by Cat Johnson
Braced on one knee, he laid her on top of the bedspread and then stood to gaze down at her. “You’re sure about this?”
Maybe it was crazy, but no more so than the fact they were married. It could all be temporary, dissolved the moment her problems were solved, but for right now she was completely certain. She wanted this.
“Yes.” She nodded.
He let out a burst of air, as if he’d been holding his breath waiting for her answer. Then he reached for the buttons of his uniform.
Piece by piece the uniform came off, exposing another part of her husband to view.
Her husband. The word felt strange to even think. She had yet to say it aloud.
She watched as he slowly stripped off the formal vestiges of his career until just the man stood before her. He was as glorious unclothed as she imagined he would be.
In nothing but navy blue underwear, he reached one hand to her. Isabel took it and felt the strength of his grip as he pulled her upright.
After swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she stood on unsteady limbs. She rested her hands on the dusting of dark hair that covered the hard muscles of his chest.
She didn’t get to spend nearly enough time touching him before Rocky turned and reached for the bed covers.
He made short work of flipping back the bedspread and sheets. Then with the same quick efficiency, did the same to strip her, lifting the dress up and over her head.
Instead of her usual ugly beige nursing bra, for the wedding Isabel had had to wear one of her pre-baby bras because of the cut of the dress. Her breasts popped out of the top of it but she was grateful for the pretty lace of the bra now as she stood before him in nothing but heels and lingerie.
He reached for her and pulled her toward him. The first feel of his hands against her bare skin had her sucking in a sharp breath. Then her mouth was covered again by his as he backed her up until her knees hit the edge of the mattress and buckled.
She half sat, half fell onto the bed. He left her sitting there to stride across the room to a duffle bag she hadn’t noticed before. It sat on the floor next to her suitcase. He must have brought their bags inside when he’d checked in before the ceremony. While she’d been getting dressed at Darci’s house.
Her train of thought regarding luggage came to a screeching halt when he pulled a small black bag out of the duffle, and out of that emerged with what seemed like a very long strip of condoms.
With the sound of her pulse thundering in her ears, she watched as he went to the other side of the bed and climbed in.
She remembered she had her shoes on and slipped the heels off, letting them drop to the floor before she swung her bare feet onto the bed and slipped them beneath the turned down sheets.
He waited for her to roll so she was on her side facing him before he edged closer and laid a hand on her hip. Lying on his side mirroring her position, he waited.
The silence got to her quickly and she felt the need to fill it. “I’m nervous.”
He let out a short laugh. “So am I.”
Isabel swallowed. “What should I call you?”
“Anything you want. What do you want to call me?”
She’d heard his given name during the ceremony, but Sylvester seemed so foreign after knowing him as Rocky since meeting him. And it seemed too soon for any other endearment. The American honey. The Latino amorcito. She silently rehearsed different ones in her head and none felt right.
“Rocky, I guess.”
“Then call me Rocky.”
She dropped her gaze to the very small distance separating their bodies. The space made smaller by the protrusion of his erection tenting his briefs.
“Even during?” At her question, he laughed full out.
“During you could probably call me anything and I wouldn’t care.” He sobered. “You know you’re not obligated to me in any way. Don’t feel like you have to do this as some sort of payment or thanks.”
“I don’t feel that way.”
“No? You sure about that?” he asked, looking doubtful.
“Yes.” She wiggled closer so she and he were nose to nose. “I’m very sure.”
He swallowed hard as his gaze dropped to her lips. “Good.”
There was no more talking as he drew in a breath and pressed his mouth to hers. This time there were no clothes between them, just the lace of her underwear and the cotton of his. Neither provided much of a barrier as he hauled her hips against his.
He ran his hand down between them, slipping it beneath the top of her panties and then lower. She couldn’t stop the sound of pleasure that escaped her when he connected with her core.
Groaning, Rocky broke the kiss.
“Yes.” He delivered the single breathy word as his hand on her had her lifting her hips toward him, seeking more.
He gave her what she needed.
The sensations building inside her combined with the intimacy of his softly whispered encouragement close to her ear.
Feeling the need for something to hold on to she reached for him but her fingers couldn’t wrap around the bulge of his biceps. Raising her gaze to his face, she found his heavily lidded brown eyes focused solely on her.
When their eyes met, his lips parted. He leaned closer and took her mouth. The plunging of his tongue between her lips combined with the feel of his fingers between her legs had her careening toward untold pleasures.
Gasping for breath she tipped over the edge of control and into the abyss where her world narrowed to nothing but Rocky and what he made her body feel.
She was aware of his softly shushing her followed shortly by the sound of Lola’s cries.
The sound brought her back down to earth, fast and hard.
Horrified, she turned to Rocky, wide-eyed. “Oh my God. I woke her up. I’m a horrible mother.”
He sounded as breathless as she was as he laughed. “No, you’re not. You just got a little loud.”
She kicked at the sheets to untangle her feet. Shame had her pushing away from him so she could get to the baby screaming in the next room.
The next room!
She must have been loud to have woken Lola from that distance. Yes, the door had been left open at her request, but still . . .
Striding barefoot across the bedroom carpet she remembered she was in nothing but a bra and underwear as the cold air of the room brushed over her bare skin.
While unbuckling the squirming child, Isabel vowed her time for being selfish was over. It was time to be a mother again.
“Come here. It’s okay.” She looked around the room. For lack of a better place, she sat on the hard cushion of the sofa.
She was just lifting her breast out of the scratchy lace and missing the convenience of her nursing bra when Rocky came through the door.
“Um. Here. I brought you this. It’s chilly.” Avoiding looking at her chest, he draped a blanket over her.
“Thank you.”
Pausing for a second, his gaze dropped to the baby, nursing happily, before he yanked his focus up to her face. “Um, I’ll give you some privacy.”
“You can stay. It’s all right.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.” She reached for the edge of the blanket covering the sofa next to her. “Sit.”
“Okay.” He did as she said, flipping the corner of the blanket over his lap.
She wasn’t sure if that move was to guard against the temperature of the room, or his attempt to cover his underwear—or rather what was outlined within.
Now she’d given him permission to stay, he didn’t avert his eyes. Instead he watched Lola and smiled. “She’s a good eater.”
Isabel smiled too. “She sure is. Thank God I can breast feed or she’d bankrupt me in the cost of formula.”
“About that. Tomorrow we’ll get you your military spouse ID. Then you can come and go through the gate without any issues and you can shop for food at the commissary here on base. The prices are much cheaper than out in town.”<
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“Oh, okay.”
“And if I’m not here to show you around, I’ll get the Family Readiness Group people to stop by.”
She glanced at him. “I can just wait until you get off work tomorrow.”
He inhaled and let it out. “That’s the thing. I might not be coming home tomorrow. I could be flying out and I never know when I’ll be back, so don’t wait. I can ask Jon or somebody else to show you around if you don’t want to deal with the FRG but please let someone help you. There’s a lot to do and to learn. I don’t want you struggling through it on your own. Okay?”
Over the past day she’d gotten hints about his job in the military and what effect it could have on them, but this was the first time it really started to sink in. He could really be gone tomorrow and she’d be alone in a strange place.
It wouldn’t be the first time, but she’d already been through that stage once in this town. The way he was setting her up for being without him, it was looking very real that he was leaving.
“Promise me that you’ll accept help.” He pinned her with a stare.
With an uncomfortable feeling of dread inside her, she nodded. “Okay. I promise.”
“Thank you.” He went silent as she moved to switch Lola to the other breast, containing her smile as his eyes stayed glued to the process and his mouth hung open with fascination.
He swallowed so hard when the baby latched on she could hear him. He seemed torn, like he didn’t know whether to run away or watch. As off kilter as she felt about everything that had happened lately, it was oddly nice to see him uncomfortable too.
It wasn’t too much longer until Lola had her fill. Her tiny eyelids fluttered and finally dropped.
“Is she sleeping?” Rocky whispered.
“Yes.”
“She’s still . . . um . . . attached.” He glanced at where the baby remained latched on to her nipple and cringed. “What are you going to do?”
“Watch.” Isabel wet her index finger and slid it between Lola’s mouth and the nipple until it broke the suction and the baby popped off. Lola didn’t move, but kept on sleeping like an angel. “See?”
He drew in a breath and let it out. “Yup. I saw.”
As she wiggled to the edge of the sofa while cradling the sleeping baby in her arms, he stood and the blanket fell away from his lap.
With him standing and her still seated, she couldn’t help but notice the situation in his briefs hadn’t changed. If anything, it had gotten more pronounced.
Now that the baby was sleeping again, Isabel wouldn’t mind returning to where they’d left off. Judging by the looks of him, he was ready for the same thing.
“I’m going to put her down in the crib. Then we can go back to bed . . . if you want to.”
A narrowing of his eyes and a sharp intake of breath that flared his nostrils wide preceded his nod. “Yeah. I want to.”
CHAPTER 16
Rocky followed Isabel into the bedroom, torn as to what to feel.
There was his peaceful admiration of the serene beauty of the maternal scene playing out in front of him as Isabel laid the sleeping babe in the crib. The babe he’d taken on as his responsibility today.
Then there was the raging hard-on he couldn’t seem to control around his new wife even at the most inappropriate of times, such as now. All she’d done was feed Lola but the scene had him crazed.
To be fair, he wouldn’t have had to control his lust if they’d finished what they’d started. They’d both been yanked from bed at the most inopportune time—for him anyway.
This was what it was like to have a child and he didn’t resent Lola for waking. Not one bit . . . but he was sure happy she was sleeping again. And he was definitely ready to get back to what he and Izzy had been doing before the baby woke.
When Isabel turned to him, arms empty of the child, Rocky saw the path to his satisfaction was clear. He stepped forward and closed the distance between them.
Sliding his hands around her waist, he connected with her warm bare skin.
Time to get this wedding night back on track. He lifted her until her feet were off the ground and crashed his mouth against hers.
Blind as he carried her, he walked them both toward the bed.
His bare foot landed on one of her shoes. As the pain shot through the sole he fell, tumbling them both onto the mattress.
She squealed beneath him. He cringed and held his breath, waiting to see if they’d disturbed the baby.
When no sound came from the crib behind him, he turned his focus back to Isabel. “You okay?”
“Yes.”
It wasn’t lost on him how perfectly they were aligned. Face to face. Her beneath him. His length nestled in the warm V between her legs.
Her lips were plump and perfect, inviting his kiss. He accepted the invitation.
Lowering his mouth to hers, he kissed those tempting lips. He plunged inside the heat of her mouth, tangling his tongue with hers. Stroking into her until he was groaning and breathless.
It hadn’t taken very long for it to become very obvious that a kiss, no matter how good it was, was not nearly enough to slake his need for her.
If he could magically make their underwear disappear his happiness would be complete. He’d be plunging inside this woman in seconds.
As it was, his hips seemed to have a mind of their own as he ground against her beneath him.
The reality was he didn’t have the superpower to make panties disappear. And he needed to get to the condoms on the nightstand.
Letting out a breath to restore some small amount of control, he rolled off her. He walked around the bed and took care of the protection issue.
When he turned back to face her, he saw she’d taken off the final barrier and was stretched out completely naked and waiting for him. He wouldn’t make her wait long.
Rocky was across the mattress and on top of her quicker than he’d cleared the razor wire during his last timed run on the obstacle course.
This feat of speed and dexterity was far better than that team training would ever be because it led him to what he wanted so badly it hurt. Izzy.
He was all for foreplay, but he’d waited long enough already to get here and he wasn’t about to postpone the main event any longer. He nudged between her legs and watched her eyes drift shut as she pressed her head back into the pillow.
Her open-mouthed intake of breath as he pushed farther into her wet heat cut straight through any control he’d managed to hold on to. He could be gone in the morning, sent he didn’t know where or for how long. He gave them both what they needed. Hot. Hard. Sex.
Rocky didn’t let himself think about the many questions that hung over them. There’d be plenty of time when he couldn’t be with her to obsess over their future, her past, the present danger.
He’d have hours on the transport and during down time on the mission he was likely going on. But now, they were here together and his brain was having trouble thinking about anything other than how incredible it felt to finally be inside the woman he’d wanted since the first time he’d touched her. Back when they’d been not much more than strangers.
Eyes closed, he absorbed every sensation, committing it to memory for when they were apart.
With the bulk of his weight braced on his arms, he took what he needed with back-bowing thrusts that rocked them both and the bed until the headboard slammed against the wall.
He bit back a curse and held still, glancing toward the crib to see if the noise had woken the baby.
“She’s okay.” Isabel reached down and pulled him closer. Deeper.
Sliding his hands beneath her, he lifted her hips off the bed and plunged in again and again and she met him stroke for stroke.
His wife was proving to be an equal match for him in the bedroom. He could definitely handle that.
The realization that this was a marriage of convenience and wouldn’t last forever niggled uncomfortably at the back of his brain. But as an orgasm roc
ked him with the intensity of a fireworks factory exploding he couldn’t think of a single reason to ever end this marriage.
CHAPTER 17
“Shit.” The moment Rocky opened his eyes and saw the sunlight coming through the blinds he knew he was late.
“What’s wrong?” Sleepy and warm and too soft and comfortable to sleep next to—which is why he was going to be late for the meeting—Isabel rolled toward his side of the bed.
Rocky paused only long enough to press a hard kiss to her mouth before he hopped up. “I slept late.”
On his way to the bathroom, he frowned at the crib. “How come she didn’t wake up? I thought she ate like every three hours or something, so I didn’t set an alarm.”
He was multitasking—peeing in the toilet while running the hot water in the shower—when he heard Isabel laugh through the partially open door.
“You never count on a baby to stick to a schedule.”
Lesson learned. He only hoped he’d be back here to sleep tonight so he could put his new knowledge to good use. Though he was having trouble feeling too bad about having slept late since it happened because of some kick ass sex. Twice, because once hadn’t been enough.
Hell, last night he’d been like a teenager again, sporting a perpetual erection. Even now, rushing and running late he had a semi-hard-on.
No time for that. He wished he did but as it was, he was already going to slide into the meeting with not a minute to spare if he was lucky.
If there was something up and a mission was in the works, he didn’t think Grant was going to give him a pass for being late, wedding night or not.
He showered and brushed his teeth as fast as he could get the job done and was just toweling off when he caught sight of his wife. Naked. Bending over to open her suitcase.
And there was that erection again.
Shaking his head, he drew in a breath and chomped down on his desire.
God help Grant if he’d called this early meeting for no good reason because Rocky wanted nothing more than to sink into this woman one more time and then follow that up with a nice big breakfast.
Izzy pulled out a T-shirt and had just slipped it over her head, covering a few of his favorite parts, when Rocky made a decision.
