Shadows and Silk (21 page)

“Nice, Jade,” he said, bending down to pick up Darcy. She burrowed against his chest
and let out a little hiccup.

“Hey, I didn’t pour it in the glass,” Jade said, laughing. “Besides, she needed to
get a few things off her chest. She’ll feel better for it and maybe won’t knee you
in the balls as soon as she opens her eyes. Though from the things she told me, you
probably deserve it.”

“You can go now.”

She laughed again and put her rifle over her shoulder as she headed toward the door.
“Be thankful for what you have, my friend. You never know when it’s going to be taken
away. It only comes once.” Her smile disappeared and he could see the sorrow in her
eyes.

“You really believe that?” he couldn’t help but ask.

“Sure. What’s the point otherwise?” Jade saluted and disappeared, locking the door
discretely behind her.

He held Darcy closer and headed into the bedroom, placing her gently beneath the covers.
He was too tired to take another shower, but he did anyway, getting the paint off
his face and getting rid of the
salt
water. When he came out again, exhaustion was pulling him under, and he had just enough
sense to close the curtains and enshroud them in darkness before he fell into bed
beside Darcy. He gathered her in his arms and inhaled her scent before sleep took
him under.

The room was still dark when he woke sometime later, but his internal alarm clock
told him it was at least mid-morning. Darcy wasn’t there, and panic set in before
he remembered the team watching them from afar. If anything had gone wrong, they would
have sent up a signal. But still, he was going to blister her behind for not waking
him to tell him she was leaving.
She’d probably just decided to go for a swim.

He scraped his hands over his face and rolled out of bed. And then an idea began brewing
in his head, and he was very anxious to meet Darcy out on the beach. The trouble would
be finding a place to carry out his plan without all of SEAL team
2
being a witness.

Brant pulled on a pair of swim trunks and realized Darcy had unpacked all their things
and hung them neatly in the closet at some point. The sight of her clothes lined up
next to his and her makeup on the counter next to his shaving supplies gave him a
jolt, but it was one that filled him with warmth.

The sudden need for her was like a drug, and he wondered if that feeling would ever
dissipate. Maybe that’s what love was—an overwhelming need to just be with one person
forever. It sounded possible to his way of thinking.

He loaded one of the wicker baskets in the kitchen with supplies and a few extra goodies
to sweeten the deal, and then headed out to the beach through the sliding glass door.
The sun shone in a bright blue, cloudless sky, and
there was just a hint of breeze
carrying the smell of salt from the ocean.

Eyes were trained on him from afar. He could practically fe
el the crosshairs on his head, a
nd he gave the team a signal so they’d know he needed some privacy.

It turned out Darcy had already thought of that when he reached the end of their stretch
of the beach and her footsteps disappeared into the rocks.
He set the basket on top of the nearest boulder and climbed on top, hefting the basket
up and over to the little cove on the opposite side.

What he saw there made his mouth water and his cock harden to painful proportions.
The little cove
would be covered
with water
at high tide, but for now it was smooth white sand, shaded by two palm trees that
jutted out of the rocks to provide a small amount of shade.
Small bits of driftwood and debris were gathered at the base of the rocks, but for
the most part, it was pristine.

And there Darcy lay in the middle of it—her large white towel spread beneath her and
her body slicked with suntan oil.
Her mostly
naked
body.
Her white bikini top was draped across the rocks
, and the matching bottom could hardly be called coverage.
Brant scowled and looked out across the water, but the cove was pretty
secluded, so the chance the SEAL
s
had gotten a pee
k was minimal. At least she’d used some common sense for once.

***

Darcy sighed and stretched under the heat of the sun, her limbs lethargic and her
eyelids heavy.
The breeze whispered across her skin like butterfly kisses, and she moaned as the
kisses turned to heated licks across her breasts.
Her eyelids fluttered open and she smiled, still thi
nking
herself
in a dream, as
Brant’s heated gaze met hers.

“Oh, it’s you,” she said softly.

“Expecting someone else, were you?” he asked, rubbing his stubble across her sensitive
skin and making her shiver.

“A handsome pirate to steal me away on his ship and treat me like a princess as we
traveled the seas.”

“You get seasick.”

She made a face. It just figured that her subconscious had to be the voice of reason
during her fantasy. “Or maybe I was waiting for a dashing
sultan
to rescue me from murderous marauding mummies.”

“Are we going to Egypt then?” he asked, the amusement in his voice obvious. “You’ve
been reading romances again.”

“I like that they live happily-ever-after,” she said on a sigh as his lips traced
along her collarbone. “The hero always comes for her. In the end he can’t live without
her.” Fingers trailed across her belly and up her ribs until they touched the undersides
of her breasts. Just a skim of a calloused finger across her nipple had her gasping
for air and her nipple beading in arousal.

“What about me?” he asked. “Couldn’t I be your fantasy?
” His voice was meant to seduce—
to
entice.
“
I would come for you. Always.”

“But you wouldn’t stay,” she said sleepily, arching, searching for the hand that left
her breast. “You used to be my fantasy. When I was a girl. I dreamed of you coming
for me. Loving me.
I like my new fantasies better. It hurts when you go away.”

Darcy thought she heard her dream whisper something against her ear, and then those
hot licks of flame trailed down her neck, suckling and nibbling until she was swollen
and throbbing between her le
gs.

“Tell me you love me again,”
the fantasy
voice whispered.

The haze of the dream began to lift at his demand—as if he really needed to hear her
say it. But there was no time to question or deny. His lips slanted across hers
, his mouth fitting against her so perfectly that she trembled. It was a kiss different
than the ones they’d shared before, but she didn’t know why or how. The heat of him
overwhelmed her, and then his tongue rubbed against hers, devastating her senses,
and when he broke away she was
wide awake
and realized her fantasy was reality.

His eyes were wide
and dazed, and she realized he
was already naked against her—h
is body hot and hard
—slicking across her skin as the tanning oil she’d applied rubbed onto him. Her body
was floating in some weightless dream, but her limbs were so heavy she didn’t know
if she had the strength to lift them.

“More,” he said. “I need more.”

She tried to shake her head. How much more could she give? He’d already taken everything
from her.
His mouth touched hers again and fireworks exploded behind her eyelids. His hands
held her face tenderly, lovingly, as he savored the taste of her.

When he broke away this time they were both panting for breath, and she could feel
his erection thick and full against her thigh.

“I want it all,” he said, kissing his way down her body, massaging
her with his hands
, and then moving between her thighs.

His teeth scraped over her bikini bottoms, and he pulled them down, exposing her so
the salty breeze kissed her
ne
therlips
. She wanted to squeeze
her thighs together, to relieve the pressure building there, but he held her open,
staring at her with hunger.

“You’re so beautiful.” He traced his finger down the edge of one sensitive fold, and
her hips came off the towel.
“Close your eyes, love. I want you to do nothing but feel me in every way.”

Darcy’s eyes fluttered closed and her other senses grew stronger—the sound of the
waves crashing against the rocks, the scent of salt and coconut oil, and the heat
of the sun warming her skin even as the breeze cooled it. A cloth
came over her eyes and s
tartled her, and she jumped even as Brant soothed her with gentle touches. He tied
it behind her head, and now not even the smallest peak of light could be seen.

“No cheating,” he said, kissing the tip of her nose. “Are you hungry?”

“For you,” she said, her imagination going wild as she heard him moving around her,
a rustling sound, followed by the distinct popping of a champagne cork.

She gasped as cold liquid splashed across her breasts and belly, tickling trails running
down the crease of her thighs and teasing her sensitized skin.

“I never could get the hang of opening one of those,” he said. “
Here, l
et me help you.
You’re all wet.
”

Darcy moaned as h
e started at her breasts, licking and sucking the liquid from her skin, his tongue
wrapping around each nipp
le, heating them, arousing them
to tight buds that ached for something more. But he didn’t stay there long, and she
gave a disgruntled
huff
when he continued down to her stomach and sipped away the
rest of the
champagne.

“
There. A
ll cleaned up.
”

She shook her head in denial. She didn’t want to be cleaned up. And he’d missed the
hidden trails of liquid that had
slithered
between her thighs.
Her body shook with need
as she heard more rustles, and then something cold and tart touched her lips. Her
tongue darted out and tasted fresh pineapple,
tangy
and sweet, and she opened her mouth and took the fruit between her teeth.

Brant’s lips followed, and he bit the other half of the fruit before taking her in
kiss that left her head spinning and her heart racing. He repeated the process over
and over again—
with
lush strawberries and juicy mango—drinking away the stickiness from her lips and chin
before kissing her into oblivion.

“I want you,” she said, her body so heavy with need she didn’t know how she’d be able
to stand it a moment longer. “I need you inside of me.”

“I’m going to take my time.” He gave her one more kiss and then said, “I’m going to
touch and taste every inch of you. Now turn over. You’re looking a little tense.”

That was an understatement. She was as taut as a tightrope, and her body felt so fragile
she thought she might crack into a million pieces. He helped her roll over, and she
waited, her body coiled, to feel what he planned to do next.

“Relax, baby.” Something warm and thick drizzled across her back, and she moaned as
his hands pressed into her muscles and
he
began a slow massage. He was true to his word—he touched her everywhere—not leaving
out a single place on her body
,
so she felt like a limp noodle afterward.

“
Now l
i
ft your hips for me,” he said. A
nd when she did, he slid his head beneath her so her pussy rested just above his lips.
Warm breath blew against her—teased—and she knew he’d be able to see how wet she was
for him. There was no hiding that kind of desire.

The first lick into her was like an electric shock to the system. Her back bowed and
she clamped her thighs around his head. And then his tongue became relentless, flicking
and suckling, until she came to a blindingly fast orgasm that had her riding against
his face.

Her arms collapsed and her damp face lay against the soft terrycloth towel, and she
realized the only thing she could hear was the rush of her blood running through her
ears
. Tears came to her eyes and she almost cried out in protest when the licks started
once more. She was too sensitive—too swollen to take much more.

“You taste so sweet,” he said against her. “Like honey and rain
.”

His hands were still slick from the oil and he massaged her ass as he continued the
long, slow strokes. And then his fingers grew closer and closer to her pussy until
two fingers dipped inside while his tongue wrapped around her clit.