Honor Unraveled (28 page)

Kit sucked in a long hiss as he looked her over. She bit her bottom lip, which looked to him like an invitation. He stepped between her legs and wrapped his arms around her. Her body was damp with sweat from all the gear he’d made her wear. As was his. But the breeze was cool on their bare skin.
 

“Christ, you feel good,” he growled as he nuzzled her neck. She was little enough that, to kiss her shoulder, he had to bend way down, curve himself around her. Her hands reached up and held onto his upper back.
 

“Iv?”

“Mm-hmm?”

“Put a rubber on me.” He reached over and ripped open a packet, then handed the rolled condom to her. Her pink lips curled upward in one corner. And then she was on her knees in front of him, pulling his knit waistband down. And, goddamn, if that wasn’t a shock to his balls. Watching her. Feeling her hand on his iron-hard dick. He jerked forward involuntarily as she handled him, pulling him in toward her mouth.
 

He leaned over her and gripped the edge of the Jeep. He couldn’t take much of this. He swore as her mouth slipped down his length. He began to pump inside her. As reason yielded to instinct, she pulled free and unrolled the rubber over him. He groaned, smiling as she came to her feet. She hooked her thumbs in the waist of her panties.

“No. Leave them on.” He lifted her. “Wrap your legs around me. Yeah. Like that.” He lifted the black lace aside and entered her. Her breasts rubbed against his chest as he moved her body up and down on his cock. Her arms tightened around his neck. She gripped the back of his neck, holding him to her for a kiss. Her lips were soft and sweet. He almost came when her tongue slipped into his mouth.

He held her bottom with one hand and let his other hand move between their bodies to find the sensitive flesh that drove her crazy. Pressing and rubbing, he could feel her body tightening around his dick. On the next aggressive thrust of her tongue, he caught it, suckling her. And then her body was arching and bucking against his. Feeling her release, he surrendered to his own, holding her hips tight against his as he pumped into her.

When it was over, they were both breathing heavily. He leaned back to look at her. She kissed his chest. Holy crap, he loved the woman in his arms. He eased himself from her and set her back on her feet. Her skin was rosy. From the exertion or the evening sun, he couldn’t tell. He took her hand and led her around to the back of Jeep. Pushing the satchel to one side, he spread a towel on the other half and lifted her onto it.

He discarded the used rubber, then pulled a fresh one on over his now semi-erect penis. “Get naked. I want to see you.”

Ivy went to her knees, but looked around them at the lengthening shadows. “I can’t believe I didn’t ask this before, but we’re alone here, right? No one’s recording this.”

“We’re alone. The guys know to stay away. You’re safe, Ivy. It’s just us.”

She studied him a minute, then pushed her panties down, revealing lean hips and a small, dark patch of hair. He glanced up her body, stopping at her breasts. “And your bra.”

She slipped her hands behind her, releasing the hooks, then easing the bra from her shoulders. She knelt there, nude, washed in the orange evening light like a wild goddess. He reached out and moved his palm over her tight nipple, feeling it stroke his palm.

And then the reality of what was happening broke through to him. He was here. With his Ivy. In the flesh. She was giving herself to him. He looked up at her eyes, wondering if she was as moved as he was.
 

“There were times, many of them, that I never thought I’d see you again, see you like this. In the beginning, when the days apart became weeks, then became months, then years, I thought our separation was all there would be of my life. Yet here you are.”
 

There were more words his heart demanded he say, but he knew she wasn’t in the same place he was yet. His mind forced them back into the shadows.

Kneeling as she was on the bed of the Jeep, he had to reach up to grip the back of her head and bring her in for a kiss. The soft pillows of her breasts pushed against his chest. He took one in each hand, kneading and massaging, working his way up to her tight nipples. He moved one hand down her waist, over her navel, over the crisp curls guarding her feminine core. He slipped two fingers into the secret folds of her sex, still wet from their first round of lovemaking. He watched her eyes as he moved his fingers in and out of her.

After a minute, he gripped her hips and eased her down to the towel, letting her drape her legs over the edge of the Jeep. He knelt before her, opening her legs, bringing her forward, then he leaned forward and stroked her sensitive skin with his tongue, circling her clit. He slipped an arm under one of her legs, holding her as he pushed a finger into her. He barely got a second finger in her before she cried out, riding the wave of an orgasm.

Keeping his fingers inside of her, he leaned up to kiss her stomach, the space beneath a breast. He cupped a breast, flicking her nipple as his thumb caressed her clitoris. When he mouthed her tightened flesh and sucked, he deepened the pressure on her clit, letting his fingers pump in and out.

She closed her eyes and let her head fall back, and with it, her thick, beautiful dark hair. He felt the tension rip through her, and then she was gripping his hand, holding him against herself as she came.

When the waves began to ebb, he lifted her to her knees. “Turn around. Quick, Ivy,” he ordered. She did as he asked, presenting him with her bottom. He pulled her into a squat and entered her from behind, holding her hips, controlling her movements. She was still in such a heightened level of arousal that his penetration made her peak again. He tried to let her ride him out, but he couldn’t hold back. She was slick and tight, her small muscles gripping his engorged dick.
 

He began pistoning into her, meeting her backward thrusts, pumping hard until at last his balls tightened and his release shot hot semen into the rubber. God, what he would give to be able to come inside her, to feel the heat and wetness of their passion, to feel her sheath him.

Still in her, he leaned over her, bracing his weight on his arms, and kissed her back. Unbelievably, he wanted her again. A hundred more times.
 

He carefully, slowly, withdrew. “Iv, did I hurt you?” He’d been rough this last time, and he knew it.

“No.” She turned over and looked at him as she leaned against the side of the Jeep. “What’s next on the agenda?” she asked, smiling in a replete way, like a woman well served.

He grinned as he looked her over. Oh, yeah. Not a hundred—a hundred thousand more times. Enough for a whole fucking lifetime. “Now, we set up camp.”

“Camp?”

“Yep. This is an overnighter.”

“Out in the open? With bugs?”

He shook his head, then removed the spent rubber. “In the open. No bugs allowed. I promise.” He gave her a hand up so she could get dressed. He did the same, then organized their gear and disposed of their trash in a bag he brought.

He reached into the cooler and retrieved a couple of bottles of water, then handed one to her. “Kathy packed us some skewers we can cook over a camp fire.”
 

Ivy watched Kit get organized. The little Jeep was packed with stuff that filled the back seat. She smiled as she considered the effort he’d put into their time together. She remembered him like this. Kind and thorough. And determined. In school, once he’d decided to graduate, he’d learned everything she’d taught him in their tutoring sessions without complaint—and seemingly without effort. And though he’d successfully sat for his GED with Ty, he’d stayed in school.

For her.

And once again, he’d set his sights on her. She looked over at him as he got into the Jeep. He met her gaze and held it. She turned her attention to the hills around them as they drove out of the ghost town, but the fierceness in his eyes had burned itself into her mind. There was only one outcome to the path they were on. His.

She folded her legs in front of her on the seat and leaned back against the headrest, letting the cool evening air blow over her. The sun was getting low. Big, puffy white clouds drifted across the sky, tinted slightly with soft pastel pink and salmon.

Even the heavens conspired with Kit to provide the perfect evening for them.

He drove back toward Ty’s property, over a few treeless hills. “How’s this spot?” he asked, stopping at a tract of land that was as barren as any of the area they’d crossed.
 

“Looks perfect.”

He parked. “I’ll get dinner cooking, then I’ll set up camp.”

“Want help?”

“No.” He looked at her. “I want to do this for you.” He took two collapsible camp chairs out of the Jeep and set them up a few yards away. “Kathy packed some cucumber water, beer, and iced tea. Got a preference?”

“I’ll take her cucumber water.”

Kit grabbed a bottle of Kathy’s special water and handed it to her. She sat in one of the chairs and watched as he dug out a small pit for the fire, then laid out kindling and firewood, which he’d packed in the Jeep. He set up a nifty rack for grilling, then got the fire burning. The smoke blew away from them, but the fragrance of burning wood was sweet in the night air.
 

Kit took out a couple of rolled pads and laid them out next to each other. He opened a sleeping bag and spread it on top of the pads, then opened the other and spread it out over the first bag.
 

He brought over the skewers of peppers, onions, and chicken that Kathy had sent. She’d also sent a bowl of tabouleh, another of watermelon, and a container of a special yogurt sauce. He handed her a couple of plates and utensils. Soon, the smell of roasting meat and peppers mixed with the wood smoke. Ivy’s stomach growled.
 

He sat next to her, the bowls between them, and sipped his beer. “This is wonderful, Kit. Do you always camp like this?”

He looked at her, giving her a sheepish look. “I haven’t had a lot of time for camping lately. Kathy and Mandy helped me shop for this. I would have roughed it if it was me and the guys. But I didn’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

He leaned forward and turned the skewers. Ivy watched the fire, mesmerized by the crackling sound it made. She let the peace of the night slip into her soul. “You know when I told you I moved back here because I thought it was the one place I’d never see you again?”

Kit looked at her, a stillness overtaking his features as he waited for her to continue.

“Well, I lied. I came back here because it was the one place I felt closest to you.”

He took hold of her hand. “Iv, I’m right here. And I’m not going anywhere. All you have to do is reach out.”

Ivy pulled her hand away and sipped her water to keep herself from answering. She needed more time. Kit was proving to be everything she wanted. Everything she’d dreamed he’d be. It was too hard to react to the future he was offering in an unemotional way. And all of the decisions she’d made based on emotion had turned out really badly.

“Are you going to stay with the team?”

He cocked his head, frowning as he considered her question. “Yes. I make a helluva salary. And the work we do is important. My leaving the team will not make you and Casey any safer. Only the work we do can.”

“How is it that you’re doing so well financially? I didn’t think the Army paid very well.”

“It doesn’t. There were a whole lot of years there where I had nothing to spend my money on. Turns out Blade’s got a knack for choosing some good investments. He’s managing some investments for Rocco and me. And I think he’s helping some of the other guys, too. I haven’t had much in the way of expenses. Lately, just the diner and your house. But the diner’s self-sufficient and you’ve never been late with your rent.”

“You’ve been carrying me and Casey for a while.”

“Supporting you is a privilege, not an obligation. We can send Casey to any college you want. And we’re well positioned to have more kids. In fact, I’d really like more. At least a dozen or so.” He grinned at her. “The sooner you want to start, the better.”

Ivy looked at him, feeling as if he’d sifted through all of her dreams and now offered her everything she yearned for. Everything that had seemed so out of reach for so long.

It scared the hell out of her. It was too easy, so seductively tempting to reach out and take what he offered. She couldn’t, though—she knew better than to depend upon anything which she didn’t control.

* * *

She was still thinking about that hours later, lying between the soft, open sleeping bags with Kit spooned up behind her. She could proceed cautiously, accepting and participating in their shared lives, but prepared in the event it fell apart. Anything that was too good to be true usually was. But Kit’s arms around her felt pretty damned good.
 

They’d been lying together for a while. She threaded her fingers through his. “Kit? You sleeping?”

“No.”

“Thank you for today.”

“Best date ever?”

“Yes.”

“Know what was my favorite part?”

“After the paintball fight?”

“That was pretty great, but no. During the fight. Hearing you giggle every time you shot me. You have no idea how long I had to stay out in the open, waiting for you to take your shot.”