20
They ate supper in silence. Mack made a big enough fire to quickly cook the meat and then doused the smoke and flames to hide their location. He hadn’t wanted to risk a fire, but he also hadn’t wanted to feed Marley raw meat. After eating, they savored more of the water, dousing their tongues and throats.
“I’ve never eaten mongoose before,” Mack said, “but you’re right, it now ranks above squirrel on my list of favorite foods.”
Marley grimaced. “I would have enjoyed it much more if I could have hypnotized myself into believing it was a fat juicy steak.”
It had almost tasted like one after over twenty-four hours without food. Mack had done that before, but it was never pleasant, and every growl of Marley’s stomach had hit him with a punch of guilt.
They settled next to the roots at the base of one of the trees, the heat of the night air making a fire unnecessary for warmth. Mack watched Marley take a sip of water from his small canteen. And then she closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the tree trunk, her knees bent, bathed in an almost ethereal glow by the moonlight reflecting off the river. It was the only light they had to see by. “This water is heaven.”
Unable to stand even the scant few feet separating them, Mack scooted over to be next to her, leaning back on the smooth hard trunk as he took in her features. “It definitely isn’t as good as you.”
Marley’s chest rose and fell in short rapid breaths. He loved the way his words affected her. She was so responsive.
Mack took a slow, deliberate sip of the water before carefully placing the canteen off to the side so it wouldn’t spill.
Then he turned back to her, reaching up to gently touch the faint bruise marring her cheek. Rage still had its nails embedded in his insides. He needed to touch her, to hold her and reassure himself she was okay. He needed to wipe the image of her attack from both of their minds. “How badly does it hurt?”
“Honestly, I’d forgotten about it.”
Such a brave woman. Her strength amazed him. “I want to make love to you, Marley. I want to touch you. I want to taste you.”
Her eyes darkened with longing, shifting to a deep chocolate brown. “Mack.”
“Don’t tell me no. We both need this. I want you. Not just tonight, but every night.”
He searched her gaze, looking for any hint of denial and praying for her acceptance. Giving her enough time to mull over his words from earlier, and her near silence during supper had left him uneasy. Had he told her too much about his past?
He came with baggage, there was no question about it. He was older than her, with a grown son who hated him and a dead wife whom he’d all but abandoned for the forces.
He gave new meaning to the word damaged. Until Marley, he hadn’t thought he had a soul left to be damaged, but she’d restored the hope he’d lost so long ago. Now he found himself looking past his goal to destroy Jack Mankel. Looking toward the life he might lead after he got his revenge.
“Mack, I need you. Now.” He heard the desperation in her voice, watched as her nipples tightened through the thin fabric of her torn shirt. She didn’t deserve any of this, not one second of pain, but he would soothe her every hurt. Her every ache.
Mack slowly undid the knot holding her shirt together, not tearing his gaze from hers for a second. “Your courage awes me, Marley.” He pushed the material covering her right breast off her shoulder. “Your strength amazes me.” He pushed the other scrap of cloth from her left breast, keeping his gaze locked on hers. “And your compassion steals my breath away. I’m not good enough for you, I know that, and if I were a good man I’d stay the hell away from you. But I’m not a good man.”
He leaned down and drew her tight nipple into his mouth, gently sucking as he savored every ounce of sweetness on his tongue.
He was already rock hard, his cock aching to be buried inside her hot pussy, but he pointedly ignored that raw edge and focused on giving Marley the pleasure she deserved. “But I can be good for you. Iwillbe good for you.” Mack took her other nipple into his mouth and slowly sucked on her, his eyes closing in ecstasy as her fingers dug into his scalp and clutched him to her chest.
He pulled her beneath him, laying her out on the spongy green moss so that the moonlight bathed her body from head to toe, a soft, light glow just bright enough for him to see her. His hands grabbed her pants and pulled them off, easing her panties down after. When he saw her wet, glistening sex, he nearly came in his pants. “You’re so fucking beautiful, it hurts.”
Her lush perfect breasts narrowed into a trim, flat waist and stomach before flaring back out into hips that were made for a man’s hands. Made forhishands. Mack ripped off his shirt and then shucked his own pants, standing tall and naked, giving her a last chance to tell him to stop. When Marley leaned up on her elbow and reached for him, Mack knelt before her. “Open for me, Marley. Now.”
She lay back and spread her legs wide, her knees falling apart so that she was completely bare to him. Her vulnerable position was sexy beyond words and his cock throbbed, pre-cum glistening on its tip. Fighting for control, Mack lowered himself to his elbows and scooped her hips into his hands. He took a deep inhale of her sweet sex. “This is what I’ve been dreaming about all day.” Then he dropped his head and gave her a long, slow lick, delving into her opening and rising up to circle her clit.
“Oh, God!” Marley’s ragged cry made his hips flex.
“You taste like candy. Like heaven.”
Mack lapped up her goodness, savoring every bit. He made slow deliberate circles with his tongue—up, around, then back down—until her hips were tracking to the rhythm of his mouth on her. If he hadn’t been holding her down, she would’ve come completely off the ground. “I’m so close. Don’t stop,” Marley’s ragged moans were his undoing. He needed to be inside her, he needed to feel her orgasm squeezing the blood from his dick. Mack rose swiftly over her and lined up with her entrance, “Look at me, Marley.”
She rolled her head from side to side, forcing Mack to catch her face in his hands. “Look at me when I take you.”
He couldn’t explain why, but he wanted to know that she was thinking only of him. Her eyes opened, her lips low and heavy with lust. A faint sheen of sweat covered her body and she grabbed onto his biceps.
“Watch me. Don’t take your eyes off me.” Mack eased into her, inch by inch, feeling every bit of her until he filled her to the hilt.
