He flinched. “I’m not babysitting you. You’re already healthier than I’ve ever been.”
“Emotionally, Ryan. Your eyes follow me across a room like you’re on eggshells, fearing I might snap at any moment. That’s too much stress for you. You’ve got your parents to think about. And when your dad wakes up, he’s going to need you as much as you need him. Same thing with your mom. Trust me. I just went through the reacquainting stage with my family. It’s hard to even close your eyes for fear it was all a dream and you won’t wake up from it a second time.”
Ryan knew she was right, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t carve time for her too. He wrapped his fingers around her biceps, searching her eyes.
She continued. “If I keep my own room, our relationship won’t be so blatantly defined for everyone in the bunker, and we both have an easy out if we need it.”
“That’s a pretty weak argument.” He slid his palms up to cup her breasts. He wasn’t playing fair and he knew it. “You need to understand a few things.”
She moaned as he pinched her nipples through the soft material of her sweater. “I think I understand the most important things,” she whispered, half grinning as her hand found his erection and cupped him through his scrubs.
He released her breasts, grabbed her fingers, and tugged her over to the couch. After lowering her onto the cushions, he kneeled in front of her and grabbed both her hands to keep her from distracting him while he finished talking. The way her breath hitched didn’t help. “First of all, no one inside the bunker is under any illusions about us. We’ve been spending the evenings together for weeks, long before we started sleeping together. None of them know when we crossed that line.” He lifted a brow.
She nodded slowly. “Good point.”
When she gave a tug to her hands, he held tighter. “One more thing, so the air is clear and there’s no misunderstanding.”
She licked her lips, her eyes wide.
“This isn’t a trial for me. I’m head over heels for you. I’m not asking you to return the sentiment. I don’t expect it at all. You take all the time in the world, and I won’t pressure you. But don’t for a minute doubt my feelings. I never want you to walk away from me misunderstanding how I feel about you.
“You keep the other room as long as you’d like. You can sleep there if you want or use it to get some privacy, but my bed is always yours, day or night. You’ll carry my keycard in your pocket too and walk into this suite anytime you want. And do so knowing I want you here. That won’t change.”
He watched her swallow. “Okay.” The one word was weak. “I’m sorry for earlier. I wasn’t thinking.”
“I’m sorry for turning around and walking out the door without an explanation. It was a shitty thing to do. It won’t happen again. I let some stupid insecurity seep in and take over. I was stunned and shocked and didn’t know what to say, so I walked out the door.” He released her hands, slid his fingers down her arms, and cupped her face. “Never again.”
And then he claimed her lips in the kind of passionate kiss that always made her melt against him. Tonight was no exception.
He wanted to feel her body pressed against his. He wanted every inhale to include her scent. The scent of the shampoo he’d bought her lingered in her hair. She was still using it.
She pulled him closer, her hands sliding into his hair.
Thank God. He lowered his head to her chest and nuzzled her breast through the thin material of her sweater. He knew she’d gone shopping with her mom several times the first week she was at their house, and he’d been curious to see what sort of style she adopted. If all her clothes were as innocuous as this outfit of a simple maroon sweater and jeans, she clearly hadn’t committed.
Not that he was complaining. The sweater hugged her chest to perfection, accenting her breasts and leaving the barest tease of lace at the V-neck. Lace he fully intended to set his eyes on immediately.
He slid his hands to the hem of her sweater and then pushed it up her body and over her head. Seconds later, she was squirming in his grip as he held her waist and licked the seam of her black lacey bra between her breasts.
When she arched into him, a soft moan on her lips, her hands digging into his shoulders, he inwardly fist pumped. Progress. He slid his tongue under the edge of satin and flicked it across her nipple.
“Ryan…” That was a sound he liked to hear. If he was lucky enough to keep her around for the rest of his life, he would never tire of it.
After popping the clasp on her bra, he eased it down her arms and then went to work on the button of her jeans. She lifted her hips, and he tugged the denim down her body, pausing only to slip off her shoes and socks before divesting her of the jeans entirely.
She reached for the sides of his navy scrubs and pulled the shirt over his head next, planting her hands on his chest. “I love the solidness of you.”
He cupped her breasts, flicking his thumbs over the tips. “Solidness?” he teased.
She moaned. “Mm-hmm. Muscly. Firm.” She let her head roll back, the words slipping from her mouth.
He continued to smile as he distracted her with his hands. “Muscly?”
“Stop teasing me and take your pants off.”
He wasn’t ready to follow that order yet. If he let his erection loose, he would explode as soon as he rubbed against her. After having sex with her last night, he’d craved her more. Not less. He couldn’t stop himself from wanting her.
The crazy thing was, he’d never put as much thought into sex before. Not that he was celibate or didn’t take care of his needs, but not quite so often, and his thoughts hadn’t been consumed with visions of any one particular woman before. Especially not one who kept him awake at night with the memory of her touch.
Lowering his face to her chest, he suckled first one and then the other nipple until she squirmed. When her fingers dug into his scalp, he nibbled down her belly and then set his palms on her thighs and pressed them open. He breathed in her scent as he rubbed his nose along the edge of black lace panties that matched the bra.
She might not have gone crazy adapting a style of clothing, but she had put special effort into her lingerie. He wasn’t disappointed. If it made her feel sexy, he would gladly take her himself and pick out a dozen matching sets. Maybe even some nighties too. Or not. He found he liked her naked in his bed.
As she lifted her hips against his face, he slid the sexy panties down her legs, baring her to his view.
Holy shit.
He froze.
She did too.
When he glanced up at her face, his hands holding her thighs tight, he found her teeth clamped down on the corner of her lip, her eyes twinkling. “You like it?”
He took a deep breath, trying to convince his length to stand down as he lowered his gaze to her now-bare folds. The smooth skin begged him to lick, suck, devour. He groaned as he jumped to his feet, grabbed her by the waist, and lifted her into the air.
She wrapped her legs around his hips, giggling. “I guess you like it.”
He still didn’t comment. Instead, he strode across the room, set her sweet ass on the edge of the small, boring, generic kitchen table, and leaned her back onto the surface. With her butt on the edge, she barely fit across it, but he wanted to see her better.
His table was not currently boring or generic. The woman spread out for him was so fucking hot he really was going to come in his scrubs.
She had stopped giggling, her expression now serious, her eyes hooded, her hands planted on the table at her sides. Her legs were shaking as she pulled them together.
He slid his hands up from her ankles to her thighs, pressed them wide and high, and held her open to his view. After slowly licking a path from her wet opening to her clit, he groaned. “Sexiest thing ever, baby.” And then he closed his eyes and sucked her clit into his mouth.
She cried out.
When he glanced sideways at her hand, he found her fingertips pressed so hard against the tab
le they were white. He continued to suckle her, flicking his tongue over the tip several times and then thrusting into her channel.
He knew the instant she was going to come because her thighs tightened under his fingers and she stopped breathing. And then her body shuddered as her tight channel pulsed with the waves of her orgasm. It took a while, but finally, she relaxed her muscles, letting her legs fall open farther as if all modesty had fled the room.
It pleased him that she was openly sexual. Grabbing her hips, he continued to nibble around her swollen sex. Her taste intoxicated him. He would die a happy man if he could spread her open like this at least once a day and rest his cheek on her thigh.
She started to squirm as he released her to kick off his shoes and remove his pants. Her eyes were still glazed over as she spoke in a soft, demanding voice. “Please. I need you inside me.”
He held her gaze as he finished undressing, and then he grabbed his erection with his fist and dragged it through her folds.
She moaned. “Yes… God, yes.” Her eyes fluttered shut.
Instead of taking things slow and easy like he’d promised himself he would, he thrust into her as deep as possible without warning.
Her mouth fell open as her head tipped back. “Oh. God.”
He gritted his teeth. Yeah, this was going to last about one minute again. His vision swam as he wrapped his hands under her thighs and pumped in and out of her. Every pass heightened his need until he couldn’t take another second and let go of the will to make this last longer. On a final thrust, he came, emptying himself deep inside her.
He was pretty sure he saw a peaceful expression on her face when he was able to focus again.
Chapter 17
Emily was at her makeshift desk in a temporary corner of Temple’s office when her boss walked in, began to pace, and sighed.
“Everything okay?” Emily stood, concerned.
It had been three days since she and Ryan had their heart to heart. Things had been great since then. Amazing. His father’s prognosis still looked great. In a few more weeks they would remove him from the chamber and induce a coma, right on schedule.
Today they were going to leave the bunker. She had convinced Ryan that pacing and waiting and staring at files through unseeing eyes was unhealthy. They were going to go for a drive, see the mountains, pack a lunch, hike, breathe fresh air.
Temple met her gaze. “There are more reporters outside the gate than usual.”
Emily sighed, her shoulders falling. “You think we should stay here?”
“No.” Temple rubbed her forehead with two fingers. “But I want you to take someone with you for protection.”
Emily flinched. “Protection? You think it’s unsafe?”
She shrugged. “I don’t want to find out the hard way. I’ll assign one of the security guards to go with you. I’m sorry. I know you were probably looking for five minutes of normal, but I don’t like the thought of someone following either of you and harassing you. It’ll be easier if a blatantly armed personal security detail accompanies you.”
It wasn’t ideal. But Emily wasn’t going to argue. It’s not as if she and Ryan had planned to have sex in the woods and their day would be ruined. She was sleeping in his bed. They had sex every night. She wasn’t so horny she couldn’t enjoy a day of hiking.
Okay, maybe she was that horny. So far they hadn’t just had sex every night, they’d had sex several times a night. Both of them were exhausted. They needed to rein it in soon before one of them fell asleep at their desk.
She was finding her sensual side, a side she never knew existed. Perhaps it hadn’t, but it did now. And Ryan—he needed to do anything to distract himself from worrying about his parents. She was happy to oblige.
“It’s okay with me. But if you’d prefer we didn’t leave the bunker at all…”
Temple waved a hand through the air. “No. That’s not fair or reasonable. You can’t stay here for the rest of your lives. No one can. Eventually, twenty-two lost souls are going to need to be able to find new lives. We might as well break the ice and see what happens. I’m hoping the media will get tired of waiting around for a story. It has to become old news at some point, right?”
Emily shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe the media. But it’ll be two hundred years before the religious zealots give up.”
“I wish I knew which was worse or more dangerous.”
“Ready?” Ryan popped his head in the doorway. “Oh, hey, Temple. How are you?” He stepped the rest of the way into the room, holding out a hand.
Temple took his, but shot him a glare. “When are you going to stop being so formal around me?”
He grinned. “Never.”
“At least you stopped calling me General. That got old when you were about four.”
Ryan pointed over his shoulder. “I just spoke with Rollans on my way to your office. Apparently you think we need a babysitter.”
“Yeah. I’m sorry, Ryan. I think it’s best. There are over fifty protesters and media out there just waiting. They’ll be less likely to follow you if you’re with someone in uniform with a weapon.”
Ryan rolled his eyes, but he did so while sliding his hand into Emily’s and threading their fingers together. “I have a .45.”
Emily flinched. “You have a .45?”
He flashed her a grin. “Don’t sound so surprised.” He tapped her nose with one finger. “I was raised in a military household. My parents took me to the shooting range as soon as I could walk.”
“Seriously, Ryan.” Temple shot him a glare.
“Okay, maybe not that young.” He laughed. “But trust me. I can handle nearly any weapon. They wanted me to be safe and knowledgeable.”
“You have more than one?” Emily asked.
Temple pointed at the door. “Get out of here. Go hiking. Have fun.” Emily didn’t have a license to carry a gun. It had expired a decade ago.
Emily let Ryan lead her out of the office and down the hallway. When they got back to his suite to gather a few things and grab a backpack, she asked again. “I meant what I said. Do you have more than one weapon?”
He glanced at her. “Yes, but you haven’t shot a weapon in over ten years.”
She planted her hands on her hips. “First of all, it’s been two months technically. Second of all, it’s like riding a bike. Now, you can’t expect me to believe you’re worried about my safety out of one side of your mouth while denying me the ability to protect myself out of the other side. It’s hypocritical. And don’t get all macho on me. You’re a lowly civilian. I was a ranking lieutenant until a few weeks ago.” She tossed her hair back in mock exaggeration.
Ryan dropped the backpack, rushed into her space, and flattened her to the door. A second later, his fingers were threaded in her hair, his thumbs stroking her cheeks. “You want to go hiking today or go back to bed? Because it’s hot when you pump your chest out and get all cocky.”
She smiled, wetness gathering in her panties at his words. “You know when you’re hot?”
“No. When?” He lifted a brow.
“Every time you slam me against the wall unexpectedly and get all alpha. You do it often. I like it.” She lifted onto her toes and kissed him. “Now, let go of me and grab that backpack before I take you up on your offer and your man Rollans is left wondering what happened to us.”
A slow smile spread across Ryan’s face, his eyes dancing with some joke she didn’t get. And then he let her in. “My man Rollans is a woman.”
She smiled broader too. “Even better.”
A half an hour later Ryan was sitting in the front of the silver Toyota Corolla. Rollans was driving, and Emily was in the back seat hunkered down on the floorboards so they could hopefully drive straight past the protesters without raising suspicion.
Ryan held his breath, shuddering at the number of people outside the gate as they drove by. Half of them had protest signs about God and the devil. The other half had cameras and microphones. They press
ed so close to the car on the way by that they would have easily spotted Emily on the floorboards if the windows hadn’t been tinted.
Rollans glanced around constantly, but Ryan noticed she did so without moving her head much. Finally, about five minutes later, she spoke. “I think you’re clear, ma’am.”
Ryan reached over the seat with his hand to help her up. She looked at Rollans. “I’m glad we’re in the clear, but please call me Emily.”
“Okay.” Rollans smiled with a glance at Emily in the rearview mirror. “But you have to call me Blair.”
“Deal. So, where are we going?”
“I was thinking we could drive to some scenic areas around here and then there’s a spot I liked to hike when I was a kid,” Ryan told her.
Blair pulled the car off the road and came to a stop at a gas station. “I’ll sit in the back. Pretend I’m not even here.”
Ryan jumped out of the car and opened the back seat for Emily to climb out too.
“I feel weird about making Blair ride in the back.”
Blair rounded the hood and grabbed the open door. “Don’t feel weird. It’s not the first time I’ve been assigned to protect people. It happens. You’re on a date. I’m invisible.” The two women were almost the same height, five-foot-five. Blair worked out a lot, so she was more muscular and fit, but not by much. She might have been small, but Ryan knew she was larger than life inside. Tough as nails.
Ryan helped Emily into the front passenger seat, but he could tell in an instant there was no way she was going to ignore Blair and leave her sitting in the back in silence. He smiled to himself as he circled to the driver’s side.
Emily had a heart of gold and so many attributes he loved. Her current discomfort with their arrangement only endeared her to him more. By the time he slid into the car, she was already twisted around speaking to Blair. “How long have you been working for the bunker?”
Reviving Emily: Project DEEP, Book One Page 14
