Pushing Up Daisies (9 page)

“Was Nasr the younger guy in the red turban?” Daisy asked. “I noticed he looked haunted, thin and unhappy.”

“Yeah, that was him.”

“House, how are you going to help these people?” Sarah asked “They can't go back to the Sudan. The U.N. won't even go there right now. Too much fighting. We pulled all our people out last week.”

House shook his head. “I don't even know how they got here. There's ten game sanctuaries between here and their country.”

“The women said they went through some mountains and crossed a lot of dry land,” Sarah said. “They told me they saw lions and killed a lot of game to survive. They were worried the lions would kill their camels.”

House grabbed his head. “Don't tell me they killed lions, too. They can't go back that way. They'll have the entire force of Kenyan and Ethiopian game wardens on their ass.”

“Then how are you gonna help them?” Daisy snorted. “Sounds like a problem even you can't solve.”

It was the height of the afternoon. Most of the tribe was resting inside their tents out of the heat. Sarah was exhausted. “I'm so tired,” she said to House.

He smiled at her and she felt a thrill of excitement in her stomach. He was unbelievably good looking. His silver eyes were lit by a shaft of light from a crack in the door flap. “You, little one,” he said. “Are gonna have to don the robes of a dutiful wife.”

Sarah slumped. “I knew it. They recognize women as warriors, but I'm just a woman.”

The flap opened and a woman completely covered in black handed Sarah a pile of clothing. Sarah clutched the robes to her chest for a moment, then sighed. “Oh well, at least we're safe.”

Instead of dressing in the robes, she laid them across the mats and lay down on them. “I'll put the draperies on after I rest. I'm too tired right now.”

Daisy laughed and snuggled up on one side of her. House removed his boots and his vest and lay down on the other side of her. Daisy and House fell asleep immediately. Sarah lay awake listening to them breathe. It was strange for her to be so close to other humans. She'd spent most of her life sheltered and alone. When House growled in his sleep and threw an arm over her, she rolled over to stare at him. His lips were drawn back in a snarl and his teeth were huge.

His dream escalated. He started thrashing and woke Daisy up. His growls and snarls grew louder. “Hold him,” Daisy ordered. “He's been in war for the last ten years. He has bad dreams.”

“Oh no,” Sarah said, her heart wrung. She wrapped her arms around House and pulled him closer. Daisy snuggled up behind her as Sarah gently stroked House's cheek. His struggles lessened and he stopped growling. She put her face against his and dropped into a deep sleep.

House woke when he heard the Bedouins packing to move. He scrubbed his hair with one hand and sat up. He'd slept better holding Sarah than he had in a long time. Something inside her touched his soul and soothed him.

Daisy woke next and sat up. “I have to pee,” she said.

“I guess there's a lady's room. You'll have to get Sarah to find it.”

Sarah sighed, crawled off the mat and started pulling on the robes. She balked at the veil, but Daisy made her put it on. “They expect this, and we need them, so comply.”

“Why does it have to be me?”

Daisy grinned and held out her arms. “Look at me. I'm like a guy.”

“Not with that rack,” House said.

The tribe of Rizeigat nomads gathered their livestock in the dusk. On the western horizon the sunset slowly faded, the sky vivid orange and purple. House found Abdalla sitting in the long shadow of the only standing tent drinking tea. He sat down beside him.

“Where are you taking your people?” House asked.

“We must move. The camels and horses need fresh graze.”

House rubbed his forehead. There was nothing but desert to the north, desert and overgrazed Somali land. To the east, there was some grassland, but the grass was sparse. To the south was Kenya, a point of land jutting into the corners of Ethiopia and Somalia. There was grass there. “The only place you can go is south into Kenya. You can head east, but the grass will run out and you will be in lands controlled by Somali warlords. You're just asking for trouble.”

Abdalla nodded, finished his tea and stood up. “Then we will head south. The Kenyan government is more understanding.”

House stood up, too. He didn't know if the Company would send another rescue bird. Headquarters could still see their chips and track them, but House didn't know if they would risk it. “Can we come with you?”

Abdalla nodded and shrugged. “Where else would you go? I expect it. You are welcome to stay as long as you need. You are a great fighter,” he made a grand gesture to indicate Daisy. “And the dark-haired woman is a great fighter. A tribe such as ours, alone and without resources can always use good fighters.”

They slowly traversed the desert, crossing dry riverbeds and hard-packed rust-colored earth. The moon rose illuminating camels picking at the sparse vegetation as they trod the earth on their well-padded feet. House walked beside Abdalla. “There is something different about you, Bayt,” Abdalla said. “You are close to the earth, more like a wild animal than a man. When I look in your eyes, I see a predator.”

What could he say to a question like that? He was an animal. “I don't know how to answer you, Abdalla. Some things are not meant to share.”

Abdalla nodded as they walked and then slapped him on the shoulder. “Your secret is safe with me. We too are close to the earth and the animals. You may find we have more in common than you think.”

The tribe finally stumbled into a small valley with good graze and a creek tumbling out of the hills. The creek disappeared into the ground as the stream of water went subterranean. Before the water disappeared into the earth, it formed a clear, cool pool. The tribe filled their water skins and the camels drank their fill gathered around the creek.

“This is a good place,” Abdalla told House. “There is grass and water. We will camp here for several days.”

House glanced around at the low hills in the distance and further to the east the dark smudge of higher mountains. They could see for miles across the plain and there was little cover. His spine tingled. It wasn't a spot he'd choose, but these people looked at their needs first and security second.

Sunrise was still several hours away when House, Daisy and Sarah crawled into their small tent. Daisy lifted one eyebrow. House took her outside. “I need to run,” she whispered. “I saw some game. I want to hunt.”

“Someone has to stay with Sarah,” he said.

“You do it. If I don't stretch my legs and howl at the moon, I'm gonna freak out.”

House grinned, showing his fangs. “Know that feeling.”

Daisy slapped him on the shoulder. “I'll drop my gear and clothes behind that cliff.” She pointed, and House nodded as an answer.

* * * *

As she trotted toward the cliffs, she saw the camels and a flock of goats slowly spreading out to eat. Young men walked among them, watching. They were all a little on edge in this new location, especially after the attack.

When she was hidden from the tribe busy raising tents and the camel herders, she stripped off her clothes and stretched, rising on her toes, lifting her arms high. She dropped to her knees and the change took her. Seconds later, she was a black wolf with a red streak in her fur running from right over her left eye into the ruff of thick fur around her neck. She sat back, lifted her head and howled. Tongue lolling, she took off to hunt at a dead run.

* * * *

House heard Daisy howl. She shouldn't have but the urge was hard to stop when in the animal's body. He ducked back into the tent and found Sarah undressing. He stared as she stripped the black burqa over her head. Under it, she still wore her flowered dress. “This is a stinky sweaty nightmare,” she said. “It's coming off, too.”

House couldn't answer. His throat was closed. Sarah wore plain white undergarments. They looked like little girl underwear, but the body inside the bra and panties was not a little girl's.

She had long slender legs, a tiny waist and flat stomach, and the roundest, firmest ass he'd ever seen. Her breasts were totally covered inside the bra, but House thought they looked perfect. She handed the dress to him. “Can you hang this somewhere to dry out?”

He took it from her without answering, ducked out of the tent and took some deep breaths. The night air was crisp and the scent of camels strong. He laid the dress on the tent roof. It was soaked. He resisted the strange impulse to rub it on his face. What the hell was wrong with him?

He ducked back inside and saw Sarah lying on the mats with her burqa over her. Unsure of what to do, he asked, “Can I lay down with you?”

She rolled onto one side. “This is your tent and your bed. I thought the three of us were together.”

He lay down beside her stiff as an oar. Inside his khakis, his cock stirred. Her scent permeated his space. She smelled like a woman, a sweaty woman. The odor was arousing.

“Where's Daisy?” She propped herself on one elbow and looked at him.

He glanced at her. Her hair was in a long braid pulled over one shoulder. Her face was brown from the sun. She was one of those rare blonds who tan. Her blue eyes were large and round, her nose perfect with a dusting of freckles on the bridge. Her brows and lashes were brown.

“She went hunting. Uh, she likes to hunt.”

“By herself? Will she be okay?”

House closed his eyes. Daisy would be more than okay, but how did he explain that to Sarah? “She does this all the time. She's a real nature girl. Doesn't like being cooped up.”

She was so close he could hear her breathing. “I didn't know,” she said in a breathless voice.

She was so desirable, but she belonged to Daisy. He gently touched her face with one finger, tracing her cheekbone. “You're beautiful,” he whispered.

* * * *

Sarah was overwhelmed by House. He was the most masculine man she'd ever seen. His chest was broad and his biceps bulged inside the tight sleeves of his T-shirt. He'd taken off his body armor and his black shirt hugged his flat abs. She gulped. When he touched her face in the most tender of gestures, she closed her eyes. Rush after rush of desire poured through her. Her stomach fluttered with a thousand butterflies.

What should she do?

Her hand moved on its own to touch his black hair. It was cut short, but was still thick. He had a widow's peak, dark brows and his silver eyes always seemed to glow. The look in his eyes right now was so intense she felt ready to burst into flames.

He moved his hand from her face to the back of her head and slowly drew her close. She stared at the chiseled jaw and firm mouth. When he kissed her, she melted into his body. He wrapped those huge arms around her and she felt tiny inside his embrace. His body was hard against hers; hard like a wall of boards. She didn't know men could have muscles like this.

His mouth was gentle; softer than it looked. He probed her lips with his tongue and she opened them. They kissed for several minutes. She finally pulled away and buried her face against his shoulder. “I'm a virgin,” she whispered into his sweat-scented flesh.

“Daisy told me.”

“What?”

“Daisy tells me everything. We share everything.”

“Women, too?”

“Never before now, but I want you, Sarah. You're the first woman I've felt this attracted to in my life. I'm trying like hell to resist you, but I don't have the strength.”

He ran his hand down her body, cupped the cheek of her ass in one big hand and moved down to stroke her thighs. She felt the uncontrollable urge to open her legs for him. She was burning for him with a need she'd never felt before. Stuttering, she whimpered. “I want you, too, but I don't know what to do.”

House growled. It was a real growl like a big dog would make. “I'll be gentle.”

His big hands pushed under her bra and cupped her breasts. He thumbed the nipples, removed one hand and unhooked her bra.

She pulled his T-shirt up and stroked his broad chest. He stripped it off. Her hands searched his flesh finding ridges of scar tissue. He'd been hurt before. House kissed her breast, lifted one and sucked gently on the nipple. She moaned and he shushed her. “There's fifty Bedouins out there.”

She clapped one hand over her mouth horrified, but it didn't stop the rising tide of passion sweeping over her. House stood up and stripped off his khakis and boxers. She'd never seen a fully aroused man before. Her eyes widened as she took in the size of his organ. How could it ever get into her? But the sight of his arousal worked like an aphrodisiac. She felt a flood of moisture between her legs and heat like she'd only felt when Daisy's face was buried in her flesh.

He stroked himself several times and her heart rate went through the roof. His cock got even bigger. She reached for him.

He knelt between her legs and slipped her panties down. No man had ever touched her intimately before. He gently nudged her legs open and slid between them, coming up to hold her in those huge arms and kiss her. She could feel his erection pressing into her belly like a hot iron.

He rolled her onto her side and ran one hand slowly down her belly to her thigh and then to her sex. His fingers were tender when he penetrated her, quickly finding her hymen. “You really are a virgin,” he breathed into her hair as he sucked in his breath. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

She put one hand on each side of his face and looked straight into his eyes. “I've never wanted anything more in my life.”

“If we make love, I will never let you go. You will be mine forever. I'm a one-woman kind of guy.”

“Maybe you're the one man I've been waiting for all my life.”