Page 36 of No Escape

Chapter Thirteen

They’d covered about a mile and a half when they came to a small lake. Stopping at the shore’s edge, Clint scoured the bank on the other side while Sarah stood staring down at the crystal-clear water. A sigh of yearning escaped her. The sun was beating down on them, and the heat was stifling as ever. Sweat rolled down his neck and back, and a glance at Sarah showed that her T-shirt was wet between her breasts. Her damp hair was clinging to the side of her neck, and long ago, had fallen free from the twisted bun she’d coiled it in after they left the cave. It was obvious her shower had long ago worn off, and she was as dirty and sticky as ever.

He bent to retrieve a stick at his feet, tossing it into the water. The action drew Sarah’s attention. Their eyes met. “Want to take a quick dip?”

She shot him an I-don’t-believe-you look. “I’m not fetching any sticks,” she said.

He threw back his head and laughed, the deep, rumbling sound slicing through the silence surrounding them. “We made good time,” he explained. “We’ll be at the rendezvous in half an hour, plenty of time before Stan picks us up.”

“Stan?”

Clint sighed, berating himself for mentioning him. He should have known she would be quick to ask questions, and the less she knew the better, so he kept it brief. “A friend. You want a cooling off or not?” His tone left no room for dilly-dallying.

She looked at the water with longing, eyeing him doubtfully. “Do you think we’re safe here?”

“Trust me. It’s secluded enough. Right now, the beaches are the main targets for any searches going on. There’s no runway to land a plane on this island, so they won’t be expecting us to escape in one.”

“What about yesterday?”

She was referring to the man he’d killed. He shrugged. “It’s a big island, angel, and Rodriguez isn’t stupid. He’ll cover all his bases, so a few of his fucking men might make it this way by accident. And keep in mind, they don’t want to kill us, not right away.”

“The man shooting at us yesterday must have forgotten that.”

He grinned. “I didn’t say anything about wounding us. If you’re going to take a dip, you better do it now. You have ten minutes.”

Sarah’s eyes went back to the lake before a wide smile spread across her face. Without warning, she waded into the water, diving beneath the surface when she was waist deep. She came up gasping, pushing her hair back from her face and turning to look at him. So far he hadn’t moved from his spot on shore.

“It feels wonderful. Aren’t you coming in?” He took a moment to look around, taking in the area. The swaying tree branches dipped toward the surface of the water and would offer them a safe hiding place if someone did come their way. “I thought you said we were safe.”

They were. Only he didn’t think an afternoon swim with Sarah was safe. Then something landed at his feet, breaking into his thoughts. Looking down at the wet bundle, he realized they were her clothes. His eyes shot back to where she was swimming, and he grinned when he realized she was going out of her way not to be seen.

She stayed well beneath the surface, diving and resurfacing before diving again like a mystical mermaid, her long hair floating out behind her. Then she made a tactical error in judgment, rolling over to float on her back. He glanced away, clenching his jaw. He couldn’t afford to lose control again, but she made it damn difficult to keep his mind off her.

It was a battle he quickly lost. He knew it when time and time again his gaze kept returning to her, the memory of that morning still too vivid in his mind. She turned her face upward toward the sky, the sun warmly kissing the gentle slopes of her exposed tits. Lust churned in his gut, turning him stone hard. He didn’t need this. In another few hours, they’d be going separate ways and would never see each other again. If he was smart, he’d order her from the water, but that wouldn’t make Stan come any sooner.

Damn! The sight of her splayed upon the surface of the water like a mermaid was getting to him, and before Clint knew it, he kicked off his boots and stripped off his clothes in record time. Suddenly, he needed cooling off, and fast. Only diving into the cold water didn’t have the desired effect he’d hoped it would. Knowing Sarah was only a few feet away, floating blissfully on her back, was enough to keep the fire burning in his belly, and below. He dove to the bottom of the lake and discovered that was a mistake when he glanced toward the surface and saw her naked backside.

His splash must have alerted her, because Sarah lowered her feet to the sandy bottom and looked around her nervously. The water stirred gently against her, and Clint could tell by her nervous movements that she was searching the area. When he saw her turn to swim back in the direction she’d tossed her clothes, he swam toward her, zooming up out of the water right in front of her. She caught her breath, her eyes widening.

“Looking for me, angel?” He shook the water out of his hair like a shaggy dog. His eyes fell to Sarah’s naked shoulders and below the water’s surface. The sight of her luscious tits sent a jolt of lust through him.

She looked nervous. Yet there was no denying the stamp of soft desire flickering in her eyes, calling out to him to respond, male to female. His nostrils flared inhaling her scent, nothing floral or sweet, just her, and the arousal she couldn’t hide. Sarah wanted him. Clint felt his blood leap with excitement, responding to the smoky heat in her eyes. Now probably wasn’t the time to recall their lusty fucking. But since he’d tasted her fiery charms nothing else had been on his mind.

“I thought something happened to you,” she said.

“Worried?” He knew she’d never admit it.

She surprised him by diving to swim around him. Clint wasn’t about to let her escape that easily. He reached out and grasped her by the ankles, preventing her from going very far. She lowered her feet to the bottom again and turned back to him. Her eyes fell down his chest to the water line, then further below, widening when she saw he was completely naked and his cock was reaching out toward her.

What did she expect? He took a step closer, the water stirring gently around his waist. As he moved forward, Sarah moved back. He allowed himself the luxury of lowering his eyes, taking in her nudity, which was clearly visible through the translucent water. She was beautiful. It didn’t seem to occur to her to cover her breasts as she backed further out of the water toward shore. What was the sense anyway? He’d already seen everything she had to offer. His eyes caressed her, his hands curling with the need to touch her. She stopped just short of exposing the most intimate part of her body.

“What do you want?” Her words came out in a husky croak, producing a lazy smile from Clint. She was feeling it too—the building up of something meaningful, something unavoidable.

He reached out and gently cupped a sun-kissed breast. Moving the pad of his thumb over her nipple and turning it hard. She trembled, catching her breath. “I want to fuck you.” He’d never been one to beat around the bush, especially when he wanted something.

“I don’t think this is right,” she breathed softly. Only her tone didn’t sound very convincing.

“Why, angel? What makes it wrong for two consenting adults to enjoy each other?”

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