Page 20 of No Escape

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.”

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