Into the Crossfire (30 page)

Nicole reached out her hand and curved it over his penis and squeezed.

"Not that tough, big boy."

Sam's big body froze, breath hissing in as if she'd done something painful to

him. The big column of male flesh she could feel beneath her hand was moving,

becoming even longer, thicker. A little moan escaped his lips and his penis leaped

once again under her hand.

He looked like he was one second from coming. Nicole nearly laughed out

loud.

This was so delicious.

Everything in her life was so...wrong. Her father was gravely ill, dying a

painful death. Her company was trying to take off, but kept sputtering when she

had to take attention away from it for her father. Some unknown assailant had

trashed her office, searching for God knew what and would presumably keep

searching until he found it or she was hurt, whichever came first.

It didn't get worse than that.

And yet right now, all those terrible problems were like flies buzzing in the

distance. Her battered mind and body just gave up on all her anxieties and worries

and urged her to live this moment. This magical moment out of time when a big,

tough warrior was handing over his body to her for her own use. Giving himself

over to her.

Sam kneeled again to dry the rest of her off and she rested her hand on his

shoulder for balance. Oh God, the feel of him was so wonderful. She knew from

experience that there was no give in him at all, anywhere. She curled her fingers

into the bare skin of his shoulder and it was like trying to make an impression on a

piece of warm steel machinery. The heat coming off that big body was amazing. It

chased out any residual chill of the attack in her office.

She watched as Sam slowly stood, one big hand drifting up over her body

as he did so. He was masculinity personified, and yet his movements were also so

graceful. He rose with the grace of a world-class athlete, a man whose body would

never let him down.

He looked her up and down, hot eyes moving over her slowly, the gaze so

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intense, it felt like hands caressing her body. Every cell in her body felt full,

replete, warm, the aches and pains completely forgotten. Amazing. Sexual desire

for this man was better than a day at the spa.

Nicole stretched up to put her arms around Sam's neck in hopes of getting

one of those amazing kisses of his, the one that was way sexier than even

intercourse with other men, but then gave a little yelp as he picked her up.

"What are you--" she began, then stopped. It was clear what he was doing.

He was carrying her to bed. Fine. Perfect. In bed with Sam was exactly where she

wanted to be.

Nicole could almost feel what was coming next. Sam laying her down, then

coming down on top of her, his heavy weight grounding her, his legs opening hers.

She frowned. Those wet jeans would have to go, though. Wet denim, in

bed. Gah.

He lay her gently on the bed and stood for a moment, looking down at her.

She smiled and held up her arms, expecting to feel him settling on her, fitting

himself to her. Her skin tingled in anticipation.

And yet he was simply standing there looking at her, the dummy. What was

he waiting for?

He walked to the end of the bed, tugged her legs until they were almost off

the edge and kneeled.

He wanted foreplay? Nicole had never been so aroused in her life. Well,

except for last night. She didn't need foreplay right now. As a matter of fact, she

probably wouldn't need it ever again. Sam's very presence was potent foreplay,

calculated to drive any red-blooded woman's hormones to fever pitch.

Nicole started to tell him that when she felt his mouth on her, right on her

most sensitive tissues and the only thing that could possibly come out of her

mouth was a sigh.

He was kissing her there, exactly as he kissed her mouth. As if he would die

if he didn't get more of her, right now. She was so incredibly sensitive, she could

feel his mouth and tongue all through her body. He nipped her very lightly with

his teeth and she jumped at a pleasure so intense it bordered on pain.

Her arms were up around her head, back arched with delight, her entire

being concentrated on the wet aroused tissues between her thighs. He was Frenchkissing her, thumbs holding her open for his mouth. The sight of his dark head

between her pale thighs was intensely erotic.

He gently bent her left thigh with his hand to give him better access and

when he gave another long, languid swipe with his tongue, her thigh started

trembling.

She looked down at herself, at the heavy heartbeat she could see in her left

breast. She was already close to orgasm after only a few minutes. The big room

was utterly silent except for the delicious sounds his mouth was making against

her. Even the sea had stilled. She couldn't hear the waves--or maybe her heartbeat

was drowning the sound of the ocean out.

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He stopped just as a long tremble ran through her, the beginning of that

luscious free fall into blinding pleasure. Sam lifted his mouth from her, though his

eyes remained fixed on her sex. His dark skin was flushed, mouth wet from her

body, face tight with arousal.

"You're so beautiful," he said hoarsely, his finger tracing the lips of her sex.

The callused skin of his finger was intensely exciting. "Here, too. All pink and

puffy, and here--" He ruffled through the hair of her pubis and laid his hand on her

lower belly. "Here you've got this Snow White thing going. Ivory and ebony.

Amazing." He lifted her leg higher and took her foot in his big hand. "Even your

goddamned feet are gorgeous." He brought her foot to his mouth and nibbled on

the instep, sharp little bites that raised goose pimples all over her body.

Oh heavens, they were right! Feet were erogenous zones!

She'd never believed it up until now, until Sam Reston nibbled and bit his

way over her foot and toes. She'd have thought his mouth would have tickled, but

it wasn't ticklishness she felt, it was pure sex and it shot straight to her groin.

One particularly sharp nip and her vagina clenched, along with her stomach

muscles.

He saw it. Of course he did, he was incredibly observant. His eyes shot to

hers then right back to her groin.

Sam didn't grin with triumph at arousing her so intensely that she shook, as

any other man would have done. Instead, his mouth tightened and his eyes

narrowed and fixed on where he was touching her. Gently, oh-so gently, the tip of

his finger sliding around and around her opening, so that she started squirming.

Needing his touch to be stronger, to be there--An electric current ran down her spine when he inserted a big finger inside

her and her vagina erupted in convulsions so strong it was as if her entire body

were having an orgasm. Her open thighs trembled and her whole body shook,

clenching tightly against his finger.

Nicole's eyes had closed but she saw lights against the lids. Short, sharp

pants that were almost moans came out of her throat, the contractions going on

and on as he kept his finger inside her, thumb slowly circling her clitoris that had

become so sensitive it was almost--but not quite--painful.

He kept her going for what seemed like forever and when the contractions

started dying down, he bent and put his mouth to her again, lips and tongue tasting

and feeling her climax.

It was so intense she struggled against it, but his big hands pressed on her

hips, just over the hip bone, holding her down, his hold gentle but implacable.

She couldn't move, she couldn't pull away, she could only feel the keen

edge of pleasure lancing through her like shards of steel, held hostage in a place

out of time, her body not her own as it convulsed, again and again.

Finally, her body subsided. Sam pulled away and looked at her gravely.

Every inch of her skin was covered in sweat, so sensitive she could feel the weight

of the air. She was panting, throat dry from pulling in air that never seemed to be

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enough.

Oh God, it had been way too much, way too intense. He laid his hand on

her belly again, big hand covering her almost from hipbone to hipbone, the weight

and warmth grounding her after that incredible experience.

She was wiped out--utterly exhausted, incapable of movement or thought.

She held his gaze as she blinked once, twice, then couldn't lift her lids again.

She turned her head and went out like a light.

Well, so much for relaxing her, Sam thought wryly. He'd relaxed her so

much she'd gone straight to sleep. Now what the hell was he supposed to do with

his boner?

He winced as he stood up. His cock was stiff, his muscles were stiff, he

could hardly breathe from tension. He walked around to the side of the bed and

just looked at her, the delicate lines of her, like a dream of a woman instead of a

real woman.

She'd fallen asleep with her legs open and he could see deep pink flesh

peeking out from the dark cloud of soft hair between her thighs. She was soft and

wet, he knew that because he'd felt it, with his tongue and his hand. She was ready

for him and Christ, he was ready for her. He could feel his cock weeping beneath

the denim, aching for him to stretch out on top of her and slide right in. Exactly as

she was, long delicate arms arched over her head in a pose of sensual abandon that

would rouse a man from the dead.

And he was far from dead. He felt alive in every cell of his body, and every

cell wanted her, right now.

She'd welcome him. He knew that the way he knew the sun would rise in

the east tomorrow morning. When he mounted her, she'd smile, eyes closed, and

her entire body would welcome him. Long legs twined around his, arms crossed

over his back, mouth open to him.

He shook with desire. His entire body felt parched and cold, deprived of

something only she could give him. He'd just wanted to relax Nicole a little, give

her a little pleasure, reassure her that he could control himself.

Before he jumped her bones.

He'd obviously been way too good at his job. She was completely out, not

even a flicker of her eyes under her eyelids.

For a second, he was tempted to shuck his jeans, stretch out on the bed, roll

her a little toward him, lift her leg over his hip and slip right into her. Ah, yes. She

was wet enough, from his mouth and from coming. It would work. She'd wake up

with his cock in her, moving nice and slow and easy, no better way to wake up.

He put his hands to the brass button of his jeans, then stopped.

She'd fallen into a very deep sleep, the sleep of the exhausted. There were

faint purple stains under her eyes. Her cheekbones were sharper than usual and it

seemed to him that her slender torso had become even more slender. Could she

have lost weight in twenty-four hours?

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And then another thought occurred to him, like a sledgehammer upside the

head. If he could have kicked himself in the ass, he would have.

She'd been hungry. She'd asked for food and a shower. It was altogether

possible she hadn't eaten today. She'd told him how rattled she'd been last night.

Some women stopped eating when they were rattled.

Not soldiers. Soldiers never lost their appetite, because who knew where

the next meal was coming from? And who knew whether this meal might be the

one to keep you alive in the field those extra hours waiting for help to come?

Nicole had been hungry.

Sam felt a chill rush over his skin at the thought of Nicole going hungry. In

his home. It made him sick with shame. No one knew better than him what it was

like to go hungry. He'd spent half his childhood scrounging for enough food to

keep up with his growth spurts. Keeping Nicole hungry, just because he wanted to

fuck her, was shocking to him.

He'd fallen for her from the first moment he'd set eyes on her, blown away

by her beauty. Well, that had been lust. But now that he knew her, had seen

firsthand what a fine woman she was, had felt her warmth, it seemed impossible to

him that he could ever desire another woman.

This was it. Nicole was it.

And how did he treat her? Well, last night he'd nearly fucked her to death

and tonight he ignored the fact that she was hungry.

He was going to get one shot at this, so he'd better start shaping up. No

more jumping her like a rabid wolverine. Or at least not until all her other needs

were taken care of.

He'd have to keep his lust in check. Some. When necessary. When he

could.

Sam had never had a woman of his own. He'd fucked a lot, but even when

they lasted weeks, they'd been essentially one-night stands for several nights. He'd

grown up around hugely dysfunctional people and he'd seen couples nearly kill

each other with rage. What could he know about being part of a couple?

But he'd lifted himself out of all that, made himself into a fine soldier and

now a good businessman. He'd taught himself how to do that and he could teach

himself how to be the partner of a woman like Nicole. He could do it. He could

learn.

And step number one was to take care of her needs. She was tired, so he