Heated Pursuit

by April Hunt

  “I can’t stand the thought of him touching you…not even a strand of fucking hair,” Rafe growled softly against her lips. Throat convulsing in hard swallows, he pulled back and studied her carefully as his hands continued their soft, caressing journey over her body. “Please tell me he didn’t—”

  “I’m okay, Rafe. Promise. But…”

  “But?” His worried gaze snapped to hers.

  “If you’re worried about my fragile sensibilities, why don’t you take me back to our room and help me shower off all this sun block? It’s probably going to take a few good rounds—at least two if not more. I’m a redhead after all. I put on a lot.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  A freaking compass had nothing on Rafe’s gut. It always instructed him on which way to go, whether he needed to fight or lay low. Right now, it screamed that this mission had turned into a level of FUBAR that a truckload of fucking pixie dust couldn’t fix. Fucked up beyond all recognition. He needed to get Penny the hell out of this damn jungle. The sooner, the better.

  Anyone could tell that the junior Fuentes was a branch off the sick-bastard family tree, and Rafe didn’t want the sick fuck anywhere near Penny when the entire tree snapped in half and came crashing the hell down.

  He needed quiet. He needed to think. And the sight of Penny biting her lip raw the second they walked into their room told him he also needed to calm his shit down. It was easier said than done, something that had never been an issue until she kicked him in the balls that first time. Now, it took all his focus and then some to keep his head on the grand finale.

  The second he blurted out his plan, Penny stopped biting her lip and gaped at him. “You’re insane.”

  “It’s what we need to do,” he clarified. “It’s time.”

  “Aren’t you the one who said we have to think about every single move we make? You’re not thinking about this, Rafe. You’re reacting.”

  “Damn fucking straight I am, Red,” he growled out.

  He closed the distance between them, already knowing he couldn’t be this close and not touch her. His hands slid over her hips and brought her flush against his body. Like a slow-moving storm, the wariness in her eyes turned to arousal. Every breath she took brushed her breasts against his chest.

  With her warmth saturating his body, he felt as though he could do anything. “There is no way in hell we’re staying here a moment longer, not if it jeopardizes your safety.” He silenced her opening mouth with a finger. “No. Way. It’s non-negotiable, Red.”

  “He doesn’t recognize me.”

  “Yeah, and how long is that going to last?”

  “What if you get caught? And I’m not talking about what Fuentes would do to us. But what would happen to all those other women…Carlotta…Rachel. If we disappear off the face of the planet, who’s going to fight for them?”

  He gently trapped her face between the palms of his hands. “Nothing’s going to happen to us. And on the far, far-off chance we can’t make it to Rachel, the team will. Alpha doesn’t stop until we get the job done.”

  “Rachel isn’t your job; Fuentes is.”

  Fuck it all. He hated seeing the doubt on her face. The lack of trust hurt a hell of a lot more than he anticipated. Ducking to eye level, he forced her gaze to meet his.

  “Rachel is our top priority,” he stated adamantly. “And you’re mine.”

  Rafe could see in her eyes that she didn’t believe it, not entirely. If the great Admiral Kline wasn’t already gone, Rafe would be on the asshole’s front steps with a specially delivered package—his fist. Because of her father, Penny saw herself differently than Rafe did. Knowing he couldn’t stand her in front of a mirror and point out each and every one of her kick-ass qualities frustrated him to hell and back.

  “We’ll get to Rachel,” Rafe heard himself promise. “And we won’t get caught.”

  “You’re not a freaking superhero, Rafe. What if the power never goes out? Have you thought about that? No doubt Fuentes has this entire compound outfitted with surveillance, and if they don’t catch you in the act, what about the dozens of armed guards? Despite that hard body of yours, I doubt it’s bulletproof.”

  He took her mouth in a fierce kiss. “It’ll work.”

  And it wasn’t entirely because he knew his job and did it well. It was because there was no way in hell he’d put her into the position of having to fend for herself. Penny may not need it. Or want it. But she had his protection, and he couldn’t provide it if he was dead.

  * * *

  After Rafe accompanied Fuentes on a hunting expedition later in the day, the hours had trudged by as slow as molasses. Now that they were back and the sun was close to sinking behind the tree line, time zipped by way too fast for her jagged nerves.

  When she botched a sixth attempt at a pedicure, she couldn’t take it anymore. She slipped into the steam-filled bathroom and ogled the nude outline of Rafe’s body.

  Water rolled down his broad shoulders, landing in large splats as they fell off his tall frame. He hummed an unfamiliar tune as he scrubbed himself from head to toe, working up a lather and increasing the smell of spice and pine that started permeating the small space.

  He hadn’t seen her yet.

  Before thinking about it too much, Penny shed her clothes and slid back the door. The man was built like a god, a slightly roughened god with long-ago-healed battle wounds. And the naughty smirk on his face as he turned toward her, cock in hand, told her that he was a very observant one, too.

  “About damn time you decided to join me.”

  * * *

  Rafe tugged Penny close, swallowing her soft squeal with his mouth.

  When he’d stepped into the shower, he’d pictured a scene close to this and thoughts of her watching him had instantly brought him to half-mast. After realizing his daydream had come to life and the woman herself stood on the other side of the shower door, there hadn’t been anything half-mast about his cock.

  “This is going to be quick, Red. I don’t think I have it in me to do anything else.” He dragged his mouth down her neck, tweaking one rosebud nipple with one hand while laving the other with his tongue. A hand slipped into his hair, giving it a smarting tug that made his dick jump.

  He chuckled against her breast, loving the way she let him know that she wasn’t quite done with his exploration just yet. That was fine with him. He took his time tasting, touching, tugging. When she was a quivering mess in his arms and he was about to explode, he turned her around and gently pressed her cheek-first into the cold tile.

  Her heavy breaths matched his own as he slipped his hand between her legs, pushing first one finger into her dripping pussy and then a second. “Jesus. You’re so wet and ready.”

  “Rafe,” she panted heavily. “Oh God. Now.”

  Yes, now. Rafe couldn’t take too much more. He twisted his fingers, curving them until they hit her sweet spot. In and out, he pistoned his hand, giving an occasional caress to her enlarged clit. He kissed and nibbled the back of her neck, his days’ worth of stubble abrading her sensitive skin. And he loved it. He loved seeing and feeling the affect he had on her—each breath, each pant, each faint moan spurred him further.

  “Rafe,” Penny’s husky voice groaned when, after three more thrusts, she came undone on his hand. Not letting her ride it out completely, he flung the shower door open and quickly grabbed a foil packet from his bag. He’d barely turned around when Penny tore the package from his fingers and glided the condom onto his thickened cock.

  “I need to be inside you,” Rafe warned. “Right the fuck now.”

  “Trust me—that’s what I’m working toward.” She grinned in response to his low growl.

  Penny wrapped her legs around his waist. Pinning their hips against the wall, he thrust into her body as if their lives depended on it. There was no soft coupling. No holding back. He pounded her until it felt as if their bodies were joined as one solid form.

  Her fingers clutched his shoulders. Head t
hrown back and looking fucking beautiful, she bucked into the movements that brought them closer. He fisted a hand into her damp hair, gently demanding her attention. “Eyes on me, Red. Don’t take them off for one damn second.”

  “Rafe.”

  “With me, baby. Right now.”

  Her body began to pulse around him, dragging a groan from his lips and moving his hips even faster, and all the while, her gaze remained locked firmly on his. They came together, her pussy milking him in tandem with each one of his strong throbs. Intense. All consuming. And mind-numbing. Even when the last of the trembles subsided and he’d emptied himself into the condom, Rafe wanted to do it again. Christ, he never wanted to stop.

  His watch beeped out a reminder. Sunset.

  “Fuck,” Rafe cursed, dropping his forehead to hers as arousal slowly turned to wariness. Penny unraveled her legs from around his waist and slid her slick body down his.

  He didn’t need to tell her what that alarm meant. He kissed her again, this time savoring the tangle of their tongues until his head began backstroking through an oxygen-deprived fog.

  They dried and redressed in strained silence. The pensive look on her face nearly stripped him raw. Before she fully shut him out, he dragged her back into his arms for another hot melding of mouths.

  “You better be really damned careful,” Penny whispered against his lips.

  “Always,” Rafe promised.

  And then the lights went out.

  * * *

  Penny paced the room, keeping track of time by the shortening of a candlewick. On each pass, nerves ate more of her stomach lining. Rafe had been gone far too long. Maybe he hadn’t cut off the power to the security system like he thought. Maybe after one step off the path, the place lit up like a prison yard. Every single maybe scenario attacked her thoughts so brutally that when the knock on the door came, she let out a faint squeak.

  “Who is it?” she called through the door.

  “Señorita Hanlan.” Marco’s voice chafed her nerves like knees on asphalt. “We’re checking to make certain you and Señor Manuel are muy bien.”

  And still locked away in your rooms was the half of the sentence he didn’t say aloud. “We’re perfectly fine. Thank you.”

  “Por favor, señorita. Please. I insist you open the door.” Two heartbeats passed before he added, “Now.”

  She forced her face neutral as she tugged open the door. For all the chills his gaze elicited—and not the good ones—she may as well have been wearing the dental-floss bikini instead of a tank top and shorts.

  “As you can see, I’m fine.” She let her voice drip with cool annoyance.

  “Very fine indeed, señorita.” His overt attention slid over her shoulder and into the darkened room. “You’re alone.”

  “Well, yeah. When the lights didn’t come back on, Rafael went looking for someone to find out what happened. Do you know when they’re going to come back on? Because I was in the middle of giving myself a pedicure. As it is, I’m probably going to have to start the whole thing over again.”

  “It’ll be just a matter of time.”

  “The sooner, the better.”

  Marco’s eyes took a lazy stroll toward her cleavage before finally looking her square in the face. Seconds felt like hours as she held her breath. He narrowed his eyes, gave her another head-to-toe scan, then nodded. “Good night, señorita.”

  Penny didn’t wait to hear anything else. She closed the door, using it as a crutch to keep herself on her feet. Her heart hammered as she counted to ten and then pushed her ear to the door.

  “Raúl!” Marco’s voice barked.

  “Sir.”

  “Find that bastard Rafael and bring him to me.”

  “And your uncle?” Raúl asked. “What would you like me to do with him?”

  “He stays where he is for the time being, as does the girl. Once I give her boyfriend a lesson about interfering in Fuentes business, I’ll see to her myself.” Marco’s voice lost all pretense of civility. It was the same tone from the alley, harsh and cruel. “No one makes a fool of me—especially some street-rat puta. Oh, and Raúl? I don’t really give a fuck what kind of shape Rafael is in when you haul him back. If it suits your needs, drag him in piece by piece and stuffed in a fucking barrel.”

  Penny’s heart rate skyrocketed, and not because he called her a whore, or even because he appeared to recognize her from the alley after all. It was the fear of them getting to Rafe that made her feet move faster than she thought herself capable.

  The shit had officially hit the rotating ceiling fan.

  With one hard yank, she flipped open their suitcase. On packing, she’d made fun of Logan for slipping a mini-sized bug-out bag into the inside flap. As she shoved the meager clutch into her front pocket and silently shimmied out the patio door, she was no longer laughing.

  * * *

  Penny’s gut and Carlotta’s ramblings had been right on the money. About a half mile off the compound’s boundary, Rafe stumbled onto the bunker. But the inch of dust and cluttered debris hinted that it hadn’t been used in a damn long time.

  With every step, broken vials crunched beneath his feet. Trash and paper littered the floor, and empty cots were pushed up against each wall, making an eerie aisle toward a purged medicine cabinet. It was a ghost clinic, and as disturbing as it was in its own right, it was nothing compared to the four sets of steel cuffs that adorned each of the twelve beds.

  Sick fucking bastards.

  Praising his luck that Penny hadn’t been with him to see the evidence of Fuentes’s warped disposition, Rafe stepped out of the bunker, no sooner covering the vines back over the front door, when the sound of voices drifted through the trees. He flicked off his Maglite and pushed his back flat against a rock.

  Two of Diego’s men stalked through the jungle, guns raised as they bitched about the rich American bastard they’d been ordered to haul in at the barrel of a gun—or in pieces. It didn’t take much to figure out that he was the bastard in question.

  Too bad for those men that he had no intention of going along with either plan.

  But if Fuentes sent his goons looking for him, he worried what they’d already done to Penny. Anger burned a gaping hole through his chest at the thought of anyone touching a hair on her head. Anyone who did would meet an untimely—and painful—end. Hell, he’d take a page out of their own twisted torture handbook and bring them back to Fuentes in the form of a jigsaw puzzle.

  He needed to get back to her, and may the devil help the bastards who got in his way.

  Footsteps circled the perimeter. The men bitched, their voices slowly fading as they distanced themselves from Rafe’s hiding niche. He anxiously waited for his opening and, when he saw it, dropped low and took his first step toward the mansion.

  A second set of footsteps froze him to the spot.

  Much lighter than the heavy footfalls from the security staff, this one was buoyant and quick. As if speed were a matter of life and death.

  Penny.

  Crouched, he moved slow, listening and judging, tracking her route. More than once, she came within close proximity of Diego’s men and had to bunker down into the brush. Rafe used the faint trace of vanilla shampoo to guide him to the imprint trail her tennis shoes left behind.

  In a matter of minutes, he found her half-hidden in a cluster of drooping vines as she watched Fuentes’s brood less than ten feet away.

  Careful not to make a noise, he slipped one hand over her mouth. Her body arched, prepped to fight him off before he murmured in her ear, “It’s me.”

  Instantly, her body melted into his hold.

  Six feet away, one of Diego’s men stopped. Rafe reflexively pulled Penny closer as the man’s gaze passed directly where they were crouched, hidden. Her back to his front, they waited until the guard drifted out of sight before breathing a sigh of relief. And then Rafe’s body used that moment to physically express how happy it was to have her safe in his arms.

  “S
eriously, Rafe?” she whispered, obviously having felt the bulge of his erection tucked against her ass.

  “Like a man can help it around you.”

  “He can if he has even one functioning brain cell. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re up the jungle creek without a tour guide.”

  “I noticed, but a Penny-induced erection takes more precedence.” Rafe could practically hear the roll of her eyes. “I’m guessing there’s no going back to get our luggage,” he joked dryly. “What happened?”

  “What happened was that I’m pretty sure Diego’s clone recognized me from the alley, and you he just doesn’t like. What are we going to do?”

  “There’s only one thing for us to do.” Like the snap of a finger, the compound lit up like the Vegas Strip. So much for the cover of darkness. “Fuck.”

  “Rafe.” Eyes wide, Penny looked to him for directions.

  “Let’s go.” He grabbed her hand, bursting through the cover of vines at Mach speed. He ran, dodging trees and limbs while Penny held on and followed like a track star. A moving target was a harder target, or so he hoped.

  Nearby shouts echoed through the jungle and urged them to go faster. On their left, a faint beam of moonlight flashed off the barrel of a rifle. Their options deteriorated by the second. He gave Penny a small shove forward and directed her north. “You gotta run for it.”

  “What? No!” Her eyes widened into bright green orbs. She latched back onto his hand and tugged. “I’m not going out there without you!”

  “The hell you won’t! Go!” A bullet whizzed past his ear, cutting off his harsh demand. Goddamned mother-suckin’—

  A guard popped out from behind a tree like a twisted version of a jack-in-the-box. Penny ducked, allowing Rafe’s fist to smash into his nose with a sickening crunch. It went steadily downhill. They needed to get the hell out of there. Yesterday.

  One man turned into two, two into three. Rafe landed an elbow strike in one assailant’s throat that was immediately followed by a quick disarming kick to his friend’s left flank. And frustratingly, Penny’s feet remained planted two feet away as she dealt with her own opponent.