves. He manacled her wrists with his fingers and held her hands flat on the pillow on either side of her head.

  “I love you,” he said in a hoarse voice. “Jesus, but I love you, Faith.”

  And then he fucked her in earnest, his strokes harder and faster, his eyes watching her for signs of her rising need. She wrapped her legs around him to hold him in tighter, thrusting her hips up to him. He moved one hand to take her clit between his thumb and forefinger. When he pinched it she exploded and he was right there with her.

  The spasms went on and on, turning her bones to liquid, and she spun and shattered.

  His hard cock flexed inside her again and again until she didn’t know where her own body ended and his began. At some point the spasms subsided to aftershocks and then even those died away and she lay limply on the bed, his big body caged around hers.

  He touched his lips to hers. “I love you, Faith. No matter what, never forget that.”

  “I won’t,” she whispered, barely able to speak. “I love you, too.”

  They lay twined together for a long moment, hearts hammering, lungs gasping for breath. The whisper of air from the air-conditioning cooled their sweat-slicked skin. He was heavy but she wouldn’t have moved him for the world. Sex with Mark had been unbelievable the first time but this time everything was enriched by the fact that they were older, mature, and knew what sex was really all about. Every other man in her life faded into oblivion, permanently tucked away in the shadow of an overwhelming presence.

  Letting out a long breath, Mark rolled to his side, taking her with him, cradling her against his body.

  “You are amazing,” he told her, his voice still thick with desire. “Better than I remembered. None of my dreams come close to matching this.”

  She drifted her fingers through the fine hair on his chest. “You dreamed about us?”

  His laugh was warm and sexy. “More times than I want to admit. Every night since the prom.” One hand came up to caress her cheek. “That night together has kept me sane through a lot of tough missions. Why have I been so stupid as to waste all the time since then?”

  “Because you have a job to do.” She stated the simple fact.

  He rose over her, his palm cupping her cheek, his eyes like the night sky. “Faith.” He stopped, closed his eyes as if dredging up words.

  A tiny stab of pain pierced her heart. “It’s all right, Mark. You don’t have to say anything.”

  He shook his head. “No, you don’t understand.” He smoothed the hair away from her forehead. “I have the weekend off because my unit’s being deployed again in three days. I have no idea how long I’ll be gone, or what’s coming after that. I don’t have the kind of life that makes room in it for the kind of commitment I want to make with you. Not right now.”

  She swallowed hard, three times, before she could get any words out. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll never stop loving you. And one day it will be our turn. In the meantime, no matter what happens, I’ll always be here for you. If you ever need me, all you have to do is call.”

  ”I wish I could offer you more. Offer you what you deserve. There’ll never be anyone else for me after this, Tidbit. How could there? But I just re-upped last year, so I’ve got three more years to go before I can make any decisions about my future. What I do is dangerous. I could be dead tomorrow. There’s no way I can ask you to put your life on hold for me.”

  She pushed herself up and stared at him. “My life won’t be on hold, Mark. My writing is doing very well. My books are selling, for some unbelievable reason. And I have goals I want to accomplish. But three years isn’t that long. I’ll wait. And that’s a promise.”

  He brushed his lips against hers. “So now we just need to get past these next three years. Meanwhile,” he rolled on top of her again, “we have the whole weekend. Right? You can stay here with me?”

  She nodded. “I’ll change my reservation. Think we can figure out how to occupy our time?”

  His rich, full laugh was like an aphrodisiac to her and she pulled him down to her, arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

  His mouth brushed lightly against her cheek, then her eyelids, and along the line of her jaw. Teeth bit gently into the soft flesh of her earlobe. Heat shot through her, tightening her nipples and dampening her already swollen cunt. With their bodies pressed together, she rubbed herself against him like a cat, so aroused by the contact she wanted to purr.

  Mark licked his way down her neck to the hollow of her throat, where her pulse beat
frantically against her skin. Again he took tiny nips, soothing each spot with his tongue. Taking a moment to suck lightly at her navel, he moved his head farther until his mouth was directly over her pussy.

  “I think there’s a feast waiting for me here,” he murmured, his deep voice vibrating through her body.

  His big hands lifted her thighs and spread them, opening her to him. The contact of his tongue on her sensitive clit was like lightning spearing into her. His tongue was everywhere, licking the inner lips, flicking at her clit, tasting the softness of her inner thighs. One lean finger slipped easily into her moisture-filled cunt, gathering her cream.

  Lust was spiraling through her, firing every nerve, surging through her muscles. She pushed herself down on the intruding finger, silently demanding more, crying out when the finger disappeared altogether.

  But in the next moment that same finger, slick with her juices, traced a downward path between the cheeks of her ass to find the hot, tight hole of her anus. Pressing against the tight flesh around it, he eased the finger inside her rectum and just like that, she climaxed, her body shaking, her thighs doing their best to squeeze together to ride the sensations.

  “Like that, darlin’?” Mark’s voice was low and warm, like heavy syrup on a hot day. His mouth glistened with her cream.

  “Yess,” she hissed, and tried to press down harder.

  But he was all about controlling the speed and pace. His finger probed and stroked, his eyes watching her as heat surged through her.

  He shifted his body, his finger pushing deeper inside her. His mouth closed over one aching nipple, pulling on it hard, his tongue swirling around it. Faith shoved her fingers through his hair, grasping his head as twin sensations assaulted her. The harder he sucked on her nipple, the more his finger stroked inside her dark channel, finding nerves she didn’t even know she had. When he’d teased one nipple to painful hardness he moved to the other one, giving it the same attention and treatment.

  Faith couldn’t stop moving, arching up to him, pushing herself down on the intruding finger, her body riding an arc of pleasure.