earlier allegation.
Wiping her cheeks, Cory did as Duke ordered. There was no time for tears. Later. She could cry later. When she was away from him. When she could hate him for what he’d made her do.
Chapter 6
DUKE JERKED awake. He listened to the night, seeking the threat. A soft moan and thrashing limbs. The princess was having a nightmare. Duke knew all about those, though he reserved his for down time. He didn’t sleep much on missions. He couldn’t take the chance of alerting the enemy if he talked in his sleep. Or moaned. Like the princess. Cory. She’d asked him to call her Cory. But he couldn’t stop calling her princess. Little rich girl who wanted to save the world. Only she was more than that.
He crawled toward the sounds she made and squatted by her side just as Cory scissored her legs, kicking off the solar blanket. Brushing his fingers across her face, he found sweat beaded on her forehead and, as his fingers continued across her skin, he wondered if those were tears that slicked her cheeks. Her mouth opened as she sucked in gasps of air, arms thrashing now. What gave a doctor nightmares? Had Cudjo’s men done worse than kidnap her? His brain skittered away from that idea, just as he refused to consider that watching a man’s brains blow out the back of his head through a sniper scope might be the cause.
Listening to the sounds filtering through his darkness, he waited. He’d called HQ, reported the success of the mission, waited for a return call with instructions for their extraction—a call that hadn’t come. Cory thrashed harder, throwing her head from side to side.
Duke needed to control her, calm her down. For the good of the mission, he gathered her into his arms, and he settled her into the nest formed by his crossed legs as he sat Indian style. Her hands balled into fists, but instead of beating at his chest, she clutched his tee shirt. His dick went on alert, liking the way her rounded ass fit against it. Liked it too much, in fact.
In the distance, men called to each other. They would have torches and lights to probe the darkness. They were tucked up in a thicket of bushes and would be hard to spot but it was obvious he and the doctor were hunted. It was now mission imperative to keep her quiet. Duke did the only thing that made sense to him at the time. He covered her mouth with his own.
Cory relaxed into the kiss, her hands fisting in the tight knit material of a tee shirt. Muscled chest. Hard arms. And something else hard. Very hard. And poking her in the bottom. Mmmm. She liked this dream much better than the one before—the one where hollow-eyed children stared at her, all making the same plea. “Help me.”
“Shhh, princess. You need to make like Sleeping Beauty and be quiet.” A deep voice whispered in her ear, and warm air from his breath teased its way across her skin. She shivered and sought the mouth that claimed hers only moment ago. In an instant, she was flat on her back, her dream man’s erection pressing firmly against her core as he settled between her legs. Only it wasn’t his mouth on hers, it was a rough palm.
Coming fully awake, she opened her eyes and screamed against the hand clamped over her mouth, fighting the bulk lying on top of her.
“Dammit, princess.” That gruff voice growled at her, so low it was more vibration than sound. “Wake up and shut up. We’ve got dogs on our trail.”
Dogs? She gasped against his skin. Dogs were hunting them? She closed her eyes, sucking air through her nose to calm her thundering heart. She could hear the voices now, saw lights flashing in the distance. Some spoke the local dialect. Some spoke English. Rescuers! She tapped Duke’s shoulder and lipped words against his palm. He ignored her. She squirmed beneath him, oddly exhilarated when his breath caught in his chest.
“Dammit, woman. I’ll fucking strangle you until you pass out if you don’t hold still.”
She struggled harder.
“They aren’t
Wiping her cheeks, Cory did as Duke ordered. There was no time for tears. Later. She could cry later. When she was away from him. When she could hate him for what he’d made her do.
Chapter 6
DUKE JERKED awake. He listened to the night, seeking the threat. A soft moan and thrashing limbs. The princess was having a nightmare. Duke knew all about those, though he reserved his for down time. He didn’t sleep much on missions. He couldn’t take the chance of alerting the enemy if he talked in his sleep. Or moaned. Like the princess. Cory. She’d asked him to call her Cory. But he couldn’t stop calling her princess. Little rich girl who wanted to save the world. Only she was more than that.
He crawled toward the sounds she made and squatted by her side just as Cory scissored her legs, kicking off the solar blanket. Brushing his fingers across her face, he found sweat beaded on her forehead and, as his fingers continued across her skin, he wondered if those were tears that slicked her cheeks. Her mouth opened as she sucked in gasps of air, arms thrashing now. What gave a doctor nightmares? Had Cudjo’s men done worse than kidnap her? His brain skittered away from that idea, just as he refused to consider that watching a man’s brains blow out the back of his head through a sniper scope might be the cause.
Listening to the sounds filtering through his darkness, he waited. He’d called HQ, reported the success of the mission, waited for a return call with instructions for their extraction—a call that hadn’t come. Cory thrashed harder, throwing her head from side to side.
Duke needed to control her, calm her down. For the good of the mission, he gathered her into his arms, and he settled her into the nest formed by his crossed legs as he sat Indian style. Her hands balled into fists, but instead of beating at his chest, she clutched his tee shirt. His dick went on alert, liking the way her rounded ass fit against it. Liked it too much, in fact.
In the distance, men called to each other. They would have torches and lights to probe the darkness. They were tucked up in a thicket of bushes and would be hard to spot but it was obvious he and the doctor were hunted. It was now mission imperative to keep her quiet. Duke did the only thing that made sense to him at the time. He covered her mouth with his own.
Cory relaxed into the kiss, her hands fisting in the tight knit material of a tee shirt. Muscled chest. Hard arms. And something else hard. Very hard. And poking her in the bottom. Mmmm. She liked this dream much better than the one before—the one where hollow-eyed children stared at her, all making the same plea. “Help me.”
“Shhh, princess. You need to make like Sleeping Beauty and be quiet.” A deep voice whispered in her ear, and warm air from his breath teased its way across her skin. She shivered and sought the mouth that claimed hers only moment ago. In an instant, she was flat on her back, her dream man’s erection pressing firmly against her core as he settled between her legs. Only it wasn’t his mouth on hers, it was a rough palm.
Coming fully awake, she opened her eyes and screamed against the hand clamped over her mouth, fighting the bulk lying on top of her.
“Dammit, princess.” That gruff voice growled at her, so low it was more vibration than sound. “Wake up and shut up. We’ve got dogs on our trail.”
Dogs? She gasped against his skin. Dogs were hunting them? She closed her eyes, sucking air through her nose to calm her thundering heart. She could hear the voices now, saw lights flashing in the distance. Some spoke the local dialect. Some spoke English. Rescuers! She tapped Duke’s shoulder and lipped words against his palm. He ignored her. She squirmed beneath him, oddly exhilarated when his breath caught in his chest.
“Dammit, woman. I’ll fucking strangle you until you pass out if you don’t hold still.”
She struggled harder.
“They aren’t
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