by Vaughn, Ann
She stared at the screen a moment. Was she fine? She didn’t really think so. She needed to see him. Now. She needed to see for herself that he was all right.
I’m fine. Come to me when you can, she typed out. Was she fine? Not really. But she wasn’t going to convey that via a text and have him distracted from wrapping up whatever he needed to be able to get to her faster.
Riley pocketed his phone after reading Jenna’s last text. No doubt she’d seen what happened on TV. He rubbed the back of his neck as he finished filling out his preliminary report. He hated that it all unfolded before cameras the way it had. No telling how Jenna would react to what she’d seen. They’d never really talked in detail about his job and all it entailed.
“Stanton,” one of the SWAT guys called, “the reporters want to interview you.”
Riley glanced at his watch. “Can we get around it? I’m needing to get out of here.”
“I’ll pass the word along.”
“Thanks.”
Time seemed to drag but finally they made it back to the station. He showered and changed and found himself pulling into Jenna’s driveway at almost midnight, almost eight hours after the incident. He was tired, he had a pounding headache, and all he wanted to do was see her and get some…he stopped mid-thought when her front door burst open and Jenna came running out and was in his arms as soon as he cleared the truck door.
“I was so scared,” she sobbed into his neck, clinging tightly to him.
“Oh, hey, baby. Shhh…It’s OK. I’m fine,” he soothed.
She pulled back to place both her hands on his cheeks so that she could look directly into his eyes.
“He shot at your head,” she whispered. “I thought I’d just watched you get killed.”
He stroked her hair and leaned down to place a kiss to her brow. “I knew the glass was bullet-proof. I wasn’t in danger at that point.”
She shook her head again. “I thought I’d lost you.”
His heart soared. He tightened his hold on her lifting her off her feet and carrying her into the house.
“Where’s Cam?” he asked, putting her back on her feet.
“Staying the night with a friend,” she said, caressing his face, touching him as if she were afraid he would disappear at any moment.
He smiled. “Really? We’re alone? All night?”
“All weekend,” she amended. “I had this set up before your TV debut…but, after today,” she took a deep breath. “I was so afraid that you would die, not knowing how I really feel about you.”
“Baby,” he began, but she stopped him.
“These last few weeks have been, like a fairy tale. You’ve been so wonderful. To me and to Cam. And when I saw him shoot at your head…” She lost it again.
He gathered her into his arms again and carried her to the couch, cradling her in his lap. He held her for a few minutes but when she kept crying, he cupped her face in his hands to get her to look at him.
“Look at me, Jenna. What you saw today, that’s what I do. I help my uncle on days like today, if I’m in town. I did things a lot more dangerous than that in the SEALs. You’ve got to trust me, that I know what I’m doing and that I’m good at it.”
“I do…I just don’t want to see you do it.”
He smiled and Jenna felt her heart melt. “I think I can arrange that. Today was special. First time ever.”
She took a deep breath. “OK…and, all the scary danger aside?” she said, turning in his arms to straddle him. “You looked really, really hot.”
“Yeah?”
She nodded. “You are gorgeous, Riley.”
Riley smiled, then turned his attention to his hands, exploring her body. For the first time, he really paid attention to what she was wearing, a burgundy velvet robe that was really soft under his hands. Leaning up, he captured her lips while his hands worked the tie of her robe loose. Parting the robe, his hands reached underneath it to encounter…lace.
He pulled away to look down at her to see what he was touching. She wore a black lace negligee that accented her full breasts, pushing them up and together so that he was looking down at some pretty impressive cleavage. He pushed the robe from her shoulders and leaned back farther to take in what she was wearing.
“Damn,” he groaned, his hands smoothing over her breasts. “You are beautiful.”
“I want you, Riley,” she whispered against her lips.
Riley tightened his hold on her and stood with her in his arms, carrying her into her bedroom. He placed her lovingly down on the bed and then stood a moment, just looking down at her. She lay still, her eyes locked on him, her chest rising and falling with her every breath, drawing his gaze. For a moment, Riley was still, drinking her in, then he pressed a knee to the bed and leaned down over her to kiss her but before she could fully enjoy the kiss, he pulled away and trailed his lips down her neck to the swell of her breasts. She reached for his belt buckle, tugging on it.
“Do I need protection?” he asked, watching her pull his belt free.
“I’m on the pill and I haven’t been with anyone since Wade.”
“It’s been three years for me,” he admitted.
Her eyes widened. “Really?”
“Been a little busy.”
“Take your jeans off, Riley,” she said after she’d unbuttoned and unzipped them.
“Yes, ma’am.”
He stood and removed his boots, socks and jeans. She got to her knees on the bed and removed his shirt herself, leaving him in just his underwear. She raked her nails over his chest, then leaned forward and placed kisses on his scars. He caught her hair in his hand and twisted it around his wrist, pulling her head back so that he could look down into her upturned face.
“You sure about this?”
“Never more sure in my life. Make love to me, Riley.”
“My pleasure,” he said, pulling her negligee off'] and tossing it away. He dropped his head, capturing her right breast in the warm confines of his mouth, while tugging her miniscule black lace thong off and dipping a finger to slowly stroke her, making her writhe against him.
“Riley,” she cried, sinking her hands into his hair, cradling him to her. He started out gentle, but when she began really moving against his hand, his control snapped. Standing, he quickly removed his underwear then came back to her, fully covering her.
He smoothed her hair back and kissed her. Jenna reached up and cupped his face in her hands, gazing into his eyes when he pulled back. Gazes locked together, he entered her in one powerful thrust.
“No going back now,” he whispered.
She arched her back, pulling him in even deeper. “Absolutely not.”
“You feel so good, baby,” he said, nuzzling her ear.
“So do you,” she breathed, arching her neck to give him better access. She ran her hands around to his shoulders, digging her nails in when he began moving harder and faster.
“That’s it, baby, let go,” he urged.
“Harder, Riley,” she breathed.
“Yeah? You want more?”
“Mm, please.”
“Hold on tight,” he growled.
Jenna gasped when he began moving harder and faster. When her release came, she cried out his name, sinking her nails into his muscular butt, which in turn sent him spiraling into his release.
“You are amazing,” he said to her, kissing the tip of her nose.
“So are you…please be careful in your work,” she said, running her palms over his cheeks. “You are…everything to me and to Cam. We don’t want to lose you.”
“Not going anywhere, I promise.”
Chapter Eight
Riley lay in bed propped on an elbow, gazing down at Jenna as she slept, still a bit in awe of her, but at the same time, worried. She was so strong; had carried the burden of carving out a new life for her son and herself all on her own and had made a success of it for five years. Cam was a great kid; she’d done a fantastic job raising him. Her house was n
ew. He’d guess it to be no more than three years old. It was not big, probably around two-thousand square feet, but it was nice and furnished and decorated nice. Her pride of ownership showed everywhere…and it was immaculately clean, a product of her being in the cleaning service.
In bed, she’d held nothing back, giving as good as she got. Her touch had been tender and loving at times, rough and wild at others. She was, quite simply, perfect to him, and he knew, as absurd as it was, he was already deeply in love with her.
What worried him, however, was her reaction to his work. True, what had happened today was blown out of proportion by the presence of the news cameras. She wouldn’t normally see him in action. She’d been terrified and he worried how she would be able to handle the times when he went off on assignments. He hadn’t really talked extensively with her about his job. Most of the time he and his founding partner Mike Casiano stayed on the administrative side but they did get involved in assignments as needed. How would she handle that? It was the holiday season and all his brothers were overseas so he had decided not to take any jobs that would take him away from his parents during this time, but these last few weeks had been the exception, not the norm. She needed to understand that. She was used to going it alone, so he didn’t think handling his absences when he was working would be hard on her, but he needed to know if she could handle the worry his job could place on her, as well as Cam. Probably a conversation they should have had before reaching this point, but he’d been so happy just being with her, he hadn’t wanted to spoil anything.
He ran the backs of his fingers along her cheekbone, delighting in the soft, feminine feel of her skin. He hadn’t been lying when he said it had been three years since he’d last been with a woman, and that had been a casual thing that hadn’t lasted beyond a wild weekend on shore leave, the only time he’d ever done anything like that. He’d thought he’d needed a release, and he had, but that encounter had left him feeling hollow and hating himself and he vowed he would never again have meaningless sex like that. What he’d shared with Jenna tonight had been far from meaningless.
She stirred and leaned into his touch, a sleepy smile spreading over her features.
“Is it morning?” she asked, eyes still closed.
“No. Go back to sleep,” he whispered.
She reached up and placed her hand over his, holding his hand to her cheek as she scooted closer to him, nuzzling against his chest. Riley shifted, becoming instantly aroused when her thigh brushed against him. Her eyes slowly opened and he sucked in a breath when she reached down and captured him in her hand, slowly, sensuously stroking him.
“Why, Mr. Stanton, I believe you’re in need of a bit of my attention,” she said, her voice low and throaty.
“So it would seem,” he said, leaning down to kiss her.
Jenna returned his kiss, sitting up so that he was forced to lie back against the pillows. She pulled away and began a burning trail of kisses down his neck and chest, pausing over his scars, down his abs, and then lower still.
“Jenna,” he groaned when she held him up and her pink tongue licked him from base to tip like she was licking ice cream. “Baby.”
She smiled and did it again, letting her hand fall below to cup his sac, gently rolling his balls one against the other. Riley watched her, enraptured. She licked him from base to tip a few more times, then ran her tongue in a circle around the tip. He clutched the sheets with one hand, the other buried itself in her hair when she finally, finally closed her lips around him and sucked him in. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her, watching her mouth work him. It had been three years since he’d last had sex but even longer since he’d felt a warm mouth on him and even then he was sure it hadn’t felt this good, this…”Holy shit,” he growled when her lips slid all the way down to the base, and he felt himself deep in the back of her throat. “Baby, I’m close,” he warned. She lifted her head and gave him a sly smile, then continued working him until he found his release. When he was done, she released him and sat back on her heels, tossing her hair back like a nymph.
The smile on her face had him unbelievably hardening once again as she slowly, like a cat, crawled back up his body and pressed her center up against him. Not one to question good fortune, Riley snaked his arm around her waist and flipped their positions so that she was once again tucked underneath him and entered her on a smooth, even stroke. Jenna bit her lip as she stared up at him, arching her back and wrapping her legs around his waist. She didn’t speak, but he could see everything he needed to know on her face, and it made him feel like at that moment, he could do anything.
Jenna looked up into Riley’s handsome face as he moved against her, and she could see the depths of his feelings shining down on her. It was absolutely beautiful. She could see herself in his eyes. Everything she felt for him, she could see reflected in his face. It was unlike anything she ever experienced with Wade. She thought she knew what love was. Looking up into Riley’s eyes; that sparkled even in the dark of the room, she realized she hadn’t had the first clue about what it was before now. Riley gave freely to her and to her son and expected nothing in return, and what he gave, was himself; one hundred percent.
She lost all train of thought when he reached down and pressed his thumb to her core, circling her and tipping her over the edge as he continued to pound into her. She screamed her release, and soon he was joining her, collapsing in exhaustion over her, though still mindful to keep his full weight from crushing her.
“Oh, God, Riley,” she whispered, combing her fingers through his hair, his face buried in her neck.
After catching his breath, Riley pulled back to look down at her, brushing her hair back from her face. He leaned down and gave her a heart-shatteringly tender kiss, bringing more tears to her eyes.
“You are…I have no words,” he said, pressing his forehead to hers. “Amazing doesn’t seem to quite cover it.”
She smiled and kissed his cheek. When he started to pull back, she tightened her hold on him.
“Just stay here a bit longer, let me feel your weight on me,” she asked.
He wrapped his arms around her, gathering her close, kissing her tears away. He wanted to tell her he loved her, but held back. This moment was everything he’d ever dreamed of and he didn’t want anything to interfere.
“You feel so good. So strong,” she said, “you make me feel safe.”
He did pull back then and looked down at her.
“You are safe with me, Jen. I’ll never let anyone hurt you, and I’ll never do anything to hurt you. I promise.”
“Everyone gets hurt in a relationship at one point or another.”
“Not always. You’ve only seen the bad. Give me a chance to show you the good. I’m not Wade.”
“I know you aren’t, and thank God for it.”
He slid off of her and stood, holding his hand out to help her to her feet. When she stood, he placed her small hand on his chest over his heart and cupped the nape of her neck in his other hand to bring her gaze to his.
“I’m here to stay unless you want me to go. Do you understand? I’m not here just for kicks. I’m not here to take what I want and then go. I’m here for the long haul. Bank on it.”
She drew in a deep breath, held it for a moment, then slowly released it.
“I hear you. Once bitten, twice shy, you know?”
“Yes,” he said, scooping her up in his arms and carrying her into the bathroom. “But, I’ll stick with, you’re safe with me.”
She smiled and decided not to argue farther. He placed her on her feet beside the tub and started the water, then lifted her back up and stepped with her into it, pulling her back to his front between his spread knees. He wrapped his arms around her and she hugged her arms over his, resting her head back on his chest and together they sat in silence while the tub filled. Sitting in the soft light of the single light over the tub, she could see scars on his thighs and calves as well. More from when he was caught in the razor wire;
a couple of rounded scars that matched the gunshot wounds on his chest. He’d been through so much, her soldier. Or, was it sailor? He was in the Navy so she supposed he was a sailor not a soldier.
“What made you decide to join the Navy?”
“Family tradition.”
“And what about going into law?”
“That was because my best friend, Mike, asked me to go to school with him. He went to Yale. His family was wealthy and offered to pay my way. Who was I to question it? So, Mike and I went off to Yale, but I was always firm about going into the Navy after college. Mike decided to go with me since I went to Yale with him. His family was floored. He was supposed to go into the family law firm, but he never really liked the law. He did well in his studies. Finished way ahead of me in our class. But his heart wasn’t in it. When we went into the Navy and were approached about going into BUDS training to be a SEAL, Mike took to it like a natural. I don’t think I would have made it through BUDS without him. He pushed me and kept me going when I think I normally would have quit. Mike is…sometimes I think he’s not quite human. He went through BUDS like he was taking a walk in the park. It was like he didn’t even break a sweat when the rest of us were exhausted. Didn’t take long for him to rise in the ranks and become team leader. He’s one of those types who were born to lead.”
“And he’s the one who allowed himself to be captured so you could recover your friend's body?” she asked, remembering his earlier tale.
“Yes. They tortured him for twelve hours. He hasn’t ever said much about it, but I know it was bad. He was in rough shape. But we knew he was too stubborn to die. Not like that, anyway.”
She tightened her arms over his, hugging his arms closer to her.
“So, what you do now, is still like being in the Navy? Except you get to chose what you’ll do?”
He took a deep breath. “At times. We do a lot of kidnap recovery. Americans who are kidnapped for ransom, that sort of thing. We do security systems and provide security on special occasions.”
