by J. M. Madden
Now she ran her own business.
“It’s grown,” she told him. “I now have a handful of monthly customers and several on the schedule for the next year. You might be surprised how well I’m doing.”
Harper looked at her, brows raised. He let them drop almost immediately, though. It must have hurt. “That’s awesome, Cat. Really. I know I was gone a large part of our marriage and I worried about you getting bored.”
She frowned. “I didn’t get bored, necessarily. I had the kids. But I needed something to fulfill the creative side of me.”
Harper sat back in the chair and shifted his chest a little, looking like he was uncomfortable. “I always worried that you would find another man to take better care of you. You’re a good-looking woman and I wouldn’t have blamed you. The wife of a SEAL is not an easy job.”
The quiet words held brutal honesty.
“I wouldn’t have cheated on you. I had opportunities definitely, but that’s not the kind of person I am.”
Harper smiled and looked down at his lap.
“What?” she asked.
His hard silver-grey eyes flicked up to her face, seeming to glow. “Is it wrong that I like knowing men wanted you?”
Cat shook her head, laughing. “Really? I profess my commitment to our marriage and you get jacked knowing men were after me?”
Harper made a face, looking sheepish. “What can I say? You’ve always turned me on but there’s something about having what another man wants that satisfies the competitive caveman in me.”
By the pleasure curling in her stomach it apparently satisfied something in her as well. The desire she had banked all day returned.
Cat played with her half empty water glass, swirling the base in the moisture on the table. “It always made me excited when I saw women looking at you as well,” she admitted. “But I worried when you weren’t around.”
Harper narrowed his eyes and leaned forward, invading her personal space. “I never cheated. Ever. Were there opportunities? Of course. But I was never tempted. Most of the women that hit on me I couldn’t even stand to listen to.”
Some knot of tangled emotion eased in her chest. Harper was a virile man. He had a healthy sex drive. When they’d been together they’d loved almost every day. But in the back of her mind had been the fear that he’d sated those drives with someone else. Tears smarted her eyes as the relief flowed through her. She looked down at her plate, unwilling to let him see.
Hard fingers tilted her face up. Anger sparked in his silver eyes. “I would never cheat on you. I take my marriage vows seriously. I always have.”
She nodded and a tear dripped down her cheek. “I know you have but a year and a half is a really long time. Longer than any of your deployments. I guess I kind of expected…well, I wouldn’t have blamed you if you had.”
“But I would have blamed me and that’s not something I need on my conscience, not along with everything else,” he told her firmly. “Besides, I’ve never been drawn to anyone else since I met you. Did I tell you you look beautiful today? Because you do.”
With that massive, easy strength of his he reached for the base of her chair and slid her around the table until she sat directly in front of him. Then, cupping her face, he kissed her.
This time there was no awkwardness. Just calm, steady, sweet affection like they used to have. Cat wrapped her arms around his neck, one hand brushing the stubbly hair on the back of his head. With a little urging from his fingers she shifted into his lap, even as their lips stayed fused.
Cat knew that sleeping with her husband right now could potentially muddy the situation they were in, but her body refused to listen. It had been so long since she’d been loved. So long since she’d been held. Her body ached with need for him.
Harper stood with her in his arms, then set her on her feet. With one hand he tugged her along behind him to the bedroom she was using. Harper urged her down onto the bed but immediately covered her body with his own. There was a twinge on his face as he braced his body over top of hers until he shifted most of his weight to the right arm, smiling down at her. “You have about three seconds to tell me how bad of an idea this is, then I’m going to fuck you like I’ve been dreaming of for the past year and a half.”
Cat’s eyes fluttered shut as a rolling wave of arousal moved through her body. He was right. She should say something, but her mind was completely blank. Shaking her head, she cupped his face in her hands again, tilting her mouth up to his. Harper accommodated her immediately, pressing his mouth into hers so hard she knew her lips would be bruised later. But she didn’t care. Her warrior was finally back in her arms.
Harper ground his hips into her pelvis, erection straining. Cat widened her knees and arched upward. He growled in her ear, pressing hard, nibbling kisses down the length of her neck. Goosebumps erupted all over her skin.
He pulled away enough to stand beside the bed. Cat heard the zipper of his jeans rasp down, then the shuffle of pants dropped to the floor. The window blinds above the bed were wide open letting in the evening light and for the first time in too long, she got to see him fully naked. God, he was gorgeous. Even after being bedbound for the past week and a half his tan skin glowed with vitality. Black and gray tattoos decorated his heavy shoulders and forearms. The design on his right pectoral of the loyalty and courage tattoo stirred nostalgia. It had been one of the first he’d gotten and she had helped design it. She ran her fingers over it as he came over top of her again, wondering if he’d ever regretted getting it done.
The left side of his chest was clear of ink. “It’s a good thing you didn’t have anything put here.” She brushed her fingers over the bright white bandage covering his gunshot wound.
He grinned down at her. “I had an appointment set up for three days ago to get a piece put there.”
Cat laughed and pressed a kiss to his strong chin. “It always works out the way it needs to, huh? That would have been a mess to try to fix. You need to quit getting shot.”
Harper nodded and kissed her again, grinding his pelvis into her. Cat huffed out a breath, knowing that their coming together was a done thing now. They’d always laughed and loved, moving seamlessly from one emotion to the next. Ebbing and flowing like the tide. “I’ve missed this, Harper.”
He nuzzled her ear, going still as he inhaled against her. “I have too. More than you could possibly know.”
Emotion choked her, making her hands tremble as they wrapped around his shoulders. Many, many nights she had cradled him in her arms just like this. In the dark of the night when he didn’t have to put on a front for the world, he would let her be the strong one, protecting him from the unrelenting memories. Though he hadn’t told her a great deal, Cat knew that as a sniper for the SEALs he had done brutal things. Things that would rock her core as a person, but that he had been charged to do as a weapon for the US government.
She’d seen the haunted look in his eyes when he looked at the kids sometimes, as if he wanted to hold them against the world forever. There were a couple of times she’d felt like that as well, but for completely different reasons. Her kids were growing so fast. If they didn’t straighten out their home lives now they would have severe issues when they were grown.
None of that mattered though as she ran her hands up his arms and across his massive shoulders. Harper had always been a big, strapping man, but he had bulked up since she’d seen him last. His biceps strained as he loomed over her but there was no quiver. His strength had begun to return.
Harper pulled back enough to strip off her jeans and the string bikinis. Cat removed her own t-shirt and bra, flinging them to the side of the bed. Fresh moisture flooded her as she took in the masculine strength of him. Even as she watched Harper fisted himself and pumped, then crawled over top of her again. Cat’s eyes burned from not blinking, but she didn’t want to miss—or forget—anything that was about to happen.
The head of his cock rested against the opening to her body but didn
’t penetrate. Instead Harper worked himself up and down, from the wellspring of her body to the trigger of her release. Cat jerked as he rocked over her clit, shifting him to the side that she liked. As she looked down the long line of his torso, down the dark trail of hair leading to his groin to watch the length of him about to slide into her, she shuddered. It was too much to bear.
Then, with one long surge, he sank into her.
Cat moaned at being fulfilled for the first time in so long. Breathing deeply, she waited for her body to remember Harper. He seemed to be absorbing the feel of them together again as well. Faint tremors shook his body, as if he were already too close to the edge.
“Are you okay?” she whispered, concerned that it was going to be too much for his injuries.
In answer he pressed a kiss to her temple. “I am. Just trying not to come. It’s been a long time for me.”
Cat grinned up at him and he leaned in for another kiss. “It’s been a long time for both of us.”
She rocked up into him to encourage him to move. Groaning, he pushed in, then for the barest minute stilled again, but the compulsion to move proved to be too strong. Harper began picking up the pace.
Cat gasped at the feeling of his body plunging deep into hers. He was much larger than average and it had taken a long time to get used to the feel of him pounding into her. The advantage to that size was that he rubbed against her G-spot constantly. She was so sexed up for him that it was only a few heavy strokes before she was dancing on the edge of bliss. Harper felt and recognized her quivers because he paused to let them catch a breath. Cat wanted to weep with frustration. Holding him in her arms was so emotional for her; then he wrung out her emotions even harder by denying her release.
Harper kissed her, arching into her in a single stroke, just enough to take her back to that edge. Then he paused to let her tumble back down from that point.
Tears were dripping down the corners of her eyes and into her hair by the time he began to move steadily inside her, building momentum. But the release he had denied her was that much sharper when she did reach it. Cat screamed as one of the most cataclysmic orgasms she’d ever felt crashed over her, sending her body thrashing, trying to get away from the relentless power stroking between her thighs. But Harper was a man possessed. As she arched beneath him he seized his own release, hard hands gripping her hips to take every bit of him. His movements suddenly stalled out and his face darkened with furious, jaw-slackening pleasure. With a series of furious, sharp thrusts he cried out his release.
Cat either blacked out or dozed off for a few minutes. When she woke her body still rippled with the occasional aftershock. Harper had propped himself over top of her, head resting against the mattress. Their breathing had begun to regulate but they were still sweaty. She dragged in oxygen, resting her hands on his flanks. Harper moved just enough to pull out of her and lay to her side. Cat rocked her head to look at him in the dimness of the room but he had already dozed off.
If the man hadn’t been shot ten days ago she probably would have been a little put out. They’d just had mind-blowing sex for the first time since their separation. She felt like they needed to celebrate.
But she would let him sleep.
Cat slipped out of the bed, moving stealthily enough to flip a sheet over Harper’s form curled on his side, snoring softly. Feeling daring, she ran her fingers through his short hair, covered his shoulder and headed to the shower.
It had been a long time since her body had felt this way. As she stepped under the water and lathered she took note of all the sensitive places. The stubble on his jaw had chafed her chin and cheeks, his hands had bruised her hips a bit. But it was all done in the heat of passion and love. She loved feeling like this. The other half of her heart was sleeping out there on the bed.
As she left the bathroom she took care to move quietly when she slipped between the sheets. It was still fairly early for her, but what the hell. It had been such a long time since she’d had the chance to sleep with her husband. Harper didn’t move. Feeling daring, Cat backed her ass into the curve of his lap. Immediately his heavy arm wrapped around her hips and pulled her back into him. Sighing, she savored the feel of his heat as long as she could before she let sleep overcome her.
Chapter Seven
Harper woke stiff all over and sore. Blinking, he reached up to rub the sleep from his eyes and cursed. Fuck, he’d forgotten. His right eye and the skin around it throbbed where he’d rubbed his hands. How could he have forgotten about it?
Cat shifted beside him, moaning as she rolled onto her back. The sheet slipped down and her breast peeked out. With a groan of appreciation he reached over and ran a fingertip over her nipple. The pain from rubbing his eye was almost immediately forgotten.
Before she even opened her eyes Cat smiled and stretched her arms above her head. Her second breast popped out from beneath the covers.
Harper groaned at the sight of her, flushed and swollen from sleep but so naturally sexy it made his mouth water. With no reservation she rolled toward him, gave him a big kiss then rolled out of bed to pad to the bathroom. Harper watched her go and was once again grateful for his single damn eye. The thought of never seeing her luscious ass and the long line of her back again devastated him.
When she came out of the bathroom, lean hips swaying and crawled across the bed to straddle his hips, Harper thought he’d died and gone to heaven. Though it hurt his face he grinned up at her. “Good morning.”
“Good morning.” She leaned forward to press a kiss to his lips. “Did you have a good sleep?”
“You know,” he said thoughtfully, “I did. I think I must have had sexy dreams though.”
He arched his hips up into her enough that she could feel the erection under the sheet at his waist.
Cat grinned and burrowed her hand beneath the sheet, wrapping her fingers around his dick. “Why yes, I believe you did. Lucky for you though, I did too. I planned on jumping your bones again whether you were awake or not.”
Harper laughed, loving her all the more for being playful. “Well, that’s a good way to wake me up.”
She nodded and wiggled an eyebrow. “I know. I remember, dear.”
Leaning away she tugged the sheet from his hips, exposing his erection to the cool of the room. Having her gaze on him hardened him even further, but before he could say anything she had lifted her hips and stood him straight up with her fingertips. Harper took a great breath of air as her wild heat settled down over top of him.
Cat swiveled her hips, snugging down tight. She was deliciously wet. That wetness was a woman’s proof of desire. The undeniable evidence that she wanted him.
He had dreamt of her, over and over again. Perhaps she had been dreaming about him as well.
Cat had a natural athleticism that kept her lean and flexible. Her thighs strained as she hovered over top of him and started to move up and down. Her pace wasn’t hurried and he had to laugh because it was a little obvious he was an afterthought. Cat knew how to pleasure herself and she made no bones about doing it now. Just as she had many times through the years they’d been married.
Bracing his hips up from the mattress, Harper encouraged her to move harder, the next level up in her search for release. Cat moaned and brought herself down on him more aggressively, faster, eyes closed, breasts bouncing.
Reaching up he tweaked her nipples, making her cry out. When she switched to doing a heavy grind Harper knew she was close. Cupping her hips in his palms he pulled her tighter against him, bracing himself up off the mattress. Cat started to pant. Her hands slapped onto his wrists, squeezing as her body started to tighten around his. Harper didn’t plan on coming with her but as she started to keen high in her throat and spasm around his cock, his body surged to join her.
Cat was beautiful in her orgasm, lean body flushed with color, clutching and releasing his. Harper enjoyed his orgasm as well, but there was something precious in just watching her. The way she moved brought back ma
ny nights of loving, and it brought home how many nights he had missed.
Cat melted to his chest, her breathing raspy. Though it hurt his chest a little to have her there, he refused to push her away. Instead he reached up and cradled her to him, pressing kisses to her brow. “You are stunning,” he whispered.
She shifted a little, enough to press a kiss to his chin. “You’re tasty. As soon as I saw you sleeping beside me I wanted you again.”
“Hm,” he agreed. “If I had seen you first we would still be in this position.”
She giggled. “Those damn sexy dreams. Sent to bedevil us.” She gasped with laughter. “Oh, wait. Not bedeviled. Maybe pickled.”
Harper laughed out loud. “You got pickled and I’m being bedeviled.”
He danced his fingers up her sides, sending her into even more laughter.
It was so nostalgic, loving and laughing together. His throat tightened with emotion as he watched her wipe tears from her eyes.
Cat seemed to sense the shift in him to serious because she slid from his chest to sit beside him. Harper folded an arm beneath his head and looked up at her, trying to memorize her face. It was a useless exercise though because he already had. All her emotions, the way her right eyebrow had a little point of hair in the middle, the way she gasped when she was truly enjoying herself. There was no way he could escape the memory of any of it. And he certainly didn’t want to.
But was he open to accepting her into his life again?
“You slept like a rock last night.”
Harper blinked. That hadn’t been what he’d been expecting. “Did you drug me?”
Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open with indignation. “No, I didn’t drug you! I slept with you. And you,” she paused to point a finger in his direction, “didn’t dream. I woke several times and you were still sleeping like a rock. No moaning, no shouting, no jumping out of bed to attack shadows or pace. No reaching out to stroke your gun on the bedside table.”
