Hot Blooded

there were voices floating on the night air in
addition to the beat of the drums. She saw light in the distance, the light of a
fire.
    "What is this?" she whispered.
    "Shhh. You must be quiet now. Come."
    He led her closer, until they were both crouching in the trees just beyond
the glowing circle of firelight. She saw men beating huge, painted drums in a
rhythm so compelling she felt her body tugged to move. She saw women, wearing
white skirts and turbans, dancing. And then she caught her breath, because one
of those women was Mamma Louisa.
    She leaned closer, only to feel a strong hand on her shoulder, tugging her
back into a hidden position.
    "Is that… Voodoo?"
    He nodded. "Mamma Louisa is a Voudon priestess." He nodded. "See how the
others give her plenty of space? Watch, they won't stop the dancing until she
does."
    She watched Mamma Louisa, glorious and beautiful, round and lush, moving as
if she'd become one with the driving beat of the drums. She was incredible. Her
dance, beautiful and erotic.
    "She's the housekeeper at the plantation."
    "I know. Her family has always worked there."
    She swallowed hard. "Should I be worried?"
    He frowned at her. "I thought you were an educated woman, Jenny. It's only a
religion. Don't you know that?"
    "Knowing it and living under the same roof with it are slightly different
things, Samuel." She looked longingly at the firelight, the dancers moving
around it, the glow it cast on their faces. "Can we let them know we're here?
Talk to them?"
    He shook his head. "It would be an invasion. We're uninvited."
    "It isn't an invasion to be out here watching them like this?"
    "It is. But it's the kind of thing I figured you'd have to see to believe.
Besides," he said, tracing a slow path along her forearm with his fingertips.
"It made a great excuse to get you out in the middle of nowhere alone."
    The drummers pounded faster, harder.
    "It worked," she whispered, and she felt the reverberations of the drums
echoing in her chest. The drums and the firelight, the sight of the wild
dancing, were heady. It made her want to join in the movement. Her body rocked a
little in time, hips twitching irresistibly as she crouched in the bushes beside
Samuel.
    "There's something compelling about it, isn't there?" he asked her, leaning
so close she could feel his breath on her neck.
    "It's enticing. Almost… irresistible."
    "Yes."
    Again his breath was warm—hot—on her neck. She turned her head just a little,
to look into his eyes, and she found him so close her lips brushed his with the
movement.
    He made a sound deep in his throat, and kissed her.

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Chapter 6
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    HE drew her up until she was standing, all the while exploring her mouth with
his tongue. He moved her backward until her back was pressed to a tree, and he
crushed his body to hers, pinning her there.
    His breathing was harsh and heavy. Hers was rapid and shallow. She threaded
her fingers into his hair as his mouth moved, hot and hungry, from her lips to
her jaw, to her neck, where he sucked at her skin, bit it gently.
    He'd said there was no time for this tonight. But, God, she was going to go
up in flames if she didn't make love to him soon.
    He seemed to have forgotten his earlier words anyway, as his hands moved
between them to cup her breasts through the dress she wore. Then he shoved the
straps from her shoulders and pushed the dress downward, baring her breasts to
his rough hands. He covered them, squeezed them, lifted them as he slid his
mouth lower over her skin, sliding from her neck, to her chest, to her breast.
He took it into his mouth, sucking until she moaned softly. When her fingers
tangled in his hair, pulling his head harder to her, he bit down, teeth closing
sharply on her nipple. Then he did it again, and matched the sweet pain with his
fingers on the other breast, pinching, tugging until she was shaking all over
and wriggling her hips shamelessly against his erection.
    One hand slid up under her dress, found her center, and didn't even hesitate
to invade. Shocking, the sudden feeling of his callused fingers on her, opening
her, entering her. She rocked with the invasion, taking as much as he gave her.
Three fingers, four, she didn't know. She only knew his thumb was ruthlessly
working her while his fingers drove in and out, and his mouth and teeth
tormented her breast. His teeth bit down hard, then his tongue licked away the
hurt, and