Unable to stand even the scant few feet separating them, Mack scooted over to be next to her, leaning back on the smooth hard trunk as he took in her features. “It definitely isn’t as good as you.”

  Marley’s chest rose and fell in short rapid breaths. He loved the way his words affected her. She was so responsive.

  Mack took a slow, deliberate sip of the water before carefully placing the canteen off to the side so it wouldn’t spill.

  Then he turned back to her, reaching up to gently touch the faint bruise marring her cheek. Rage still had its nails embedded in his insides. He needed to touch her, to hold her and reassure himself she was okay. He needed to wipe the image of her attack from both of their minds. “How badly does it hurt?”

  “Honestly, I’d forgotten about it.”

  Such a brave woman. Her strength amazed him. “I want to make love to you, Marley. I want to touch you. I want to taste you.”

  Her eyes darkened with longing, shifting to a deep chocolate brown. “Mack.”

  “Don’t tell me no. We both need this. I want you. Not just tonight, but every night.”

  He searched her gaze, looking for any hint of denial and praying for her acceptance. Giving her enough time to mull over his words from earlier, and her near silence during supper had left him uneasy. Had he told her too much about his past?

  He came with baggage, there was no question about it. He was older than her, with a grown son who hated him and a dead wife whom he’d all but abandoned for the forces.

  He gave new meaning to the word damaged. Until Marley, he hadn’t thought he had a soul left to be damaged, but she’d restored the hope he’d lost so long ago. Now he found himself looking past his goal to destroy Jack Mankel. Looking toward the life he might lead after he got his revenge.

  “Mack, I need you. Now.” He heard the desperation in her voice, watched as her nipples tightened through the thin fabric of her torn shirt. She didn’t deserve any of this, not one second of pain, but he would soothe her every hurt. Her every ache.

  Mack slowly undid the knot holding her shirt together, not tearing his gaze from hers for a second. “Your courage awes me, Marley.” He pushed the material covering her right breast off her shoulder. “Your strength amazes me.” He pushed the other scrap of cloth from her left breast, keeping his gaze locked on hers. “And your compassion steals my breath away. I’m not good enough for you, I know that, and if I were a good man I’d stay the hell away from you. But I’m not a good man.”

  He leaned down and drew her tight nipple into his mouth, gently sucking as he savored every ounce of sweetness on his tongue.

  He was already rock hard, his cock aching to be buried inside her hot pussy, but he pointedly ignored that raw edge and focused on giving Marley the pleasure she deserved. “But I can be good for you. I will be good for you.” Mack took her other nipple into his mouth and slowly sucked on her, his eyes closing in ecstasy as her fingers dug into his scalp and clutched him to her chest.

  He pulled her beneath him, laying her out on the spongy green moss so that the moonlight bathed her body from head to toe, a soft, light glow just bright enough for him to see her. His hands grabbed her pants and pulled them off, easing her panties down after. When he saw her wet, glistening sex, he nearly came in his pants. “You’re so fucking beautiful, it hurts.”

  Her lush perfect breasts narrowed into a trim, flat waist and stomach before flaring back out into hips that were made for a man’s hands. Made for his hands. Mack ripped off his shirt and then shucked his own pants, standing tall and naked, giving her a last chance to tell him to stop. When Marley leaned up on her elbow and reached for him, Mack knelt before her. “Open for me, Marley. Now.”

  She lay back and spread her legs wide, her knees falling apart so that she was completely bare to him. Her vulnerable position was sexy beyond words and his cock throbbed, pre-cum glistening on its tip. Fighting for control, Mack lowered himself to his elbows and scooped her hips into his hands. He took a deep inhale of her sweet sex. “This is what I’ve been dreaming about all day.” Then he dropped his head and gave her a long, slow lick, delving into her opening and rising up to circle her clit.

  “Oh, God!” Marley’s ragged cry made his hips flex.

  “You taste like candy. Like heaven.”

  Mack lapped up her goodness, savoring every bit. He made slow deliberate circles with his tongue—up, around, then back down—until her hips were tracking to the rhythm of his mouth on her. If he hadn’t been holding her down, she would’ve come completely off the ground. “I’m so close. Don’t stop,” Marley’s ragged moans were his undoing. He needed to be inside her, he needed to feel her orgasm squeezing the blood from his dick. Mack rose swiftly over her and lined up with her entrance, “Look at me, Marley.”

  She rolled her head from side to side, forcing Mack to catch her face in his hands. “Look at me when I take you.”

  He couldn’t explain why, but he wanted to know that she was thinking only of him. Her eyes opened, her lips low and heavy with lust. A faint sheen of sweat covered her body and she grabbed onto his biceps.

  “Watch me. Don’t take your eyes off me.” Mack eased into her, inch by inch, feeling every bit of her until he filled her to the hilt.

  She was quietly panting now, her nails digging into his arms, but she didn’t rip her gaze from his. Unable to speak another word, Mack drew out, her tight pussy clenching, trying to keep him inside. If he weren’t careful, his own orgasm would precede hers. Now, moving just as slowly, Mack worked himself back in, wanting to drive her over the edge.

  Marley planted her feet on the ground and shoved up, trying to take even more of him. Mack kept his arms on either side of her head as he began to rock in and out, clenching his teeth to remain in control. Marley didn’t bother. She writhed around and clawed and scratched at him, showing him how much she loved every second.

  “Mack, harder.”

  He squeezed his hands into tight fists. “No. I want to make this good for you.”

  Marley flung her head to the side to try to arch up again, but he pinned her to the ground with his hips.

  “You will make it good. But I need it harder, Mack. I need to feel your strength. Please, I’m so close.”

  Her plea unraveled his last thread of restraint, and Mack pulled out and plunged inside her with a loud groan. Marley met him equally as hard and he took her like his soul had been crying out for him to do, with primal thrusts and deep growls.

  “Mack, I need you now!” Marley exploded, clenching and spasming with her orgasm. Mack continued to drive into her over and over.

  Fuck, he couldn’t hold on. He couldn’t hold back.

  “Marley!” Mack’s balls drew up and he exploded, unloading inside her, feeling a sweet ungodly pleasure that made his toes curl and his heart stop beating in his chest.

  Marley threw her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her.

  It was all Mack could do not to crush her beneath him. Dear God, he couldn’t move. His intention had been to solely focus on her pleasure, but it had backfired and now he was unable to do anything. Eventually Mack became aware of Marley butterflying soft kisses on his face as she traced soothing circles on his shoulders and back. At some point she wrapped her legs around his hips.

  He thought he loved her.

  Unable to hold himself up much longer, Mack rolled onto his back, pulling Marley on top of him. He was still hard enough that his hard length stayed inside her, as if that part of him couldn’t stand to be separated from her either.

  Marley continued to plant butterfly kisses on his face and he lay there, basking in her glorious touch, her womb quaking around him.

  Her hips were rocking gently, her nipples scraping over his chest. Marley took his lips in a gentle kiss.

  “I want more, Mack.”

  As he stared at her and at the open longing and need in her face, he realized that he did love her. It didn’t matter that they’d only met the day before. He knew it like he knew the sun rose in the east and set in the west. And he would do anything for her.

  Mack settled his hands on her hips and offered her an exhausted smile even as his cock sprang back to life. “I’m all yours.”

  21

  At sunrise, they made their way down the river, looking for the safest location to cross. The Congo River wasn’t like any of the ones she’d seen across America. It didn’t have small cliffs or sandy shores. It was like the jungle had paused before picking up on the other side.

  She spotted more than one snake meandering lazily through the water before ducking underneath and disappearing from sight. In that murky, zero-visibility sludge were some of the most venomous snakes in the world.

  “Hey, you look like someone killed your dog. What’s going on in that head of yours?” Mack’s teasing tone freed her from her panicked thoughts about falling into a nest of snakes.

  Something in him had changed after last night. He’d been ten times more attentive and caring this morning, not letting her out of sight for a second. It was as if he’d opened up some part of himself he’d been holding back.

  Mack’s gray eyes were deeper with emotion than the day before and guilt threatened to choke her. He trusted her and now she was thinking of betraying that trust.

  She swallowed past the ten-ton rock that had formed in her throat and looked away. Another swimming snake passed by with its nose raised out of the water, the rest of its body was camouflaged in the sludge. “I’m thinking about having to get in the water with one of those.”

  Mack circled his arm around her waist and snuggled his nose against her neck. “Want me to carry you on my shoulders?”

  “Mack, don’t be ridiculous. We both know that water is deep. We’ll have to swim.”

  He nipped at her sensitive skin, and despite the guilt poisoning her veins, chills raced across her shoulders. God, this man made her feel so much. In the space of a day, he had turned her into a sex-craving nymph.

  “I’ll protect you. Do you trust me?”

  “Of course I trust you to protect me.” But you can’t trust me to protect you.

  “All right, no more stalling. We’ll cross there.” Mack swatted her ass and strode off, his confidence stabbing a wound in her heart.

  Marley rubbed her stinging derrière and grudgingly followed him to the edge of the river. It was the only reasonable spot to cross. A long limb jutted out halfway over the water and the river pulled together like an hourglass before flaring out again about twenty feet ahead. No matter how much she wanted to scream and run, she knew Mack was right. They had to cross the river.

  Unfortunately, fear wasn’t schooled by reason. “How exactly are you going to protect me from what you can’t see?”

  “With my knife. If those little boogers get too aggressive, I’ll take them out. And if they’re big enough, we can have them for lunch.”

  No way. No freaking way. “I’d rather eat tree bark.” She handed over the knife anyway. “Just kill them.”

  Mack chuckled and flipped the blade open. “Now, honey, you and I are going to have to have a serious talk when we get out of here. I don’t know if I can date a vegetarian.”

  Marley stared at him incredulously. “You’re looking forward to this, aren’t you?” He actually wanted to cross this aqua deathtrap.

  Mack let out a bark of laughter and scooped her into his arms. “Of course I’m looking forward to this.” He gave her butt a tight squeeze. “I’m looking forward to enjoying this every single day.”

  Her heart flipped over in her chest, but she slapped his hand away, “That’s not what I’m talking about and you know it, you crazy man.”

  “Oh, you mean that?” Mack gestured to the river with the knife, which looked, for all the world, like a natural extension of his arm.

  “Yes, I’m talking about the possibility that we’ll be eaten alive within the next minute.”

  “I’ll eat it first.” Mack bared his teeth in a feral smile.

  Marley gasped. “You are an adrenaline junkie.”

  He dipped his head in acknowledgment. “Guilty as charged.”

  She tried to keep her stern mommy-face look in place, but Mack’s eyes were twinkling and a handsome smile was playing on his sexy lips. God, this man would be the death of her.

  “And you like it.” He gave her another hard kiss. “Now, come on, quit making excuses. I can’t wait to get you out of here and into a proper bed.”

  Mack propelled her toward the tree limb and Marley leaned back, resisting. “Are you sure?”

  “I’m positive. Just grab onto the limb, shimmy out to the end, and drop in. It’s only about a ten-foot swim to the other bank from that point. It’s the best spot I’ve seen so far. We could walk another five miles and not find one as good as this.”

  Oh, she hated that he was right. Part of her had been holding out hope they might find one of those rope bridges like Indiana Jones always did, but she got the feeling there’d be no archaeologist swooping in on a rope to save them.

  Not that Indiana Jones could beat Mack Grey anyway.

  If she was going to cross this river, she definitely wanted Mack by her side. “Time to put on your big-girl panties.” She muttered to herself and wrapped her hand around the smooth bark of the tree.

  “No panties,” Mack growled out behind her.

  It was true. Her panties had vanished this morning, but this was no time to joke about sex. She hoisted herself up and hung from the limb by her fingers, slowly inching her way out over the brown, murky water. Something splashed in the water below her and she froze, slamming her eyes shut. “Oh God, oh God, oh God.”

  “Marley, you know how I said no panties?”

  What the hell was he still talking about her panties for? There was probably a bed of piranhas licking their chops beneath her, just waiting on her to fall. “What?”

  “Marley, look at me.”

  Marley clenched her jaw and shook her head. If she opened her eyes, she might look down and see the gaping maw of a giant crocodile.

  “You know those panties you couldn’t find this morning?”

  She managed to peel back an eyelid and glare at him over her shoulder, gasping when Mack came into view. He was standing on the shore behind her with his feet braced and the remnants of her underwear hanging from his fingers.

  “A little souvenir.” He rubbed them against his cheek before shoving them back into his pants pocket.

  Marley gasped out loud, “You are insane. I can’t believe you let me look for those for nearly five minutes this morning. I thought some monkey had hauled them off.”

  “Not a monkey, honey, just me.”

  Marley gasped, forgetting for a moment how badly her fingers burned from holding up her own weight.

  “Keep moving. You’re almost there.”

  Oh, she was going to move all right, and once they made it to the other side, she would lay into him like he couldn’t even imagine. She made it to the end of the limb before she even realized it. She dangled there for a second, steeling her nerves. Maybe if she swung back and forth, she could catapult her body a few feet closer.

  “Just drop in and start swimming. I’m right behind you.”

  The limb shook and Marley turned to see Mack swinging his way toward her at a rapid pace. “Mack, stop! It can’t hold both of us!”

  “I know. Let go.” He was less than five feet away now.

  Oh, God, he was right. Somehow, Marley forced her fingers to uncurl. The water splashed up and over her head, sucking her under. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t see. She was drowning. No! She kicked and kicked and kicked. Her head broke the surface and she gulped air while flailing her arms.

  “Swim, Marley!”

  Something jumped into the water behind her, but Marley couldn’t look at it—she’d panic if she did. She forced herself to swim, kicking with all her might. Please don’t eat me.

  Her lungs burned as the river’s current tried to pull her away from her target—the closest jutting out area on the other bank. Something brushed past her legs, slimy and undulating, and Marley screamed, gulping a big mouthful of water. She scrambled and kicked and fought her way across until she grabbed onto the long weeds on the bank and pulled herself onto dry, blessed earth. Marley lay there panting, thanking God and feeling the dirt and grass beneath her fingers like it was precious silk.

  It took her a moment to realize Mack had not followed her. Marley scrambled to her knees, edging as close as she could to the water. “Mack!”

  There wasn’t even a break or ripple on the surface of the river.

  “Mack! Mack, answer me!

  Had she lost him? Where was he? Had he been eaten alive?

  Please, please be alive. She couldn’t go back in the water to search for him, the very thought made her ill. She just couldn’t.

  “Mack, for the love of God, answer me!”

  Nothing. It felt like someone had wrapped a cord around her heart and yanked on it. She couldn’t leave him. Not after everything he had done for her. She cared for him too deeply. “Mack, I’m coming.” Her voice was weak but firm. She dipped her feet into the water and prepared to jump in. She would save him. Just like he would save her if the situation were reversed.

  The water rippled and something burst through the surface with a loud roar. Marley screamed and scrambled backward, arms and legs trembling. Mack flopped onto the shore, his knife clutched in one hand, a dark green stringy substance in the other. She scrambled up to him, touching his face and arms, wanting to prove to herself he was okay.

  “Are you bleeding? What tried to eat you? Did you kill it?

  Chest heaving as he fought for air, Mack lifted his arm. “Just some weeds.”

  He held up the handful of wet, stringy seaweed and then his arm flopped back to the earth. “My foot got tangled. Pretty hard to cut myself free when I couldn’t see what I was slashing at. You okay?”

  Marley wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted to pummel his chest for scaring the shit out of her. She chose instead to gently lay her head on his chest and savor the strong heartbeat beneath her ear. “I’m okay. I thought something had you. I was going to go back in there to get you.”

 

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