Jac watched the great rock turn redder as the sun set. She couldn’t believe how hot it was. All day long she’d felt like she was standing in the middle of an inferno. Or maybe in the middle of the sun. She was melting, a steady trickle of perspiration running down her back and her mouth dry. It seemed that each day was hotter, even though the temperature wasn’t that high.
Maybe she’d been living in the Pacific Northwest too long.
No one else in Australia seemed to be affected in the same way, even the tourists.
The thermometer outside the cottage said it was seventy degrees Fahrenheit. Not chilly but not exactly blazing hot either. The room thermostat said that it was sixty-eight, which should have been comfortable.
All the same, Jac wiped the perspiration from her brow. She wondered if she were sick, which would be just her luck, right before her first “mission.” Except from being really warm, though, she didn’t feel ill. Just tired from the travel. A little jet-lagged maybe.
And aroused. That wasn’t consistent with being sick, at least not in her experience. She couldn’t help thinking of the way Marco had touched her, the way his eyes glowed when he studied her, the slow and sensual way he kissed, as if they had all the time in the world to explore each other.
He’d said that once, that he had all the time in the world.
He’d said it in that dark-chocolate voice of his, the one that melted her knees and made her want to rub herself against his hard strength and caress him from head to toe.
Once with Marco had definitely not been enough.
At least not for Jac.
Jac knew she wouldn’t sleep that night. The strange heat simmered beneath her skin and awakened a tingle of desire where it counted. She could see the full moon rising behind Uluru and thought the sight was both primal and magical.
The strange thing was that insistent desire, which wasn’t her usual reaction to the sight of a full moon or a large rock in the desert. Her fingers slid down her belly in an echo of the way Marco had touched her. As much as she liked the sensation of her own fingers trailing over her skin, she’d liked the warmth of Marco’s hand on her much better. It was funny that months of his absence hadn’t allowed his memory to fade.
Much less the recollection of what they’d done, and how awesome it had been. She just had time to think that she might as well try to solve it herself, since it wasn’t likely any other volunteers would show up, when someone knocked on the door.
Jac sat bolt upright in bed. The cottages were individual and set apart from each other. She hadn’t ordered room service, although she supposed that someone could have the wrong cottage. She was still dressed, so she swung off the bed and padded to the door in her bare feet. She looked through the peep hole and nearly had a heart attack.
Marco was standing on the other side of the door. His hair was a bit longer than it had been, which just made him look more sleepy and disheveled. Sexy. Her heart squeezed. He appeared to be tired and a bit frustrated, his expression prompting her to open the door even though she knew she shouldn’t.
They stared at each other, and Jac found herself swallowing. She glanced over his small bag of gear and realized a little late that she should have expected to meet him here.
If this was where the dragons were going to be, he’d be hunting here, too.
Chapter Eighteen
“You have a gift,” Marco said, even as his simmering gaze held hers.
“Do I?” Jac’s voice sounded higher than it usually did and a little more breathless.
He almost smiled. “You’re a complete mystery.”
Jac found herself fighting an answering smile. “And that’s a gift?”
“It is.” He sighed and that smile widened. “And I can’t resist an enigma.”
“Funny,” she said, her tone turning flirtatious. “You’ve done a pretty good job of denying temptation these past few months.”
“How so?” He tried to look innocent and failed, which made Jac smile.
“You’ve stayed away.”
Marco grinned and the expression made him look mischievous. He looked like trouble, actually. Sexy, unpredictable, haunting trouble. “Have I?”
“Were you really there the other night? I thought you might have been.”
“I’ll never tell,” he said and his eyes twinkled. “I can’t give away all of my secrets.”
Jac knew there was one thing she had to say to him, even though the way he was looking at her made her long for more than conversation. “You were mad because I shot the dragon when you’d planned to do it yourself,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry I stole your moment.”
To her surprise, Marco’s gaze darted away and his amusement faded. “Never mind that.” His tone was rough and a bit dismissive.
Jac wasn’t prepared to let it go. “I thought that was the problem.”
Marco fixed her with a simmering look. “And you were wrong.”
“Then what?”
“You shot the wrong dragon.”
“I don’t think there are any wrong dragons when it comes to killing them off.”
Marco’s gaze flickered, and she had the definite sense she’d made a mistake.
Jac leaned in the doorway, disappointed in the change in his attitude and wanting that sultry smile back. “Did you really come halfway around the world to argue with me?”
“No,” he admitted. “But you do tend to have that effect on me.”
“What effect?”
“You can make me angrier than anyone I’ve ever known,” he admitted, then his gaze swept over her. “And at the same time, you manage to beguile me.” It was a strange choice of word, one that reminded Jac of the entry on beguiling in Sigmund’s book.
Before she could comment, Marco reached for her hand, lifting it in his and desire surged within Jac again. She forgot pretty much everything except the feel of his fingers on hers, and the memory of his hands sweeping over her. His eyes darkened, as if he was remembering the same thing, and Jac swallowed. When he touched his lips to her fingers, then met her gaze again, her throat tightened with need. His lips were so warm, so firm, and they moved so slowly. There didn’t seem to be enough air left in the universe.
“That enigma again,” she managed to say.
“Maybe the only one that matters,” Marco breathed. He kissed her palm, not even blinking, then brushed his lips against the inside of her wrist. Jac shivered from head to toe and found her eyes closing in pleasure. “The only one that keeps me awake at night, and the one that fills my dreams in daylight.”
His lips trailed a path down her arm and Jac found her lips parting. “We’re making a scene,” she whispered.
“No one to see,” he said and nipped the inside of her elbow with his teeth. His eyes glittered when she looked at him.
Jac decided she couldn’t be such a pushover as this. She should make him work for it, even if they both knew what the end result would be. “You just need a place to stay,” she accused and Marco laughed.
To his credit, he looked a bit embarrassed. “I had no idea so many people would want to see the blood moon from here.”
“They said every room is booked.”
“They did.” Marco moved closer, trapping her between the doorframe and his body. There was nowhere else Jac wanted to be, and she couldn’t regret that he had her cornered. He was tall and strong, muscular and hard. Her heart was leaping in anticipation of his kiss and she put her hands on his shoulders, wanting to feel him all over.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, his heart in his eyes. “I was wrong to say those things to you.” His fingertips trailed down her cheek, leaving a line of fire. “The fault was mine, and I was angry with myself. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”
“That’s a timely apology,” Jac said, pretending she wasn’t as affected as she was.
Marco smiled. “I was saving it for a good moment.” He kissed her cheek, then her ear. His touch felt like heaven, and Jac heard herself sigh
. “What if I threw myself at your mercy?” he murmured into her ear.
“I should leave you out there with the snakes and dingoes,” she whispered back.
Marco nodded. “You should. I’d deserve it.” His gaze swept over her, those impossibly long lashes hiding his eyes for a moment in a way that Jac found incredibly sensual. “But I thought it couldn’t hurt to ask.”
Jac bit her lip, noting how he watched her movement. Hungrily. She caught her breath, and his smile widened. “Seems we both have a problem,” she whispered. “Maybe a little teamwork would straighten everything out.”
He arched a brow, inviting her explanation.
Jac smiled. “I’m no good at making time changes. In fact, I was just thinking that the only time I ever managed to do it well was in Easter Island.”
Marco’s pleasure in that confession was clear. “Really?”
“Really.”
“And what do you think the deciding factor was there?”
“You.”
Marco lifted a hand to her cheek, and she saw him inhale sharply when his fingertips caressed her skin. She closed her eyes and savored his light caress. His fingers ended up beneath her ear, stroking that spot that was almost ticklish. Jac swallowed and opened her eyes to find him closer than he had been before. “Maybe you just need a little distraction,” he whispered, and replaced his fingertips with his lips.
Jac sighed a little, his sweet kiss felt so very good. “Maybe I just need a little of you.”
“Only a little?” he murmured, laughter underlying his words.
“Maybe a lot,” Jac replied. “It’s a big time change. I might just need all of you.”
Marco pulled back slightly, his gaze so hot that she felt as sexy and alluring as a siren. “Is this the part where I say I’ll work for accommodation?”
Jac wrinkled her nose. “I think it’s the part where we stop talking and I haul you inside.”
He grinned again. “I like assertive women.”
“Even if they annoy you?”
“Especially if they do.” Marco chuckled as she grabbed a fistful of his shirt to do just that. “Who’s going to lock the door?” he asked, before Jac shut the door and flattened him against it. She ran her hands over his chest then crushed him against the door and kissed him thoroughly.
Marco didn’t need a second invitation. He dropped his gear, grabbed her butt and lifted her against him, kissing her with a hunger that echoed her own. Jac found herself swung into his arms before he broke his kiss. He’d taken two steps but paused, looking down at her as if she was the most amazing prize in the world.
“You get the lock,” he whispered and gave her a little toss. “I’ve got my hands full.”
“And we don’t want to be interrupted.” Jac reached past him to shoot the deadbolt, then Marco was marching toward the bed with purpose. As far as she was concerned, he couldn’t get there quickly enough.
* * *
Australia had been Jac’s location, and Marco had to wonder why.
What was Jorge’s scheme? Were there more eggs in Australia, ripening with Slayers inside them, destined to hatch when the moon was eclipsed? If so, Marco didn’t want Jac to be fighting dragons. She’d be outnumbered, and he didn’t doubt they’d be savage in finishing her off. Her scheme to kill dragons of any kind might be wrong, but he had to believe that once she knew the facts, she’d change her assessment of his kind. He couldn’t just stand aside while she faced Slayers alone.
No one deserved that.
It had to be a sign that there was no room left at the resort once he’d realized where Jac was going. Not so much as a cot could be found, not on the night of the eclipse. Marco wanted to be as close as possible, not miles away in Alice Springs, and that meant the best choice was to be with Jac.
He wasn’t at all sure she’d be glad to see him.
It was interesting to be aware of his own uncertainty when he’d knocked at her door. Doubts were new to Marco. He’d always believed in the darkfire and been completely convinced that his impulses were right and true. Now, he questioned his choices even as he tried to trust the darkfire.
He wondered whether the change was because he cared more about the results of his choices.
He’d decided even before coming to the cottage that he wouldn’t beguile Jac. It was a matter of principle.
He was fiercely glad that Jac had let him in.
Never mind that she wanted him with a fervor that echoed his own.
The darkfire was delivering, putting what seemed impossible within his reach.
Marco didn’t give it a chance to change the rules again.
He could feel the tingle of the pending eclipse already, like electricity in the air. It made him feel alive and volatile, as if he stood on the lip of a volcano about to erupt. As if he might dive in, just to see what it was like. He felt reckless and powerful, which was dangerous enough, never mind that it seemed in this moment that he could accomplish anything.
Even convince Jac to accept his hidden truth.
For the moment, though, there was only the overwhelming desire to be satisfied. Marco was glad that he wasn’t the only one who had relived their intimacy on Easter Island, or to have dreamed of doing it again. Their need was hot and instant, their desire inescapable. Her hands ran over him, as if she wanted to remember every inch of him, and Marco wanted to caress her from head to toe as well.
Their kiss was enough to drive him insane, never mind that Jac seemed to be feeling the same urgency he was. He wanted her naked. He wanted her skin pressed against his. He wanted her heat wrapped around him, her breath in his ear, her breasts crushed against his chest. He wanted to make her scream with her release, then he wanted to torment her with pleasure all over again.
He wanted to feel utterly alive.
He had a feeling he’d never get enough of her. He felt engaged as he never had before, bound to one person and savoring one moment in time.
And he loved it.
Marco carried Jac to the bed and tumbled across the mattress with her in his arms. The bed was large and firm, and the view of Uluru was stupendous. The rock seemed to be aflame with the light of the setting sun, and the full moon rising behind it looked like a hole in the twilight sky.
Not that he had time to spare it much attention. Jac was tugging at his jacket, and he knew that their thoughts were as one. He kicked off his boots without breaking their kiss and the arch of her bare foot was immediately running up his leg.
He kissed Jac without hiding his need for her, loving how she responded in kind. She clutched a fistful of his hair, and he rolled her to her back, pinning her to the mattress as he feasted on her mouth. She moaned with satisfaction and writhed beneath him, driving him wild with a primal need to possess her. Marco was usually calm and in control but something about Jac—her passion, her vulnerability, her resolve—shook him to his core. He felt the need to treasure and protect her, to shelter her even as he helped her to reach her goals. Even as he drove her wild in bed. She smelled sweet and warm, her perfume and her enthusiasm making it impossible for Marco to think of anything else. The hunger in her touch took his own need to a fever pitch.
He lifted her shirt and impatiently tugged it over her head, discarded it, then freed her breasts from the lace of her bra. She was quick to peel out of her garments, her enthusiasm exciting in itself. Her nipples were taut and dark, irresistibly alluring, and he both caressed and kissed them. He ran the flat of his palm over her and she purred with pleasure. Jac arched her back beneath his touch, her dark hair strewn across the white linens and her eyes sparkling as she smiled at him. She crooked a finger at him and Marco stood to strip off his jeans. By the time he turned around, Jac had taken off hers as well, and he stared for a moment, savoring the sight of her nude on the bed. She was tanned and fit, her body taut and her breasts ripe. He wanted to remember this sight forever, to make it last.
She rose to her knees and Marco caught her nape in one hand, kissing her wi
th possessive ease. Her tongue danced with his and her hands locked on his shoulders, her fingers digging into his skin as she pulled him down on top of her. Marco didn’t give her time to catch her breath when he broke their kiss, but captured her thighs in his hands and bent to tease her with his tongue.
Jac twisted on the bed and gasped with pleasure, the power of her response feeding Marco’s own. He took her to the brink of pleasure, feeling how her clitoris hardened with need, then pulled back, letting her slide away from the summit before he built her desire again. He wanted her to need his touch as much as he needed hers. He wanted this to be the most explosive mating of both their lives. Jac demanded release, she struggled against him, she whispered incoherently. Marco was glad to give her such pleasure, and her reaction making him want to possess her fully.
“Don’t tease,” she whispered when he drew back once again, but Marco did exactly that, bending to build the passion yet again.
He saw the flash of mischief in her eyes, then she moved so abruptly as to surprise him. She pushed him to his back with a determination he saw no reason to fight, then straddled him. Jac looked like a conquering warrior princess and Marco was content to have her claim him. She braced her hands on his shoulders and held him down, her hair in glorious disarray, then lowered herself over him. Marco moaned when she took him inside her in excruciating increments, tormenting them both with the slowness of her seduction.
“Now, who’s teasing?” he demanded and she laughed, her pleasure making him smile.
As much as Marco was willing to let Jac have her way with him, he knew that this first time, he wouldn’t be able to hold out. He was too consumed with her, his desire too hot, the pending eclipse making him simmer with the power of the dragon within. He was already close to release and if she teased him much more, he’d lose control.
He wanted to ensure that she was pleased, as well.
He gripped her waist as their gazes locked and pulled her down with steady force until he was buried inside her heat. They gasped in unison, and when she smiled at him, he felt that sense of power again.