Page 17 of Rescue Me (Tempting SEALs 6.10)

“Do we dodge them and say excuse me? Do we walk, or do we have to figure out how to levitate?”

“We’re going to climb that tree over there and stay out of their way. It’s a good lookout point, and you probably could use a rest ’round about now.”

“And a shower, and a thick juicy steak.”

“Sorry. No shower, no room service. How are your tree-climbing skills?”

“On a scale of one to ten, one being the least? Zero. I’ve never climbed a tree in my life. Not since I watched Kess being hauled away in an ambulance after falling on her head. It looked like too much trouble for that amount of pain.”

“I won’t let you fall, I promise. Come on, this looks like a good tree hotel.”

The enormous tree was relatively easy to climb with Sam’s help. The branches were as thick as her entire body, and vines made convenient toe-and handholds. She moved as fast as she could to prevent critters from taking a toehold on her. Sam found a fork about ten feet off the ground that hung almost directly over the water and eased the pack off his back onto one of the wide branches. Opening it he removed a circle of a similar fabric to their suits, but instead of black, this was a camouflage pattern that blended well with the surrounding vegetation.

“A Frisbee?” she teased, leaning against the trunk as she watched Sam work.

“When we play, sweetheart, it won’t be with a toy.” With a flick of his wrist the circle flipped and writhed into a small dome-shaped tent. “Voilà! Your room is ready.” Placing the small tent to rest on the V of the branches, he quickly pounded a few pegs into the branch to support the little structure, then unzipped the entrance. “Take your boots off, drink some water and try to nap.”

“Where are you going to be?”

“Backtracking to be sure we won’t have any surprise guests. Stay inside the tent and zip the door closed. You’ll be able to see out pretty well, and it’ll keep critters out. Our ride should be here shortly. Even if you see Desi and the Zodiac, stay put. I won’t be long. Oh, yeah. One more thing.”

Sam gave her a quick, hard kiss.

“I really enjoy your one more things,” she told him when they broke apart. She wanted to keep him safely by her side. “Come back and say it again.”

“I have more than one ‘one more thing,’ sweetheart. Climb in, I’ll be back in an hour.”

SAM RETURNED TWO HOURS later. He’d managed to contact Desi on the SAT phone he’d retrieved from the large pack he’d hidden the day before near their rendezvous point. The other man had been detained in a village some twenty clicks down river. “Detained” meant Desi had encountered a young woman whose father was off fighting on the border. Desi was Mallaruzi and he was, apparently, usually pretty dependable. Unless he ran across a pretty girl. Sam warned him away from any other pretty girls and set up a new extraction time for 1200 hours. He then jogged almost halfway back to the compound without seeing evidence that there were more soldiers following them.

They’d come. Eventually.

But for now there was nothing more pressing than being with Beth and convincing her that she liked being with him, too.

After checking the perimeter for any sign of men, he rapidly climbed the tree and unzipped the front flap of the small tent. Inside was dim and relatively cool. Beth was asleep, her head resting on her outstretched arm. How the hell had he managed to keep his hands off her for a year and a half? Just looking at her made his heart beat faster, and not even his intense training could control the speed of his pulse. It was like she was the one specifically made for him, and his body recognized its mate. Sam removed his boots before he crawled in beside her. It was a tight fit, which he didn’t mind at all.

He lay like she was, one arm outstretched to support his head as he faced her. Merging his fingers with hers, Sam enjoyed the simple act of holding her hand. Hers was so small, and soft, and incredibly female clasped in his large rough palm.

She was perfectly relaxed, her slender body conforming to the thick branches supporting the floor of the tent. He scanned her face, so perfect in repose and just inches from his. She was prettier when she was awake and her features animated; asleep her beauty was more subtle, but just as heart-twisting. Her beauty was deceiving. She looked delicate with her pale, freckled skin and amber-colored hair. But she was as tensile as steel. Sam touched a finger to the dark sweep of her lashes, dyed, she’d told him once unselfconsciously.

He trailed his finger over her cheek, then brushed it gently over the sweet curve of her lower lip. She smiled without opening her eyes. “What’s the scoop?” she asked, her voice thick with sleep.

“Desi’s been held up. He’ll be here in a few hours.”

She opened slumberous sherry-colored eyes. “What will we do with ourselves for two hours?”

“More like three or four.”

“That long? Just the two of us in this little tent?” She brushed his hair off his forehead, then stroked his forehead with the pads of her fingers. Her touch traveled like wildfire through Sam’s blood. She shifted so that her hips aligned with his. Nothing between them but two thin layers of LockOut and an erection that had started eighteen months ago.

“I hate being bored, don’t you?” she whispered, tracing the creases beside his eyes, then the shape of his nose, then trailed down to Braille his mouth, her touch soft as air.

Sam tugged at the zipper at the base of her throat and started easing it down inch by slow inch. Her pupils dilated. “Intolerable,” he told her, his voice thick.

“Any cards in that pack of yours?” she asked, her hand tangling with his as she started pulling the zipper down on his suit. The backs of their hands brushed as their movements mirrored one another. Each zipper parted, one tooth at a time.

“Nope.” He bent his head the few inches separating them and skimmed his mouth over hers. Her lips parted and she welcomed him inside. She tasted … like heaven. Everything Sam had ever wanted was right here in his arms.

Beth touched his lower lip with the damp tip of her tongue, making Sam’s breath snag in his chest. He pressed his advantage and licked back, tasting the sweetness of her mouth as if he’d never kissed her before. After waiting so long for this, he didn’t want to rush it. Tamping down the primitive urge to take her without fanfare, he kissed her tenderly, with all the pent-up longing he’d been suppressing for a year and a half.

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