Crossing the distance between him and the woman he loved in mere seconds, he snatched the towel, allowing it to drop to the floor. His eyes feasted on her amazing body, toned and slender, with a delicious curve at the hips.
He took a slow deep breath, trying to calm the fire blazing within him. Stepping toward her, he ran a hand against her dark wet hair, slicked back against her head. The look suited her. Nothing to distract from her face. The luscious lips, the long, curved eyelashes over deep brown eyes.
Cradling the back of her head, Julian breathed in the scent of her before lowering his mouth onto hers. His lips were met with a hot, passionate kiss as Mena dug her nails into his back, holding on to him as if her life depended on it. Julian slid his hands along her naked body, resting against her waist. Savoring the taste of her sweet lips as she gyrated against his erection, sending his temperature through the roof. Slipping a hand against his waistband, he unbuttoned the pants, allowing them to fall to the floor. Easing out of his dust-covered, sweaty shirt, Julian stood still as Mena pushed his boxer briefs from his hips. She lowered her body in front of him, her tongue licking along the length of his cock as she forced the underwear to the floor.
Julian writhed with desire, grabbing Mena’s arms as he dropped down to the floor. Mena straddled his waist, stroking him deftly. He grew more rigid, staring at her breasts, as she guided him inside her. Julian feasted on her body, caressing her nipples as she lowered herself onto him.
The low moan escaping her mouth as he filled every inch of her, tipped him over the edge. Mena’s back arched as she bounced wildly against him, intensifying the pleasure surging between them. They reached a frenetic rhythm, spurred on by the sound of her calling his name over and over again. Julian watched her, mesmerized as his muscles constricted with powerful force and exploded into a tidal wave of an orgasm. Mena’s cry filled the room as she collapsed down on him. Her heavy panting matched his own.
Julian held her tightly in his arms. Placing a kiss on her damp forehead, he whispered against her skin, “I love you.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Julian awoke with a jolt, blinking quickly as his eyes struggled to focus. Muggy heat boiled within the confined space and clawed at his skin. Morning was transitioning into the blazing warmth of an African afternoon. Shifting to his elbows on the thin rug, he peered through the narrow hallway ahead, ignoring the stiffness of his muscles.
Where the hell was Mena?
Unnerved by the eerie quiet, Julian grabbed his clothes and slipped them back on. Reaching for the Beretta M9 resting underneath the coffee table, Julian secured it into his holster, then headed down the hallway.
He peeked around the corner. Mena sat at the table, peeling overripe bananas and cutting them into thin slices. A towel wrapped around her body. Her long legs crossed, one over the other, revealing the sexiest calves he’d ever seen. A thin sheen of sweat coated her face. She looked up at him and smiled, sending a flurry through his body.
Shaking her head, Mena said, “I was hoping you’d sleep a little longer, but I figured you’d wake up as soon as I left the room.”
“How long was I in there by myself?” Julian asked, crossing the small kitchen and sitting next to her at the table. He couldn’t bear being apart from her for even a second.
Mena raised an eyebrow and looked up at the ceiling, then replied, “Maybe sixty seconds.”
Julian laughed. “Doesn’t take me long to miss you, does it?”
“Nope. I love it, though. I found these bananas in the pantry, which is almost empty. Is this some kind of safe house or something?” Mena asked.
“Not exactly,” Julian said, feeling guilty about breaking into the home. “I don’t know who lives here.”
“Are you serious? We just made love in some stranger’s home, and they could be back at any time. Julian!” Mena said, dropping the crude knife she was using to slice the bananas.
“It was the only option, and we won’t be here when they get back,” Julian said.
“Where is here, exactly?” Mena asked.
“Giriftu in northeastern Kenya, about five hundred miles away from Nairobi. Zale, one of the TIDES team members, located this as a meeting point in case the rescue operation hit a snag. All the intel she had on this place indicated that whoever lives here isn’t around often,” Julian explained.
“And what if Zale is wrong?” Mena asked, pushing several slices of the banana toward him. “These people could come back and find us like goldilocks squatting in their home. What are we going to do?”
“They won’t find us because we’re leaving soon. Going to head toward Wajir to be picked up by Sunny,” Julian said.
“Eat the bananas,” Mena implored as she rubbed a hand through his hair, then kissed him on the neck. “We both need strength after everything that happened.”
“Definitely need strength after what you just did to me,” Julian teased. Reaching for her hand, he kissed it softly, then popped a couple of slices of banana in his mouth. “You wore me out. How am I going to have the strength to protect you now?”
“I don’t want you to ever have to protect me again,” Mena said, looking away from him.
Julian pulled her close, loving the feel of her arms wrapping around him. “I’ll do what’s necessary, and right now, that means getting you prepped for a long trek to Wajir County. Sunny should be on her way and she’ll call once she’s nearby. Until then, we keep moving toward the airstrip in Wajir.”
“How nice of Sunny,” Mena said, a hint of concern in her voice. “She must really care about you to risk her life to come and get us,”
“Hey, it’s not like that at all,” Julian said, trying to reassure her. At least it hadn’t been like that in several years. “She was a special ops pilot in the Navy. She’s actually the person who flew into Central Sulawesi and saved Broman and me after the massacre there. The mission that went to hell because of my mistake.”
“A mistake that could have been made by anyone in the same circumstances. A mistake your entire SEAL team, including Broman, would have forgiven you for,” Mena reminded him.
