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Buck lifted his hand.
Talia’s brows rose. “What’s the nature of your injury?”
He pressed the hand to his chest. “You just stole my heart.”
Talia planted her hands on her hips, her lips quirking on the corners. “Seriously, was anyone injured in the landing?”
“No.” Pitbull stepped out from the shadows and lowered his rifle. “Thanks to our pilot.” He glanced at Marly with a slight nod and then held out his hand to Talia. “Percy Taylor.”
Marly chuckled softly. Finally, the man acknowledged her skill in landing the plane. But did he have to hold Talia’s grip for so long?
“That’s his real name, but we call him Pitbull.” Buck bumped Pitbull out of the way and held out his hand to the safari representative. “Graham Buckner. But you can call me Buck.”
Talia grinned. “Percy, Graham, nice to meet you.” She faced the other four men. “I’m assuming the rest of you are Dalton, Harmon, Trace and Jake?” Her smile spread wider.
They nodded as one.
“Good.” She clapped her hands together. “My safari adventurers. And I see you couldn’t wait to get started and decided to land in the middle of our first stop for tomorrow.” She waved her hand toward the herd. “Welcome to Kenya. Like what you see so far?”
Marly’s lips thinned. For the most part, the men weren’t looking at the herds of wild animals. Instead, they were drooling over their safari guide, Talia.
Heat built in Marly’s gut. And not the good lusty kind. More the jealous, burning, I-can’t-compete-with-that kind. She glanced down at her flight suit that did little to disguise her lack of a voluptuous figure. She was too tall and lanky to be considered feminine. Not that it had bothered her. Until now.
She dared a glance at Pitbull. She was pleased to see he wasn’t looking at Talia.
Instead, his gaze was on Talia’s guards.
Talia must have noticed their regard. “Don’t let my men scare you. We have to come armed.” She nodded toward the SEALs’ weapons. “And I’m glad to see you brought your own firepower. We run into all kinds of four-and two-legged aggressors out here. It pays to be prepared.” Talia glanced toward the plane, her eyes narrowing. “Speaking of which, we might want to push the plane into the tree line.”
Marly glanced around the open field, searching for a stand of trees large enough to park the plane beneath. “The engine isn’t working.”
Talia smiled. “I’m sure you can get some old-fashioned brawn to help get it where you want it to go. I wouldn’t leave it out in the open. You never know what might happen if it’s left alone.”
Familiar with the nature of the inhabitants of the savannas and jungles of Africa, Marly agreed. Gangs of miscreants, poachers and rebels would have the plane stripped of anything salvageable in no time.
She located a copse of trees three hundred yards to her south. “If we could get it to that stand of trees, I’d feel better about leaving it.”
Pitbull stepped forward. “Let us handle it.”
The six SEALs and the three guards positioned themselves around the aircraft at Marly’s direction and began pushing the plane across the bumpy terrain and toward the trees.
Talia followed in the truck.
Once they had the plane positioned between the trees, Talia hauled out a large bundle from the back of the truck and dropped it on the ground. “You can use this camouflage netting to conceal the plane. Trust me, I wouldn’t want anyone to find it. We’ve had some near misses with a local rebel group. The cowards try to get our people alone. Then they attack and steal whatever they might sell on the black market. They’d steal this plane piece by piece if they found it.”
“Should I stay with the plane until the part comes?” Marly asked.
“I think it will be okay as long as you conceal it well enough.”
“Great,” Marly said, grabbing a corner of the netting.
The others took up the other ends and dragged the net over the nose and wings, and finally over the tail.
When they had secured the ends to the ground using sticks and rocks, Marly stood back and examined the effect. From a distance, it would blend into the shadows of the trees.
Talia waved toward the truck. “We can fit two inside—me and one other—and the rest in the back. I’ll let you figure out who goes where.”
Pitbull hurried to the front of the vehicle and opened the passenger seat. “Marly,” he barked like a command.
Marly, unused to having men open doors for her, glanced toward the rear of the truck. “I can ride in the back. You guys are the clients.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Buck hooked her arm, marched her to the passenger side and handed her off to Pitbull. “You’ll ride up front. We’re used to eating dust.”
“So am I,” Marly argued.
Pitbull leaned close and whispered in her ear, “Are you always this disagreeable?”
She frowned at him. “Sometimes I’m even more so.”
Pitbull gripped her around the waist and lifted her up to the seat, ending the argument.
Marly sat down hard, shocked that he’d manhandled her so easily. She’d always considered herself to be too big to be girly. But Pitbull had just proven he was strong enough to sweep this independent, no-nonsense woman off her feet.
Her heart fluttered and her cheeks heated. Where his hands had clenched around her waist still tingled with awareness. She clamped her mouth shut and stared forward, refusing to look back at the man who’d set her blood speeding through her veins and pooling low in her belly.
What was wrong with her? This man was a US Navy SEAL. He probably had a woman in every port. Even if he didn’t, his job had him traveling the world at the drop of a hat. Nothing could ever come of a relationship with such a man.
Nothing.
* * *
PITBULL DIDN’T REGRET ending the argument with Marly by lifting her into the truck. He did regret the lingering electrical current running up his arms and down to his groin. Focus, man. Focus.
They were in Kenya for only a week. Let’s go on a safari, his teammates had said. It’ll be fun, they’d assured him. Nothing was fun about the raging lust spinning through his body for the woman he’d just touched, not when he knew it wouldn’t go anywhere. He wouldn’t be able to act on it. Thankfully, Marly would be gone as soon as she had her fuel pump. Hopefully that would be by the end of the day. Then he could concentrate on having a good time seeing all the animals and enjoying the resort. And maybe they could convince the 160th to send a helicopter out to retrieve them. They could call it a training mission to extricate military personnel from a hostile environment.
He climbed into the back of the truck with the other members of his team and held on tight. The trip to the resort was across the savanna and into a forest. An hour later, they pulled up to a large, rambling house made of wood and stone. The house was surrounded by smaller huts with a similar wood-and-stone design—individual cottages Pitbull guessed were options for their guests.
Talia parked the truck in front of the main house and climbed down.
“I have each of you in your own bungalow, but meals will be in the main house dining room,” Talia said. “Breakfast and lunch are casual. Dinner is formal. Please dress accordingly. Follow me, if you will.” She entered the house, leaving the door open behind her for them to follow.
The main house had a grand entrance with staircases on each side curving up to the second floor. Shiny mahogany handrails and furniture gave the rooms elegance in a rugged land of wild animals and dangerous people.
“The dining room is to your left. Normally I rent out the guest rooms, but they are unoccupied at the present time. I thought you would prefer your own bungalows while you are with us at All Things Wild Resort. You’re welcome to take advantage of the living areas and the sitting room on the main floor. At the back of the house is a game room with a pool table and a bar. I’ll leave you to explore for yourself while I get Miss Simpson situated and gather the keys to your bungalows.”
“I’m up for a round of pool.” T-Mac started for the rear of the house. “Anyone else?”
Buck pushed past the others and followed T-Mac. “Count me in.”
“I could go for a beer,” Harm said.
“Me, too,” Diesel agreed. “Maybe two.”
“You’re welcome to the beer, wine and the liquor cabinet. It’s all included in the price of the week,” Talia informed them.
Big Jake laughed. “You might regret telling them that.”
“No worries. We have a well-equipped bar, and the wines are from local vineyards.” Talia motioned for Marly to follow her. “I have a satellite phone in the study, if you’d like to call someone about fixing your plane.”
“Thank you.” Marly followed Talia into a beautifully appointed study. The walls were lined with built-in bookshelves. A massive mahogany desk graced one end of the room. The room had a masculine scent of books and wood.
Talia crossed to the desk and lifted a portable satellite phone. She handed the device to Marly and then turned to a computer monitor, bringing up a browser. “Help yourself to the internet. We do most of our communications via satellite. Unfortunately, we’re too remote for most cable or electric companies to keep up with those pesky lines.”
Marly thanked Talia, sat down at the computer and pulled up an internet browser to locate a replacement for the fuel pump. An hour later, she had a man on the phone with her answer. Not the one she wanted to hear, however.
“Five days?” Marly shook her head, despite that the guy on the other end of the communication couldn’t actually see her face as she spoke. “You can’t get it to me any sooner?”
The man answered, “It’s the best I can do. Take it or leave it.”
Marly drew in a deep breath and let it go. “I’ll take it. Thank you.”
She stood and stretched. What now? She hadn’t come prepared to be here for almost a week.
Talia poked her head through the open door of the study. “Find your part?”
Marly nodded and grimaced.
“Let me guess.” Talia tipped her head to the side. “It’ll be a week before they can get it to you.”
Marly laughed. “You know how things work in these parts, I take it.”
“Yes, indeed.” Talia crossed her arms over her ample chest and leaned against the door frame. “The kitchen stove quit working once when I had the resort booked solid. It took over a month to get a replacement. My chef and I had to cook everything on the outdoor grill, rain or shine. We were not amused.”
“Thankfully, it’ll only take five days, not a month. But I didn’t come prepared to stay overnight, much less five days.”
“No worries. I can loan you clothes to last you, and we have extra toiletries for guests who’ve forgotten items.” Talia touched her arm. “I can even cut you a deal on a room for the five days, since we’re not full at this time.”
“Thank you for the room offer.” Marly bit her bottom lip. “Though I’m not sure your clothes will fit.”
Talia ran her glance from Marly’s head to her toes. “You’re taller, so the full-length pants won’t fit, but I have some formal dresses that will be ankle-length on you and shorts and capris you might fit into. We’ll make it work.”
“Dresses?” Marly cringed inwardly. “I haven’t worn a dress since I was in grade school.”
Talia’s brows rose. “Darling, you’ll have to around here, if you want dinner.” She spun toward the door. “And I’ll bet you have some great legs hiding under that flight suit. Follow me. You’ll be staying in one of the upstairs suites inside the house. And I’ll get you fixed up with clothes. If not from my wardrobe, well, people have left articles of clothing over the years. They’ve come in handy when luggage doesn’t arrive with the guests.”
Marly swallowed her groan. She liked her own clothes. They fit her and she felt like herself in them. Beggars can’t be choosers, she reminded herself. She just hoped the tops Talia offered didn’t hang on her chest, making her appear to be an underdeveloped teenager.
Again. Beggars can’t be choosers.
* * *
TALIA HAD SHOWN Pitbull and the other members of his team to their individual bungalows while Marly made her calls to locate the spare part she needed to get her plane back up in the air.
Pitbull welcomed the time away from Marly. Since they’d left that morning, he couldn’t get his mind off the feisty pilot. After their last mission, he hadn’t expected to see her ever again. Even then, he’d felt that spark of something, if not between them, then at least on his side. He didn’t much care for women who wore a lot of makeup or ratted their hair to achieve bigger, brassier hairstyles. He liked that Marly was natural and that she didn’t apologize for it.
He tossed his backpack on the bed, tugged his T-shirt off and headed for the shower. After riding in the back of the old truck, he felt as if he had an inch of dust coating his body and filling all the crevices.
Nothing a little soap and water won’t cure.
If only soap and water could wash Marly out of his head.
He turned the shower to a cool setting and stepped beneath the spray. As he lathered his body, running his hands over his skin, his thoughts drifted back to Marly and that damned flight suit. He wondered what it would be like to undress her body from that all-enveloping garment, starting at the zipper and working his way down. The glimpse of her hot-pink bra had only left him wanting to know more. Such as, did she have matching hot-pink panties?
His groin tightened and his shaft swelled at the image in his mind. She’d be appalled at his lusty thoughts, but he couldn’t seem to stop them. At that moment, he wondered how her long legs would feel wrapped around his waist as he drove into her.
Pitbull reached behind him, turning the water to an even cooler temperature. He didn’t need to show up at dinner and embarrass himself. The guys would rib him endlessly.
After rinsing the soap from his hair, face and body, he turned off the shower, stepped out of the tub and toweled dry with one of the huge luxury towels provided.
As a navy SEAL, he wasn’t used to lavishness. Three squares and a bunk were all he’d come to hope for, and sometimes he went without. Having a shower at all was always a blessing. He pressed the towel to his nose and sniffed the light floral fragrance. Again, he thought of Marly and how that towel would wrap around her slender body twice.
He flung the towel over the curtain rod, pulled his razor out of his shaving kit and scraped three days’ worth of beard from his chin. With a clean body and a smooth chin, he strode into the bedroom naked. Talia had said dinner was formal. He dug inside his backpack for his best white long-sleeved, button-down shirt and his only pair of dark trousers. He didn’t have a suit jacket, but he could at least dress nicely for dinner.
The men had been warned that they needed at least one dressier outfit for dinners during their stay at the resort. Pitbull would have preferred to show up in his jeans and a T-shirt, but he had to respect the proprietress’s rules. He shook his trousers and shirt, hoping to knock the wrinkles out. When that didn’t work, he searched the small bungalow and found an ironing board. Great. Just what he wanted to do on vacation at a safari resort.
Pride forced him to pull the board and iron out. In less than ten minutes, he had the wrinkles smoothed. While the garments were still warm, Pitbull slipped into them and pulled on socks and shoes. He found the necktie he’d picked up at the Post Exchange on Camp Lemonnier, looped it over his neck and knotted it expertly. He might not have grown up in the best neighborhood, but his mother had taught him how to knot a tie for church.
He smiled at her memory. The woman had worked hard all her life, only to die of breast cancer when Pitbull had been in BUD/S training. She’d insisted he not come home for her funeral, knowing how difficult the training was and how much harder it would be to have to start over.
He still regretted not being with his mother at her bedside until her last breath. His parents had always been there for him and believed in him. They always told him that he could accomplish anything he set his mind to.
Except save his mother.
As an only child, he’d felt the burden of guilt for not being there for her when she’d needed him most.
His father had been there, comforting her as she left life and, as he’d said, joined the angels.
Pitbull had never been sure of angels and religion, but he’d experienced days in battle when nothing but a miracle could have saved them, and then it had. He liked to think his mother had been watching over him.
His father was still alive, living in Virginia, still a little lost without his wife. He’d been heartbroken by the loss and hadn’t dated or dared to love another woman since. Pitbull visited him as much as possible when he was Stateside in Little Creek, Virginia.
Having witnessed his father’s heartache, Pitbull had been hesitant to get that involved with any woman for more than a date or two. He didn’t want love someone he might lose, and suffer the way his father had.
This thing he was feeling about Marly was nothing more than insta-lust. It would fade and she’d be out of his life when they left Africa.
He ran a comb through his hair, smoothing it into place. The longer he took to get ready, the more jittery he became. Dressed thirty minutes early, he had nothing else to do but wait. Hell, he might as well wait outside.
He found himself anxious to see Marly again. How could that be? He barely knew the woman.
