Hush Little Baby

She compromised. I sat at the edge of the entrance and she slept with her head on my thigh. When the sun came up the image in front of me made me smile, this was the closest it could get to erotic and dangerous at the same time. I pulled her cover over her head before the sun's rays peaked into the cave, I got a quiet "thank you," before she turned over and went back to sleep for the agreed hour before it was my turn.

Although my attention was on what was going on outside, my mind did wander ever so slightly. Dana reminded me so much of Charlotte Mendez, almost like sisters from a different father, and as that thought burst through my own security blanket, I had to pull away from ever visiting that again. They were true Amazon women, that was for sure, and even when my idle mind wanted to compare, for the sake of my own sanity, I just couldn't.

But like any seed, give it fertile ground and it will grow.

As I watched the pass my hand had subconsciously wandered to the nap of her neck. I only realized it had when her body stiffened for a moment before relaxing once again. For the sake of restraint, I went to move my hand away. Her hand moved to stop me and so I left it there; eventually she slept the sleep of the exhausted once again while I watched rocks, along with dust and slight breeze that moved along the pass.

My mind was so focused on watching everything that dared move along that pass and surrounding area, that I hadn't realized my thumb would move from side to side of her neck. That was until her lower body went kind of tight and I heard her moan. My hand moved away so quickly that part of her cover moved and the sunlight reached her eyes. Her cheeks and upper neck had that flush about them and her eyes had a glow in them. Dana's smile was the confirmation that I had taken advantage of her, how the hell was I going to get myself out of this one?

She moved and her smile lit up her face. "That's an interesting way to wake me up."

The relief on my face must have been seen by Dana, and I thanked the Gods she didn't push it, I chose restraint and a silent chastisement of myself for taking advantage of her like that, even though I hadn't realized it at the time.

We both had something to eat before Dana insisted that it was her turn to watch and even pulled out what was now dubbed "her" Sig and rested it on her thigh. She was right, of course, I was just about running on empty, and sitting watching the pass burned away what little concentration I had left. While my head rested on Dana's thigh, something she had insisted on since she had done the same and I would be easier to nudge if anything needed my attention.

My mind played out my life, placing a great deal of detail on the wrecked car and Marcus Hamilton: the events that forced me back to this place and culminated with turning and seeing Dana Hoffman for the first time. Even putting the two wildcats together looked like fun at the time, although opposites didn't attract, they seemed to more like, fuse together. Dana had never been all that far from Charlie Mendez of late, despite the shit I got from her when I saddled Dana with her on this trip.

The hand on my shoulder woke me instantly, I grabbed my Sig just as Dana grabbed for my wrist and whispered into my ear.

"You don't want to do that, go slow and look over the ridge down into the pass."

Six Arabs were walking the path; one stopped and squatted, his friends joining him as they all shared a cigarette. The conversation ebbed and flowed between them. I looked up at Dana and all she did was shrug her shoulders, clearly not understanding a word they spoke.

Dana held her Sig and flicked the safety off, it was my turn to hold onto her wrist. A few seconds later, three other Arabs joined the group and a fresh round of banter flowed over the group. Once the cigarette was finished and the big bearded one thumped his chest, since he had seemed to have won some point in the conversation he was having with the group, they all stood and walked onwards.

I looked at my watch, we still had two hours before dark, I motioned my head towards the back of the cave and Dana joined me. With the map open and placed on the floor of the cave, we knelt next to it so that she could see everything.

"Later tonight, we will hit the river." I pointed to a place on the map with my finger. "That's us now, so it gives you a glimpse as to how close we are."

My head then nodded towards the cave entrance. "This is going to happen more often, so I don't need you going into killing mode. One shot will bring it all down on us."

There were only two of us; I wasn't even going to guess how many were out there between here and the river, let alone the safety of the line our forces occupied. I would like to think I got through to her; I prayed I had, or we were going to die tonight.

*******

Something else about us had changed in an almost subliminal way; the way we talked to each other was nothing like it was when we first met. In a twisted way, when you take into consideration where we were, both of us talked like you would on a second or third date. We had become familiar with each other, and it felt like Dana and I were establishing the boundaries of a relationship.

Absolutely nothing was off the table with any whispered conversation I had with Dana over those last couple of days, and I found myself opening up to her, without even realizing I was doing it. We both sat and watched the pass. Nothing had come by since the Arabs smoking party, and once again I looked at my watched and did some mental calculations.

Mentally, I prayed that I had this right. I knew I still had options, but if I made the wrong one, nothing would have changed and all this would have been for nothing, not to mention the mental damage it would cause if it all came to light. Dana Hartmann had now come to realize that the death of her father was an accident and nothing more than the stupidity of his driver.

With his last breath, her father gave her a gift: me, it seemed. Dana also knew that with that gift came the freedom from her family. The Hamilton sons knew better than to try and cross her: if Daddy said she left after she married, then to them, it was set in stone.

If anything, I was gambling with so many lives. It was time to return Dana to safety, and on top of that decision was the fact that I seemed to now have a girlfriend. I also felt a tinge of regret as my thoughts traveled to Charlotte Mendez. While in this man's army, she was untouchable. It hadn't stopped me from having carnal thoughts about her from the time I first set eyes on her.

Even though it was a closely guarded secret, I was still an officer, in hiding maybe, but still a Captain. That made Corporal Mendez out of my league, hell, I always thought I was out of hers, but at least I had her friendship, and I held that close to me always.

With an internal sigh, I placed all those thoughts in that safe place in my head. It was time to do the right thing and get Dana back to civilization.

"Grab your kit, we're going to leave now."

Dana looked at me, then down at the pass below and back at me again. Her lips parted and then closed before shrugging her shoulders and reaching over to her pack. Once tight to her back, she checked her Sig once more before wedging it into her belt. At best, we had half an hour of light left, and I wanted to make use of every second of it.

We moved quickly, although we could hear the other wheezing as our nostrils filled with the smell of water. I stopped us and we moved between the rocks until we found a place that was close to the pass and yet had enough floor space for us to work.

"Take your clothes off."

The look on her face in what little light we had left was priceless. "WHAT?"

"Oh, come on, Dana; you're over eighteen and you have never had a guy ask you that before?"

Her hands had already started at her jacket. "Hell, Mister, I've heard that request ever since I turned fifteen and grew tits."

Her hand dropped to her side and she let out an exasperated sigh.

"For goodness sake Mike, I'm not a virgin, I do, in fact enjoy sex, and before you freak out, I actually know why you need my clothes, it's called teasing you."

"No, it's called a floatation pack, but thanks for the TMI."

I'm not sure I was supposed to hear the rest of the conversation, Dana had turned her back to me and in her attempt to keep quiet she was actually allowing the talk she was having with herself to bounce off the rocks in front of her and it all angled my way.

"Not even had a chance to jump his bones yet and we're already having our first domestic dispute."

When she just pushed her panties down around her ankles, I lost about a pint of blood that automatically directed itself to my cock and stayed there. Dana also picked that very moment to turn around with all her clothes in her hands, her eyes never moved above my belt line.

"You know that belongs to me now?"

"Dana, we don't have time for this."

She started to walk towards me, licked her lips and moved her hand to reach for me. I took a step back.

"I'm not sure how it's escaped your notice but we are behind enemy lines and you can't tell me that the effect you have on men hasn't brought about this result before."

"I'm sure we can bring about the end result to both our satisfaction if you just stood still long enough."

Of all the crazy-assed situations I've been in throughout my life, this was the wildest. I grabbed her hands and she pulled me close, which pushed her chest into mine and my cock thanked her profusely.

"Dana, you need to stop, I can't keep fighting you off and keep us both alive at the same time, damn it."

What she said next was perhaps an insight into her that I had failed to take into account.

"When Daddy died, he gave you the secret to my heart. You unlocked that heart two days ago and I will die keeping you alive. But know this, Mike, only when we marry will I stop killing, only when we marry will I put away the monster inside that keeps Dana Hoffman's conscience at bay."

This was one scary lady to have that sort of conversation with. My thoughts shattered when I felt her lips on mine, her arms came around me and pulled me tight as she once again buried her tongue as deep down my throat as she could. I still came away from that kiss with a raging hard-on that wanted so much to be buried in Dana's pussy.

I finished putting everything in my floatation pack, checked it twice and then we sat against the rocks waiting for the last few minutes of sunlight to fade. Dana hugged and occasionally stared at my erection, and although her hand wandered to my thigh, she left junior alone.

"Mike, how long after the river?"

I knew what she was really asking, I just hoped that Dana wasn't going to confront me with it.

"A day, maybe less, and then we're on friendly ground."

"Are we on that now?"

I opened my arm and she moved in closer. I could deny it all I wanted, but the truth stared me right back in the face. We had spent three days together running for our lives, and yet we did that together. The Amazon and the loner. To believe Dana's story meant I had to take a leap of faith, something I did very rarely. I had seen Marcus Hamilton's eyes dissect me, and until I was told differently, I had just put it down to a businessman sizing up an opponent.

Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought he was sizing me up, wanting to know if I was worthy of one of his greatest prizes. "Hush little baby" meant nothing to me and it wasn't supposed to: the key that unlocked Dana and set her free to live the life she was never given came with three insignificant words, and if Marcus Hamilton had had time, it would have made sense much earlier.

His driver never gave him that time; it took a stranger to allow him to take his life's last breath in the arms of someone who cared enough to pull him from the wreckage. It was the father in Marcus Hamilton that stared up at me, not the business man or killer. Hell, even the millionaire could do nothing with his money anymore; instead, he gave me a gift that outshone everything he had done to build his company. He handed me, no, trusted me with the key to his daughter's heart.

To me perhaps, a prize that outshone everything he ever owned.

*******

I gave Dana a spare magazine, kept one spare back for my own weapon and between us, we lifted the floatation pack from its resting place and paced towards the water. Even talking in whispers was discouraged from now on; water carried sound way too far for us to be comfortable.

Although I was totally focused on what I was doing, it still didn't stop me seeing the weirdness of it all. I was standing next to one of the hottest women I've ever seen, she was as naked as I was, and we were about to float into the middle of, and with the aid of the current, along a river. I could still cheat and sneak a peek at her body, of course, since I needed my night goggles and the few remaining hours of green sight the batteries would give me.

At this point my foot sank into the mud by about an inch and my other foot touched the river. We took it slowly, even though it didn't stop us both from gasping when the rivers water touched personal body parts, damn it was cold.

By the time we had become dependent on the floatation pack, we were a good third of the way across. Our objective wasn't the bank in front of us; when I showed Dana the map, the route of least resistance had to be to float as far as the middle of the river and let the current take us for a couple of miles before we pushed for the opposite bank. The moon sneaked over the mountains in the distance, the outline in front of us matched my map.

We had both memorized what we needed to look out for when we again made our push to the far bank in case one of us missed it. With both of us holding onto the pack, the current, or what there was of it, leisurely ran its course, carrying us along with it. One, or sometimes both, of us would kick out to keep us in the middle of the river, our eyes looked for danger in the darkness, as well as anything that already occupied the river.

Time seemed to grind to a halt, the speed of the current giving that false feeling some truth, perhaps. In total we had been in the water just over an hour and I started to worry; no one can keep up such an intense amount of concentration without a mistake happening. We were exposed and with only the floatation pack as our aid, but right at that moment, this was the quickest way to get us both to safety.

We passed a fire that raged by the water's edge; it unnerved us, something that big and blatant only meant rebels. Dana moved her Sig to take in the people around the fire; she followed them right up until the firelight slowly sank into the distance and the night once again engulfed us.

Further down, an old man marshaled his goats to drink while the sound of a flute coming from the darkness calmed them and then we stopped. Dana grabbed the floatation pack and held on as the current, slow that it was, wanted to pull her under.

We had stopped moving, and I looked in alarm at Dana, her lips came close to my ear and she whispered as best she could while trying oh so hard to sink the fear back into her body.

"I'm stuck; something has my foot and won't let go."

Resting my Sig back onto the floatation pack, pulled my goggles off and rested them next to it, then slid my hand into another fold and pulled out a knife. There was no longer fear in her eyes, shining by the stars so bright; she was resigned now. I either got her out or she was ready to die there, my only thought was the one that made me pull air into my lungs before I dived under the water. Not on my fucking watch.

I used her body to guide me down, the water was impossible to see anything in, even at this shallow depth. My hand finally found her ankle and I pulled, nothing moved so I went further down to investigate. The fishing net or rather the tattered remnants of the fishing net had scooped Dana's foot into it as some sort of final trophy.

Thinking it best to cut rather than just hack at it since her foot was now tangled in the mesh took some time and I had to come up again for air. Giving her some comfort, I kissed her before going under again to finish the job; with one final cut we both started drifting again. I held on to Dana's leg and pulled myself up, the relief that she was free again made me brave, I bit her ass before breaking the surface of the water and sliding my knife back into its hideaway.

Part of me wanted to giggle like a schoolboy, but retribution was coming, I was just relieved that I had managed to cut her free without us both being discovered.

Dana on the other hand, wasn't so forgiving. "You bit my ass. What sort of mean bastard are you that you get to bite my ass, but I don't get to suck your dick?"

She settled on a kiss as a thank you, at least until we got back onto dry land, of course. We both spotted the area we needed almost at the same time, both of us kicked out but tried desperately not to churn the river. We both heard each other's sigh of relief when our feet touched the mud bank.

We had a corner each by the time we were waist deep in the water. We lifted and carried it to the only place that looked like it hid us from anyone walking the river bank. It was also then that the night was drawing to an end. The net tangling Dana's foot had put us dangerously close to dawn and we needed to hurry.

It was as the light of dawn seeped through from its hiding place the other side of the mountains that I heard Dana say. "Oh my."

I looked at her and then followed her line of sight, it was belt height. "Need I remind you that the water was really cold?"

"Well, no." This time she pushed her chest out, her nipples were tight and extended on her chest by a good quarter inch. "But, Mike."

She had that smile that even in the half-light left to us, I could still feel as infectious. Trying desperately not to smile right alongside her, I pulled my floatation pack apart and once again handed her clothes back to her. Dana just stood and got dressed; it seemed that modesty was a bygone word for her now.

We were halfway up the bank when I heard the vehicle, and instinct made me stop and pull her back from poking her head above the riverbank. We both tumbled down the bank, stopping just inches from the water's edge.

"Wanna play a little rough do you, big boy?"

Instinct made me leap onto her and cover her just seconds before the truck passed our position. Things started happening almost at once, the vehicle stopped just as I recognized the engine noise. Of course, pushing Dana's Sig down and alongside her hip was as hard as hell.

The sound of boots evacuating the truck and taking up position on the road's edge became a deciding factor for Dana to remain still.

"Good to see you both alive, Sergeant Davis, I assume the woman pushing you off her is the reporter?"

Dana stopped fighting me when she heard the American voice from the road's edge. She also used the confined space to push her Sig into my belt, I just prayed like hell that she had remembered the safety before she did it.

As I went to get into the back of the vehicle, I stopped, the hairs on the back of my neck gave warning of animal instincts that have kept us alive since the dinosaurs walked up behind us looking for a meal.

Something made me look across the river. I knew where to look, but those who were supposed to be keeping an eye open missed him. The large bearded man watched Dana climb into the vehicle, then turned and disappeared behind a rock as the day's sun came up behind the exact spot the Arab had been standing, I smiled to myself as I sat and made myself comfortable.