For the Love of a Soldier (40 page)

His eyes watched her as his fingers teased and tormented, cupping a full breast. “And when you are a whimpering, desperate pool of need, begging me to make you mine, I promise to thoroughly, expertly ravish you!” His hand slid lower, a smile curving his lips as he molded the thin linen of her chemise to the wet juncture between her thighs. When she gasped, he laughed and stepped away.

“Does that meet with your approval?”

She stumbled back, blinking up at him. When her dazed delirium cleared, and she saw his amused expression, her eyes narrowed. He was teasing her, playing her like some marionette doll, pulling the strings of her desire. Well, she was no longer the innocent. He had turned her into a wanton hussy, and she reveled in it.

She tipped her head, lowered her lashes, and gave him a scorching perusal that dropped to his full, sensual lips quirked in amusement, down over his shoulders, his taut stomach, and settled on the growing bulge in his trousers. “Mmh, this ravishing? Will it be done slowly as well?”

“Ah…” Garrett’s voice was hoarse, and he had to clear his throat before he could respond. “I might be able to manage that.”

“See that you do.” Emboldened, she slipped her chemise over her head and tossed the undergarment onto the couch. Naked from the waist up, she shook her hair back as she slid off her petticoats and brushed them aside. Wearing only the pink flush that suffused her body, she brazenly lifted her chin.

“Oh, dear Lord,” he breathed, his gaze like a sensual caress over her naked body, roaming over every inch of her. When his eyes lifted to hers, all humor was gone. “I want you. I need you. I love you.”

She thought she was strong, but his words had reduced her legs to jelly and her body to one quivering mass of desire. “I think…”

“Shh.” He pressed his fingers to her lips. “No thinking, only feeling.”

She shifted his hand to her cheek and amended her words. “I
feel
that I’m at a disadvantage. You have too many clothes on while I have none.” She fingered the lapel of his jacket. “Maybe I should assist you with that?”

His smile flashed, and the heavy-lidded look he gave her sent shivers down her spine. “Maybe you should.”

Returning his smile, she unbuttoned his jacket. She moistened her lips as she slid her hands inside, gliding them slowly up over his strong chest, around his broad shoulders, and finally slipping the jacket down his arms, feeling the heat of his body through his linen shirt. When it landed on the ground, she brushed it aside with her foot. She started to work on the buttons of his shirt, but his hands were there.

He stripped it from his trousers, whipped it over his head, and flung it to the floor. Patience was not one of Garrett’s virtues—thank God. She reveled in the sight of his muscle-toned body half clothed before her, tall, lean, and strong. Her beautiful soldier.

Her love
.

She closed the distance between them, standing on tiptoes to spread a trail of kisses over his shoulders. Planting her hands on his chest, she lowered them to splay over his taut abdomen and curl her fingers around his lean hips, pulling him to her. He felt so good, all satiny smooth muscle and hard planes.

Her touch again encountered the puckered scar curving over his hip. She flattened her palm over the healed skin and
lifted her eyes to his. Her heart fluttered as she cupped his smooth, shaved cheeks. “I need you. I want you. Be mine.” She knew poetry, too. He was teaching it to her. “I love you, Garrett.”

She leaned into him, crushing her breasts against his chest and pulling him down for another kiss. Her hands curled over his shoulders, her fingers digging into them as she sought to merge her body with his. To hold him to her.

Safe. Alive
.
Hers.

She closed her eyes against the words and tightened her grip.

A guttural groan tore from him, and his hands cupped her buttocks, urging her closer, his erection pressing against her, firm, hard, and fully aroused. His lips were no longer gentle but persistent, drinking her in, his passion matching hers as their tongues and bodies tangled. He tugged her down to the blankets, laying her on her back. He knelt poised over her, his hands braced on either side of her, his hair in disarray.

Her beautiful, battered, but unbroken soldier.

She would not lose him. Would not let him go.

Whatever it takes.

Closing her eyes, her heart thundered as a mixture of desperation and desire coursed through her in a crushing wave. Riding it, she opened her eyes and pulled Garrett to her, gasping when he twisted so that she lay sprawled on top of him. He grinned at her surprise.

“Finally, I have you right where I want you,” he murmured.

She settled herself more comfortably on top of him, reveling in the feel of his heart pounding against her, his hot skin, satiny smooth beneath her. The light covering of chest hair tickling her breasts. “Maybe I have you where I want you.” She leaned over and nipped his ear, drawing a grunt from him. Laughing, she tickled the curve of his ear with her tongue, feeling him jerk beneath her.

He pushed her back and lifted his head to let his tongue stroke along her lips, his breath warm against her mouth. “Isn’t it nice to know that for once our wants finally coincide,” he teased, dropping his head back to the pillows and brushing her hair from her forehead. Grabbing a large strand, he pulled her
head back. “What else do you want?” His voice was low and husky, his eyes locked on hers.

“For you to be mine, for you to love me forevermore,” she responded, leaning down to press her lips to his heart and hide the sheen of tears that pooled in her eyes.

Don’t leave me.

“Done,” he growled. With one quick motion, he rolled over so she was beneath him. She sighed at the delicious weight of his body, crushing into hers, his arousal hard and firm against her thigh. She lifted a knee, settling him more comfortably between her legs, feeling wet and more than ready for him. His hands, rough and calloused, stroked the soft skin of her inner thighs, and her breathing turned to fast and shallow gulps. “Garrett,” she breathed his name.

His lips sank into the curve of her neck, kissing the sensitive skin. He weaved a path of kisses along the hollow dip of her collarbone. His hands cupped and molded her breasts, tormenting the pliant peaks until she writhed and moaned in delicious agony. His mouth was hot and wet as he teased one breast, suckled her thoroughly before moving over to lavish the other with his attention. She arched, small moans escaping her as her hands clutched his head to her.

She caressed the curve of his back, sweat slicked and smooth beneath her palms and…a frown creased her brow. His trousers barred further exploration of his glorious skin. This would not do. The trousers had to go. She tugged on a strand of his hair, pulling his head back until he looked at her with passion-glazed eyes.

“What? What is it?” He struggled to focus, his breathing rapid, his voice hoarse.

“I think…I
feel,
” she hastened to clarify, “too many clothes. I
feel
”—she shifted her hips suggestively against his hard erection and lifted her leg to run her foot down his trousers leg—“that is a problem. And I
want
,” she emphasized, “them off. Now.” She slid her hand beneath his trousers, sliding it over his buttock and pinching him.

He jerked, then flashed her a wicked grin. When she removed her hand, he caught it and pressed a quick kiss to her palm. “Done.” He rolled to the side and shed his trousers so
quickly she barely had time to draw breath before he yanked her back to him. The feel of his hot erection, hard and pulsing against her thigh, had her pulse racing.

He slid his hand over the curve of her hip, her belly, and then lower, slipping between her legs and drawing a gasp from her as his fingers stroked the moist folds between her legs. “Garrett.” She sighed again, her cheeks burning.

“Is this what you want?” His fingers moved with more deliberation, and she groaned, digging her nails into his arms.

“Yes, oh, God, yes.”

Just when she thought she would tumble over the precipice and fall, he removed his hand. She cried out in protest. When his guttural laugh answered her, she opened her eyes, frowning as he lowered his head and rained a trail of wet kisses over her belly, moving lower and lower.

She gasped and grabbed his hair, tugging him up as she squirmed to close her legs. No, he couldn’t, he wouldn’t. It was indecent. A hot, mortified flush suffused her body. “No! I can’t!”

Garrett lifted his head and braced himself on his arms. His gaze met hers and he lifted his finger to press it against her lips, silencing her denial. “Shh. It’s all right. Trust me. You said you did.” He lowered his mouth to hers and his kiss was soft and gentle. “You’re safe with me. You’ll always be safe with me. I love you, Alex.”

She looked into his eyes and felt herself surrendering to him—again. “I do. I do trust you. Only you.”

He smiled and his head dipped. She gasped when his mouth closed over her moist center, her most private part, nearly bringing her bucking off the bed. Her hands fell limply to her sides, her fingers twisting into the bed linens. An intoxicating heat flooded her as he worked his magic on her, his tongue tasting, coaxing, and torturing her, his strong hands parting her thighs. Good Lord, it still couldn’t be decent…It wasn’t…Well, she didn’t know what it was. Could no longer think. Could only feel and trust in Garrett to catch her when she collapsed.

And wasn’t that the point?

She tossed her head back and forth, biting her lips as a molten heat climbed within her.

“Let go, Alex. Trust me.” Garrett’s breath was warm and teasing against her thigh. Suddenly he moved his hand and his fingers found the most sensitive tip of her feminine folds and he worked more magic, sending ripples of pleasure exploding throughout her body. “Oh, dear Lord.” She gasped.

The combined assault of his mouth and his fingers pushed her to the brink. She could only do as he requested and trust in him to catch her when she let go. Her breathing quickened and a while later, she cried out as her body jerked, and she tumbled off that precipice. Garrett lifted his head and moved up to snake his arms around her, holding tight to her limp, pliant body as she tumbled. The welcome weight of his body against hers, his smooth skin scalding hot, added to her pleasure, and her smile was drowsy.

“So much for slowly,” Garrett’s voice was a hoarse croak. “I can’t…I can’t wait.”

When she opened her eyes and collected her scattered thoughts, she noted the intensity of his expression, the sweat beading his temple. It took all her strength to lift her hand and cup his cheek. “Then don’t,” she whispered and ran her thumb over his full bottom lip.

His eyes flashed, and he caught her hand, linked their fingers together, and stretched her arms high above her head, causing her to arch into him. His eyes locked with hers, and she felt the warmth of his pulsing shaft, hard and powerful, probing against her slick, wet folds. Moistening her lips, she lifted her hips in invitation. With one smooth thrust, he slid home, embedding himself deeply within her body. His hands squeezed hers, and her heart thundered.

“Oh, God, you feel so good. Better than good.” He gasped, moving his hips slowly, his gray eyes almost black. “I love you, Alex.”

“I love you, too.” She gasped.

He kissed her, and she tasted herself as his tongue parried with hers. His hips lifted and sank as he thrust into her, deep and hard. She found herself straining upward, reaching again for the climax of moments before. He lifted his head, and the bright, feral look in his eyes as he watched her writhe against him was as erotic as his movements.

A guttural groan emerged from deep within him when she
wrapped her legs around his hips, his fingers squeezing her hands tighter as she arched against him, meeting his deep, powerful thrust. He fully withdrew from her and then slid deep, repeating the movements again and again in a slow, delicious rhythm. She was not surprised when the first whimper escaped her, for he had said he would turn her into a whimpering pool of need. “Please.” He had reduced her to begging.

He released her hands and slid them beneath her to cup her buttocks, burying himself deeper within her as the heat climbed between them. His movements and thrusts became deeper, swifter, and more savage. His breathing quickened and his back arched. “Garrett!” His name ripped from her and she tightened her muscles to hold him inside as her climax exploded from her.

“Oh, God, I can’t…I…” He gasped. He closed his eyes as his body shuddered again and again with the force of his release, triggering another response from her. She felt the warm liquid of his climax explode through her, his hips pressed to hers as his body sagged, small spasms still shaking him.

A while later, he drew an unsteady breath. Folding her body into his, he gathered her close and collapsed beside her.

She curled her fingers into his damp hair, his head cradled against her breast, his mouth pressed to her pounding heart. “Actually, I think you can,” she whispered, once she recovered her voice. “And very well indeed.”

He emitted a sound that was more grunt than laugh. “Always thinking.”

“Not always.” She smiled. “I’ve learned the pleasures of just feeling.” His lips curved against her breast as a companionable silence settled between them. She played with his hair, lifting a black, silken strand and sliding it around her fingers.

She stretched beneath him, utterly content with her abduction, her seduction, and her captor. “I’m sorry your plans were slowed down, but catching up does have its merits.”

“So does ravishment.” He lifted his head and leered at her.

She laughed. “So it does. Another lesson learned. Pity it took us so long.”

“Actually, the timing worked beautifully because you had me puzzled, and I’ve never been good at puzzles.” Garrett
shifted onto his side next to her, propping his head on his elbow, a teasing glint in his eyes.

“I was a puzzle?” She frowned. “How so?”

“You had rejected my offer of a horse and made it clear you would not accept any gifts from me. Then you kept reminding me of our blasted business arrangement. I feared you didn’t want anything from me, while I had decided I craved everything from you.” His voice lowered and he ran his finger down her cheek and over her now-tender lips.