“Unless they find something concrete it won’t be enough.” Jake slid his hand across her shoulder in silent commiseration.
“I know the truth. That’s what matters. Brother Rick knows the truth too.”
“Luke is thorough. Brother Rick won’t escape charges.”
“Good.”
“Are you ready to leave?”
“Yes.” Not a shred of hesitation entered her at the thought of leaving the place she’d called home for most of her life. “Is your undercover job finished now?”
“Yes, and I can’t wait to put on a pair of jeans instead of wearing this bloody robe.”
* * * * *
Later that night, Jake and Sorrel shared dinner with Luke and Janaya.
Janaya’s violet eyes gleamed as she stared from Jake to Sorrel. “I take it you’re staying the night, Jake?”
“Please.”
Janaya’s lips quivered, and Sorrel suspected whatever Janaya was thinking made her want to laugh. She managed to hold it back, restraining her humor to a twitch of lips. “I’ll prepare a room for you.”
“That’s not necessary. I’ll share with Sorrel.”
“Told you.” Janaya held out a hand to her husband. “You owe me twenty dollars.”
Jake growled. “Yet bet on us sharing a room again.”
“That’s not exactly what she bet on, and she hasn’t won yet.”
“All’s fair in betting land,” Janaya quipped.
“On that note, we’re retiring for the evening,” Jake said. “I have an early start tomorrow.”
Sorrel rose, removing the empty glasses from the table and stacking them in the dishwasher. Jake was returning to Papakura, returning to the army base for medical clearance and possibly reporting for duty. The knowledge left a hollow feeling inside her. It expanded until her entire chest ached. She hated him to go, but she couldn’t ask him to stay either. Jake had a job, responsibilities.
Jake tugged on a lock of her hair to gain her attention. “Hey, don’t think so hard. It might never happen.”
Her throat closed up, and she had to force words to exit her mouth. “I’m going to miss you. What happens if you pass the medical? When you pass the medical?” she corrected herself.
“It won’t be so bad. My contract will be over in three months. It won’t be long until I’m back.” He pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose. “You’ll hardly have time to miss me.”
Her head tilted back to meet his gaze. “You’re coming back to Sloan?”
“For you. I’ve had enough of army life. It’s not the same now that my mates have left the team. I’m not sure what I’ll do once I get out, but I’ll give it some thought while I’m away.”
“You’re coming back to Sloan for me?” She felt like the proverbial parrot, but she needed to have things clear in her mind.
“Sorrel.” Jake stopped in the doorway of the bedroom she was occupying. He cupped her cheeks and smiled down at her. “You’re special. I want to see where the future will take us. Will you wait for me?”
“Yes. Yes!” She threw her arms around his neck and clung. Their lips met in a kiss, then he was lifting her into his arms, entering the bedroom and closing the door behind them.
“Good.” His sigh held relief and the realization made her tip her head up to search his features. He grinned, an open display of happiness that pushed her pulse rate into a gear change-up. He hadn’t been certain of her, had harbored doubts. Probably some of the same worries she had about trusting herself enough to step forward into the future.
“Can I write to you while you’re away? Um…doing soldier things?”
“We can do better than that, sweetheart. I’ll buy you a laptop. I won’t have time to show you how to use it, but I’ll ask Luke and Janaya to help you set it up. You’ll be able to send me emails and talk to me online.”
After spending months as an outsider, his kindness overwhelmed her, brought a touch of giddiness and even disbelief. “You’d do that for me?”
Jake laughed. “It’s for my benefit too.” He released her, letting her slide down his body and lowered his head, crushing his lips to hers. Gradually, he backed her up to the bed, and they toppled to the mattress together.
Somehow her clothes disappeared, and he was kissing her everywhere he could reach. He plundered her mouth, his fingers spearing into her hair, holding her captive.
“My turn. I enjoy exploring you.”
“You mean you want to torture me. “ He pulled away and lay on his back, his dark eyes gleaming. “I’m all yours.”
So she trailed her hands over him, pleasing herself and cataloguing his reactions to her caresses. The catch of his breath as she skated the tips of his fingers across his ribs. The way he trembled when she licked his nipple.
“More,” he encouraged softly. “Explore my cock.”
“What if it bites me?”
He barked out a laugh. “Pet it a bit and see what happens.”
Fun and laughter had never entwined in her mind when she’d considered sex in the past. With a smile curving her lips, she ran her fingertips down the length of his shaft. Silky skin. Warmth. A masculine scent, musky, but not unpleasant. She curled her fingers around his cock, testing, stroking. Exploring in whichever direction her curiosity led her, she teased him and learned his body.
“Enough.”
She froze, but a tiny smile curled her lips. “Did I do something wrong?”
“Never.” He paused to grab a condom then lifted her by the hips and positioned her over him. “Guide me inside you.”
She did as he requested, saw the way he watched where they were joined. Her inner muscles stretched as gravity impaled her on his cock. His hands at her hips guided her through the erotic dance until they both soared. They coasted back down together, and she stretched out on his hard chest, her last thought as she toppled into sleep was that Jake felt like the home she’d never had.
Chapter Fourteen
After Jake left the only time she had to herself were the evenings. It was during those quiet times she missed him—his solid presence that made her feel safe and protected. At least she’d felt that way until their separation stretched to six months and his calls and emails stopped coming. After a month of unanswered emails, she accepted the truth. They didn’t have enough of a foundation for a lasting relationship.
Now in the small hours of the night she brooded, wondering if she should have done something different. She stifled a yawn. The lack was sleep was starting to tell.
“Hey, enough with the daydreaming,” Alice said. “We have a lot to do. We need you at the board meeting. It starts in three minutes.”
Sorrel set her pen aside with a rueful sigh. “I’m trying to think of an interesting scent combination for a new range of Star Sign bath bombs. Something different but not so radical it’ll put off customers.”
“I have faith in you. Come on. You need a break.” Her gaze zeroed in on the shadows Sorrel knew she hadn’t managed to cover with light makeup. “You look tired.”
Sorrel bit her lip.
“Something wrong?”
“Jake has stopped contacting me. I haven’t heard from him for weeks.”
Alice wrinkled her nose. “I’m no expert on men, but are you sure there’s something wrong?”
“A month of silence? That spells problem in my language.”
“Maybe he’s away from his base?”
“Or maybe he’s seeing his old girlfriend. We were together for such a short time. We had a fling. I read about flings in one of Hinekiri’s magazines.”
“So email him, tell him how you feel and say you’re moving on.”
“No, that’s similar to breaking up in a text. It’s not cool, according to the magazines.”
“Don’t believe everything you read,” Alice said in a crisp order. “They brainwash you into thinking there’s something wrong if you’re not coat-hanger thin with big lips and hair. We’ll organize a girl’s night out soon. That’ll perk
up your spirits.” Her gaze flicked to the wall clock. “Time for the board meeting. Let’s go.”
The boardroom was bedlam, as usual. The oldies were already present, full cups of tea and coffee at their elbows, their eyes fixed on a container of homemade chocolate chip cookies.
“Ah, there you are.” Harriet needles clicked and clacked musically, black-and-white knitting spilling onto her lap in a long tail.
Alice disappeared and reappeared again with a gift-wrapped box. The lid of the box sported a pretty purple bow and trails of curling ribbon. In her other hand, she carried a plain brown bag. She set both on the table in front of her and slipped into a chair.
“Is everyone ready?” James studied each of them in turn.
Silence fell, faces bearing eagerness and filling the air with expectation. Nerves simmered in Sorrel, propelled by the anticipation and prompted by worry of failure. So much depended on her product. What if it went wrong? Look at what had happened with Jake. The thought steadied her. As long as she tried her best. No one could demand more.
“Production started on our Dream Cream today. We’ve made enough for our market testers, so we can get feedback on use and any potential problems.” Alice pushed the gift-wrapped box across the board table toward Sorrel. “Open it.”
Sorrel fumbled the box a little, her hands trembling in her excitement. This was the culmination of her tests and the lab perfecting the formula for mass production. She pulled out a plain black tub and lifted it for everyone to see. Someone had written on it with a gold pen in elegant script. Dream Cream. Give your lover the gift of pleasure.
“It’s beautiful.” Sorrel couldn’t get another word out, the lump in her throat causing an emotional blockage. She turned the tub around so everyone could see the label.
“Perfect.” Katarina bobbed her head. “Simple and classy. It’s perfect. Is that the final packaging?”
“Yes, I think so,” James said.
“Dreams should be wrapped in simplicity.” Sam gave a decisive nod. “The plain packaging puts the spotlight on the product.”
Alice handed out samples to everyone. “These are the reports we want you to fill out. I’d appreciate them back by Monday next week. Our time frame is short for this one because we need to get our promotion underway. Any objections to Monday?”
“Works for me.” Richard glanced at his wristwatch. “Was there anything else important to discuss today? I need to get back to the police station to relieve Luke.”
“You go,” James said. “We’re going to discuss marketing ideas. If you have any suggestions, bring them with you to the meeting on Monday.”
Richard left and everyone settled back to a discussion on how they should market the Dream Cream.
“I still like our initial ideas of packaging products together,” Alice said. “It worked well for our vibrating condoms and the vibrator. I think we should stick with the ideas we know will succeed.”
“Other companies have copied our marketing strategy.” Ben tapped his fingers on the tabletop. “I say we try to come up with something different.”
“We need a loyalty card, something to market in combination with our social media pages,” Harriet suggested.
“That might work for those who are computer savvy. We could still do the loyalty card. Good idea, but we need something more,” Alice said.
Sorrel listened to the ideas flow back and forth, her mind racing to keep up. This group of people was amazing and she felt honored to be part of the team. “You could offer discounts if customers purchased more than one product. Make it so the more products they buy the bigger discount they get. Buy one product and get a free gift.”
“We wouldn’t want to discount too much because that might backfire, but we could do an introductory discount.” Alice’s pen raced across the page as she jotted down the ideas.
A phone rang in the distance, and a tap sounded on the door. A secretary stuck her head through the door. “Phone call, Mr. Bates.”
“Are we done yet? Ben and I need to get to bowls practice,” Sam said.
“Off you go. I’ll see you all on Monday afternoon.” Alice made shooing actions with her left hand.
There was a mad scramble until only Alice and Sorrel remained in the boardroom. Alice glanced up from her notes. “Did you think of something else?”
“Yes. I love working here. Everyone has made me so welcome even though I have no formal qualifications. Thank you for giving me this chance.”
Mere words couldn’t convey the gratitude she experienced each day. Alice and her friends had gone out of their way to help Sorrel find her feet in Sloan. The name Sister Bitter no longer existed, and she held not a single regret about leaving the compound.
“You’re welcome.” Alice pulled a comical face. “One day I’ll tell you the story of how I came to live in Sloan, perhaps over a glass of wine at The Thirsty Cricket. Maybe this weekend. I’ll call around and see if everyone is free on Saturday night. Are you free?”
“Nothing on my social calendar.” Which was a bit sad, according to the magazines. Sorrel stood and winced. Alice was right. Reading those magazines just depressed her. “Thanks again. I’d better get back to the lab. I want to brainstorm my star sign bath bombs before I leave today.”
By the time she left Fancy Free, she’d come to tentative decisions regarding the scents to use for the new products she had in mind, and she had an entire Friday night stretching ahead of her. Some of the inventors in the lab had asked her to go for drinks at the pub, but she’d declined. Despite her bravado about giving up on Jake, carrying out the idea made her want to howl.
More fool her.
She had the house to herself and after a half-hearted attempt at eating pasta for dinner, she shoved it aside. Unable to help herself she walked to her room and hit the receive button for her email. Three hard thumps of her heart later, she stared at the empty inbox. She retreated to the kitchen and filled her glass of wine.
Janaya’s dog trailed after her, pausing at the fridge with a hopeful bark.
“Janaya told me not to feed you, no matter how pitiful you look.”
The dog grumbled a protest, almost as if it were talking to her. Sorrel carried her glass of wine out to the deck and sat watching the night push the day away, shrouding everything with darkness. Soon, the stars twinkled into prominence, and in a nearby stand of trees, a Morepork owl hooted its mournful cry. More pork. More pork.
Sighing, Sorrel rinsed her empty glass, stacked it in the dishwasher and retreated to bed. A glossy magazine sat on the nightstand. Cure loneliness, one of the subtitles on the cover practically screamed.
“Rub it in,” Sorrel muttered.
The tub of Dream Cream sat nearby, and Sorrel decided to do some work. She’d try out the final version of her cream, get out one of the new vibrators Gaby, one of the inventors had wanted her to test and squeeze a sliver of pleasure out of this crumby night.
“I’m going out tomorrow,” she told the dog who had followed her to her bedroom. “You’re not watching. Out you go.” Sorrel closed the door after the grumbling dog and stripped off her clothes. After a quick shower, she retrieved the test vibrator and the relevant paperwork from her handbag. Then, with a pen and the test questionnaire close at hand, she opened the tub of dream cream. The perfume of carnations filled her lungs, sweet and fragrant. Unexpected, yet perfect. Maybe not everyone’s choice of scent, but she delighted in it. They’d tested citrus and discarded the scent in favor of the more unusual.
She dipped her forefinger into the tub. The product was thick in consistency and almost solid. Body heat softened the cream, helping it to disperse and produce the wonderful tingles and stimulation.
Her forefinger trailed the outer edge of her areola, and the effect was instantaneous. Her breath caught, prickles of pleasure streaking across her breast.
“Yes,” she whispered. She stroked her body, coating a little cream on her other breast and working it in until her nipples stood to attenti
on, taut and aching. Taking her time, and cataloguing every sweet sensation, she parted her legs, the cool air against her swollen pussy ramping up her excitement even more.
Languidly, she dipped her finger into the tub again. Her digit slipped across the surface of the cream, and a whiff of carnations hit her along with a hint of her own musk. Sighing, she ran her finger down her folds and back up. She could feel the silkiness of her arousal, the tightening in her belly as excitement built.
The cream worked its magic. Sometimes too fast if the user took a liberal amount and applied it to the clitoris. Her eyes fluttered closed to better concentrate on the buildup of enjoyment, the quickening of her breaths.
She rubbed lazy, languid circles around her clit with the odd sweeping path across to make the swollen bundle of nerves sit up and pay attention. Oh yes. This was perfect. The only thing that would make it better was a man.
Jake.
Not gonna happen.
She might as well do what Alice suggested and stop putting this part of her life on hold. She fumbled for Gaby’s newest vibrator design and switched it on, thankful for Gaby’s foresight in providing batteries. Turning it off again, she spotted a few dots of the cream along the shaft of the device since rigorous testing had shown internal use worked well too. She slid it languidly in and out, enjoying the sense of fullness, the stretching. The initial coolness of the shaft warmed to her body temperature.
She could feel the coil of excitement in her belly tighten, and she closed her eyes again. She thumbed the power switch of the vibrator, and moaned as the clit tickler came into direct contact. “Yes.”
Nice and quiet. Oh yes. The vibrator was excellent. It was perfectly shaped. Just perfect. Sorrel bit her bottom lip, her hips lifting off the bed. She moved the vibrator a fraction, and a streak of pleasure shot down her legs. Mentally she reached for her orgasm, but the coil tightened even more. Her pulse raced, and another groan escaped. The sensations tugged at her almost painfully. She didn’t know if she could bear the direct contact any longer, yet she thought stopping would kill her. Balanced on the precipice, her body fought for release, struggled for satisfaction.
Military Men Page 54
