had, run rings around most people, but not Chance.
She hogged the spray, turning the nozzle down to rinse her hair. He waited until she was finished with that, at least, then adjusted the nozzle upward so the water hit him in the chest. It also hit her full in the face. She sputtered and elbowed him. 'This is
She knew challenging him was a mistake. He said, 'Oh, yeah?' and the tussle was on. Before she knew it she was giggling, he was laughing, and the bathroom was splattered with water. She had played more with Chance than she had since she'd been a little girl; she felt lighthearted with him, despite her problems. Their wet, naked bodies slid against each other, and neither of them could get a good grasp on any body part. At least, she couldn't. She suspected he could have won the tussle at any time simply by using his size and strength and wrapping his arms around her, but he held back and played at her level, as if he were used to restraining his strength to accommodate someone weaker than himself.
His hands were everywhere: on her breasts, her bottom, sliding between her legs while she laughed and batted them away. One long finger worked its way inside her and she squealed, trying to twist away while excitement spiraled wildly through her veins. Their naked wrestling match was having a predictable effect on both of them. She grabbed for the nozzle and aimed the blast of water at his face, and while he was trying to deflect the spray she made her escape, hopping out of the tub and snatching up a towel to wrap around her.
He vaulted out of the tub and slammed the door shut just as she reached for it. 'You left the shower running,' she accused, trying to sidetrack him.
'I'm not the one who turned it on.' He grinned and hooked the towel away from her.
'Water's getting all over the floor.' She tried to sound disapproving.
'It needed mopping, anyway.'
'It did not!' She pushed a strand of dripping wet hair out of her eyes. 'We're going to be kicked out. Water will drip through the floor into the room below and we'll be kicked out.'
He grabbed her and swung her around so she was facing the shower. 'Turn it off, then, if you're worried.'
She did, because she hated to waste the water, and it was making such a mess. 'There, I hope you're satisfied.'
'Not by a long shot.' He turned her to face him, holding her lips against his and angling her torso away from him, so he could look his fill at her. 'Have I told you today how damn sexy you are?'
'Today? You've never told me at all!' 'Have so.'
'Have not. When?'
'Last night. Several times.'
She tried not to be entranced by the way water droplets were clinging to his thick dark lashes. 'That doesn't count. Everyone knows you can't believe anything a man says when he's in… uh—'
'You?' he supplied, grinning.
She managed a haughty look. 'I was going to say 'extremis,' but I think that applies only to dying.'
'Close enough.' He looked down at her breasts, his expression altering and the laughter fading. Still holding her anchored to him with one arm, he smoothed a hand up her torso to cup her breasts, and they both watched his long brown fingers curve around the pale globes. 'You're sexy,' he murmured, a slow, dark note entering his voice. She knew that note well, having heard it many times over the past two nights. 'And beautiful. Your breasts are all cream-and-rose colored, until I kiss your nipples. Then they pucker up and turn red like they're begging me to suck them.'
Her nipples tightened at his words, the puckered tips flushing with color. He groaned and bent his dark head, water dripping from his hair onto her skin as he kissed both breasts. She was leaning far back over his arm, supported by his arm around her hips and her own desperate grasp on his shoulders. She didn't know how much longer she would be able to stand at all. Her loins throbbed, and she gasped for breath.
'And your ass,' he growled. 'You have the sweetest little ass.' He turned her around so he could stroke the aforementioned buttocks, shaping his palms to the full, cool curves. Sunny's legs trembled, and she grabbed the edge of the vanity for support. The cultured marble slab was a good six feet long, and a mirror covered the entire wall behind it. Sunny barely recognized herself in the naked woman reflected there, a woman whose wet hair dripped water down her back and onto the floor. Her expression was etched with desire, her face flushed and her eyes heavy-lidded.
Chance looked up, and his gaze met hers in the mirror. Electricity sparked between them. 'And here,' he whispered, sliding one hand around her belly and between her legs. His muscled forearm looked unbelievably powerful against her pale belly, and his big hand totally covered her mound. She felt his fingers sliding between her folds, rubbing her just as she liked. She moaned and collapsed against him, her legs going limp.
'You're so soft and tight,' the erotic litany continued in her ear. 'I can barely get inside you. But once I do— my heart stops. And I can't breathe. I think I'm going to die, but I can't, because it feels too good to stop.' His fingers slid farther, and he pressed two of them inside her.
She arched under the lash of sensation, soaring close to climax as his fingers stretched her. She heard herself cry out, a strained cry that told him exactly how near she was to fulfillment.
'Not yet, not yet,' he said urgently, sliding his fingers out of her and bending her forward. He braced her hands on the vanity. 'Hold on, sweetheart.'
She didn't know if he meant to the vanity, or to her control. Both were impossible. 'I can't,' she moaned. Her hips moved, undulating, searching for relief. 'Chance, I can't—please!'
'I'm here,' he said, and he was, dipping down and pushing his muscled thighs between her legs, spreading them. She felt his lower belly against her buttocks, then the smooth, hard entry of his sex. Instinctively she bent forward to aid his penetration, taking all of him deep within her. He began driving, and on the second hard thrust she convulsed, crying out her pleasure. His climax erupted a moment later, and he collapsed over her back, holding himself as deep as he could while he groaned and shook.
Sunny closed her eyes, fighting for breath. Oh God, she loved him so much she ached with it. She wasn't strong enough to send him away, not even for his own protection. If she had been really trying, she could have gotten away from him, but deep down she knew she couldn't give him up. Not yet. Soon. She would have to, to keep him safe.
Just one more day, she thought as tears welled. One more. Then she would go.
Chapter Twelve
Ten days later, Sunny still hadn't managed to shake him. She didn't know if she was losing her touch or if army rangers, even ex ones, were very, very good at not being shaken.
They had left Seattle early the next morning. Sunny was too cautious to fly back to Atlanta; as she had feared, the morning newscasts had been splashed with the 'real-life romantic adventure' she and Chance had shared. His name was mentioned, but by some perverse quirk his face was never clearly shown; the camera would catch the back of his head, or while he was in a quarter profile, while hers was broadcast from coast to coast.
