Tender Savage (Siren Publishing Allure)

by Rosemary J. Anderson

  Tossing and turning, she tried counting sheep and then tried thinking of all the things she would buy when she got back to civilization. She would need a new wardrobe, for one thing. She thought of the clothes she’d ruined during her hike through the jungle. She tried imagining the delicious meals she would eat and even tried imaging how much chocolate ice cream she could put away in one sitting. But it was no use. She just couldn’t get back to sleep. Feeling suddenly cold, she pulled the one cover she had up and over her shoulders. Her hip hurt where it touched the hard ground, and her head ached. She shivered again. The rain was teeming down outside. She could hear the patter of water as it hit the hard earth, and she could hear the drops as they dripped incessantly from the roof and from the trees. If only she could get warm!

  Making a decision, Eleanor scuttled over to Abraham where he lay asleep and snuggled up beside him. She threw her blanket over both of them, and wrapping her arm around his waist, she curved into his body.

  Abraham awoke to her wriggling. He drew her closer and kissed the top of her head before mumbling, “Sleep now, Eleanor.”

  Closing her eyes, Eleanor, reassured, drifted into a light doze, only to wake again a few hours later. It was still dark, but light was beginning to creep into the hut.

  “Quit your wriggling, princess.” Abraham growled softly.

  “Sorry,” Eleanor breathed, glad he had woken. She felt safer with him awake and alert.

  Settling back down to sleep, Abraham’s eyes opened as he felt a small, soft hand creep between the buttons of his shirt.

  “Eleanor, if you continue to do that, you know what will happen.”

  “Yes,” she breathed seductively. “I want you, Abraham, and I know you want me.” Her hand found its way to his hardening cock.

  “But I thought you were angry with me, Eleanor.”

  “Mmm, yes, but don’t you know Abraham—makeup sex is the best kind.”

  Rolling on top of Eleanor, Abraham inserted a leg between her naked thighs.

  “If we do this, Eleanor, then there must be no recriminations in the morning. You fully understand that nothing can come of this, do you understand?”

  “Yes,” she breathed again, widening her thighs in invitation. “But,” she said stopping him momentarily. “Abraham, you’re not married are you? I mean, I wouldn’t like to think we were cheating on someone.”

  Abraham stared deep into her eyes.

  “It’s a little late to be asking that, don’t you think. But no, I’m not married, Eleanor. Never have been and never will be.” He caught hold of her chin and drew her attention fully to him. “You do realise, Eleanor, this is just sex, no more, no less.”

  “Yes! Now kiss me,” Eleanor cried.

  “Say it, Eleanor.”

  Eleanor suppressed a small smile, using his words against him, and looked ingenuously into his eyes. “It’s just sex, Abraham,” she parroted. “Just sex!”

  Enfolding her into an embrace, Abraham kissed her, his mobile mouth tasting and sipping from her lips, his arms a harbour of warmth and safety.

  Eleanor’s arms wrapped around his back, her nails skimming the surface of Abraham’s skin, seeking out each taut muscle, feeling the tensile strength and power of her Alpha male.

  Lifting his hips in one mighty thrust, Abraham entered her. Eleanor gasped as she felt his cock push its way into her pussy. Feeling him stretching her to accommodate his length, she lifted her hips to aid his penetration. He felt so good. He filled her like nothing she had imagined could do. Her internal muscles tightened around his thick shaft, and her legs entwined around his hips. Each forceful thrust of his hips pushed his cock deeper into her, the head brushing her G-spot, causing friction that was hard to ignore.

  Abraham groaned as he felt her slick wetness tightening around his cock. She was all woman, eager to please and happy to experiment. Pulling out, he helped her to her knees, and kneeling behind her, he pushed a finger into her pussy. Her juices spilled out onto his hand, the smell of her essence almost making him lose control. One hand on the bottom of her spine, he braced himself and thrust four of his fingers deeper into her pussy. Eleanor cried out, urging him to do it faster. Flicking her clitoris with his thumb, he shoved his fingers in more firmly, working hard to bring her to climax.

  Eleanor, feeling like she was not in possession of her own body, bucked and jerked under his ministrations. Opening her legs wider, she pleaded with him to screw her and screw her now. Then it happened, the first fizzing of electricity, the bubbling of blood, and the exploding lights behind her eyelids, and, squealing in ecstasy, she came, instantly, fast, and furiously.

  Giving her no time to relax, Abraham’s cock took the place of his fingers, and, grunting, he plunged into her pussy as powerfully as he could, each thrust of his hips jerking her body and jiggling her breasts. Finding her G-spot, Abraham rammed home, his rough hands biting into her hips. He held her steady as he bombarded her G-spot with his cock. A guttural cry from him, a tiny mewing from her, and they came together, Abraham’s hot seed spilling deep into Eleanor’s body.

  Chapter Nineteen

  It was daylight when Eleanor next awoke. She gingerly sat up. Every bone in her body ached. Abraham was nowhere to be seen, but she could hear the bustling of people going about their tasks. Getting stiffly to her feet and feeling like she’d been pulled through a hedge backward, she finger-combed her hair as best she could, wishing she could give it a good shampooing. She would give anything to sink into a hot tub of steaming, sweet-smelling water, scrub her body and hair clean, and thoroughly brush her teeth before sitting down to a fantastic breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast, and coffee. Her mouth watered at the thought. However, she would have to be content with a lick and a promise in not-so-clean water and, if she was exceedingly lucky, some trail mix, but as to that she would need to find Abraham. Today they were leaving the clearing and hopefully the rain forest, so she needed to locate her clothes. It was all very well prancing about the village naked except for a few beads, but wading through the jungle and through all the awful creatures that scuttled about there, she would need the protection of something a little more substantial. Needing the loo and a wash, she looked about for the toilet. Not finding one, she realised a little late that the Indians probably went in the jungle. But water! There must be water around somewhere. She began systematically searching each of the pots that were strewn around the floor. About to look in a big pot, she jumped back in surprise, giving a cry of fright. It wasn’t a pot, but the biggest snake she had ever seen. Scuttling backward a few steps, her eyes glued to the reptile, she then stood frozen in terror, her eyes mesmerised at the sight of the snake uncoiling itself and slithering toward her. As it continued to slither nearer, she shook herself from her inertia and started screaming earsplitting cries that rocked the hut.

  Eleanor, startled, started screaming even harder as Abraham exploded into the tent, his hand on his knife ready for whatever had frightened her. But she stopped yelling as quickly as she had started when he began laughing. Eleanor couldn’t believe it. A giant man-eating snake was heading toward her and he was laughing—laughing!

  Launching herself at him, Eleanor began hitting him, her tightly clenched fists landing willy-nilly about his person.

  “Whoa!” Catching hold of her wrists, Abraham shook her slightly, obviously in an attempt to stem the flow of hysterical words that were spilling from her lips.

  “How could you!” she screamed. “How could you laugh at me? Can’t you see it? It’s a snake, and it could have eaten me!”

  “Hardly.” Abraham let go of her wrists and, grinning, turned her to face the snake. “What is this obsession you have about being eaten? Look! It’s one of the children’s pets, and it’s also very useful for keeping the rats down. It’s well fed and so has no interest in you whatsoever.”

  Her breath catching in her throat, Eleanor glared at him.

  “Well, how was I to know?”

  “You could have tried staying ca
lm, come to find me, and tried asking, instead of getting all out of control and hysterical.”

  “Huh! Well if you were a gentleman, you would have woken me, or waited for me to wake up instead of doing a little disappearing act as soon as I was asleep. Men who take advantage of a woman, have sex, and run are no better than they ought to be.”

  Grabbing hold of her arm, Abraham pulled her round to face him, his jaw tight and his face set into a cold, hard mask. He glared at her.

  “Since when have I taken advantage of you, woman? You wanted sex last night and the night before that. You’re one hot lady who thinks with her libido, so don’t go giving me that crap. And as for leaving you, I had actually just left to go get your clothes, but next time you can walk out of the jungle naked for all I care.”

  He bent and picked up the clothes that he had dropped when he ran into the hut. Throwing them at her, he eyed her scathingly, his eyes showing her more than his words that she disgusted him. Then spinning on his heels, he left.

  Dumbfounded, she gazed after him, tears filling her eyes.

  * * * *

  Eleanor was hot. She pulled the damp shirt away from her breasts, and she was wet. Looking up as yet another downpour drenched them, she tiredly placed one foot in front of the other. They had left the Indians’ settlement some three hours ago, and after returning to the clearing where they had first made camp to collect their belongings such as they were, they had begun the final trek out of the rain forest. Abraham had barely spoken to her, and she was desperately sorry that their last day in the jungle was fraught with tension.

  * * * *

  It was nearing midday when they first stopped to rest. Eleanor threw her pack on the floor and thankfully took a swig of water. Looking up as the heavens opened again, she cursed everything. Abraham, the insects, the rain forest, and its goddamn awful weather. It didn’t seem to have stopped raining the entire day.

  Abraham was busy checking his radio. He’d mentioned that they were nearly in range, and that he’d hoped by now to be able to pick up a signal from his recovery team.

  Eleanor, previously questioning him about how he had got to her in such a short time after the crash, had been told that he had parachuted in. Returning, he informed her, would have been made back on foot whether she had been with him or not, and then, at a prearranged spot, his recovery team would have picked him up. Although, he’d had to admit that she had been an unknown factor in his evaluation, and because of that, he’d had to use an alternative, easier route back from the one mapped out. Having a greenhorn tag along also had made a big difference to his estimated time of arrival at the rendezvous point. But he had reassured her that he was of the opinion that his team would wait for at least two weeks before sending out search and rescue teams, and as a fortnight was not yet up, he could guarantee they would still be waiting.

  Abraham indicated that they should be leaving, and resentfully Eleanor swung her pack back on her shoulders. She wished that they weren’t at such odds with each other—all her fault, she supposed. She loved him, and although she finally accepted that he didn’t love her back, she didn’t want to part on bad terms. She had hoped that once they went their separate ways, they would still keep in touch and maybe meet once in a while when she was in the vicinity, for dinner or a movie, but it didn’t look like that was a possibility now.

  The day wore on, and after another couple of drenchings, Eleanor, heartily sick of feeling wet all the time, demanded they stop for a moment so she could at least change her clothes.

  Abraham’s look was sardonic, and she could tell that he was frustrated at the continuing delays, but he gave in to her request, although, rather grudgingly in her opinion. Now thoroughly annoyed with his insensitive attitude, Eleanor rummaged in her pack for a dry if not entirely clean blouse and trousers and marched off to change her clothes behind some trees. A little pointless really, she thought, as he had seen her naked on a number of occasions, but doing something decisive restored some of her dignity and made her feel a little better.

  Abraham sat down on a fallen tree, shouting after her not to go far and to get a wriggle on, as they didn’t have all day for her to pamper herself. He knew he was being intractable and in doing so was getting her back up, but he couldn’t help it. He didn’t want her to think he was softening in his attitude toward her. He couldn’t wait to get back to civilisation and get her off his hands. She was more trouble than she was worth, although he had to admit there had been some pleasant, well, more than pleasant interludes along the way. The times when he’d held her in his arms, the good-natured ribbing, and the nights when she curled up to him like a kitten, but the negatives of hauling her through the jungle had certainly outweighed the positives. She was hard to handle, belligerent, spoiled, and skittish, a magnet for trouble, and he smiled again, more undisciplined than a force of nature. But, he had to admit, he would miss her. Her sweet smile, her warm arms, and her welcoming body. He sighed, glancing at his watch. Where the hell was she now!

  “Eleanor!” he shouted, rising impatiently. “Eleanor! Where the devil are you?”

  Chapter Twenty

  Abraham listened tensely. Eleanor was being remarkably quiet, no squawking or screeching or even the usual swearing. Concerned at her acting so out of character, he caught up his water bottle and machete and strode off the way she had gone. He could clearly see that he was on the right track. Ferns had been broken back, and the undergrowth had been disturbed. She’d ploughed ahead with no thought as to the trail she was leaving. He could hear the rush of water from one of the streams that led to the river, and he uneasily acknowledged that it was probably the river she had headed for. He cursed himself. God! If he should lose her now! With all the rain they had been having, the banks to the river would be unstable and the water wild, which was why he’d given it a wide berth, and it was only now he realised he should have warned her as to its dangers.

  Nearing the rush of water, he stopped and listened. Yes, there it was, a faint cry. Running toward the sound, Abraham closed his mind to what he might find He’d deal with it, whatever it was, when he got there. Arriving at the river’s edge, he looked down. The bank had given way, and there was now about a twelve-foot drop to the rushing torrent.

  “Eleanor!” he shouted, scanning the water.

  “Abraham! Abraham, I’m here. Please help me!”

  Easing forward, Abraham realised. Eleanor had fallen about six feet and was clinging to a root protruding out of the bank.

  “For god’s sake, Eleanor, hang on.”

  “Abraham,” Eleanor whispered, crying in earnest. “Please, I don’t want to die.”

  “You’re not going to die, Eleanor. Just do as I say and hang on.”

  Abraham uncoiled the rope from his belt, tied one end about his waist, and slowly lowered it down to Eleanor.

  “Grab the rope, Eleanor!”

  “I can’t. I can’t reach it. I’m too frightened, Abraham.”

  “Eleanor, dig your toe into the mud to give you support, then let go of the root with one hand and grab the rope.”

  Eleanor, biting her lip until it drew blood, and with tears blurring her vision, forced her toe into the mud and, trembling in fright, reached a shaky hand out for the rope. Her fingers brushed its coarse length, but she felt herself slipping and clutched back at the root. Pressing her brow against the mud, she sobbed.

  “I can’t, Abraham. I’m slipping.”

  “Eleanor, you’ve got to try.” Abraham went silent and then shouted to her again. “Listen, Eleanor—now, take a deep breath and try again.”

  “No! No, I can’t. I can’t, I tell you. Abraham, I’m slipping. I’m slipping!” she screamed as she slipped another couple of inches.

  Abraham moved further away from the bank and untied the rope from his waist.

  “Abraham! Please don’t leave me!”

  Finding a sturdy tree, Abraham wrapped the rope around its trunk and tied a secure knot. Catching up its length, he pulled the l
ine with all his weight behind him. It held.

  “Abraham! Please, Abraham!”

  Returning to the bank, Abraham looked down into Eleanor’s terror-filled eyes.

  “I’m here, Eleanor. Now I’m going to come down and get you. I want you to hang on as tight as you can to that root and dig your toes in deep. So just hold on.”

  “But, Abraham, you’ll fall. Please don’t do it. You’re too heavy, and the rope will break.”

  Ignoring her, Abraham gingerly lowered himself over the edge, the toes of his boots finding purchase in the wet mud.

  Concentrating on getting to Eleanor, he closed his mind to her sobs and pleas to leave her and save himself and continued to slowly work his way down to her. Finally, after a few nerve-racking minutes, he drew level. Putting an arm around her waist, he drew her to his side.

  “Eleanor, listen to me!” he ordered above her cries. “Now, one hand at a time. First, place one of your arms around my neck, still holding onto the root with the other hand.”

  Tremulously, she did as bidden.

  Abraham’s arm around her waist tightened. “Eleanor, I want you to let go of the root. Don’t worry. I’ve got you. Once you’ve done that, quickly put your other arm around my neck and clasp your hands together.”

  Her gaze locking with Abraham’s, Eleanor did as ordered. They swung perilously away from the bank, Abraham’s strong arms holding Eleanor tightly about her waist and Eleanor’s arms becoming a stranglehold around his neck.

  “Lift your legs, Eleanor, and wrap them around my waist.”