The Calling (29 page)

His brow furrowed, and she felt his warm breath on the sensitive skin of her thigh. “That’s impossible in this position.”

She smiled sweetly and batted her eyelashes. “Get creative.”

Justin growled, then slid farther up until her bottom was planted on his chest. He cocked his head to one side, took a strand of ribbon between his teeth, and tugged. The fabric fell away from her hip, exposing a smooth expanse of skin.

He swallowed loudly, his eyes transfixed on the ‘v’ between her legs. “All of it?” he whispered, as he ran a finger down to her cleft and pulled aside the rest of her panties, revealing a hairless mound. “Oh, dear… Heaven.”

Mandy smiled wickedly. She’d been anticipating this moment for a long time. Justin reached around to the other hip, grasping the remaining tie that clung to her body.

“Teeth,” she said in a firm tone.

His eyes sparkled as he nipped the edge of her panties and twisted them until the ribbon reached the juncture between her hip and thigh. He tugged on the tie greedily, the satin falling into a puddle on his neck. Before she could decide what to do next, his tongue was laving at her clit, and his thumb plunging into her slick heat.

Mandy arched her back, unable to resist the sweeping passes of pleasure that coiled in her womb and traveled in spasms through her muscles. She looked down at him. His dark chocolate eyes watched her, seeming to savor her satisfaction.

She wanted to be completely naked, to feel his lustful gaze on all of her. As she unclasped her bra, she thought for a moment of how visible the scar beneath her breast would be in this position, but his tongue suckled her, and his forefinger joined his thumb inside of her. Suddenly, none of it mattered. With abandon, she threw her bra across the room, tipped her head back, and let bliss envelope her.

Her orgasm barreled through her, igniting and stoking her into a frenzy. She let it break her into vibrating pieces. Justin didn’t let her down from the high, his tongue licking her, his teeth nipping at her, his fingers exploring her. The waves of pleasure swept over her again and again, until she moaned his name in a raspy cry.

When the last ripple of delight left her spent, she collapsed, grasping the headboard for support. Justin slid out from under and rose behind her. The blunt thickness of his cock probed her from behind as he nibbled at her neck and cupped her breasts, his thumbs stroking her nipples.

He pulled her back, her bottom resting on his groin. Slowly, teasingly, he rubbed the head of his erection against her clit, and she gasped.

“Too much,” she said, her clit still on fire from her climax.

He pulled back and let his thickness cleave her, the long length stretching her wide, her wetness coating him. What started sweet and sensual, a gentle prodding, quickly turned into an all-consuming fire. Justin pounded into her, his shaft burying deep inside her with such force she had to grab his forearms to keep from flying into the headboard.

A throaty moan erupted in Justin’s throat, and he squeezed her tighter, plunging deeper, their bodies slapping. The solid ridges of his thigh muscles heaved below her, raising her into the air with each thrust. When she was sure she couldn’t take any more, his hand found the hard pebble between her legs, and he flicked it with the tip of his finger, back and forth, until she broke apart all over again. The room spun as she threw her head back. “Oh, God!” Waves of rapture bore down on her, paralyzing her from the inside out.

And at the same time, Justin jerked, once, twice. His body tensed against the length of her, his shaft buried up to his balls inside of her. Hot bursts of cum filled her, coating her insides.

When the last tremor swept through their bodies, they both collapsed onto the bed, Justin still inside her. He nestled around her, cuddling her in his arms, his heart pounding against her back. With a fingertip, he lazily circled her tattooed nipple. She marveled at how it tingled from his touch as if it were real. His hot breath tickled the hairs at the nape of her neck, and she moaned contentedly, feeling beautiful, cherished and, most of all, loved.

“Was that worth the wait?” she asked breathlessly, knowing his answer would be yes.

His chest shook as he chuckled. “I’ve been waiting a lifetime for sex like that.”

“Then why are you laughing?” she asked.

“I hear Priscilla’s has a nice selection of whips and chains. Maybe we should swing by there tonight.”

She nudged him in the ribs with her elbow. “Why would you say that?”

“You seemed to enjoy calling the shots.” He nipped at her ear. “I don’t mind. As long as you wear leather.”

“How about we start with fuzzy handcuffs?”

Justin leaned toward the nightstand and opened the bottom drawer. He pulled out a pair of handcuffs lined with a leopard print fabric and dangled them in front of her face.

She nabbed them, her eyes opening wide. “How long have you had these?”

“The guys at the base bought them for me when I was dating Addie.”

Mandy gasped. “She’s into this kind of thing?”

“Her ex-boyfriend works at the station and, according to him, she has a closet full of nipple clamps, mouth gags, and chains. He dumped her when she broke out a butt plug.”

“For her or for him?”

“For him.”

“Oh, God. I set you up with her.” Mandy swallowed hard, imagining Justin chained to Addie’s wall with a gag in his mouth. “Did she ever whip you?”

Justin snorted with laughter. “I never even kissed her.”

Thank God!
“I can’t believe she’s a dominatrix. I had no idea.”

“Hey, don’t knock it. I think you might have a little control freak in you.”

“You think?” She studied the cuffs, definitely intrigued by the possibilities. “Where’s the key?”

Justin pressed a lever on one of the cuffs, and it swung open. “Don’t need them.” He unfastened a cuff and slipped it around his wrist, then clicked it closed. “Why don’t you lock me to the bed and ravish me again.”

She clicked the other cuff closed around a metal rod at the base of the headboard. Wondering just how much teasing he could take, she threw him her best impish grin. “I think I have a butt plug in my purse. Let me go check.”

Justin jerked free of the cuffs so fast, she barely saw him move. “I think we’re done here.” He placed the cuffs back in the drawer and closed it.

Mandy patted him on the bottom. “For now.”

Chapter 21

You Never Know Where Life Will Take You

Five months ago, I didn’t know if I’d live or die. One month ago, I didn’t know if my boyfriend would live or die. This afternoon, we’re heading for a picnic on Mustang Island, where we had our first date. We’re healthy and excited about the future.

Don’t let your fear of dying keep you from living. As my boyfriend said when we first started dating, “No one knows what tomorrow holds.” If I’d listened to the voice in my head begging me not to let him in, I’d have never found the man who completes me.

Mandy logged off her blog. She was pleased with the number of views she’d had that month. Every time she posted, she gained a new follower or two. It seemed a blog about not just surviving cancer, but thriving in the face of the disease, inspired people.
Well, no duh
. Why hadn’t she started it earlier?

“You ready?” Justin asked, as he strode through the kitchen wearing cargo pants and a white Coast Guard T-shirt. He reached into the fridge and grabbed a soda.

“Let me get a sweater.”

He frowned, though his eyes seemed to sparkle brighter than usual. “It’s sixty-five degrees outside.”

“That’s a cold front in my book.”

Justin shook his head, then he strolled to the hall closet with Mandy in tow. He placed his soda on the entry table, nabbed her pink sweater, and swung it over her shoulders without so much as a wince.

She appreciatively watched the way he moved. Over the last few days, he’d stopped taking shallow breaths or clutching his sides every time he laughed. And to her delight, the chuckles were coming more frequently, too. He would be starting work on light duty the next day, and everything would be back to normal, only better because Ty would be gone. She warmed at how far they’d come in a few short months.

Justin cocked an eyebrow at her. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like you want to eat me.”

Her gaze followed the broad muscles of his shoulders, along the cut planes of his biceps, down to his trim hips. Something tightened down low. “Maybe I do.” Pursing her lips seductively, she cocked a hip in his direction and flashed a come-hither smile.

Justin gazed at her, then toward the bedroom, his eyes clouding over the way they always did when the blood left his brain. He clenched his hands as his body faintly shuddered. “Cockroaches, Aunt Grace, the Cowboys losing to the Chiefs,” he said in a raspy voice. He took a deep breath through his nose and blew it out slowly through his mouth. “Okay, I’m good.”

Mandy’s mouth fell agape.
Justin’s turning down sex?
“This must be some picnic you have planned.”

His eyes lit up as he held the front door open for her. “Nope, just a normal day at the beach.”

A few minutes later, they were on the road, the houses and businesses thinning as they left the city behind. The coastal prairie fanned out before them, with an occasional gnarled oak springing up from the sparse vegetation. Mandy leaned back in her seat and smiled, cheered by the blue sky and an entire day alone with Justin. Since his dad had left yesterday evening, she finally had him all to herself. Though, surprisingly, she’d almost shed a tear when Mitch drove off in his old pickup. Mostly because she’d miss him, but also because she wasn’t sure he’d broached the subject of Cecelia with Justin.

She reached across the SUV and rubbed the back of Justin’s neck. If they had talked, Justin hadn’t said anything to her. She thought about raising the topic, but Justin turned and grinned.

“A little to the left,” he pleaded.

Mandy scratched hard and fast, the way he liked it. He sighed contentedly, the look of pure pleasure on his face making her decide against bringing up a painful memory. Besides, it’d be better to call his dad later and find out from him, and if he hadn’t talked to his son, she’d become the squeaky wheel that demanded the grease until he caved. Justin needed the closure.

* * *

Justin sped down the highway, tapping the steering wheel incessantly. His nerves had him about to spring like a mousetrap.

Mandy’s brow furrow as she gazed at his gyrating fingers. “It’s just a picnic.”

Oh, it was so much more than lunch at the beach. The small velvet box in his front pants pocket grew heavier with each passing mile. Hoping she wouldn’t notice the slight bulge in his pants, he shifted in his seat and put on his best “I’m relaxed” expression. “I know it’s only a picnic. I’m just hungry.”

“I’m hungry, too. What’d you make us?”

“You’ll have to wait and find out.”

She gnawed on her bottom lip, agitation apparent in her expression, but he wasn’t about to tell her that in the picnic basket was the exact same meal he’d packed on their first trip to the beach almost half a year ago—red wine and black olives included. She’d get suspicious, and he didn’t want her quizzing him, making him even more nervous.

Thirty minutes later, they spread a blue cotton blanket on the sand and unwrapped their sandwiches. Before Mandy began eating, she pulled out a pink ponytail holder to tame her chin-length hair that whipped in her face.

He eyed the graceful curve of her neck as she smoothed her tresses down and twisted the band around her blond locks.

“It’s weird having so much hair again,” she said.

“You think you’ll ever grow it long?” he asked, hopeful.

She rolled her eyes. “Why are men so obsessed with long hair?”

Justin growled as he inched closer, crawling across the blanket like a tiger on the prowl. “Same reason women are obsessed with a man’s package. Besides, I’m not obsessed with your hair. I’m obsessed with you.”

He tackled her to the blanket, straddling her waist, and she squealed a sound of delight and annoyance. How she could convey so much conflicting emotion into one little noise was beyond him. With her arms pinned over her head, he stared down at her, enjoying her submissive position. He would have liked a little more protest from her, something to rile him up, but she didn’t fight him. She’d probably learned that resistance was futile, so she just frowned up at him.

“If you start tickling me,” she said. “I’m throwing lunch in the ocean.”

The woman knew how to convince him to back down. Good thing he didn’t intend to make her laugh. He’d rather make her moan.

With his blood picking up speed, he stared at the delicate skin in the crook of her neck, then up to her lips.
Where to start?
He decided to go for the lips and leaned down. His mouth met hers, and she rose beneath him, pressing her chest to his. He kissed her deep and hard, her breasts crushing against the thin fabric of his T-shirt.