Dangerous Attraction Romantic Suspense Boxed Set (39 page)

Her head rolled back, and he watched her eyes go from fiery to cloudy as she moaned his name. He dipped his head and licked her exposed neck, tasting the fresh water and the sweet taste of her heated skin. He drove her deeper and harder, pushing her faster, building them both up.

Her back was pressed against the rock and he used one hand to brace them against the nature-built wall, holding them steady as he pleased her. Her hips moved, her hands gripped his wet shoulders, and when he dipped his head to take her nipple into his mouth, she screamed his name.

He pushed her faster and harder and felt himself ready to explode as he gripped her soft butt in his hands. He leaned his forehead against the cool stone and cried out her name as she arched and tensed with her release.

* * *

Ann felt the cold stone on her back and Ethan’s breath on her neck. She wouldn’t regret this move. She’d always taken what she’d wanted and she’d wanted him. Especially after walking out of the cave and seeing him standing naked under the water. She would have had to be a saint not to want to jump him. His muscles were impressive in clothes, but bare, she just wanted to lick him up and down.

As she felt his breathing slow, she knew he was going to be pissed at her for maneuvering him so easily. She’d never seduced someone like that before and she felt liberated in doing so. Actually, she wanted to do it again, but doubted they had the time or could spare the energy.

Her hands felt a few small scars on his back that she’d seen the other night when she’d been following him. Reaching down, she ran her hand over the larger one along the lower part of his spine.

“How did you get this?” she asked as he held himself still.

“Hmm. I should have been looking behind me instead of in front.”

She didn’t like that he was vague, but supposed it was a tender subject taking in account what all his past jobs must have included.

She closed her eyes for another second and enjoyed the feeling of being alive. She supposed all this had to do with what had happened yesterday. Seeing death so close, she had wanted to verify her own life, and sex had been just the tool.

“Damn!” He pulled back and frowned down at her as she unwrapped her legs from his hips.

She chuckled. “I’ve never really gotten that kind of reaction after hot sex before.”

“Uh?” He looked at her. “No, it’s not… It’s just that I went so fast, we didn’t use protection.”

She laughed harder. “It’s okay, big boy. I’m clean and on the patch.” She rubbed the patch on her stomach and noticed the relief flood his face.

“I’m clean, too. I was more concerned about the protection against pregnancy part.”

“Don’t you want kids?” she asked as she walked back under the freezing water and began rinsing herself again.

“What?” He looked up from her hands as they ran over her breast and she smiled. He was so easy. “Oh, yeah, of course. But not until later. I’m not even thirty yet.”

“Oh?”

He smiled slowly as he quickly walked towards her and pulled her with him as he jumped back into the deep, cold water of the pool.

When they surfaced again, he was still smiling. He dipped his head for a fast kiss. “We need to be moving. The sun’s already up. We need to travel twice as far as we did yesterday.”

She tried not to, but she groaned when she heard this.

“I know, I know. But think of it this way; from here on out, it’s all downhill.”

Less than an hour later, she wanted to kill him again. Her thighs were screaming at her and her hands had cuts and scrapes from all the branches she’d grabbed hold of as they made their way down the very steep incline. He hadn’t been joking; it had been all downhill since they’d left the cave and the waterfall.

Oh, how she missed the cool water. The sun was barely up and she was, once again, drenched in sweat. She’d tied her long hair up in a braid and was thankful she’d found a small rubber band in the bottom of her bag to tie it back with.

Ethan looked like he could use another shower. She could see sweat rolling down his back. His shirt was soaking wet between his shoulder blades.

She’d lost her footing several times, and he’d been there to grab her and hold her steady.

She knew she was taking a big chance in being with him. After all, what did she really know about Ethan Knight? She thought she’d known Nathan Cruz, but apparently the arrogance had all been a show.

She knew what she’d heard from her father and her brother. Blake had called him GI Joe and he had told her in great detail how he’d rushed in and rescued him from the bad men.

Her father had mentioned his long-standing record with the military and said he was the best man for the job to save Blake. Her father had hired Ethan’s crew to watch Blake for a few months after the incident. Her father told her that he’d actually only met Ethan once, on the day he had delivered Blake to him in Austin. Since then it had been other members of his team that had done private security when he’d needed them.

Her father had been even more impressed that Ethan had come along on the short journey from Dallas back to Austin with the eight-year-old, rather than trust law officials to deliver him safe and sound.

Her mind turned and she wondered if he’d actually slept with any of the girls that had hung on his arms in Rio. After witnessing the power of what had happened back at the waterfall, she got the impression that it had been a while for him. For herself it had been well over six months since she’d broken things off with Scott, whom she’d dated for three months. Knowing how much she’d wanted him and how sexually pent up she’d been, she estimated by his reaction that it had been about that long since he’d enjoyed himself as well.

At least this all made perfectly good sense to her as she trudged through the jungle at a high rate of speed.

“So,” she said when the ground leveled and she felt like she could breathe again, “tell me a little about yourself. Where are you from?”

He looked over at her, and she could have sworn she saw humor in his eyes. “So now you get to the personal questions. Don’t you have it a little backwards, Princess?”

She smiled. “I guess I do. Usually I like to meet a man’s parents before I take them to a waterfall and let them…”

“Okay, okay, I get it,” he interrupted her and chuckled. “I’m from a small town in Washington state. Both my parents are alive and well and I’m sure would be tickled to meet you. I have a half sister who—.” He broke off as he chopped a large vine that had been blocking their path with his machete. “…who was stolen as a baby. She found us almost four years ago. She’s married and living in Portland with a two-year-old daughter, Rose, who is the greatest love of my life.” He motioned for her to follow him down another steep incline and he stopped talking while he helped her. When she had jumped the short distance to the ground, he continued. “I went into the Special Forces right out of high school. Actually, they came searching for me. I guess I’d placed high in the college exams.” He tapped his head. “I have a wonderful memory, and they were looking for people like me. When they got a look at me, they put me through all sorts of special training, and I guess I just fell into my job. I worked in special ops for a while until I felt it was time to retire, then I went into business for myself. Nothing more to tell. Kind of boring if you ask me.” He smiled back at her.

“Boring? You call what you do boring?” She shook her head. “My father told me a little about you after you brought Blake back to us, and I wouldn’t describe your life as boring.”

He shrugged his shoulders and kept walking. “So, tell me about yourself.”

“Oh please, you can’t fool me. You probably knew all about me before you even met me. You probably knew what color underwear I was wearing the day we met.” She smiled as he stopped and turned around to face her. His forehead was creased and he looked like he was thinking about something.

“That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like to hear it from you. Hearing the personal details is far better than studying someone on paper.” He started to turn around, but looked back over his shoulder. “And they were hot pink.” He smiled and started walking again.

She thought about it and figured he was probably right. “Okay, what do you want to know? I assume you know where I went to college, where I got my first job, and who I have dated over the course of my entire life.”

He chuckled. “Tell me why you chose journalism.”

She thought about it for a minute. “When I was a girl, I used to watch the evening news with my father. Since he was always such a busy man, it was really the only time we had to spend together. I always loved the anchor woman’s hair and outfits and could picture myself dressed up, telling the interesting stories I was hearing. I dressed up as an anchorwoman for Halloween every year until I was thirteen.” He chuckled.

“I can totally see that,” he said causing her to smile.

“Actually, it was one of the only careers my father ever truly gave his full blessing for. My other career choices weren’t so notable.”

He stopped and looked at her. “Really? What other choices did you have in mind?”

“She smiled and walked past him. “Well, in high school I decided I wanted to be a flight attendant or a stripper.” He pulled her arm until she stopped and looked at him. “Well, I’d spent the night at a friend’s house and we’d watched Flashdance. The movie made it look so glamorous, I’d rushed home to my father and told him that I had found what I wanted to do with my life.” She chuckled. “He banned me from ever seeing that friend again.

He smiled and pushed aside a strand of her hair that had been pulled from her braid.

“Well, if you ever want to change careers, you can always try your routines out on me first.” She punched his shoulder playfully.

Then she walked ahead of him into a clearing and stopped dead in her tracks. There, in the middle of the jungle, stood five large men with machine guns.

Chapter Six

Ethan pulled her back into the brush quickly and didn’t wait to see if they’d been spotted as they took off running back the way they’d come. When they’d made it twenty yards he chanced a glance over his shoulder and saw several heads bobbing in the trees, heading their way. Damn!

He grabbed her arm and they made a sharp turn, cutting to the right down a path he knew was dangerous. He didn’t think they had any choice.

He didn’t know if the men where the one’s looking for them. Hell, they could have stumbled on a drug deal or something else. All he knew was they couldn’t chance stopping and asking them what they wanted.

“Sorry, Princess. It’s going to be a bumpy ride. He grabbed her and flung himself off the cliff, trying to take the brunt of the impact himself.

The rains the night before helped their muddy journey down the slippery ravine. As they slid down the steep hill, Ethan grunted every time his back connected with a sharp stick or rock. Ann squealed and held onto his shoulders.

“Quiet!” He tried to get her to stop screaming. If they played their cards right, the men would just assume they’d been lost in the forest and wouldn’t think they were dumb enough to slide down a two-hundred-foot cliff on their backs.

Finally, he could feel his momentum slowing and felt a little relieved. He chanced a look ahead of them and almost screamed himself. There in front of him was a great drop off. He let go of Ann with one hand and reached for anything to stop their speed.

Damn! They were heading for the edge and he had no clue what was at the bottom. “Grab hold of something,” he grunted.

She began to frantically grab hold of tiny twigs and branches as they flew by their heads. Finally, about ten feet from the edge, he grabbed a hold of a large vine and felt himself slowing. When the vine ripped out of the ground from their weight, he dug his hand into the ground as Ann held onto his waist. Mud coated his back and legs and he even felt some down his pants.

Finally, they came to a slow stop less than two feet from the rocky edge. They lay there, holding each other, breathing heavily. He rested his head back in the mud and looked up through the thick leaves to the blue sky above, thanking God they had stopped.

He heard shouting and pushed himself up, pulling her with him. He rushed to the edge and looked over and was happy to see a deep river about twenty feet below them.

“We aren’t done with the ride yet, Princess. Make sure to cross your feet when you land.” He grabbed her hand and when she nodded, they both jumped as far as they could into the open air.

He’d ridden plenty of water slides as a kid, and he’d had his share of solo jumps out of airplanes, but nothing prepared him for the drop into the unknown, especially since Ann’s hand was still in his.

They must have hit the water at thirty miles per hour. The wind was knocked from his lungs and Ann’s hand was ripped from his.

He fought to control his limbs and then realized that his heavy backpack was weighing him down. Using his legs, he easily broke through the surface of the water and looked around for Ann. When he couldn’t find her, he thought about her heavy backpack. Ducking under the rushing water, he searched for her.

The turbulent water was muddy and he could barely make out his own hand in front of his face. Removing his heavy bag, he kicked under the surface again and this time felt around with his hands and feet. When he kicked something with his boot, he reached down and grabbed a handful of hair and quickly pulled her up. She grabbed for his hand and he rushed them to the top.

When they broke the surface, Ann began to spit up water and cough. They were being pushed down river by the quickly flowing water. He put his arm under her shoulders and kicked towards the left embankment. They were picking up too much speed and the river had widened, and when he tried kicking again, it felt like the shore was getting farther away.

“Ethan?” Ann noticed that the water was getting faster, no doubt from all the rain last night.

“I know, I know. Help me kick towards shore. Come on.” They started kicking together and had made it almost to the shore when he heard the loud sounds of more rushing water. He looked over and saw the spray of a large waterfall that they were heading right towards.