The Darkness Beyond Part 18

He chuckled, the vibration echoing through her body. He took his time, making sure each breast got equal attention. As much as she loved it, she needed more. If he didn't lay her down and take her fast and hard and soon, she wouldn't be responsible for her actions.

To focus his attention in that direction, she wrapped her fingers around his shaft and slid her hand up and down slowly. When he closed his eyes and groaned, she did it again, this time picking up speed and using her other hand to cup his sac.

"Hey, lover, guess what I want?"

He didn't bother to answer, but stretched out on his back, carrying her with him. She pushed herself back upright, loving the feel of her body centered right over his. It still wasn't enough. She wanted him in her. On her. Now.

"D.J., please."

She rolled to the side and tried to take him with her. Considering the difference in their relative sizes, she should've known better. They ended up laying on their sides, facing each other.

The heat in his expression gave her the s.h.i.+vers, especially when he lifted her leg up over his hips so his wicked, wicked fingers could slide over her damp folds. When one slipped deep inside her, her muscles clamped down hard, the tension building. Once again she tried unsuccessfully to pull him over her.

He pressed a kiss against her damp skin. "Hold that thought."

In his hurry to get back to Reggie, he fumbled with the packet, dropping it twice before he finally managed to handle the situation. Thank goodness it was a warm night. He hadn't made love in the great outdoors since he'd been a randy teenager with no better place to take his girlfriend.

And he should be kicked for thinking about anyone other than the beauty waiting for him to come back to her. Reggie was propped up on her elbows, waiting and watching him. She smiled and held out her hand in clear invitation. The skin-to-skin contact was electrifying as he joined her on the makes.h.i.+ft bed. d.a.m.n, this was going to be good.

When she laid back, he had to ask, "Are you sure you don't want to be on top? These blankets won't offer much of a cus.h.i.+on."

Her smile would've put the sirens to shame. "I'm betting you'll make sure I won't even notice."

Well, all right then. "I'm always up for a challenge."

He placed her hand right where it needed to be to prove his point. Her eyes twinkled.

"Braggart! You're definitely up all right, but let's see some action."

He liked that she wasn't afraid to make her own demands clear. But that didn't mean he was in a big hurry to meet them, not when there was so much more to learn about her. He caught her wandering hands in his as he made a slow journey down her body, starting with kissing that sa.s.sy mouth. He wors.h.i.+ped her sweet b.r.e.a.s.t.s with soft flicks of his tongue, pausing to blow gently on them and smiling as the tips pebbled.

Moving down, her stomach was soft and warm. He rested his face there briefly, memorizing the scent of her skin. He parted her legs as he stared up into her pretty eyes, before slowly lowering his mouth to learn her most intimate secrets. She whimpered. He smiled and tasted her again.

"D.J.!"

There was a husky note in her voice that hadn't been there before, a hunger that rang out as he drove her on and on. He stopped just short of the finish line, wanting to share that first moment of triumph with her.

He settled into the cradle of her body, careful to take most of his weight on his elbows. He loved the way they fit together despite their differences. Or maybe because of them. It didn't matter why this was so perfect, just that it was.

He rocked against her, preparing to go deep. "Honey, you'd better hold on tight."

She immediately brought her legs high up around his hips as he thrust forward, seating himself in her slick heat. Reggie immediately arched up, taking him even deeper. G.o.d, it felt like heaven, like home. He shuddered with the need to cut loose, but he wanted to give her a chance to adjust to his abrupt invasion.

When Reggie trailed her fingertips down his back to dig into his backside, his restraint shattered. Plunging deep, again and again, until all he knew was motion and heat and the need to claim this woman completely, making her his own.

D.J. was all sleek power as he drove her on relentlessly. Her control was shot and her sanity gone. All that was left was this burning need to take what he gave her and give it back tenfold. Despite his overpowering strength, he didn't use it against her but gave her his best.

His face was set in harsh lines, the red-gold light of the fire reflected in his eyes. She reached up to cup his face, coaxing him down for a kiss, their tongues mating in counterpoint to the rhythm of their bodies.

Then he swiveled his hips hard. Once, twice, three times, until she was conscious only of where their bodies were joined and the powerful storm building inside her. With a shout like a crack of thunder, D.J. pounded harder, pouring everything he was into her. Her own climax rolled through her, starting deep inside and spreading outward in a cataclysm that left her unsure of where she left off and D.J. began.

D.J. yelled her name. She whispered his. And then silence.

Hours later, the sky was growing lighter. D.J. wished like h.e.l.l it wouldn't. Normally, he wasn't much for sleeping in, but then it wasn't every day that he woke up with a beautiful woman curled up beside him.

A naked, beautiful woman.

There were good reasons for that. He never knew when he'd get called out, which raised questions he couldn't answer. Like all Paladins, he had a cover story to explain what he did for a living, not to mention his frequent disappearances. Missing a date because he was dead wasn't something he'd ever wanted to tell someone. Besides, the effort it took to maintain the lies was exhausting, and most of the women he'd met weren't worth it.

Now that he thought about it, Reggie was his first lover who knew what he was, even if she didn't quite believe the whole alien DNA thing. He hated that she'd actually seen him in action. She was a kick-a.s.s woman in her own right, but she didn't deserve to be ensnared in the violence of his world. If she'd had any romantic illusions about what the Paladins did for a living, they were well and truly shattered now.

If only he could erase those ugly memories for her. Last night, he'd done his best to give her better things to think about. Despite the less than stellar accommodations, making love to her had been spectacular. Afterward, he'd slept better than he had in ages. It wasn't just the s.e.x either, although that had certainly helped. Reggie not only challenged him on every level, she also soothed him.

But now wasn't the time to linger, not with the possibility of a pa.s.sel of Kalith crazies heading right for them. They needed to get moving and soon. It was the smart thing to do, even if it was a crying shame.

Reggie stirred a bit as if trying to snuggle closer. Her head was already tucked in under his chin, her soft-as-silk hair spread out over his chest and her leg flung over his, making him her willing prisoner. G.o.d knows, he didn't want to move.

If they reached the cave safely, they could easily be back in their own world by nightfall. That meant this might be the only moment they shared like this. If that were the case, he wanted to make sure it was memorable for both of them.

He eased Reggie over to the side, grinning when she frowned in her sleep and tried to climb right back on top of him. That would be fine if only she were awake enough to take charge of the situation.

When he trailed his hand down her spine to squeeze her adorable a.s.s, her eyes popped open. She blinked several times, as if unsure of what she was seeing.

"D.J., what are you doing?"

He kissed her forehead. "If I have to explain, I must not be doing it right."

She yawned until her jaw cracked. "Sorry, but I'm not much of a morning person."

"Maybe that's because no one has ever shown you how much fun mornings can be with the right person."

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "And you're an expert on such things?"

Reggie deserved his honesty. "No, actually I'm not. I can't remember the last time I spent an entire night with a woman. Life doesn't lend itself to long-term commitments when you have to hide what you are. It's always easier to leave than to lie."

"Good answer, big guy. But tell me, do we really have time for this?"

Once again he settled for the truth. "Every minute we're here, the more likely we'll be discovered."

"Rain check then?"

Her obvious disappointment left a warm spot in his chest. "You got it. Now, we'd better get a move on."

He mustered up all his good intentions and extricated himself from the warm coc.o.o.n they'd shared. He snagged his boxers and pulled them on, the whole time eyeing the one remaining foil packet with regret.

After gathering up the rest of his Kalith clothing, he smiled down at Reggie. "I'll check on your clothes."

One touch and he knew he'd have to find her something else to wear with the tunic she'd worn the night before. Her underclothes were dry enough, but the pants she'd been wearing would make for a miserable day.

They'd take the clothes with them, though. No use leaving clues behind. He rooted through the supply cache that the Others had left behind. Score! He shook out the pants and held them up.

Looking over toward Reggie, he tried to gauge how they'd fit and had to laugh. Considering how pet.i.te she was, they'd have to cut them off at the knees.

He handed her the clothes he'd gathered. "I'll fetch some fresh water while you get dressed. We'll have to hack a couple of feet off the bottom of those pants before you put them on, though."

She looked insulted. "Very funny. I am not that short."

Yeah, she was, but he was smart enough not to argue the point. "I'll be back in a couple."

She waited until D.J. was out of sight to toss the covers aside. It was one thing to prance around naked in the darkness, daylight was quite another. At least her bra and panties were nearly dry. The tunic she'd tossed aside last night was covered in dust, but a couple of good shakes took care of that. And one look at the pants D.J. had found convinced her that he was right about cutting them off.

Yeah, she was on the short side, but those pants could've been made for an NBA star.

While she waited for D.J. to return, she made use of the comb he'd left out for her. Bless the man-he was doing his best to take care of her, a rarity in her life.

So was sleeping so soundly, especially considering the h.e.l.l she'd been through the past couple of days. She was normally a light sleeper and didn't like sharing a bed with anyone. But right after they'd made love a third time, D.J. had kissed her good night and tucked her close to his side. That was the last thing she remembered until he'd coaxed her awake at first light.

But now the memories were flowing back, dark and ugly. With the suns coming up, there was no way to ignore the outside world. The interlude she and D.J. had shared had calmed her, even helped her heal, but suddenly she needed to be moving. Right now, before the Kalith came and found them.

D.J. was back. He took one look at her and frowned.

"What's wrong?"

She crossed her arms over her chest, hoping to control her shaking hands. "We're running out of time."

"Yeah, we are, but I promise we'll be gone soon. I want to fix us a quick breakfast because we won't have another chance to stop before we reach the cave. While I do that, you can put the pallets back where we found them. Once we've eaten, we'll police the area to make sure we aren't leaving anything behind."

She loved a man with a plan. Especially this man. They both started in on the list of ch.o.r.es he'd outlined. She gathered up what trash she found and left it in a pile by the fire. Then she dragged the pallets back to their original positions. When she was done, D.J. held out a cup with a clump of something yellowish in it.

"Dried eggs," he said, answering her unspoken question. "Not exactly my favorite meal, but we need the protein."

She sniffed the cup and wrinkled her nose. "Uh, yum?"

He laughed as she choked it down. When they were both done, she held out the pants.

"Can you cut about a foot and a half off these? They must be extra, extra tall."

D.J.'s dark eyes twinkled, but he wisely said nothing as he pulled out a Swiss army knife. After holding the pants up to her to measure, he made a quick cut through the fabric and then ripped it the rest of the way. He added the leftover material to his pack.

She pulled the pants on. "How do I look?"

"Stunning," he said with a grin. "I can honestly say I've never been quite so attracted to anyone who was wearing Kalith clothing."

"Thanks, I think."

"It was meant as a compliment." He settled the pack on his back and then added the cloak. "Why don't you wait over on the trail itself while I do one last check. If the rest of the gang shows up here, hopefully they'll wait awhile before they start hunting for their two buddies."

Five minutes later, she fell into step behind D.J. and prayed they made it to the cave before anyone in this world spotted them. She hadn't hiked this much in years, or maybe ever. But at least D.J. adjusted his own stride so that she didn't have to struggle to keep up.

At first the going was pretty easy because the valley floor was fairly flat. As soon as they started toward the top of a small rise, D.J. stopped. He opened his bottle of water and offered her a drink.

"Wait here a minute."

Then with no further explanation, he walked a little farther ahead to peer over the edge of a sharp drop-off to the valley below. He frowned as he walked along staring at the ground. Watching him stroll along the edge gave her the heebie-jeebies. One false step and he could go plunging off, especially the way he was concentrating on the ground far below and not where he was walking.

She moved closer, careful not to startle D.J., who was growing more agitated as he paced back and forth. Finally, he stopped long enough to look back the way they'd come, running his hands through his hair in frustration. "d.a.m.n it, this has to be the place."

"What place? What's wrong?"

Rather than answer right away, he bent down to study the ground. He trailed his fingers in the dust, frowned, and then moved on a few more steps.

"d.a.m.n it, this is bad. In fact, it's really bad."

He looked at her. "We need to move out. Now."

Reggie scurried to catch up with him. "Fine, but explain to me what's going on."

His head was swiveling from side to side like crazy, his energy level ramping up big time. "Last night, before I reached the camp where you were, the second Kalith was waiting over there to ambush me."

She nodded, trying not to think what would have happened to her if the ambush had been successful. Well, and to D.J., too.

"You told Jeban you'd killed his partner last night."

"Well, that's the problem. He actually fell over the cliff. I saw him go flying off, flapping his arms like wings as he fell."

Okay, too much information. "So?"

"So there's no sign of a body down there. Either someone found it or the b.a.s.t.a.r.d got up and walked off."

"You're sure this is the spot."

He nodded. "I had a feeling they'd try something of the sort, so I circled around behind this hill and spotted where he was hiding. We were fighting when he went over the edge."

He sounded disgusted. "It was too dark to see how badly he was hurt."

As the trail curved, she looked back. "No one could survive a fall like that."

D.J. got an odd look on his face. "I wouldn't bet on that, but whether or not he died is beside the point. Either he's up and moving or someone else found the body."

"So we could be walking into a trap?"

He nodded. "I'll look for someplace to stash you while I check out the trail. We have an alternative route we can use if we have to, but it's a lot farther and would mean we'd have to get by the Others your kidnappers were expecting."

She didn't like the sound of that idea. "I'd rather stay with you than get left behind."

The fact that she was sweating had nothing to do with the temperature of the air. Fear was eating big holes in her control.

"I'd rather keep you with me, too, but I don't want you to get caught in the middle of a swordfight if I can help it."