Words of Love

chapter THREE



Now or never, he thought, as energy flooded through him.

Run or die.

Jessica had only just got to her feet when he grabbed her arm and took off. He crashed through the soaked thicket to the left of the path that was now a boiling creek. As though nothing weighed him down, he ran upward. The ground cover was making for better traction than the path.

I should have thought of that before!

He felt the weight of Jessica’s arm in his hand and didn’t have to stop to check on her. He drug her along–crashing upward, forward, through and over the thicket.

There it is!

The mouth of the cave was just a dim smudge against the dark mound but there it was!

Lightning flashed above them and he felt Jessica jerk.

He had his arm around her waist now and was running, lifting her off the ground. He had no idea how long he ran like that but finally they were at the mound. His thighs burned but the sensation only propelled him harder. With a final push, he took the narrow, switchback path up to the left, then back right, and then onto the ledge in front of the cave.

Suddenly, they were inside.

Finally he slowed as the darkness of the interior overtook them. He knew without having to see it that the camp was only several yards away. As he doubled over in heaving grunts, trying to get his breath, he let Jessica go. He put his hands on his knees and shut his eyes.

That had been close.

A sudden chill of fear ran through him and he realized he was still wearing the backpack. He quickly stood and shrugged it off. It hit the stone floor with a thud. As he put his hands on his hips, still breathing hard, he looked at Jessica. But it was too dark to make her out.

Feeling in front of him, he found the table with the propane lantern on it. He quickly lit it and the campground appeared in front of them.

The cavern was enormous, fading into black almost immediately. The green canvas tent was next to the wall, off to the right. It was a tall freestanding field tent. He’d gotten tired of hunching over in the little camping domes.

“Home sweet–” he had started to say as he turned to her.

She was standing stock still, a hand pressed down over her mouth as though she were stifling a scream. The other hand–Brett stared at it–the other was still gripping her suitcase. Behind the rain dappled glasses, her eyes were shut tight.

“Jessica?” he said, as he stepped toward her. He looked down at the suitcase and realized that she was gripping the handle so hard her knuckles had turned a pinkish white. “Jessica?” he said, gripping her by the shoulders. “Are you okay?” Stupid question, he thought. She was obviously not okay. “Right,” he said, quietly. “Let’s leave the suitcase.”

Slowly, he pried her fingers loose. One by one, he gently but firmly unfolded them, until he could hold her hand. He lightly rubbed the stiff fingers between his palms and looked up at her. She hadn’t moved. He stood directly in front of her and put his fingers on the hand covering her mouth. She immediately opened her eyes and inhaled through her nose. But as he started to lift her hand away, she resisted and her breathing rapidly rose.

If she needed to scream, then she should scream.

Who wouldn’t want to scream after what they’d just been through?

Her nostrils were flaring and collapsing, trying to keep up, and when he finally managed to pry her hand away, lightning flashed behind her at the cave entrance and she shrieked.

A bone-chilling wail leapt from her throat as she shut her eyes tight. It startled him and he nearly let her hand go but she was gripping his hand hard now. As the wail died away, her entire body began to tremble.

“Let’s get you inside the tent,” he said.

With an arm around her waist, he picked up the lantern, moved the tent flap aside and led her through.

Inside the spacious tent there were two small beds on either side. They were identical, with metal tubing that formed the headboard and footboard. The thin, tick mattresses were covered in sheets and blankets and each one was draped with mosquito netting. He’d used a tarp for a room divider, though it was currently tied up and out of the way. He left the lantern on the improvised work desk of plywood across rubber tote boxes. Still with his arm around her waist, he could feel the temblors shuddering through her body. If she didn’t lie down, she’d fall down.

He guided her through the netting and turned her to face him.

Like him, she was soaked through to the skin. The large clothing that draped her was plastered down and he realized with a start that she had a body. Petite and curved and…she shuddered again.

She was trying to take off the drooping canvas hat but her hands shook so badly there was no way she could manage it.

“Here,” he said. “Let me.”

He loosened the toggle under her chin and lifted the hat away. Long waves of red hair unfurled, wet and glistening in the dim light. Again, he was surprised. Somehow, he’d thought she wore her hair short.

He tossed the hat to the floor with a soggy plop and removed her glasses. He folded them with a little clinking sound and tucked them into his wet, chest pocket.

Maybe because she wasn’t trying to look through raindrops, she actually seemed to see him. He hadn’t realized she had hazel eyes. He grasped her lightly by the arms and searched her face.

“Are you okay?” he said, quietly. She slowly nodded. “Well,” he said, watching her lips. “Would you mind saying that? Just to humor me?”

“I’m–” she started, just as lightning flashed. She jumped and a tiny scream escaped from her. Then she shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she blurted out. Her eyes welled up with tears as the trembling ramped up and she shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she said, trying to hold back a sob.

She was sorry?

He took a half-step forward and gently hugged her. He was the one who’d put them in danger. He was the one who’d knowingly set out in the face of a monsoon.

“No,” he said. “I’m the one who should be sorry.” She buried her face in his chest and he felt her crying. “Please, Jessica, don’t cry,” he said quietly. “I’m so sorry.”

Obsession, his obsession, had nearly got them killed. Then, he remembered the singe on the back of her shirt.

“Let me see your back,” he said suddenly.

He didn’t give her a chance to reply as he looked over her shoulder and down her back. Even in the lantern light, he could see that the white cloth was definitely scorched.

“Dammit,” he muttered.

He tried to lift the fabric away from her skin but it was too wet. Quickly, he separated from her and began to unbutton her blouse.

“What…?” she said.

“I need to see your back,” he said, his voice strained.

He realized his own hands were quaking a bit. Finally, the last button was undone and he turned her around and slipped the shirt from her shoulders. The skin of her back was a milky white but, in a vaguely oval shape that ran from above her bra to the top of her right shoulder, it looked as though she’d been sunburned.

“No,” he muttered. The lightning strike had been close enough to burn her. He blinked at the pink skin. “You’ve got a burn.” The first aid stuff–there’d be something for a burn. “I’m going to get the medical kit,” he said.

But she turned and tried to throw her arms around him, hampered by the white shirt hanging at her elbows and draped around her waist. She gripped the shirt at his waist.

“Don’t go,” she pleaded. “Don’t leave me alone.”

Lightning flashed and, even within the tent, the burst of light was visible. She flinched as the thunder peal echoed through the cavern. Her eyes were wide and the fear in them was undeniable.

He quickly put his arms around her, careful not to press on the burn, keeping his embrace low. As she pressed into him, he felt her breath on his throat. It came in small puffs and her hands gripped him tighter.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said lowly.

He felt her nod and realized she was still trembling.

“I’m sorry,” she said again.

“Don’t say that,” he said, quietly.

But she didn’t seem able to stop herself.

“I’m sorry,” she said again.

He pulled back from her, though she didn’t let go, and he took her face in his hands. Tears were still glittering there.

“Please don’t say you’re sorry,” he said, his voice louder than he’d intended. “This is my fault.”

Her eyebrows furrowed and her lips parted as though she were going to say something but she didn’t and then she started to let go.

But that was not what he had meant to happen. He wasn’t mad at her. He was mad at himself.

Lightning flashed again and she closed her eyes. The tears that had been brimming there started to fall–down her cheeks and then to her glistening lips. He stared at her mouth, pink and full, still quivering. Lightly, his thumb brushed across them. Though he’d intended to quell the small trembles, he only succeeded in making them worse. Suddenly he was struck by the silky feel of them under his touch. His eyes quickly swept down her chin, over her bare shoulders, and then moved down her slim torso. As his thumb slowly stroked her lower lip, he stared down at the lacy, red bra she wore and the plump swell of her breasts.

Out of nowhere, a wild thought suddenly gripped him.

We are alive.

His head swam with flashing images of their narrow escape. His heart hammered at the blistering memory of it. Thunder rumbled and echoed in the cavern all around them as adrenalin surged into his veins yet again. Only the warmth of her skin against his hands drew his gaze back to her face. To his surprise, her eyes were open now, searching his, and still uncertain.

“We’re alive,” he ground out through a tight jaw.

And it felt good. His eyes bored into hers, willing her to understand. The two of them were alive and the sensation was incredible!

He could have tossed his head back and laughed but the renewed grip of her hands at his waist stopped him. He smiled down at her and suddenly he knew how to stop the quaking of those perfect lips.

“We’re alive,” he murmured as he bent to her and quickly covered her mouth with his.

As though the energy of the storm poured through him, he kissed her fiercely, unable to hold back. One hand flew to the nape of her neck and the other to her lower back. He pulled her close, craving the feel of her next to him, needing to know how alive she was. His lips kneaded into hers, devouring every silky bit, but she hadn’t moved.

In the back of his mind, a small alarm rang. Stop, it warned. She doesn’t want this, it insisted. She’s a student, it said. But Jessica was so much more than that. She was vital, and beautiful, and in his arms, as though only the two of them existed in all the universe.

Then, to his surprise, she kissed him back. Whether he’d actually paused or maybe just slowed down, he didn’t know. But as her mouth opened to him, he didn’t care.

Her lips moved urgently, if awkwardly, responding to him. Her mouth was warm and throbbing as though it pulsed with blood, with life. His tongue delved into its seductive sweetness, trying to absorb her and own her all at once. As Jessica struggled for a breath, their lips momentarily parted and he wasted no time ducking his mouth under her jaw and onto her throat.

It’d been nearly a year since Brett had been with his wife but he was sure it’d never been like this. Jessica was intoxicating. Her breathy whimpers filled his ears. Her lithe body bent to his. With every succulent kiss across her throat, her aching gasps only made him want more–made him want everything. Quickly, he unclasped her bra and, as it and her shirt fell to the floor, he unzipped her pants, knelt, and peeled them down.



• • • • •



Jesse knew that this moment couldn’t be real. But somehow that didn’t help the torrent of mismatched feelings coursing through her.

Brett had just undressed her.

He’d kissed her in a way she hadn’t known was possible and now she stood naked before him, waiting for his touch, yearning for it. But even as she felt his lips and then his tongue on her abdomen, she couldn’t open her eyes.

Because if I do, this impossible dream will end.

Instead, she gripped the wet collar of his shirt as her knees threatened to buckle. Too stunned to do anything but keep her balance, she inhaled sharply as his tongue moved up to her rib cage. Blood pounded in her ears, drowning out the crashing rain. In all her life, she’d never done such a thing–especially with someone she hardly knew. Yes, this was Brett Delacourt, the most attractive man she’d ever met but…

His harsh breaths washed over her chest, the stubble of his chin grazed her skin, and then he gnawed at her breast.

“Oh god,” she whispered harshly as her abdomen contracted.

Something in her needed this so badly it blotted out everything else. His reputation didn’t matter. Her disbelief that this was happening to her didn’t matter. Not even the right or wrong of it mattered. Because in this moment, Brett’s sudden euphoria at being alive had completely swept her along with him.

She had never felt more alive.

Then, as she dug her fingers into his damp hair, he suckled her nipple. She inhaled sharply. His mouth was hot and wet, luxurious beyond belief. Jesse moaned at the intense pleasure and, in return, Brett hungrily engulfed the throbbing tip with a satisfied “Mmmm.” The vibration of his lips around the hardening peak was too much. Her back arched and she pressed into him, feeling his arousal jab into her.

Then suddenly he released her. Against her will, she opened her eyes and the sensations of the outside world intruded: the gossamer drapes of netting, the spattering of heavy rain in the distance, the rolling thunder from somewhere above, and the low light of the single lantern.

Brett stepped back from her and she felt the separation as a stabbing pain. But as his fevered eyes darted from her hips to her breasts and then to her face, the heat of his gaze sizzled on her skin. His fingers quickly undid the first button of his shirt but then fumbled with the second. Suddenly, he grabbed the fabric to either side and ripped it open.

Jesse gasped and jumped a little as she watched the fabric split and heard the plastic buttons skitter across the stone floor. He hurled the material to the ground and nearly tugged the canvas belt free from all the loops as he unbuckled it.

Jesse stared at the flexing muscles of his sculpted chest. She watched as he twisted to let his pants slide off, his abs rippling and bunching as he moved. Brett’s body was perfect but of course it had to be because this was a dream.

And in that dream, he moved toward her.





• • • • •



Brett guided Jessica backward as he lifted the mosquito netting to let them pass. Her exquisite body had been a shock when he’d undressed her. But now his eyes drank in every inch of her. As he eased her down, he marveled at her sinuous movement and the way her lithe torso flexed. Her skin was creamy and silky smooth under his searching touch. As she lay back, he paused to cup her bare breast. Full and plump, the sweetly curved mound swelled in his hand.

She inhaled sharply and, as her diaphragm sucked inward, he focused on her incredibly flat tummy, then the roundness of her hips, and finally the soft mound of tawny curls at the top of her thighs. His bulging arousal suddenly ached and the urge to join his body with hers renewed itself with force.

As he quickly positioned himself over her, he looked down into her face. Lightning flashed but her closed eyes didn’t react. Instead, her hands flew to his back, drawing him down, her fingers kneading into him. As he settled his hips between her legs and his chest over her breasts, his arousal probed her moist entrance. Her tiny gasp was quickly followed by her hips pulsing onto the tip of it.

He put his mouth next to her ear and, as he pushed inward, he hoarsely whispered the only word that came to his mind.

“Jessica.”

They slid together with ease. His straining shaft slipped up into her as her soft warmth enveloped him. Suddenly, wanting had become reality and he squeezed his eyes shut, surrendering to the incredible sweetness of the penetration, his body inside hers, his flesh completely surrounded. A profound shudder ran through her as thunder rolled over them but it was unlike the trembling of earlier. Her hips bucked into him, bringing even more of him into her, as her back suddenly arched.

“Oh god,” she whimpered, as her fingers dug into his buttocks.

Again he slid upward, deep inside her, but this time thrusting harder.

She moaned as their hips connected and her pelvis slowly began a sensual grind against his. Her mound rose up to meet him and her body writhed below him. The hypnotic movement stroked his length and, before he could stop himself, he plunged into her. No longer able to hold back, his thrusts rocked her, delving deeper, one after another in a sudden frenzy of yearning. She arched into him, tilted her hips to him, and pressed upward to meet each penetration.

The feeling was electric and each connection stoked the wild burning of his erection inside her. Her breath came in heaving gasps as her body undulated with abandon. He moved hard into her, over and over, even as she moved to accept him. With a final, sharp penetration he drove upward, burying himself deeply, straining against her walls. Her immediate cry of pleasure jolted through him so hard his arousal thickened. She was amazing and the need to fill her was now the only thing he knew.



• • • • •



Jesse saw lightning flash in the dull red glow of her eyelids. Her senses seemed on overdrive as the smell of rain in Brett’s hair filled her nose. The sound of his labored breathing filled her ears. The feel of his rock hard muscles filled her hands and the heat that radiated from his chest washed over her.

He thrust again and his hot flesh penetrated to the very core of her. She felt him push deeply, filling her with a powerful pressure, as her abdomen clenched around him. But instead of withdrawing, he slowly ground himself against her. Her sweet spot responded with a pang of pleasure as tension coiled behind it.

“Yes,” she managed to gasp, just as he began to pump again.

Her body responded with a frenzied fervor, trying desperately to release the new tension. As he pounded into her, she raised her hips to meet each urgent thrust. Until, again, he impaled her and ground himself at her entrance.

Her sweet spot tightened beyond the limits of pleasure, pulsing, aching for release and suddenly she spasmed. As her body writhed, completely out of control, she felt Brett’s arousal suddenly throb inside her. In a blinding, pulsing moment of release she clenched hard. Brett’s groan and her anguished cry mixed with a new peal of thunder that ripped through the cavern. He came then, wildly and explosively inside her. She jerked and convulsed around him in waves of spasms that threatened to overwhelm her. His release rocked her, flooding through her, as her contractions began to slow. Then, almost as quickly as it’d started, the clenching stopped. They’d come together suddenly and, just as suddenly, they had climaxed and now they were done. The sounds of their panting was the only thing that remained until Brett’s voice sounded quietly in her ear.

“The bed’s too small,” he whispered.

Then his lips brushed lightly against hers and he was gone. Even if she’d wanted to open her eyes, she wasn’t sure if she could. The strangest sensation of floating in midair swept over her but in moments consciousness itself slipped away.