Zone of Action: A Career Soldier Military Romance

by Tawdra Kandle

  “Oh, my God.” She sank her teeth into her lower lip. “Want to touch you.”

  “Not yet.” I fumbled in my pocket and pulled out a condom. “You’re not going to touch me until after I make you come. But don’t worry—watching’s allowed.”

  And knowing her eyes never left my fingers as I rolled the latex over my erection made me all the more eager to be inside her. I rubbed the head over her silky folds, and she wriggled, trying to get me into the right place. Since I felt that patience should be rewarded, I didn’t make either of us wait any longer. With one sharp, quick thrust, I slid into her.

  Harper threw back her head, gasping. Her hands left the wall and circled my waist, grabbing my ass in an effort to pull me closer, but being inside her felt so fucking perfect that I didn’t even scold her for moving them.

  “Do you want it harder?” I asked, burying my face in her neck. “Do you want it faster?”

  “Yes.” She rode me, searching for the exact undulation that would bring the pleasure she sought. “Harder. Fuck me harder.”

  “Lift up your leg. Let me—” I grasped the back of one of her knees and then the other, so that I was even deeper inside her. “There you go. Now hold on. I’m not going to stop until you scream my name. Take me even further, Harper. Take me until it hurts.”

  She held onto my shoulders, and I began to drive into her, each stroke bringing me close to the point where I was going to lose my mind. I could tell by the small gasping sounds she was making that Harper was right there with me.

  “About to come so fucking hard, sugar. God, about to explode deep inside you.”

  She bent backward then, crying out my name and other unintelligible syllables, her inner channels gripping my cock so tight that she sent me spiraling over the edge, too. My body stiffened into one giant, rock-hard muscle, the release longer and more intense than any I could remember ever feeling.

  Harper slumped into me, her head coming to rest on my shoulder, and I staggered back a few steps, still reeling from the massive high. I could feel the rapid rise and fall of her chest and the brush of her warm breath on my neck as I loosened my grip on her legs, letting them drop slowly to the floor, holding her arm until I was certain she’d found her balance. Pulling out of her, I held the end of the condom in one hand and brushed her hair back from her face with the other.

  “Bathroom?” I asked, not wanting to break the spell she’d woven around me, but at the same time, needing a little bit of space. A little breathing room.

  “Uh, down that hall, at the end.” Harper pointed to the right. She adjusted the strap of her dress, covering the one boob I’d exposed.

  “Thanks. Be right back.” I headed in the direction she’d indicated and opened the door to a small guest bath that was painted a soft blue. There were yellow accents here and there, and the kind of fussy towels I associated with my sisters and my mom. Happily for me, there was also a rectangular basket of paper guest towels as well, and after I’d disposed of the condom, I washed my hands and used one of those to dry them.

  When I came back out, the small foyer where I’d so thoroughly fucked Harper was empty. I heard a sound behind me and went in that direction, finding her in the kitchen, pulling bottles of water from the fridge.

  “Hey. Found the bathroom?” She quirked an eyebrow at me.

  “Yeah, thanks.” I jammed my hands into the front pockets of my pants. “You have a nice place here.”

  “Thanks.” Harper glanced around as though looking at it through fresh eyes. “I had a roommate until last year, and we decorated it together. I thought about looking for something smaller or even trying to find another roommate when she moved out, but I like it here, and I can afford it. Plus, I never have time to scout out someone else who I’d like enough to live here with me.” She lifted the two bottles of water. “Want one of these? I also have beer, some red wine, whiskey or rum. Oh, and even some tequila.”

  “Water’s good. Thanks.” I accepted the bottle and unscrewed the cap, taking a long drink.

  “Why did your roommate move out?”

  “Oh, because I’m a big old ‘ho and she couldn’t deal with the strange men and women coming in and out of my bedroom all the time.” My face must’ve given away my surprise, because Harper laughed. “Kidding. I’m not that bad. She moved in with her boyfriend, who is actually her fiancé now. We’re still best friends, I promise you. I’m even going to be her maid of honor.”

  “Oh. That’s nice.” I wasn’t sure what the proper response to that was. “Are you from around here originally?”

  “No.” She shook her head. “I grew up in Lexington, Virginia in a very old and very traditional Southern family. I moved here when this restaurant opened up—the owner offered me the job as head chef, even though she’s technically the one in charge. We set the menus together, and she lets me weigh in on decisions . . . even though she’s the final word.”

  “You like what you do?” I was fairly sure of the answer from the way she talked.

  “I do. It’s a lot of pressure and very little time off, but I’ve worked in worse kitchens. The people here are a little more laid-back than most. Still, most Saturday nights I end up screaming at someone. It’s just the nature of the job.”

  “Huh.” I took another drink. “Are you always off on Fridays? I thought was a busy night in the restaurant business.”

  “No, I’m almost never off on any weekend night. But Aimee, who owns the place, invited her boyfriend’s family to a private dinner there tonight. They’re all in town from the West coast, and she wanted to do all the cooking herself. So we shut down, and everyone got a paid night off.”

  I whistled. “I’d think closing on one of your most lucrative nights would be a bad business decision.”

  Harper laughed. “It would be, except that Aimee doesn’t do this for the money. Her family is loaded, and she bought The Garden Board with some of her trust fund. Believe me when I say missing one night of revenue isn’t going to leave Aimee eating ramen.”

  “Ah.” I wasn’t sure what to say next. Harper was watching me, and I had the feeling she was waiting for whatever move I might make. I wondered if she was hoping I’d leave, now that we’d both scratched that initial itch. I hoped not because from where I stood, we’d barely begun to satisfy each other.

  As if reading my mind, Harper closed her water bottle, set it on the counter and leaned forward, resting her arms on the granite, her eyes going soft and molten as they rested on me. The way she stood pushed her tits together, making them bulge from the neckline of her dress, and remembering how she’d tasted when I’d sucked on one nipple made my dick stir to life again.

  “Are you finished with your water?” I rounded the kitchen island and approached her, stalking like a tiger. “Because if you’re done with your break, I think it’s about time for round two.”

  From the way her eyes flared, I knew she’d been hoping I’d stay longer and was glad I wasn’t leaving now. She stretched out one hand toward me, her eyelids going half-way shut. “My bedroom’s down the other hall.”

  “I don’t need a bedroom for what I have planned next.” I framed her hips and lifted her onto the counter, smiling at her squeal of surprise. “This happens to be the perfect height for what I’m going to do to you right now.”

  She shivered, and I watched in fascination as her nipples hardened to points beneath the silk of her dress. “You’ll have to remind me. You fucked me so hard against the door that I forgot everything else.”

  Smiling, I raised both my hands to the straps of her dress and lowered them down her upper arms until both breasts were there in front of me, laid out. “Damn, you’re beautiful.” I touched the tip of one softly.

  “I could be bigger.” She shrugged. “But it never mattered to me, because no one’s ever complained.”

  “You’re perfect and beautiful.” I stepped closer, standing between her knees, palming both tits. My dick grew harder against my zipper, just as ready as I was. �
�Now tell me something, Harper Drummond . . . did you put your panties back on after I fucked you up against your front door?”

  Her cheeks went a little pink, but she shook her head, answering me with a whisper. “No.”

  “Are you bare under this dress?” Leaving one hand on her boob, I brought the other down to teaser her inner thigh.

  She nodded. “Yeah.”

  “That’s very good, because I don’t want anything between my mouth and your pussy. Spread your legs wider.”

  She obeyed immediately, her breath catching when I shoved the dress out of the way so that I could see her pretty pink lips, still glistening from the last go-round. “Now, Harper, I have a job for you this time.” I returned my hands to her boobs, lifting them one at a time to my lips, sucking on each nipple in turn until she whimpered, her hands fisting in the back of my shirt. “Does that feel good, my mouth on your tits?”

  She dropped her head backward, exposing the column of her neck. “Yes. So damn good.”

  “Yeah, I like it, too.” I pried her fingers from their grip on my shirt and placed them on her breasts. “So while I’m driving you out of your fucking mind with my tongue, I want you to touch yourself here. Pinch your nipples. Play with them. Squeeze your beautiful tits. I want to look up at you, my mouth full of your pussy, and see your hands busy on those boobs.”

  Her eyes drifted shut. “Yeah.”

  “Good.” I reached for the front of my own pants and undid them again, taking out my dick. “Open your eyes, sugar. I want you to see everything. I’m going to make us both feel amazing right now.” I stroked myself, and her mouth opened a little, her gaze never leaving my cock.

  I lay one hand on the inside of her leg, pushing it open a little wider, and knelt between her legs. For a moment, I simply let my mouth linger near her core, my breath brushing over the sensitive skin there. She was so damn beautiful, shaved almost bare, plump and wet. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. I covered her pussy with my mouth, licking her seam from bottom to top.

  “Jake!” Harper gasped my name, her chest heaving. I looked up at her, taking in the sight of her fingers still twisting her own nipples, fondling her breasts. My dick pulsed, and I pumped my fist around it a few times.

  With my eyes still on her, I drew the small hooded clit between my lips and sucked gently, pressing against it with the tip of my tongue over and over again. She writhed, moaning, and I saw that she’d screwed her eyes shut again.

  “Harper. Look at me. Look down here at my mouth on your sweet pussy. Look at me eating you out, because you are the best thing I’ve ever had in my mouth. Keep your eyes on me, and watch me.” I ran my tongue around her clit again, and then using the hand not around my dick, I slid two fingers into her.

  She began to shake, her mouth opened as she panted. “Jake . . .Jake . . . oh my God, Jake . . . I’m so close, so fucking close. Don’t stop—oh, oh, oh! Right there. Oh, my God.” She let out a sound that I could only describe as a keening, as she began trembling and twisting, making every attempt to push her center into my face. I worked my fingers into her, faster and faster, until she tightened around them, her hands dropping to grip the edge of the counter. I didn’t move my mouth from her until she feebly nudged me away.

  “Oh, my God.” She leaned back, resting her hands flat on the counter behind her. “I don’t think I’ll ever chop garlic right here without remembering this.”

  I rose to my feet and drew her face to me, kissing her lips, letting her taste herself on my tongue. “I bet you don’t. When you do remember, I hope you reach down between your legs and pretend it’s me there, getting you off.”

  She smiled, her lips curving lazily. “I don’t usually mess around the kitchen. But I might make an exception for that.”

  Wrapping my arms around her waist, I slid her toward me. “Now I do want you to show me your bedroom. I’m hoping for your sake, you have carpet in there, because for what comes next, you’re going to want something soft under your knees.” I lifted her up, my stiff dick rubbing over her still-sensitive pussy as I carried her down the hallway.

  “Lucky me, I do have carpeting in there.” She raked her fingers over my short hair. “But as to what happens next, I think it’s my turn to call the shots.”

  We turned into her darkened room, and Harper reached over my shoulder to switch on the light. She wiggled until I released her to stand, and once she was on her feet, she gave me a slight shove.

  “Have a seat. Now, I’m in charge.”

  I sank onto the mattress. “This sounds promising.”

  She smiled at me, crossed her arms in front of her and in one fluid movement, took off her dress, standing naked before me in just her black heels.

  “Oh, I think it will be.”

  Holy fuck. I’d seen her tits early, and I’d had an up-close and personal encounter with her pussy, but seeing all of her displayed before me sent my desire into overdrive. Harper tapped against my shoulder with one finger.

  “Take off your shirt.”

  Slowly, I unbuttoned the dress shirt, shrugged out of it and tossed it to the other side of the bed. Harper knelt in front of me, wriggling my pants and boxers down my legs, easing my shoes from my feet so that in a moment, I was as bare as she was.

  “Now what?” I was teasing her a little, thinking she didn’t have a real plan here. I should have known better.

  “Now put your hands behind your back.” She pulled the leather belt from the loops of my discarded pants.

  A twinge of worry made me frown. “Why?”

  Harper raised one eyebrow, staring me down. “Because I said so. Do it.”

  I did as she said—after all, she’d been a good sport all along, and I figured I owed her that much. She climbed onto the bed behind me, wrapped my belt around my wrists and tugged until I couldn’t move.

  “And now . . .” She came back to my front and knelt down before me, running her fingernails over the sensitive skin on the inside of my thighs. “Now it’s time to really play.”

  She held my stiff dick in one hand, moving her fingers up and down the shaft. I gritted my teeth and tried to think about anything that might slow down my response here, anything that would keep me from exploding too soon.

  Cold showers. Slogging in the mud when we’re in the field. Aunt Alice’s wart.

  “Tell me, Jake.” She was watching me, her gaze assessing. “What do you want me to do right now? Should I keep touching you?”

  “Yes.” I ground out the word.

  “Excellent.” Her fingers teased over the head, smearing a drop of precum over the slit. “Should I use just my hands on you? Like this?” She cupped my balls, playing with them, stroking. “Or should I . . . take you into my mouth?” She lowered her face against me, and I felt the incredible sensation of sliding into hot velvet, her lips closing around my cock. Her tongue circled the top, teasing.

  “Mouth is good,” I managed to say. “Mouth is damn fucking good.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” She blew across my damp and aching flesh, staring up into my face. “I want to be damn fucking good right now, because I’m not just going to blow your cock. I’m going to blow your fucking mind.”

  * * *

  “Oh, my God. I don’t think I can move.” I collapsed onto the bed next to Harper. “That’s it. I think you broke me. I’m done.”

  She laughed. “Think you can hang in long enough for me to run to the bathroom? I mean, if you’re about to croak here in my bed, I’ll wait a few minutes.”

  “Funny.” I took a deep breath and let it ease out. “Bring me some water, and I’ll do my best to stay alive.”

  “That I can do.” She flipped off the covers and hopped out of the bed. “Be right back.”

  I was worn out, but I wasn’t dead yet, which was why I kept my eyes glued to her ass while she walked naked to the door and disappeared into the dim hallway. Once she was out of sight, I stretched and propped myself up against a pillow, glancing around her room.
>
  I didn’t know this woman well—I hardly knew her at all, except in the most physical sense. But somehow, I was positive that her bedroom was a total reflection of who she was. The walls were painted a basic cream, but they were hung with framed prints, many of rolling hills and misty forests. Others were photographs of the beach or close-ups of seashells.

  Her bed was a huge four-poster, and a matching dresser dominated the adjacent wall. Curious, I leaned up to check out the photographs there; these were family pictures, a couple of formally-posed shots and then some others that were clearly more candid. In one, Harper stood between a young man and a younger woman. It was clear from the family resemblance that these three had to be siblings. All of them were beaming at the camera, but there was something in Harper’s eyes, some glint of mischief that made her undeniably the most interesting person in the shot.

  “Checking me out, are you?” She stood next to the bed, her arms crossed over her still-nude breasts, water bottles in each hand. “Are you being nosy?”

  “I like family pictures.” I shrugged. “Are these two your only brother and sister?”

  “Yes. They’re both older than me, and they’re both artists. Jordan paints and Lila’s a photographer.”

  “Ah.” I smiled. “You have their work on your wall, don’t you?”

  She glanced over her shoulder. “Yes. That’s Jordan’s Shenandoah series, and the seashore pics were a gift from my sister. She took them when we were together at the beach a few summers back.”

  “It’s really beautiful.” I was honestly impressed. “They’re talented.”

  “Yep. Jordan and Lila are the family successes. I’m the one none of them understand. They think I’m crazy to enjoy working in a kitchen. My dad tried to talk me into going to law school, but I just—” She halted. “Sorry. Geez, I don’t know where the hell that came from.” She passed me the water, climbing onto the bed to reach me.