Two Dauntless Hearts

Buck lifted his hand.

Talia’s brows rose. “What’s the nature of your injury?”

He pressed the hand to his chest. “You just stole my heart.”

Talia planted her hands on her hips, her lips quirking on the corners. “Seriously, was anyone injured in the landing?”

“No.” Pitbull stepped out from the shadows and lowered his rifle. “Thanks to our pilot.” He glanced at Marly with a slight nod and then held out his hand to Talia. “Percy Taylor.”

Marly chuckled softly. Finally, the man acknowledged her skill in landing the plane. But did he have to hold Talia’s grip for so long?

“That’s his real name, but we call him Pitbull.” Buck bumped Pitbull out of the way and held out his hand to the safari representative. “Graham Buckner. But you can call me Buck.”

Talia grinned. “Percy, Graham, nice to meet you.” She faced the other four men. “I’m assuming the rest of you are Dalton, Harmon, Trace and Jake?” Her smile spread wider.

They nodded as one.

“Good.” She clapped her hands together. “My safari adventurers. And I see you couldn’t wait to get started and decided to land in the middle of our first stop for tomorrow.” She waved her hand toward the herd. “Welcome to Kenya. Like what you see so far?”

Marly’s lips thinned. For the most part, the men weren’t looking at the herds of wild animals. Instead, they were drooling over their safari guide, Talia.

Heat built in Marly’s gut. And not the good lusty kind. More the jealous, burning, I-can’t-compete-with-that kind. She glanced down at her flight suit that did little to disguise her lack of a voluptuous figure. She was too tall and lanky to be considered feminine. Not that it had bothered her. Until now.

She dared a glance at Pitbull. She was pleased to see he wasn’t looking at Talia.

Instead, his gaze was on Talia’s guards.

Talia must have noticed their regard. “Don’t let my men scare you. We have to come armed.” She nodded toward the SEALs’ weapons. “And I’m glad to see you brought your own firepower. We run into all kinds of four-and two-legged aggressors out here. It pays to be prepared.” Talia glanced toward the plane, her eyes narrowing. “Speaking of which, we might want to push the plane into the tree line.”

Marly glanced around the open field, searching for a stand of trees large enough to park the plane beneath. “The engine isn’t working.”

Talia smiled. “I’m sure you can get some old-fashioned brawn to help get it where you want it to go. I wouldn’t leave it out in the open. You never know what might happen if it’s left alone.”

Familiar with the nature of the inhabitants of the savannas and jungles of Africa, Marly agreed. Gangs of miscreants, poachers and rebels would have the plane stripped of anything salvageable in no time.

She located a copse of trees three hundred yards to her south. “If we could get it to that stand of trees, I’d feel better about leaving it.”

Pitbull stepped forward. “Let us handle it.”

The six SEALs and the three guards positioned themselves around the aircraft at Marly’s direction and began pushing the plane across the bumpy terrain and toward the trees.

Talia followed in the truck.

Once they had the plane positioned between the trees, Talia hauled out a large bundle from the back of the truck and dropped it on the ground. “You can use this camouflage netting to conceal the plane. Trust me, I wouldn’t want anyone to find it. We’ve had some near misses with a local rebel group. The cowards try to get our people alone. Then they attack and steal whatever they might sell on the black market. They’d steal this plane piece by piece if they found it.”

“Should I stay with the plane until the part comes?” Marly asked.

“I think it will be okay as long as you conceal it well enough.”

“Great,” Marly said, grabbing a corner of the netting.

The others took up the other ends and dragged the net over the nose and wings, and finally over the tail.

When they had secured the ends to the ground using sticks and rocks, Marly stood back and examined the effect. From a distance, it would blend into the shadows of the trees.

Talia waved toward the truck. “We can fit two inside—me and one other—and the rest in the back. I’ll let you figure out who goes where.”

Pitbull hurried to the front of the vehicle and opened the passenger seat. “Marly,” he barked like a command.

Marly, unused to having men open doors for her, glanced toward the rear of the truck. “I can ride in the back. You guys are the clients.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Buck hooked her arm, marched her to the passenger side and handed her off to Pitbull. “You’ll ride up front. We’re used to eating dust.”

“So am I,” Marly argued.

Pitbull leaned close and whispered in her ear, “Are you always this disagreeable?”

She frowned at him. “Sometimes I’m even more so.”

Pitbull gripped her around the waist and lifted her up to the seat, ending the argument.

Marly sat down hard, shocked that he’d manhandled her so easily. She’d always considered herself to be too big to be girly. But Pitbull had just proven he was strong enough to sweep this independent, no-nonsense woman off her feet.

Her heart fluttered and her cheeks heated. Where his hands had clenched around her waist still tingled with awareness. She clamped her mouth shut and stared forward, refusing to look back at the man who’d set her blood speeding through her veins and pooling low in her belly.

What was wrong with her? This man was a US Navy SEAL. He probably had a woman in every port. Even if he didn’t, his job had him traveling the world at the drop of a hat. Nothing could ever come of a relationship with such a man.

Nothing.

* * *

PITBULL DIDN’T REGRET ending the argument with Marly by lifting her into the truck. He did regret the lingering electrical current running up his arms and down to his groin. Focus, man. Focus.

They were in Kenya for only a week. Let’s go on a safari, his teammates had said. It’ll be fun, they’d assured him. Nothing was fun about the raging lust spinning through his body for the woman he’d just touched, not when he knew it wouldn’t go anywhere. He wouldn’t be able to act on it. Thankfully, Marly would be gone as soon as she had her fuel pump. Hopefully that would be by the end of the day. Then he could concentrate on having a good time seeing all the animals and enjoying the resort. And maybe they could convince the 160th to send a helicopter out to retrieve them. They could call it a training mission to extricate military personnel from a hostile environment.

He climbed into the back of the truck with the other members of his team and held on tight. The trip to the resort was across the savanna and into a forest. An hour later, they pulled up to a large, rambling house made of wood and stone. The house was surrounded by smaller huts with a similar wood-and-stone design—individual cottages Pitbull guessed were options for their guests.

Talia parked the truck in front of the main house and climbed down.

“I have each of you in your own bungalow, but meals will be in the main house dining room,” Talia said. “Breakfast and lunch are casual. Dinner is formal. Please dress accordingly. Follow me, if you will.” She entered the house, leaving the door open behind her for them to follow.

The main house had a grand entrance with staircases on each side curving up to the second floor. Shiny mahogany handrails and furniture gave the rooms elegance in a rugged land of wild animals and dangerous people.

“The dining room is to your left. Normally I rent out the guest rooms, but they are unoccupied at the present time. I thought you would prefer your own bungalows while you are with us at All Things Wild Resort. You’re welcome to take advantage of the living areas and the sitting room on the main floor. At the back of the house is a game room with a pool table and a bar. I’ll leave you to explore for yourself while I get Miss Simpson situated and gather the keys to your bungalows.”

“I’m up for a round of pool.” T-Mac started for the rear of the house. “Anyone else?”

Buck pushed past the others and followed T-Mac. “Count me in.”