by Sandra Owens
A low growl rumbled from his throat, and he flipped her so fast, she yelped in surprise. Positioned between her legs, he rose to his knees, and in seconds, his shirt went flying across the room. She watched in anticipation as he unzipped his jeans, pushing them and his briefs down his hips.
Unable to help it, she licked her lips when his erection sprang free. His eyes—darkened to that midnight blue she loved—locked onto her mouth. Liking the hungry look she saw in them, and to drive him a little crazy, she did it again. Slower this time, though, watching his reaction as she inched her tongue across her top lip.
Air hissed past his mouth, and not wasting any time, he pulled her pants down, dropping them over the side of the bed. As he kneeled in front of her, her gaze roamed over his magnificent body. She could spend days doing nothing but admiring him.
His cock jerked when her eyes settled on it, and she reached up and with her finger, spread the drop of moisture around the head. The thrill of willingly wanting to touch a man there brought more tears to her eyes. The hands hanging at his sides fisted, and his thigh muscles tensed. A heady feeling of power surged through her that she had that kind of effect on him. She wanted her hands all over him, wanted to explore him, wanted to learn every contour and plane of his body.
“Don’t move.” Sitting up, she raised to her knees in front of him. He stared back at her, the only movement a tick in his right jaw. So much heat radiated from him, and she couldn’t wait to be covered by it. First though, she had other things in mind.
One corner of his mouth twitched. “Can I at least talk?”
She nodded. “Talk away, just don’t move.” Scooting around to his back, she decided to start at the top and work her way down his body. His hair, such a lovely golden honey color, was cut military style. She put both hands on his head and closed her eyes, letting her senses take over. The bristly ends tickled her palms as she massaged his scalp with her fingertips. His drawn-out sigh delighted her.
“Are you off on some kind of adventure, Sugar?”
How did he know? “I am. I never thought I’d like touching a man, not after . . .” She didn’t want to bring Rodney into their time, but she wanted Jamie to know what it meant to her to want her hands on him.
“I understand.”
By the softness of his words, she believed he did. Staying on his knees, he remained still as her exploration moved down the back of his neck and to his shoulders. Broad and muscle hard, she glided her hands over their width, smiling when little goose bumps rose on his skin. From there, she explored his back, running her fingers down his spine, then back up.
“Why did you decide to call yourself Sugar Darling?”
The question took her by surprise, and her hands stilled.
He glanced over his shoulder, his blue eyes shimmering with desire. “Don’t stop, baby. I like what you’re doing.”
“That’s good because I like what I’m doing, too.”
He smiled and winked, then turned his head forward. Although it seemed a silly idea, she thought maybe her heart had smiled back at him. Back to her examination of his body, she slipped her hands under his armpits and flattened her palms over his skin, then trailed them down to his waist. Muscles rippled under her touch like soft, undulating waves.
“When I was a little girl, my dad’s pet name for me was sugar, and my mom called me her little darling. When it came time to pick a new name, I wanted something as different from Hannah Conley as possible. Hannah was meek . . . she-she was scared. I needed to be her polar opposite, and it seemed to me anyone named Sugar Darling would be confident and not afraid of anything.”
“Your dad, he didn’t try to protect you?”
“He changed after my mom died, but I told you about that. He stopped being my dad, and now he’s just the man who fathered me. Once he went to work for Rodney, he let himself be corrupted by the pure evil that was Rodney.”
“Did your father know how Vanders treated you?”
A question she’d often pondered. “He had to know life wasn’t a bed of roses for me, but I pray that he didn’t know the extent of Rodney’s abuse. If he had and did nothing, I think that would kill me.” Several times, she’d tried to tell her father things, but each time she’d panicked at the possibility of him going straight to Rodney.
“You could say I lost both my parents on that horrible day I found my mom on the kitchen floor. I was ten years old the last time anyone loved me.”
“Sugar.”
The way he said her name with so much tenderness almost undid her. “I know. Poor me.” A lump the size of a small rock lodged in her throat, and she tried to swallow it away.
She hadn’t thought she wanted to talk about all that stuff, but now that she’d started, the need to share her heartbreak with him kept the words coming. It was funny how she could tell him her secrets as long as she was touching him, like she was stealing some of his strength for herself.
His butt cheeks flexed when her fingers danced over them, and she pressed her hands down, smoothing her palms across the taut skin. Rodney prided himself on keeping his body in prime shape, but she’d hated touching him with a passion. Why it was so different with Jamie, she didn’t know, but she loved having her hands on him.
“How old were you when you married Vanders?”
“I didn’t marry him. He married me. I consider that a big difference.” Hanging between his legs, the edge of his sacs were visible. Slipping her fingers under him, she lifted them, testing their weight. He let out a long breath, and spread his legs apart. Taking that as a sign he liked her touching him there, she cupped him in her palm.
It was as if there were two of her. The one whose hands were investigating all the parts of Jamie, and the one who had a story to tell. She let her mind separate from her body, let Hannah continue her sad tale while Sugar shut out the words as she held a man’s balls in her hand and glorified in doing so.
“He married me the day after I graduated high school. He stood on one side of me, my father on the other, and poof, I was a wife to a man I’d already learned to hate. You’re probably wondering why I let that happen, so I’ll tell ya. Rodney made sure I understood he had the power, that he could make me or my father disappear without anyone wondering where we’d gone.”
Letting go of his balls, she lowered her face and kissed the dimple on Jamie’s lower spine. Although she was tempted to linger on the area of his ass, she still had his legs and feet to explore. The hairs on his thighs and legs were golden—like him. That’s how she saw him, golden and beautiful. She trailed her fingers over his skin, down to the backs of his calves. Touching him sent liquid fire to the deepest part of her, and she felt the wet between her legs, felt the ache of wanting him.
“Can I kill him for you?”
Sugar froze. As she stared down at the soles of his long, elegant feet, she fought the urge to cover her eyes and weep. Jamie might be kidding, but she didn’t think so. Not even her father had cared enough to protect her from Rodney. She curled her hand around the high arch of his right foot.
“He’s not worth going to prison for, so no. Let’s just do what it takes to make sure he’s the one who goes away.” The sparse hairs on his legs were honey colored, and she combed her fingers through the springy curls, up the back of his knees, returning to his amazing ass.
“I’m not going to be able to take much more of this, sweetheart.”
The low huskiness of his voice vibrated though her, drawing her around to face him. She sucked in a steadying breath at the hunger in his eyes.
Jamie’s gaze roamed over Sugar’s breasts, her narrow waist, and then to the flare of her hips. He leaned toward her, fully intending to kiss her until they both forgot their names.
“On your back,” she said with a sneaky smile, as if she had plans for him he just might like.
He rolled over and looked up at her. “Now wh
at?” It seemed she needed to have control, and although he preferred being the one in charge, her inspection of him had been the most erotic experience of his life. He was more than willing to see just what she had in mind.
“Now I get to learn the front of you.”
Already hard, he gritted his teeth at the thought of what she might do. He expected her to start at his top, but after a lingering glance on his erection, she turned her back and leaned over his toes. Mother Mary, the view! Nothing but her rounded bottom and the back of her thighs were visible, and he fisted his hands into the sheet to keep from grabbing her and pulling her down on him.
“So I knew I had to get away before he killed me . . . before the day came when I did something that sent him over the edge. I researched how to disappear, and here I am.” She lifted her head from her inspection of his feet, glanced over her shoulder and smiled, as if she’d just told him something as trivial as the day was a nice one.
She’d made him forget she was telling him her story—one that was breaking his heart—with her exploration of his body, with the soft touch of her hands as they glided over him. He wished they could save this conversation for later as one second he was in a wonderful place with her touches, and then she’d say something that made him want to don his warrior gear and go kill a man. It was disconcerting. But if this was the only way she could speak of her life, then somehow he would bear it.
When she pivoted, he lost the lovely view of her backside, but the front of her was just as beautiful. Her hands skimmed up his legs to his knees, stopping there and tracing his kneecap with the tips of her fingers. The woman was seriously messing with his head.
Finally, she reached his erection, licking her lips as she eyed his raging hard-on. He about lost it then. “Sugar?”
A mischievous smile lifted her lips. “What?”
“Touch me, damnit!”
Her eyes narrowed in disapproval. “You cursed.”
“Because you’re driving me crazy.”
“Is that what you want? For me to touch you?”
Was she kidding? “Yes, that is what I want.”
“I plan on doing just that,” she said as her hand wrapped around him.
Even though it was obvious she didn’t quite know what to do with him, her experimental licks and sucks were sending him to the edge. When her exploring fingers found his balls and squeezed at the same time her tongue trailed a wet line from the base of his shaft to the sensitive F-spot, he squeezed his eyes shut. Somehow, she had instinctively found that little knob of flesh under the head, sending an electrical bolt throughout his body. Jamie clenched his stomach muscles to keep from coming in her mouth.
“Enough.” Flipping her, grinning when her eyes widened and she giggled at finding herself suddenly under him, he lowered his face and brushed his lips over hers. “My turn,” he murmured before trailing a path of kisses down to her breasts. While his fingers played with one rose-colored nipple, he sucked the other into his mouth and gently bit down.
“Ahhhh.”
The drawn-out word brought a smile to his lips. “Like that, do you?”
“Uh-huh.”
He chuckled, pleased he’d robbed her of speech. It was fair payback. She tasted like sweet, summer strawberries, and he knew he’d never get tired of loving her. With his mouth still sucking on her breast, he trailed his hand over her stomach, down to her folds, and slipped a finger inside her. A sigh escaped at how wet she was, at how her desire drenched his finger. She was so incredibly ready for him, but he wanted her begging. He slid another finger inside and found her clit with his thumb.
“Jamie.” A shiver passed through her, and she brought her knees up, spreading her legs open for him.
“Yes,” he said in approval. As soon as he felt the muscles in her sheath clench around his fingers signaling she was close to climaxing, he pushed down and pressed his face against her mound. The musky scent of her drove him wild, and he drank her in as she came. He almost did, too, barely managing to hold back.
Although she didn’t yet know it, she owned him heart, body, and soul.
When the last of her convulsions faded, he made one last lick with his tongue through her curls, then rose to his knees. “Condom.” At the puzzlement on her face, he laid over her and opened the drawer, snatching the box.
Ripping the foil package open with his teeth, he rolled the condom over him when it was the last thing he wanted to do. He wanted to feel her, skin to skin, no barrier. Once he was fully encased in rubber, he gripped her hips with his hands, and because she was so wet, he easily slid into her. Stilling when he was buried to the hilt, he stared into the dilated, violet eyes trained on him, and for the second time, he almost blurted that he loved her. But he wanted it to be special when he said them, so he swallowed the words and concentrated on their physical connection. He moved, leaving her, then sinking back in.
She was heaven. She was his home. He’d not had a true home since his parents had died, and he suddenly didn’t know what to do with the intense longing raging inside him. All he knew was that he needed to claim the woman who’d decided Sugar Darling was a good name.
He dug his fingers into her hips, marking her and not caring if he left his prints. He hoped he did. She was his. As if she returned his need, she gripped his arms, scraping his skin with her fingernails.
“Jamie.” She rolled her head to the right. “Jamie,” she whispered, rising up to meet his thrusts. “Jamie, please.”
“All right, love.” He gave up on being gentle. As he thrust into the velvety heat of her, he leaned down and captured her mouth. She sucked his bottom lip into her mouth, then bit down on it.
The wildness that had once been a part of him returned full force, and he pulled out and flipped her over. “Damn you, Sugar. Get on your knees.” As the command left his mouth, he had a moment to worry that he’d scared her. But she obeyed with a too-pleased-with-herself smirk tossed over her shoulder.
“If I’m going to be bad, I want to be bad with you, Jamie.”
“Then let’s be bad together.” He eyed her sweet bottom and gritted his teeth to keep from coming just from looking. Leaning over her back, he put his face an inch from her shoulder. “When a stallion covers his lady love, he clamps his teeth onto her shoulder so she knows she can’t get away. Like this.” Opening his mouth, he pressed his lips on her soft skin. “You’re not getting away from me, Sugar. Ever.” He bit down, ready to enter her.
A needy moan sounded low in her throat when he ground against her, and she wiggled her bottom, trying to capture him.
“Like that, sweetheart?” he whispered, rubbing harder.
She laughed. “Stupid question, hot guy.”
“I’d take insult at being called stupid if you didn’t think I was hot,” he said, giving her bottom a light slap as the last of the heavy weight he’d carried around in his heart for what seemed like forever floated away. It had been years—over ten of them—since he’d played during sex. He’d never been with such a responsive woman before, one who knelt in front of him, looking back at him with a challenge in her eyes.
“Do that again, or I’ll take it back.”
“This?” He gave the opposite cheek a light tap. “Or this?” he asked, gilding his erection through her slick folds again. Her body trembled, and she came, hard and fast. As the last shudder passed through her, he slid inside her, closing his eyes at the rightness of loving her.
“Oh, God.” She lowered her face to the pillow. “Oh God, Jamie.”
The huskiness of her words, combined with the heat of her, was almost too much. Gripping her waist with his hands, he pressed his fingers into her skin and rocked his hips. She pushed back against him as if she couldn’t get enough. Already on the edge, but wanting her to come again, he slid his hand down her stomach and into her curls. When he flicked his thumb over her clit, she exhaled a rush of breat
h, then screamed his name as an orgasm shook her body.
That was all it took. The force of his climax, the way he kept coming and coming, was like nothing he’d ever experienced. When the last shudder ripped through him, he fell onto her back, squashing her into the mattress.
“Jesus, Sugar,” he gasped, unable to find the strength to move away.
She twisted her head and found his mouth. Her tongue swiped across his bottom lip. “I love you, Jamie.”
He felt reborn. He was reborn, and it was amazing that a violet-eyed—worst driver in the world—woman named Sugar Darling had brought him to his senses. “I . . .” Remembering his plan on how to tell her he loved her, he changed his words midstream. “I’m crazy about you, sweetheart.”
The hurt in her eyes almost had him telling her, but he kissed her senseless instead.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Sugar pressed her hand over her heart and willed it to beat normally. The collar on the demure dress she wore suddenly felt too tight, making it hard to breathe. It helped that Mr. Kincaid had had the foresight to have her wear the dress when they’d put her through all that training, but she hated wearing Hannah’s clothes.
Rodney had only allowed Hannah to wear modest dresses, and the one time he’d caught her wearing a pair of shorts, he’d called her a slut. Even though she’d been inside the house where no one else would see her, he’d used a belt on her to teach her a lesson, resulting in the scar on her shoulder.
He’d fled for home after shooting her, believing he would be safe where he ruled his little kingdom. She could only hope he still believed he was the king, and his arrogance would be his downfall. If only her damn heart would stop its incessant pounding in her ears. Rodney would search her for a wire, but she didn’t see how he could find it. Those K2 guys had the kinds of toys that made her think of James Bond movies. Knowing that Jamie could hear everything happening inside the house on his headset calmed her a little.
The guys had debated the merits of sending a team with her and Jamie, but feared Rodney would have people watching for strangers arriving in town. A carload of scary-looking men would have been suspicious, so the guys were staged at a private airport in a nearby town. She did have to admit that the helicopter ride they’d taken out of Pensacola had been thrilling. After landing, she and Jamie had rented a car, slipping into Vanders just before dawn and hiding the car in a stand of woods a mile from Rodney’s house. The plan was for Jamie to break into a back bedroom window while she had her husband occupied.
