Can't Run (Danger and Desire Book 1) (8 page)

“I know,” Sara said, “Eric, I do trust you.”

Sara’s voice was soft and sincere, she meant it. The last few days forced her to think about how Eric tracked her down with limited tools. She was forced to think about how he risked his life and was continuing to risk his life to rescue and protect her. She couldn’t help but appreciate his new honesty about her father’s situation, and altogether, she realized that his acts were, though technically professional, also selfless. If they both died what was the point of his salary? There was none.

Hearing Sara’s genuine tone, Eric couldn’t help but smile.

They had both fallen asleep and had been woken up by a throaty grunt outside of their makeshift shelter.

“What is that?” Sara whispered, her voice shaking with the terror of not knowing what was lurking just outside of their hut.

“Shhh” Eric hushed, listening carefully while reaching for his gun and holding it ready to defend at any moment.

Seeming to respond to the quiet whispers coming from within, whatever was outside answered in a guttural grumble that seemed to transfigure into an exceptionally disturbing snarl.

Sara couldn’t help but gasp as she realized that there was some sort of predator, possibly stalking them.

“It’s either a puma or a jaguar. It’s probably just curious.” Eric whispered in an unsuccessful attempt to be comforting.

Sara decided that one thing was for sure, she would not be falling asleep that night.

She woke up at first light, laying on her side covered by Eric’s leather jacket and his large protective arms around her. He breathed softly, in a delicate snore. They had both fallen asleep.

She carefully rolled over to face him. As he slept he looked so peaceful, so innocent. The stress that had been on his face over the last few days was completely unseen in this state. She couldn’t help but reach out and touch his face. The prickly stubble that had grown over the days of being unshaven felt rough under her fingers. She traced his lips with her fingers, recalling their kiss from the night when they met. She leaned into him, and gently brushed her lips against his.

His eyes fluttered open in surprise. Sara leaned back on her arm and grinned, “I just wanted to see what is like.” She said coyly.

His eyes flickered as he reached forward and brushed her hair out of her face. His mouth was now set in an amused grin. He ran his hand through her hair, from the back of her neck and pulled her back to him. 

His mouth was on hers, his warm breath soothed her as his lips coaxed hers to open. An electrical storm was happening within her, the energy feeding her urgency as her lips moved against his. Never before had she felt such intense passion and need. His lips moved down and lingered on her neck just below her chin, before he slowly kissed up her neck, her chin, and cheek before he returned to her mouth.

He kissed her with a new intensity igniting a newfound level of desire within Sara. She felt the tip of his tongue against hers driving her into a desperation that near frightened her. She had never wanted anything as badly as she wanted him, and she couldn’t deny it any longer.

Her hands moved up to his neck, she knotted her fingers into his short hair. His breath was just as shaky and passionate as her own, as she used her grip on his neck to urge him down onto her.

Understanding her, his kisses deepened and he took her in a all-pervading kiss. She felt her body shaking underneath the pressure of his weight, the urgency erupting from her body in trembles. A guttural moan escaped her throat as he kissed her deeply, and moved back down to her earlobe where he lightly bit and ran his tongue gently.

Unable to stand the pressure of intense need growing in her groin she used her weight to push him off of her and role on top of him. She ran her hands over his arms as she kissed him, straddling his hips. She pressed her groin into his and lightly moved her hips. She could feel him throbbing and swollen through both her jean shorts and his own jeans.

Excitement tingled through her as she kissed him deeper holding his hands over his head, she knew that he could get out of her pin with little effort but she still felt as though she were in power. She rubbed her groin against him, the pressure of the swollen protuberance in his jeans massaging her perfectly induced another soft moan. She shifted her head above his and felt the warmth of him kissing her chest.

He pushed to roll back on top of her, excited by this dominance Sara moved all too enthusiastically. This move was miscalculated on Eric’s part and he rolled directly into the branches of the shelter, knocking some over and causing the rest of the shelter to crash down all around them.

Sara, stunned, looked around them. Laughter quickly erupted out of her chest as she flopped back onto the jungle floor. Eric rolled off of her, also taken over by bubbling laughs. He stood up and brushed himself off, before reaching down and offering Sara a hand. She graciously accepted and came face to face with him.

His face was flushed, his eyes were dilated with passion. He sighed, “We had better go”.

Sara nodded, still feeling the fire burning within her body. She forced herself to focus on the situation at hand. They were still, pretty much, lost in the middle of the amazon rain forest. There were heavily armed kidnappers, potentially on their trail, probably pissed off that Eric had killed one of their comrades while trying to rescue her.

“Let’s find some vines before we start walking.” Eric suggested.

Sara nodded in agreement. As they began to walk in search of vines for a clean water source Eric stopped, his spine was rigid as Sara approached. She followed his eyes to a patch of mud on the earth floor and her blood ran cold.

In the mud was a print, a large print about 4 inches long and 5 inches wide. The print featured an outsized pad with toes fanning outward, and the pad featured a rough 'M' shape with delicate peaks behind the toes and a broad base. The toes were tapered and made four oval imprints. There was no signs of claws, but Sara knew that cats walked with their claws retracted, the space in between the toes was noticeable. They knew something must have been interested in them the previous night, now they knew they had peaked the curiosity of a jaguar.

“Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.”
- Edgar Allan Poe

Sara and Eric continued through the rugged terrain of the never-ending jungle. Sara’s feet throbbed, she definitely wasn’t wearing appropriate shoes for the type of activity she was doing. Her toe poked out of the top of one of the cloth flats displaying chipped coral nail polish. She could feel the blisters on her heals being torn open creating an annoying burn.

Eric, sensing Sara’s exhaustion and discomfort helped her over stumps and logs as they moved at a constant pace. Sara appreciated Eric’s help but couldn’t imagine having to carry on the journey for much longer.

Sara had almost gotten used to the lively forest, the constant buzz of bugs and the small creatures of the forest enjoying its abundance. The birds were chirping and she was once again being eaten alive by the blood sucking insects. Black spider monkeys watched the pair from high above, as they “tee-tee'd” back and forth to each other in curious and friendly vocalization. The trees were full of life, bright macaws squawked in correspondence with the friendly monkeys.

Sara had always been afraid of monkeys since watching one steal her father’s wallet and throw its feces at him as a child during a family trip to Costa Rica. Now the even that had completely grossed her out and even scared her now brought her nostalgic humor, she was thankful for the amusement the friendly monkeys brought her.

Sara thought about her parents, worry panged in her stomach as she thought about whoever was after her father. Whoever he had upset must have truly despised him, and that terrified her. Her parents were good people, but, to some they likely seemed as nothing more than rich capitalists not caring about anything but making more money. They were, however, charitable people. Loving people. Her mother was a philanthropist through and through, she had never been one to be afraid to get involved and hands on. She couldn’t understand how anyone could possibly want to harm them so.

Her facial expression must have given her away as Eric slowed his pace after looking back and seeing her.

“You okay?” He asked, “Are you thinking about earlier?”

“No,” she responded, “I’m pretty sure I’d be smiling if I was thinking about this morning. Why do you think that would make me look… like this?”

He shrugged.

“I’m thinking about my parents.” She answered instinctively.

“They’re okay, they have so much security it would take a full military to get to them!” He reassured.

Sara grinned, “I know, it’s just. Why would anyone want to hurt them … this badly?”

He matched her pace to make it easier to talk.

“They’re good people,” she explained, “They wouldn’t ever intentionally harm anyone.”

“When it comes to business, especially business with a lot of money involved, things get complicated. It changes people you know.” His voice was soft, full of understanding.

“I know, it’s just. I think people sometimes don’t see them as…well…people. Just as money and they are really so much more than that.” She didn’t know why she was explaining this, but he seemed to understand where she was coming from. “What about your family? I don’t know anything about them.”

He took a deep breath, “Well,” he said, “I have one older brother and two sisters who are younger than me. My mother raised us by herself after my father died.”

“I’m so sorry,” Sara said sympathetically, “May I ask, your father, how did he…”

“He was in the military,” Eric explained, “When he came back from Bosnia, well, his friend who was with him there came back too and was really messed up. Had a hard time with all the shit he saw.”

“So, one night his friend’s wife called the house. He was having some sort of breakdown and my dad went over to try to help. I guess he had a gun to his head, and well my dad tried to get the gun out of his hand and got shot. His friend turned it on himself shortly after. He succumbed to his injuries.”

Sara’s heart broke, “Oh my god. I… I don’t even know what to say,” She began, “He sounds like he was a good man. How old were you?”

“Ten years old.” He said solemnly, “I joined the military to feel closer to him, my mom hated it, and I didn’t stay too long. Evidently…”

“Are you close with your mom and siblings?” She asked, absolutely curious about this man’s life.

“My mom and sisters, very. I don’t see them as much as I should, but we talk a lot.” He said with a thoughtful smile, “My brother, not so much.”

“Why not?” Sara asked curiously, noticing Eric’s expression she was suddenly embarrassed about how nosey she was being, “I’m sorry, I really should learn to mind my own business.”

“It’s okay, I’m just not used to talking about this.” His voice was kind and obliging, “We just don’t see things eye to eye. He looks down on my career choices, and pretty much hates that I make as much or even more than him.”

“Oh, what does he do?” Sara asked.

“He’s a…” Eric didn’t complete his sentence, “Do you smell that?”

Sara smelled the air, “Smoke?”

They could see the blueish tint entering the air. Eric commanded her to wait for him, hidden behind a tree, while he investigated. He came back in a full sprint, “There is a village up ahead,” he said, pulling her up by the hand.

She walked with him quickly towards the village Eric saw.

The village was small, with about 40 members who all came to see the two foreigners emerge through the small clearing in the forest. There where houses throughout the clearing made out of bamboo covered in banana leaves, palm leaves and straw. Some of the women wore skirts and wraps with no tops, while others had shirts paired with their skirts or dresses. The men all wore shorts or pants, for them too, shirts were optional. Two middle aged men stepped out of the gathering group and welcomed them by holding out their hand. 

“Olá, estranhos. Poucos de nós falam português.” One of the approaching men said still holding his arms out.

“Some of them speak portugues,” Eric translated to Sara, then looked to the men proceeded to tell the men that they were peaceful and had been lost in the forest for days: “Nós viemos em paz , pedindo ajuda . Temos sido perdido na floresta durante dias.”

The men welcomed them to stay, bringing them to a bamboo hut that belonged to a young couple. The couple, being the newest, would stay with the wife’s family until Sara and Eric would leave. They had also offered to send word to Manuas to bring help, they sent a man who would go on foot to the nearest village that had a radio, until the help arrived they were welcome to enjoy the villages hospitality as guests.

Sara was greatful for the safe haven and the hospitality of the village. Everyone was curious about the woman who had emerged from the woods dirty and covered in bruises. Sara was sent off with some of the married women who did a remarkable job communicating to her non-verbally, one of the women who was in her thirties spoke a small amount of english that she had learned from missionaries as a child. She helped fill in the gaps when physical gestures and cues didnt do a satisfactory job of commucating. The translater said to call her
Kaje
, which Sara realized was likely a shortened and anglasized version of her name used for Sara’s benefit.

Sara was stripped of her clothes and stood in a large basin where the women helped her wash and clean. They washed her t-shirt, shorts, panties and bra for her, while she zipped up in her hoodie and wore a wrap skirt that belong to one of the married women. Then one of the older women applied an oil to all of Sara’s cuts and blisters.

“Copaiba”, Kaje explained, “no infection.”

Kaje and another woman brushed out Sara’s hair and gave her back her clothes which dried surprisingly quickly on a line over a fire.

Once dressed she felt clean, rejuvinated, refleshed. For the first time in days she felt safe.

She was brought to one of the huts where Eric was sitting on the floor with a group of men and women, engaged in polite conversation with one of the men who spoke portuguese. The man generously played translater for the entire group.

Eric also looked clean and refreshed. He had even used his knife to shave. Her heart skipped when he looked at her apprasingly and smiled. She sat on the floor next to him and Kaje and Eric help Sara keep up with the conversation.

That evening they were treated as honored guests. They sat around a fire they sat and enjoyed a feast of wild bore and an array of fruits and vegetables inlcuding plantane, passion fruit, papayas, corn, and acai berry. Soon Sara’s empty stomach was soon filled and her thirst quenched. Following the mean their hosts sang and danced and even got Eric and Sara to join in and try to learn some of the dance moves. Never before had Sara experienced such hospitality, she felt truly welcome which amazed her. Even back in America she never met anyone as caring and as giving as those of the village that was safeguarding her and Eric.

Sara yawned, sitting on a log next to the fire. One of the older women of the village noticed and ushered her back to her hut. Eric protectively followed.

Once alone Sara removed her sweatshirt and shorts and stretched across the weaved sleeping mat that laid across the floor of the hut. Eric looked down at Sara uneasily.

“What’s the matter?” Sara asked, looking up at Eric’s concerned face.

“This morning, it was grossly unprofessional. I… I shouldn’t have…” He said apprehensively.

Sara’s heart sank as a twinge of uneasiness arose in her stomach. She felt tears stinging her here, and quickly wiped them away. She was exhausted, too exhausted to play games. She needed to lay it out on the table or she wouldn’t be able to cope with everything that was happening. She needed some form of catharsis one way or another.

Unfortunately he saw her tears of tired frustration and hurt, “Sara, it’s not like I want it this way. It’s just…you know… wrong.”

“Can we talk?” Sara asked, sitting up and crossing her legs, “Like honestly?”

He nodded and she patted the mat beside her. He slowly moved toward her and sat next to her.

“If it wasn’t your job to look after me, what would you think of me?” she asked.

He evidently wasn’t expecting that question and hesitated, “But, this is my job Sara.”

“I know that, but that’s not what I am asking.” She asserted, “If it wasn’t your job, Eric, what would you think of me.”

He smiled, “Well, I would still think you’re absolutely beautiful, maybe the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I would still think you’re intelligent, and funny. And passionate, all of the things I think about you now.”

She couldn’t hold back her smile, “If this wasn’t your job, you know, to look after me. What would you want our relationship to be?”

Again he hesitated “Well, considering I wouldn’t have been stalking you … I would probably ask you on a date, take you out. I would …” he suddenly stopped and shook his head.

“Would you want to be with me?” She asked quietly.

He nodded slowly, “More than anything.”

“Then screw being professional.” Sara demanded, frustrated at his admissions yet thrilled at the same time.

“Let me tell you something about me,” Sara said firmly, his eyebrows arched in curiosity as she began, “I don’t like people easily. I don’t want people easily. It takes something special for me. For me, the amount that I want you, the amount that I want to be with you, it just doesn’t happen.” Sara’s voice was shaky, but at least she was being honest with both him and herself.

“If you want to be with me, my father doesn’t need to know right away. We can see where it goes. He may approve or he may not, but until that point who cares. And if you have to choose between me and your job, do you really think that someone with your skills can’t find another job?”

He looked at her thoughtfully, still grinning. His hand moved up to her cheek and softly caressed it before pulling her towards him. His lips brushed hers sending a jolt through both of them. It was a shocking feeling, but wonderful.

“I don’t do things half fast, Eric.” Sara whispered, “I need to know, are you in or are you out.”

“I’m all in.” he whispered, his voice sincere and matter of fact, before kissing her deeply.

Eric pushed her hair out of her face, as her mouth yielded to his own. Eric too had never felt this emotionally and physically connected to someone, and the time spent with her on this job had made his attachment cement. Sara, like Eric, was lost in the embrace. Her heart beating rapidly from within her chest.

His hands moved over her body, he gently lifted her shirt over hear head and ran his fingers down her back. He kissed her cheek, his mouth lingered at her ear “I have wanted you since the night we first met.”

Sara’s body was on fire as she pushed against him until he was on his back, she slid up his body and adjusted into a straddle. Sara lifted his shirt and he sat up to help her, her legs still tightly wrapped around him.

His torso was next to that of a Greek mythological god, large and muscular. His tanned skin emphasized the definition of his perfectly carved out muscles. Her hands ran over his chest as he pulled her close to kiss her neck and chest. His hands softly unclasping and removing her bra.