The Relic (5 page)

Magda smiled saucily as she pulled on her shorts, stood and walked over to where Vince lay. He had never felt so exhausted from just jerking off, but even though the orgasm had been amazing, he wanted more. He hadn’t gotten off nearly enough and it bothered the crap out of him. What she did next didn’t help either.

She leaned forward, placing her hands either side of his face and kissed him softly on the lips. Her unique flavor mingled with his and his spent body almost started up again. Before he had a chance to pull her into his lap and do what his body told him he needed to do, she finished the kiss and stood.

“Thanks, Vince. Now we’ve got that out of our systems, we should be able to get the job done without any distractions.”

And with that cryptic remark, she returned to her bed and lay down before turning toward the wall and pulling the makeshift sheet over her ear. From the sound of her soft, rhythmic breathing, she had immediately fallen asleep.

Lucky her.

It would be a long time before Vincent joined her in dreamland.

Chapter Three

Magda woke to the sound of screeching. She sat up quickly, gasping as her mind tried to get a handle on where the hell she was.

Screech.

There it went again, only louder and closer as whatever it was flew overhead. Memories of that same sound, jungles and running from bad guys flashed across behind her eyes.

“Great alarm clock, huh?”

And Vince. How could she have forgotten Vince?

Brushing her hair out of her eyes, she squinted through the bright sunlight toward where Vincent stood, looking as relaxed as always and sexy as hell. Damn him. She took a quick breath and resisted the urge to brace herself. No point in giving him an advantage by giving him any inkling of how he affected her.

“I’m sure I only went to sleep for a few minutes. Where did the stars go?”

He laughed. “You have no idea what time it is, do you?”

She looked around for her watch, lifting the canvas bag that doubled as her pillow and shifting to check behind her on the mattress. She was sure she’d left it somewhere here.

“Looking for something?”

A blaze of light reflected off an object on the floor near her feet.

“Not anymore.”

She leaned forward and picked it up, taking a glance at the clock face as she sat back down on the makeshift bed.

“Holy shit! It’s ten o’clock. Why the hell did you let me sleep so late?”

Vince held up his hands in mock surrender. “Don’t blame me, I just woke up myself.”

Magda stood quickly but faltered as her head started spinning. Vince was beside her in a microsecond, his strong hands steadying her shoulders and easing her back on to the mattress.

“Take it easy, Mags. It’s the humidity.”

His eyes lingered on her breasts for just a few seconds longer than he needed to, and much to Magda’s disgust, she felt the start of a blush in her cheeks.

“Stop looking at my breasts, dick-brain.” She pushed off the bed again, more slowly this time to avoid a close encounter with Vince’s eyes again.

He gave her that wicked and sexy, naughty boy smile again. “Sorry, toots. I was just reminiscing about last night. You put on quite a show for me.”

The blush that before only threatened now created an inferno in her cheeks. What was it with her reactions to Vince?

I’m a free-spirited, sexually adventurous woman, and I do not blush!

“Hey, it wasn’t me who started that particular show. And we both needed some stress relief.” Stepping past him, she walked out of the front door of the hut and into the heat and humidity.

Vince followed to stand beside her. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a slight smirk as he mirrored her position and stared into the jungle.

“And what lovely stress relief it was, although I can think of a few ways it could have been even better.”

She sighed, taking in a breath blowing it out slowly. “Get over yourself, Stone. We both have high sex drives, so a little self-play was inevitable. I’m not surprised we indulged sooner rather than later, because we both know any mutual play is out of the question. We’ve been there before and it didn’t work. Now that we’ve taken the edge off our needs, we can get down to the business of finding the relic.”

Vince’s posture stiffened as he turned at her with eyes blazing. “Jesus, Mags, do you have to be so business-like? I know I play the field as much as the other guy, but sex is more than just a release of tension to me. It’s more about the giving and taking of pleasure, not some contractual negotiation!”

“Business-like is what I do best these days, Stone. I make no apologies for that. I’m good at what I do because I focus and I work hard. If I have to kick you in the balls every now and then to achieve that, then so be it. We both need to get this wrapped up as soon as possible so we can get out of each other’s hair and on with our lives. There’s a beach in the Whitsunday’s with my name on it and I bloody well want to get there before the cyclone season hits.”

The scowl left replaced by his trademark mischievous grin. “Sounds like fun. Can I come too?”

Jeezus, didn’t Vince ever stay angry for long?
What the heck was wrong with him? No one gets over a bad mood that easily, it was just…well, unnatural.

“No, you can’t come. I planned this trip for some peace and quiet, and let’s face it, Stone, when you’re around, there’s not a chance in hell it’s going to be peaceful, and quiet. You don’t know the meaning of the words.”

“And that’s what you love about me, Mags.”

Before she could protest, he grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her toward him, firmly kissing her mouth before letting her go and striding down the track and into the jungle.

Still slightly nonplussed, she somehow managed to call after him. “Hey, where are you going?”

Not even bothering to turn around he shouted back, “I’m following your lead and taking care of some pressing business.”

In less than the time it took to sneeze, he disappeared into the trees, leaving Magda alone and wondering what the hell had just happened. Was he pissed at her?

Does it matter?

She reminded herself that they had more important problems than getting snappy with each other. If they didn’t get killed first, they needed to find the relic so it could be placed with the proper authorities. If the type of person looking for this relic had no problem killing anyone in their way, just imagine what they would do if they actually got a hold of this relic. Even if the legends weren’t true, the power of suggestion was an amazing thing. In many developing nations, legends were taken very seriously and fear was a strong factor in attaining and maintaining power. That’s why it was so important to find this thing first. She wasn’t doing it for the money, even if Vincent was. It was never about the money. Every one of the ladies of
The League of Amazing Women
believed in paying it forward. It was their job to help save the world and this was a hairier situation than most. This was big, so she needed to focus and stop acting like a love-struck teenager.

Get over it, Mags!

She automatically reached into her pocket when her phone vibrated.

“Magda, darling. How’s it all going?”

“Joell? Aren’t you on vacation? I told Phoenyx not to contact you.”

The wonder witch laughed. “You know there are no secrets in this organization, girlfriend. But don’t worry. I’m still on my vacation. Just checking on you out there in the jungle. You’re missing a great party, but I’m guessing you’re having one of your own.”

Thinking of the Mansion parties, Mags smiled. Oh yeah, that was the real Mags. The one who lived and enjoyed every minute as if it was her last. Somehow she’d forgotten that. Trust Joell to give her back her perspective, although she couldn’t resist a little teasing of her friend. “Probably better fun than you married people!”

“Ha! You singles don’t let us couples have any fun!”

“All joking aside, Joell, how are you anyway? Are you happy?”

A dreamy sigh came over the line. “Mmm… Yep… Yep. I never thought having an exclusive relationship would feel so good. You should try it sometime, Mags. I can highly recommend it.”

A vision of her farewell scene two years ago with Vincent flashed before her eyes. She’d felt so close to him that night, and they’d had the best sex of their entire relationship. It was so real, even now she could feel the pleasure building in her body. But that had been before he’d betrayed her.

“Mags? Maa-aaags! Are you still there? Is everything okay?”

Shaking her head, she brought the phone back to her ear, not sure how her hand had ended up hanging loosely at her side. “Yes, I’m here,” she said breathlessly, desperately trying to sound normal. “I saw some strange birds flying past, but they’re gone now. What were you saying?”

Joell laughed. Damn, she didn’t buy it. “Birds huh? Sure, if you say so,” she giggled. “Don’t worry about it, Mags. Just know that if you need help, open an emergency channel and Crowe and I will be there in a jiffy. Oh, and before I forget, we voted to allow Stone to work jointly with you. As long as he behaves himself.”

Magda jumped at the sound of a voice behind her.

“Now where’s the fun in that?”

“Don’t tell me he heard that? Oh my goddess, he has a sexy voice, Mags.” Joell chuckled.

Magda almost choked as she felt the rising heat on her cheeks.
Bloody hell, I’ve happily played in BDSM clubs before but here I am blushing over a man overhearing an innocent conversation.

She had to take a quick breath before she could reply and hoped Joell didn’t notice the gap. “Please don’t encourage him, Joell. His ego is large enough as it is.”

Vincent winked at her, grinning like he knew exactly what she was thinking. “The sexy voice thanks you, and yes, I did hear. Your phone is pretty clear, Mags, and your friend there has a loud voice. Thank the Ladies of the LAW for the vote of confidence.”

Magda tried her best to scowl at Vince, but the naughty boy grin had her stifling a smile. “Excuse me, Stone, but I was having a private conversation here. Do you mind?”

He walked the few steps back to the front of the hut and sat on an upturned crate near the door. He leaned back against the wall, his long legs stretched out crossed at the ankles.

“Don’t mind me,” he said.

“Yeah, don’t mind him, Mags.”

Doesn’t anyone show respect anymore?

Shrugging, she moved away from the hut toward the jungle and lowered her voice. “Thanks for the email update, Joell. If I need you, I’ll let you know, although I don’t think it will be necessary. You go back to that gorgeous hunk of man you have and let me worry about my own sex life, or lack thereof.”

What sounded suspiciously like a snicker sounded across the phone speakers. “No problem, and I’ll let you get back to yours.”

“He’s not my anything.”

Joell laughed again. “If you say so, sweetie.”

“Jeezus, Joell. Will someone please remember that I am on an important mission? I can’t afford to be distracted when there is a powerful relic out there that could get into the wrong hands!”

“Aw, I’m sorry for the teasing, Mags. You’re right, this is an important mission, but hey, you’ve never minded the ragging in the past. I guess I didn’t realize how stressful this situation is. You take care now, and you really must make sure you contact me if you need me. I’m not far away and can be there in a few hours.”

Mags sighed and lifted her hand to wipe off a trickle of sweat that was nearing her eyes. “I’m sorry I was snippy with you, Joell. If I didn’t know better, I would think the bloody PMS had struck again.” She thanked the gods it wasn’t that time of the month, thinking of what that entailed and how she really couldn’t do without her weapons in this situation. “Seeing Stone again has been a bit of a surprise, but I’m over it now and trying to focus on the job at hand. Don’t worry about me, I’m handling it.”

“Well, if you’re sure?”

“Yep, I’ll be fine. I’ll catch you after your trip. I promise it’ll be all wrapped up by then.”

“Okey dokey then. Now you be careful, hon!”

“I always am.”

Smiling to herself, she flipped the phone off and put it back in her shorts pocket. She was really lucky to have her LAW mates, but they never missed an opportunity to give her hell. Hopefully what she had said to Joell was true. They would wrap this up quickly and get the hell out of this insect-ridden, boiling pot of humidity called the jungle.

Looking over to the incredibly sexy man who tempted her more than she ever wanted, she sighed. If they were going to find the relic he had to regain some control, and fast, before they lost the chance of ever saving the world from whatever evil these bad guys were planning. She straightened and walked with purpose toward the hut. It was time to plan their next move.

Much as he could go for an all-day session in the sack with Magda—and from the blushes and the way she kept bringing up sex, he knew that if he put his mind to it they would be fucking like rabbits—Vince knew they had to get their acts together and find this bastard of a relic. Apart from that, they also had to make sure they stayed alive in the process. From the serious look in Mag’s face as she approached, he figured she’d shoved the sex to the back of the bus and was back to the problem at hand. Better let her know he was back to business as well before she blew his head off again. Then again, he loved it when she got angry. Her eyes lit with a fire that would make any dick harden, and his sure did when she showed her passionate side. Of course, she was pretty good at cutting through the bullshit, so he might as well be straight with her up front. She had that look in her eye, and if he didn’t get in first, things were not going to be pretty. He couldn’t wait to see her face when she heard what he had to say.

“Mags, glad you finally could join me for a war meeting. Give us your ideas for what we should do next about finding this bloody relic?”

Magda stopped in front of him, her legs apart, hands curled into fists and resting on her hips and an exasperated expression on her face. “What the fuck? So now that you’ve finished flirting with Joell you’ve decided to get serious?”