Montana D-Force (Brotherhood Protectors Book 3) (8 page)

Before he could straighten, she touched his arm. “Bear?”

“Yes?”

“I hate to impose, but could you stay for a little longer?”

He froze in position, his body still bent over hers. “Why?”

She stared at her hand on his arm and realized how needy she sounded. Drawing in a deep breath, she shook her head. “Never mind.”

“I don’t mind staying. I just need to know what expectations you have.”

“I don’t have any,” she said too quickly. “I’m just feeling a little unsettled with the phone call and intruders in the attic. What if the mama comes back to find the attic shut? Could she get in through another way?”

“I didn’t see any other holes in the siding. You should be all right. And if the phone rings, let me answer.”

“How? You’d be in your room. If I’m not mistaken, there isn’t a landline in there.”

“I could sleep downstairs in the living room,” Bear suggested.

“No.” Mia bit her bottom lip. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be okay.”

He nodded. “Okay.” Bear turned and walked to the door.

With every step that carried him across the floor, she fought to keep from calling out for him to stay. When he reached the door, he looked back once and then disappeared.

Mia pulled the sheet over her bare legs and lay staring at the door, wishing she’d had the courage to tell him to stay.

Forcing her eyes closed, she lay still, trying to focus on those dratted sheep she was supposed to count. No number of sheep made her any sleepier. When she thought she might never go to sleep, the bed beside her dipped.

Mia’s eyes popped open.

On the bed beside her lay Bear, propped against the headboard with a pillow he’d brought from his own room. “Hey,” he said softly. “I’ll stay until you go to sleep.”

She nodded and closed her eyes.

If she’d thought sleep was elusive without Bear in the bed, it was doubly so with Bear beside her. It was all she could do to resist reaching out to touch him. Sweet heaven. She wished he would initiate a hug…a kiss…a touch…

Mia snorted softly. With her record of stiffening at the last minute, what could possibly go wrong with that scenario?

B
ear lay
beside Mia afraid to move lest he reach out and pull her into his arms. She’d asked him to stay, not to make love to her. For the love of God, the woman was his client not his lover!

Then why the hell was he even having thoughts of holding her? He should have told her flat out he wasn’t interested in staying in her room for any amount of time. Being this close to Mia only made him want to drag her up against his body and bury himself deep inside her.

If he wasn’t mistaken, the look in her eyes when he’d walked away had been anything but telling him to get lost. She’d appeared vulnerable and maybe a little afraid of sleeping in the house by herself.

A proper bodyguard would sit in a chair outside her door, or inside the room, but far enough away the client wouldn’t have to worry that she would be accosted by the very man sworn to protect her.

And with Mia’s background of having been raped as a teen, she was bound to have residual trauma involved when a man touched her.

Holy hell
. He’d set himself up for a long night of frustration.

“Would you rather I sat in a chair outside your door?” he asked, his whisper sounding like a shout in the silent room.

She touched his arm, her fingers digging into his skin. “No. Please stay.” Mia rolled onto her side, facing him. “I’ll try not to snore.”

Bear chuckled and turned to face her. “It wouldn’t bother me if you did. Several of my Delta Force brothers snored like freight trains.” He smiled. “I kind of miss it.”

She stared at him for a while. “You were close to your teammates?”

“Very.” His smile faded. Many of them were dead. Some were still at Bethesda recovering from wounds that had ended their careers.

“What about your family?”

“My mother died a couple years ago. I never knew my father.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. My mother did the best she could. I think I turned out okay.”

“I think you did, too.” Her lips curled softly.

Bear fought the urge to bend closer and taste them.

“It’s hard coming home to an empty house,” she whispered.

“Tell me about it.” He brushed a strand of her hair back behind her ear. “In my case, it was coming home to an empty apartment.”

Mia cupped his face, her eyes darkening in the pale light from the nightstand. “It doesn’t have to be that way.”

“In my line of work, it was easier than dragging someone else through the many deployments, not knowing if I would return in a body bag.”

Mia shivered. “I’m glad you didn’t.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore. The Army won’t have me back. I’ve been medically discharged.”

“I’m sorry.” She brushed her thumb across his cheek. “And yet, I’m not sorry. Their loss is my gain.” She leaned forward and touched her lips to his. “I’m glad you’re here.”

Electricity shot through him, sizzling a path through his veins then dropping south to his groin. His cock stiffened, swelling at the feather-soft touch of her lips against his.

He started to reach for her, but caught himself before he did. Though her kiss had sparked an inferno inside him, to her it could have meant nothing more than an empathetic display of sorrow for all he’d lost.

Bear had no right to touch her.

Think with your head, not your dick
, he told himself.

Hell, but it was hard. And getting harder.

Mia scooted closer and kissed him again.

A groan rose up Bear’s throat and nearly escaped before he swallowed it back. “Mia.”

“Mmm.” She rested a hand against his chest. Her mouth hovered close to his, her eyelids resting at half-mast.

“Do you know what you’re doing to me?” His hands curled into fists to keep him from reaching out.

Her eyes widened. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I’m taking advantage of you.”

“Believe me, I don’t mind. But if you continue to do what you’re doing, I don’t know how long I can hold back.”

“Really?” Her fingernails scraped across his chest. “I’m afraid I don’t have a lot of experience with men.”

“And I don’t want to damage our business relationship.”

She inched away from him. “You’re right. Please, accept my apologies. I shouldn’t have kissed you.”

“It’s okay. I liked it.”

“You did?” She chewed on her lip. “You’re not just saying that because I’m your boss?”

“Oh, hell no.” He lifted his fist. “If we were in any other situation, I’d be all over you.”

“In what way?” she asked, her voice catching, her breathing becoming more ragged.

He couldn’t believe he was lying next to a beautiful woman without touching her, about to describe how he would. “I’d start by sweeping my hand along the side of your face.”

Mia closed her eyes, a smile tilting her lips. “And then?”

“I’d trail my finger down the long column of your neck to your shoulder and brush across your collarbone.”

She lifted her hand to her cheek and traced the path his words described, pausing at her collarbone. “And now?”

He drew in a shaky breath and let it out slowly, willing his pulse to calm. “You really want me to go on?”

She opened her eyes. “Please.”

Holy hell.
Mia was so damned sexy in her T-shirt. And he’d caught a glimpse of the thong string between her butt cheeks. God, he wanted to trace that line with his tongue, to run his hands over the smooth mounds of her ass.

Instead, he took it slower, talking his way across her body, one excruciating inch at a time. “I’d cup one of your breasts in the palm of my hand.” His skin burned with the need to touch her. “With the tips of my fingers, I’d roll the nipple until it tightened into a hard little bead. Then I’d lift your shirt and suck that breast into my mouth, pulling gently, tonguing you until you cried out, begging me to suck the other.”

Mia swept her hand down to her breast and pinched the nipple between her fingers through the fabric. Then she slipped her hand down to the hem of the T-shirt and dragged it up her torso, exposing the nipple.

Bear couldn’t stop the moan. Her rosy nipple had tightened into a smooth, round button.

He drew in a ragged breath, swept his tongue across his dry lips and forced his glance upward to connect with her gaze. “I can’t do this. If I continue, I’ll want to do all the things I’m describing.”

She stared into his eyes, her forehead wrinkling. “I don’t want you to stop. But you should know that I’ve never been good at this. I don’t want to disappoint you.”

“Oh, sweetheart, how could you disappoint me?”

Her lips twisted. “Trust me. I’ve disappointed a number of men when they tried to make love to me.”

Bear wanted to smooth away the worry wrinkle on her forehead. What man could this woman disappoint? “Did you take the lead in any of those situations?”

She shook her head.

“Then here’s your chance.” He held up his hands. “I won’t touch you unless you tell me when and where.”

Mia clasped his hand and guided it to her breast. “Now. Here.” She pressed his hand to her.

“Say the word, and I’ll stop.” He closed his eyes, the warmth of her breast against his palm wreaking havoc inside him. Bear opened his eyes and stared into hers. “It won’t be easy, but I will.”

“Thank you.” Her eyelids lowered, and she rested her hand against his chest, her fingers finding and tweaking his little brown nipples. “Tell me what you would do next.”

His body tense, his fingers curling around her nipple, he spoke, talking her through what he wanted to do to her body. “I’d roll you onto your back and move to the other breast.”

Mia rolled to her back, grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it up over her head. A shiver rippled across her body, raising gooseflesh on her skin.

She captured his head between her hands and guided him to her breast

Careful not to alarm her, he flicked the tip of her nipple with his tongue.

She arched off the bed, a soft moan escaping through her parted lips. Mia threaded her fingers through his hair and pulled him closer.

Bear sucked the nipple and half the breast into his mouth and pulled gently.

“Oh, yes.” Mia squirmed beneath him, her legs thrashing, her fingers digging into his scalp.

When he pulled away, she captured his head and guided him to the other breast, where he teased and rolled the nipple with his tongue.

“Now, what would you do?” she asked, her voice wispy, as though she couldn’t get enough air to her lungs.

“I’d brand you with kisses down the length of your torso, passing your bellybutton and going lower still.”

“Show me,” she whispered, her stomach taut, her fingers digging into the bedding on either side of her hips.

Bear dragged his lips down her ribs, counting them one at a time, moving so slowly he thought he might explode before he reached heaven.

One…two…three… He skipped past the rest, dove his tongue into her bellybutton and swirled.

Mia bucked, her back rising off the bed. Her eyes were shut tight, her fingers gripping the blanket. “Lower. Please, go lower.”

“Open your eyes,” he insisted. If he was going there, he wanted her to see and know he wasn’t there to hurt her.

Her eyelids lifted.

Hooking his thumb into the elastic of her panties, he dragged them down to her ankles and dropped them to the floor.

“Now, spread your legs,” he urged, lightly sweeping a finger down the inside of her thigh and back up to the juncture of her legs.

She hesitated on briefly. Then she drew her knees up and let them fall to the sides. Her eyes widened as he slipped between her legs, still wearing his jeans that had become uncomfortably tight.

“What next?” she whimpered, her muscles tense, her bottom lip caught between her teeth.

“I’d touch you here.” He pressed his finger to the mound of curls over her sex.

“Oh, sweet Jesus,” she moaned. “Do it.”

Bear chuckled softly and carefully parted her folds with his thumbs, exposing the strip of flesh between. He blew a warm stream of air over her heated flesh.

“Is that it?” she cried. “Surely not.”

“Sweetheart, this is only the beginning.”

“Tell me,” she pleaded.

“I’d tap you with my tongue. Like this.” He flicked her clit.

Once.

And he lifted his head.

Mia dug her heels into the mattress and raised her hips, bringing her sex closer to his lips. “Do it again.”

He complied, this time sweeping the length of the little nubbin in a warm, wet laving motion.

Mia gasped, and her head fell back. “I never knew…”

“Never knew what?” he asked. Then he tapped her lightly with the tip of his tongue…once…twice…swirl.

“That it could feel this amazing.”

He frowned. “You’ve never had an orgasm?”

She shook her head, her cheeks turning pink. “Is this what it’s like? My vibrator never brought me this far.”

“Baby, you’re not there yet.”

“There’s more?” She let out her breath. “I don’t know if I can take it. I feel like I’m coming apart.”

He grinned. “Then I must be doing it right. Do you want me to continue talking, or would you rather that I show you?”

“Show me. I don’t think I can last much longer.”

Bear hooked his arms around the underside of her thighs, parted her folds again and bent to the task of giving his client her first ever orgasm. He’d never been one to judge his own prowess in bed, but he had to make sure whatever technique he used, he didn’t scare Mia.

She’d never had an orgasm. Nothing like a little pressure to make a guy tense.

Bear licked her clit, flicking and teasing until she squirmed beneath his mouth. He dipped his thumb into her entrance, circling with her juices. She might not know what to do, but her body knew exactly what she needed, and provided the lubricant necessary to ease a man’s entrance.

His jeans were so tight now, he dreamed of unzipping the fly and releasing his cock to the warm night air. But he didn’t. This time was about Mia. He needed her to know that making love wasn’t all about a man fucking her. To do it right, the woman had to be as satisfied as the man.

He pressed his thumbs into her pussy, widening her entrance, then tongued her there, flicking and twisting. Alternating between her clit and her channel, he swirled, laved and teased her.

He knew she was there when she gripped his head in her hands, her fingers pulling at his hair. “Please. Oh. My. Please.”

“Stop?”

“Sweet heaven, no! Yes!” Then her body stiffened, her hips raised. Her fingernails dug into his scalp.

He sucked her nubbin into his mouth, burying his nose against her and held steady until she finally dropped down to the mattress.

Bear climbed up her body and leaned over without pressing his weight against her. “Like that?”

She opened her eyes and stared up at him. “Can we do that again?”

Bear chuckled. “If you like.”

“What comes next?”

“Sleep.”

Her brows wrinkled. “Sleep? You can sleep after that? We’re not stopping now, are we?”

As much as Bear wanted to take it all the way, he couldn’t.

Mia’s confession about never having had an orgasm probably meant she hadn’t had much in the way of good sex. For a female, half the enjoyment was the foreplay, the anticipation of what came next. Before Bear slaked his own desires, he wanted to be absolutely certain Mia was ready.

With his pants still zipped, Bear rolled to one side of Mia, pulled her back to his front and spooned her naked body against his. Though he couldn’t finish what he’d started, he could at least hold her in his arms and feel the warmth of her skin on his.

Holy hell.
He was in for a long night.

M
ia lay
in the curve of Bear’s body, wishing he hadn’t stopped. Her core ached with an intensity she’d never imagined. Yes, she’d found release in Bear’s expert foreplay, but something was missing. Her body pulsed with need, her channel contracted, thirsty with desire that could only be quenched by Bear.

She should be happy she hadn’t frozen when he’d gone down on her, his mouth taking her to a place she’d thought only existed in romance novels.