“Again,” he demanded while she was still trying to put herself back together.
“I know it’s your turn and all,” she panted. “But you should know… I don’t take direction as well as you do.” He thrust deeper now, harder, pulling back each time until he was just barely inside of her, making her clutch at him. It was torment, it was ecstasy, the feel of his hard body taking her on a ride like she’d never experienced before. “Brady… ”
“I know.” Pushing up to his knees, he dragged her up with him so that she was straddling his lap. The new angle had him touching a spot that she hadn’t even known she had, and she arched back, crying out, lost in the sensations, lost in him.
Sliding his hand into her hair, he lifted her to him, staring deeply into her eyes. His mouth came down on hers, hot and demanding, pretty much just like the man himself. His hands were still holding her, completely controlling their movements, which should have been annoying. Instead, it turned her on, big-time. Her breasts were crushed to his chest, her nipples hard and aching, sending bolts of pleasure to her core every time he moved against her. His breath was hot on her neck, his teeth scraping along her throat, his muscles flexing as his hips rolled into hers.
“Open your eyes.” His voice caressed her as surely as his work-roughened hands did. “Open your eyes and come with me.”
And as he moved within her, she did just that. She opened her eyes, locked them on his, and her world exploded. Gripping her hips, he thrust hard inside her, finding his own long, silent release.
They kissed through the aftermath, rough and deep as they both came down from the high. Then he gentled the connection, softly touching his mouth to hers, moving it along her jaw to her forehead, where he lingered.
They collapsed together into the mattress, Lilah’s bones were… gone. Just gone. “Okay, that was so much better than getting on a bike,” she told him, still trembling.
He pulled her in tighter, holding her close, sharing his body heat, which he had plenty of. His mouth curved into a faint smile as he reached for the quilt as well, pulling it over them.
“I mean holy smokes…” she began, her breathing still irregular.
“I wasn’t going for holy smokes, I was going for what felt good.”
“Well, you nailed both. Can you imagine if there hadn’t been a condom?”
“You’d have seen a grown man cry.”
She laughed and he kissed her again, then rolled off the bed and vanished into the bathroom.
“So,” she said when he came back out, watching his very fine ass as he strode to the pile of their discarded clothing “you weren’t kidding about the cuddle thing.”
He pulled on his jeans even though he was still semi-hard. He managed two buttons and gave up, leaving the pants riding indecently low on his hips. It gave him a dangerous, edgy look to go with the fact that he was clearly ready for another round.
So was she.
She patted the mattress.
His gaze slid slowly over her, and her body reacted like his hands touched her everywhere his eyes traveled.
He walked back to the bed until his knees bumped the mattress. “Again?” he asked, voice thrillingly rough.
“Yes, please.” She cupped him gently through the jeans. “Who gets to be in charge this time?”
With a slight smile curving his lips, he shucked the pants and got in bed, his body relaxing into hers. Sprawling over the top of her, he entwined their fingers and lifted their joined hands to either side of her face, kissing her softly. “What am I going to do with you?”
“You’ve asked that question before.”
“Still don’t have the answer.”
“Neither do I, but I have several ideas.”
His soft laugh disturbed the hair at her temple as he pressed his lips there. “I was thinking you might.”
Ten
H e woke up alone. Lilah had rocked his world once, twice… he leaned over the bed to count empty condom wrappers… three times, and then she’d…
Walked off before dawn.
That was usually his role. “My own fault,” he told the mutt, who was sitting on his chest. “I was easy.”
“Arf,” the dog said in complete agreement, and licked Brady’s chin.
“You’re one to judge,” Brady said in disgust. “If someone even thinks about petting you, you drop and expose your kibble and bits. No soldier worth his salt does that. You’re like a damn dog.”
“Arf.”
“Okay, good point,” he said, shaking his head. “You are a dog. And so, apparently, am I.” He lay there staring at the ceiling for a moment more, replaying the night before. He’d loved watching Lilah’s animated face. As someone who’d forced himself to keep every emotion in check for the better part of his entire life, he found it endlessly fascinating.
He found her endlessly fascinating. He’d not been able to get enough of her, not of her body writhing beneath his, not of her soft sighs, her scent, her taste… And then there’d been the way she’d begged him for release when he’d had his mouth between her thighs-
Great. And now he was hard.
Again.
Still.
It was becoming a perpetual problem.
“Arf.”
“You’re a pain in my ass, you know that?” Brady rolled out of bed, showered, pulled on some clothes, and prowled around in the kitchen. He’d bought the bare minimum from the grocery store, which included the required frozen breakfast wraps. He tossed three on a plate and nuked them.
He’d have made a few for Lilah, too, except, oh yeah, she’d left.
Christ and she’d been right to do so. One night, that’s all she’d wanted. Hell, one night was all he wanted as well.
So why wasn’t he still grinning like a guy who’d gotten his rocks off three times?
Because he was brooding about her doing to him what he’d done to women his whole life. Which settled it. He really needed to have his head examined. A beautiful, passionate woman had had her merry way with him-and vice versa-and she’d left before dawn rather than face the awkward morning after, and he was bitching about it. “I need mental help.”
“Arf.”
“No comments from the peanut gallery.”
The dog eyed Brady’s plate and licked his chops, making Brady laugh. In the military, there’d been two kinds of people-the quick and the hungry. Brady had been the quick. “No. It’s bad for you.”
Although the thing did appear to have a stomach of iron. Brady ate for a minute while the dog watched him, tail thumping hopefully on the floor every time Brady looked at him. “What is it with all of you here in Sunshine anyway? You’re all eternal optimists.”
Another whine, and with a shake of his head, Brady shared half a Hot Pocket. “Fucking softie,” he muttered to himself. “Let’s go.”
Grabbing his camera and the leash, they walked. The meadow between Belle Haven and Lilah’s place was lined with stands of cedar, tamarack, and fir and had been calling to him for days. The dog darted around the tree trunks, eyes bright, barking happily at absolutely everything as Brady took pictures.
It was one of those glorious mornings that made him grateful to be alive, the sky such a pure blue it almost hurt to look at it, a single cotton puff of a cloud floating lazily by. The night had been chilly, but the sun made its lazy appearance, and steam rose off the rocks and treetops. The bear grass was in bloom, each plant producing a cluster of creamy white tufts atop a stalk. The stalks were as tall as five feet, but even at that impressive height
