Drantos (VLG Series Book 1) (14 page)

“I’m determined to keep you safe. We will lose anyone who finds our trail by crossing it. It’s just a little water.”

“It’s a freakin’ river, and I’ve been watching branches floating by near the center. That current is really moving. I’m not totally dumb. That water’s probably coming from the mountaintops that are melting from the winter ending. It means that ice chunks are also mixed in there and I know how cold it got last night. The day is almost over, which means we’re going to get hypothermia tonight, if we don’t drown first.”

He decided to try a new tactic. “I plan to get you naked in my bed, Dusti. That wouldn’t happen if I got you killed. I’m very motivated. Think about that. I am.”

He stood and walked toward the woods. Her shocked expression had him grinning. He’d rather face a flustered or angry woman than a terrified one.

It didn’t take long to find a few dead trees. Some of them hadn’t survived the winter, and the wind and snow felled many. He allowed his claws to slide out, hacking at the excess branches to remove them from the small tree trunks. He’d use his belt to bundle some of them together and it would hopefully keep Dusti dry and out of the water.

I’ll get her wet later.
He grinned, imagining stripping her out of her clothes and spreading her out naked on his bed. Images filled his head of making love to her but he pushed them back. Daydreaming about claiming her would have to wait.

One thing at a time. Raft first. Sex later.

He dragged the trunks one by one into the camp he’d made. Dusti watched but didn’t question him as he made a few trips back and forth, and then began to build his makeshift raft.

Chapter Six

Dusti found herself staring at Drantos. It irritated her that she was so attracted to him. Since he had stripped out of his jacket, she could see the thick muscles in his arms flexing as he worked on his project. She’d never met anyone like him. He looked so utterly masculine building a raft.

He wasn’t like men she knew in Los Angeles. They would be lost in the woods, helpless and probably as freaked-out as she felt. He reached up and shoved his unruly hair back. The thick, dark tresses were a bit out of control. He could use a trim in the worst way but she doubted he ever went into one of the fancy barbershops most men used to cut their hair. She figured he probably used a knife to hack at the strands or something equally as barbaric if he wanted it shorter. She bit her lip as he leaned forward, his ass in the air as he weaved his belt around two branches. He had a muscular ass that his pants molded to.

Damn it, stop ogling him
. She forced her gaze to shift to the river. He wanted her to cross that. It was an insanely dangerous concept. A large log floated near the center, moving at a rapid pace. She mentally pictured it slamming into the raft Drantos built and sending her into that bubbling water. She cringed and focused on him again.

He had blatantly admitted he planned to have sex with her. What happened between them the night before resurfaced in her thoughts. It was probably going to haunt her forever. The way he’d touched her and made her feel had been downright animalistic. He’d growled and bitten her with his teeth. Worse, she’d really enjoyed it.

Her abdominal muscles clenched and her nipples throbbed at the vivid memories, desire resurfacing.

Drantos scared her. She had to concede that fact. He could make her forget everything around them except him. She’d have let him fuck her on the ground, in front of anyone present, if his brother hadn’t pulled him away. He caused her to lose all common sense and willpower.

He suddenly leaned back and rolled his shoulders. She bit her lip, the urge to go massage them rising. It frightened her more and also pissed her off. She turned her back so she didn’t have to see him any longer.

I need to get away from him so I can regain my sanity. I’ve lost my mind. He’s no good for you, Dusti. Don’t make this mistake again.

She flashed back to the one and only time she’d fallen in love. Reed had been handsome in his business suits. She’d met him right after she’d started working for a mortgage company as their receptionist. He was one of the loan officers.

They’d dated for two months before they’d taken a trip to Las Vegas. Reed had talked her into a quickie marriage after they’d arrived. He’d had big dreams and she’d been on board with all of them. He thought he’d make a bunch of money and she could quit her job. He’d wanted the picket fence and children. So had Dusti. Bat had flipped her lid when she’d found out her baby sister had gotten married, but Dusti hadn’t cared.

Within six months, their marriage turned into a nightmare. The housing market started to fall and Reed turned really moody. He’d start arguments with her and storm out of their apartment, disappearing for hours. That’s when he’d decided to switch careers. Dusti had been supportive. He was her husband and she wanted him to be happy. She’d taken a second job to help him pay for night school. It had been difficult on them both. They barely saw each other but she’d sworn to stick with the marriage for better or worse.

Drantos drew her attention once more as he kept working on the raft. Her ex-husband never would have done something like that. He hadn’t even been able to fix their leaking sink. She’d had to do it. Her ex-husband wouldn’t have wanted to mess up his manicure. Drantos was nothing like Reed.

She bit her lip, rehashing the past. Her taste in men couldn’t be trusted. It’s why she’d avoided dating after her divorce. There had been the occasional boyfriend over the years but she’d safeguarded her heart. She left at the first sign of trouble. Drantos was exactly that. It was a really bad idea to get involved with him. He made her feel too much and she never wanted to hurt again like she had while suffering through her divorce. It was painful to admit she’d given her heart to someone who’d smashed it to bits.

Just lie down and try to get some sleep while he finishes building that thing.

It sounded like a good plan to her. She slid off the rock she sat on and put her back to it, closing her eyes. She tried to blank her mind.

“Tired?”

She startled, opening her eyes. Drantos had stopped working on the raft and was crouched by the still burning fire in front of her. She hadn’t heard him walk over. “A bit. I didn’t get much sleep last night.” She didn’t mention he’d been the reason. The night before she’d slept poorly because her body had ached for his, and she hadn’t slept while dangling over his back.

Knowledge flared in his eyes and a smile hinted at his lips. “Let’s go to the river. You can splash some water on your face.” He glanced at the sky as he shoved dirt over the fire to put it out. “We have about half an hour before we must leave. I want to cross the river about the same time Kraven should be. It’s imperative to keep moving for as long as we can while we have daylight left, and stick close to them.”

“Plus the smell of cooked fish will have bears and additional predators heading this way,” Dusti guessed. “We don’t want to still be here when they arrive for the bones, right?”

Drantos stood, brushing dirt off his fingers. “Good guess. Come on.” He held out his hand.

She put hers in his, allowing him to help her up. “We have nature shows on cable.”

He grinned, releasing her hand. “Do you watch them often?”

“No.”

Dusti followed him and she crouched near the water’s edge. She cupped icy water in her hands and splashed her face, then leaned farther over the edge to avoid dripping water onto her clothes. The shock of how cold it was had her gasping and she felt her knees slide a little on the grass. Her eyes flew open to see the water coming at her. She’d bent over too far and was about to fall in.

Drantos’s big hands gripped her hips and jerked her back. She ended up leaning against his wide chest. His arms slid from her hips and around her rib cage. He bent forward enough to press his lips next to her ear.

“Be careful. As much as I fantasize about making you wet, it’s not in that way.”

She took a deep breath to calm her racing heart and turned her head. Their lips almost brushed as she gazed into his eyes. “Why do you say things like that? Is it to shock me?”

“Because I mean it.”

Her heart pounded. He had beautiful eyes. His big body braced hers and his arm wrapped around her tighter, holding her close. It was impossible to ignore that he was an attractive man. She decided to try humor to cool down the situation. “Thanks for saving me. Turning into a human popsicle when the sun goes down isn’t my idea of fun.”

No luck. She became even more aware of how he held her. He was on his knees, legs spread, and her ass was firmly pressed against his groin. She wiggled her hips a little and couldn’t miss the hard ridge of arousal she felt. She froze.

He softly growled at her, the golden highlights in his blue eyes seeming to flare brighter so she could see them better, and he breathed in her scent through nostrils that flared.

“Let go.” Her voice came out shaky.

“Do you know what you do to me?”

“I can feel it.”

His gaze lowered to her mouth. “At least allow me a kiss. I did prevent you from falling into the river. Don’t I deserve something for that?”

He adjusted his arm and brushed his palm over one mound of her breast, cupping it. He gently squeezed.

Dusti closed her eyes and bit down on her bottom lip. It felt good and a jolt of pleasure hit. He squeezed again, the sensation turning her on in a rapid flash of desire until she arched her back a little to press more firmly against his palm. He slid to the ground from his crouched position and his other hand gripped her skirt. She didn’t protest when his hot fingers curled around her inner leg and slid up her thigh.

“Kiss me.” It was a harsh command.

“No,” she whispered. He was making it difficult to think. It frightened her how he affected her. She couldn’t remember anyone else ever being able to turn her on so fast and make it so impossible to think. She tried to resist. “That would be a dumb thing to do.”

He paused, and then moved the hand on her inner thigh to just inches from her panties. “You think I’m insane, so you should expect me to do rash things.” He slid his hand higher and cupped her through her panties. Dusti tensed before shivering as he rubbed his fingers over the soft material there, brushing against her clit and pressing tight against the lips of her sex.

He softly growled. “You smell so good that I want to have you for dessert. Would you let me do that? Let me remove your thong and spread these silky thighs around my face if I stretch out on my back? Could I nibble on you until you’re about to come, and then fuck you with my tongue until you scream out my name when you do?”

It shocked her that he’d say something so crude. She opened her eyes to stare at him. Her heart beat erratically inside her chest. No one had ever spoken that graphically to her before. The visual of him doing exactly what he said made her unconsciously grind her ass against his jeans. The thick bulge trapped inside the denim became more noticeable.

He used his finger to shove her panties to the side. He traced the seam of her sex, found her wetness, and used that moisture while pressing the tip of his finger against her clit. He drew tight, small circles around the bundle of nerves until she couldn’t pretend it didn’t affect her. Dusti moaned, unable to hold back the sound of pleasure. He continued to taunt and play with her until she couldn’t think. It was just desire and longing. Aching.

“You’re so hot and smell so damn good, I have to taste.”

She didn’t protest when he lifted her, forcing her to stand. He remained on his knees while he yanked her panties down. She actually lifted each foot to help him free them from her ankles. His hands gripped her hips, turning her to face him. Dusti stared down into his sexy eyes, mute, clueless about what to say at that moment.

He brought his knees together and pulled her forward, so she had to step on each side of his hips when he shifted position until he was sitting on his ass in the grass. He used his hold on her to keep her close. He slowly started to lay back until he was stretched out flat, bringing her down with him. She ended up straddling his chest. She silently stared at him.

“Climb forward.” His gaze shifted to the grass next to his face. “Put your knees right there on each side.” He looked up at her with sexy dark blue eyes that flared with yearning. “Now.” He pulled on her hips, urging her to move.

This is insane
, she admitted, even as she bent forward. Bracing her hands on the grass over his head, she crawled up his body. She put her knees where he’d indicated, her lower legs bent up over the curves of his shoulders since they were too wide for her to avoid.

Drantos released her hips and grabbed her skirt, shoving it up and out of the way. The material bunched on her lower back and fell over the top of his head, blocking her view of what he was about to do. She just closed her eyes, since she couldn’t see him anyway. His hot breath fanned over her sex right before his hands gripped her inner thighs. She gasped when he forced them wider apart to lower her body, adjusting her—and then she felt the vee of her thighs pressed against his mouth.

Her fingers clawed the grass, her nails digging into the dirt below when he sealed his hot mouth over her clit. His tongue traced over the sensitive bud. He started to suckle, the strong tugs making her cry out in ecstasy.

She’d had guys go down on her before but none of them had ever had her in that position, and they sure hadn’t been aggressive about it. Drantos wasn’t just teasing her with light little licks. He seemed to want to devour her. His strong mouth and tongue conquered her, overtook her ability to think, until all she could feel was raw sexual desire clawing inside her to find release.

He suddenly stopped when she knew she was about to climax. She wanted to protest, to beg him not to stop doing what he was doing to her clit. Her mouth actually parted to say the words…

Then his tongue breached her pussy, entering her fast. He had to have a long, thick tongue for her to feel that wonderful stretching sensation. She threw her head back and cried out his name.

He snarled in response and pulled her even tighter against his face. He’d said he wanted to fuck her with his tongue and that’s exactly what he did. He withdrew and then plunged back inside, over and over. He pressed the tip of his nose against her clit and rubbed it while he moved his head. The up and down motion set a rapid pace that drove Dusti insane. He snarled deeper, causing slight vibrations. His hands kept her hips in place in a near-bruising hold to prevent her from getting away when she started to rock her hips against his driving tongue. It was too much, felt too good; she swore she couldn’t withstand it.

“Drantos,” she pleaded, just wanting to come.

He pressed tighter against her pussy and slid his tongue out of her completely. His mouth latched around her clit again and this time he used his teeth to lightly rasp over her swollen clit that ached to the point of pain. The new sensation sent her over the edge.