Too Close To The Fire/Too Hot To Handle (Montana Men 3) (10 page)

Chapter Twelve

If I could be any part of you, I’d be your tears. To be
conceived in your heart, born in your eyes, live on your cheeks, and die on
your lips.

~Unknown

North Western Australia

The Kimberly

February 10, Tuesday

Dianna
laid her hand across Taylor’s brows. His skin felt clammy, but at least it was
cool. “Thank God, your fever’s finally breaking.” She lifted his injured hand,
studied it with the thoroughness of a laboratory technician studying a slide
under a microscope. “The swelling’s almost gone. Your hand no longer looks
ready to split.”

Taylor
stared at her as if she’d sprouted hair out of her nose. “What are you doing?”
He jerked his hand out of hers. “I could have told you I’m better without the
feely-touchy nurse routine. You don’t speak to me for two days and nights, now
suddenly you’re all over me?”

“I’m
not all over you. I was checking to see if you’re fever broke. I want to get
the hell out of here. It’s driving me crazy being cooped up with you like
this.”

“Oh,
now you wanna leave, when I told you before we needed to try and walk out of
this damnable jungle. What’s your hurry? You act like I’m the worst thing since
insect spray. Did I do something to upset you?”

“Like
you’d give a rat’s ass?”

“I
might not care, but I’d feel better knowing why you look as if you want to jab
a spear up my ass.”

“All
right!” She
bared
her teeth. “You…uh…you…”

“What,
for Christ’s sake?”

“You
mistook me for someone else.”

“And
that pissed you off?”

“No.
That isn’t what pissed me off…well, yeah, it’s sort of part of what pissed me
off.”

“Jesus.
Are you going to tell me what happened or not?”

“You…touched
me.”

“Touched
you? What did I do? Cop a feel of your tits?”

“Yes.
And more. You did everything.”

“Everything?
What the hell is that supposed to mean?” His blue eyes widened. “Oh, shit. You
mean I screwed you?”

“Yes.”

“For
God’s sake, Dianna, couldn’t you fight me off? Did I hurt you?”

“No,
I couldn’t fight you off. It happened too fast.”

“Well,
I don’t know if it’ll make you feel any better, but I don’t remember any of
it.”

“It
doesn’t make me feel a whit better, but I can live with what happened. You
didn’t know what you were doing. The thing is…I’m not on birth control and
you…uh…you…”

“I
came in you? Fuck!” Taylor clenched his teeth.
“Shit!”

“Thanks
for making it so obvious you don’t relish the thought of my being pregnant.”

“Don’t
be an idiot. Of course I don’t want a baby with you.” He held up a hand. “Wait
a minute. Whoa. Just wait. I can’t make you pregnant, Dianna. I’m sterile.”

“That’s
a famous last line.”

“I’m
serious. I was injured in the car accident. It left me sterile. You don’t have
to worry about being pregnant or getting pregnant, at least by me.”

Dianna
swallowed hard. “Funny. I think you were the only one worried about it. You
win, you know? I just wanna get out of here.”

Taylor
pushed himself up. “I’m not trying to score points off you, Dianna. You’re
right. We need to leave here as soon as possible.”

“Can
you travel? How do you feel?”

“Like
hammered shit. How do you think I feel? A friggin’ scorpion nearly killed me,
and the damn thing wasn’t even poisonous. But you know what? If you can walk,
so can I. I hate being cooped up in here with you.”

Dianna
clenched her jaw to keep her chin from trembling. “Well, trust me, the
feeling’s mutual. If you’re able to complain, I think you’re well on the road
to recovery. Hungry?”

“Thirsty.”

She
grabbed a bottle of water, twisted off the cap and handed it to him. “It’s
warm, certainly not very refreshing, but it’ll quench the thirst.”

Taylor
took several deep swallows before giving out and falling back on the pile of
clothes. Even though his breathing still sounded a little rough, Dianna figured
she could stop worrying about him choking to death on his tongue or his throat
swelling shut. The worst of the crisis had passed. Thank God. “I’ve never known
anyone to have such a dangerous reaction to a scorpion sting. Is your reaction
to bee and wasp stings the same?”

“I’ve
always had bad reactions to insect stings or bites. It’s like I’ve been bitten
by a poisonous snake. Hell, I’m even allergic to tick bites. It’s just
something in my system that overreacts.”

The
relief she felt knowing he was going to live didn’t alter the fact she felt
like strangling him. Yeah, she was happy he was better. She had it in her to be
kind, and she’d been worried about him. He was weak and had nearly died. It
didn’t mean she wasn’t pissed at him.

“I’m
hungry,” he croaked and rubbed a hand across his belly. He scowled at her. “Why
are you looking at me as if you’d like to run a knife through my gut?

“If
you don’t know, I’m sure not telling you,” she said sharply. She threw an apple
at him. “Breakfast. Enjoy.”

“Your
bedside manner is decidedly lacking,” he grumbled. “Is it something I said
when…you know?”

“Who’s
Amy?”

“Amy?
Amy, who?”

“How
should I know who Amy
who
is? She’s
your
girlfriend,” she snapped.

“What?
For God’s sake, Dianna, I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Ex-girlfriend,
then.”

“I
don’t have an ex-girlfriend named Amy, either. The only Amy I ever knew

was—”

He
broke off, frowning.

“Well,
don’t stop now. Amy who?”

“Shit,
I don’t remember her last name.”

“You
slept with her.”

“No!
Yes. Okay.” He thrust fingers through his shaggy hair. “Stop glaring. Yeah, I
guess maybe I slept with her.” Taylor hesitated, eyeing her. “Once.”

Dianna
snorted.

“Okay.
Maybe more than once. Twice.”

She
lifted a brow.

“All
right. So we lived together for a year. It was straight out of high school.
Years ago. We agreed to go our separate ways. I haven’t seen her since.”

Dianna
folded her arms across her breasts, breasts she’d covered with a red T-shirt
since he’d called her Amy. No free peeks for a man who didn’t know whom he
screwed in his sleep.

“Damn
it! I met with her a couple of times…
several
times over the years. We rent a motel room and catch up on old times…
fuck!
Don’t look at me like that, it’s
just sex.”

“Just
sex?
Good
sex?”

“The
worst I ever had was great.”

“You’re
an asshole, Taylor Spencer.”

“Why
are you so mad at me? It’s none of your business, anyway. Hell, you’ve slept
with men.”

“Man.
One man, until…just leave me alone, Taylor.”

“I
didn’t know I was bothering you.”

“You
aren’t. You never will.”

“For
God’s sake!” Taylor pushed himself to his feet and swayed. “We need to pack
whatever we’re taking with us and get the hell out of here. Is that my shirt
you’re wearing?”

Dianna
crawled out of the hut. “Yes, it is. It stays on, no matter how much you beg me
to take it off.”

Taylor
rubbed his eyes, then blinked. “What? Don’t worry about it, princess. I think I
can resist the urge to ogle your teeny-tiny acorns.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Where
are you going?”

Dianna
squatted in front of the opening. “While you pack what you think we’ll need,
I’m going to find a rock or a tree to get behind, then I’m going to piss a
river, one that flows downhill straight to here. Hope you know how to swim.”

She
rose to her feet and stalked toward the dense jungle.

* * * *

Taylor
poked his head out of the tiny hut and watched Dianna charge into the denser
maze of the rain forest. “Jesus Christ,” he yelled. “Don’t tromp through the
jungle like that. Watch for snakes!”

Dianna
paused and flipped around to glare at him. “Yeah, well, the only snake I know
of anywhere near me is you,” she shouted, flipping him the bird. She stormed
away like a maddened heifer on loco weed.

Taylor
frowned. What the hell had he done that she was so livid at him? He expelled a
disgusted breath and began gathering their meager supplies. “Women! Who can
figure them out?”

Dianna
returned a few minutes later. “I wanna take my fur coat.”

“No.
It’s too hot to lug that thing around. Besides, it has holes in it. Remember?”

“I
don’t care. It makes soft bedding. I want it.”

“Then
you carry it.”

“Fine.
I will.”

“Strip
out of that short-ass skirt and put on some jeans.”

“Don’t
order me around, Taylor Spencer. I don’t like it. And I want my gun back.”

“Hell,
no. You might shoot me.”

“Yeah,
I might. Give it to me.”

Taylor
straightened from the small pack he’d bound together. He stalked toward her,
slow as a jungle cat until he had her backed in a corner with no route of
escape. He locked his hard fingers on her upper arms and jerked her closer.
“I’m going to give it to you, okay? Damn it, Dianna. Do you always have to be
such a bitch? Can’t we get along for five minutes? Can’t you just shut up and
not talk?”

“I
have a lot I want to say to you,” she snapped.

“I
have a lot I wanna do to you, starting with this.” Taylor lowered his head and
crushed her mouth beneath his.

* * * *

She
didn’t want to respond. Dianna swore she detested him, but oh, he knew how to
kiss. His mouth feathered softly against hers. He slid his tongue along the
seam of her lips until she gave him what he wanted.

She
opened beneath his mouth like a flower spreading its petals to the kiss of the
sun. Taylor bunched her skirt around her ass, glided a thumb along the seam of
her butt until he found what he sought. Dianna gasped against his mouth. His
thick finger probed deeper inside her warm channel. She didn’t know when or how
he did it, but when he lifted her to anchor her against him, his cock slid
inside her, hard, thick, and endless.

“Oh,
God,” she whimpered, feeling herself stretched as he impaled her.

Somehow,
they ended up outside the hut, on the wet jungle floor. Taylor rolled with her,
rose above her, and thrust deeper inside her. His eyes glinted with fury,
fierce and boldly brilliant. His mouth looked swollen from the carnal kisses
they’d shared. “Lock your legs around me, princess,” he growled deep in his
throat. “This is one ride you don’t wanna get bucked off of.”

Dianna
stared into his blazing eyes and knew he meant exactly what he said. His gaze
promised her hell. She thought she’d died and gone to heaven instead. Even as
he drove into her over and over, he buried his face against her throat, nibbled
at the wild pounding pulse there. The rhythm he set was fast and killing and sent
fierce heat scalding through her body. His lips grazed her breasts, teased her
nipples. He paused to suckle her nipples, then pulled out of her and trailed a
path of butterfly kisses down her stomach, past her pubic bone and along her
clit.

Dianna
bucked like a wild mare when he licked her. Soft whimpers stole past her throat
when he lifted her ass and buried his face between her thighs. He stabbed deep
with his tongue, swirled and twirled until she twisted and turned and clawed
her fingers into his shoulders. When he thrust his cock inside her again, she
rose to meet every hard thrust. Dianna whimpered her orgasms hard and powerful.

Taylor
hissed, gripped her hipbones and thrust deeper. His body shuddered violently.
His release flowed hot and wet inside her. His chest heaved against her bare
breasts. She couldn’t remember him removing her shirt. Taylor pulled out of her
and rolled to his back. He flung an arm over his eyes and drew several ragged
breaths. “Well,” he mumbled. “That was something.”

Dianna
bit her lip. He didn’t sound all that pleased. She wasn’t sure just how happy
she was about their most recent intimacy, because no matter what—this time they
both knew exactly what had just happened. Tears welled in her eyes.

Taylor
lifted his head, stared at her. “Why are you crying? Did I hurt you?”

She
snorted. “We’ve got to do something about your lousy bedside manner.”

“What?”

“After
you screw a woman, are you always so–so…like it doesn’t matter?”

“Matter?”
He propped himself up on one elbow and glared at her. “Listen, princess, I’ll
grant you, you’re hot to look at and hotter to fuck, but don’t go tying up what
just happened between us into a sweet little package bound in ribbons, bows,
and hearts. We fucked. You want more, I’m willing…just give me a minute to
catch my breath…but don’t make it into something it wasn’t.”

Dianna
swallowed hard. “Don’t worry about it, Spencer. I know very well you have no
feelings for me. I think I’ll survive.” She got up and scrambled inside the
hut. He started in after her. “If you don’t mind, I’d like a minute of
privacy.”

“I
do mind. I need some clothes.” He followed in behind her, grabbed clean jeans,
boxers, and a white T-shirt and bounded back outside. “Take your time. No need
to get in a hurry this late in the day.”

Dianna
hissed. “You’re a bastard. You know that?”

He
turned back, lifted a brow. “Why? Because I can fuck you and walk away? It’s
easy, princess, since the only reason I screwed you was to get even with your
brother for what he did to Kaycee.”