His entire body was throbbing. Either they stopped right that minute or they raced full speed ahead. Murphy opened and closed his eyes in an effort to clear his thoughts. He felt as if he were sinking into a deep, dark pit.
It came to him then, what should have been abundantly clear from the first. Letty Madden wouldn’t turn tail and run. Too much was at stake; she had no choice. She was his for the taking. Any hope of her backing out of their deal was lost, and frankly he was glad, because he wanted her. This stodgy, dull woman had turned the tables on him. He was so damned hot for her, he was close to losing it right then and there.
Not wasting any time, he caught her by the shoulders and brought her onto the mattress. Again he was amazed by her softness. She was smooth and sweet.
He kissed her, holding nothing back, then cursed under his breath when the room started to sway.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“You. Me. Damn it, it’s not supposed to be this good.”
Fighting the need to rush, Murphy positioned himself between her legs, spreading them wide to accommodate his hips. When she felt his erection rubbing against her, she gasped and her eyes flew open.
“I’ll go slow,” he promised, forcing himself to remember she was a virgin.
“Murphy,” she cried, “kiss me. It won’t hurt so bad if you kiss me.”
The room began to spin once more, only faster this time. He ignored the sensation and did as she asked, lowering his mouth to hers.
The kiss was wet and wild, as out of control as Murphy was starting to feel. The world began to tumble into a deep, dark precipice, taking him with it. He battled the sensation as long as he could.
He heard himself moan, felt Letty direct his mouth back to hers and kiss him. Damn, but she tasted good. All sweetness. The woman had given him one hell of a surprise.
He tried, God knew he tried. He reared back his head and pushed forward, but his aim was poor. He lowered his hand to his erection, to guide himself into her. She closed her eyes and turned her head, knowing there would be pain. He regretted bringing her pain. “I’ll try not to hurt you,” he whispered.
It was the last conscious thought Murphy remembered having.
The next time he opened his eyes, it was morning.
4
At first light, Letty slipped out of bed and dressed hurriedly. She dared not look Murphy in the eye for fear he’d know what she’d done. It had taken so long for the herb mixture to take effect that she’d begun to fear it never would. Since she hadn’t concocted anything like that before, she wasn’t entirely sure of its potency.
She’d thought—hoped, really—that there’d only be time for a few kisses and little else before he fell into a deep slumber.
She should have known he’d fight the effects. Instead he’d done far more than simply kiss her. Try as she might, she realized, she’d never forget her night with Murphy. She’d found pleasure in his arms, before and after.
In the middle of the night, she’d stirred to find herself trapped at his side. His arm was wrapped about her waist, her buttocks tightly tucked against his swollen manhood. By all that was decent, by all that was right she should have escaped him then and there. God forgive her, she hadn’t. Even knowing what she did, Letty had closed her eyes and found a strange comfort and security in this mercenary’s arms.
Before the herbs had taken effect, Murphy had mumbled that it wasn’t supposed to happen this way. Once, he’d claimed it shouldn’t be this good. The irony of the situation was that he’d voiced her own thoughts.
She felt that the kisses and the foreplay were something she’d need to endure in order for him to help her find Luke. The last thing she’d anticipated was pleasure. Her body had turned traitor on her. The warm sensation that had stolen over her had come as an unwelcome, unwanted surprise. Murphy was right, it shouldn’t have been that good.
“What the hell happened?” he muttered from the other side of the bed.
“What do you mean?” she asked primly, fearing he’d guessed what she’d done.
He sat up and rubbed his face as if scrubbing awake his sleep-clogged mind. Letty was grateful to be completely dressed. She didn’t trust him not to touch her again. Worse, she couldn’t trust herself not to respond.
“Last night,” he elaborated sourly.
“You know darn good and well what happened.”
He glared at her, silent and knowing, as if reading her soul. Letty tensed, afraid he’d discovered the truth. The muscles along her shoulder blades tightened painfully.
Then he asked, “Did we…you know?”
It demanded every ounce of strength she possessed to look away. “I’d rather we didn’t discuss last night.”
“Like hell,” he shouted, and then grimaced at the harsh sound of his own voice. “Just how much did I have to drink?” He reached for the wine bottle, and his brow folded into thick, irregular lines. “There was only this one bottle, wasn’t there?”
“Our flight is scheduled to leave in four hours. I suggest we head for the airport as soon as you’re dressed.”
Her bags were already packed. She’d carefully considered each item. She had one suitcase, which she planned to leave in Hojancha, the country directly north of Zarcero. All she’d take into the country itself was a backpack. If they found Luke at the mission, they could be in and out in less than twenty-four hours. But if they had to break him out of some hell-hole jail, it would take longer. How much longer, she didn’t know.
“You’re not going with me,” Murphy announced coldly.
“Oh no, you don’t,” she said, furious that he would try to change their plans now. “We have a deal, one for which I’ve paid dearly. You can’t modify the agreement now.”
Despite his nakedness, he threw aside the sheets.
Letty’s eyes widened at the sight of the hard muscles of his chest, his lean hips and powerful thighs.
He bore countless scars on his shoulders and stomach. The worst disfigurement was on his left shoulder and looked to have been a bullet wound. She battled back the tenderness that came over her at the sight of his scars. He wasn’t the type of man who would appreciate her sympathy.
In him she viewed both strength and beauty. Letty was mesmerized and embarrassed. She could feel the color creep up her neck and bleed into her cheeks.
Murphy chuckled and appeared to enjoy her discomfort. “Come now, don’t you think it’s a bit late for the outraged virgin bit? You’ve seen it all before.” He reached for his pants, and his dog tags jingled as he dressed without displaying any uneasiness.
“I’m going with you.” She wouldn’t take no for an answer. Not when she’d come this far. Luke needed her, and despite what Murphy might think, so did he. In the last two years Letty had been to Zarcero three times. In addition, she was fluent in Spanish. She knew the country and was familiar with the cities and some roads. There were people she knew whom she could trust. Friends who would tell her about Luke, who would help her locate her brother.
“I agreed to find your precious brother for you, and I will,” Murphy muttered testily. “I’ll keep my word, but I work alone. The last thing I need is a woman tagging along with me.”
“This is a fine time for you to tell me that,” she cried, furious that he would try to pull this on her now. “We agreed that you would accompany me to Zarcero for a price. You collected your fee in bed with me last night. You can’t change the agreement now.”
The coldness in his eyes sliced her to the quick, but Letty didn’t so much as flinch. “I’m going with or without you.”
He swore. “I know what I’m doing,” he shouted. “You’ll slow me down.”
“I’ll help you.”
He swore again, louder this time.
“I’m going to Zarcero to find my brother.” Unwilling to debate the issue further, she slipped the backpack over her shoulder and carried her lone suitcase outside. His truck was parked behind her car.
She set the suitcase i
n the truck bed and climbed inside the cab, waiting for Murphy to appear.
It didn’t take him long. He soon joined her, slammed the pickup door, swore again, then started the engine. Once on the road, he drove like a man bent on getting himself arrested.
Although he’d been more than willing to vocalize his opinions earlier, he didn’t mutter a word during the ninety-minute drive to the airport.
For her part, Letty was filled with questions. Since they were flying into the country of Hojancha, she wanted to know how Murphy intended to get into Zarcero now that the borders had been closed. No traffic was allowed into or out of the country.
In the plane that flew from Houston, they were seated next to each other. His massive shoulders rubbed against hers. Once they were airborne, he removed a map from his carry-on bag. She wanted to volunteer what information she had, but it was apparent that he was in no mood to listen to her, so she said nothing.
Closing her eyes, Letty pressed her head against the window and silently prayed his sour mood would improve. This trip was going to be difficult enough without the two of them constantly at odds.
She didn’t expect Murphy to be good company, but it would help if they could be civil to one another. She’d make the best of it, she decided, despite his attitude.
While pretending to be asleep, she studied him as she hadn’t before. Her life and that of her brother rested in this man’s hands. By no stretch of the imagination would she call him handsome. Everything about the man was intense. If she were to describe him—say, to Luke or one of her friends from church—she’d claim the mercenary possessed battered good looks. Nothing about him was gentle or soft. He was paid to kill, to inflict hate and death and pain upon others.
It came to her then, this contrast she’d discovered, this dark side he flaunted to the world. She’d experienced none of it during their night together. With her he’d been gentle and caring. With her he’d sought to give instead of take.
At first his words had been cruel and demeaning, but his hands and his mouth had displayed a fierce kind of tenderness that had rocked her very core. Shocked her. By the time he’d readied her for love-making and guided her onto the bed, she’d wanted him desperately.
It hurt her pride to admit that, but it was God’s own truth. Had the herbs not taken effect at that precise moment, she would have given herself to him eagerly.
As it was, she’d been left feeling deeply disappointed and at the same time relieved. She’d been lucky for a woman who’d made a deal with the devil himself.
Damned lucky.
Murphy had made some stupid mistakes in his time, he realized, but this outdid them all. What he needed was to have his head examined. Now he was trapped. He’d agreed to an assignment he fully considered to be a wild-goose chase. He didn’t doubt for a minute Luke Madden’s fate. The missionary was long dead.
Even now he didn’t fully understand why he’d involved himself in this craziness. It wasn’t often he misread people. His life depended on skill and intuition. He could have sworn the minute he went to touch his reticent virgin, she’d swoon. Either that or clench her principles against her plump breasts and run for high ground. It hadn’t happened.
To be on the safe side, he’d come to her with a contingency plan. He was a soldier and well aware of the importance of strategy. On the rare possibility of her submitting to his lovemaking, Murphy had decided to leave her virginity intact and renegotiate their deal.
Instead he’d ended up taking her. He wasn’t proud of the fact, but there was no going back now. He wasn’t a weak man—unlike Jack Keller, who was often a victim of his own desires, especially those of the flesh. To Murphy’s way of thinking, women were to be tolerated and used when the opportunity arose. Nothing more. Yet he’d fallen prey to his own physical desires and bedded Letty Madden.
Everytime he glanced her way, something he tried to avoid, he was left to wonder. For reasons he couldn’t explain, his memory had gone patchy on him. He remembered everything that led up to the point when he’d actually committed the deed. It worried him.
It could have been the wine, or was it Letty herself he found so potent? Murphy wasn’t sure he’d like the answer.
He found that reading her was damn near impossible. Each time he’d broached the subject of their lovemaking, she’d clammed up like an oyster hiding a pearl. God in heaven, he wished he could remember. Now, however, the deed was done, and he had no out. Because of his weakness he was stuck escorting Letty Madden into Zarcero.
The plane landed in Hojancha City at five that afternoon, Texas time. After clearing customs, which meant walking past a guard asleep at his desk, Murphy led the way into the busy terminal.
The inside of the airport had been uncomfortably warm, but the heat outside hit him like a sandblaster. It was like this for him the first few hours in the tropics. The heat, the stench, overpowered him. Depending on the time of day and the year, he sometimes found it difficult to breathe.
His clothes clung to him. Texas in summer wasn’t exactly a Garden of Eden, but the tropics were something else. The heat could drain away a man’s strength in a matter of hours. He glanced at Letty, wondering how she would adjust, and cursed under his breath at the thought of her tagging along after him through the jungle.
Letty scurried behind him, holding on to her luggage with both hands. Since she’d insisted on bringing along a suitcase, she could damn well carry it herself, Murphy decided.
“We’ll be staying in a hotel for the night, won’t we?”
“No.” As far as he was concerned, the less she knew of his plans the better.
Murphy scanned the crowd, searching for Ramirez, his contact. Ramirez would deliver the weapons and put him in touch with men who’d provide him means across the border into Zarcero. No easy feat, according to what he’d learned. Both would be pricey. Not that he cared; he wasn’t the one footing the bill.
“I’ll need someplace safe where I can keep my suitcase.”
“Did you bring along any valuables?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder. She was doing her best to keep pace with him and not succeeding.
“No, of course not.”
At least she was smart enough not to carry cash. “What’s inside?”
“Clothes for Luke and a few other medical supplies he might need.”
Without hesitation, Murphy took the heavy suitcase out of her hand. He set it on the first available space he could find, flipped open the lock, and tossed a fresh set of clothes over his shoulder.
“What are you doing?” Letty shouted, scrambling to grab the shirt and slacks. Unfortunately a beggar reached them first.
“Murphy,” she cried, her voice trembling with outrage.
He ignored her as he continued to discard the contents, including the medical supplies too bulky for her backpack. As far as he could see, there wasn’t a damn thing either of them would need. Within seconds a crowd had gathered, scrambling for the clean clothes, creating a commotion behind him.
“You can’t do that,” Letty cried again. “Those things are for Luke.”
She might have entered the fray herself if he hadn’t stuffed the empty suitcase into the closest trash can. Two toothless old men battled for that.
“Why…what about Luke?” Letty looked as if she were about to burst into tears.
“Let’s get something straight right now,” Murphy barked. “If you come into Zarcero with me, you do exactly what I say without question. The minute you contradict or argue with me, the whole deal’s off. Understand?”
A rapid transformation came over her as she straightened her shoulders and nodded. “It would be crazy to pay you this ridiculous fee if I didn’t bow to your expertise,” she agreed, but glanced longingly at the clothes that had once belonged to her brother. “I’ll trust you to supply whatever Luke needs when we locate him.”
Murphy resisted the urge to remind her Luke was already dead. Far be it for him to burst her bubble. If she chose to believe her brot
her remained alive, it was her problem.
“We wait over there.”
Together they crossed the street. Traffic buzzed past with little regard for safety. Rotting garbage was heaped up against the curb, the stench bad enough to make him want to gag. Murphy saw a rat crawl over it and wondered if Letty had seen it, too. As if she’d read his mind, she glanced at him and grimaced.
“You can wait in a clean hotel while I go into Zarcero if you want,” he suggested, hoping she’d see the wisdom of his offer.
As he suspected she would, Letty rejected him with a hard shake of her head.
Murphy groaned inwardly. This was supposed to be his vacation, a little R & R before going back into the field. Instead he’d allowed himself to be outmaneuvered by the sister of a dead missionary. He just hoped Jack had the decency not to tell the others about the mess he’d gotten himself finagled into.
A jeep careened around the corner, and Murphy recognized Ramirez. He’d worked with the dark-skinned contact a couple of years earlier. Not only was Ramirez capable of providing the necessary supplies, his information was generally accurate.
The contact slammed on the brakes in front of the curb and smiled at Murphy, revealing a row of brown teeth. Without further delay, Murphy tossed his duffel bag into the back of the jeep and leaped into the front seat. Letty had a bit of difficulty and wasn’t completely inside when Ramirez stepped on the gas and drove off. From his peripheral vision, Murphy saw Letty fall face first into the back, and he laughed silently. To her credit, she didn’t cry out or complain, although he was certain her feathers had been ruffled.
“Who’s the woman?” Ramirez asked in Spanish.
“No one important,” he returned.
“What’s she doing here?”
Murphy wasn’t in the mood for long explanations. “You don’t want to know.”
Ramirez frowned. “Is she trouble?”
“No,” he returned with a deep sigh, “just a royal pain in the ass.”