Jenna loved being vindicated. Josh probably did, too, even though it made a bunch of extra work to get dinner prepared.
After dinner, and once group Red finished cleaning up, everyone gathered around a central fire. Team Red was tired, having so much unwanted activity during the day, and not caring to discuss work. Without anything else to do, or possibly thanks to the lack of light in which to do it, the team hung around the outskirts, biding their time until it was late enough to go to bed. The other teams talked about the things they had seen, what they found interesting, and a little about their lives. It was boring stuff.
After listening to the retelling of the catbird sighting, Jenna decided she’d had enough. Since Erika was partaking in the wine, and wanted to stay up longer, Jenna thought she might get in some alone time. She had a sexual frustration issue to work out.
“Feet.”
Jenna started, suddenly noticing Josh standing next to her with his blue bag in hand.
She looked across the fire to where he’d been sitting a moment ago with the other guides. Karen had been trying to scoot closer. His spot was empty, and Karen’s scowl was pronounced.
“I was about to go to bed…”
“I’ll escort you and do—uh, doctor your feet there.”
Jenna nodded, a thrill going through her, her core heating up. She struggled to get up, and allowed Josh’s firm grip on her upper arm to hoist her. She muttered a thank-you as they walked to the tent. Once there, Jenna sat halfway inside, feet out. Josh sat, pulled her feet onto his lap, and gently took off her shoes.
“Why aren’t you promoted above Karen?” Jenna asked. “You clearly know more, and are a better leader than she is.”
“I’m not after the responsibility. I’m just looking for a way to stay in the woods for weeks at a time. This job allows me to do that.”
“But the money can’t be all that great.”
“I’m not looking for a fortune. I am looking for a retreat.”
“Dealing with her is a retreat?”
Josh put her boot to one side. “Today was…unusual. She’s normally pretty pliant. Usually I only see her in the morning and evening, and then only in a work capacity.”
“Huh. You don’t seem like a guy that likes pliant.”
Josh’s head snapped up. His eyes, shadows with only a hint of illumination, bored into hers. Finally, after a lengthy stare-down, he quietly said, “No. Not usually.”
“Was I supposed to turn to stone just then?” Jenna asked with a laugh.
He didn’t answer.
Once the second boot was off, she felt his fingers delicately dancing across her feet, applying ointment and fresh dressings as needed. She wanted to feel his touch higher, on her thighs. On her body.
Without intending to, eyes closed, she reached down and captured his large hands, taking them from their ministrations. As if moving through molasses, she brought them closer, up her legs, to her hips. She slid her hands up those powerful arms to his giant shoulders, too big to force. She didn’t have to, though. He was putty.
She felt his face, traced his strong jaw with its raven stubble. “Kiss me, Josh,” she said softly.
“I shouldn’t.”
Jenna opened her eyes. His face was close, his body leaning over hers. In the darkness she could barely make out the conflict in his features, smoldering desire overlaid by wariness.
Yesterday she’d been brazen, masking her vulnerability with attitude. But now she was putting herself at his mercy, showing her desire. Her honesty.
Met with rejection.
Jenna immediately backed off. “Okay.”
“It’s just—”
She traced his bottom lip lightly, feeling the dance of electricity in her fingertips, stilling the movement under her touch. “I said s’okay,” she whispered.
Josh looked at her for a long time, at her lips, at her throat, at her breasts. He leaned forward slightly. Then, with a force of will that was plain to see, he pulled back—rejection at its clearest. “Sorry.”
Emotion welled up in Jenna’s chest as she watched him turn away. She hadn’t been this exposed in a long time.
She swallowed it down. It wasn’t anyone’s business but her own. “No problem. I need to hit the hay anyway. See you tomorrow.”
Just like that, he was gone. Was he headed back to Karen? Or were neither of them good enough?
After she had slipped into her sleeping bag, she stared up at the tent in near darkness. Eventually the glow of the fire dimmed and the murmurs quieted. Erika came in and fell over her, muttering a drunken apology. Everything stilled, like a merry-go-round coming to a halt.
Still she stared, thinking about Josh’s touch. About the smile that he hated to show, and wondering why he hated people noticing him. The image of him turning away from her flashed through her vision. Eventually she gave up on sleep and left the tent.
The night welcomed her with a cool, dry embrace. She moved quietly on sore feet, trying not to wake the sleeping guardian. She made it as far as the tree line and started looking for a log or something to sit on, but paused. If there were predators out here, she wanted to at least be able to see them coming so she could raise the alarm.
It wasn’t until she turned to head toward the dying fire that she felt eyes on her. A shot of adrenaline coursed through her body.
Maybe the predators were already here…
Knowing better than to run, or even move, she licked her lips and closed her eyes, feeling for danger with her sixth sense. Something pulled her left, the presence practically pulsing in the darkness.
Moonlight fell in a soft glow across the bumpy ground and matted weeds. Long, twisted shadows wound around the patches of light, pooling black along the tree line and beyond.
She stared into the deepest, darkest area, figuring that whatever it was, it waited in there. After a moment of intense concentration, she didn’t see any glowing eyes. But there was no movement, either. If it was Dale, there would’ve at least been a flicker of movement.
Thinking maybe she was wrong, she started walking to the fire again. That lasted for two footsteps before the tingling between her shoulders blades intensified. Eyes, it must be. That, and the deep certainty that danger lurked, had her stopping again, staring into that sea of black. She was a woman that listened to her instincts. Years of wandering into bad neighborhoods in New York gave a person primitive survival instinct in the form of intuition, or it got them killed or raped.
A moment went by. Then another. She just kept thinking that if it were human, knowing it was being looked at, it would’ve grown uncomfortable and moved, even if only to scratch its nose. Humans weren’t good at staying perfectly still.
Which meant…it had to be an animal. Like a big cat stalking its prey…
Big cats wouldn’t stay still if they got hit with a rock, though.
She reached down for the nearest rock, easily finding one that fit nicely in her hand. Focusing on that deep shadow, she cocked her arm—
“Please don’t throw that.” The tone was honey poured slowly over gravel.
The bottom dropped out of her stomach. Why the hell was Josh sitting in the shadows watching her like a grade-A bogeyman?
Instinct said to run.
Logic said it was safe to approach.
She did neither.
A flicker of movement announced a large shape standing. A human being that was sitting unnaturally still roused from his hiding place. It bespoke predators. Serial killers. Vampires, maybe. The shadows seemed to cling to him as he melded into the splotchy dimness, slowly stalking toward her. Her flight reflex screamed at her. Her skin broke out in shivers and the tingling between her shoulder blades turned into a full-on itch. All her survival skills were screaming DANGER.
“What are you doing up?” he asked in that quiet, deep voice filled with malice.
“Looking for the monster under my bed.” She was giddy and delirious. Adrenaline had her mind whirling and her blood pumping.
She felt superhuman. She could run really fast right now. Should run really fast. Right now.
He kept walking toward her with that smooth glide. The moonlight sprinkled across his face before the shadows rushed in to take it back. She had a crazy thought that she was a sacrificial lamb for the big bad wolf. She was even wearing a flowing, virginal white nightgown.
“You found him. Now what?”
She gulped hard, her feet rooted to the ground. He was getting closer. Her body shivered and her teeth chattered. Her blood surged through her ears to the beat of her hammering heart.
Oddly, she was sopping wet between her thighs.
“You tell me,” she whispered through constricted vocal cords with breath from an even tighter chest.
He slowed slightly. Changed his course. Instead of heading straight for her, he started walking slowly around her. A lion closing in on its kill.
“You know, when I first saw you, I thought I was hallucinating. I’ve not seen a woman equaling your beauty. I usually see horrors when my eyes play tricks. Never pleasures. Now here you are, glowing in white, seeing me when you shouldn’t, wearing silk panties that beg to be taken off with teeth. Almost too good to be true.” His voice was low, haunted. He was staying out of the moonlight purposely, circling her. She didn’t turn to follow him; she stood there mentally trapped. Her mind wanted to run; her body wanted to succumb.
“Tell me, are you too good to be true?” His circle got smaller. “Am I hallucinating?”
The circle got smaller still. She heard him stop directly behind her. Then she felt him. His fingers brushed her bare neck, no more than a disturbance of air. His breath splashed against her ear, his smell tickling her nose, his heat searing her scantily clad body.
“Normally kiddies are scared of monsters,” Josh said. “Tell me, are you scared of me?”
“No.”
“No? I think you’re lying,” he whispered.
She turned slowly into his large body.
He didn’t move as she faced him, his body inches from hers. She looked up into his eyes, his hot breath falling across her face. He was at least five inches taller than her, his shoulders looming and his heavy arms poised to reach around her. She felt dainty and weak, vulnerable.
She was scared. More than scared. Her heart was pounding madly and her breath was coming in short gasps.
Slowly, ever so slowly, so as not to spring him into action, not even knowing what action might come, she lifted her hand up to put it on his chest. His hand shot out, fast as lightning, and grabbed her wrist, stopping her movement. She froze for a second, swallowing her gasp and stilling her tremor. Then she started moving again with the other hand, slowly, slower than before, reaching for his face. When she was inches away, his other hand caught it and held it firm.
“Maybe you’re the one that’s scared,” she said in a silky voice she barely recognized.
“No.”
“No? You’re touching me, so I must be real.”
He was shaking slightly. Hardly noticeable. His resolve was cracking. His eyes were darkening. The beast within emerging.
“How do I know? How could I possibly know?” he whispered. His granite face was cracking along with his resolve. Raw lust and something else. Hope?
“Touch me more. Taste me.” She paused, and then whispered, “Take me.”
Chapter Eighteen
He rushed her. She panicked and twisted to get out of the predator’s grasp. His arms went around her and trapped her to him. He lifted her as though she weighed nothing and carried her beyond the tree line into dense brush. He pushed her into the dirt, bushes grabbing at her gown, as he slid on top of her and claimed her mouth. She felt her ardor rise, felt her need for him.
Her dress was pushed up, bunching at her hips as his large hand felt between her thighs. Her expensive silk panties were ripped away. She gasped as the cold air assaulted her swollen sex, wet with arousal.
She thrust her hips to meet his fingers, moaning as his other hand tugged down her top and caressed her taut nipples. Wildly, she ripped at his shirt, yanking it up and then pulling it over his head, desperate to feel his skin.
Her eyes feasted on his body. His perfectly sculpted pecs led into a defined six-pack. A tribal tattoo formed a line down the side of his lean stomach. His hulking shoulders bunched with muscle as he lowered himself down on top of her, pushing his thighs between her legs. Her knees were forced wider to make room for his large body.
He gyrated against her, his belt digging into her sensitive skin. He thrust his tongue into her mouth as he loosened his pants. His cock fell out over her hip, hot and heavy. It was big. Too big?
She pushed at him, trying to get him off. Unsure for the moment. His size, his strength. He was losing control, taking her with him. Their kiss escalated and went wild, sweeping her away, taking away the willpower to fight with it.
He reached between her legs, lifted his head to look into her eyes, and thrust. His length seared into her, ripping a moan from her throat. The rough assault heightened her pleasure and tore away her tight hold on control. She lost herself. Freely. Carried away by the feel of him inside of her. The weight of him on top of her. His raw and uninhibited desire.
Before she was ready, an orgasm tore through her, taking all her thought and mindlessly dumping it in a sea of delight. He groaned in her ear, his release matching hers, her body milking his seed.
They rested for a minute, each collecting their thoughts, going over with logic something that started without. Finally, Josh lifted himself to his elbows and looked down on her.
“I’m sorry.” His face was lost to shadow, but his body was almost rigid. He hadn’t withdrawn from her. He was waiting to see which way the wind blew.
“Do you think an apology excuses what you did?” she asked quietly.
He stopped breathing and lifted slightly. She still had her legs around his body so he couldn’t go far. She let him sit in the guilt for a second in payback for the piggyback ride the other day.
She went on with the same quiet voice. “Sorry doesn’t excuse the fact that I am now filthy and there is no shower.”
Josh let out his breath in a whoosh, relief washing through the anxiety his nerves held a moment before. He sank into her a fraction. God, she felt so good. So, so good.
“We did a couple of things wrong there,” he admitted slowly.
Josh watched her dreamy look come back to reality and anchor with the seriousness of it. “Yes,” she said. “But we also did a couple of things right.”
She could never imagine how good those words sounded right then. He was on a very high cliff at the minute, and one word to condemn him for his actions would send him down into the dark depths he had come from only a few short days ago.
“Did I hurt you?” he asked quietly.
“No.”
“I lost control there.” He couldn’t keep the traces of fear out of his voice. He wasn’t scared of much, but losing control and hurting her was high on that short list.
Since the incident that had him running from the Navy, he had become a different man. An unstable man. Which made him dangerous. He’d been working to regain his control religiously, and he thought he was almost back to being able to keep himself in check under all circumstances, until he met her. Now he was all ass backward.
Perhaps in a good way. But maybe not.
“So did I,” she said, her tone light. “That’s never happened to me before. I’m not sure if I enjoyed it or if it scares the shit out of me. Or both.” She let out a shaky breath and a hesitant smile. Her legs were still locked firmly around his middle.
“Nothing good happens when I lose control.”
“Well then, there’s one for the history books.”
“I didn’t hurt you?”
“Well…not in a bad way. Although there is the case of a nice pair of panties.”
He growled softly. “I was dreaming of those panties. I had to get some air. Speaking of, I’m sorry about ea
rlier tonight. About…not kissing you.”
“Don’t be sorry about things you don’t regret,” she said guardedly.
“I’m sorry that I hurt you. I wanted you, badly, but…damned if I do, damned if I don’t, you know? I guess you’ve made the decision for me—changed my decision.”
“Oh well.” Jenna laughed nervously. “I guess.”
“I’m sorry that I hurt you.” He spoke more boldly this time.
It sank in. He had hurt her. He knew it and she realized that he knew it. That he at least acknowledged it was a good thing.
“Yeah, well, all’s fair in love and war, huh?” she said lightly.
His tense body softened, and she knew, in that instant, he saw past her barricade. He realized that she was exactly who she was, not as strong as she tried to portray, and human under all that hard armor. It was more than most men could understand.
“How did you know I was there?” he asked. Jenna had the impression he was changing the subject in order to make her feel more comfortable.
He just kept doing everything right.
“I am a fan of pillow talk, especially when intimacy is involved, but I’m lying in the dirt oozing…charm, in the cold in the wilderness. Can we move this into a sweater or a blanket or something?”
“Oh God—” Josh was off her in a flash.
Jenna felt a pang of regret as he eased out of her body. She wanted to feel him again, for longer. She wanted to see the other side of him—the side with light, delicate hands and a clever, expert tongue. The feel of him easing into her, slowly. Filling her up, completely.
The ferocity of her body worried her. Nothing good can possibly come of this.
Josh helped her up after retrieving her flip-flops. He was still without a shirt. His shining body rippled with muscle and a few well-placed tattoos. His chest was big, tanned, and a godsend. Jenna started to salivate as her swollen sexy parts purred for more.
She ran her hand absently down her chest before she realized her nightgown was in tatters. It was dirty and ripped, the top hanging around her waist, the bottom falling haphazardly down her dirty legs.
Unexpected Hero (Skyline Trilogy Book 1) Page 15
