The Bounty Hunters: The Marino Bros.: Box Set (48 page)

He didn’t know why he picked her up again; told himself it was because she was in pain, but knew he just wanted to feel what it was like to hold her again. Again there was the heat. He inhaled her scent as he went and his body reacted. This time when he set her down on to her feet, he couldn’t help but let her slide down the entire length of him.

Bella’s body reacted to the contact. Having him carry her gave her jitters, but this had been totally hot. Her nipples hardened under her shirt, and she was glad it was one of her baggier ones. She’d forgotten her injured ankle for a moment until he released her completely. She knew she was powerfully attracted to this man and that just wasn’t good. She was in no frame of mind, and in no place to get involved with anyone just yet . . . if ever, she thought despondently.

“Here you go,” his voice was like a guttural whisper. It was her first sign this man was as attracted to her as she was to him. True, he had said she was beautiful yesterday, but the man had just been clobbered over the head with the hood of a car. His words weren’t supposed to make sense. Today was different.

Bella blushed. “No, I think I can manage here on my own. If you could just bring the buckets and then set them here on the other side of the curtain that would be great.” She kept her eyes averted. She didn’t want to reveal to Blaze just how powerful her reaction to him had been.

“Just call if you need me, Izzy.” Blaze smiled and turned once more. He fled like the devil was chasing him. He needed to get away from her. He had this overwhelming desire to crush her to him and take what he wanted since he first laid eyes on her. That would not be good—not good at all.

*     *     *

As soon as
the door closed behind Blaze, Bella stripped quickly and gingerly stepped into the tub bearing her weight on her good ankle. The cool bath would do wonders for her injured ankle and her sagging spirits. When Blaze had laughed and called her Izzy she’d wished he’d said her own name. But she couldn’t use her own name again, ever. Even though Izzy was a derivative of her name, Isabella, it just didn’t feel the same. She’d been called Bella since she was a little girl. Having these thoughts made her feel guilty too. She had nothing to offer a man, especially a man like Blaze. A life on the run and in hiding wouldn’t be fair to anyone.

Bella reached behind her and grabbed a towel from the shelf. When Blaze returned, she didn’t want there to be any accidents. They’d had enough of them already. She shook out the beige towel she purchased at the thrift store and covered herself with it. Although the curtain hid her well, with her luck you just never knew.

Blaze entered at that moment carrying two buckets of water. “Here you go,” he grunted setting them down just outside the curtain. The thought of Bella lying there naked was almost too much to take.

“Thank you,” she called from behind the curtain and then added before he could leave, “Can you bring me the two gallons from the counter?”

Blaze glanced at the sink and spotted them, but did not fail to notice Bella’s voice sounded overly bright.

“Sure,” he replied. Anything to get his mind off of a naked Bella. He grabbed the two gallon containers holding her drinking water and brought those to the curtain as well. One of the buckets he had brought in had already disappeared from his view. He heard her pouring the water into the tub and couldn’t help but imagine her pouring it over her naked body. He wondered what her breasts looked like. She was wearing her clothes baggy, but he had felt her body pressed up against him and he somehow knew they would be perfect. She would be just the right size. More than a handful was too much, he thought lustily. Less than that was not enough.

He groaned his frustration at the direction his thoughts had taken. The sound seemed amplified in the room.

“You alright?” she asked from behind the curtains.

He felt like the cowardly lion in the Wizard of Oz when he lied. “No just my ankle. I’m waiting for you to empty the other bucket and then I’ll go fill them up.” The 25 x 40’ cabin was just too small for the both of them. He needed air. He needed release.

“Just a second then,” she croaked. Bella knew it wasn’t his ankle. The sexual tension in the air surrounded them. She quickly reached under the curtain for the other bucket and when she found the handle, lifted it up over the side of the tub. The curtain caught on her ring. The one her mother gave her and she never took off. It was too late to stop the next series of blunders about to occur. She’d already started pouring the water into the tub. And in her haste to dump the water, her towel slipped exposing her breasts to Blaze’s view. The man turned as quickly as he could, but not before she saw his eyes. This man was hungry. And surprisingly that look didn’t scare her. She felt the connection between them too.

“0h, oh,” she clamored as she quickly dropped the bucket and put the curtains back into its rightful place.

“I’m sorry,” Blaze groaned even though this time it wasn’t his fault. But what else was he supposed to say. He’d just been imagining her breasts, and lo and behold like manna from heaven there they were. And, dammit all to hell if he hadn’t been right. They were perfect. He wanted to suck them. His cock was solid.

“Not your fault. I’m sorry. Can you just get me two more buckets and I’ll make do with that.”

Blaze could tell from the sound of her strangled voice she was mortified. Without saying a word he just slipped back out. He went the thirty yards to the well breathing heavily and not from physical exertion. He was gulping air to try to calm down his libido. Focusing on his task, he quickly pulled up two large pails filling each of the two gallon buckets to the brim. His body was on fire and if anyone needed a cool bath, it was him—desperately. That’s when the idea came to him. He’d seen it in plenty of western movies, but usually the female bathed after the man. Thinking it over, he was fine with getting into the tub after Bella. He’d give her these buckets but he’d go back for more for himself while she finished up inside. The morning temperature was climbing. He needed to wash and he needed to cool down. Way down.

“Hey Izzy!” he called as he approached the screen door giving her plenty of warning he was approaching. “I’m coming in and I have a favor to ask. If you don’t mind, I’d like to get in that bath after you. I feel absolutely disgusting after my accident yesterday and everything. I’d like to go get some more buckets of water while you’re finishing up in here and then if you don’t mind. . .” He let the words trail off not knowing how to finish.

“Sure . . . no problem. It’s not very big though,” she warned.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make do,” he replied, trying to forget the earlier revelations. His mind couldn’t help going there again, not with her so close, so naked, and his imagination still running rampant. He felt the pressure in his cock, and hastily set the buckets down once more and this time turned away from the curtains. He’d have a full-blown hard on and shoot his load if they had another one of those accidents.

“All done,” she told him after dumping the second bucket of water into the tub.

This time Blaze didn’t respond, he just grunted. She heard the two pails being lifted and then shortly thereafter the slamming of the screen door.

Once again Blaze filled the buckets to their capacity. He wanted the freshwater to add to her bathwater. He should’ve also grabbed the containers she had emptied into the tub but he’d forgotten in his haste to get away. He’d fill them for her later after he bathed, got the grime off of him, and dropped the temperature of his aching organ. He willed his offensive beast to lay low, but his cock was paying his mind no heed. There was only one way to alleviate the situation, but there was no way he was going to take care of himself with Bella so close by. Time. That’s all there was to it, he said to himself, as he took several more calming breaths before looking back towards the cabin.

He stooped and lifted his heavy load. His mind was in the gutter, and he couldn’t help thinking of another heavy load, one he wanted to discharge. Gah, he thought, that was something Gio would’ve said. His older brother was full of those wonderful one liners. He could take any innocent thought or comment and turn it into a sexual innuendo. And he was proud of that talent too.

As Blaze mounted the steps he called into the cabin to let her know he was approaching once more. “I’ll stay out here until you finish,” he called.

“Just give me five more minutes,” she called out.

“Sure take your time,” he spoke the words brightly. Fuck yeah. Five minutes of imagining you naked now that I know what you look like. He was rock-hard. He looked down at his crotch. His filthy cargos were tented like a teenager.
Fuck!
He shook his head in disgust at himself. Five minutes was enough. He felt like a creep, but, damn that girl was just too beautiful. He had no choice. It was either take care of business or walk back in and give Bella the surprise of her life when his pants were so far tented she wouldn’t be able to take her eyes off of him. There would be no mystery on how large he was. She had a rocking chair, he spotted a hand towel, and he had five minutes.

*     *     *

After Blaze finished
with what he desperately needed to do and cleaned up as best he could, he had a few minutes to spare. He made the walk over to his disabled vehicle, popped the hood of the trunk to retrieve his belongings. His duffel was right where he left it. He grabbed the heavy bag that contained some of the necessities of his trade and limped back to the cabin. He could hear Bella inside. “Just give me another minute I’m trying to . . . ah.”

“What’s the matter?” he called rushing in when he heard her gasp. And there she stood in all her glory. The curtain she had strung along a thin cord had snapped. There was no privacy now. Her towel clutched to her chest with one hand only half covered her while she reached down for the broken string. Quickly, she made a grab for it and held it before her. But it was already too late. Once again Blaze had seen all of her glory. Well at least half of it. Her entire left side had been exposed to his eyes, and they feasted. Her breasts were pert, her nipples pink begging to be taken into his mouth. Her legs were long, her hip slightly rounded and what he saw of her pussy had him rock-hard again. If this woman didn’t kill him with her accidents, she’d give him a stroke with her body. But what a way to die.

He couldn’t turn away if he wanted to.

Run for the Hills

B
laze would have
run for the hills if he wasn’t already in them.

Now covered, Bella blushed from the tips of her toes to the roots of her hair. “I was trying to get out of the tub and I almost slipped.” Her mortification was complete. She couldn’t meet his gaze.

Blaze didn’t wait for an invitation. Setting down his buckets, he quickly made his way over to her. He gave her his forearm and she quickly grabbed it with her right hand. Then she was able to gingerly step out of the tub once again bearing her weight on her good ankle. She was a breath away when he inhaled her sent. Whatever she put into the bath with her made her smell like wildflowers. It had his senses reeling. His nostrils flared of their own accord. When she looked up into his eyes she saw desire burning in them for her. His eyes glittered like diamonds, little silver licks of flame burned in the blue irises.

She felt the heat between them. It yawned and her body responded to his proximity. Her nipples immediately hardened as if they had a mind of their own, and her body leaned towards him to make contact through the thin material of her second hand thrift store towel. The cloth was already drenched and had absorbed the water off of her body. She knew it was wrong, it was wanton, but it wasn’t her mind making her do these things. Like a flash bolt of electricity, the nerve endings in her nipples extended and reached down to her core. She pulsed there. Pushing up against him like some sex starved woman, she couldn’t stop herself. She was lucky when he did.

Blaze had to step away or else he’d take her right here, right now, on the floor. “I’ll leave so you can dress,” he choked turning instantly. He wanted this woman like no other. But she was a case. And, he was filthy. Her beauty, her innocence, her scent, and even her efficiency all appealed to him. But he needed to move now, so she couldn’t see his hard-on if she hadn’t already. Shit. He’d just taken care of himself and now he need to do it again. Feeling like he was twelve, he’d freaking rub the thing raw if he had to spend much more time with Bella Chase. He’d completely forgotten why he was here in the first place.