Perfect Stranger (15 page)

The closer they came, they
smelled roasting meat and heard people talking loudly and
cheerfully. The road ended at the village square, and it seemed to
Jericho every person belonging to the community had gathered for a
celebration of some kind. They all had a
cervejas
in hand.

Jericho glanced around them. The village was
bigger than he had first thought, and he looked down the connecting
streets weaving between buildings placed crookedly around the
square.

The man waved them on through the throng and
brought them to a two-story brick building on the other side of the
square, the tallest of the lot. He beckoned them to enter.

"
Obrigado.
" Jericho thanked
him.

He pulled Chloe into the building where an
older man lounged behind a desk.

Unsuspecting of customers, he jumped to his
feet. "Olá!"

The shop seemed to serve a mix of services.
From the counter, Jericho guessed a post office and hotel, and to
his left through an open door, a washroom and store.

Jericho returned his gaze
to the man and inquired about a room, dipping down to pull a second
weapon from a holster around his ankle, under his pants to offer
his
pistola
in
exchange for one night, food and drink. His weapons were all he had
with him of value.

The man held the weapon
out, inspecting the
pistola
and nodded his head. "
Vir, senhor.
" He waved them to him
as he exited the desk area, taking a key from a hook on the wall,
and went to a flight of stairs. They followed him to the end of the
hall where he unlocked the door, pushed it open, and turned on a
lamp. He turned to hand Jericho the key, smiling as he gave Chloe a
little bow of his head. "
Boa
noite,
" the man said.

"
Boa noite,
" Chloe repeated to
him.

He left, and Jericho closed and locked the
door.

"Your gun was worth more than one night's
stay and food," Chloe said as she turned her attention to the
room.

"I know, but that's all we had, and I have
the other two, which I'm sure I'll be using."

"I hope not," Chloe said as she inspected
the cleanliness of the bathroom and then the bed.

Jericho inspected the window and the streets
below the building. There was nothing below the window, nor a fire
escape, only vines growing up the side of the building. Their view
was of the next street over, and a sliver of the village
square.

Chloe popped up at his side to peer out,
too. "They look like they are having fun," she said, looking down
on the people dancing, drinking, and eating in the square.

"I'm sure—" A knock cut Jericho off ,and he
drew his weapon as he went to the door to crack it open. He cleared
the weapon at seeing the owner outside.

"There is food for you and
the lady in the square. I have arranged for you eat there with the
others. There is
cervejas,
too, as much as you desire for your generous
exchange," he said in rough English. "We celebrate our village
tonight. Please, feel welcome to take part."

"Thank you," Jericho said. "We'll be down
shortly." When he shut the door, he turned to Chloe. "Looks like
you get to join the party after all."

Though she squealed with a fair amount of
delight and clapped her hands, Jericho's stomach knotted. He didn’t
like the idea of being out in the open like that.

****

Full and slightly tipsy
from the
cervejas
, Chloe laughed with the villagers. Jericho would not drink
the Brazilian beer for all the reasons Chloe shouldn’t have either.
She did place a limit for herself at two.

As the samba began to play louder to a new
song, she found herself pulling Jericho up to dance with
her—something she wouldn’t have normally had the cheek to do.

"I don’t dance," he said, rooted to the
bench under the decaying, lighted pergola.

Chloe gave him a winsome smile and another
little tug, swaying her hips to the beat. Jericho's eyes fell there
and caught, and so Chloe wiggled a little more in a shimmy, hips
popping with small thrusts as the music picked up, then went back
to rolling her hips along with the tune as she pulled him from the
bench.

"If you don’t dance with her, I will," a man
called in the background. There were several whistles and calls and
clapping. Chloe threw her head back and laughed.

Jericho ran a hand over his eyes and stood,
taking Chloe by the hand, twirling her around, then drawing them
together in a clash. As they rocked together to the music, their
bodies connected, Chloe slowly realized she more than liked the way
Jericho made her feel. Especially right now in a sultry, exotic
dance.

He lifted her arms above her head and
skimmed his hands down over the sides of her breasts, all the way
to her lower abdomen. He grabbed her hips and turned her around
then, roughly pulling her against him.

He excited her, thrilled her … he made her
feel safe and protected, and sometimes, for no reason at all since
she had been with him, sometimes she felt special. He had worried
for her. He had risked his life to save her.

Chloe swung around Jericho, breaking apart
to tease him with a rotation of her hips, but he pulled her back,
and they stopped.

Chloe looked around. She hadn't realized
they'd left the other dancers and were now on the outside of the
lighted area.

Jericho looked at her mouth hotly. Flames
from the torches lit around the square danced in his eyes.

And then Chloe got what she wanted so
badly.

Jericho lowered his head and claimed her
mouth, gently. Incipient warmth began to pool in Chloe's middle.
There was a sizzling electricity bursting around them as he tasted
her, slowly deepening the kiss. His rough palm cupped her face
tenderly. Chloe smiled at his uncertain exploration. They both knew
the risks. She nipped at his bottom lip playfully.

A vein thumped wildly in Chloe's neck, her
heart pounded waiting for him to continue. Jericho picked her up,
holding her to him and took her off the cobblestone square and to
the entrance of their building.

His mouth raked hotly down her neck as his
desire broke free.

"Chloe." His tongue darted at the pulsing
vein at the base of her neck. He nipped there.

Chloe made a strange little sound of
pleasure in return, raking her fingers through his hair, and she
kissed him back.

Jericho broke away with a growl, pulling her
inside.

Chapter Fourteen

2100 hours, Tuesday

A small Brazilian village

Chloe's back hit the wooden door with a bang
as Jericho pressed her there with his body. She whimpered into his
mouth and dragged her nails over his shoulders as he kissed
her.

Jericho's hand roamed up her shirt as he
efficiently slipped the key into the lock and twisted the knob.
They both fell into the room and stumbled, their legs entwined as
they walked. Jericho kept her close as he shut the door and locked
it, his mouth never breaking from hers. He branded her to him with
an arm around her back, though Chloe had no intention of parting
from him at the moment.

He ran his fingers through her hair, pulling
lightly, and Chloe dropped her head back. When he grazed her neck
with his teeth, Chloe's breathing came in harsh little pants.

"Jericho," she whispered.

He chuckled in response and reclaimed her
lips.

Chloe raised on her tiptoes to explore him
with her mouth in return, to discover his body with her hands.
Jericho stumbled again when Chloe ran her hand down over his
erection, and he reached out to catch them against the wall,
instantly taking her hands in his own. He made a thick, deep sound
of pleasure and wound one hand in Chloe's hair as the other worked
her pants free while she stepped out of her boots.

He flipped the button of her pants and then
pressed her there against the wall, raising her arms above her head
with one hand. The other he ran over her breasts and down her side,
pushing her pants away where they fell to the floor.

Chloe trembled from his touch, ached for him
to touch her where she needed him the most, but he did not.

He tortured her with a light caress just
above the cleft of her sex, his fingers skimming to her thigh and
up, just enough to make her think he would give her what she
needed; but his touch faded away again, and her torment grew
stronger.

Chloe bucked her body against his,
impatient, eager for him. His stare caught hers then, and he cast a
devilish smile.

He pulled her from the wall and slipped his
hand around to squeeze her backside, more urgently moving her
across the room. Chloe stepped out of her pants along the way.
Without his support, she surely would have fallen on her face.

Chloe nipped at his bottom lip, his chin,
and then his neck. Jericho commanded her body, turning her around
so that her ass pressed into his erection. He held her hips,
grinding into her, causing an intense wave of heat to sweep though
her. She whimpered. She wanted to feel him inside her.

Chloe turned on him, locking her gaze with
his as she slid her hand down to free the holster around his thigh
and then pulled at his belt. She held onto the holster as she
whipped the belt from his pants and then dangled the holster to the
floor, hearing the gun drop beside it as she lowered them both and
let go. The belt slipped from her fingers, too, as Jericho's arms
surrounded her again, and he backed her to the bed.

The edge of the mattress caught Chloe at the
back of the knee, and she tumbled backward, Jericho falling right
along on top, between her legs. Chloe instantly lifted herself
against him, delighting in the sensation.

His weight felt good, and she wrapped her
legs around his waist.

Jericho's hand brushed down her bare leg,
slowly, tantalizingly. Chloe squeezed his shoulders in return,
tossing her head on the mattress, need swelling up as his teeth
scraped the tender flesh of her neck.

His mouth broke from hers then, and his hot
stare poured over her. "Chloe," he breathed. He ran his fingers
over her jaw.

She answered by pulling him back to her,
sinking her fingers into his hair until she was sure he would stay,
then pushed her hands between them to pull at the buttons of his
pants. Jericho growled into her mouth, rising on his forearms over
her, and then rolled her atop him. As Chloe sat up, straddling him,
he rose, too, and began to grab her t-shirt, slipping it over her
head with one smooth yank. Jericho tossed pillows across the bed
out of their way and pulled her back over him.

His eyes were wild as he delighted in the
sight of her. Jericho buried his face against her cleavage as he
reached behind to flick open the clasp at her back, then yanked the
bra from his intended path.

Chloe gasped and tossed her head back as his
mouth closed around her nipple, his teeth lightly scraping the bud
as he sucked, his tongue rolling over the hardened pearl. He
squeezed her other breast, and Chloe rolled her hips, the apex of
her legs undulating over the length of his arousal. A fever began
to spread, and Chloe ran her hands over him, wanting more of
Jericho so badly.

She reached down between them to touch them
both, causing Jericho to jolt at her caress, and he panted against
her mouth. He fell back, and his neck arched against the bed as she
squeezed his cock through his pants, running her fingers in an
up-down rhythm.

Jericho groaned, flying up again to catch
her. Chloe straddled his waist and rocked herself against him, not
letting him stop her this time. Jericho's eyes glazed with desire
as he looked at her, and he splayed his fingers along her cheek,
kissing her deeply as he slipped his hand beneath her damp thong
into the wet folds of her sex to toy with her.

She gasped in a throaty moan, rocking
against his fingers and throbbing as she climaxed. When the
pleasure became too intense, she tried to pull back, but Jericho
locked an arm around her back and held her there, slipping a digit
deep inside.

Chloe whimpered, tossing her head back, and
Jericho thrust his finger deeper.

"Jericho!" She cried out, gasping at the
blinding intensity. She moaned.

His lips fell to her throat, then lower to
her collarbone and down over her shoulder to lock on her breast
again.

Chloe's hands drifted down his body, feeling
the taut muscles with delicious fervor. Then, so suddenly, he rose,
flipping her backwards, and Chloe landed on her side over a stack
of pillows. She blinked at him in a daze as Jericho towered above
her on his knees, reaching for her thong, his rough fingers
slipping under the straps at her hips, and he ripped her panties
down her legs and tossed them over his shoulder. He feverishly
raked her parted legs with a scorching gaze.

Again, she had never seen a man so
completely undone. Jericho yanked his shirt over his head. Chloe
delighted in watching his muscles ripple. He left the bed then to
remove his unbuttoned pants, and she watched him dazedly, biting
her lower lip as she took in the sight before her. She had never
seen such raw perfection.

Jericho quickly returned to her, pushing her
over as he crawled back up her body. "I've never wanted another
woman the way I do you," he said in her ear, rolling her onto her
stomach over the pillows.

Chloe's insides softened at the feel of him
over her back, the hardness of him pressed against her backside as
he nipped at her shoulder. She could feel herself growing wetter as
she throbbed for him. His hand slowly, intoxicatingly, slipped up
her leg from underneath. He growled low when his fingers passed
over her inner thigh to circle the wet petals and then pressed into
her again.