Protected by a Hero

by Susan Stoker, Cristin Harber, Cora Seton, Lynn Raye Harris, Kaylea Cross, Katie Reus, Tessa Layne

  Rayne leaned back against the pillows and dropped her legs, stretching them out in front of her. Ghost’s hand moved from her foot to her thigh.

  “Home.”

  The first word that sprang to his mind was “nowhere” but he knew he couldn’t say that. “Fort Worth.”

  It was quiet in the room for a beat before she said softly, “Your turn.”

  “Tell me about your family.”

  “My family? I’m not sure that will put me in the mood, Ghost.”

  He chuckled. “Tell me anyway.” He watched as Rayne relaxed even further. His plan was working just as he’d hoped.

  “Well, I have a brother and a sister. I’m the middle kid. My sister is older than me by three years, and I’m two years older than my brother. Samantha is an actress and lives in California. She’s been cast in a few films, but is still waiting for her big break.”

  “And your brother?”

  “Chase lives down in Killeen and is a lieutenant in the Army. He’s stationed at Fort Hood. He’s always wanted to be in the military, he was accepted into West Point, and he’s going to be a lifer. I’ve always kidded with him that there’s no way I’ll ever salute him…even if he climbs the rank to be a general.” She laughed a little at herself.

  “General Jackson?” he asked in what he hoped was a light tone.

  “Yeah, ridiculous, huh? I guess it was just in his blood or something.”

  “You never thought about joining up? It would’ve been another way to see the world.”

  Rayne looked at him with such horror he had to smile.

  “No freaking way. I’d make a terrible soldier. Heck, if there’s ever an apocalypse, I’ll totally be the first one killed by the zombies because I can’t run to save my life.”

  “There’s more to survival than running, Princess.”

  “Whatever. I suck at pushups, haven’t done a sit-up since I was eight years old, and honestly? I don’t follow directions very well.”

  When Ghost didn’t say anything more, Rayne scooted down on the bed and mimicked his pose, turning on her side, propping her head up with her hand and leaning on her elbow. It looked as if he was thinking hard about something, so she let him think.

  “I’ll never look at the rain in the same way again,” he said, seemingly out of the blue.

  “What?”

  “If it wasn’t for the storm, the flight wouldn’t have been canceled, and I wouldn’t be here now, with you, so turned on I can’t even think straight.”

  Rayne looked at him in surprise. “You are?”

  “Yeah, Princess. I feel like I’m fifteen again, standing next to Whitney Pumperfield under the bleachers at the football game.”

  Rayne giggled, and Ghost continued with his made-up story. “She was a year younger than me, but she’d obviously been an early bloomer, because she had the finest set of tits I’d ever seen. And I wanted to get my hands on them…bad.”

  “Go on…did you?”

  “Oh yeah…” Ghost paused for dramatic effect. “She let me kiss her for a while and I thought I was so suave. I moved one of my hands under her crop top and slowly eased it upward. I went straight for her bra and pulled it down. I squeezed her voluptuous tit and felt her nipple stab into my palm.”

  “And?” Rayne smiled and gestured for him to continue. “Don’t leave me hanging here!”

  Ghost scooted closer to her and put his hand on her hip.

  “And just as she moaned into my mouth, I blew in my pants and her best friend called her name from around the corner. She pulled away, and I lost my chance to do anything else with her.”

  “You came just from touching her breast?”

  “Princess, I was fifteen. And you didn’t see her tits.”

  Rayne laughed again and immediately tried to hide it from him.

  “Yeah, I can laugh about it now, but back then I was mortified and pissed all at once. I wanted to touch her…all over, but later that night her friend convinced her that I only wanted in her pants and she refused to go anywhere with me ever again.”

  “Did you only want in her pants?”

  “You heard me say I was fifteen, right?” Ghost joked.

  “Yeah, right, sorry.” She giggled at him.

  Ghost thanked his lucky stars Rayne was finally relaxing. “As I said, right at this moment, I’m so turned on, I feel just like I did back then, standing with my hand on Whitney’s chest.” He moved his hand slowly up and down the side of Rayne’s body.

  “Are you going to lose it when you touch my breast?”

  “Hell no. I’ve had some practice in control since then.”

  “Kiss me, Ghost.”

  “With pleasure.” Ghost leaned forward and felt satisfaction pool in his gut when Rayne eased backward at his movement and lay on her back, opening herself up to him, looking into his eyes as if he was her first lover.

  “I’m gonna kiss you, Princess. Then I’m gonna finally see what your gorgeous tits look like. I’ve been imagining it all afternoon. I know Whitney Pumperfield is gonna be a distant memory after seeing yours. Then I’m gonna strip off those god-awful purple pants and see if your legs are as long as they seemed today in that skirt.”

  “Hey! My pants aren’t god-awful!”

  Ghost ignored her protest and finished. “Then I’m gonna take you. I’m gonna take you soft and slow until you beg me to let you come. Then as you’re coming, I’m gonna take you hard and fast, until you can’t think of sex again without thinking about me. And Princess? I guarantee after tonight, you won’t think sex is awkward ever again. You’ll see what you’ve been missing all this time.”

  He paused, waiting for her to say something, to stop him. When she didn’t move a muscle, not even to breathe, Ghost smiled down at her. “Oh yeah, Whitney has nothing on you.”

  As he leaned down to kiss her, he was thrilled when Rayne arched up to meet his mouth. Thank Christ.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Rayne couldn’t believe she was about to have a one-night stand with a man she basically picked up in an airport. He was honestly the sexiest man she’d ever laid eyes on. Muscular arms, six-pack abs, a tattoo of some words on his left side…he could’ve been a model if it wasn’t for the variety of scars crisscrossing his torso. Scars notwithstanding, he was beautiful and she wanted her hands on him in the worst way. Why he seemed interested in plain ol’ her, she had no idea, but she wasn’t going to question it.

  She wanted him. Bad. Rayne lifted her chin and licked her lips as Ghost’s head descended toward hers. She kept her eyes open, not wanting to miss a second of the experience.

  Ghost felt his heart beating in his chest as the anticipation of seeing Rayne naked, of getting inside her, pressed down on him. He couldn’t remember being this excited to see a woman without her clothes on in a long, long time…probably since he was about fifteen years old.

  His lips touched hers and Ghost put his right hand on her face while his left arm kept him propped up over Rayne. Their tongues tangled together as they re-learned the taste of each other’s mouths. He caressed her cheek with his thumb as their heads tilted one way, then the other as they devoured each other.

  Ghost drew back and swallowed hard. He wanted to rush it. He wanted to be inside this amazing woman more than he wanted to breathe, but he didn’t want to spook her, and perhaps more importantly, he wanted to give her romance. This might be a one-time thing, but the romantic part of him, usually buried deep, wanted to make this night one she’d remember for a long time.

  “You taste like mint.”

  Ghost grinned down at Rayne. “So do you.” After a beat, he asked, “You all right?”

  Rayne nodded. “I’m good.”

  “Comfortable?”

  “Uh-huh, why?”

  “Because I have a feeling you’re going to be on your back for a while.”

  Rayne laughed a little nervously and brought her hand up to grasp his biceps, noting absently that her fingertips didn’t come close to touching as
she wrapped her hand around him. “I am?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I didn’t really picture you as a missionary-style man.”

  Ghost leaned down and kissed her jaw without answering. Then he moved to nip and lick at the skin right by her ear. He shifted and took her lobe between his teeth, sucking lightly and caressing her with his tongue. Finally he shifted his lips so he could whisper into Rayne’s ear. “I’m a missionary man, a doggy-style man, a reverse-cowgirl man, and any other position I can get. I want you, any way I can get you, and I’m planning on using every minute of our night to keep you satisfied. But I want to start by feasting…and the best position for that is you, on your back. Understand?”

  Her quick inhalation was answer enough. Ghost lifted his head and Rayne could see his eyes were dark with lust. His hand ran from her cheek down her chest, over her erect nipple to her waist. Without breaking eye contact, he lifted her tank top and eased his hand underneath it.

  Neither of them said a word as Ghost’s hand slowly slid up and covered her breast. She wasn’t wearing a bra and his hand covered her completely and he squeezed.

  Rayne shifted under him, feeling herself get wet at his confident touch.

  “I can’t wait to see these beauties,” Ghost murmured reverently. “You’re so soft and your nipple is begging for my touch.”

  “Ghost, please.”

  “Please what, Princess?”

  He was smiling down at her, clearly enjoying her restless movements under him, knowing his touch was turning her on.

  “Touch me.”

  “I am touching you.”

  “Ghost…” His name came out as a whine and Rayne was mortified as soon as the word left her mouth. She shouldn’t have worried though.

  “God, I love hearing you lose your mind. And I haven’t even gotten started. Lift your arms. Let’s get this tank off.”

  Rayne hesitated for a second. This was it. If she was going to back out, now was the time.

  But the moment the thought entered her head, she dismissed it. She wanted Ghost. He’d been a gentleman all day. He’d protected her when they were out and about and he had a funny side hidden under his gruff exterior. He’d done nothing but reassure her he wasn’t going to do anything she didn’t want to do, and even if it made her similar to one of those stupid women in horror movies, she was going to trust him.

  She lifted her arms.

  Ghost took a deep breath and relaxed as Rayne finally raised her arms to give him the go-ahead to remove her tank. He’d wondered for a moment if she was about to call it quits, and it would’ve killed him, but he would’ve backed off. Thank Christ she was still with him.

  Sitting up, Ghost straddled her hips and caressed her belly over the tank top, drawing out the moment. Looking down at his hands—and his prize—he slipped his hands under her shirt and ever so slowly pushed upward, taking the shirt with him as he moved. Her belly button was exposed, then the lower curves of her breasts and finally, as his hands moved over both nipples, her entire chest was bare to him.

  She was beautiful. Not perfect, and he knew if asked, she’d probably point out all the areas on her body she thought were flawed. But her lushness only made him harder. His original thought that she reminded him of Marilyn Monroe was right on. Her hips were wide and her breasts were large. Her nipples stood up, as if begging for his touch. She had a bit of a belly, but all Ghost saw was heaven.

  Not able to wait, and while pushing the tank top the rest of the way over her head and over her arms, Ghost leaned down and took one of her nipples into his mouth, and groaned. Her bud was hard, and he could feel it tighten more as he nipped at it with his teeth.

  His hands now free, he brought them down and used one to plump up the breast of the nipple he was sucking, and the other he used to cover her other mound and squeeze.

  He felt Rayne arch into his touch and smiled. Some men might be ass men, but he was most certainly a breast man. Without looking up, he moved to the other side of her chest. He nibbled around the curve of her ample mound and finally looked up to her face as his tongue came out and flicked the neglected tip.

  Rayne was looking down at him with her mouth slightly open and he could hear her quick breaths. He looked back down at what he was doing. “There’s nothing I enjoy more than playing with a pair of tits. And Princess, I have to say, yours are absolutely perfect.”

  “Better than Whitney Pumperfield’s?”

  It took Ghost a moment to figure out who she was talking about. Since Whitney was made up, he could answer her honestly with a smile. “A million times better than Whitney’s.”

  He pulled back and sat up, hovering over Rayne once more. His hands didn’t leave her chest as he continued to caress and squeeze her. “Yours are fleshy enough that if I do this,” he squeezed her mounds together until they were touching, “I can imagine my cock sliding between them.”

  He ignored Rayne’s gasp and went on, shifting so his fingertips were pinching her nipples. “Your nipples are large and stick out beautifully, giving me something to grab on to when I want to do this…”

  Ghost twisted his fingers slightly, loving the flush of red that made its way up her neck. He knew he wasn’t hurting her because her hips were undulating under his unconsciously. A little moan escaped her lips and he could feel her fingernails digging into his hips as she held on to him. Most importantly, she didn’t tell him to stop, and she wasn’t pulling away from him.

  “You are beautiful, Princess.” He soothed both hands over her breasts again, gently plumping them up and rubbing his palms over her nipples.

  Something caught his eye and he leaned in closer to take a look. “Ah, tattoo number one.”

  Almost hidden, and it certainly would’ve gone unseen if she’d been standing, was a small pink ribbon tattooed on the underside of her left breast. There was a tiny purple heart next to it as well. The tattoo was tiny, probably only half an inch at most. Ghost leaned down and licked it. Then kissed it gently, before rising.

  “Interesting place for a tattoo. That had to have hurt.”

  Rayne nodded at him. “It’s for my friend Mary. She had breast cancer and I got it in solidarity for her. The pain it took for me to get it was nothing compared to what she went through.”

  “The woman you texted my info to?”

  “Uh-huh…um, Ghost…”

  “Yeah, Princess?” Ghost knew exactly what he was doing to her as he continued to stimulate her right nipple as he talked. He’d pushed up her left breast so he could see the small mark, and he could literally feel her heart beating as fast as a jackrabbit under his palm.

  “Can we discuss it later?”

  “Discuss what later?”

  “Jesus, Ghost. My tattoo. My friend Mary. Breast cancer. All of it.”

  “Yeah, you’re right, I was in the middle of something, wasn’t I?”

  Rayne nodded enthusiastically.

  “Okay, Princess. That’s one tattoo down. I can’t wait to find the other two.” He laughed when she moaned under him. He shifted his hips down her body until he was hovering over her knees. “Spread your legs for me.”

  Loving that she immediately did as he asked, Ghost moved so she could spread herself wider for him and settled himself on his knees between her legs. He scooted up, forcing her to widen her legs even more to accommodate him as he did. He put his hands on her hips and watched her face.

  After a moment, she looked up at him. Her hands fluttered nervously next to her as if she wasn’t sure what to do with them.

  “I can smell how aroused you are for me, Princess. Do you still want me? Want this?”

  She nodded and swallowed hard.

  “Thank God.” He took the drawstring in his hand and slowly pulled, loosening the waist of her purple cotton pants. He pressed his thumbs into her hipbones and then methodically swept them back and forth over her pants, seemingly in no hurry.

  Leaning down, he nuzzled the area right under her belly button and used his chin t
o push her pants farther down her hips. Looking up in surprise, he commented, “You aren’t wearing panties.”

  “I know. I figured if I was coming to bed to be with you, I’d only be taking them off, so it seemed to me to be a time-saver to leave them off.”

  “Jesus, no wonder I can smell you so easily.” His hands didn’t move, but Ghost brought his nose down between her legs and inhaled deeply.

  Shifting in embarrassment, and wanting him to get on with it, Rayne commented dryly, “You know, that’d be quicker if you used your hands.”

  Ghost swallowed a laugh. She was hilarious. “I know, but I’m enjoying taking my time.”

  “As much as I appreciate that, we do only have one night, Ghost. Can we get on with it?”

  The gleam in his eyes as he looked up was electric. “You ready for me?”

  “Yes.”

  Ghost backed away and stood up next to the bed. As his hands went to the waistband of his sweats, he gestured to her pants and ordered brusquely, “Take ’em off.”

  Rayne lifted her hips and pushed her favorite lounging pants down, using her feet to push them the rest of the way off and to the floor. She couldn’t take her eyes off Ghost. He’d shoved his own pants off and was standing next to the bed taking her in as if she were a meal and he hadn’t eaten in days.

  But damn, he was fine. There was one additional gnarly scar on his left thigh, but otherwise he was flawless. She could see the tattooed writing on his side but couldn’t read what it said. She was distracted by his cock, which was standing up long and thick, jutting from between his thighs. Before she’d gotten her fill of looking at him, Ghost threw one leg over hers and settled back between her knees.

  He once again shoved his way up her body until her legs were gaping open around him. She bent her legs to accommodate him and gasped when he put both hands under her butt and lifted her hips.

  Rayne grabbed on to his arms again and panted in anticipation. She’d had a few guys go down on her before, but none seemed this…intense about it. Ghost had said he wanted her to get lost in the passion between them, and it looked like she was about to be.