If Tomorrow Never Comes (Harper Falls Book 2) (20 page)

"Sit."

Alex slid into the booth—if he wasn't mistaken just one over from the one he'd shared with Dani. The place was quiet, which was what he'd hoped for. He took a deep breath. This wasn't easy, but he had a good reason for being here. He'd promised himself that once he'd walked away, he would leave it all behind. He didn't want to talk about the crap he'd seen, the things he'd done. But he couldn't keep running, not if he wanted a future with Dani.

"Army?"

"Does it show?"

Tom looked him over, his dark eyes knowing.

"It seeps out of our pores, son. I used to think I'd bleed khaki until a sniper's bullet proved me wrong. Nowadays you can only catch a whiff when I pass by. Trust me, it fades."

"But not entirely."

"Nope," Tom agreed. "And I wouldn't want it to. I'm proud that I served my country, I defy anyone to say different. Some of the things we were asked to do, well, I've learned to live with it."

"How?" Alex hadn't meant the word to sound so desperate, but it was what it was.

Tom looked at him again, this time longer, deeper. Alex didn't know what he saw, but Tom seemed to come to a decision.

"Thursday night, eight o'clock. Once a month I close the place down early for a poker game. You're invited."

"I appreciate being asked, Mr. Unger, but I don't see how—"

"We're all veterans. We play cards, have a few drinks, and if anyone has something on their mind, they're welcome to get it off."

"That simple?" Alex asked, skeptical.

Tom let out a bark of a laugh.

"Some nights, easy peasy. But I've mopped up a ton of tears and a couple gallons of blood over the years. I like to play in the back office, fewer things to break." Tom paused. "Still interested?"

"Who said I ever was?" It didn't sound like Alex's kind of thing. Sort of a cross between Oprah and Jerry Springer without the cameras.

"You're here," Tom pointed out. "First step taken. I won't spew any of that shit about the first being the hardest. I've seen men break down like babies—some never do. But it does help to be around people who know what you're talking about. Everybody has a different story, but it's good not to have to try and explain the subtext."

Alex stayed and talked for another hour. Not about the Army, but about the corn Tom had planted in May and how he and his family had picked the first ears just last night. If asked, Alex would have said he didn't give a damn about freshly grown vegetables, but he listened, enjoying the inane conversation. When he climbed back on his bike, he had a date to play poker and a lighter outlook. It seemed his first step had been a good one.

DANI DROVE THROUGH the gates of H&W Security Services with butterflies doing the Hokey Pokey in her stomach.

She had been at home, still reeling from the picture that Rose had discovered when she had gotten Alex's text.

"
Meet me at H&W at 7. Bring your appetite and a bathing suit. Or not."

So dinner and a pool party. He was leaving it up to her whether it turned out to be
Frankie and Annette
or
From Here To Eternity.
Dani packed her prettiest bikini figuring it was an excellent down the middle compromise, plenty of skin to tantalize, easily removed if that's where the night ended up.

Pulling to a stop in front of the main office, she wished she knew what to expect tonight. Even more she wished she could stop worrying about sex. It wasn't the most important part of a relationship, she knew that. If they got down and dirty but couldn't exchange two meaningful words, what would be the point? The sex would burn itself out and they would move on, nice memory but no future. Unfortunately, she'd experienced both with Alex—it was hard to imagine going on without at least trying to find out if the orgasms were still swoon-worthy.

She grabbed her bag and locked her car. She had come prepared no matter what. Her mother's dessert and plenty of condoms. Probably not in the Girl Scout Handbook, but then, she had never been a Girl Scout.

"You look good enough to eat."

"Mom's famous chocolate cake with caramel frosting." She held up the bag. "You're probably smelling its yummy goodness."

Alex took the bag and ushered her into the building. As she passed him, he whispered in her ear, "I said
eat,
not smell. And I meant you, not cake."

"Now let's get something straight, mister." Dani stopped in the middle of the reception area, hands on hips. "No sexy talk, or flirty glances, and absolutely no
accidentally
touching any part of me unless you mean business. I'm fine with a friendly dinner, but you can't set me up for the big show and then pull a disappearing act at the last moment."

"Fine."

"Really?"

He took her hand and led her down the hall. "My office and the pool are the only places I have clearance to shut off the security cameras."

"Good to know," Dani said, watching as Alex closed his office door and engaged the lock. "Wait, you don't mean
now?
"

Alex slowly approached, unbuttoning his light blue cotton shirt with each step. He pulled it off and tossed it onto the leather couch, reaching for her—pulling her close.

"Appetizer." He breathed the word against the sensitive skin of her neck. "Or maybe you would you rather have stuffed mushrooms?"

He waited just long enough for her to shake her head no, then covered her mouth with a scorching kiss. It lasted long enough to lightly scramble her brains, but not long enough to made her incoherent.

"Why are you wearing so many clothes?" Alex asked, his mouth wandering, quickly turning her body to jelly.

In truth, she had on fewer than usual. A light silky summer dress and panties—or knickers if he preferred. No bra. Her dress slid off with little effort.

"Keep the shoes."

That was fine with her, the four-inch sandals brought them almost eye to eye. She tipped her head slightly, hoping to see what he was feeling—the sight took her breath away. Warm chocolate, his gaze flared with passion, letting her know how her near-naked body was affecting him.

"So pale and soft." Alex used the back of his hand to trace a path from her collar bone down to the rise of one breast. "You've changed, Dani. I don't know how it's possible, but you're even more beautiful. I warn you it's going to take me days, maybe weeks to chart the differences."

She gasped when he finally touched the overly sensitive flesh, his thumb lightly rubbing her hardening nipple.

"With your hands?"

He kissed her again, harder, his tongue rubbing along the inside of her lip before briefly dancing with her own.

"My hands, my mouth," he swooped down to lick the rosy bud his thumb had brought to a peak. "My tongue is especially looking forward to getting reacquainted. I can still taste you, Dani. The flavor has haunted me in my dreams."

"I think I've had the same dreams." Dani sighed. "I wake up wanting you, Alex. Sometimes I actually convince myself that it couldn't have been as good as I remember. I think I must have built it up into an unattainable thing because I've never come close to it with any other man."

"But you've tried." He knew the answer; it was the same for him.

"Yes."

Dani grabbed him, kissed him with five years of pent up frustration.

"It was never fair," she rasped, pulling back. Her eyes had deepened to a green darker than any forest. "I tried not to make comparisons, but how could I not? You set the bar too high."

Alex backed her up until she was flush against the door, the cool wood a welcome but temporary relief to her hot skin. He crowded her, his chest, wonderfully bare, rubbing against hers.

"Turn around."

"I remember this." She sighed with pleasure. "You—going all alpha on me." She licked across his pecks to his nipple, his intake of breath letting her know just how much he liked it. "Last time I called you Master."

"But did you mean it?"

"At the moment, pretty much." She could never bend one hundred percent to any man's will, but for Alex she gave more than she would have thought possible.

"Then turn around, now."

It was the low growl that did it. Something about the rumbling in his voice turned her to liquid. She pivoted, pressing herself against the smooth, solid surface.

"Now reach up and grab the frame."

Alex guided her arms until they were stretched above her head, making sure her fingers were gripping the ridge above the door. He tapped one of her feet, moving it so that her legs were spread, her body forming an X. He stood back, admiring his handy work. It was all he could do not to take her, damn the teasing, the hell with foreplay. Thank the Lord she still had on her knickers. Though he could fix that with one quick pull. For the moment they acted as a barrier, firming up his resolve.

"How are you doing?" he asked, pulling the clip from her hair, watching it tumble to her shoulders in waves of sparkling white-gold. He buried his face and breathed deeply. Lemon and vanilla, his favorite.

Other than every nerve in her body being on high alert, the anticipation overwhelming, and her panties? Really, really wet—other than that, she was great.

"Jordanna, I asked you a question."

"Just savoring the moment…
Sir.
"

Stepping close again, Alex ran a hand over her ass, lightly, before pulling back.

"Don't you dare." No one had ever spanked her—she wasn't making an exception, even for Alex. "If you've developed a yen for hitting women, you're going to have to find your jollies elsewhere."

And yet she didn't move—not an inch. Alex was humbled to know she trusted him enough
not
to spank her, no meant no, and she knew he wouldn't cross that line.

"Not my thing, either, baby." He slipped his hand under the thin layer of scarlet lace. "Just teasing."

And teasing and taunting and teasing some more. Every touch was a prelude, the kisses on her back lingered but didn't satisfy. It was a good thing she had something to hold onto or she would have slid to the floor, her legs giving out, long ago.

"Tell me what you want."

Dani arched towards the door as Alex ran his tongue up her spine, moving to the side of her neck, baring his teeth for a light, erotically charged bite.

"If I ask will you give it to me or draw out the agony."

"Am I hurting you?"

She knew if she said yes, he would have ended the game. But she felt no pain, only an increasing tension that needed an immediate release.

"Kiss my neck."

"Like that?"

He found a spot that made her see stars. Now where had that been all her life?

"Yes," Dani cried out. "Again, please, Alex, do it again."

Alex spent the next few minutes making a meal of the delicate, oh so sensitive, areas between her jaw and shoulder. Her every sigh, the way she gasped his name, shot through him like lightning, hot and energizing. Sex with other women had always been about the end result, orgasms all around. But with Dani,
how
they got there was more important. This couldn't be rushed. Her pleasure magnified his—if she didn't end up shouting her release, he would find no satisfaction.

His hand slipped around to her stomach, playing with the edge of her final scrap of clothing. His fingers delved underneath, lower, Dani's breath suspended in her lungs, then coming out in a slow whoosh when he finally moved between her legs. But just as quickly as she felt the brush of his thumb over her pulsing desire, it was gone.

"No," she wailed.

"Just give me a minute, baby, I have to see."

He swept her into his arms, crossing the few steps to the couch. Sitting carefully on the cushion he knelt between her legs, spreading them to give himself plenty of room. Two rips and the lace was gone, his view unobstructed.

"Oh, baby, you're killing me."

Dani watched, heavy-eyed, as Alex trailed a finger over the small patch of hair, a landing strip, pointing the way to paradise.

"You're just as blond down here," he said almost reverently.

"Maybe it's gray." She still had enough wits about her to tease, just barely. "Maybe I've waited so long for my orgasm that I'm aging before your very eyes."

"It hasn't been that long." Alex smiled, his finger still lightly running over her soft curls.

"Five years."

His hand stilled and he raised eyes to hers.

"And you've missed me, missed this." Holding her gaze, he leaned in for his first taste.

"Yes," Dani gasped.

"And this."

No more teasing, Alex put her legs over his shoulders and drank his fill. His tongue traced every fold, worshiped every inch of the sensitive area. She was flushed a deep pink, wet and open to his every touch. His fingers entered her, one, two—stretching, preparing. Her hips matched his rhythm, and he could feel her muscles clench, trying to hold him, stop him from pulling away. But he wasn't going anywhere, not until she shattered around his hand, on his tongue.

The instant the thought zipped through his brain, Dani's moans became deeper, her chest rising and falling with shuddering breaths. Alex moved faster, his mouth, his fingers, drawing her higher, exalting when she crashed over, his name on her lips.

Dani was floating, and yet she remained totally grounded. She wanted to stay right where she was—feel everything. And those feelings were heavy limbs but a lightness of spirit, like a gust of wind could blow her away.

She closed her eyes, using the backs of her lids like a movie screen to replay the most erotic movie in history. And, good Lord, it was almost enough to make her come all over again.

He didn't want to move. His head resting just above her open thighs, Dani's fingers running slowly through his hair, giving a gentle massage. And the soft sounds she was making, happy little hums of contentment. He could have stayed there forever and might have if he hadn't felt the slight shiver course through her body.

"No," she protested when he shifted away. "Stay."

Kissing the inside of her thigh, he whispered, "I'll be right back."

Alex pulled two thick blankets from the closet near the door, taking them back to the wonderfully relaxed woman on his couch. Lifting her limp body, chuckling to himself when she gave him no help, and wrapped her in one before using the other as a slip cover. He then took her in his arms and settled down for a cuddle.