Finding Redemption

by Desiree Holt

  When he rolled the latex onto his cock, she paused a second to admire his length and thickness, worried for a moment it might not fit.

  “It’ll work,” he assured her, kneeling between her thighs again and draping them over his legs.

  He wrapped his fingers around his shaft as he leaned forward and nudged her opening with the head. Little by little, he eased it into her slick passage. He rubbed her clit with his other hand, the abrading movement sending licks of flame through her core.

  As much as he’d hurried before, he did not rush this time, slowly easing his way into her body until he was fully seated. He studied her face as if seeking some kind of signal. Then, taking a deep breath, he rocked into her, again and again, each time pulling back a little farther and thrusting deeper, until at last he was pounding into her again and again.

  Without warning an orgasm rose from within her, and he rode her through it. He let her rest, sprinkling kisses on her warm flesh before patiently arousing her again, as if he innately knew how her body needed coaxing. Not only after the length of time she’d been abstinent but also because of the abuse she’d suffered from Charles. He roused her time and again, always with the same slow but passionate seduction.

  Lisa wrapped her legs around him and locked her ankles into the small of his back, pulling him to her as tight as she could. Her surroundings fell away so nothing existed but this man, the feel of him on her and inside her, his cock filling every inch of her as he rode her harder and deeper.

  This time, when the orgasm broke, it gripped her body, spasms shaking her as her inner walls flexed against his thick shaft. And this time, he went with her. She had no idea how long it went on, only that at last they were both spent, their limbs relaxed even as his shaft still rested inside her.

  The kiss he gave her was totally unexpected, both in the fact that he did it and that it was tender rather than demanding. Then he eased from her clasp with a slow glide, fingers pinching the condom until he rose and dropped it into some scrap paper from his pack. Then he lay down beside her, pulling her close to him, stroking her cheek with unexpected tenderness.

  “Close your eyes,” his whispered. “We’ve got a long night ahead of us. I’ll wake you when it’s time to get ready.”

  Okay, so they weren’t going to discuss what happened. Fine by her. When this was over, she’d probably never see him again. So why did that make her heart hurt?

  Chapter Fourteen

  The touch of a hand on her shoulder woke Lisa at once. She blinked at the sight of Ethan, already dressed. He was back to his other self, behaving as if nothing at all had happened between them.

  “Okay. You’ve been very good about following orders so far, so let’s see if you can follow a few more.”

  She wanted to ask him if he felt anything about their situation, but she knew better. He was all business now, and that was the way it had to be. Anything else would have to wait until later. If it happened at all. “Just tell me what to do.”

  He reached into her backpack and took out a strange device that looked like something an alien would wear. “Night vision goggles. NVGs. We obviously can’t use flashlights, and we need to be able to see.”

  Lisa stood still while he fastened hers on and adjusted them to fit. “Weird.”

  “Yes. But it lights everything up. Just remember, if we do run into a patch of light, yank them off right away or you’ll be momentarily blinded. We don’t want to give away any advantage.”

  “I hear you.”

  He took her gun, tucked it into the small of her back, and tightened her belt. “You need to be able to get to it if necessary. Just don’t shoot yourself in the ass.”

  “Believe me,” she snorted, “I’ll do my very best.”

  “Let’s go.” Ethan adjusted his own NVGs and set off on the path he’d followed earlier.

  The night sounds of the jungle echoed all around them—the calling of wild animals, the cries of some birds as they settled down, the beating of wings as others flew overhead. Lisa did her best to ignore them. After the first minute or so, her eyes completely adjusted to the NVGs. It made seeing Ethan ahead of her a lot easier.

  He stopped every few minutes to check the GPS, then started off again. They’d covered nearly two miles by her estimation when he came to a complete stop and motioned with his hand for her to do the same and be silent. He pointed, and through the dense foliage, she could just make out the top of the concrete wall he’d mentioned earlier.

  Ethan touched a thick tree with his hand and pointed up with his finger.

  Lisa swallowed, nodded, and began to climb the tree. She thanked God for the training on the rock wall back at his farmhouse. She’d never been fond of heights of any kind, but at least the training had given her some confidence in what she was doing.

  When she reached the place where a thick limb formed a crotch with the trunk, she felt Ethan’s hand on her calf. Forcing herself to look down, pushing away the dizziness that any height usually caused, she saw him motion for her to stop and sit. Gingerly, she edged herself around until she could sit in the spot and waited for him to follow her.

  He climbed past her until he was just a little higher and settled himself in place.

  Now she dared to look straight ahead. The concrete wall was just as Ethan had said, thick and surrounding the entire perimeter. It ran off in two directions into the jungle until she couldn’t see it anymore. Inside the wall was a carpet of low-growing jungle vegetation split by walkways of crushed shells.

  The estate house, at the end of a driveway also made of crushed shells, rose majestically in Spanish splendor. The driveway curved in front of the door, and between it and the wall, water sprayed constantly from a huge fountain formed by figures of angels. Three steps led up to a wide terrace that ran across the front of the house, centered by carved wood double doors.

  A man in khaki pants and shirt, a rifle slung over his shoulder, leaned against the fountain smoking a cigarette. Another stood by the front door.

  Ethan tapped Lisa on the shoulder. “We need to watch the guards, see if there’s a pattern,” he mouthed. “If they stay there until someone relieves them. Or do they patrol? However they do it.”

  She nodded.

  “And keep your eyes out for two things—Jamie and anyone familiar to you. Like Charles.”

  The waiting was the hardest part. Lisa marveled at how Ethan seemed to become part of the tree, as still as the bark, not even the faint movement of a leaf. He stayed in one position as if he’d been poured there from a mound of clay and left to harden.

  Bugs and other tiny creatures seemed to know enough to avoid him, although Lisa could feel them crawling over her. She brushed them off with as little movement as possible when they became too bad to bear. Her muscles began to cramp after a while, and rather than try to shift position, she massaged them as best she could, afraid even the slightest movement would betray their presence.

  Ethan had mentioned there would most likely be perimeter cameras or sensors. She had to trust he knew what he was doing, that he had figured out a safe path for them to the house. It was more and more obvious he really had years of doing this behind him. She wondered if she’d ever find out the real truth about Ethan Caine.

  They sat in the tree for what to Lisa seemed an eternity, the only sounds those of the jungle night. Whatever words the guards exchanged didn’t carry to them. The pattern of their routine seldom varied. Mostly they stood around, smoking cigarettes and talking, once in a while taking a turn around the grounds. Apparently, out here in the middle of the jungle, they didn’t expect unplanned visitors.

  After a while, her eyes became gritty with strain, watching for any sign at all of Jamie. Anything that would confirm his presence. They only had the word of a guerilla gang member that he was even here. What if the information was wrong? What if Tonio lied just to get safe passage for himself and his family? What if everything Ethan had uncovered on his trip meant nothing and Jamie was actually half a
world away right now?

  No! She wouldn’t let herself fall into that trap. He was here. She could feel it. Sense it. Somewhere behind that wall, her child was a captive.

  Were they feeding him well? Taking care of him? Abusing him in any way? Was he sick? Did he miss her? Did he think she’d abandoned him?

  Stop it! Jamie’s fine. And soon I’ll have him back.

  She finally had to move one leg, shifting it very gingerly so as not to dislodge any debris. Ethan glanced over at her, but she shook her head and made the okay sign with one hand.

  How did people do this for a living? Sit for hours with almost nothing happening. How did Ethan stay so calm? She worked hard to conceal how terrified she was that they’d be discovered. Captured. Killed.

  She was startled when he reached down and touched the bare skin of her arm. He pointed at her, then down. She nodded and maneuvered her body around to descend from the tree with a minimum of fuss and noise. When her feet touched the ground, her legs wobbled a little. Not too sure they’d support her, she leaned against the tree until she felt steady.

  Ethan dropped down beside her, and she saw him study her carefully, raising his eyebrows in silent question. When she motioned that she was fine, he nodded and set off back the way they’d come, Lisa following behind him.

  Neither of them uttered a word until they reached the tent, removed their NVGs and guns, and took off their backpacks. Lisa bent to stretch and touch her toes, the release of tension in her muscles a relief after all those hours in one position.

  Ethan unzipped the tent, sat down on the thermal sheet he’d spread out on the bottom, and motioned for her to join him. She hesitated, remembering what had happened the last time they were in the tent together. She thought about the fact they’d be sleeping here again and pushed it out of her mind. She’d worry about it later.

  He slid over to make room for her. “Let’s talk.”

  “Good.” She sat cross-legged. “What did we find out tonight? We don’t even know for sure if Jamie’s in that house.”

  He patted his shirt pocket, then made a disgusted sound. “Why did I have to pick this particular time to stop smoking? Okay.” He stretched out his legs and leaned back on his elbows. “Nothing, you say? Did you notice any of the shadows in the upstairs windows? No? Well, in one room there was a shadow considerably shorter than either of the other silhouettes I saw. Unless they have a dwarf living there, I’d say it’s a safe bet there’s a child in that house.”

  “I… No, I… No.” Let’s hear it for the blithering idiot. And how did I miss seeing that?

  “Next. The guards changed at least six times while we were in that tree, and we never saw the same face twice. That means a minimum of twelve armed men. And we don’t know if there are more in the house.”

  Lisa’s shoulders slumped. “You’re describing a hopeless situation. If Jamie’s really there and it’s Charles who has him, I can’t imagine how we’ll ever get him out.”

  Ever since Ethan had agreed to help her, she’d clung to the hope that he could do the impossible—find her son and safely rescue him. Now, realizing the odds they faced, with Charles a wild card in the mix, she was beginning to doubt the possibility of their success. To come so close and fail…

  She crossed her arms over her knees and leaned her head on them, forcing back the tears that threatened to leak from her eyes.

  She jumped when she felt Ethan’s hand on her shoulder, gently massaging the muscle.

  “I didn’t picture you as a quitter.” His voice was deep and unusually soft. “What happened to the woman who told me she’d do anything—anything—to get her son back? Who said her son means the world to her?”

  She drew in an erratic breath. “She didn’t realize how close she’d come and maybe fail.”

  “I don’t fail, Lisa. And what we saw tonight doesn’t mean failure. It only gave us information we need to put an effective plan together.”

  “I guess this all seemed so unreal to me, so far away when we talked about it.”

  “We’ve only just gotten started here. And one night doesn’t give us everything we need.”

  She jerked her head up. “You mean we have to do this again?”

  “Uh huh. And I’d like to see what goes on during the day. I also need to scout this area better so we’ll know how we’re getting out of here when we have Jamie with us. When, Lisa. Not if.”

  His hand never stopped massaging her shoulder as he shifted so his legs bracketed her. Now both hands eased the tension in her body. The feel of his fingers kneading her muscles was so soothing, like a narcotic, easing the tautness that had her strung tight as a bow.

  His touch brought back their moment in the tent earlier, and the incredible sex. Was he thinking of it, too? He was the most masculine man she’d ever met, and the secrets in his life only made him hotter and sexier.

  Be careful, Lisa. Trouble here.

  He slid closer to her, his cock pressing up against her ass. How was she supposed to handle this? Was the man an ice cube that he could just put all the electric desire in the air aside?

  “I agree our task isn’t an easy one, but we’re not alone. Nick has people ready, and he’s waiting for a signal from me, waiting for me to put a plan together. We’ll get him out. I promise. And I don’t make promises lightly.”

  She closed her eyes, soothed by the movement of his hands, the cadence of his voice. It wasn’t just the last few months that she’d been carrying around like a satchel full of bricks weighing her down. Charles Mallory was in there, too, and the years of hell with him she’d somehow survived. Taking the punishment. Living like a prisoner. Suffering the abuse. Anything to keep Jamie with her. And safe.

  “Lisa?” His voice was so close his breath was a warm breeze against her ear.

  “Mmm?”

  She turned her head, and instant desire struck her, like a visceral blow. The same heat glittered in Ethan’s eyes. So he wasn’t as stoic as he claimed. As able to just pack all that away on command. All that heat and desire from earlier floated in him just as it did in her.

  Their gazes locked for the space of a heartbeat. And then, somehow, she was leaning backward, his arms were around her and his mouth was seducing hers. Seducing. That was the word for it. And any protest she might have made disappeared like a wisp of smoke.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The sounds of the jungle were all around them, and a tiny breeze carried the lush scents of the tropical underbrush. The edge of danger they’d been living on and the bewitching nature of the tropics combined to heighten the moment, pushing the real world away and enclosing them in a magical embrace.

  Ethan’s mouth moved over hers softly, gently, sensuously. He somehow managed to make the rest of the world disappear for her. His teeth took tiny nibbles at her bottom lip then soothed it, the tip of his tongue tracing over the bite marks. He licked the inside of her bottom lip, then turned his attention to the upper one.

  Lisa felt as if she’d fallen down a well and was floating in the water. His tongue was like a feather drifting across the surface of her mouth, bringing each nerve to jolting life. Sensations she hadn’t even known she had came to life in every secret corner of her body. She opened her mouth on a soft moan, and his tongue slipped inside as if it belonged there.

  He tasted of fruit and power bars and the jungle, and it was the most exhilarating taste she’d ever experienced. She wanted to roll it around in her mouth, swallow it, absorb it into her system. It was headier than the finest wine or the most expensive brandy.

  She danced her tongue with his, a slow waltz to imagined music. Together. Retreat. Together. Retreat. His tongue slid across the surface of hers, teasing at it. Tantalizing. She couldn’t imagine ever kissing anyone else after this.

  She tried to press her mouth harder against his, but he held her head captive, keeping the pressure of his mouth and tongue as light at the touch of a butterfly’s wings. The sense of him permeated her body.

  She h
ad no idea how long he played with her mouth. When he lifted his head, a tremendous sense of loss swept over her. She opened her eyes and saw his black bottomless ones burning into hers.

  “I can’t make promises to you, except where Jamie’s concerned.” His voice was taut with emotion.

  “I didn’t ask for any.” She heard the tremor in her own voice.

  “Trust me, Lisa. I have very little to give to anyone anymore, and what I do have, you don’t want. Nobody would. We’re just two people seduced by the jungle, hiding for a little while from what’s really happening.”

  She swallowed hard and nodded. “Right.”

  “Okay then.”

  He lowered his mouth to hers again, just brushing his lips over hers. He dusted her face with the softest of kisses—her forehead, her eyelids, her nose, her cheeks. Even her chin. Each touch was like a hot wire igniting her skin.

  It barely registered when his warm hand closed over one breast, massaging it gently through the fabric of her T-shirt and bra. A gentle glide, just like his kisses. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she realized she’d expected Ethan Caine to be an aggressive lover, harsh, demanding. But it seemed the seduction was as important to him as the act itself.

  She moaned again, trying to thrust herself into his palm. One of her hands snaked around his neck, and she tugged the leather thong holding back his hair. It fell loose around his shoulders. She raked her fingers through it, letting it sift against her skin like fine silk.

  When his mouth closed over one nipple, sucking at it through the fabric covering it, she closed her eyes and let the feeling of warmth wash over her. Her nipples hardened as he pulled on them with a gentle tug of his teeth, and she wanted more. More. She wanted her clothing gone and nothing between them.

  She was trembling in his arms as her body responded to him. Sensations Charles had never roused in her swept over her like waves of electricity, every nerve so sensitized it felt as if their protective coverings had dissolved. Her heart was beating so loudly she wondered how Ethan could miss hearing it. But then she felt the hard thump of his through the wall of chest muscle and it somehow grounded her.