Mindless, his tongue moving deeper into her mouth, sliding against hers, cajoling her, Leah arched upward, wanting, needing closer contact with him. The moment her nipples brushed against his chest from beneath the towel, she gasped, a jolt of electric current radiating down throughout her in wild, gratifying shocks.
Kell eased from her mouth, his hand beneath her neck, exposing her slender throat to his lips. She was trembling as his warm, moist breath skittered across her sensitive flesh. Leah felt his small nips making her skin ripple with deeper pleasure, and then he would lick the area and finally kiss her in that very same throbbing spot.
Leah’s mind liquified as his mouth trailed a path of slow, expanding fire from her neck, across her collarbone and then downward. She felt him ease open the towel across her breasts, felt the nubby fabric removed to bare her sensitive, aching breasts. Her fingers dug into Kell’s shoulder, her other hand gripping his thick, flexing biceps, twisting up against him, not knowing what she wanted, only that she wanted the ache growing deep within her to stop. To somehow be released again.
A soft whimper tore out of Leah as she felt his fingers graze the curve of her breast. The impact of his calloused fingers stroking her flesh made her gasp. The moistness of his breath caressed her nipple and Leah cried out, unable to know what it was she was wanting. Only that she was needing so badly that frustration was building within her.
The moment Kell’s lips settled on her tight nipple, a ragged cry tore out of her and Leah arched her hips against his. The searing jolts shafted down through her body as he teased her nipple. The suckling sensation completely unhinged her in every way. An uncontrollable fire leaped to life within her, an ancient knowing that didn’t need any teacher to tell her what to do from now on.
As his teeth tugged gently on the nipple, she writhed in his arms, the feelings so intense that she bucked her hips demandingly against his. All Leah could do was sob as he waged the same sweet assault upon her other nipple. She was barely aware that he had disrobed her completely until she felt his hard erection against her belly as she twisted herself upward against him. It didn’t scare her. Her memory had been dissolved by the molten heat that leaped and churned throughout her entire body.
She trusted Kell. And that was all her mind needed to know. It released her from the terror of the past. It allowed her to focus solely on Kell.
Leah made an exasperated moaning sound as his mouth left her breast. She almost cried out louder, wanting him to return to suckle them, the exquisite sensations leaving her trembling in the wake of his skilled mouth. Instead, she felt his hand move beneath her arched back, pulling her upward, his mouth trailing fire down the center of her damp, quivering body. Leah gripped his thickly muscled shoulders, fingers pressed deep into his flesh, opening and closing them as if in spasm as each kiss lavished her torso, her abdomen.
And then her world started flying apart as she felt his mouth kissing her soft curls, his hands easing her thighs apart. It was such a slow-moving, burning path he created as he followed the crease of her left thigh, then kissed and licked his way down to her aching entrance.
Kell laid her down, moved between her thighs and cupped her hips, lifting her slightly, and as his mouth touched her outer entrance, Leah gasped, a low, tearing moan caught in her throat. Her entire body bowed upward at the scorching pleasure his mouth, his tongue, was giving her.
The impact of his mouth caressing her, giving her such intense, violent pleasure, ripped away her mind and Leah could only respond with her heart as he welcomed her in a way she’d never before experienced.
She began to sob, gripping Kell’s shoulders, wanting the pressure, the building ache, to release once more. His tongue moved inside her and she groaned as her entire lower body violently convulsed and contracted. Dazed, she felt a flood of thick, fluid, intense, rippling sensations flowed through her.
She sobbed with relief as the pressure discharged from within her. The trail of singeing blaze moved outward in radiating circles, overwhelming her senses, pleasuring her, rocking her to the edge of some unknown, beautiful, floating universe. And yet, as her body orgasmed, she could feel another building pressure right behind it. But he waited, soothing her with his hands across her belly, her outer thighs, giving her time to absorb all the satiation throbbing through her.
Kell kissed her gently, as if she were sacred to him, and Leah was lost within his arms as he worshipped her.
She was coming out of that cloud of intensity when he slid his hands across her hips, kneeling between her thighs, his tongue moving deeply into her once again. The sensation was exquisite and she welcomed his return, hunger coursing through her once more. As he lavished that swelling knot just inside her entrance once again, she gave a hoarse cry. Within moments, her body gifted her once more, sending her into a faraway place of scalding, flames and undulating ecstasy that completely embraced her.
Kell eased away from Leah, filled with her sexual scent and the taste of her. He kissed her curly mound and then he teased one of her nipples, feeling her buck against him, wanting him all over again.
He smiled to himself, luxuriating in her innocent reactions. Once Leah put that troubled mind of hers on the shelf, she became his fierce, passionate woman in his arms. There was no holding back with her, and now Kell wanted to give her what she’d been wanting all along, but hadn’t discovered until now.
He placed his knees between her thighs, gently parting her, pressing himself against her wet entrance. She was so ready, her body flooding with nectar, the sweetness flowing out of her. He slid his hand beneath her lower back, her breasts against his chest as he lay against her. She was breathing in sobs, her hands against his hips, pulling him, wanting him inside her. Kell knew what she wanted even if she didn’t understand what she was doing. The last thing he wanted was to traumatize her. She was wet, slick and warm, and he pressed just inside of her gate and waited for her reaction.
Leah suddenly froze, and he was glad he’d waited, leaning his damp brow against her brow, feeling her breathing change, feeling her hands suddenly still against his back. He moved just slightly, enough to engage that pearl-like bundle of nerves at her entrance. She suddenly quivered and Kell released a held breath of air. It was all right…all right, and he stroked her slowly, teasing that pearl, feeling her loosen and relax once more in his arms.
Damn, she was so tight. He was afraid to move deeper, feeling her body trying to accommodate him, convulsing, tightening and releasing. And yet, her sweet hips rocked against his, silently asking for more of him to enter her. It was such a risk. Kell felt as though he was going to explode any moment, not used to being gripped like a tight glove. Leah moaned, her head thrashing from side to side, her eyes closed, her mouth open in a silent cry, wanting him.
Kell felt brutalized by the wait. He could feel the tortured ache in his body, the heat and juices of her body flowing in eager welcome around him, relentlessly teasing him. He wanted to surge into her, take her hard, take her fast, but that couldn’t be done. Not tonight.
Easing farther into Leah, he finally got her body to slowly accommodate and accept all of him. And as he began to thrust into her with a slow rhythm, he felt her hips return that rhythm. As he increased the thrusts, her fingers sank deeply into his back. Yeah, she was going to come again, and he had to control himself for her sake. Her powerful contractions as the orgasm released nearly did Kell in; her hot, scalding flow around him made him lock his teeth, groaning, trying to stop himself from coming.
But it was impossible, and as Leah cried out his name, he took her with a swift, deep rhythm. In moments, Kell tensed, growled and gripped her against him, burying his face against her neck and shoulder, feeling his release tunnel out of him like a scorching fire. He shook violently, holding her hard to him, feeling her chaotic breath and soft sobs against his ear. She clung to him as if she were going to fly free and disappear. But she wasn’t.
Kell held her, eased his grip around her, allowed her to lie down,
her dark ginger hair a frame around her deeply flushed face. Her eyes drowsily opened, awe and satisfaction gleaming in their depths. Kell couldn’t speak, still caught up in his own release, still inside her, feeling her body massaging him, still keeping him hard despite the release.
He struggled to elevate himself with his elbows on either side of her head, taking most of his weight off her except where they were joined. He could feel the sweat and wetness shared between them. And he couldn’t help but thrust his hips slowly forward, twisting and drowning in the welcoming heat of her once again.
Watching Leah’s luminous eyes widen, those pupils huge and black, he absorbed the pleasure and satiation shining in them. It made him feel strong and good as a man to be able to give his woman this kind of unadulterated, seamless pleasure. But Leah deserved so much more.
He eased his hand beneath the small of her sweaty back and angled her hips up just enough as he thrust slowly into her once more. Her lips parted, a soft mewl that sounded like music to him escaping her throat as she tipped back her head, her eyes closing as she absorbed each of his slow, measured strokes.
“That’s it, Sugar,” he crooned, “just enjoy the ride…”
He twisted his hips to tease her inwardly. Her hands wrapped around his biceps, her sweet sounds filling him. More than anything, Kell wanted to show her a man could pleasure her, not hurt her as he filled her.
He continued to move, reaching that other group of nerves high and deep within her, a second trigger point, to coax her to orgasm once more. And as limp as she was, as exhausted as she had been, Kell brought her back, saw that spark of surprise return to her eyes as he continued to stroke deeply and tease her.
“That’s it, take what you want,” he urged her in a guttural voice.
Her hands slipped around his hips, pulling him hard against her, arching, whimpering.
Kell smiled inwardly, letting Leah get used to controlling her own pleasure with him. And very soon, he felt a swift, tight contraction around him, felt her body convulse and then that boiling release of her fluids swiftly surrounding him. And this time, he knew exactly how to prolong that deeper orgasm for her. He sent her right over the edge of the universe into a hot, floating cloud of burning pleasure. He watched her fly apart beneath him, the powerful arch of her back, the surprised, husky cry tearing out of her slender throat, the pink flush flooding her skin during the prolonged, powerful orgasm.
Leah collapsed against him, spent, breathing raggedly. He eased out of her, knowing for sure she was going to be very achy come tomorrow morning. Kell wasn’t exactly small to begin with, and he knew it spelled soreness that Leah would have to endure.
He gathered her up against him, bringing her head to rest against his neck and jaw. Moving his hand down across her hip, he pulled her fully against him, his long leg tangling among hers, holding her close.
Reaching up, Kell snagged a blanket with his fingers, pulling it across them. The cave wasn’t cold, but he didn’t want her to get chilled. She was warm, damp and pleasantly limp in his arms. Moving his fingers through her hair, he kissed her smooth brow, content.
Leah didn’t know when she’d fallen asleep, but as she drowsily awoke, she felt alone. Kell was no longer beside her. Barely turning her head she saw him walking toward her, a towel and washcloth in his hands. Following him with her eyes, he came and knelt at her side. He removed the blanket and gently opened her thighs.
“You’re going to be sore tomorrow,” he warned her quietly, moving the warm wash cloth and gently wiping the insides of her thighs and her entrance. He then placed the warm, moist towel across her abdomen and between her thighs. “The heat will help, Sugar.” He smiled a little and caressed her cheek. “You feeling okay?”
Okay? Just okay?
Leah felt as if she’d splintered into a million throbbing, exploding pieces of intense pleasure that were still surging through her lower body like banked coals on a fire. Her mouth was dry and she was thirsty. Licking her lower lip, Leah rasped, “I feel so good I don’t even have words to describe it, Kell.” She reached out, catching his hand, bringing it to her lips, kissing the back of it. “Thank you…I just never realized how good this could be…”
Kell felt joy thread through him. “It’s the best, darlin’. Nothing else even begins to compare to it.”
Throwing her arm across her eyes, Leah groaned, “Tell me about it.” She managed a little laugh, never having felt as good as she did right now.
Lifting her arm away, she saw the happiness burning in Kell’s dark gray eyes. That male smile was there, too. Pride. Confidence. Love? Was that what she saw in his eyes for her? Leah thought it was too soon to know, but whatever it was, it made her feel cherished. And so well loved.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
LEAH LINGERED IN a heated world of pleasure even after she woke up much later. She was in Kell’s arms, her body fitting against the harder planes of his. Where she was soft and giving, he was angular and unforgiving. In her groggy mind, still captured in the web of pleasurable, ongoing sensations, she luxuriated in his strength and the sense of being cherished. Her arm was curved across his narrow waist, her cheek resting on the soft hair across his chest. Just the slow, deep beat of his heart against her ear lulled her into a delicious space of happiness she’d never realized could exist between a man and a woman.
Leah didn’t want to move. She wanted to fiercely remember this night, this moment in Kell’s arms. Her life felt altered forever by his loving her. She didn’t skirt the word or the sensation opening in her heart, flowing through her, healing the fracture in her soul that Hayden had created.
The more she awakened, the more Leah realized how much she’d allowed herself to be used by her ex-husband. The question of why was glaring. Why had she allowed herself to be manipulated first by her father and later by Hayden? Leah lay with her eyes closed, soaking up Kell’s warmth against her flesh, his moist breath slow and shallow against her hair.
In those sweet moments, Leah became aware of the waterfall’s music echoing throughout the cave, feeling in another way her life had been rerouted by Kell’s entrance into it. She’d only been half-alive, she realized, until he’d opened his arms and asked her to come to him.
Where was all of this going? Leah felt as if she were teetering on the brink of a massive change in her life. There was no way she couldn’t draw stark comparisons between Kell and Hayden. New anger toward Hayden began to uncurl from deep within her.
Hayden had taken everything away from her, never sharing, never even thinking of giving back to her in terms of emotional pleasure, intimacy or nurturing. Leah’s heart shrank in grief over what she’d allowed him to do to her.
If only she’d had more experience, more worldly awareness of sex, of relationships, she would have known. And by knowing, she would have instantly realized Hayden was sick and abusive. She would have left him as soon as she realized her mistake. He’d initially hidden the ugly, abusive side of himself. She hadn’t had the astuteness to realize that he was wearing a disguise. An uneven sigh broke from her lips as Leah felt the anguish and shame of her own ignorance flow through her.
Kell’s fingers grazed her cheek, his touch removing her anger and disappointment with herself. Leah stretched languidly against him, leaning up, kissing his bearded jaw. Absorbing his tenderness as he caressed her shoulder and back, her skin tightening wherever his exploring fingers skimmed her skin, Leah didn’t want this to ever end.
She moved against his hips, feeling his erection against her, absorbing the moment, his power coupled with his gentleness. Leah felt well loved, cared for and treasured.
“Is this how it is?” she whispered, her voice husky with sleep.
Kell propped himself up on one elbow, easing Leah onto her back so he could study her. “Always,” he murmured, removing strands of her hair from her cheek and brow. Her eyes were wide with wonder, a rich green, pupils large and black. His gaze dropped to her mouth, her lips slightly parted. Sliding his hand
across her jaw, Kell leaned down, barely grazing them, feeling their softness, feeling her lush response. He wanted to make love to her again, but knew it would have to wait.
Tasting her, placing small, lingering kisses on each corner of her mouth, he eased away to hold her drowsy gaze, his heart lost to her in every possible way.
“I don’t want this to end,” she admitted softly, reaching up, sliding her hand against his jaw, watching his eyes grow intent, feeling him desiring her once more. It was a delicious, empowering feeling, so new and satisfying to Leah.
Groaning, Kell nodded and said, “Me, either, Sugar.” He lifted his hand and looked at his watch. “It’s 0400. I’m going to have to get up and get out to the cave opening and call in by sat phone to see what’s going on around this area.”
Leah grimaced and nodded. “You’re right. I was being selfish.”
Kell kissed her cheek and then her mouth. “I want you to be selfish about us. It’s never going to be easy with our military demands and responsibilities.” He saw a somber look come to her expression. In some ways, she was like a young woman who had just awakened to the beauty and amazement of her own body, of understanding the pleasures to be gained and enjoyed with the right man at her side. Kell hated to bring it up because he knew her father had imprisoned her in a world of responsibility and loyalty only to him, leaving no time for what Leah wanted for herself.
“I wish,” Leah whispered, “I could stop time. Just to stay here for another day… Is that being selfish, Kell?” To want to be with him? To savor his touch, his mouth, his body once more? Leah saw his eyes change and grow softer. A sad smile that came to his mouth tore at her newly opened heart.
Running Fire Page 19
