Carter was on the verge of calling for another stop when suddenly the claustrophobic jungle vanished, and a huge mound of rubble spread before them.
“The mudslide!” Lily squealed and stepped up onto the dried mud.
He followed her lead and climbed onto the muddy avalanche that’d cut an impressive gash through the jungle.
After a few steps she bent down. “Look, a fork.” The handle was bent out of shape, but the tines were intact. “We can use it as a weapon.”
“Not against me, I hope.”
A cheeky smile lit up her face. “No, silly. Iguanas.”
The sun beat down on him with ferocious intensity and as he squinted against the glare, sweat dribbled from his temples, armpits, and down his lower back. They had two choices—follow the landslide up, toward where it originated, and hope to find civilization, or follow it down toward the river.
The water was too tempting, and the decision was made both quickly and unanimously.
Once they’d stepped from the shade of the jungle, heat attacked from every angle. It beat down from above, rose up from the caked mud, and the breeze that floated over the muddy gateway was like a hot, hideous breath. His feet grew heavier with each step. His lips cracked, and when he tasted blood, he licked at it, grateful for the little moisture it provided.
They gathered items from the debris. In addition to several gnarly-looking utensils, Carter found a rusty hammer, and they unearthed a pot that was buried so deep only the handle was showing.
The sun was still high in the sky when they reached the water. After a quick scan up and down the river to ensure he was alone, Carter tossed his assortment of salvaged equipment down, stripped off, and flopped into the water wearing just his underpants. The river was instant relief, and without one thought about sanitization, he drank several mouthfuls.
He remained submerged to his shoulders and watched Lily offload everything she’d collected and strip down to her underwear too. His breath caught at the sight of her gorgeous body. Lily had the physique of an athlete. Svelte, yet toned. Golden skin that looked even more golden in this sunlight. And long, tanned legs that he dreamed of having wrapped around his waist. She tugged out her hair and stepped into the water, allowing her long, dark tresses to tumble over her shoulders.
Carter wondered if he’d died and gone to heaven.
His heart pounded out an erotic beat as she tilted her head back and lowered into the water. She ran her hands over her forehead, smoothed out her hair, and stood again.
He couldn’t deny himself a moment longer.
He reached for her hand. She turned, their eyes met, and anticipation sizzled between them. He drew her toward him and as she neared, she placed her hands on his shoulders, and when she curled her legs around him his dream came true. Desire simmered in her eyes, and from the second their lips met, all sense of control was gone.
Their tongues explored, as did his hands. He found the clip to her bra, undid it, and took the weight of her breast into his hand. His penis sprung to life, throbbing and growing until it hurt from the constraint in his jocks. She gripped his hair, and as her hips ground over his groin, a slow moan tumbled from his throat.
She pulled back, their eyes met again, and something passed between them. A suggestion that they’d crossed a line, possibly. An acknowledgment there was no turning back, probably. The confirmation that they each wanted it as much as the other . . . absolutely.
Their second kiss was heated, wild. All constraint was gone. He needed her, and from what he could tell, she needed him too. He uncupped her breast and wove his hand into her pants. Her lips found his neck, trailing kisses from his shoulder to his earlobe. Lily gasped as he pushed inside her. Her hot folds wrapped around his finger, and he closed his eyes, concentrating solely on bringing her pleasure. Her nails clawed his back and he plunged into her over and over. She cried out, tightened her legs around him and her body shuddered in climax.
His rock-hard manhood commanded attention.
With his hands around her bottom, and her legs squeezing his waist, he carried her from the water. A lush patch of grass was like a welcome mat, and he laid Lily down. She pulled the already undone bra from her shoulders and flung it aside.
Carter’s breath was short and sharp as he tugged his jocks down and flicked them off. As he stood naked above her, his penis throbbed to an erotic beat. He wanted to ask Lily if she was certain of this, yet at the same time, he wasn’t sure he could stop even if she’d said no.
Maybe she saw his hesitation, because Lily put her thumbs into her pants, rolled them down, and flung them into the bushes. With her eyes on his, she spread her legs.
It was all the invitation he needed. Carter fell to his knees between her thighs. He leaned forward, placing one hand at her side for support, cupped her breast with his other hand and leaned in to taste her. As he sucked her nipple, drawing the delicate bud into his mouth, his penis nudged her opening.
Lily wrapped her legs around him, opening herself up for his entrance. As he sucked air in through his teeth, he glided into her, savoring every ounce of her body and pushing all he had inside her. Her face was the epitome of sexy, eyes nearly closed, mouth half open.
With each tempered thrust, he watched her writhe beneath him. Her eyes opened, but her glazed look implied she wasn’t seeing. Her tongue flicked out over her lips, leaving a glint of moisture in its wake.
He pulled back so he was kneeling, hooked his arms under Lily’s knees, and drew her toward him. As he watched himself plunge into her, he gritted his teeth, determined to draw the exquisite moment out as long as he could. With each thrust, her breasts bobbed. She clawed at the grass and arched her back. When she gasped, a flood of heat inside her took him over the edge.
Carter cried out and drove into her over and over until he couldn’t thrust anymore. He fell to her chest, and as he listened to her thumping heart, she trailed her fingers up and down his back.
It was a long moment before he rolled off and lay beside her. She wriggled in so her head slotted into the crook of his shoulder. Lily placed her right arm and right leg over his body, trapping him as she curled her finger around his nipple.
He closed his eyes and savored the throb of post-sex glory.
After a while, he felt her prop up on her elbow, and opened his eyes. “I’m glad you didn’t stop that time.”
He smiled. “I couldn’t even if I’d wanted to.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “Did you want to?”
“Hell no.”
She put her head back down on his shoulder. “Good.”
Carter could’ve stayed right where they were all day, but the ticking clock in his head urged him to keep going.
“Come on. Let’s get moving before the sun sets on us again.”
They groaned as they stood, and he cupped her cheeks to kiss her, just a brief kiss of reassurance that said so much more. There were so many things he wanted to say. At the very top of his list was I love you. But he resisted. Although both of them had already said it, in the back of his mind he couldn’t help but wonder if Lily would run away, shaking her head in confusion, the second they were rescued. He wouldn’t blame her if she did, but he didn’t want additional confessions of love, making her decision more difficult.
As he reached for his underpants, he spied the pouch he’d bought in Peru. He tugged on the string to open it.
“What’s that?”
Carter cleared his throat. “I bought it from a market stall in Peru. I keep my SD cards in here.” He pulled one out to show her.
“You keep them in your underpants?”
He nodded. “Safest place in the world. No one ever goes in there.”
She tugged on her bottom lip. “I just did.”
“Momentary lapse in concentration.” He grinned.
“Really?” She picked up her bra, and
he openly ogled her glorious breasts before they were concealed again. It seemed like time stood still or something as she took an extraordinary amount of time putting it on. A cheeky smile lit up her face.
“You’re a tease, Tiger Lily.”
She chuckled as she fitted her bra into position. Then she gathered their final reserve of pitahayas, handed one to him, and they sat cross-legged on the grass.
“So,” Carter said, “after that incredible sex, now that we’ve found water, all we need is to be rescued and it’ll be a perfect day.”
She nodded and appeared thoughtful. After a while she snapped her fingers. “Remember I found that banana tree near the graveyard? Maybe there’ll be more.”
“Hopefully.” He stood up and helped her to stand. They gathered their new collection of mangled belongings, and then Carter held his hand forward. “After you.”
Lily strode on ahead, and if her feet were giving her any trouble, she gave no indication of it.
They arrived at the graveyard much quicker than he’d anticipated, but after barely a cursory glance, they continued on. Their next place of interest was where Lily had nursed him back from unconsciousness. Again, they didn’t stop.
Carter could no longer ignore his hunger pangs that howled like dogs.
They hurt like hell too.
Lily squealed and he jumped. “There! Look.” She strode toward a tree that boasted a huge bunch of bananas. Fifty at least, Carter guessed. But in another evil irony, they were all green.
“Come on, help me.” Lily already had her fingers around the trunk and was trying to pull it over. Carter put his hands above hers, and together they wrestled the tree to the ground until it snapped. They each twisted a couple of bananas off.
“Can you eat them green?” Carter asked.
“Of course.” She struggled to pull back the rubbery peel. When she bit into it, she screwed up her mouth as she chewed. After she swallowed, she poked out her tongue. “Ewww, it’s powdery.” White bits caked her tongue.
“You make it sound so enticing.”
“Shut up and eat.” She peeled another one and handed it to him.
With each disgusting mouthful he hoped his wish from this morning would come true. But as he glanced ahead and saw nothing but jungle, he doubted there would be a big juicy steak waiting for him at the end of today.
Chapter 22
After Lily had forced down two more bananas and ensured Carter did the same, they plucked as many as they could carry and set off again, following the river downstream. She tried to ignore all the aches and pains in her body, from the itchy mosquito bites to the dozens of scratches on her forearms and calves to the blisters on her feet. All of them were bearable; however, her hunger was not. The bananas had filled a void, but the lack of a decent meal had her both dizzy and slightly nauseous. It also meant she had no energy and had to stop more frequently.
A flat grassy knoll at the river’s edge became their next resting place. She tossed everything she was carrying onto the ground and crumbled to the grass. As she lay back, she wiped sweat from her brow and studied the fluffy white clouds swirling above her.
Carter crawled to her side. “You okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Liar.” He kissed her forehead. “We need you to catch another one of those iguanas.”
She rolled to him, trying to assess if he was serious. “That takes time, you know.”
He nodded. “I know, but without decent meals we’re getting weaker, which is only making us slower anyway.”
The prospect of meat, even lizard meat, had her insides jumping for joy. “If you’re serious, I’ll set up a trap right here.”
“I’m serious, babe. Go work your magic.”
Babe. She liked that. Lily gave him a quick kiss and crawled over to their eclectic collection of salvaged utensils. She selected the four-pronged fork she’d found. The two outer tines were thicker than the two inner ones. She handed it to Carter. “Do you think you can bend back these two prongs?” She pointed at the two middle ones.
“Sure.” He took the fork from her, and she turned back to their things and fished out the other two forks and gave them to Carter too. She grabbed a tin cup and a metal spoon, and searched for a spot where the ground was soft enough to dig a hole.
She chose an area away from the trees so she wouldn’t risk hitting roots, knelt down, and using the spoon and cup, began to dig. It didn’t take long before the ground became as tough as rubber.
Once again her hands suffered, and soon the blisters and scabs started bleeding, but the thought of food kept her going.
Carter came and took over. He removed his shirt, and she watched, mesmerized, as the muscles in his back bulged and flexed with each attack he made on the dirt.
While he was digging, Lily rubbed the ends of sticks on a rough rock, fashioning each one to a point. It worked, but it was slow going. It seemed like an eternity before the hole was large enough for her trap and she’d made five sticks into spears.
Carter rolled onto his back, his chest rising and falling with ragged breaths. Every inch of his exposed skin glistened with sweat.
“You okay?”
“As okay as I can be.”
“We’re nearly finished. Just need to position these upright in the dirt.”
Carter reached for one of her sticks and secured it upright with the small rocks she handed to him. They repeated the process with the other four spears.
“How’s that?” he asked, easing back from the pit.
“Good.” She covered the opening loosely with twigs and leaves, concealing the hole beneath. When she stepped back to examine their trap, she hoped it’d work. And soon. “Time for a swim,” she announced.
“Hell yeah.”
The sun was a white fireball over the river when they stripped naked and stepped into the cool water. Lily dunked her head under, and when she stood up her breasts bobbed at the surface. It was delightfully wicked, yet utterly heavenly.
The sunlight caught in Carter’s beard, highlighting the red in it, and she wondered what he’d look like clean-shaven. She couldn’t see any gray hairs in his beard or hair. “You still haven’t told me your age, you know.”
“Guess?”
“This game is getting a little old.”
“So play.”
“It’s okay, I don’t need to know anyway. But I do wonder if you’re afraid to tell me.”
“Why would I be afraid?”
“Because you think you’re too old for me.”
He tilted his head, and the sunlight shining through his green irises had them shimmering like highly polished emeralds. “Okay then, I’m forty-two.”
“Hmmm, that’s what I thought.”
“You thought I was forty-two?”
“No . . . I thought you were old.” She splashed a wave of water over him. He laughed and pushed his hair off his face, and by the cheeky look in his eyes she knew what was coming. She squealed and made a dash for dry land.
Carter grabbed her waist. “Oh no you don’t.” He picked her up in a bear hug and dunked them both. She giggled and screamed, and when she came back above the water, Carter was laughing too. She wondered if that was the first time she’d heard him truly laugh. It was a wonderful, infectious sound, and she found herself chuckling along with him.
She wrapped her legs and arms around him.
He pushed a lock of her wet hair from her cheek. “So.” He waited till their gazes met. “What do you think of my age?”
Rolling her eyes to the sky, she feigned thoughtfulness. “Oh, I don’t know. You’re really old.”
She squealed as Carter dunked her again. They came up laughing. Seconds later, their lips met, gentle at first, but as she drove her fingers through his hair and pulled him toward her, it intensified. She wrapped her legs around him again, a
nd their breaths became feverish.
Delightful shudders rolled through her, drawing her nipples out until they ached. As if he knew, Carter rolled her unrestrained bud between his thumb and finger with just the right amount of pressure.
Raw lust shimmered in his eyes and the bulge of his penis felt enormous between her thighs. She wove her hand down between them and as her fingers glided over that glorious organ, it grew thicker and longer beneath her touch.
The desire to have him in her . . . deep, deep inside her, couldn’t be ignored a moment more.
She guided him to her opening. He held his penis there and kept kissing her, touching her and drawing out the anticipation until she was ready to burst. Their mouths released and she gasped as his thick length filled her. His tongue lashed out to wet his lips, and as she studied every exquisite detail of his face, she knew she was making love to the most handsome man she’d ever seen.
Slowly, slowly he glided out, and without pause plunged again, pushing right up inside her until he could push no more. It felt so right, so complete, like the last piece of a puzzle finding its home.
She squeezed her legs, holding position, as he repeated the move over and over. When his eyelids flickered open, the raw passion she saw in his eyes made her insides blaze with delight. As her climax built to monumental heights, she turned her attention to his neck, trailing kisses up and down from his ear to his shoulder.
His moans matched his thrusting. His thrusts grew faster, harder. Pounding something deep inside her that begged to be pounded. With her arms around his neck, she hung on as he squeezed his fingers into her hips and drove himself into her over and over. They worked together, drawing out each other’s pleasure as if they’d done it a thousand times before.
Every nerve ending tingled, driving delicious shudders from deep down within her to the very tips of her nipples. She felt incredible. Alive. Oh so alive.
Lily let out a cry as glorious shudders rolled through her. Carter froze, his entire body stiffened, and Lily knew he was at the point of no return. He released a primal groan as he plunged deep inside her, pulled out and thrust again. He repeated the move, three times, four, and twice more before he slowed. Finally, he wrapped his arms around her and clutched her body to his as if she was saving him. Maybe she was.
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