Page 14 of Wild Fire

DANICA

Dani watched the clouds and moon move across the night sky. She often forgot how much brighter the stars were once you got away from the ambient light of the city. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Warrick finally succumbed to his exhaustion. He slept fitfully at first until finally she went closer to check on him. When she placed her hand on his forehead, his hand wrapped around her wrist in a powerful grip.

She started to pull back and found his strength far outmatched hers. “Warrick, it’s Dani. Everything’s okay,” she whispered.

“Dani,” he murmured but seemed to settle a bit.

“That’s right, big guy, Dani. We’re safe. The bad guys don’t know where we are. I’ve got guns, and you’re a fire-breathing dragon.”

She couldn’t believe she was saying or even thinking that without believing she was going insane. But as she’d said, it was hard to argue with what you saw with your own two eyes. At her slight jest, he smiled, and his breathing evened out.

She did truly believe they were safe enough for now, but he needed to rest. If part of those they were up against were shifters like Warrick or some other kind of fantastical creature, their very survival might depend on Warrick being at the top of his game. Tonight, she would keep guard while she let him sleep.

In the morning when he was awake and rested, she would grab a couple of hours of sleep. She was glad the lieutenant had insisted she take at least three days. She hadn’t really had a day off in the past eighteen months. She figured once she and Warrick had a game plan, she’d see if she needed to take her boss up on more days off.

She went over everything that had happened that had brought her to sharing a yurt with a sexy dragon-shifter. He turned in his sleep, but now his movement seemed more relaxed and natural as opposed to fitful. She couldn’t even imagine the torture those bastards had put him through. They must have wanted him for something. He didn’t think it was information, but if not that, why keep him alive?

Could he be valuable as some kind of slave? Maybe they wanted him as a breeder for some kind of super soldier. That actually made some sense. A whole army of dragon-shifters could take over the world if they wanted. She glanced over in his direction. He’d removed his clothing before getting into bed. She had to admit, she’d watched him once his back was turned. Even from behind, the man was a beautiful sight—the musculature of his back and butt were second to none. She could easily imagine the kind of powerful thrusting he could give a woman he was intent on pleasuring.

She shook her head, dismissing any thoughts of Warrick breeding anybody, including her. It was all too easy to imagine being held in his powerful embrace, her back to his front. Easy to fantasize about those strong hands caressing her body, cupping her breasts as he played with her nipples, one hand slinking down the front of her torso to cover her mound before his hand would delve between her legs, splaying her labia so he could work her clit and stroke her opening.

Dani chewed on her bottom lip and had to fight to keep her hand from relieving the ache and arousal that had come unbidden, and from where? She’d never responded to the mere presence of a man the way she did to Warrick. Yes, he was sex on a stick, but she was no untried girl and men who looked like gods tended to favor women who looked like supermodels. Dani had no problem with her looks. For one thing, she carried more muscle than most. That had come in handy on more than one occasion, but she was never going to fit into those tight skinny jeans that some women favored. Well, she might fit, but the look wouldn’t be a good one.

For some reason, it was far too easy to imagine what it might be like to be sharing that bed with Warrick without worrying that someone—and someone who meant them harm—was looking for them. He would want her naked. He’d already indicated a preference for naked women. If she closed her eyes, her mind conjured up a picture of his muscular physique covered only by a loincloth.

She could imagine being pinned by him up against something, his front pressing into her back, that enormous hard-on she’d seen pressing against her backside as he nuzzled her neck, his fingers circling and swirling around her engorged clit, sliding from clit to slit and back again. He would stroke her until she came, bucking her hips and covering his hand in her cream as he leaned against her before lifting her up and taking her back to the bed, covering her body with his.

There was a slight movement out of the corner of the window and the fantasy faded in an instant, all of Dani’s senses coming online as she peered into the darkness and found the source—a doe and two small fawns grazing close to the river. Not good, Dani. Not good. The worst part was Warrick was soundly sleeping on the other side of the yurt, unaware that the woman who had helped him escape his captors indulged in sexual fantasies about him.

Dani kept watch for the rest of the night, getting up every so often to splash cold water on her face or just to prowl the interior of the yurt. She did it more to dispel the sexual fantasies that kept plaguing her than to keep from falling asleep.

As the sun’s light began to kiss the sky, she heard Warrick waking.

“Good morning,” he said, getting up and pulling on the sweatpants and nothing else.

It wasn’t a loincloth, but it was close enough and did little to hide the fact that he had morning wood. That wasn’t a term she particularly cared for, but at the moment anything she could think of that she didn’t like was good. He stretched, his muscles rippling and making him look every bit the predatory beast.

“Did you sleep well?” she asked.

“Not at first, but then I seemed to fall asleep deeply and slept like a rock. You must be tired.”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Dani. I’m now well rested and mostly healed. They came every three days to cut me and douse me with seawater so what they did to me was already waning when you showed up. Let me take watch, and you can sleep for a while.”

She smiled. “I should argue with you and tell you all the reasons that’s not a good idea, but I’m not going to. You’re right. I’m beat and could use some sleep. Just promise me…”

He held up his hand. “I will not leave this yurt until you’re awake, and we have a plan. I would not leave you unguarded. As you watched over me, so will I watch over you. Sleep; I command you.” He added the last with mock severity.

“I don’t take orders from you.”

“Not yet, but you will.”

Dani snorted. He was an arrogant bastard, but he was also good company, and she knew, to the depths of her soul, that she could trust him. Taking off all but her bra and panties, she climbed into bed.

“Not fair,” he teased. “You got to see me naked.”

Afraid that he had somehow guessed she had stared, probably longingly, at him or somehow knew her fantasies, she blushed but quipped “Yeah, not much to see.”

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