[When SEALs Come Home 04] - Heated (16 page)

“You like that.” He sounded pleased, so she decided not to be embarrassed. And when he repeated the caress, she moaned.

***

“T
ime out.” He stepped away before she could protest, leaving her with her fingers curled around the edge of the wall. She had no idea how he did this to her, got her all worked up, and hot for him, but she loved it.

Maybe tonight would get him out of her system. Doing it here, however, presented logistical issues. She snuck a peek over the wall, and it was nowhere near high enough for wallbanger sex because the drop hadn’t gotten any less steep or lethal. That would be one hell of a way to go, falling down a mountainside without her panties because Joey Carter had kissed her senseless.

He returned and tossed a blanket down on the ground.

Which was a clue right there about his intentions. “You brought a blanket?”

“Boy Scout. I’m always prepared. Plus the wall is too short.”

They were on the same page there, although apparently for different reasons.

“Uh-huh.” She was pretty sure packing goodies for outdoor sex wasn’t the kind of behavior the Boy Scouts advocated, although he did get a gold star for preparedness. She’d have to think carefully about where to stick said star because, looking at him, she had all sorts of ideas...

He dropped down onto the blanket. She had no idea how he made the position look so effortless and sexy. Maybe it had something to do with the way he stretched his long legs out. And those boots... God, his boots got her going every time. That was her problem right there.

“Having sex outside isn’t—” She chewed on her lower lip.

“Safe? Comfortable? Fun? Because I’m pretty sure that last one is true.”  He held out his hand. “Come join me and find out.”

God. There was no denying the answering pulse of excitement between her legs. Joey Carter was so far out of her comfort zone that it wasn’t funny, but she let him pull her down onto the blanket until she sat next to him. Tilting her head back, she rested it against the wall. Stars were painted across the night sky like the diamante in her Quinceañera dress. Except that dress had been pink and white, and as far from sophisticated as it was possible for a dress to be. It had also been fun, and she’d felt like a princess every minute of her fifteenth birthday. The way Joey looked at her now made her feel like a queen.

“Can we get back to the kissing? I promise I’ll make it good.”

She had no doubt of that.

“You’d better not get me arrested for public indecency.”

“Hey, I’m the one who should be worried here.” He rolled over on top of her. “You’re the one who owns a pair of handcuffs.”

She wrapped her hands around his wrists. His big, strong, sexy wrists. She could absolutely think of a thing—or six—she could do with her handcuffs.

She tried one last time. “We should go back to my place.”

“What’s wrong with right here? I’ll even let you be on top.” He suited his actions to his words and rolled onto his back, taking her with him. Her legs hugged his hips and right beneath her—well, yeah. Joey Carter wasn’t going to be a disappointment at all.

“See?” He laughed up at her, grasping her hips lightly with his fingers.

“I’m not getting naked outside.”

“Not even a little?” He flashed her a wicked grin as he tugged her skirt up. She didn’t have any panties on. “You don’t have to take all your clothes off, although I’m definitely not stopping you.”

The sun had gone down and it was February. She’d get frostbite on her best parts and, damn it, she already felt the draft on her butt. “Joey—”

“That’s my name.” He arched up against her against, his erection pressing against her in a way that was part tease, part sexy promise.
Oh
. Okay. Frostbite wasn’t a concern, because she was on fire. “Feel free to use it paired with
Joey, more
and
Joey, yes please
.”

God. He was cute. “I could do this much better in a bed. You’d have a better time.”

“Hey,” he said gently. “You let me worry about me. If you enjoy yourself, I’m good. You’re gorgeous, and I’ve been fantasizing about tonight for a long time. All I want from you is a
yes
. And then, if I’m doing it right, a
more
and maybe a
how soon can we do it again?
”

“Okay,” she said because he had that effect on her. 

“I’ll make it good for you,” he promised, and Joey had always been a man of his word. He reached between them, popping the buttons on his jeans. She’d always thought there was nothing sexier than a pair of button-fly jeans on a guy.
Her
guy. And didn’t that possessive thought have her frowning?

The small noise from somewhere out there in the dark had her freezing. Not a car. No headlights flashed over the trees. The noise’s cause could have been something four-legged standing on a stick. Or something falling off a tree. Damn it. She was a city girl. Who knew what kind of people-eating wildlife roamed these mountains after dark?

She dug her fingers into Joey’s shoulders. “Did you hear that?”

He looked up at her, his eyes dark with passion, and then he pushed carefully up against her, the slick, hard stroke of his penis through her folds the best kind of answer.
Oh
.

“Bear. Racoon. Peeping Tom. Do you really care?” He repeated the caress. “Because, sweetheart, I’m going to be totally honest here. The only thing I care about right now is you.”

He added his fingers there, where he was rubbing against her, and God, he was perfect. She moved her hips, gliding down to meet him when he rose up. Heated sensation streaked through her.

“What if it was the start of the zombie apocalypse? And there was a horde of man-eating zombies coming up the mountainside, gunning for us?”

“They’d get one hell of a show,” he muttered. “If I ask nicely, will you shut up now?”

“Why? Do you need to concentrate?” She grinned down at him, and wiggled. Just a little, and just to show him who was in charge here.

He groaned. “Yeah. Concentrating would be a good thing.”

His fingers teased, finding her clit and starting a rhythm that made her want to beg him to go faster. Harder. Or to slow way, way down so the sensations could last all night. And that was her last coherent thought for a long time as she rode his fingers, rode
him
, taking them both closer and closer to the edge.

At some point, he’d gotten the condom on, and each downward glide she made pushed the tip of him deeper inside her. He was hard and hot, and every inch as ready for her, for this, as she was.

“Is that all you’ve got?” she whispered, teasing him like he’d teased her, rising up on her knees until she held just the tip of him inside her. His rough groan was the perfect revenge.

“I’m always up for a challenge.” His smile was so goddamned beautiful. She could have looked at him for hours and hours, but he grasped her hips in his hands, moved deep inside her, and she lost her breath at the rough, delicious rhythm. Lost herself in him, burying her face against his throat when, long minutes later, he pulled her to him hard, and she fell over the edge with him.

Body trembling, thighs aching in the best possible way, she sprawled on his chest, listening to his heart banging a primal answer to the desperate beat of her own. God, he’d about killed her.

“Sweetheart?” He ran his hands down her back, cupping her butt through her skirt.

“Hmmm.” She hoped he didn’t want to talk
now
.

“If you did that any better, I’d be dead.”

He sounded damn happy about it.

J
oey made her knees wobbly. Along with other parts. In fact, almost all of Mercy—including her brain and most likely her heart—was a big, melted pile of goo. It wasn’t an attractive image, but Joey undid her.

“Riding two bikes was a mistake,” she said out loud.

He tugged her closer although, since she was already sprawled on top of him, there wasn’t too much closer she could get. At least she wasn’t the person with sticks and rocks and God knows what else poking him in the butt. 

He smiled at her, and more melting ensued. Somehow, she had to grow a spine and figure out how to keep moving forward.

“As long as that’s the only regret you have, I’m good,” he said. Then he got up, carefully depositing her on her feet so she could put herself back together. That was the good thing about wearing a dress, she supposed. She had far fewer buttons and zippers than he did.

God. She retrieved her panties and considered her options. She was going to have to get on the bike and ride it back to the garage when all she really wanted to do was curl up and take a nap. Preferably on top of Joey’s naked chest. She looked over at him hopefully, but nope. The scenic lookout still offered a battered picnic table, a trashcan, and a spectacular view of the stars—and no bed. Sex on a blanket had been fun (along with completely life-altering and set-the-bar-impossibly-high-in-the-orgasm-count department), but she wasn’t a hardcore outside gal, and she wasn’t deluding herself into thinking she could really sleep on the ground.

He swung a leg over his bike, looked over at her, and sighed. “Come on.”

She stared at his outstretched hand. It was a very nice hand that could do all sorts of fabulous things to her body, but for once she didn’t think that Joey was making a bad pun.

“You can ride with me,” he said. “I’ll come back for the bike in the morning with my truck.”

He patted the seat in front of him and waited.

Somehow, riding her own bike seemed less important. As did her rules about personal involvement.

She grabbed her helmet and trudged over to his bike. “You’re not worried about the bike?”

Because, personally, she’d feel terrible if something happened to it. The crime rate in Strong was so low as to be practically nonexistent, but leaving an expensive bike by the side of the road was also asking for trouble.

“You’re asleep on your feet,” he said. “And if someone steals it, you can hunt him down for me.”

He had a point. Except he got off the bike when she got on and rolled the Kawasaki out of sight and into the trees. When he came back, he slid an arm around her waist and pulled her back against his chest.

“Look at the stars,” she said quietly. “Canis Major, Canis Minor, Orion.” Constellations she couldn’t see back in Los Angeles thanks to the light pollution and the smog but that felt so close here on the mountain. Like she could reach up and touch them.

“Yeah,” he agreed gruffly, except he wasn’t looking up. He was looking down, at her. He gently tugged her helmet into place and started the bike. She relaxed into him, enjoying the way his large body shifted as he guided them through the curves. Not too fast, not too slow, although she suspected he was still at least ten miles over the speed limit.

“Where are we going?” She’d worked out some of her adventurous side back there by the side of the road, but there were other things she wanted to try. She wasn’t entirely sure what he was expecting, but she wasn’t ready for this night to be done. So much for breaking things off—she was in deeper than ever and her entire save-her-job had melted away just like her resistance to Joey’s charms. Maybe they could keep this on the down low. Maybe it was possible. Or a miracle would happen.

“Home,” he said, his voice rumbling in her ear, breaking up the chain of worries in her head, and the word sounded impossibly nice.

***

H
e was fairly certain he’d convinced Mercy to give him—no, to give
them
—another chance. She’d come busting into his garage, primed for a breakup speech, and he’d taken immediate evasive action. It looked like it had worked too. He grinned into her hair. Because, damn, they’d had the best sex of his life, and now he was holding her in his arms while they drove down the highway.

She nodded like she was finishing up a conversation with herself.

“My place,” she said.

Since he didn’t care where he went as long as it was with her—pathetic—he settled for nodding and pointing the bike back toward Strong. He knew where she lived, having driven by it once. Possibly a hundred times. Fuck. He was pathetic. It didn’t take too long to reach the bungalow she rented on the edge of town. He wondered if she’d mind the neighbors seeing his bike parked in her driveway and then realized that he could pull around the back of the house and out of sight. At some point, he’d like
not
to be her dirty little secret, but baby steps.

“Come on,” she said, sliding off the bike. She didn’t comment on his choice of parking spots, but she did thread her fingers through his and tug him along with her. That was something.

They went in the backdoor, and unless someone had been looking out the window when they zipped down her street, no one would know he was here.
Secret mission accomplished.
Her place was neat. That was the first thing that struck him. And, unlike his, everything matched.

She went quiet for a moment, like she was thinking hard.

“Second thoughts?” It killed him to ask, but he didn’t want her doing anything that made her uncomfortable.

She shook her head. “Can we try something though?”

“Hit me,” he said.

She fished a magazine out from the basket beside her couch and handed it to him. A bright pink Post-it note flagged an article entitled “24 Hot Sex Tips.”

“I thought it would be fun to try some of these.”

Please don’t laugh
, her face said, and he wanted to reassure her. He was definitely a man who understood a bucket list. He flipped to the article and scanned. Oh, yeah. He could definitely get on board with this plan. Plus Mercy was cute when she was blushing—and she’d be blushing harder by the time they worked their way to the bottom of her bucket list.

“You want to do them in numerical order? Yeah. You definitely do.”

He prowled toward her, ready to get started, but she slapped a hand on his chest. “Stay here. I’ll get ready.”

Then she disappeared down the hallway at a dead run. He scanned the article again, but none of the sex acts described in the article—which was really lamentably short—seemed like they required extensive preparation. Whatever. He followed her and discovered she’d gone into the bathroom attached to what was obviously her bedroom. Okay. He’d make himself comfortable on the bed while she did...whatever it was she was doing in the bathroom.