Shuttered Seductions

Prelude

 

 

“Okay, one thing he is, is a son-of-a-bitch,” Julia-Rae swore as she popped the lens cap off one of her two 35mm digital cameras and stared at the obscene crack running crookedly the lens. The camera was useless to her now. Her cheeks burned with rage as she flung her camera over her shoulder and stormed down the trail. “Lack of oxygen or not at this altitude, I’ll be damned. No man is going to bowl me over, disturb my shots, wreck my camera and take off without at least a decent apology. Mr. Name or no name magnificent tight cheeks, has a few things coming his way.” Julia-Rae yanked her sleeves up. “Oh, I’m so and so and I’m so sorry I’ve bowled you over. Here let me offer you a hand up; it’s the least I can do for you. MEN!” She fumed.

That insidious temper that had got her into so much trouble in the past sank its long, evil claws into her again. As her dad, Dennis McNaughton, would often tell her, “God didn’t plant that wavy pile of red hair on your head to act as traffic lights.”

“You maybe the sexiest man I’ve seen in a long time, but you aren’t getting away with this.” The fire that gripped her heart now had also served her well in the past. It had gotten Julie-Rae through many trials and helped her to stay in command of her life. Of course, it had gotten her in a whole heap of trouble.

Turning a corner of the trail Julia-Rae spied the culprit crouched over staring at something on the stonewall foundations of the ancient city of Machu Picchu. She untied her handkerchief, twirled it taunt and held it like a slingshot. “Here Mr. Magnificent Great Ass, let’s see how you like this!”

THWAP

 

 

 

Chapter One

 

Only an hour earlier Julia-Rae had staggered backwards and fell on her rear-end. Her camera gear clinked and clattered beside her over the rocky ground. A small cloud of fine dust swirled too easily upward in this land of little oxygen called Machu Picchu, Peru.   Julia-Rae blinked trying to clear her vision as she looked upward and through a haze of little oxygen and stars a rough hand appeared. A man with dirty blonde curls of hair, camera equipment worn like long necklace bangles and a scruffy Peruvian smock stood before her. Obviously the fellow who had bowled her over; there wasn’t anyone else on the thin ribbon of trail, that wound its way along the edge of the vertical mountain overlooking Machu Picchu.

“You OK?” He muttered as he reached over and grabbed Julia-Rae’s hand, pulling her effortlessly to her feet like a feeble ragdoll.

“You –cough– nearly slammed me into these rocks, or worse, you could have shoved me over the edge,” Julia-Rae sputtered. A shudder ran through her at the thought of falling headlong into the rocks below. They were on a thin ledge of a trail, hundreds of feet below lay a jumble of jagged rocks, the Rio Vilcanota River winding through steep canyons and certain death.

“Yeah, I know, but isn’t this place just so overwhelming.” He spun away, seemingly losing interest in her. “Incredible. Don’t you agree? Only discovered in 1911, built by whom and when no one really knows. Oh, they say it was the Incas, but no one is positive. I think only aliens could have lived up at this altitude and conceived all of this away from the prying eyes of humanity. Wow, truly a real modern day mystery.”

He was truly a nutter, she thought. And I was alone with him.

On the edge, although more literally than she liked, but that was what she was trying to portray for the article in her fashion/adventure magazine magazine; The Edge For Today’s Modern Woman. She came here looking for the ancient remains of man’s intrusion into this hostile environment, besides the ruins of Machu Picchu, which could be still be seen all around them. Terraces cut into the flanks of the virtually vertical mountain raced down to vanish into thin mists of fog. Mists that reminded Julia-Rae of the veils of a wedding dress. That was the image she was trying to get. At least, that was her focus until she had been bowled over by this strange man. Although a rather delicious looking man, she thought, staring into the handsome face with the square cut jaw. His blue eyes were surrounded by a sea of darkness, lending a hidden, reserved, almost dangerous look. God, he could take me anytime if he wanted, she mused.

What if he had a dozen unknown diseases, she laughed to herself. Better off to make friendly with the natives then, who probably hadn’t heard of the invention of rubber, she supposed. Even though he had nearly done her in, Julia-Rae extended her hand in greeting and smiled politely trying to look like a visiting tourist.

“Machu Picchu!” He looked at her hand and spun away laughing, with the confident gait of a jungle cat.

Yup, mixed nuthouse galore with cashews thrown in. Half-mesmerized, Julia-Rae studied him as he disappeared around a bend in the trail. The solid cords of his leg muscles flexed as he walked and peeking out from behind the edges of the smock, the contours of a well-defined rear strained against the material of his worn jeans.   God, he looked as good going, as he did coming. The man obviously worked out a lot or was born with a great rear.

With her hand still extended and her voice lost to the dizzying Andean slopes Julia-Rae said, “Hi, I’m Julia-Rae, go ahead and jump on me, everyone else does. You are…?”

Dust settled around her hikers as the imagined echoes of long dead Inca chiefs, chanting to strange feathered gods resounded in her ears. Julia-Rae slowly withdrew her extended hand. So much for being nice to the locals.

“Well, he was magnificent. Rude, but magnificent.” Julia-Rae recalled the moment she had first laid eyes on the handsome stranger. She was sitting on the rocky ridge waiting patiently, for just the right amount of sun to steal through the clouds. She had come to learn over the years as a photographer that an exceptional picture sometimes took much perseverance.

The sudden constant sound of a camera’s shutter whirling with the annoyance of a cloud of mosquitoes, is what had disturbed her in the first place. It was coming from a person somewhere on the ridge just above her. Because of the steep angle she couldn’t see who was up there. Finally Julia-Rae caught sight of a shadowy figure. She had been expecting to see some gaudy tourist sporting a disposable Kodak or packing an Apple phone or most likely some Android version of a Smartphone. While the man above her did fit the image of a tourist quite well, with his tattered Peruvian smock and worn blue jean pants, the three cameras, she could tell, were far from being Iphones or even expensive digitals.

What really struck her though, was his graceful fluidity as he moved around on the rocky outcrop above her. He balanced perfectly, the three cameras that slung from his shoulders. From her experience as a photographer Julia-Rae knew he had done this many times before. Moving with the taunt-coiled energy of a mountain lion, in perfect control of himself and his environment. He didn’t just belong on that ridge, he stalked it like he owned it, dancing from boulder to boulder. For a pest he was sure striking, she thought.

His hair (longer than Julia-Rae cared for) was a scruffy, tawny blonde that streamed away from his face in loose, reckless abandon. Yup, hair that just begged her to run her fingers through it as he lay on top of me. The rest of his face bore that Robert Redford look, with the thick jaw, brooding eyes and tight lips. Covering all of him was a blanket of tan, just dark enough to match the muscular hews of some fierce tribal warrior. A face, she imagined, that had spent much time being exposed to the sun in lands that bore mysterious, exotic names and where the nights brought no escape from the damnable heat. Lands where a person slept naked at night, with only a thin bedcover over them, or no cover at all. The thought of him naked next to her sent an erotic shiver through her. Keep your mind on your work, girl.

As he finally lifted his head from the camera, Julia-Rae caught a glimpse of what really lay beneath those brooding eyes. Up to this point she was certain he hadn’t seen her. Being a photographer often meant being an observer, a voyeur in some respects. He was definitely attractive enough to enjoy watching. His eyes, like the stare of a jungle feline, seemed to catch everything, including her. Every movement, every nuance in every subtle shift of light, he caught it all and captured it, leaving not one conceivable angle unexposed to his camera. He was definitely another pro on assignment like herself. It was all Julia-Rae could do but not watch this man that moved with such purpose, strength and masculine grace.

She brushed at the dust clinging to her clothes. He could pounce like a cougar too. He had leapt down from that rocky ledge, bouncing from one outcropping of rock to another working his way down to the trail, until she realized too late that he would land on top of her.

“Well girl, you’ve done enough fantasizing. Heaven knows you can’t afford to come to Peru twice.” Still the thought struck her, as she unslung one of her cameras from around her neck. He’d make some fine pictures for the cover of a male pinup calendar or better yet, the cover of a romance novel. Or even better than that, him holding her in his arms, on the cover of that romance novel. She stared in shock at the camera as she popped the protective cover off.

 

*****

 

About two minutes later

“Here Mr. Magnificent Great Ass, let’s see how you like this!”

THWAP

“Yow-w!”  The man, a complete stranger she had not ever met until a few moments ago yelled and spun around with astonishing speed, “what in th …”

Fury burned in his eyes as he locked onto the sight of Julia-Rae, standing there with the handkerchief dangling from her right hand with the I-shouldn’t-have-done-that look on her face. For seconds neither spoke. Then, for the first time in her life, Julia-Rae felt her fury melting away like the coldest pack ice before the indomitable gates of Hell. Never, until now, had she met anyone with a passion and fury burning inside like he had great secrets locked into soul that could never be revealed. A thought chilled her, what if he was a sadistic, merciless killer or worse some sort of psycho rapist? What if he was to take her, here and now?

All sorts of wild thoughts ran through her head as he grabbed Julia-Rae by the shoulders and pinned her up against the cold stonewall. His strength was incredible, she was no match physically compared to him as he held her in a grip of steel. She was helpless, completely at his mercy. Yet the feeling of his hard callused hands sent a thrill through her. A strong scent assailed her nose. Hints of masculine cologne mixed with baser more elemental odors of sweat. The aromas she hadn’t realized could be so; so arousing.

It had been a long while since she had been in a man’s arms. They were alone and he could do virtually anything he wanted with her. What had I done? Damn temper of mine.

“Get your hands off me,” Julia-Rae implored weakly. The strength of her anger had deserted her. She was not at all like the strong, full of inner fury person that had raged only moments before. The weakness in her voice shocked her. Her strength, her anger, had deserted her, she didn’t realize how weak she sounded without it. This was not the Julia-Rae she knew, had ever known. The in-control-of-her-destiny woman who ran her own magazine company. Pulling from that earlier rage she spoke again, demanding, as she wanted to originally say, “get your hands off me.” No, it was as if he was looking in amusement at her. Maybe he had never met a woman who held her ground. Maybe he just like toying with his women, like a cat with a trapped mouse.

She should be terrified, she had placed herself in mortal danger. He could do anything he wanted with her, yet there was something comforting and reassuring in the strength of his hands and in his gaze. He simply stared with those eyes of the most intense blue she had ever seen. Eyes that seethed with passion and fury. Julia-Rae swallowed and drew again from her inner fury, pulling some of her anger back to herself. “You’ve got some nerve bowling me over. Wrecking one of my cameras and not having the decency to even introduce yourself or even stop to see if I’ve been injured,” she blurted, trying to keep that rage fueled. This was the Julia-Rae she had known all her life, headstrong and feisty. But how could anyone stay angry when they stared into eyes like his?

“And you’ve some temper.” His hands lightly traveled down her arms, almost caressing her, as if she were an ornament to be admired, as he released her. Bastard. His eyes never left hers. Julia-Rae sensed those eyes were sizing her up, studying everything about her. He moved slightly back, barely giving them breathing space.

She tried to not let her response to that casual caress, from his rough hands show, but something in his eyes told her he caught that shiver of arousal, the slight intake of breath, the nearly inaudible sigh and the fury. The fury of being treated as an object on display. Julia-Rae had fought all of her life to be more than that. Of course, it had gotten her in a whole heap of trouble, much to the dismay of her father, in her younger days. Everything from Julia-Rae telling the next door neighbor where to go, to the time she nearly scratched the eyes out of the first boy who tried to kiss her when she was twelve.

Sometimes she wished she could be just some dumpy girl with ordinary brown hair instead of being the full figured woman with the head of wild curly red hair that made most men look at her like she was a daydream out of an adult magazine. Although she was dressed in loose fitting jogging clothes, a heavy sweater and a Goretex raincoat, he’d never know what she really looked like under that getup. Now that she thought about it she often dressed down just so that men wouldn’t ogle over her. This was the first time in her life she had become conscious of how much she hated being treated like an object of adoration.

“Who wouldn’t be upset when some stranger bowls them over, takes off without a thought to see if they’re okay, a proper introduction and not even an offer to pay for clothes you’ve sullied.” Julia-Rae spat out before realizing what she had said. Maybe it was the quiver on those tight lips, lips surrounded by a growth of stubble, from a couple of days of lack of shaving. Lips that were so close she could reach over and kiss them. What was she thinking? 

If he was a true gentlemen he’d taken a step or two back after he released her and not stand virtually nose to nose, breathing on her.   He was a complete stranger and she was here on an assignment, not trying to find a romantic encounter on a foreign mountaintop. Mind you the idea seemed quite enticing and arousing. Not to mention he smelled so darn good.

“Sullied? Sullied,” he said tasting the word, smacking his lips as a connoisseur would before sampling a sumptuous dish, savoring each syllable like the aromas wafting from the food. “Now that is an interesting and most unusual word. I like it.” An impish grin lit his face. “Sullied, Madame, I’m truly sorry but it appears that I’ve sullied your clothes. I’ll have Burtrum the butler take them to the drycleaners,” he mimicked in a high well to do British accent.

That bastard, her eyes blazed as fury gripped her heart. Julia-Rae raised her hand.   Almost instantly rationality screamed at her senses to stop. What was she about to do?  He could break her neck in a second if he chose to or do even worse things to her.

He looked unflustered as he quickly grabbed her hand, pinned it against her side and roughly pressed her up against the cold stonewall again. This time he shoved himself against her, pressing her to the stone with his body. The hardness of his muscular chest crushed her breasts, flattening Julia-Rae to the unyielding rock. The thump of heat from his crotch rubbing against her.

She had nearly slapped a stranger. Concern for her safety ran through her. He had the strength to do with her whatever he wished. There were only a dozen or so other tourists scattered among these ruins. As he inhaled his chest moved against her breasts. Her nipples, unburdened by a bra, hardened at the sensation. The silent glint in his eyes let her know that he was enjoying this as much as her. His groin crushed against hers. Hard rock pressed her from behind, yet not as hard as the man pinning her.

He said nothing as he stared at her, with those eyes of the deepest blue intensity. Julia-Rae could have sworn his eyes were on fire, a deep blue azure fire of passion. With those eyes he smiled at her, either from enjoying her helplessness or the sensation of her pressed up against him, she didn’t know which. Or maybe from amusement?  Why did he elicit such raging emotion from her?  His lips were only an inch from hers, looking so kissable with moisture gleaming on them.   From deep down inside came the cry, kiss me. Kiss me, now. How long ago had it been since she had desired a man to kiss her?  Julia-Rae swallowed, choking down the desire, or do more with her and she’d be helpless under his domination?

“You can unhand me at any time,” she gasped, Julia-Rae was not about to apologize for her actions, it would only show she was weak.   Although she realized it might be the more prudent course of action to take.

Still he remained silent, studying her like a lion would, deciding if he should devour his prey or merely torture it some more. No, his eyes weren’t merely smiling at her there was much more there. It was as if they were surprised by her antics. What had made her say sullied?  Julia-Rae’s mother died at her birth and she had been raised by her very English grandmother. She would often read Julia-Rae stories of English romance and some of the strange, antiquated words they used she would sometimes repeat while playing as a child.

“I admire a woman of passion and it appears the fire that marks your hair has extended to your lips. While those lips say release me, your eyes tell a different tale. A surrendering tale of take me, here and now. I like it.” He wouldn’t, would he? What if he decided to have her, here and now? A throb from inside answered her. The man merely sneered and slowly released his strong grip on her and backed away.

“But being a gentleman, I wouldn’t do that. Here.” He said hard emphasis on the last word.

The sudden coolness sent a shudder through her as Julia-Rae struggled to keep herself up on legs that had turned to rubber long ago. As much as she didn’t want to admit, she was disappointed that he had released her. There was one part of her that rather enjoyed having him pressed up against her. To be that near a stranger, to feel the beat of his heart against her chest. The heat from his lips. The unmistakable throb of his maleness, wanting her, calling to her. What would he be like driving into me? Taking me? Some part deep, deep inside moaned.

“You have my apologies. If I’ve dirtied your clothes and damaged the lens to your camera then I’ll repay you,” he said as he unslung one of his cameras. “Roy Sutter and since there is only one train ride back down this mountain, I’m sure we’ll both be on it. If you don’t mind I’d like to at least buy you supper tonight, when we get back down.”

“I’m Julia-Rae McNaughton and I think that is the least you could do besides offering me the use of one of your cameras, as a way of making up for the inconvenience.”

“Well, the thought had crossed my mind, except I’ve already got rolls of film on the go in all of the cameras and I don’t imagine you use the old fashioned 35mm single reflex like I do. So after I finish one of these rolls then you’re welcome to use my camera and supper is still offered to you. Unless of course you just want my digital instead?”

“Offer accepted.” She could tell he was about to say something inane like if you know how to use the darn thing. She’d grown up on the devices, long before digital took over the film world.

“Good, it’s the least I can do. But right now, like you, I have to get back to my picture taking, we’ve only got a couple of hours left before leaving. Meet me on top of that platform of rock in a few minutes, I’ll wait for you up there, when the sun comes out from the clouds shortly we’ll get a few great pictures of the valley below as the shadows lengthen across it.” With that he sauntered off already lost in a world of lighting angles and camera close ups, a world Julia-Rae had to also rejoin.

Julia-Rae watched him walk slowly away. He had the air of a reporter, but there was something different about him. His hand absently rubbed at the spot she had twapped with her bandanna as he disappeared around the corner of a building. “Serves him right,” Julia-Rae giggled. “Men, always get ya into trouble dearie,” her granny would often say. Julia-Rae straightened out her outfit, turned and walked back along the trail she had stormed down earlier. Enough of the distractions she had some serious work to do. But God, he felt good pressed up against her.