Rene glanced over at Madeline as he drove the jeep over the rutted dirt jungle road. She had been unnaturally quiet since he had had to pry the combat knife out of her hands back at the compound. He was worried. He had seen her like this only a couple of times before. He had known it would happen though, when they saw what was going on back there. They had all gone a shade paler, but for her it was personal.
“Anything?” he asked the big man crouched in the back of the jeep watching the road behind them.
“No,” Vincent answered, his voice a low rumble. “Looks like we’re in the clear.”
“Good.”
Keeping his eyes on the road behind them, he said, “That was some shit back there.”
“Oui,” Rene agreed. “Yes.”
“Ain’t never seen shit like that. Heard about it, but…”
Rene grimaced but said nothing, his eyes sliding over to his wife once again. Her jaw was clenched, and rage still burned in her eyes. She held on tight to the roll bar and the dash, her knuckles showing white even through the dirt, grime and blood.
Not much later, they pulled into the small village where they had set up base camp, and Rene drove the jeep to the farthest outlying abode. Madeline exited the jeep without a word, shouldering her pack and weapons. Rene and Vincent both watched her enter the thatched building. Rene sighed, shouldered his own gear and followed her in. Vincent decided to hang back with the jeep for a bit, and let the couple deal with their business.
She dropped her pack to the side and put her weapons on the table. They needed a good cleaning, but all she did was stare at them. Rene came up behind her and put his arms about her waist.
She leaned back against him, the last vestiges of her rage slipping away. “If only we had gotten there sooner…”
“We did all we could, Maddie,” he told her softly.
“It’s not enough, Rene.”
“It never is, mon amour. It never is. Come, let’s get cleaned up.”
She turned in his arms, her green eyes meeting his grey. He saw the haunted look there, just a glimpse of the vulnerable girl she had once been. He cupped her face in one hand and kissed her gently. The kiss was sweet and tender, and she gave him a small smile.
“I’ll be all right, mijn liefde,” she told him. “Time for a vacation I think.”
His mouth quirked up in that crooked smile that always melted her. “Some place exotic?”
It was an old joke, but it never failed to amuse. “Ja. Exotic. Home. I’m going to bathe. You can tell Vincent it is safe to come in now.”
“Je t’aime, Maddie,” he said, sharing a kiss with her once more before releasing her.
“En ik houd u, Rene,” she answered before slipping away to the bathing room.
Rene went to the front door and opened it. “All clear, Vincent.”
Vincent came in a moment later, burdened by his gear and a woven basket. At Rene’s look, he explained, “The locals thought we might be hungry.”
Rene grinned. Vincent seemed to have that effect wherever they went. People, especially mothers and grandmothers, were always trying to feed him. The daughters usually had other things in mind. “Save some for us, will you?”
“You better hurry.”
They had cleaned themselves and their weapons up and now lounged about what served as a back patio. They would pack up and head out in the evening, traveling while it was cooler. For now, they decompressed a bit.
“Vincent?” Madeline asked. “You got anything lined up after this?”
He shook his head. “No. Was going to get some down time before hanging out the shingle again.”
“We’re headed home,” Rene said. “Why don’t you stay with us?”
“Yeah? Won’t be no trouble?
Madeline nodded. “Yeah. It’s all good. Plenty of room.”
====================
Suriname
Rene stood on the balcony that overlooked the pool watching Madeline nap in the sun. Her olive skin bronzed and glowed with the light, highlighting every part of her. You are beautiful, mon cher, he thought. She stretched, cat like, and, as if she had heard him, looked up, admired his strong arms and shoulders.
“What mischief are you up to, my love?” she asked him.
“Just admiring the scenery before I finish packing.”
Now she sat up and frowned a bit. “Packing? Paris?”
“Oui.”
“Today…tonight, then?”
Today, in an hour. I have to catch a flight to Rio first.”
She sighed. “So I get to face the state jackals alone.”
He laughed. “It is probably safer for them that way.”
“But not as much fun.”
“Why don’t you have Vincent serve as your escort. That will set them all on their ears.”
An eye brow quirked up and she looked back over her shoulder at the muscular man floating in the pool. It was not a bad proposition. A devilish smile played about her lips.
The man in question opened an eye and looked from Rene to Madeline and back. “What kind of trouble are you getting me into now, Jacobs?”
Rene’s smile was crooked and full of mischief now. “Nothing you can’t handle, my friend. Just a state dinner with my beautiful Madeline.”
“I’d rather be shot at,” he rumbled.
Rene laughed.
“I can arrange that,” Madeline said with a laugh of her own. She felt much the same about the dinner.
“Can I go like this?” he asked, indicating his mostly unclothed form.
She turned to her husband. “Which do you think would cause more of a scandal – no shirt or no pants or, horror, no jacket?”
“No jacket,” he answered simply. “Lack of the other two will just net more income.”
Her eyes glinted with amusement and lust as she turned her attention back to Vincent. “Rene’s right. You could make a fortune as an escort.”
The big man actually blushed which sent Madeline into peals of laughter. Rene laughed as well but the sound was receding. She looked back up to the balcony then to the curving staircase to the side of it. He was soon down on the pool level and approaching her. He had a stunning physique and moved the grace of a hunter. As always her breath caught at the sight of him.
“Are you sure you only have an hour, Rene?” she asked rising from the lounger, desire shining out at him from her eyes.
In answer he cupped her face with his hands and kissed her deeply. The kiss sent tingles throughout her body, and she half purred half moaned. He released the kiss, licking his lips. “Turn around, my sweet?”
She gazed into his eyes for a moment, reading the thoughts there, and then slowly turned her back to him. She faced the pool now and Vincent, who still floated in its middle. Rene put his lips to her neck and inhaled. She smelled of cocoa butter and spices and other intoxicating things. His fingers moved deftly to release the strings of her suit and the fabric fell away. His hands roamed over her oil slick skin with expert skill, massaging and caressing, giving extra attention to those places that heightened her excitement, and his lips danced and suckled at her neck and ears. She leaned into his ministrations and moaned with pleasure as her body responded to his touch.
Vincent was frozen where he was, watching the sight unfold before him. Madeline had always aroused his lust, but he kept it in check as difficult as it was. She moved and behaved with a near primal sensuality that was a sweet sort of torment. It would have been easier to not be near her, but he was a moth to her flame. Unable to tear his eyes away, he watched even now, as her husband stoked her need, and she slowly writhed under his touch. He could not help his own response and his hands curled and dug into the arms of the lounger raft.
Her head was titled back and her eyes closed. Every touch elicited a moan or purr or growl. She knew he would drive her to the edge of madness and eagerly anticipated it. His mouth hovered over her ear, “Tell me what you want, who you want.”
She twisted her head to look into his eyes. He knew her well, well enough to know the answer, but he wanted to hear it, wanted her to tell him. She saw that knowledge and the acceptance of it there in his eyes. Excitement was there as well, eagerness to hear her scream in pleasure.
“I want you, Rene, you and Vincent, to love me and to fuck me. Here. Now.”
Rene’s lips paused as he looked up to Vincent, an invitation clear in his eyes. She wanted them both, and he made sure she always got what she wanted.
He whispered, “Beckon to him, my love. Call to him.”
And she did, raising her hand to beckon to him. As she called to Vincent, Rene caressed those special spots and his name became a moan of need. That moan broke the last of Vincent’s restraint. With a brief splashing of water he quickly crossed the distance between them and pulled himself up out of the pool. He ran his hands over her stomach and breasts, lightly trailing his fingers up to the hollow of her throat. His skin was cool from the water, and she shivered with delight at the feel of it.
Vincent slid a hand behind her neck and leaned in to taste her mouth. Her lips eagerly sought his, tongue darting out to tickle and tease. He caught her tongue with his lips and sucked on it, one hand tangled in her hair, the other sliding up and down her torso. All the while he watched her expressions, seeing that she really did want him.
Rene released her into Vincent’s hold and stepped back long enough to shed his pants. When he returned he ran his hands down her sides and hips and his lips down her spine. She arched her back, pressing into Vincent, her moan caught by his mouth.
Ividia 