Biding His Thyme: 4 (10 page)

“An old-fashioned orgy.”

“We’ll leave as soon as we can,” she said
in a prim voice.

“Hell, yeah,” Jake agreed. “You could
always say you have your period.”

A flush suffused her face again. “That’s a
lie, and not a good excuse.”

Jake pulled a face but wisely didn’t say
anything.

“I thought we could take a break during the
walk home. People are becoming used to seeing us together. If we arrive back at
the compound looking mussed, no one will say much.”

“You’ve got it planned, haven’t you?”

“Yes.”

“What happens if you get pregnant?”

“I’ll have to risk it,” she said. “And
you’ll have to promise if I get pregnant you’ll help me.”

“I can get someone to whisk you to safety
today.” He repeated his offer.

“I’m not going without my mother’s books.
My mother invented the cream. She taught me how to work with herbs. She was a
genius. I’m good, but I need her books to guide me. I have one of her recipe
books but she had others.”

“I could get you out and grab the book for
you later.”

“You don’t know what you’re looking for.”

Jake stared at her—a battle of wills.
Finally he sighed. If he were her, he’d want the mementos too.

“How come Brother Rick and the others don’t
know about your mother’s recipes?”

“My mother didn’t talk to anyone about her
recipes except me. None of the other young girls wanted to work here. They
preferred to work with the children or at the shop. When she died, I took
over.”

The breakfast bell rang out, a strident
summons for everyone to break their fast.

“We’d better get going with the delivery.
We’re later than usual,” Sorrel said.

“I’ll grab us something for breakfast.”
Jake limped from the workshop, making his way across the open ground in the
center of the compound.

Sorrel watched him for a while, before
jerking from her reverie. She loaded the final items into the handcarts,
thankfully not too many short after the intruder, and grabbed the perishable
face masks from refrigeration. While she toiled, her mind darted to Jake and
she wondered if he’d go ahead or balk at her request to make love.

They’d kissed a lot since his arrival, and
he’d touched her through her robe. The thought of more… Something she
recognized as anticipation throbbed through her veins. She pushed the handcarts
from the lean-to and watched Jake as he limped toward her.

“Are you handsome without the beard?” She
slapped her hand across her mouth. “Forget I said that. It was inappropriate.”

Jake chuckled. “Women seem to like me.”

A flash of jealousy struck her at his
words, and that’s the exact instant she realized she was in trouble. “Bighead.”

They pushed the handcarts through the
compound gates and onto the dusty road. The center of the road was more even,
and they walked single file in the middle of the road. The sound of a vehicle
and the impatient honk of a horn behind them made them hurriedly push their
carts to the side of the road.

Brother Rick and Brother John sped past,
dust billowing after them. Sorrel turned her head away, eyes squeezed shut
until the cloud settled. “Arsehole,” she muttered.

“You okay?”

Sorrel shook the worst of the dust from her
robe. “Yes.”

“I wish I’d known he was intending to leave
the compound this morning,” Jake said. “Did you know?”

“I would’ve told you.”

He gave a clipped nod. “Maybe Luke can pick
him up. He knows the registration of their vehicle.”

“I wonder how long he’ll be away. We might
have time to search his quarters.”

Jake shot her a long look. “We won’t make
it back in time. Not if we take care of this other business.”

The squeak of the wheels of her handcart
seemed extra loud. Sorrel concentrated on pushing it up the slight gradient,
her breath starting to come in loud gasps. “Are you agreeing to my
proposition?”

“At least I get to see what you look like
beneath the padding,” he said in lieu of answer. “I admit to a certain
curiosity.”

Sorrel swallowed in an attempt to rid
herself of the nerves threatening to close her throat. Honesty propelled her to
admit she wanted this man, and better, she liked him. He treated her as a
person. He
saw
her.

During the last few days she’d dreamed of
him running his hands across her naked breasts, his mouth tugging at her
nipple. She’d fantasized of his fingers skimming her body and touching her
everywhere. And she’d looked at him, imagined her hands roaming over his
shoulders and chest, feeling more of the hard muscles. For the first time she
wanted a man to look at her with lust in his eyes. She wanted to stand proudly
before him, her disguise discarded.

The butterfly wanted to burst from the
cocoon and flutter free to play in the sun, to taste freedom.

The rest of the trip to town passed in
silence, which was normal for her. When they were almost at town, a vehicle
stopped beside them.

“Wait here,” Jake said, and he limped over
to talk to the male driver. After a few minutes and a loud bark of laughter,
the man drove away.

“Was that James Bates?”

“Yes,” Jake said, setting off again without
appeasing her curiosity. Before they reached the rear of the shop, he said,
“I’m going to let you unload as normal. I need to meet my contact and sort out
a few things.”

“All right.” She watched him hobble from
sight before knocking on the rear door.

“Oh, good.” Sister Marigold’s silver hair
glinted under the bright morning sun. “You’re here. We had a busy day
yesterday. We’re sold out again.”

“I wanted to talk to you about pricing,”
Sorrel said. “I think you’re selling everything too cheaply. Can I see what
prices you’re charging?”

“But Sister Bitter, Brother Rick set the
prices. I’m sure he knows what he’s doing.”

“Let me look.” She pushed past the woman,
carrying a box of new stock. She scanned the shelves, her mouth dropping open
in astonishment. “You’re selling everything for one dollar?”

“On Wednesdays we have a sale and
everything is fifty cents,” one of the younger sisters said.

“But that doesn’t cover the raw
ingredients. You’re selling everything at a loss.”

“Sister Beth, Sister June go and bring in
the rest of the new stock,” Sister Marigold said before turning back to Sorrel.
“A man comes each day and buys most of the stock. I think he resells it at a
profit somewhere else. We will fix this now. Sister Bitter, come and tell me
how much you think we should charge for each product.”

Sorrel walked down the newly stocked
shelves, giving the prices they should charge. Brother Rick made her account
for the cost of raw ingredients, so she knew to the cent how much it cost to
produce every item.

“What are you going to do if Brother Rick
questions the new prices?” Sorrel asked.

“I’m not sure,” Sister Marigold said. “I’ll
think of something, but we can’t keep going this way. I know you work late
hours trying to make enough stock to keep the shelves stocked. I don’t like the
way he treats you, Bit—Sorrel,” she corrected. “And I’m not the only one to
think this way. We liked your mother, and you’re a credit to her.”

“Thank you,” Sorrel said, the words
bringing a warmth and sense of pride. Brother Rick was wrong. She was
important—in her own quiet way.

* * * * *

Jake sat in his usual spot by the river and
waited for someone to join him. When the sound of footsteps told of an
approach, he glanced up to see both Alice and Janaya. They carried coffee and a
brown paper bag.

Janaya glanced around and saw no one else
strolled along the riverbank. “We brought you a coffee and a muffin,” she said,
handing him a coffee.

“Thanks. I don’t have much time. Brother
Rick has gone off somewhere in his vehicle. I presume it’s to pick up the men
who’ve been absent for a couple of days. Someone needs to watch for his
vehicle.”

“Don’t the cult people know where he is?”
Janaya asked.

“He runs the place on a need-to-know
basis.”

Janaya nodded. “Anything else?”

“We’ve had beef a couple of nights this
week for dinner. The cooks were told Brother Rick swapped it for vegetables and
wool. He also has some new farm equipment. Any complaints about theft of farm
machinery?”

“I’ll ask. We need to catch him
red-handed,” Janaya said in a hard voice.

“I’ll keep looking around the compound, but
they work everyone pretty hard. It’s difficult to skulk when they expect you to
work.”

“It can’t be all work if you’re asking
James for a packet of condoms.” Alice flashed a triumphant grin at him.

Jake ignored the jibe. “Do you have a
decision for Sorrel yet?”

“I thought Children of Nature residents
didn’t approve of birth control,” Janaya said. “They’re always waving their
placards in front of the Fancy Free factory. You’ve read them, Alice. All the
signs about nasty condoms and how children are the future.”

“Yes, they were screaming slogans at me
this morning,” Alice said.

Jake stood abruptly. “I need to meet
Sorrel. Can I give her news?”

“Tell her the initial results look
favorable, but we’re still conducting tests.”

Jake frowned. “Can I give her an idea of
when you’ll know?”

“Another two weeks.”

“It really takes that long?” Jake asked.
“To test a pot of cream.”

“We have to make sure the person isn’t
stealing someone else’s recipe or passing off an existing product as one of
their own.”

“When would she have time to steal someone
else’s product?” Jake was indignant on Sorrel’s behalf. “She doesn’t have any
money and spends her days slaving away to make soap and bombs.”

“Bombs?” Janaya’s brows shot upward.

“He means bath bombs,” Alice said. “One of
those powdery balls you throw into your bath water.”

“Well that’s a relief,” Janaya said, her
smile kicking up into sly. “I’m gonna have to try a bomb in my bath, but
meantime, about those condoms.”

“Do you have some for me?” Jake asked.

Alice smirked and produced a box from her
handbag.

“Thanks. Ladies,” Jake said, and after a
brief nod, he limped away in the direction of the cult shop. He tapped on the
rear door. “Is Sorrel ready?” he asked when the door opened.

“Sister Bitter, it’s time for you to go
back to the compound,” the young woman called.

Sorrel finished speaking with Sister
Marigold and came to join him. “Are you ready to leave?”

“Yes, we’ll need to hurry if we want to
collect more leaves and twigs to decorate your candles.”

“I thought I might gather pebbles from the
river to make a change in the decorations.” She lowered her gaze. “Could we do
that?”

Jake wanted to tell her she didn’t have to
ask. He’d go out of his way to help her with anything she wanted. But
determined not to cause her any further trouble, he paused, as if considering
the idea. “We can’t do both.”

“No, of course not,” she agreed.

“Your idea of river stones has merit,” he
decided out loud. They’d also have more scope for finding a private spot where
no one would discover them.

He hustled Sorrel away, pushing his
handcart rapidly. The wheels let out a pained squeak, and Sorrel laughed.
Startled by the sound, he cocked his head in her direction, and he found his
lips curling in response. Sorrel didn’t laugh much but when she did, she was
damn cute.

Sorrel scraped a hand over her hair,
fussing with the wisps around her face. Nerves. Her hands couldn’t seem to stay
still and jerked to a new position on her cart each time she thought of what
she was about to do. In contrast she was thrilled the first man to touch her
with tenderness would be Jake.

“What
do
you look like when you
don’t have a beard?” She eyed the edges of his whiskers, ragged and unkempt. If
it weren’t for the deep black color, he’d give Santa Claus a good contest.

A flash of white showed against the black,
and she found her lips twitching in response. She liked his smiles, big,
full-on expressions of joy that made his cheekbones more pronounced and echoed
in his eyes.

“I’m a very handsome dude,” he said. “All
my friends say so.”

“What? You have friends?”

Instead of snarling, he chuckled, and she
was charmed all over again.

“My friends won’t leave me alone with their
wives,” he said, amusement coloring his words.

The humor left her. “You’d cheat on your
friends?” She couldn’t hide her appalled reaction. Sorrel stopped abruptly, the
squeaky music from her handcart falling silent. She didn’t intend to give
herself to a liar and a cheat.

“Of course not.” He stopped walking. “I met
Nikolai and Louie at the Special Air Services training camp. They know I’d
never make a move on their women. I flirt, and Summer and Mac flirt back. That
makes my friends grumble.” He stared off into the distance, a memory bringing
pleasure because he grinned. “We mightn’t have blood ties, but they’re my
brothers. You’ll like them. I’ll introduce you once we get out.”

Sorrel gave her handcart an extra hard
shove to get it moving again. Jake fell into step beside her, the noisy chorus
of squeaks startling the birds from a manuka tree.

“I’ll shave off my beard once I leave. You
can tell me what you think then.”

He was talking about them as if they were a
couple. “Are you going back to the army?”

“If I can pass the tests the medical staff
throw at me.”

“But your friends aren’t active soldiers
now?”

“No, Nikolai has a new baby, and last I
heard Louie and Mac are expecting a kid too.” He shook his head. “Times have
changed.”

And he was left behind, Sorrel thought.
“There is a swimming hole up ahead and a nice grassy clearing. It’s sort of
private.”

He shot her a questioning look, and she
shrugged, remembering crashing James and Alice’s picnic.

“Not my finest moment,” she confessed. “I
was desperate to talk to Alice Bates, but I couldn’t ring her for an
appointment. I followed her and her husband here one day. Before I could pluck
up the courage to show myself and ask her about my cream, they started ripping
off their clothes.”

He let out a bark of laughter, and she
watched, mesmerized as small crinkles appeared at the corners of his deep brown
eyes. “What did you do?”

“I got caught when I panicked and stood on
a stick. As I said, it’s not something I prefer to remember.”

“You’d like Nikolai’s wife, Summer. Louie
and I met her not long after Nikolai. Someone broke into her house, so she
climbed out the window in her nightie and went to her neighbor’s for help.
Nikolai was her neighbor, and he thought she’d crawled into his bedroom window
for a quickie.”

“What happened?”

“Summer refused to stay put and followed us
while we chased off the bad guys.”

“That’s not embarrassing.”

“It is if your nightie is transparent.”

“Oh.” She paused, dragged her sandal
through the pile of river sand to make patterns on the edge of the track. “I’ve
never owned anything like that.” Even she heard the wistful sound in her voice.
Maybe one day. “It would be nice to own a pair of jeans. They seem practical.”

“I’ll buy you some when we get out of
here.” His voice was rough with emotion as he pulled her to him and squeezed
her. He made her feel safe. Secure. And best of all, he made her feel like an
individual with rights and a voice.

“Does this look like a good spot?”

“If it’s good enough for Alice and James
Bates it’ll work for us.” He opened his handcart and pulled out a blanket.
“Last chance to change your mind.” His gaze was steady, although without pressure
as he waited for her reply.

“No, I’m very sure. I-I like you,” she
ended on a rush.

He held out his hand. “Let’s do this then.”

The way he said it made awkwardness jump to
the fore. She stumbled, his grip on her hand keeping her upright. Panic flared,
squeezing her chest, yet his touch kept her grounded, made her suck deep for
courage. While this situation mightn’t be ideal and the need for them to hurry
added pressure, she wouldn’t stop. In the short time she’d known Jake he’d
impressed her with his behavior and his determination to do the job he’d come
to complete at the compound.

“Do you think Brother Rick is stealing
cattle?”

“I’m not sure,” Jake said, “but he acts
like a man with a secret.”

“If he’s arrested it will split Children of
Nature apart.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

“What do you mean?”

Jake scrutinized the clearing before
choosing a sun-dappled spot near the riverbank. She realized they’d see or hear
any intruders unless they were of the sneaky kind.

“I’ve met most of the people. Some of the
women are strong and more than capable of running the place. I think they’d do
a better job of it too. It would be more peaceful. A good leader is what
they’re lacking most.”

“Did you know Brother Rick instructed the
women in the shop to price every item at a dollar?”

His dark brows shot toward his hairline.
“You’re kidding. Even I know the products you make are worth more than a
dollar.”

She made a scoffing sound deep in her
throat. It emerged as a frustrated growl. “They have sales on Wednesdays and
sell everything for fifty cents.”

“Hell. What did you do?”

“I told Sister Allison Marigold they
weren’t covering the costs of my raw ingredients and suggested prices more in
line with reality.”

“Good for you.”

“I can’t believe it didn’t occur to me to
check before. Normally, I unload and head back to the compound without entering
the front of the shop. Brother Rick will hear and punish me.”

“You mean making you work every hour of the
day and night and restricting your meals isn’t enough.”

She drew patterns on the ground with her
sandal. “I didn’t think you’d noticed.”

“I’m a soldier. I notice everything.”

He spoke the truth. No one else noticed she
wasn’t making the most of her looks. “Has anyone ever told you you’re a
smartass?”

“Nikolai and Louie, usually when I’m
flirting with their wives.” The corners of his eyes crinkled again. “Come
here.”

She allowed him to draw her closer, and
that was when nerves ran roughshod through her. Every sound around her
amplified—the bubble of the water, the singing of a thrush over in a tree to
their right, the harshness of her breaths.

“It’s okay to feel apprehensive. We don’t
have to do this.”

Sorrel sent him a sharp look. He meant it.
He’d stop if she wanted him to go no further. It was this knowledge that
settled her apprehension, made her realize she wanted this with both her head
and her heart. “It’s true I’m a bit nervous, but I don’t want to stop. You make
me feel safe.”

“Would it help if I undressed first? We
could even have a swim. It’s warm enough today.”

“A swim?”

“Yeah, you know. You get in the water and
splash around.”

“I don’t know how to swim.”

“Would you like me to give you a lesson?”

She found herself nodding, intrigued by the
idea. Brother Rick had left the compound. He wouldn’t notice if she was late
back. Besides, with the two of them working on making products, she had extra
stuff ready to load into the handcarts.

“Strip,” he said. “Last one in is a rotten
egg.” He kicked off his sandals and flung off his robe in a frenzy of movement.
In the sunlight, his chest was broad and tanned, the hair on his chest sparse
but masculine. He peeled off tight white boxer-briefs. She caught a quick
glance of a partial erection before he whirled away, running for the swimming
hole. He plunged into the water, laughing like a gleeful child.

“But he doesn’t look like a child,” she
whispered, unable to tear her gaze off him. A few days of good food made him
appear healthier, and he was tanned all over. He bore scars on his back,
although they didn’t make him less in her eyes.

“Rotten egg,” he taunted.

“I— You’re beautiful,” she said.

“Do you realize I have a front row seat
now? I can watch you disrobe at my leisure.” There was a distinct dare in his
voice.

“I’m not scared.”

“You haven’t seen my best leer yet.”

Sorrel removed her sandals and set them
together in a precise manner. She angled her back to him and felt the weight of
his attention in the middle of her shoulder blades. Self-protection tempted her
to flee, but that was the old Sorrel, the one everyone called Bitter. She was better
than that, more than the colorless woman everyone taunted.

With her back remaining to him, she lifted
the robe over her head. She folded it to give herself longer to gather courage.
Shedding her layers of protection was much harder than she’d thought it would
be. She sucked in a hoarse breath and unwound the binding that kept her breasts
flat against her chest. Next went the padding she used to fill out her robe and
make her appear plump.

Her breasts prickled at both the cooler air
and the lack of restraint. Her next breath came more easily and was like a
sugar rush to her head. She expected freedom tasted much like this—unfettered
joy.

Clad in her panties, she hesitated then
whisked them down, leaving her naked in more ways than one. Swallowing twice, she
turned to gauge Jake’s reaction. He stood, wading to the edge of the river to
meet her. His gaze skimmed her from head to foot and back again.

“God, Sorrel. You’re gorgeous. You have a
body made for a bikini.”

“I don’t have one of those either,” she said,
some of her uncertainty leaving her.

“You will,” he promised. “Come on in. The
water’s fine.” He extended his hand, and she took it.

His inner strength helped to bolster her
bravery. She stepped into the water and froze, the water lapping against her thighs.
“It’s cold.”

“Only at first. The best way is to jump in.
I’ll give you a kiss as a reward,” he added, his gaze tracking across her
again.

If it were any other man looking at her,
she would’ve faltered, but not with Jake. He made her feel good about herself.
Steeling herself, she plunged deeper, the cold like a wake-up tonic to her
skin. She tingled from head to foot, her nakedness feeling natural instead of
something she needed to hide in order to stay safe.

“The water is freezing.”

“Come here,” he said roughly. He wrapped
his arms around her, drawing her against his chest. His lips came down on hers.
Hard. Consuming, leaving her in little doubt of his mindset.

She kissed him back, releasing the last of
her reserve. His beard tickled her chin and cheeks while his lips were soft and
warm. He pulled back a fraction, resting his forehead against hers.

“How long have you been wearing your
disguise?” His fingers trailed across her cheek and down her neck. His hand
came to rest on her shoulder, leaving a fiery trail of sensation everywhere he
touched. “Sorrel?”

“Since my early teens. My mother said I was
too young to deal with male attention.”

“Their loss, my gain,” he said. “What about
the guy who took your virginity?”

She snorted. “He was so excited he didn’t
notice my padding. We lifted our robes and a few seconds later it was over.”

Jake cursed softly and brushed a flyaway
hair from her cheek.

“Do I look all right?” She bit down on her
bottom lip wanting to recall the words as soon as she said them. “Don’t answer
that.”

“Why don’t I show you how much I like you?”

A trace of shyness crept into her. “Okay.”

Instead of taking her into his arms again,
he took two steps back. A mischievous expression darted onto his face as he
scooped up a handful of water and splashed her.

The cool water hit her in the chest,
startling a scream of surprise from her. His rumble of laughter jolted her from
her shock. Right.

“This is war.” She splashed him in return,
throwing herself at him at the same time. A chuckle burst from her, foreign yet
it warmed her inside. She splashed and kicked, limbs wet and slippery. Laughter
spilled from both of them as Jake flicked handfuls of water in return, grabbing
her arms and legs and holding her captive. Each touch sent longing through her.
Need.

“Enough,” he growled, yanking her against
him. His erection was full and hard and dug into her belly. He pressed a quick
kiss on her lips, grasped one hand and led her from the water.

“We’re wet. How are we going to dry
ourselves?”

“We’ll air dry,” he said, as if it were
unimportant. “Lie on the blanket for me. Let me look at you properly.”

She basked in the attention even though
shyness struck her too. He seemed so big, looming over her.

“God, you’re sexy. All smooth skin and
curves.” His face was serious, yet she could see the banked emotion in him. He
sprawled beside her, so close she could feel his body heat.

Sorrel couldn’t take her eyes off him.
Without his robe, he was more masculine, more everything, and the expression in
his eyes… He was looking at her as if he found her beautiful.

She reached out, wanting to touch him, to
test his flesh beneath her fingers. She inhaled his scent, the green tang of
the grasses and trees around them. The fresh, almost crisp scent of the river
water and the underlying herbal scent of the soap she’d made for him.