Page 16 of No Escape

“That feels good.” He was pretty sure she was talking about when his massage transferred to the bunched muscles in her neck and shoulders a second time. She became so relaxed that her head rolled back against him, landing somewhere between his chest and shoulder. “You’re turning out to be a man of many talents.”

If he wanted to, he could read a lot into her comment but chose to remain quiet, realizing he should have left her alone. He made a mental note to do so in the future. Her sighs of pleasure made him think of the sounds she’d made earlier. He was trying to ignore the way her bottom fit snug against the cradle of his thighs, rubbing up against his hard cock, what the arch of her back did to her rounded tits. It was a struggle not to let his hands slide down the front of her and grab those enticing mounds.

“How did you know where to find me?” she asked after a while.

He’d been waiting for the questions to start coming. “I had Susan express mail me the letter left at the florist shop. It turned up several sets of fingerprints, one of them Raul Rodriguez. I took a chance he’d have you stashed somewhere on his island.”

“You know him then?”

“I know of him,” Clint corrected, not adding that Rodriguez was as bad as they come, mixed up in just about everything illegal and not a scrupulous bone in his body. He and Mark had come up against a lot of Raul Rodriguez’s over the years. It was the nature of their business.

She leaned forward, giving him better access to her spine, and gasped when his hands moved to her hips. There was nothing dainty or fragile about Sarah but Clint found he liked her full curves. His hands traveled up her sides in a rough caress.

“Raul was after Susan. If Danny hadn’t been sick that morning, she would have opened up the shop as usual and they would have been waiting for her.” She shifted her body beneath his hands, pushing into his administrations and silently letting him know she liked it rough. He filed that information away for the future.

“That’s what Susan figured when she arrived later that afternoon to find the shop closed and a note slipped under the door addressed to you.” He wisely ignored her breasts by moving to her upper arms and rubbing them briskly.

Sarah’s tone indicated she hadn’t known a note had been left behind. “What did it say?”

“The usual things—don’t call the police or they’d kill you. That someone would contact you once Susan told them where she’d hidden the statue so you could retrieve it and send it to them. In exchange for her safe return, of course. That’s why she notified me.”

“You sound skeptical.”

Clint shrugged. He didn’t believe in sugarcoating the truth no matter how brutal. “Men like Rodriguez can’t be trusted. Once he got what he wanted, you would have become fish bait.”

“Or Susan.” Sarah shivered beneath his hands. “So, it’s a statue he wants back. He never said. Only that it was something Mark had given to her.”

“Mark was always picking up some trinket for Susan and the boys wherever we went, cheap souvenirs he’d find at roadside flea markets.” His fingers dug into the knotted muscles he found at her nape.

“Does she have the statue he’s talking about?”

Clint shrugged. “The last thing Mark picked up was a cheap imitation of a religious artifact when we were in Jerusalem, but he didn’t give it to Susan. When we get back to the states, I’m going to take a closer look at it.”

“Do you have it?” Sarah inquired, purring with obvious pleasure when his hands found another muscle needing attention.

“No, but I know where it is. Come on, time to get going,” he said abruptly, deciding they’d wasted enough time. If she moved against his straining zipper one more time, he was going to lose it. Before she could pull herself away, his hands pushed against her shoulders so he could get to his feet. He moved to undo the pins holding the net to the tree. “I’ll meet you on the ground.”

****

Sarah recognized when she was being dismissed. She didn’t know what his problem was but it seemed he couldn’t get away from her fast enough. That was fine with her. Besides, she needed a few minutes of privacy. She got to her feet slowly, watching Clint’s deft movements as he took their bed down.

As if sensing the direction her thoughts had taken, he muttered, “Don’t wander off, and watch where you drop your drawers.”

Sarah’s mouth dropped with astonishment, her eyes rounding. She supposed he had her best interests at heart, but if he thought she was going to go to the bathroom under his watchful guard, he was in for a rude awakening. Not bothering to acknowledge his remark, she turned and shimmied down the tree, jumping the last few feet before heading off to find a private bush. Hopefully something with big leaves.

Clint was waiting for her when she returned. Leaning coolly against the tree they’d spent the night in, his ankles as well as arms crossed. Sarah tried not to think about what she’d let him do to her. It was easier to push it to the back of her mind. But one thing she couldn’t forget was how good it had felt climaxing after so many months of abstinence.

As she neared Clint she began to realize something was wrong. He seemed unapproachable; his flinty expression was hard to read. Piercing black eyes didn’t so much as blink while she casually strolled up to him.

“I thought I told you not to wander off,” he muttered in a low tone, a clear indication he was angry.

“You did, but…” Sarah realized her mistake in halting too close to him, too late. He grabbed her by the front of her shirt, hauling her closer still, until her breasts were crushed against his unyielding chest.

He brought his face to within inches of hers. “What the fuck did I tell you about following orders?”

Who did he think he was, manhandling her that way? She reminded herself he was there to rescue her, which included protecting her as well, didn’t it? “I know what you said, but there are some things I refuse to do in front of you.” She actually heard some of the seams to her shirt give out beneath his grasp. “I hope you have another shirt I can borrow,” she said, hoping to lighten the mood.

“Don’t fucking push me Sarah, please.” Clint muttered beneath his breath. “I promise you won’t like the consequences. Remember that the next time you disobey my orders.” He released her without another word, and bent to grab his duffel bag before turning to walk away. “I suggest you fucking keep up,” he said over his shoulder, stepping into the jungle.

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