Ravyn's Flight Read online

  Taking a deep breath, Ravyn picked her way carefully down the hill. It was even tougher going than she’d thought. Despite her caution, she slid in several places before she could catch herself. Each time more wet earth sloshed onto her pants. She kept her legs slightly bent but her knees still took a beating.

  The third time she slipped, she couldn’t regain her footing. With a plop, she landed on her butt and her weight and gravity had her sliding down the hill. The speed kept her on her back and she tried to use her legs to stop her rapid plunge.

  It seemed to take forever before she lurched to a stop. Ravyn didn’t move as she took inventory. She was unhurt, she decided, but she could feel mud oozing on her backside from the top of her head to the heels of her feet It had even oozed under the protective vest she wore. She could feel it permeating her clothes, her panties. Something scratched her neck. She reached up and pulled out a twig. She probably had more foliage stuck in her hair. Gingerly, she pushed herself into a sitting position and saw Damon standing just below her.

  He didn’t inquire if she was okay. If he had, she would have asked him to help her up. If he had laughed, she would have laughed with him. She may be humiliated, but she wasn’t blind to how funny she must look. But Damon did neither of those things. He just stood there, face impassive, and didn’t say a word. It was the last straw. She’d had all she could stand of the robot warrior act. Ravyn’s temper ignited.

  Without giving it any thought, she picked up a handful of the mud that surrounded her and threw it at him. Her aim was true and she caught him in the center of his chest. His eyes narrowed, but there was no other reaction.

  His lack of response fanned the flames of her anger.

  She pelted him with another, bigger, mud ball. She’d knock the man-of-stone persona out of him no matter what it took!

  This time he appeared slightly surprised as the wet earth plopped to the ground from his chest. He still didn’t look too terribly upset, but when she watched him shrug off the pack, Ravyn knew she’d succeeded in irking him. Scrambling hastily to her feet, she unzipped the vest and tossed it aside. He was bigger, stronger and better trained, but she welcomed the confrontation she knew was coming. She widened her stance, balancing her weight the way her brother had taught her.

  As he took off his own vest, Ravyn flung another wad of mud at him. This time she hit his shoulder. When he turned, she knew from the look in his eyes that she’d managed to really piss him off. She smiled, baring her teeth in a feral grin.

  Damon continually underestimated her, so she wasn’t the least bit surprised when he rushed her. She moved to the side at the last minute, easily evading his charge. His momentum carried him past her and Ravyn shifted until she faced him again. Just for the hell of it, she tossed her last handful of mud.

  This time he sidestepped and her missile fell harmlessly to the ground. Obviously deciding her evasion of his frontal assault was a fluke, Damon tried again. He must have played football, she guessed. With his arms outstretched, he looked like he was trying to tackle her. Once more Ravyn easily dodged away. She thought it insulting to be so underrated even though it gave her a very slight advantage. At least momentarily.

  She didn’t care that she needed all the help she could get. After nearly a week in her company, Damon should know she was more than just some helpless woman.

  “Is this how you fought in the Oceanic War?” she jeered, hands on her hips. “It’s amazing you survived. But then maybe you didn’t have to fight anyone hand to hand.”

  “Ravyn, don’t push me,” he warned.

  Blithely, she ignored his menacing tone and crouched quickly to scoop up more mud. Almost not fast enough. He nearly reached her before she could straighten and jump out of harm’s way. Ravyn barely suppressed a shriek at her close call.

  Warily, she and Damon circled each other. That wasn’t easy, not with the mud slick as grease beneath their feet. Options flashed through her mind. She tried to guess which moves Damon was likely to make and figure out her best way to counter each one. Alex hadn’t trained her to just react. He’d taught her to use her head, telling her it was her greatest asset.

  Ravyn wasn’t foolish enough to think her strength was any match for his, no matter how hot her temper. Still, there were ways to win a battle other than an all-out attack. Right now, her best weapons were the mud in her hands, her agility and her ability to think under pressure. And she could taunt him until he became so mad, he forgot his training. That was unlikely, she admitted, but there was always a chance.

  “Geez, Brody, how did you ever get into Spec Ops if you can’t even take down a woman?”

  Gleefully, she watched him lunge at her and miss. It cheered her considerably to see him land face first in the mud. Just to add insult to injury, she caught him on the seat of his pants with two mud balls. She didn’t have time to rearm before Damon regained his feet.

  Uh-oh. She took an instinctive step back before stopping herself. The fireworks in his eyes contrasted sharply with the mud covering his features. He wasn’t going to take it easy on her any longer. As she watched, a mask came down over his face and she knew he’d gone into warrior mode. Ravyn didn’t waste any more breath on insults. It was just a matter of time until he bested her, but that didn’t mean she was going down without a fight.

  It was almost a dance, as he took the offensive and she countered his tactics, dodging and ducking. Once he nearly had her, but she managed to slip away thanks to the slick coat of mud on her back. Ravyn didn’t dare take her eyes off him for a second, not even to scoop up more mud. Each time she escaped him, he came back with an even more difficult maneuver. He lunged less and used more of his strength against her moves. If she even blinked, she knew it would be over in short order.

  “Not so arrogant now, are you sweet pea?” he gibed. The knowledge of impending victory glowed in his eyes; his smile was insolent. He didn’t seem to have any doubt she was on the ropes.

  That rekindled her waning anger. Ravyn lifted her chin imperiously, but didn’t respond. Instead she focused her energy on keeping her footing. Their little two-step had churned up the ground, making it muddier and even more slippery. Damon was handling the slick conditions better than she was. Experience, she supposed.

  And, in the end, that was what defeated her. Damon feinted, she reacted before he committed himself and found herself caught. Desperately, she twisted away and lost her footing, going down face first. She rolled over quickly, but Damon already stood over her, his triumphant expression insufferable. She fired off two quick shots of mud before he covered her, pinning her hands over her head.

  Then the man had the nerve to laugh at her.

  If he thought he’d won this easily, he’d better think again. She had more tricks up her sleeve. Ravyn’s legs were free and she used them to flip him over on his back. As she gazed down on him, her laughter echoed his earlier mocking amusement.

  For an instant, he lay there stunned. Unfortunately, that didn’t last long enough for her to savor the situation or solidify the advantage. Their positions were reversed so fast, she was almost dizzy, and this time he didn’t make the mistake of leaving her legs free.

  His heavy body pushed her deeply into the muck, but she still wasn’t ready to concede defeat. Staring defiantly into his green eyes, she tried to wriggle out from underneath him. As she struggled against him, she was pleased to see sweat gather on his brow. At least she was making him work to keep his hold on her.

  “Be still,” he grated out.

  She ignored him.

  “Ravyn, stop it.”

  She began to buck, trying to throw him off of her.

  “Damn it,” he muttered thickly.

  Ravyn froze in surprise as he pressed the lower half of his body against hers. He was hard. She looked closer at his eyes and realized that what she had taken as anger was arousal. The perspiration beaded on his brow wasn’t from exertion, but from trying to rein in his libido.

  For a moment, they s
tared at each other. Ravyn’s anger drained away and she lost interest in escaping. Instead, she arched her body against his, shifting her legs slightly so his erection pressed where it felt best. She couldn’t hear his groan, but she felt it rumble through his chest.

  Damon’s hesitation lasted no more than an instant before his mouth came down on hers. There was nothing soft or gentle about the kiss, just voracious hunger. His lack of control didn’t frighten her in the least. She reveled in it. She didn’t even care that she could feel the grittiness of mud on her lips.

  Ravyn tugged at her hands and Damon released them. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her. He nibbled at her lips and she opened for him. Her eyes drifted shut and she gave herself totally to him. There was nothing for her but the feel of his body against hers. Nothing but his mouth, his taste. He nudged her legs farther apart and Ravyn made room for him. It felt even better and she muffled a moan against his lips. His hand ran down the outside of her thigh until he reached her knee, guiding her leg around his hip and bringing her body even tighter against his.

  Without being told, Ravyn brought her other leg up, cradling him against her heat. She felt his hands at the buttons of her shirt as they continued to devour each other’s mouths. Even that small separation made her ache. She didn’t realize he’d finished unbuttoning her shirt until she felt the warmth of his hand through the nearly sheer fabric of her bra. This time she tried to press the upper half of her body closer to his touch.

  Ravyn moved her arms until she could grab fistfuls of his T-shirt, then began to pull it over his head. She wanted to feel his bare skin against her, touch those hard muscles, feel that crisp hair. It was a slow process since she kept getting distracted by his clever fingers and his hard, hungry kiss.

  When she had the shirt up to his shoulder blades, she left it and ran her hands over the skin of his back. He was burning up, but then so was she. At that moment, she didn’t think she could ever get enough of him.

  The thought barely formed when he pulled away, his body suddenly tense. Puzzled, Ravyn opened her eyes in time to see Damon bring his hand down over her mouth. His pupils were still dilated, his chest heaving even as he tried to breathe soundlessly, but his attention was definitely not on her.

  It took her a moment to process the information. Something worried him and he wanted her to be silent. Okay, she got that but his method of keeping her quiet made it difficult to breathe. She pushed her tongue out sharply against the palm of his hand.

  Startled, he glanced at her. She knew he got the message when he stopped muzzling her. Damon shifted slightly, inaudibly, and his hand emerged with a pistol. Ravyn moved slowly, trying to minimize the noise, but she knew she needed to get her legs down. He couldn’t afford to be impeded by her and there was no way he could react fast with her wound around him.

  What if it was the killer?

  Ravyn tried to think of where they’d left their things and couldn’t remember. She could only hope it wasn’t where they would be seen. Fear rose in her throat, but she relentlessly pushed it back. She couldn’t be her usual cowardly self, not now. Damon might need her.

  She kept her eyes on him, knowing he was her best gauge of how serious the situation was. He was intent, but not poised for battle, so she figured they weren’t in imminent clanger. Ravyn still didn’t know what had caught his attention. She didn’t see or hear anything unusual.

  Her first clue came less than a minute later. The stench made her think of rotting flesh, and she swallowed hard to keep from gagging. It took an effort, but Ravyn forced herself to remain calm, to keep her breathing slow. That became harder to do when she heard the sounds of something large moving quickly through the undergrowth. She couldn’t judge from which direction the noise came, but it sounded too damn close for her peace of mind.

  Damon remained watchful and that helped her stay steady. Whatever it was couldn’t be as close as she feared or he would be taking some kind of action, not calmly waiting. Gradually, the sound became more distant and the odor dissipated. Ravyn felt herself begin to relax, despite the continued vigilance of the man poised over her. It humbled her to know he would protect her with his body if necessary, and it made her worry again. She didn’t want him dying for her.

  Finally, after what seemed like a million years, he tucked the weapon away and stood. Damon was covered in mud, she realized. There wasn’t an inch of him that wasn’t coated. That had her looking down and taking in her own appearance.

  She looked as if she’d been rolling in the mud. Which, she supposed, she had been. With shaking hands, she started to button her shirt again. She tried to keep her laughter in check, but between her relief at being safe and the sight of them covered in muck, she wasn’t having much success.

  “I don’t suppose,” Damon said, “your team forgot to report they’d found animals the size of a bear on Jarved Nine during their study of the wildlife?”

  Ravyn sobered quickly. “No. We didn’t find any animals over about ninety pounds on this planet.”

  “That’s what I was afraid of.”

  “It was the murderer then?”

  “Maybe,” Damon said, finally looking at her. “Whatever it was, it was a hell of a lot bigger than ninety pounds.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  He’d lost his mind.

  What other reason was there? Yeah, he’d pushed them hard to get out of the vicinity where they’d nearly encountered whatever it was. And this lake was in a very protected location. Surrounded by sheer rock face with only a narrow entry, nothing could come close to them without him seeing it and being able to pick it off with his pistol. But it was still an indulgence. Okay, so he felt better after a bath and he didn’t mind the chance to get his clothes clean. Plus there were a few other bonuses.

  Damon watched Ravyn walk from bush to bush, checking on their drying wardrobe. With the high humidity, the best they could hope for by morning was damp clothes. The sound of her humming would reach him now and then. Idly scratching his bare chest, he counted her happiness as a benefit.

  The last six days had been hard for her. He didn’t know if the nightmares still gripped her, but it was obvious she wasn’t getting enough sleep. If nothing else, this early stop would get her some needed rest. The other pluses were purely selfish. He’d peeked while Ravyn had taken her bath.

  Damon’s lips quirked at the memory. He should feel guilty. After all, he had been standing guard and she’d trusted him to behave like a gentleman, not a randy teenager after his first glimpse of a naked woman. He couldn’t find even a hint of remorse.

  She finished checking the clothes and walked toward him. Damon swallowed hard, her beauty hitting him like a fist. Her dark hair fell past her shoulders in waves. He wanted to sink his hands in it, hold her close while he explored her mouth. He wouldn’t be in such a hurry this time. He wouldn’t be so rough.

  Her legs went on forever. He swore he could still feel them wrapped around him. The sensation had Damon shifting, trying to ease his sudden discomfort. With only his shorts on, he had no way to hide his body’s response to her. He tried to keep his face, even his eyes, impassive. Ravyn had pulled back since their interlude in the mud and he didn’t want to frighten her.

  She sank gracefully to the ground when she reached him. Not too near he noticed and hid a smile by rubbing a hand over his mouth. He didn’t blame her for running scared. He’d been all over her; there had been no wooing, no gentleness at all. He was lucky she hadn’t fled in the other direction.

  “Thanks again,” she said, fingering the tail of his shirt

  This was his number one bonus. The sight of Ravyn wearing nothing but his fatigue shirt. She had the sleeves rolled up so the cuffs wouldn’t hang past her hands and the hem of the shirt fell almost to her knees, providing more than adequate coverage. It didn’t matter. Seeing her dressed in an article of his clothing caused his chest to ache. He had to clear his throat before he could answer her. “No big deal.”

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nbsp; “It was, Damon.” She started to reach out to him, but pulled her hand back before making contact. “I don’t have to see all the scratches on your arms to appreciate what you did. I can’t believe you kept the shirt in the pack just so I would have something clean to wear when we waited for our clothes to dry.”

  “How are the clothes doing?” he asked to change the subject.

  Ravyn paused briefly, then said, “They’re drying about as well as they can. At least the breeze is helping.”

  “Good.”

  “I know you don’t want to hear this either, but thanks for stopping. I really needed this bath.”

  “Don’t thank me, Ravyn. We both know we should have kept moving. This lapse of common sense could put us in danger.”

  The reminder made him scowl. He’d committed more errors in judgment today than he had in years. The last time he’d made this many mistakes— Damon shut the thought off. He couldn’t think about it. Not with their close call so fresh in his mind.

  First of all, he should never have let Ravyn goad him into wrestling her in the mud. If he had turned and walked out of firing range, the situation would have been resolved. Secondly, he shouldn’t have kissed her. They were lucky his unprofessional behavior hadn’t gotten them killed. But what made him sweat was if he had it to do all over again, he’d still kiss her. He’d enjoyed it too much to believe otherwise. His third mistake troubled him the most. When they’d spotted the lake, she’d turned to him and asked if she could have a bath. The need to please her had been so strong, he hadn’t hesitated more than a second to consider their safety before giving in to her plea.