When she seamed her lips, his amiable naughty smile disappeared completely. “Never, and I wouldn’t lie to you.”
“Shandra Lee from HR says otherwise.”
He rolled his eyes. “I know what she said and there are a handful of others, but I think she’s the worst. I have never been to bed with that woman. Not even a date.”
“Then there’s Shannon.” God, that woman was a rock star in business, and probably in bed.
“I’ve never been with any woman from Harrington Corp.”
“Except me.”
Jesse’s messy, wavy blond hair accentuated his unforgettable appearance. A mix of boy-next-door and a heavy dose of confidence with a wave of sex appeal. That, she thought to herself, is sex on the beach.
He grinned. “Only you.”
Jesse lay on his side, his head propped-up on one hand. His finger traced her hip and then slipped between her thighs. He stroked just above her clit, around it, but never the eager tip. Not enough to throw her into a frenzy, but telling her with his caress, he claimed her body. She belonged to him, and he could touch her when he wanted.
“Why me? Why now?”
“It’s more than a one sentence answer, Charlene.”
“Not like I’m rushing out the door,” she said, concentrating on his words instead of his playful finger dance.
“I started my life again when I couldn’t be a SEAL anymore.” He paused, his gaze surveying her body. “Least, I thought I did. Harrington Corp hired me because of my specialized training in electronics and programming.” He leaned over, pressing a kiss to her mons and then lay on his back to stare up at the ceiling. “I’ve given myself time to readjust, but I don’t feel comfortable in civilian life. I’m starting to wonder if I ever will.”
She slowly shuffled down beside him and stretched her arm across his abs. Only his eyes moved to latch onto hers.
“I don’t have some of the problems other guys have after an incident takes them out of service.”
“Incident? You make it sound like a stolen hubcap or a fender bender. I’ve just heard things through the grapevine about what happened to you. I can see,” she said, brushing a light touch over the scars on his leg, “it was more than an incident.”
“I lucked out. I’m still alive. Two of my guys from Delta squad came home in pieces.” The humor and sexual sizzle left his expression. “All I have is a limp most people can’t detect. It only shows up if I push it physically.”
Charlene gazed at the man who she’d seen five days a week for the last year. For a change, they weren’t talking about command languages and debugging. Not even during the drive from San Diego. He’d asked how her girls were doing, and what she did in her spare time. Where she’d been raised. Riding in the car with him for five hours, six if you counted the stop for dinner outside of Vegas, had been a little stressful. She’d wondered why he’d offered to drive in the first place.
None of it had made sense, until now. Jesse was sharing himself with her. Having two daughters who often came to her for advice, she put her mothering cape on.
“I don’t think there’s a time limit on when you should feel more like a civilian than a SEAL. All the training they gave you found a home in your mind when you were young and like a sponge. I would think being a SEAL becomes part of you, as does the high of being successful in a mission. Even developing an innovative new program and solving faults probably doesn’t hold the same charge as a life or death situation.”
He smiled and nodded. “Doesn’t.”
She stroked his large hand and then curled her fingers around his. “But you have to ask when is it enough? When does putting yourself in danger become something other than service to your country and more an addiction to the high of fight or flight?”
An intense interest appeared in his eyes and he sat up, leaning back on one elbow. “You think I’m some kind of junky missing the rush?”
She choked out an uncomfortable laugh. “I’m not trying to dissuade you. I—just, this is a side of you I never knew.”
His gaze deepened. “That answers your question from before, as to why now.”
She didn’t understand.
“Last night I decided to take a chance. I had every intention of seducing the woman I’ve come to admire and respect. I wanted to peel away your restraint and see you without your game face on. You’ve always put a polite distance between us. I imagine that’s the way you protect yourself from letting someone, namely any man, see the wildness under the camouflage of only business. You didn’t succeed. Those nights we worked late on the project, I was captivated just watching something as simple as you leaning back in the chair to catch a breather and gathering your hair into a messy mop on your head. I almost lost it a couple times. I sure as hell didn’t get up, because you would have seen the response clearly.”
“And you used alcohol to get a better look?” She laughed, but nervously because his words unsettled her.
Jesse nodded. “Yup. Simple but effective, and I wasn’t wrong.” His voice lowered as the perfect bow of his upper lip swooped in to kiss her. When he let her breathe again, he said, “I think I’m going to offer my services to the Navy again, Charlene, and I wanted you to know how I feel before I take that step.”
“What?” A spike of fear nailed her square in the heart.
He pressed her shoulders back to the bed and a comforting kiss to her lips. “Please don’t look at me like that. The project isn’t completely finished. We’ve still got the S.T.W. set to work tests.”
“Never mind the tests. Why?”
“If I return to my commission, with my skills, I’ll be deployed to a FOB. I won’t be a SEAL, but I can support them in a different function.”
“Does Mr. Harrington know?” He owned the company and all its assets, and the CEO saw his employees as assets.
“Not yet. My programmers know. Peter and Tony.”
The news saddened her. Even without last night’s hot intermission from the boredom of eat, sleep, breathe, she looked forward to coming to work more than a data analyst should, and she knew it was because she’d see Jesse every day. Other than in her fantasies, she’d never imagined they’d end up in bed.
“Do you think I shouldn’t?” With a gentle turn, he rolled her under him.
She swallowed heavily. The warm smile that she’d become so used to, the one that melted her heart whenever he turned it on her, which was almost always, sent a flutter of excitement through her. Liquid heat saturated her body as his shaft hardened and pressed against her moist folds. Desire darkened his eyes into an unsettled sea of blue, and she knew her own betrayed her needs.
“It’s too early for decisions. And too early to get up.”
“Tell that to what’s between my thighs, Jesse.”
A huge grin cut across his rigid jaw line, one that only a sculptor could chisel. God had made him into a masterpiece, one that didn’t belong with her. That thought squashed the mischievous grin wanting to erupt on her face. His gaze moved from her lips to her eyes, stilling her inner commentary.
“Don’t,” he warned. “This isn’t a one night stand.” He palmed both her cheeks. “Somewhere between test equipment and pages of C plus plus, I fell in love with you, Charlene.”
Chapter Four
Jesse’s hands clasped her waist and he slowly penetrated her body with heat and need. A moan growled from his throat and his tongue twisted around her nipple, swollen and wanting more.
How could she resist this man whose mind and personality were as encompassing and sexy as his body? Her moisture slid around him as he leisurely rolled his hips and plunged inside her, arousing a blistering desire that defied age or sense.
He withdrew and slid his hands under her thighs, gently spreading them wider, his gaze heated and centered on her sex. “Sweetheart, I want to cum just thinking about tasting you.”
Oh, God, help her. When he talked like that, she wanted to screw the daylights out of him.
He trailed
a line of kisses up her inner thigh and hesitated, his warm breath making her clit pulse with anticipation. When his lips teased her flesh, her hips jolted forward.
Jesse raised his upper body, his arms bulging with the weight, and reached over her to pick something up from the floor.
“Stretch your arms above your head,” he said, before nipping the pebbled peak of her breast.
Just like that, she did as he asked. The cool silk of his tie brushed against her cheek, then covered her eyes.
“Grab the edge of the bed and don’t let go.”
With sweet, twirling licks against her abdomen, he marked every inch of her skin.
“Patience, my smart and sexy lady,” he teased, feeling her hips rise beneath him, wanting his thick shaft inside her again.
Together, like this, her inhibitions receded and a wild need to explore and let him do what he wanted, infused her like a drug. At one point last night, he’d turned her onto all fours and penetrated her from behind, then remained absolutely still, allowing her to ride his rigid cock. It had been the sexiest thing she’d ever experienced in her life until she heard his moans of pleasure and his grip tightened on her hips. It’d driven her into a raging fury to push him deeper, faster, until they both came undone.
She hated him as much as she loved him for making her a slave to his lust— because now that she’d had it, she’d never forget.
His tongue laved her sex, shattering her thoughts. Without sight, and only sensation, his intimate touch struck with electrifying pleasure, vibrating through her. A cry of pleasure flew from her lips. His moist tongue followed a stream of her silk as it slipped around her ass, and then he took control of her with his mouth tugging on her fleshy nub. He sucked hard and fast, fluttering his tongue against the firm tip. Her hips bucked involuntarily, body arching, molded by his hands.
Just before she found her release he stopped, and the loss of his heated caress against her inflamed flesh, frustrated her.
“You’re the only woman I want to fuck the daylights out of. You feel so good coming around my cock.” He kissed her with leisure, his tongue tangling with hers, letting her taste herself on his mouth. “I want to be your partner, Charlene. Earn your trust and respect your strength, but I want your surrender when I’m inside you.”
Her body trembled, but it wasn’t from fear or guilt. It was from desire. A deep encompassing desire to belong to him. A man eight years younger, yet light years more dominant than any man she’d known. She wanted to trust him. Her doubts receded as the girth of his shaft rimmed her channel.
“Do you want me, Charlene?”
She nodded, her breath coming in shallow pants.
The crown of his head stroked her opening and a deep groan left his throat.
“God, you’re so wet and hot.”
He plunged inside her, his large palms cupping her ass to hold her to his hips. Every stroke drove her lust higher. His velvet soft skin over stiff muscle plunged to the hilt inside her. He knew when to pause and when to slide with infuriatingly drawn out strokes.
“Jesse, oh God, please go faster.”
“God, woman. I want to fuck you inside out.”
Deep inside, her muscles milked him, holding on tight to his thickness.
“Sweetheart.”
Her pulse beat wildly. When his thumb circled her firm nub, lights sparkled beneath her lids.
“Oh yeah, sweetheart. Now,” he hissed. “I need to cum, now.”
And with unrestrained deliverance, his thumb circled her clit while his cock stroked her so deep, she obeyed with an orgasm of her own.
Clutched in his arms and too spent to argue, she reveled in the kisses he placed on her cheeks, her mouth. The tie was slipped from her eyes and she blinked, shuddering with the effect this man had on her.
His finger brushed her brow. “You are so beautiful to me.” A deep reflective smile drew across his expression. “Don’t make me hide what I feel for you.” He kissed her quickly. “Give us a chance.”
“What?” The small word dribbled from her lips. A glint sparkled in his eyes full of mischief and promise. For a split second she almost believed him. “I need a shower.”
“Together.” He scooped his arms under her and lifted her onto his lap.
“That’s not what I meant,” she said. He couldn’t get them to the bathroom on one leg, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to say it out loud. When he stood up, her heart nearly exploded. “Jesse, please. I can walk.”
“Afraid I’ll drop you?” The glint in his eye disappeared, and a tiny speck of doubt flickered in its place.
“No,” she said quietly as he placed her on her feet. He didn’t wobble or stumble. He stood absolutely centered on his powerful right leg. The muscles defined with the effort he must have made to keep the rest of his body as strong as when he was a SEAL. “I don’t doubt your strength or who you are. I’ve never seen anything but a formidable leader who shows confidence in his team.”
Jesse grabbed the crutches laying near the bed and waited for her to proceed. In the bathroom, he turned on the shower big enough for two.
“Jesse, this was…interesting, but I can’t do it. I feel the eight years between us. That won’t go away.”
He turned to glance at her over his shoulder. “Expected you might say that.”
“It’s true.” The fact she was leaning against the counter watching as he adjusted the water temperature, both of them buck naked and it didn’t bother her anymore…well that bothered her.
“We don’t have to be at the booth until one o’clock.” He stretched out his arm. “Join me, Charlene.”
She shook her head. “I have a shower in my room, too.” Not vaulting from the bathroom and running back to hers, didn’t go unnoticed.
He curled a finger at her and wore nothing but a very handsome smile. Her eyes skittered down his body, and his shaft twitched with her visual appreciation.
“Are you afraid I can prove that a few years makes no difference? Or do you have another excuse?”
“No,” she said quickly.
He shook his head. “You’re not going to hurt my feelings if my leg bothers you.”
“It’s not your injury. I seriously don’t even think about it. What bothers me is if you look in the mirror behind me, you’ll see we look ridiculous together.”
He approached her, his gaze like a panther ready to pounce. “Is that so.”
She held her breath while he turned her. Her heart fluttered wildly when his body pressed against her back and his hands cupped her breasts. He gave her a love bite on her shoulder and stared at her in the mirror. His intense blue eyes shuttered by dark, long lashes.
“I see a beautiful woman who deserves to be loved.” Jesse paused and turned his gaze toward hers. His thick arms circled her waist and he stood at full height, which meant he towered over her.
“Sex. We had sex.” Looking up at him, he was quick to land a gentle kiss on her mouth.
He grinned. “Then keep me as your boy toy.”
“That’s not funny.” He was teasing her again, but— “I know I’m not old. I’m just saying there’s a difference, and I can see it. I see a stomach that carried two babies. I see skin starting to lose its firmness and the small creases around my eyes. I know it’s natural, but it’s not natural for a man like you to be standing here.”
“I won’t deceive you, Charlene. Don’t condemn us to failure because of a number. Give me the morning to prove that just because you’ve raised two girls and you’re past forty, it doesn’t mean the adventure is over.”
“And how do you plan to do that?”
He stepped back, holding her close, and then took another small hop until they reached the shower and backed in with little resistance from her.
“First, I’m going to get you wet. Second part of the plan is I’m going to get you excited about life and me.”
“You did that last night and once already this morning,” she said, unable to stop grinning because
his proved infectious.
Pushing her gently against the wall, the water raining down on both of them, Jesse kissed her. Not like before, but with a promise. Confident he could show her he’d never break his vow. The rumble of acceptance he made when his lips met hers, weakened her knees. Her hands traced his chest down to the wet skin on his abs, and his shaft hardened against her belly in response.
“We could blow off the conference and spend the rest of the weekend in this suite,” he said.
His jaw, covered with a rough shadow of scruff, gently scratched her cheek. Full lips with a perfect bow brushed against hers. “You’re seducing me again,” she said, her eyes closed, the closeness of Jesse hard to resist.
“Is it working?” he asked, slipping his hand beneath her thigh and propping her foot on the tile-covered bench in the shower.
“Maybe,” she said with a breathy sigh.
“I’m a determined man, Charlene, and I’m determined to watch you cum again.”
Chapter Five
An hour later while eating breakfast on a quaint balcony of the hotel overlooking the swimming pools, the she-devil made an appearance.
“Hey, where have you guys been?” Shannon asked, appearing in a flurry sending the little birds pecking at crumbs into flight.
Shannon, the company’s top sales and marketing agent had a gift when it came to selling Harrington Corp’s programs and equipment. Before an interested party even knew they were interested, she had them signing on the dotted line.
“Jesse, I need your help today. I’ve got a client coming in from Hong Kong. He wants to talk to you before signing a fifteen million dollar research and development deal. I need you.”
Shannon had made several attempts at getting one-on-one time with Jesse. She didn’t hide the fact from the girls in the office that he was her target. Openly, she’d announced she would fuck him if it was the last thing she’d do. The blonde, five-foot-ten drink of sensual water had everything a man could ask for— and she apparently loved sex. No straight-thinking man could refuse her.
Field Stripped: 15 Steamy Military Romances Page 63
