“So you let babies suck your dick? That’s a serious crime, you big dipshit.”
He let out a guffaw. “Shit, girl, where’d you learn to talk like that?”
“You keep implying I’m some Snow White character, pure as the driven snow. I’m not.”
“You seem pure. And you don’t seem to know how to take care of yourself, financially, I mean. You said yourself your guy is the money maker in the family.”
“He is, but that doesn’t make me pure. My parents sent my sister around the world. They funded her degree in law. They sent my brother to school to become a fireman. That’s what they do.”
“So, you’re the baby?”
She scoffed at him. “Don’t even go there. I’m the youngest.”
“A sassy brat, huh?” He bent his elbow slightly, allowing him to cup a hand around her shoulder.
“I wouldn’t say that. I think my parents wanted to linger longer with me.”
“What the hell does that mean?” He gave her a quizzical look.
“Since they stopped the baby making after me, they wanted me to linger longer in their life.” She grinned at Adonis. “That’s what I call it. They’ve kind of been dragging out my dependence on them.”
“And you let them do that.”
“I suppose. But…” She turned away from him biting her lip.
“Listen…” He brought his hand to her jaw and gently turned her face toward him. “You have pretty eyes. I call them molasses at midnight with droplets of honey.”
The contact, however gentle, made her skin sizzle. “That’s creative. They teach you that in the Navy?”
“And I love your hair. So sexy.” He fingered a strand. “You’re way prettier than she is.”
Tara felt herself puff up with pride. I’m prettier? She gazed at him, gathering her thoughts, suddenly drenched with lust.
“And, there’s that look again.” He winced.
“What look?”
His hand swished back and forth in front of her face. “That one. The innocent one. The one that makes you look naïve yet sexy as hell. It’s a dangerous look. It makes me…” He waved his hand again and looked at the cigarette between the fingers of his other hand, as if wishing he could light up. He stuck it back in his pocket as if tucking away temptation.
“It makes you…”
“Nothing. Tell me what you were going to say.”
“Okay.” She took a breath and squared her shoulders. “You’ve already transformed me.”
His eyebrows lifted. “Excuse me?”
“I…I feel different since meeting you.”
“Yeah, meeting an asshole will do that to a girl,” he scoffed.
“Stop it. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. You’re actually kind. You’ve made me see I need to take care of myself. Become independent. Not lean on my parents or Justin for survival. I’m sick of my parents bossing me around. And I’ve been unhappy with Justin for a long time. Our relationship isn’t working. It’s not fulfilling. It’s just…it’s all I’ve known. We’ve been dating since high school.”
“You’re young. It’s not that long.” He smirked at her.
“Would you stop it, old man? How old are you, anyway?”
“I’ll be thirty-one next month. I’m old. Too old for you.” He cocked his head and gave her a half smile.
“You’re old for me if this were a thing, which you’ve made very clear it isn’t.”
“And you agree with me?”
“Do I have a choice?” She gave him her frostiest glare. “You seem to be holding the wheel, here.”
He nodded, then seemed to be thinking. “So…”
“Yes, dear Adonis?” She batted her eyelashes at him.
“He’s, uh…Justin, I mean…he’s the only guy you’ve been with?”
Her face grew hot and she turned away from him, not wanting him to see her flaming cheeks.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
She turned her head in his direction, squinted at his face, and then dropped her eyes to his crotch. Dude is hard as a rock. He seemed to be very pleased by her answer as if he had a near virgin on his hands. “It’s need to know, buddy.”
“So now we’re buddies? I thought we were friends with bennies?” He laughed.
“And I didn’t think we were anything at all,” she shot back, exasperated, shaking her head at him.
“I like you, Aphrodite. You’re a lot of fun.” He drew her close and kissed the top of her head.
“That’s the third time you’ve done that,” she said, snuggling closer.
“What’s that?”
“Kissed the top of my head, like kissing a kitten.”
“I don’t usually kiss kittens.”
“Why don’t you kiss me on the mouth, then?” She cocked her head to study his luscious lips.
“No, no, no, no, no, Aphrodite.” He shook his head vigorously, like a dog shaking off water. “Now that’s Sex 101. Kissing implies intimacy.”
“I see. So everything below the neck implies distance. Something you can walk away from.”
“Pretty much. I didn’t make up the rules. It’s just how it works.”
“It’s fantastic to have such a knowing instructor,” she said in a sarcastic manner. She started to get up, intending to head back to her room, alone, rather than be used in such a manner.
Adonis tightened his grip around her shoulders. “Come on now. Don’t mess up my memories of what we did together. I’m only being honest with you.”
“What you’re doing, friend, is making up all the frigging rules.” She began ticking them off on her fingers. “No sleeping together, no kissing, don’t think this is a thing, each time I see you be grateful because it will be the last time, don’t ask questions, if you do ask questions, don’t expect an answer, instead, expect a turn-around question… how am I doing?”
“I’m impressed. Your recall of stupid shit I’ve said is remarkable.”
“Thanks. I’ve got the rules. I think I’m done.” She quickly stood before he had a chance to stop her. She stuck out her hand. “Good luck sorting stuff out with the ex. I’ve enjoyed our time together. It’s been transformative and interesting. I mean it.” She gave him her most sincere look, sans smile.
He took her hand, pulling her until she fell into his lap.
She closed her eyes briefly, trying to resist the stirring sensations of his stiff erection, his washboard abs, his chiseled chest, his smell, his… She put her palms against his chest as if to push away.
“Don’t be mad. I never expected to meet you. We met at a bad time.”
“So, make the best of it. You make a lot of excuses, you know that?” She wriggled free of his grasp and stood again, staring at his surprised expression. “Get some good rest. Sleep, don’t sleep, I don’t care.” She paused, waiting for his answer.
“I…” He hesitated.
“See ya, buddy. Have fun in the submerged tin can.” She took off at a trot, heading for her hotel, not caring whether he followed or not.
Her short legs were no match for his long stride. In a couple moments he was by her side.
“Where are you going? Heading to get drunk?”
“Heading to sleep with my new friend.”
Her lips quirked into a slight smile but she quickly stopped the expression from going any further. “I see. What if the offer’s rescinded? What if it expired?”
“I’ll deal. I hope it’s not, though.”
She stayed silent, stepping briskly, breathing hard from her exertion…or maybe from the nearness of Adonis. Finally, she laced her fingers with his.
He tried to pull free.
“Too intimate?” she asked.
“A little.”
“Deal with it.” She squeezed harder.
He squeezed back, lifting her hand to brush her knuckles with his lips. “You’re cute, Aphrodite.”
“Right. Like a puppy. Looks can be deceiving.” She grimaced, wanting to change the topic from her
so-called adorable status. “How long have you been in the Navy?”
“A while. I have one year left, then I’m outta there. I’ll have served fifteen years. I’ve thought about toughing it out to make twenty. Then I’d get retirement, but… They try to make you feel like trash for leaving, but I don’t care. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life trapped at sea. It’s no picnic, believe me. It’s sort of like hell, while serving my country. I’m glad I’m doing it, but enough is enough.”
Tara realized he was revealing actual details of his life to her. Not wanting to scare him off, she listened intently.
“When I was young, I wasn’t making anything of my life, you know? I got in a lot of trouble. It seemed like the best course of action to join as soon as I turned seventeen. My parents were thrilled to give consent. They probably thought, ‘thank God we can get rid of him.’ I have no regrets but…” His big shoulder rose and fell. He paused, lost in thought. “To be honest, though, I was aiming to get out to raise a family. Now that option’s gone, well…maybe I should stick with the twenty-year plan. I’ll get full bennies.” He shrugged again.
He seemed to be sorting out his future as he talked, going back and forth in his mind. “Nah, I’m ready for a change. I didn’t anticipate the sudden switch in my civilian life but…I can deal. You’re helping.” He gave her a sort of half grin.
“Are you kidding me? You just gave me a compliment?” She blinked rapidly, her mouth falling open.
He winked at her. “You gave me one by telling me I made a difference. I thought it only right to reciprocate.”
“Well, gosh. Thank you.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m glad I made a difference.”
“Don’t let it go to your head.”
“Another rule?”
“Only a suggestion.”
She smirked, shook her head, and then smiled softly.
They reached the hotel and Adonis swung open the door, holding it wide for her to enter. She brushed past him, shivering at the contact her body made with his. Sauntering up to the counter, she asked the receptionist for her mobile phone.
The woman gaped at Adonis. “You’re the man who brought her the phone. I thought you didn’t know her.”
“I lied.”
“He’s my kind of, sort of, friend,” Tara added.
“Oh. I see.” Flustered, she fumbled for the mobile phone, handing it to Tara while keeping her eyes pinned on Adonis.
“Thank you.” Tara waved the device in front of the clerk’s face.
She turned and blinked. “Oh, uh, sure thing. Glad you got it back.”
Tara turned and strode toward the stairway. “Good thing we’re only buddies or I might have to scratch someone’s eyes out.”
“Easy, girl. I find it flattering but I can be loyal when it’s reciprocated.” Adonis chuckled. “Doesn’t this hotel have an elevator?”
“Yes, I happen to like stairs.”
“Let’s take the lift.” He turned her shoulders toward the elevator and pushed her forward. He wrapped one of his strong arms around her collarbones, pressing her back against the large, hard bulge in his shorts.
“Using me as a decoy?”
“Dual purpose.” He extended his arm past her head and jabbed the call button.
She smiled and rubbed her back into him, like a cat.
“Careful.” The doors to the lift opened. As soon as they closed, he spun her around and dropped his gym bag. He looked desperate, hungry, feral…he licked his lips as if deciding what to do first. His breath came hard and fast. “You’re so fucking hot, I can barely stand it.”
“You didn’t seem to indicate that while we were outside.”
“I do know how to be civil, believe it or not. But now, all bets are off. We’re outside the twelve mile limit.”
“What?”
“Navy term.” A sexy smile appeared on his face. “Climb on.” He lifted her easily in his arms, positioning her sex over his erection, guiding her legs around his hips.
Since she’d pulled on the sheerest of panties, the touch of him, even with a fabric barrier, made her gasp. “Adonis,” she breathed.
He made a slow, grinding circle with his hips, trapping her against the corner of the lift. “Jesus Christ, I could come like this.” He dropped his forehead to rest on the top of her head. “Jesus fucking Christ. You’re as hot as Hades.”
The doors slid open and Tara’s eyes met the stunned gape of an elderly couple. “Oops!” she said, heat rising to her cheeks.
“Take the next one,” Adonis barked.
When the doors closed, sans elder couple, she pushed at Adonis’s chest. “You keep getting me in trouble.”
“Nuh uh. I told you, you’re either doing something consensual with me, or we’re not playing.”
“You’re big on consent, aren’t you?”
“Shhh, Aphrodite, I’m going to have to shove something in that mouth of yours to keep you quiet.”
She swallowed and kept her lips clamped shut, remembering the head of him barely fitting in her mouth.
“That’s my girl,” he said, continuing with his slow grinds against her sex. He lowered his head to her cheek, kissing her softly, keeping up the firm pressure against her core. He kissed her eyelids, her forehead, her nose, her hair, taking big whiffs of air, as if scenting her.
I wonder how these kisses fit in the intimacy rule, Tara thought, amused, aroused beyond belief.
His sexy, sensual grinds against her core continued, stimulating her. Sudden, surprising sensation overtook her. “Oh, God, Adonis. How is this…? What are you…? You’re going to make me come.”
“Yeah, baby. Come for me.”
She swallowed back her moans, biting her lip, as her climax took over, trying desperately to keep quiet in case the doors slid open again. She writhed against him, pleasure surging through her.
“Fuck,” he said. “You’re going to be the death of me. I swear I can feel that tight little pussy clamping down on me.” Adonis’s eyes were shut tight as he fought for his own control.
A ding sounded and the door opened to her floor.
“This is it,” she whispered, breathless. Her body buzzed with heat.
“Where’s your key?”
“Front pocket in my dress.” Feeling slightly woozy from the sudden climax, she flicked her gaze to the small chest pocket of her gauzy yellow dress, her arms wrapped around his thick neck.
He worked his nose and mouth into the opening, so close to her breast, using his teeth to extract the plastic business card shaped key.
She took it from his lips.
Holding her tightly, he reached for his bag and strode out of the elevator, saying, “Which room?”
“401,” she answered.
Making haste, he quickly found the room, turning her to give her access to the lock. Once inside, he slammed the door shut with his foot and dropped his bag, pivoting to press her against the wall. Clutching her ass, he made a few slow, grinding circles into her pussy again, her body still floating from the surprisingly delicious orgasm. “Now, goddess, we slow it down. Shower first. I’m sure I smell like a submariner.”
“Okay,” she breathed. “But I feel like I could come again. You…you’re…oh, God, Adonis, what are you doing?”
A lazy smile spread across his face, causing deep dimples in his cheeks. “I’m taking advantage of you. I’m enjoying the hell out of you.” He spun around, peeled back the crappy, quilted bedspread and gently laid her on the coarse, bargain basement sheets, before kicking off his sneakers.
“What about your shower?”
“It can wait. Someone said she’s ready for more.” He positioned her so her rump lay at the edge of the bed, bent her legs, and dropped to his knees. “I need something to eat,” he said.
She looked alarmed. “I don’t have anything. There’s no mini-bar in here. Nothing.”
He chuckled. “I see plenty. I intend to eat my fill.” His eyes dropped to her panties.
“What?”
She brought her knees together.
“Oh, come, now. Don’t tell me Justin’s never gone down on you.” He looked incredulous.
She shook her head side to side. “Our sex is kind of like…” She thought she’d die from embarrassment. “He gets on top, does his thing, rolls off and falls asleep. I finish with my fingers. As for…” Her gaze dropped to her sex, then rolled toward the ceiling. “He…he…doesn’t like the taste.” She felt mortified, her face flushed with heat.
“Aphrodite, I’ve already tasted you. You taste like heaven and earth, all mixed into one. Your guy is a fool times twenty. He doesn’t deserve you.”
“I don’t think he’s my guy anymore,” she whispered. “You don’t have to worry. I’m not saying you are. I’m just saying…”
One of Adonis’s fingers landed on her lips, shushing her. “Shhh, baby. We’ll take this nice and easy.”
The look on his face seemed infinitely satisfied, like she really was his personal virgin. I guess, in a way, I am. Her hands nervously fumbled with the sheets as she gazed at him.
“You need gentled, girl. Let’s get that dress off of you.”
She sat up, and began tugging her dress up.
He caught her hands in his. “Allow me.” His large palms landed on her hips, sliding her flimsy summer frock up over her breasts. He hissed. “Goddamn, you’re gorgeous, Aphrodite.”
She shivered at the contact.
His warm skin skimmed along her arms, guiding the fabric away from her.
“Sweet Jesus, baby. You make me so hot.”
She swallowed and licked her lips. “Take your clothes, off, too, so I can see you.” Her voice came out all breathy strange and high.
“I’m sure I stink.” He smiled apologetically.
“I don’t care. I want to see you.” She caught her lower lip between her teeth and chewed nervously.
“Damn, girl. There’s that look again. You’re going to break me. I think you already have.” He unbuttoned his shirt, tugging it off and tossing it to the floor. Next, he shoved his hands into his shorts and slid them down his legs, working them off his feet. His erection sprang free, drawing her eyes to it, mesmerized. He stood at the edge of the bed, looming over her.
“I didn’t know men could be so large,” she said, resuming the chewing of her lip. She extended one of her feet and drew it along his leg. He felt like warm granite.
Field Stripped: 15 Steamy Military Romances Page 136
