A Rare Breed (16 page)

"I hope so. There were several places where he could rest or take shelter along the way. I'm sure he'll be out by tomorrow or the next day."

Brit did not want to talk about the possibility of being rescued soon. "The Romeros are still struggling with this whole scene. Not that I'm used to it, either. I like a warm shower and regular bed as much as the next one. And Lord knows, I was so scared yesterday. I really thought we were going to lose Yolanda to the river."

"Yeah, we came damn close."

Brit squeezed his arm. "You were great, Jake. The hero of the day." She turned over and kissed his lips, then laid her head on his chest again.

"Aw, there was nothing else to do but try to get her. We were just damn lucky, that's all." He stroked her arm, letting his fingers trail softly down the sensitive inner skin. "Brit, you've been the ballast, the stabilizer for this whole episode. You've helped keep the Romeros steady. And you've made me forget work. Forget everything." He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the palm, then moved his lips to the pulse point inside her wrist. "Everything but this."

Warmth fluttered deep inside her as he continued to kiss the sensitive inner strip of her arm. Unable to resist him another minute, she stretched up and sought his mouth for a long, hard kiss. Their lips matched, meshed, provided a source for satisfying a lusty thirst. Their tongues mingled and exchanged fresh sweetness. "Everything but us," she murmured softly against his lips.

He shifted and pulled her over him so that she lay on his chest and wedged between his long legs. "This is everything, Brit." His arms wrapped around her, his hand cradling her head and pressing it toward him. "Everything important."

She settled her lips on his again. For her, time was silent and still, filled only with Jake's kiss and the touch of his entire erotic body against hers. The only thing in the world that mattered right now was the way she felt when he kissed her, when they were together, completely and fully. She wanted him again.

A sudden draft sprayed them with cool water, and she shivered. "See what you do to me," she murmured laughingly and pushed away from his embrace before she gave in to the elemental urge to rip his clothes from his virile body. Scooting to the edge of the sandstone, she slipped her moccasins off and wriggled her toes in the sun. "Who would ever dream there was such clean white sand in the Grand Canyon?" She hopped down and began frolicking on the tiny beach.

Jake removed his hiking boots and socks and

joined her. "Virgin sand. Never been touched by human toes." He took her hand and pulled her close for a quick kiss.

"Never? I don't believe that. I don't know much about those Anasazi folks who lived here, but if they were real people like you and me, I'm sure they walked along this beautiful little beach. At least, walked." She led him forward in a zigzag path, laughing at their drunken footprints in the pristine sand.

"Of course, they were real people. We have proof."

"Then they must have played here. And more."

"How clever of you to deduct that. You're probably right.
They probably found it as beau
tiful as we do." He laughed and kissed her again. "Maybe they did this, and more."

"They probably waded in the pool." Brit stepped into the cold water and pulled him along with her. They shrieked and laughed and ran in and out of the shallows kicking water up into high arcs that glistened in the sunlight.

"They probably bathed here." She shook her head and an energetic zephyr caught her hair and tossed it around her head like a golden halo.

Unable to resist the sexy sight of her, Jake pulled her into his arms for another kiss, holding her close so that he could feel her breasts through the thin tee shirt. "Would you like to take a bath here, like the Anasazi undoubtedly did?"

"Of course." She swayed against him, enjoying the playful moments. "If I get whisked away by the current, will you rescue me, Jake?"

"I'll go with you, every inch of the way." He undulated his hips softly against her, and, even th
r
ough their clothes, she could feel his arousal teasing her groin. "We’ll experience the current together."

"Sounds inviting." She mimicked his motions, rubbing herself against him.

The cool water rippled over their feet, and they reacted at the same time. Without even breaking their embrace, they laughingly danced to warmer sand, trying to kiss but not succeeding until they stood still again . . . still and quiet, admiring and loving, in each other's arms.

"This seems to be a good place for my research," he murmured finally when he lifted his head.

"What research?" She felt slightly dizzy and wanted more of his intoxicating kiss.

"I think we should explore your creative theory that the Anasazi did more than walk this beach." His kisses roamed over her face and down to her neck. "We've already deducted that they must have waded in the pool."

"It was only logical," she responded weakly as his hands drew the shape of her face and lifted it for another long kiss.

"It's only logical, then, that we take the next step."

"Yes?" Desire rippled up and down her body as his words fell in hot spurts on her skin. She felt giddy and clung to his shoulders as she tried to follow his thinking.

"My theory is that they made love here. We should research the possibilities."

She threw her head back and laughed as his kisses explored her breasts through the tee shirt. "This is research?"

"Absolutely. In order to write convincingly about my findings, I must experience what the Anasazi experienced. Playing, wading . . . making love. That way my report will be scientifically accurate."

She kissed him again. "I wouldn't want to stand in the way of pure scientific research."

"Then let's not stand at all."

They dropped to their knees in the sand and helped each other remove their remaining clothes. Laughing as their fingers fumbled the familiar task, they discarded jeans and tee shirts and underwear.

In the silence of the setting, with only the hypnotic splash of the waterfall in the background, Jake's senses soared. His admiration of natural beauty had never been taken so far as when he knelt before Brit. She was golden in the sun, her sleek body shiny as it reflected glossy highlights.

Her shimmery blond hair was tousled and so touchable. He splayed his hands through it as he angled her head for a kiss. Her breasts brushed against his arms. The full globes were adorned with erect dusky tips. He bent to kiss them, letting his lips pay homage to their feminine splendor as his hands slid down her body to grip her ribs. He pulled her to him and kissed her stomach and navel, then moved lower to the enticing, inviting mound of femininity.

She made soft sounds when he touched her, showing him her impatient, unmistakable de-light. "Jake ... oh Jake . . . You're driving me crazy."

Jake felt as though he had been lifted to another level of pleasure, something beyond desire, beyond simple lust. He felt wild and free, as if he were breaking loose for the first time in his life. Free to enjoy; free to love her to the fullest.

"Brit, Brit, you are . . . so special," he murmured, trying t
o express his feelings and know
ing as soon as the words were out, they were inadequate. He lowered her to the sand and kissed his way up her body.

She laughed playfully and swung her leg over his hips, shifting her weight until they were a perfect match, laughing, kissing, teasing.

"I feel sand on my back."

“Me, too. But not here." He kissed her lips, then her breasts. “I want you.”

“I know practically nothing about you, Jake. And yet I want you like I've never wanted any man."

"I want you all the time, Brit. Even when it's impractical."

"And when's that? Tell me," she begged.

"When the others are there. How can we get rid of them? Can we send them away tonight?"

She giggled. "You're terrible!" But she loved hearing that from him.

"Terrible to want you? I disagree." He kissed her again and settled over her, careful not to give her his full weight. She seemed so slight, so pale and fragile against his growing strength. "You're the best thing, the best woman, to ever happen to me."

Jake gave himself to destiny in her arms. Their divergent paths had turned inward, and merged, as if this were fate, planned and sanctioned by God. Their bodies came together with a never before richness of physical and spiritual beauty. He entered her swiftly, powerfully, unable to control his urge to make them complete.

With a delicate tenderness, she opened her soft body to him, reveling in their union as she clutched his sandy back with digging fingers. Jake rocked in her quiescence with a harmony he had never known. Here, in her, was his own inner truce. Time turned fluid as they flowed together, mutual currents of desire softening the hard gray edges of life and dissolving away reality. Jake felt a surge of power as their two bodies and two hearts swelled together.

Every part of him, every cell, cried out for satisfaction, but more. For love and caring, for the calm serenity of mutual desires fulfilled, for loving and being loved in return. These were feelings he had fought over and finally discarded long ago in exchange for purely physical satisfaction and devotion to his work. In the end, he cared only about himself, and that was not enough.

But this . . . this woman who made him laugh and who now rode with him in wild abandon, was such a refreshing, exquisite person, he released former thoughts and pledges. And he freed it all for this glorious moment in time with Brit.

Only the sun knew how long they remained locked in the essence of love. And only when the sun's intensity flicked at Jake's backside, did he move, ever so slightly. He felt completely relaxed, transposed to another plane of ecstasy.

"Are we still on earth? I dreamed we rode to heaven," Brit sang softly.

"We rode to Shangri-la in the sand," Jake murmured in her ear.

"My, my, you have a vivid imagination."

"You taught me everything I know."

"And all the time, I thought we were researching the Anasazi ways."

"Ummm-hummm.” He nuzzled her neck. "I think we've made some new discoveries."

"Oh? What are they?"

"That you are spectacular." He rolled beside her, propping his head up to gaze into her eyes.

"So are you." She baited him with a smile and ran a fingernail lightly down his belly. "What else?"

He shivered and smiled. She looked thoroughly ravaged, tousled, well-sanded. And undeniably happy. His next observation scared him because it matched his own feelings, and he hesitated before he said, "That together, we're perfect. Hey, let's go for a swim."

“Okay, but make it a quick one.”

Jake ran toward the pool, ran from Brit and from himself, from thoughts and feelings he hadn't let himself entertain in years. Like a sleek brown otter, he plunged into the chilly waters without a pause, diving deep into the blue velvet.

Brit got up slowly, feeling the gritty sand that was stuck to her legs, back, and shoulders. She watched Jake disappear beneath the surface and wondered what had happened between them so suddenly. Did she say the wrong thing? Or do something that he could construe? No, it had been so fleeting, so imperceptible that she doubted herself now.

Across the pool, he surfaced. He shouted and beckoned to her. You
're just paranoid, she told her
self. He seems perfectly happy. Everything is fine, she confirmed silently.

She stepped into the cool water and a chill raced up her back. Her heart didn't lie; she knew now that she was crazy about the ruggedly handsome Jake Landry. He was the boldest, most interesting man she'd ever met. Intelligent and introspective, yet she'd seen that he could loosen up and be fun. Today she'd seen both sides of him, the one who worked almost all the time, and the one who could tease and play. She found him a powerful lover, someone to dream about, a man to love completely.

Oh, yes, the man had taken her heart by storm, and she sailed into the hurricane willingly. Until a moment ago, she thought he had been telling her the same with his body, that he cared deeply for her, too. But all he'd said was that he couldn't resist her. Well, at this point, maybe that was all she could expect from him. She followed Jake into the icy brink.

They did not stay in the water long. It was too cold for playing, and the current was still strong. They washed quickly, then sat nude on a smooth rock until they dried in the sun. Leisurely, in no hurry to return to camp, they began picking up the clothes they'd scattered along the beach, dressing in one item at a time, as they found it.

Brit felt content and happy. Even with her doubts about their relationship, she couldn't contain her overall glow, for it came from inside. And she wished with all her heart that this moment, this day, this time with Jake could last forever.

Jake loaded his equipment and notes into his backpack and they started down the trail. "We aren't finished with this ruin. I have much more to do here. Are you willing to help?"

"Sure. What else do I have to do?" She grinned. "This has been one of the best days I've ever spent, Jake. I mean it."