by J. C. Cliff
“Fucking hell,” I exhale in stark relief. I think I just gave myself heart damage. I sit down on my bed with a heavy plop as I run my fingers through my hair. My pulse is still pounding in my ears. It’s the most awful fucking sound I’ve ever heard. Their rant is still going strong, howling at fuck-knows-what through the jungle. I blow out a huge breath of air, trying to calm my racing heart.
Valerie starts to giggle, and then it turns into a full-on laugh, and as much as I find her response irritating, I realize it’s the first time I’ve heard her really laugh since we’ve been together. It’s a fucking beautiful sound.
My lips quirk in amusement. “You finding something funny?” I ask in a warning tone.
“Uh-uh.” She shakes her head, hiding that beautiful smile behind her fingers. “What did you think you were reaching for in your backpack, huh? A stick of deodorant?” she teases.
I tense for a moment. She has no idea I’ve got weapons on me. I play it off with a sheepish grin and shrug as I run my hand behind my neck. “Yeah, I guess so. Military days are still ingrained in me.”
She laughs holding her belly, her eyes full of mirth. I tilt my head to the side and raise a brow. “You could’ve warned me last night, you know.”
“But why? This was far more fun.”
“You want to know what’s more fun, sweetheart?”
She slowly shakes her head, backing away from me as I advance on her, fully intending on seeing if she still has the same tickle spots from so long ago.
I’m quick as lightening as I bolt forward and grab Valerie around the waist. She lets out an ear-piercing squeal, but it’s shadowed by the monkey’s yammering. I force her back onto her bed and straddle her thighs while securing her wrists above her head.
“Stryker!” she screams out, with laughter mixed with a hint of panic.
“What’s the matter, babe?” I smile down on her. “Payback for not warning me will be far more entertaining.” As I hold her wrists with one hand, I start creeping my other hand down the side of her torso. She squirms and squeals underneath me, knowing exactly what’s coming her way.
I dig my fingers underneath her ribcage, unleashing a relentless torment that has her screaming until she can’t even utter a sound. She throws her head back, her face totally flushed as she fights to claim a breath. Once I feel she’s had enough torture, I ease up, but still hold her captive. Her chest rises and falls with heavily, her laughter then dissolving into light chuckles.
“Phew…” she drawls out the word, her eyes full of humor. I’m grinning at her like a love-struck fool, but I don’t care. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry. Please, I can’t take anymore,” she pleads. She looks so good in laughter. In fact, too good.
I lean down, resting my chest over hers, and immediately, I can feel the chemistry snaking its way into my veins. We stare at each other, both of us going quiet, and then her smile fades, her eyes taking on something akin to hunger. She slowly but innocently licks her lips, which serves to torture me. I imitate her, and when I do, her eyes flick to my mouth. There is nothing but want and desire rolling off her body. I can feel it.
“Stryker?” she whispers.
“Yeah?” I choke out.
“What are we doing?” she asks. I know immediately by her question she’s not ready for me, and the last thing I want is regrets on either side. I know Quinn said to get close to these women at all costs, but I have a feeling if I cross this line too early it will only divide us. She has to want me, and I want to hear her say it. I want her to instigate it, because I’ll be damned if she will ever feel any pressure from me.
“We are goofing off, beautiful,” I tell her, as I let her wrists go then back away. I stand up and hold out my hand, adding, “Time for breakfast, and then we’re off to save a small part of the world.”
CHAPTER 23
~ Stryker ~
The locals came in early to make our camp breakfast. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t a clean menu of fruits, oatmeal, toast, and eggs. There were no southern biscuits with gravy over top, nor sausage sitting in grease. Even though it was a very basic meal, it was really good. I am not a junk food eater, so I was relieved to know I wasn’t going to wreck my diet for a week. I know that sounds girly, but in order for me to keep my physique and stay in shape, I can’t eat crap meals, especially one after another.
All of the guys and I have always stayed in top condition, mainly to be at our optimum performance level while undercover. It just so happens one of the fringe benefits of doing so has many women flocking to our muscled bodies. Unfortunately for me, I seem to have always attracted the wrong women like a damn magnet.
Valerie and I basically went our separate ways this morning, each of us barely speaking a word after the awkward moment.
“Stryker,” Jose, one of the resident doctors, calls out to me, getting ready to board the bus. “You ready?”
“Yeah, just need to fill my water bottle, and I’m good to go,” I yell back over my shoulder. We’ve got about an hour ride to the clinic, but I want to make sure I’ve got plenty of water. It’s humid already, and the last thing I need is to get dehydrated.
After I fill my water bottle and climb aboard the bus, I take note that Celia and Valerie are sitting together. I see the way Celia eyes me, and it’s not very friendly. I almost want to laugh. For whatever reason, it’s evident Celia didn’t like Valerie talking to me yesterday on the bus. I find an empty bench about five rows back and sit down.
I sling my heavy backpack off my shoulders then lay it on the seat closest to the window. It’s so large it won’t slip between the seats, and it would be too tight of a fit if I needed quick access. This backpack is basically my bug-out bag/survival gear, along with the weaponry and bullets Hunter slipped to me last night.
A few more stragglers board the bus, one of them being Hunter. He sits a couple of rows ahead of me on purpose, and I can’t help but notice the exchanged looks between him and Celia. I can feel the grin spreading across my face; he’s a fucking smooth operator, that one. I’ve always loved harassing him, telling him I’m the one who taught him everything he knows when it comes to picking up women.
I smile even wider when Celia gets up to leave her friend in the dust. I watch in amusement as she flirts with Hunter then slips her lithe body into the empty seat beside him without asking. I glance over at Valerie, who is now left alone and blatantly shaking her head at her friend, who ditched her for a man. Already knowing Celia’s tastes, I’d bet a hundred bucks they’ll be sharing the same bed all week long.
I unscrew the cap on my water bottle and take a sip, fucking giddy it’s not me in Hunter’s shoes. Of course, he’s probably thinking the same about me and my situation. As I screw the cap back on, I turn to the side to slip the bottle into the side mesh of my pack, and when I sit back, I’m surprised to see Valerie standing at my side. She’s wringing her hands together, not sure if she should be in my space or not.
“Morning, beautiful,” I say with a broad smile.
A light blush hits her high cheekbones. “Hey,” she softly replies, “mind if I sit with you?”
“Nope, not at all.” I scoot over, away from my pack, giving her room to cross over my lap so she can sit closest to the window. That’s my excuse anyway. As she works her sexy body over mine, I almost groan. I have to resist the urge to pull her into my lap. For some reason, it has me recalling the day she tried to get herself off while calling out my name but couldn’t. I smile again, knowing I’m better than any toy out there.
“What’s that smile for?” she asks, narrowing her eyes skeptically.
I shake my head, trying to get my mind out of the gutter, my lips suppressing a grin. “Nothing, sweetheart. How’d you sleep last night?”
“Pretty good. It’s always an adjustment for me to be without air-conditioning. You?
“I was pretty beat. I figure I got a solid six hours of sleep,” I tell her. And despite sleeping on a twin bed with Valerie, I did sleep
pretty hard. I’m thankful for having a couple guards on night watch. I jerk my chin, pointing a few seats forward, and add, “Looks like your friend found a new companion.”
“That’s Celia for you.” She lets out a disappointed sigh, shaking her head. “By the way she’s acting, you’d think she’d jump on anything that has two legs and moves.” Valerie bites her lower lip, embarrassed with the knowledge that we both know how her friend likes to get off from the hands of certain men at the Local Edge.
With her hair being pulled back in a ponytail, I can see the second the tips of her ears turn beet red. What the hell? I may as well go for broke, see just how far I can make that blush spread. “What about you?” I ask, while arching a brow. “Did you like our little encounter last Saturday night?”
“Stryker.” She rolls her eyes at me then looks away, staring out the window as if she’s bored. She’s anything but, and I’ve accomplished my mission. Her entire neck is now flushed, spreading down past the V-neck of her scrub top.
I decide to go in for the kill, so I lean over, allowing our thighs and shoulders to touch, and nip the shell of her ear, whispering, “You did like it, didn’t you? You can’t deny the fact I turned you on.” I flick my eyes to her bare arms and watch as goose bumps begin to erupt, satisfied even more when they spread over her exposed skin. Encouraged, I run my tongue over her earlobe, and with a deep, husky voice, I add, “Because I’d like to be the next toy that gets to satisfy you, Val, and I promise I don’t run out of battery power at the most crucial moment.”
Her clean shower scent, combined with her coyness, and imagining my cock deep inside her, has my plan backfiring. I’m starting to grow hard.
Glancing at me out of the corner of her eye, she responds with a shaky voice, “What makes you think there’s ever going to be a next time?”
I run two of my fingertips down the length of her smooth neck, feeling for her fluttering pulse, loving how she shivers at my touch.
“The look in your eyes tells me I’m affecting you, but this right here,” I say, pressing my fingers against the fast thumping of her heartbeat, “is a dead giveaway.” A smirk spreads over my lips as I lean in closer.
“Stryker,” she murmurs with uncertainty, most likely not ready for a heated kiss, but she will be very soon.
I search her eyes, and say with certainty, “There will be a next time, because you can’t deny me.” Despite our volatile past, I can see her body wants a next time. My lips hover over hers in challenge, her breathing turning ragged. When she doesn’t push me away, I rasp, “Oh, yeah. There’s definitely going to be a next time, sweetheart. You never worked me out of your system.”
“Seriously?” She angrily shoves at my chest, trying to push me away, denying the truth. “You’re being an arrogant pig.” I grin with satisfaction, knowing it’ll just be a matter of time before she caves. “I hate you.”
“We’ve already established those facts, and I may be arrogant, but I’m right.”
“This was a mistake,” she mumbles, irritated. She makes a move to get up and leave, but I pull her back down into her seat by her arm, forcing her to stay.
“Too many coincidences, Val. Don’t you think?” My voice suddenly turns hard and serious. “We don’t run into each other for over six years straight. Yet now, we’ve seen each other three times within the past five days. These aren’t little grocery store run-ins. There’s no mistaking destiny.”
“I happen to think it’s karma for something I’ve done,” she grumbles with sarcasm. I can’t help but see the irony in her response, and I wind up chuckling out loud, because I find it rather funny. That’s precisely why I’m here, to see if she’s involved with something devious, and if indeed karma is due.
“You can’t deny fate. You can chalk running into you at the Local Edge a coincidence, but the fact we’re both involved with the exact same mission trip while not knowing the other’s plans,” I tell her shaking my head, “highly unlikely. Not to mention you starting a job where my sister lives. It just brings the reality home. If that’s not predestined shit right there, I don’t know what is.” I take a moment’s pause, trying to decide whether or not to take a last jab, and then figure what the hell. “It also appears we’re quite compatible, sharing the same sexual preferences for kink. Wouldn’t you say?”
“Oh my gosh! You really have no boundaries, do you?” she huffs angrily, crossing her arms. “I’m never going to be able to bury that night.”
“Nope. Not as long as I’m alive.”
A look of worry suddenly crosses her face. “Stryker, please… don’t tell anyone.”
“Don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me,” I assure her, while wearing a wicked smirk. I know I’m a bastard, but I’m having fun goading her.
She looks at me as if she’s not sure she can trust me, and then out of nowhere, her eyes start to water. Dammit. What’s up with the rollercoaster emotions? “I think this was a mistake. I’m sorry.”
I growl in frustration then grab her hand to reassure her again. “I’m serious, okay? I won’t say a word.” She nods her head, and I can only imagine she’s going insane from all the mixed messages I’m giving her. One minute, I want her naked and underneath me, and the next, I want to strike her down. Hurt her the way she did me. “Do me a favor, will you?”
“What?” she asks nervously.
“Stop with the ‘this was a mistake’ bullshit. I’m over it. I am serious about that. I’m sick of hearing it as a threat or your way out of something.”
She takes a minute to digest my stern voice and realizes I’m not playing around. “I’m sorry, Stryker. You’re right. I won’t say that again. You were a gentleman all last night, and I know we need to find a way to get along. My state of mind is too fragile to deal with any conflict, and at the first sign of it, I want to escape.” She twists her body to face me more directly, and adds, “But part of the problem is that I don’t know where your head's at half the time and it scares me.” She dabs the corner of her eye with her finger, and I feel like an ass.
I squeeze her hand and look into her eyes. “We’ll find some mojo, I promise. This is new for me too, but the last thing I want is for us to not try.”
“Mojo?” Her lips quirk and her brows pull together.
“Yeah, you know? Mojo. We’ll fall into an amicable pattern of sorts, and soon it’ll be second nature for us to get along. Sound good?”
She nods her head, then meekly says, “I’d like that.”
I give her a soft smile then pull her into an embrace. I whisper over her head, “I’d like that too. More than you know.”
I hadn’t realized how much bitterness I still held on the inside over our past until this very moment. I’ve been in denial all along, telling myself I had myself under control, when I didn’t. I think as long as we’re forced to be together, our unresolved past is eventually going to come to a head. At that point, we’ll no longer be able to simply brush shit under the rug anymore and ignore the obvious. We’ll have to dredge up and confront the dirty truths that have been buried for years, and I venture to say that when we do, it’s going to be ugly—very ugly.
CHAPTER 24
~ Valerie ~
“Wake up, beautiful,” a husky voice whispers in my ear. I open my eyes to find Stryker inches from my face, smiling that pretty-boy smile that sends flutters of desire low in my stomach. I also realize, in my sleepy haze, I’m looking at him upside down. For a moment, I struggle just to get my bearings as to where I’m at and how I wound up in this position. Stryker skims his thumb across my wrinkled forehead, trying to smooth out my skin.
I stretch my arms above my head and arch my back while releasing a satisfying yawn. Stryker’s chest rumbles with a low groan, which stirs me awake even more. I then become fully aware of the fact I just pushed my breasts upward and into his stomach muscles while giving him a show. It registers that I’d fallen asleep on him. I don’t remember having curled up on the bench seat and using Stryker’s lap
as a pillow.
His crotch comes into focus, and my eyes bug out, my lips mere inches from his male part—blatantly growing male part, I might add. I swallow hard, fixated on the bulge pressing against his camo pants. Unconsciously licking my lips out of nervousness, he lets out a tight hiss from above. My eyes flick upward only to collide with heated and conflicted eyes. He’s been watching my every move with keen awareness.
I bolt upright, needing to scramble away from his sexually charged body. The quick movement makes my head spin, and Stryker is all too quick to ground me by wrapping his arms around me. “Whoa there, sweetheart. Not so fast.” He pulls me back against his hard body and cradles my head between the crook of his arm and his chest. “Just lay back down for a minute and relax, okay? You can’t get off the bus this second anyway. Everyone else is blocking the aisle ahead of us.” Against my better judgment, I relax into him.
“Sorry,” I mumble, embarrassed. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you.”
“You must’ve needed the extra sleep.” He tilts his head to the side, studying me as the morning sun illuminates those green, brown-flecked, and blue-rimmed eyes of his just so. It causes my heart to skip a beat. His animal magnetism is going to be the death of me. I just know it.
“I haven’t been sleeping well for the past few nights, but you’d think as hard as I slept last night, I would’ve been all caught up.” Actually, I refuse to let him know that I haven’t slept so soundly—short of with sleeping aids—in months, as I did with him last night.
“It’s not a problem,” he says softly, then cups my cheek with his left hand. “You’re so beautiful, you know that? And when you sleep, you look so peaceful. It’s kind of a nice thing to watch.” He leans in, wearing a grin. “Because when you’re awake, you can be a tad scary.”
A heated blush creeps into the apples of my cheeks, but I shake my head in disagreement. “I put on ten-seconds’ worth of makeup this morning, Stryker. How can you say that?” Having to be in his presence and not being able to look my best had me very self-conscious at first, but then I remembered everything he put me through in the past, and suddenly I didn’t care what I looked like.
