Hidden Fire (28 page)

When he felt the last of her spasms fade away, he withdrew his fingers and dropped a kiss on her shoulder. “You have no idea how much of a turn-on that is. Watching you come like that.”

“Lord, I think my legs have turned to jelly,” she whispered.

“Think you can walk over to that boulder in front of you?”

Yeah, he could lay her down on the makeshift bed by the fire, but something about this cavern brought out the wild side of him. And Gili wasn't complaining so…

His hands shook as he guided her over to the boulder. His own legs didn't appear to be much better than hers. “Lean over and brace you hands on the top of the rock.”

“Oh, I do like the macho male dominance bit, but I think you might want this first.”

She looked at him over her shoulder, licking her bottom lip until he swooped and caught her mouth in a torrid kiss. Mindful of her sore lip, he kept the pressure light, but it was still enough to light a fire in his gut. When he finally caught his breath, he remembered to look at what she was waving in her hand.

A silver foil packet. Crap, he'd forgotten all about the condom. He grabbed it from her, and using his teeth, ripped it open. It was a matter of a few seconds to roll it on and deal with the issue of protection.

By the time he looked back at Gili, she had bent over the boulder, legs spread and bottom wiggling at him. Now she was open to him. Never had a sight looked more inviting.

“Come on, caveman. I'm getting impatient here.” She wiggled her hips some more.

Morgan didn't need any further urging. He stepped up behind her and grasped her hips. “Hard and fast, Gili,” he warned.

“Not too fast.” She chuckled, although it came out as a half-smothered groan. “Or I might have to throw you down onto the ground and do the job myself. The lady is still horny.”

He bent his knees slightly until he could run his cock along the length of her. She bucked, pushing her hips towards him.

“Stop teasing,” she demanded.

With that, he grasped her hips and with one powerful thrust, buried himself to the hilt in her welcoming warmth. With a groan, he held still, enjoying the feel of her sheath caressing him. She flexed her internal muscles and the sensation transferred itself to his cock.

Fire skittered along his veins. Energy infused him. The spiritual choir above him built to a crescendo, the sound pulsing in time with his heartbeat. Holding tight to Gili's hips, he withdrew and thrust again. Again and again, until his heart felt like it was about to burst.

Gili clenched him tight, her muscles contracting and releasing. He groaned as the pressure built up. He slid one hand around to her front and probed her damp folds, rubbing at the little bundle of nerves until Gili cried out. She suddenly shattered, her body gripping him tight. She cried out his name, letting the orgasm carry her away.

He lost it. The climax rolled over him. Pleasure so great he felt as if he'd pass out from the overload of sensations. He drove into her one last time and felt Gili's muscles milk him dry.

With a guttural groan, he subsided over her, his hands braced on the boulder to keep his weight off her. Her body was wet with sweat and he lapped it up, laying a string of kisses across her bare back.

When he finally found the strength, he pulled out from her and spun her about, lifting her into his arms. Then he tottered on shaking legs over to the bed she'd made with their clothes. He laid her down and dropped beside her, his arm across her waist to pull her close.

The kaleidoscope of color above them had dimmed, leaving the cavern in a misty half-light. Smoke filtered upward from the red coals of the fire, but the ghostly figures had faded. All that remained was a faint echo of the didgeridoo music, a reminder of the spiritual forces at work within the cavern.

Gili rolled her head and grinned at him. “Wow. Who knew that was hiding in this oh-so-handsome exterior? I have to tell you, that caveman act is quite a turn-on.”

In that instant, Morgan felt about ten feet tall. He chuckled and placed a soft kiss on her mouth. “Reckon the old ones will mind if we come back here on a regular basis? It sure as hell is one way to keep our sex life interesting.”

Immediately, there was a flash of blue and green interspersed with fiery-red. It wove a pattern across the roof of the cavern before disappearing as quickly as it had arrived. The didgeridoo player blew a long, mournful note and then it, too, faded.

Morgan pulled Gili over so she rested on his chest. “Forever, Gili. The spirits have spoken.”

“Come on, lazy bones, wake up. It's time to leave.”

“Hmm?” Gili resisted the voice filtering into her brain and burrowed deeper into the bedding. She frowned as a particularly hard lump dug into the side of her face. Darn pillow. Without opening her eyes, she punched at the pillow to try to pound it into a more accommodating shape.

“Ouch.” A jolt through her hand banished the last remnants of sleep. She propped herself up on her elbows and stared down at the bed made of her and Morgan's clothing.

Memory returned and with it, a burst of heat that spiralled in the pit of her stomach. A night of pleasure. Of loving and being loved by Morgan. When Morgan's supply of condoms ran out, they'd found other ways to pleasure each other. After all, there were only so many condoms a guy could stuff in his wallet.

Gili flopped back down onto their makeshift bed, rolled onto her back and stared up at the roof of the cavern. The opal lights still flickered, although they were less powerful now. Just enough to drive back the darkness and paint everything with soft, muted color.

The music of the didgeridoo had disappeared and the fire had died down to nothing but a few red coals. The wispy ghost-like forms of the spirits no longer danced in the air, but Gili didn't feel their loss this time. She knew they still watched and would come if she called.

She turned her head to find Morgan squatting beside her, a grin on his face as he watched her. Lifting her hand, she blew on her abused knuckles. She answered his grin with one of her own. “That'll teach me to try to beat my pillow into submission.”

“Aww, poor baby.” He lifted her hand and pressed soft, butterfly kisses on each knuckle.

At the feel of his warm mouth on her skin, a delicious shiver feathered through her. Goosebumps broke out on her arms and heat gathered in her veins. When her nipples peaked and an ache lodged between her thighs, she reared up and snaked an arm around Morgan's neck. With a jerk, she pulled him down and slid her lips across his.

He took the invitation and ran with it, his tongue dipping into her mouth. Teasing. Tasting. Until her blood heated and she wanted nothing more than to drag him back into bed with her. Or what passed for a bed at this moment.

With a final nibble, Morgan ended the kiss and lifted his head. Gili stifled a disappointed moan as she licked her lips and savored the taste of him.

Morgan ran the pad of his thumb across the dampness on her lower lip. “Keep that up, woman, and we'll never get out of here.”

“Aww, do we have to?” Gili sat and stretched, fully aware of Morgan's gaze fixed on her bare breasts. “What time is it anyway?”

He twisted his wrist to stare at his watch. “Would you believe it's just after seven? Knowing how kids are, they'll be clamoring for breakfast right about now. We should go help.”

Gili jumped to her feet. “Oh my God, we stayed here all night? Charlie will be worried we got lost or something.”

“Ah, I don't think so.” He chuckled. “I'm pretty certain Charlie and Narri will have a fairly good idea what we've been up to.”

Gili groaned. “You know Narri's going to tease the daylights out of me about fire in the belly, don't you?”

He moved her out of the way and retrieved their clothing. After shaking out the dust, he handed Gili's over with a grin. “Suck it up, babe. It's called being a part of a family.”

As she stepped into her underwear and dragged on her top and shorts, a warm feeling blossomed in Gili's heart. She did feel part of this group. Charlie and Narri had taken her to their hearts and she adored little Piri. If she'd given in to Jeremy's demands, it could have ended so differently. The last thing she'd want to do was hurt these people.

“You ready?” Morgan stood before her, fully dressed and his miner's hard hat held in his hand.

“Just give me a minute to put my boots on.” Perching on a boulder, she quickly slipped her feet into the boots and tied the laces. “Okay, I'm fine.”

Morgan's hand clasped in hers, Gili led them across the cavern, pausing at the hiding place of the
Dreamtime Fire
. The two intertwined pelicans stood out in stark relief on the sandstone wall. As Gili watched, the pelican that had resided on her shoulder lifted one wing as if to wave her goodbye.

She smiled. “Funny, I think I might actually miss that bird scratching around under my skin.”

Giving the pelican one last salute, she bent and lifted the flat slab of rock that had hidden the resting place from view. Placing it up against the wall of the cave, she stood and brushed off her hands. “Come on, let's go home.”

Gili and Morgan began the trek back from the sacred cave. The oscillating beams of color from the opals came with them, a benediction Gili felt deep inside her.

They reached the rock fall in the tunnel to find the men had widened it and they didn't have to climb through a small hole. They'd taken no more than a few steps when the mine started to rumble and groan. Morgan grabbed her and pulled them away from the center of the tunnel. He pressed her up against the wall and covered her body with his.

A cacophony of noise, like a bad thunderstorm, rolled around them and filled the small space. Rocks and debris tumbled down. Dust rose and caught in Gili's throat, threatening to choke her. She buried her face in Morgan's t-shirt and hung on.

When it finally stopped and the dust had settled somewhat, Gili lifted her head and peered around Morgan shoulder. “Look,” she whispered.

The rock fall blocked the tunnel again, just as it had when Gili first found it. Now the
Dreamtime Fire
and the sacred cavern were protected from discovery again.

“Good defence system your opal has,” she said to Morgan.

“
Our
opal. The spirits protect their own and now you belong to the people as much as I do.”

She looked back at the rock fall to see a white wisp materializing in front of it. It twisted and turned in the still air, gaining definition with every movement. Within seconds, the Aboriginal woman floated in front of Gili.

She dragged a ghostly finger down Gili's cheek. “
Thank you, Gili lubra. You have served us well
.”

She giggled, the sound rich and infectious. Gili smiled, caught up in the joy the woman projected.

The spirit spun on the spot and then backed away until she hovered in front of the rock fall. Her face creased in a big grin. “
Did the Gili lubra enjoy the fire in the belly
?”

The phantom faded. The lights of the opal winked out. Complete darkness enveloped Morgan and Gili.

Morgan jammed the hard hat on his head and flicked on the light fixed to the front. “And you thought it'd be Narri teasing you?” he said and reached for her hand.

“Can I ask you something?” Gili shivered in the early morning air of the mine. Goosebumps pebbled her skin. She was almost afraid to ask the question, but she needed to know. “Do you think—what's between us—is simply because of the spirits and what has happened in the mine?”

He pulled her close, wrapping his arms about her. “I wanted you in Iran and I want you now. That's not going to change, Gili, even if we never come back to this sacred spot.”

He lowered his head and fused his mouth with hers. Gili gave in to the swirl of emotions and the heady taste of him. When he ended the kiss, she wrinkled her nose. “Eww, you taste of dust.”

“And you don't?”

She suddenly grinned. Maybe it wasn't just the frigid air or the visitation of the paranormal aspects of the mine that caused the rush of goosebumps on her flesh. Morgan was pretty good at causing the same reaction.

Her thoughts winged back to the night she'd spent with him in the sacred cavern. She'd expected Charlie to come looking for them, but he'd left them alone. Good thing, too. He might have gotten an eyeful had he ventured into the cavern. Who knew Morgan had such a wild side? Her insides heated up just thinking of it.

“We'll break camp this morning and head back to the homestead to try to contact your parents,” Morgan said, taking her hand again and leading her from the tunnel. “I know you're worried about them.”

All thoughts of her previous night's sexual excesses fled as concern for her parents rushed in. “What if we can't get an answer from them?”

“Then we'll get Roy to contact the police in their hometown and get them to help out. Don't worry, it'll be fine.”

Gili tried to put his words into action, concentrating on navigating the tunnels out of the mine instead of worrying. When they reached the place where she and Morgan had camped, he called a halt.

“Want to have a quick wash-up and change of clothes before we head out?”

The bright morning sunlight seeped into the entrance of the mine and created a halo of light around their campsite. She turned her gaze on Morgan and burst out laughing. “If I look anything like you, it might be a good idea if we clean up. Otherwise Charlie will have a fit.”

Red dust streaked his skin and coated his clothing. When he removed the hard hat and rubbed his hand over his face, all he managed to do was smear the dirt until he looked like a kid who'd been playing in a dustbowl.

Gili was laughing so much she couldn't speak. She simply pointed at the plastic container filled with fresh water, hoping he'd understand what she wanted.