She'd almost broken into tears when he'd come to a halt in front of this gorgeous blue river. She hadn't believed him when he said they would rest. Yet there he was, snapping off those long green ferns and placing them one on top of the other until the unmistakable outline of a rustic mattress began to form on the ground.

Heck, who would have thought ferns could be used in such a way? But then again, these ferns weren't the small ones she was used to seeing in the swamps and wetlands on Earth. Nor were they the kind near the campgrounds she'd camped at with her family when she was a kid. No, these ferns grew in lush, five feet or longer bushes, their green foliage half an inch thick and spongy to the touch.

Kayla returned her gaze to the sparkling river. It meandered as far as she could see in both directions, and lining the low banks on both sides were those towering ferns.

The promise of drowning herself in a cold drink of water almost lured her into the pristine clear liquid, but then she stopped. What if this water wasn't safe to drink? What if it was the same kind of water as that brown swamp water she and her sisters swam through after crash-landing?

Maybe he wanted her to drink it so she would become intoxicated with l.u.s.t and easy prey for him. Kayla bit her bottom lip and stared at the lazy, moving water.

Oh please, prey on me!

She dared to dip a bare toe in the liquid.

Oh man, talk about heaven.

Nice and cold. Just what she needed to douse the flames of l.u.s.t consuming her. She was definitely beginning to burn with extreme need again. It came in waves now. The need to f.u.c.k, followed by the need to rest. And she was just entering the need-to-f.u.c.k phase again.

She closed her eyes and bit back a moan as she closed her legs tightly and wished she had the nerve to finger-f.u.c.k herself into oblivion. Maybe she could if Taylor disappeared for a few minutes. She was sure that's all the time she'd need to m.a.s.t.u.r.b.a.t.e. Her cheeks warmed over what had happened when she'd been locked in that cage on wheels. Over how fantastic the release had been while she'd m.a.s.t.u.r.b.a.t.ed under the moonlight.

Kayla swallowed and bit back yet another moan as an arrow of l.u.s.t slammed though her when she relived seeing the stranger's shadowy figure at the cage door. The glazed arousal shining in his eyes. The son of a b.i.t.c.h had been watching her m.a.s.t.u.r.b.a.t.e.

Her l.u.s.t only grew when, earlier this morning, she'd accepted his c.o.c.k into her mouth. Sweet oblivion couldn't be better than when she'd o.r.g.a.s.med at her own hands with his c.o.c.k thrusting into her throat.

She blew out a hot breath and advanced a few steps into the clear, cold water. Soft sand shifted beneath her sore feet, instantly ma.s.saging her toes. Even the sand beneath her feet shifted with an erotic touch. Her p.u.s.s.y creamed as she stepped deeper and the water splashed against her skirt. She looked down to see the flimsy garment floating on the water all around her.

For a moment she was like a ballerina, her skirt billowing as she twirled. Goodness, it reminded her of being back in a dance room at the age of five, struggling with ballet lessons. Her parents had taken pity on her and yanked her out of dance cla.s.ses.

They'd asked her what brought her the most happiness and she'd said animals. Her dad had then accompanied her to the local animal shelter where they'd both volunteered a couple of hours every Sunday afternoon for many years. It was at the shelter she'd decided to become a veterinarian.

Then, halfway through her second year of veterinary school, her brothers had sent back a mysterious code embedded in a message for NASA. A couple of her brothers' astronaut friends were able to decipher the meaning-no one should return to this planet. Their theory was that they had traveled through a time warp or some sort of time fragment. They had mentioned finding an exact replica of the Statue of Liberty decaying on some sandy beach. It was eerily reminiscent of a cla.s.sic movie she'd seen about three astronauts who'd landed on a future Earth where the planet had been run by apes.

Thankfully this planet wasn't inhabited by talking apes. Instead she had a s.e.xy stud on her hands and yet another wave of l.u.s.t crashing through her.

Kayla bit her bottom lip again and whimpered at the erotic heat wreaking havoc on her senses.

Dear mercy, the wild way her blood was rushing through her veins had her heart crashing against her chest in antic.i.p.ation of s.e.x. The tension inside her continued to mount and her thoughts all seemed to zero in on one thing.

s.e.x! With this guy who was making a fern bed for her!

s.h.i.t.

She needed to get laid or her brain was going to literally fry and her body would soon follow.

Cupping her hands into the cold water, she splashed her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, hoping to douse the flames of l.u.s.t. The caressing liquid only made things worse. The heat burning through her slipped up a couple of notches. Oh boy! She was getting way too aroused. She needed some relief. Maybe she could just sneak over to the other side of the river and lose herself in some hot self-fulfillment in that bouquet of ferns.

She was about to do just that when she smelled him.

Male. s.e.xy. Close.

Wow! Did her body know how to react or did her body know how to react?

She was drenched with antic.i.p.ation. Shaking with need when his body heat seared her backside and his hands curled over the swell of her hips.

Kayla cried out at the hot intensity of his touch.

"Bend over," he whispered.

She drew in a sharp breath at his words. "What...what about protection?"

He kissed the area of her neck where it met her shoulder.

"Protection?" he murmured and licked her throat.

She could barely control the excitement racing through her as he kissed behind her ear lobe.

For a moment she almost said, "To h.e.l.l with protection. To h.e.l.l with the consequences." But she cried in frustration as an inner voice warned her to be careful.

"Birth control. STDs," she gasped and suddenly realized this guy wasn't from Earth. He was a stranger in a strange land.

"I've had the required birth control shots. The woman with the Hero brothers, Dr. Annie, gave them to us..." He licked her again, this time at the nape of her neck. Unbelievably erotic shivers charged through her in sensual waves.

A woman with her brothers? He knew about her brothers? Oh this news was way too cool. And they had a doctor? Just what Piper and Kinley needed. She wanted to ask him more about where her brothers were and about this Dr. Annie, but his next words scattered all sane thought.

"I'm safe. You are safe with me."

She would ask later. Right now she needed s.e.x.

She trembled at the deep timbre of his voice. Maybe those were only words he was saying in the heat of the moment. Some guys said anything to get a woman to submit to them. She didn't know him. Was he one of those types that would say anything just to have unprotected s.e.x?

His hands were blistering hot as they caressed her hips and her senses became dazed by his erotic touches.

d.a.m.n him! She couldn't stop herself from listening to him. She needed to get f.u.c.ked. Hoped to heaven this guy wasn't going to literally kill her with some sort of s.e.xual disease in her need for s.e.x.

"Bend over," he instructed again.

She drew in a hard breath and fought the desires, the l.u.s.t, the need to have him thrusting between her legs.

"Trust me. I will not make you pregnant. We are given shots for diseases. I am safe. This need for s.e.x that you feel. It is the swamp water. It has taken hold. Soon you will not be able to fight it."

No s.h.i.t. And he certainly was taking advantage of her need, wasn't he?

She gasped as he nuzzled her earlobe, sucking it into his very warm, moist mouth. In a rush, her resistance dissolved.

She needed to be f.u.c.ked and she needed it now.

Bending over, she moaned her disappointment as his hand on her left hip vanished, but she cried out with pleasure as it smoothed up between her thighs and his finger slid against her c.l.i.t. He thrust his finger inside her tense v.a.g.i.n.a, pulled out and swept his lubed finger against her pulsing c.l.i.t. He plunged into her v.a.g.i.n.a again, collected more cream and rubbed a few more times. He continued the routine until the tension inside her spiraled and she instinctively began gyrating her hips. She grew so wet, her juices spilled from her.

"You are very wet," he groaned.

So true!

"And I need you to f.u.c.k me," she moaned. She was so close to the edge of pure pleasure-insanity, she just might end up dying before he took her.

He moved away from where he'd been sucking her earlobe and nuzzling her neck, allowing her to bend over to the point where her nipples skimmed the cool water.

Taylor's finger slipped away from her c.l.i.t and his hand returned to her left hip. His breathing had increased and she, in turn, panted with antic.i.p.ation. G.o.d, she wanted to scream at the intoxicating intensity of knowing he would bring her the release she so desperately craved. She was on fire and at that moment her p.u.s.s.y was the center of her universe.

Taylor's hands tightened on her hips and she gasped and cried out as his flared c.o.c.k head nudged into her v.a.g.i.n.a.

She hissed as he pressed into her, his thickness giving her an exquisite bite of pain as he entered. He stretched her, held her. Filled her oh-so-agonizingly slowly and completely she thought she would go mad from the teasing, erotic speed he used.

Before he could completely impale her he moaned, withdrew and surged into her again. This time he thrust into her with such fierce power Kayla exploded beneath an onslaught of exquisite convulsions. She bucked against him, needing more. Wanting more.

He chuckled-partially strangled, partially wild, partially satisfied. The slurping of wet s.e.x and splashing water zipped through the humid, early afternoon air as he began a harsh, thoroughly sensual rhythm of plunges into her.

Her desperate cries mingled with his male moans. The combination was like music to Kayla's ears. She'd never heard anything like it. Pure and wild, the erotic groans slipped into her bloodstream, increasing her need to climax.

He drove into her again and again. The friction of each plunge ma.s.saged her c.l.i.t, bringing her closer and closer to that elusively delicious o.r.g.a.s.m she so needed for release. The tension built, and then suddenly she was flying.

He gripped her hips and thrust harder and harder, deeper and deeper. His driving strokes possessed her. Shudders rocked her and raced through her like electrical jolts lashing her body. They sucked her mind, body and soul into an exquisite vortex, melting all her controls and sinking her into a pool of agonizing pleasure. From somewhere far away his groan of release and his seed, hot and wet, filled her.

G.o.d, she loved the wild emotions and the o.r.g.a.s.m that rocked her. She wanted more, and yet she was so totally satisfied as he pulled out of her, she collapsed onto her knees into the cool water.

Her mind was numb, her muscles sore. Her body shuddered as Taylor urged her to stand on her wobbly legs. He instructed her to spread her thighs and she was surprised when his hands splashed water between her legs and he gently washed her. The coolness of the water had her moaning with relief, but the firm touch of his hand as he cleaned her had her p.u.s.s.y throbbing for more s.e.x.

Oh G.o.d, she was insanely addicted to this guy, wasn't she?

After a few moments, he grabbed her by the arm and urged her to move upstream where he instructed her to drink the water, informing her it was safe. Her legs were weak and rubbery as she bent over, half expecting him to take her again from behind. Actually she wished he would because deep inside her the familiar luscious ache, the desperate need to have his arms around her and have him make love to her was growing again. This time the intoxicating need for him seemed different. Less desperate and more loving. She liked it. She liked it bad.

Kayla's eyes fluttered closed and, seconds later, the slow and steady rise and fall of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s a.s.sured Taylor she slept. But he valiantly struggled not to get a hard-on at her large nipples poking against the damp fabric. Unfortunately his c.o.c.k, having taken on a mind of its own, quickly grew and swelled. He would simply have to deal with this problem.

She should sleep well after this f.u.c.king session and all the hours of running. He couldn't be sure how far behind their captors were, but he sensed they were still being followed.

Call it instinct. A male always sensed when a woman-or in this case women-was hunting him. Truth was, he was surprised only two women had been a.s.signed to bring them to Death Valley. He imagined with him being such a prize-an ex-Death Valley member-his former comrades would have sent an army to make sure he made it there. Surely the Boys would pay handsomely to get one of their own back into the fold, even through Taylor wanted nothing to do with their ways.

Maybe because the two captors were involved in some hot and heavy relationship they were lax and did not follow protocol. Not his problem though. His problem was trying to keep from f.u.c.king this female while she slept.

Sighing, he nestled on the lush fern bed beside the Hero woman. Normally he would not go to such spoiled measures. Traveling alone or with his friend Jarod, he'd always slept on the hard ground. In this case, however, the woman seemed to bring out the protective side in him. He wished her to be comfortable when she slept. He wanted her aroused and ready for him when she was awake. Needed her, always.

Taylor opened his eyes as a frisson of shock zipped through him at that last thought. Yes, he craved for this female to want him just as Jarod's female did him. But did he require her forever?

That concept had not entered his mind...until now.

He pushed himself over onto his side and once again watched the female. He'd been doing that quite a bit, hadn't he? He simply could not get enough of looking into her pale blue eyes, or how her dirty, tangled, yellow hair wisped around her face whenever a warm breeze swept her cheeks.

She was a striking woman. Delicate in nature, yet strong physically. She did not order him around as the females he was used to did. This one was like a breath of fresh air and she smelled very good too.

Female. Sweet. Succulent.

His. All his.

Smiling, Taylor closed his eyes and slept.

Kayla opened her eyes and blinked at her surroundings. The gunmetal gray sky overhead looked sinister and brooding, not at all pristine and blue as it had yesterday. The air was still humid and held a heavy tinge of oncoming rain. Stormy weather.

She struggled to bring herself fully awake, but it was so snug and peaceful on this fern pallet, she found it quite difficult to move her aching body. The pace Taylor set had been brutal, but after having rested she understood the frantic speed had been necessary. Her legs and feet were heavy with an odd tiredness and sore from stepping on stones and sticks.

Her p.u.s.s.y, in direct contrast, was pleasantly tender from Taylor f.u.c.king her. At the thought of having unprotected s.e.x with a stranger, anger roared through her for not being careful with birth control. Yeah sure, he'd said he was protected, but was he really? This wasn't Earth and the occupants may have birth control for males. She would have to trust him for now, for sanity's sake.

Hopefully when she found her brothers, they would verify this hunk's story. G.o.d help her if they didn't know anything about it and G.o.d help her if she didn't find her brothers or sisters.

Stinging tears welled up in her eyes, blurring the sky. She needed to find her siblings and get them out of here. In the meantime, she would have to deal with this overwhelming s.e.xual attraction she possessed toward a perfect stranger.

Sweet mercy!

She couldn't wait to tell Piper and Kinley. They would absolutely flip over her Tarzan. Especially Kinley. She would be so jealous. Piper, on the other hand, would think her stupid for having unprotected s.e.x. Piper wasn't as outgoing with s.e.x as Kinley and Kayla, and yet Taylor had said Piper had hooked up with his friend. Interesting. She couldn't wait to see the guy who'd caught her straitlaced sister's eye.

Kayla's mind returned to Taylor and the s.e.x they'd shared. It had been phenomenal. Best s.e.x she'd ever had in a river. h.e.l.l, she'd never done it in a river before.

Back on Earth she'd done it in the backseat of a car and in a bed, but never like this. Never so hot. Never so instinctively wild and so dammed good. Too good to be true. Which meant something had to be wrong with her to so easily give herself over to this hottie. Yes, something was definitely wrong.

A whiff of tangy wood smoke drifted beneath her nostrils and alarm zipped along her nerves. Smoke meant people. Were their captors nearby?

Kayla bolted to sitting and winced, her body aches reminding her they were worse when she moved. Instantly she spied small spurts of orange flames from a campfire about twenty feet away, on the sandy outline of the river's edge. Piles of rocks were set at each end of the fire and between them, about six inches above the flames, lay a horizontal stick with several small fish skewered onto it.

Okay, she hated fish. Always had. Despite her distaste for that particular seafood, her tummy suddenly growled up a storm as a juicy whiff wavered teasingly beneath her nostrils. Her mouth watered. So the guy knew how to cook fish.

But where was he?

Another frisson of alarm rippled though her. Had he left her here alone? Oh s.h.i.t! She didn't want him to be gone. She wanted him to take her to her brothers.

And she had to face facts. She wanted to experience more of the ripe, uncontrolled l.u.s.t that ran through her body whenever she looked at him.

Kayla blew out a tense breath and gazed closer at her surroundings. He had to be here somewhere. She didn't know how she suddenly sensed he was nearby, she just did. Was it instinct? Wishful thinking?

And to her surprise, she was...relieved?

Good grief!

She'd never been dependant or relied on a man in her entire life. Why start now?

Get a f.u.c.king grip, girl!

Taking a few deep breaths, she relaxed and stared at those crispy, sizzling fish. Once again her stomach growled.