Chapter Six
“Here’s your canteen,” Sarah said after a few moments.
“Keep it, you need it more than I do,” he said briskly, not halting.
She watched his backside for a moment before recalling what happened the last time she let him out of her sight. She hurried to catch up, slipping the canteen’s shoulder strap over her neck and arm. Already the water she’d poured over her skin had evaporated, leaving her hot and sticky again. Lord, it had to be a hundred degrees or more. Now she knew what it felt like walking into an incinerator. Coming from Florida, she should be used to the heat, but the only strenuous activity she did there was lie out in the sun.
She wondered how much longer they’d walk before stopping to rest, how much longer before she collapsed and he was forced to stop. He was just as hot and dirty, yet his energy level never seemed to waver.
Her belly growled, reminding her she hadn’t eaten since the apple, which seemed like hours ago. She wasn’t going to complain though. If Clint to go on without food than she could, too. How did he do it? Going by the bloody scratches on his arms, he wasn’t a machine.
Right about the time she found herself having to concentrate just to put one foot in front of the other, he drew to a halt. Swaying with exhaustion, she would have fallen if he hadn’t been close enough to catch her. She was conscious of him checking the ground around them first, before lowering her gently. Unless he was blind, he had to realize she couldn’t go any further without a break.
“We’ll stop here for a couple of hours. Get some rest.”
“Thank God.” He didn’t have to tell her twice. Sarah fell back, not caring if she was resting on a bed of worms or any other creepy crawlies. But as tired as she was, sleep eluded her. After a few moments of listening to Clint’s movement, curiosity got the better of her and she turned her head to see what he was doing.
“Don’t you ever get tired?” she asked, watching as he dug various food items out of his bag before placing them on the ground between them.
“What makes you think I’m not tired?” He snapped the end off a ripe banana, popping the whole thing into his mouth without peeling it. She watched him chew for a few moments, mesmerized by the muscles working in his hard jaw and what it did to his rugged face. He reminded her of a lean and hungry predator, coiled and ready for action. Not an ounce of spare flesh on him anywhere she could see.
Not for the first time, Sarah noted that he wasn’t her type. Yet she couldn’t deny there was an attraction there that sucked her in. It was raw and basic, totally overpowering and catching her by surprise. She supposed her predicament had a lot to do with it. Sometimes to feel alive you had to come close to death. And Clint was the kind of man who pulsed with boundless vigor.
“Sarah?” His deep voice drew her out of her musings. She met his eyes, surprised to see the humor glittering there. “For a minute, I thought you’d fallen asleep with your eyes open.”
His comment caused an old memory to surface, bringing a quick smile to her mouth. “I knew someone who could do that,” she admitted, watching him break off another piece of banana. “I went on a road trip with a girlfriend and her brother when I was a teenager. The first time he fell asleep with his eyes open it freaked me out. He just sat there, with his head back and his eyes open, staring like a zombie.”
“Hungry?”
Her gaze landed on the banana in his outstretched hand. “You’re not going to make me eat the skin too, are you?” she asked with concern, moaning softly as she pulled herself into a sitting position.
Clint chuckled, causing her to notice the sexy quirk to his lips when he was relaxed and not being all mean and macho. “I’m an ex-Navy Seal. I learned early on in order to survive you don’t waste anything, especially when it fills the emptiness in your gut. You never know when you’ll get the chance to eat again.”
Sarah started to peel her banana until she raised her eyes and found him watching her. She hesitated, holding his gaze and wondering what he was thinking behind those steely eyes. When he popped the last piece of fruit into his mouth, she stopped peeling and took a bite. If he could eat the skin, then so could she. She doubted he’d washed it and tried not to think about the many hands that had already touched it.
“Now I understand what makes you so tough,” she spoke around her mouthful, wincing with distaste.
“Because I was a Navy Seal?” Clint remarked, settling back against a tree and taking a bite out of an orange with the skin.
Sarah shook her head vigorously. “Because you eat banana skins.”
“What makes you so tough?” he asked, wiping the juice trickling down his chin with the back of his hand. “You could have told Rodriguez the truth once you realized Susan was the one he wanted.”
She glanced at him as if he’d suddenly sprouted horns. “Are you kidding? One word, Clint—love.” The expression crossing his face clearly revealed he didn’t have a clue what she meant. “Susan is my best friend. I knew telling Raul the truth would only put her in danger too, and possibly the boys.”
She suspected a man like Clint would scoff at the word love, but he remained silent, contentedly eating his orange with a look in his eyes she couldn’t identify. If she were to make a guess, grudging respect was glittering in those dark pools. She wondered if he’d ever loved anyone like that.
Deciding she couldn’t stomach eating any more of the banana skin, she peeled it back before bringing it to her mouth for another bite. Clint’s gaze fell, locking onto her mouth. There was no disguising the hot flare of emotion suddenly leaping there, darkening his eyes. Sarah bit off a chunk big enough to choke her, and froze.
She was woman enough to recognize the signs when a man wanted her. And like everything else about Clint, the look in his eyes pulled no punches. He didn’t do anything halfway. His chewing slowed, his body tensed. Sweat broke out on his forehead that she suspected had little to do with the sweltering heat.
Sarah wasn’t aware she was holding her breath until his gaze lazily swung up to hers again. She quickly chewed the fruit in her mouth and swallowed, wondering crazily what it would be like kissing him, sensing it wouldn’t be anything like her other experiences. His mouth was firm and sensuous. As Sarah thought about all the wicked things he could probably do with that mouth, she felt a gush of warmth soak her panties.
Then in a heartbeat the charged moment between them evaporated.
Clint suddenly cocked his head, listening, a frown growing between his eyes. Sarah could barely make out a distant sound but had no idea what was causing it. Judging by Clint’s fierce expression, he knew. “What is it?” she asked with growing alarm.
He jumped to his feet, tossing what remained of his orange into the bushes. “Chopper! Move!”
Dumbstruck, Sarah watched him kick the rest of the fruit he’d laid out so that it went flying in all directions. It took a moment for her brain to register what he said, before she jumped to her feet and tossed her banana away too. A split second later, he grabbed her hand, jerking her behind him as they veered off into the jungle.
There was no time to think, or for questions. Sarah reserved her energy for running, praying she could keep up with his neck-breaking speed, which was quickly gaining momentum, until she realized they were racing down an incline. He used his body like a battering ram, tearing through the dense brush as if it were rice paper, protecting her from the brunt of what was in front of them. All at once she stumbled, crying out.
Clint stopped long enough to help her to her feet, and they were off again. She didn’t like the sound of the chopper buzzing overhead. It was too close. Either they’d been spotted or the pilot was just following a hunch. As Clint pulled Sarah behind him relentlessly, she wondered how long she’d be able to keep up the grueling pace, hoping for as long as it took because she knew their lives depended on it.
The force of the rotary blades above them parted the trees as if they were loose toothpicks, and suddenly Clint dove, dragging Sarah down with him. He barely gave her time to complain about the pain of slamming to the ground as he forced her to crawl, belly style, into a thicket so full and dense that hurricane-force winds couldn’t move it.
When it seemed he was satisfied they’d crawled in deep enough, Sarah was pulled beneath him and completely covered with his body. He slapped his palm over her mouth. “Just in case, angel.” His harsh whisper warmed her ear. “There isn’t a chance of being heard by anyone inside the chopper but I can’t risk so much as a whimper if they lower someone to the ground.”
Sarah stiffened. She wasn’t stupid and resented him for treating her that way. She’d watched enough violence-packed movies to know when the good guys were hiding from the bad guys you remained still and kept quiet. Clint’s weight was crushing and she was aware of his tense strength from where his massive chest smashed her breasts, where his loins pinned her pelvis down and where his muscular thighs could be felt against her soft thighs.
Her gaze sought his eyes above his hand and she began to squirm violently in an effort to get his attention. She couldn’t breathe! His attention was focused on what was happening above their heads; until finally, her desperate struggles got through to him and he realized she was in trouble. His gaze shot to her eyes and he removed his hand. She immediately sucked in mouthfuls of air.
“What are you trying to do? Kill me? I couldn’t breathe!” she gasped in a frightened, angry tone.
For a second, his eyes filled with humor and Sarah thought she was imagining it. “Even now in the face of danger, you’re hissing at me.” She was thankful when he raised the top half of his body away from her so she could fill her lungs. “Believe me; you won’t want to be breathing if they find us.” The chopper was moving on. “Let’s hope no one was left behind.”
“What if it’s your friend? Maybe he came early,” she whispered.
He shook his head. “Stan’s not picking us up in a chopper.”
“Is Stan─”
“Sshh!” he warned briskly, his gaze returning to hers. “Now isn’t the time for conversation, angel.” Sarah pressed her lips. She didn’t like being told to be quiet.
She dropped her eyes before his steady gaze, beginning to feel self-conscious of their intimate situation. Clint was too sexy and in spite of his gruff ways, she was attracted to him. Sarah recalled the eagerness of her response when he’d had his fingers inside her. She was hungry for that particular feeling again but now was hardly the place or the time.
“You can get off me now,” she spoke quietly, pushing against his shoulders. “They’re going away.”
Clint didn’t budge. “They may have lowered someone to the ground to continue the search,” he reasoned. “Be quiet.”
Sarah listened to the sound of the chopper diminish as it moved further away and raised her eyes to the top of the trees above them where the sky was visible. And where Clint’s gaze was focused. She couldn’t help noticing how thick and muscular his arched neck was. The veins were evident beneath his whiskered jaw.
“You can still get off me,” she insisted, wincing at the weakness in her tone. He glanced down at her. Their gazes met and held. Sarah tried to gauge what he was thinking. After an awkward moment of silence, Sarah looked away, but not before she acknowledged the flame of awareness in Clint’s pupils. His body grew taut.
She caught her breath when his cock turned hard and demanding against her. With little between them, it was easy to determine Clint wasn’t lacking there. And the knowledge turned Sarah hotter. It seemed the danger of being captured was over but another more primal danger threatened her.
She knew she was playing with fire but couldn’t stop herself from acknowledging Clint’s hard-on in the most obvious way. Parting her legs, she arched into his hardness, being rewarded when he sucked in his breath.
“You know if I was a smart man I’d roll off, start walking and not look back.”
Sarah stiffened. Then why didn’t he?
When Clint didn’t move right away, Sarah closed her eyes so she wouldn’t have to look at him. His closeness was unnerving, catching her off guard when she realized how much she liked his weight against her. However, closing her eyes turned out to be a bigger mistake when all it did was enhance the charged atmosphere between them.
Her ears picked up the low drone of the helicopter as it was all but out of ear shot, but her senses were acutely aware of Clint. His breath was against her face, hot and intimate, his heart beating against her chest keeping rhythm with another more vital part of his body. When he began to grind his cock against her, she began to respond to the situation against her will.
Suddenly, she felt alive.
Her breasts became ultra-sensitive, swelling against his chest as her nipples hardened into tight little nubs. In her mind’s eye, Sarah could see his mouth on her, licking and tugging on them until she was breathless and on fire. As her breathing became shallow, she closed her legs to the liquid heat pooling there, denying its existence along with the hard shaft she’d unknowingly trapped there.
Oh God! What is happening to me? An explosive rush swept through her blood. She kept her eyes closed, desperate to ignore the changes in her body, trying to ignore that it was a man like Clint—callous, raw, and totally unlovable—who was turning her on to such a feverish pitch. She struggled to bring her breathing under control, embarrassed when a soft whimper broke the silence.
“Open your eyes,” he demanded in a voice hoarse with desire.
“No.” The way Sarah figured it, if she didn’t look at him, nothing would happen. He couldn’t possible know she was so turned on she was burning up with it.
“I’m going to kiss you.”
It sounded like a threat. Her eyes flew open. “No!” The firmness she tried to inject into her tone came out weak and throaty, revealing her condition.
The savage expression on his face frightened her but not nearly as much as the untamed wildfire racing through her body. His body began to move against her, his hardness fitting perfectly in the damp crevice between her legs. The ache in the lower half of her body became a tangible, almost painful, reminder that she hadn’t had a cock in there in a long time. Too long.
“No? Are you sure about that, angel?”
“Yes,” she gasped, mesmerized by the smoldering look in his eyes. “I don’t think it’s wise to complicate things.” Not to mention she was scared out of her wits that she’d enjoy it. And she wasn’t forgetting the fact he’d already fingered her. She’d never hear the end of it.
“One little kiss doesn’t have to complicate anything,” he returned with a wolfish grin.
He was actually teasing her—or was he testing her? “We both know that’s not all you have on your mind,” she pointed out.
“No, but maybe a good fuck will tame that mean mouth of yours. Right now, though, a kiss is all we have time for.”
Right now? That insinuated they might have time for a good fuck, later. Her eyes flared with alarm when he slowly lowered his head. His movement was misleading. Sarah knew there’d be no gentleness in his possession. Just like she knew there’d be no tenderness in his lovemaking.
Trying one last time, she made a desperate attempt to deny him what he wanted by turning her head wildly from side to side. There was no escape. He tangled his hands in her matted hair to hold her head still.
“No!” she whispered with growing panic and yet something more, like excitement, in her tone, feeling her heart pounding in her chest.
“Yes!” he hissed back, moving in closer.