Zach’s entire body jerked.
She looked up at him, a hint of uncertainty in her eyes. “I’m probably not very good at this, but I want to taste you.”
The idea of his erection in her mouth shorted out his brain.
“Okay,” he said, stupidly.
Okay? Holy hell, McBride, you stupid idiot!
It was more than okay.
It was a fantasy come true wrapped in a wet dream.
She licked him, then took him into her mouth, her hand and lips working in tandem as she built up a rhythm, her tongue swirling around the aching, engorged head, catching him right where he was most sensitive.
Not very good at this? Where in the hell had she gotten that idea?
“Oh, angel. God, yeah!” He muttered something incoherent, caught her hair, and held it aside so that he could watch, the sight of her devouring him nearly sending him over the edge.
He fought to hold his hips still, but she seemed to understand what he needed, going faster, increasing the pressure, until his body shook, his groin throbbing, the ache almost unbearable. Then his balls drew tight and . . .
He lifted Natalie’s head out of the way, orgasm hitting like a bolt of lighting, sheering through him as she finished him with her fist, hot ejaculate shooting from deep inside him and landing in pools on his belly.
And for a moment he couldn’t move, his body floating.
Then he felt her snuggle up beside him, her fingers tracing designs through the rapidly cooling semen. He opened his eyes, watched her amuse herself. Then he reached down, caught her wrist, and in imitation of what she’d done, sucked her fingers into his mouth, tasting himself.
He gave it a moment, then met her gaze. “You taste better.”
THEY EACH ATE an MRE after that, feeding each other tasteless bites of so-called food by hand. Then, still topless, Natalie curled up beside him, and they drifted off to sleep again. But by late afternoon it was so hot that no matter how many times Zach wet her down with the bandana, she couldn’t sleep.
“Maybe we should just start walking again.” She lay with her head on his outstretched leg, one of his big hands splayed on her bare belly, the casual intimacy of being physically close to him like this filling her with a kind of contentment she hadn’t known for years.
Zach shook his head, pointing to the gallon of water he’d kept on hand. “We’ve gone through half a gallon today. If we’d been walking in this heat, we’d have consumed much more than that. We need to wait until dusk.”
She must have let some of what she was feeling show on her face because in the next instant he tried to encourage her.
He stroked her hair. “I know it’s hard. Just rest.”
She let her gaze travel over the scenery. There were dry hills and mountains all around them, one of them much taller than the others. But, beyond empty water jugs, food containers, and other trash, there was no sign of human habitation. No fences. No buildings. Not so much as an outhouse. It seemed still, desolate, empty. And yet it wasn’t empty at all. It was full of wildlife—not to mention people. And once the sun set, they would all come out of hiding.
Last night’s close encounter with the drug traffickers seemed far away in the blazing light of the sun. But it had been real, and it might have turned deadly if not for Zach. And though she supposed she ought to be afraid—they still had two or three more nights out here—she wasn’t. She might not know his real name, and she might not know what kind of trouble he was in, but she knew without a shred of doubt that he would do everything he could to protect her. She just hoped she wouldn’t be too much of a burden.
“Where exactly are we? Texas? Arizona? The Sahara?”
“Arizona.” He pointed. “Do you see that mountain? That’s Baboquivari Peak. It’s sacred to the Tohono O’Odham people. Right now we’re in the southeast corner of the Tohono O’Odham reservation.”
And it clicked.
She sat up, faced him. “That’s what you told Kat, isn’t it? Your secret message, all that gibberish. It was about this place.”
He nodded, his lips curving in a lopsided grin. “More or less. I told her we were leaving Altar and that we were going to cross the border onto Tohono O’Odham land. I also hinted that she get in touch with the reservation’s answer to the drug cartels.”
“What would that be?”
“The Shadow Wolves.”
NATALIE FELT SORE but well rested by the time they set off again, the sun setting behind a thick bank of pink and orange clouds to the sound of yowling coyotes. As she’d done last night, she followed behind Zach, watching where he stepped and doing her best not to get hurt, but her thoughts were still on their conversation from earlier.