by Zoe York
She pointed at his plate. “That’s octopus, I think. It’s delicious.”
He didn’t miss a beat. He speared the morsel with his fork and popped it in his mouth. His eyes lit up and he slowly chewed and swallowed.
She could watch him eat for hours, and hopefully would.
The second plate in this next round was eggplant. It wasn’t her favourite food, but it was done perfectly, and they cleaned that off, too.
The third plate made Sean laugh. “Those are hash browns.”
“But they’re Spanish hash browns.” She grinned. “Fried potato is universal.”
“It is.” He took a bite, then leaned in and gave her a curious look. Her turn to be on the hot seat. “Are you going to tell your mother you know the soldier playing hockey with the prime minister?”
Her fork froze in mid-air. Slowly she set it down. “Uh….”
He waved his hand. “You don’t need to answer that.”
“No…” She took a deep breath. “It’s not because of you. My mom and I have a complicated relationship. She’ll be thrilled I met the prime minister, but also obsessed with how I can leverage that into something important. Something to…” She winced and made air quotes. “Take me to the next level.”
“Are there levels of midwifery?”
She laughed. “Not like that. It’s just…Probably one of the reasons I went into health care was because it’s exactly the opposite of the type of career my mother dreamed of for me.”
Sean pulled a face as he reached for his beer. “Parents. Ironically, my story for another time is the same thing. Well, the opposite thing.” He took a long slug. “My father is—was—an officer. And we don’t see eye-to-eye on anything. So it’s a big, weird thing in our family that I went that path. He sees it as following in his footsteps.”
“And it’s not?”
“Fuck no. I just like being in charge.”
She probably shouldn’t find that sexy, but with all the chemistry sizzling between them, it was impossible not to. “In all ways?”
He grinned, right there with her. “Not with you. Not unless you wanted to play that way.”
She shrugged. “I could be convinced it might be fun.”
He lowered his voice as his smile grew. “That wasn’t what I meant. When it comes to sex, I’m usually pretty laid back.”
“Usually?”
“With you, everything is different.” He held her gaze as he said it, and her chest grew hot.
More plates of food arrived, but something had shifted. Everything was different with Sean too.
And she was totally ready for their seista, thank you very much.
AS SOON AS the door of the apartment closed behind them, they were all over each other. Shirts off, mouths together.
It was hard to grin and kiss at the same time, but somehow Sean made it work.
“Let me see you.”
He turned her around, carefully, reverently, his hands never leaving her body as he unzipped her jeans. She wriggled out of them and then his hands returned to her hips to tug down her panties. His mouth dropped to her shoulder, her neck, his breath hot against the spot behind her ear. He wove his fingers through her hair and twisted it out of the way so he could lick the top of her spine.
Having all of his attention was heady and intoxicating.
So too was feeling the press of his erection against her, feeling the urgency in his touch, even as he took his time stroking and caressing her body.
This man wanted her on a whole different level.
She took his hands in hers and tugged him toward the bed. Seduction and play could happen another time. Later, after dinner. Tomorrow, when they woke up.
Right now, she wanted something simpler, more elemental.
She wanted Sean inside her.
He had a condom already. He pressed the foil into her hand as he kissed down her body, and she ripped it open as he went down on her.
“Sean. Now.” But it came out as more of a plea than a command.
He rose above her, gloriously hard and sculpted, and she rolled the condom down his length before pulling them together. He followed, bracing one hand beside her head as he spread his legs wide, his knees planted on the bed. Her own legs rode high on his hips as she rubbed him against her clit, then lower.
She loved the way his eyelids fluttered at the first tantalizing feel of his erection against her entrance. Yes. Oh, God, yes. That was…so good.
He let her play, stroking him up against her sex, then back down to where she was slippery and ready. His cock pulsed in her hand, but he held himself still and just watched as she rubbed against him. She watched, too, her breath catching with each jolt of feeling. Spark, fire, gasp, repeat.
“Look at you,” he whispered, smiling in a lazy, feral way as he held himself above her. “That feel good? Sure looks good. Feels damn sweet to me, too.”
“I want you so much,” she breathed.
“Then take me.”
She rolled her hips, bringing them together again, and this time, she wasn’t teasing. This time she let go, and he pushed inside, stretching her with a steady, sure thrust.
Crying out, she arched her body at the perfect intrusion. Yes, yes. She breathed his name and he did it again, filling up space inside her she hadn’t known to be achingly empty. Now she knew, though. Now a brand-new need clawed at her. For him to push again, to stretch and fill and be inside her. “Slow,” she pleaded, wanting him to stay there when he was as deep as he could go.
“Like this?” He stroked down her body and hooked his arm over her hip, spreading his hand wide across the curve of her bottom. He lifted her up as he pumped his hips then held them together before repeating the delicious motion.
“Yes.” She pushed her arms up above her head, finding the headboard to get some leverage. “Just like that.” The words felt weak, not big enough to describe just how good, how right it felt.
When the headboard wasn’t giving her what she needed, she twisted her hands to grip the pillow, but that wasn’t… “Fuck.” She flailed her arms out, needing to ground herself on something.
“Shhh…” Sean caught her hands with his and laced their fingers together, pressing her fists into the mattress as he moved over her. “Hold on to me.”
Her heart wobbled and caught against her rib cage as she pulled against his hands. Yes, again, yes. He grinned down at her and she wrapped her legs tighter around his waist. His gaze darkened, turned molten, and she flexed around him, inside and out. She held on tight.
“I want you to come, Jenna.” Those dark eyes pierced right through her as he surged forward. “Let go and let me make you feel good. Or use me and make yourself feel good. God, you’re so gorgeous right now. I want to see you come apart. Gimme that secret, angel.”
She could feel her eyes go wide, but his dirty sweet words did the trick. The tightness that had bound her in a restless, panicky energy started to dissolve in the face of her mounting pleasure. “You, too,” she breathed. “With me.”
“Want to make this last,” he said, his voice husky.
Oh, the idea that he craved more of her tugged in all the right places.
“Slow…next time—” Her words caught as he shifted his angle, nudging a new spot deep inside her that set off technicolour explosions in her brain. More, yes, there.
And suddenly it was too much to look up at him. His hot, hungry gaze burned her skin. She twisted her face and tugged her hands free. “Turn me over. I want… from behind.”
He dropped his face into the curve of her neck and groaned. “God, yes.” He slapped her hip lightly and she flipped herself over as he slipped out of her.
Shameless, she dropped to all fours and pushed back against him, desperate to have him fill her again. Aching for that sweet stretch, and eager to feel it like this. Deeper and harder.
Less intimate and more instinctive.
But it wasn’t any less intimate when his hands covered her hips, hot and wide and strong
, and tugged her up. He revealed her completely, pressing her shoulders down to the bed before thrusting into her again. She shouted from how good it felt, and he growled at her.
“Whatever you want, Jenna. However you want it. Tell me and I’ll make it yours.”
“You,” she panted. “Just you. Like this. So good.”
He slammed into her.
Her need was coiling now, twisting tight. Her legs started to shake and she reached for her clit, but he was already there, his fingers pressing on either side. Just enough pressure to drive her insane without tripping over the live wire that was her out-of-reach orgasm.
“More…”
“More what?”
Everything.
She licked her lips and shook her head, trying to think straight. She flexed her fingers, and Sean leaned into her, over her, pressing her down. Once again, he linked their fingers together, their left hands pressed against the pillow together now. His other hand wrapped around her and pressed against her clit, and as he buried himself inside her again, she came in a spectacular, shuddering climax that took her by surprise.
“Oh…” It was all she could say, her voice stolen by pleasure and other more deceptively simple feelings she didn’t want to explore.
Like how good it felt when Sean held her hand during sex.
How crazy, out-of-this-world good that felt.
He rolled away from her for a few seconds. She glanced down when he rolled back. Condom gone, taken care of. “Did you…”
He kissed her so softly it cracked her chest. “Yes, I came. Hard, and deep inside you. Best fucking feeling in the world.”
“I didn’t notice.” She was out of breath and out of complex thoughts, too.
He chuckled and folded her into his side.
What the hell had just happened?
They’d fooled around repeatedly. Blow jobs, hand jobs, all the jobs… And it had been awesome. Sexy good times fun.
But none of it had prepared her for having him inside her.
She needed to be careful and remember what it was they were doing—and what they weren’t.
Two weeks of magic. Two weeks of sex and friendship.
Then it was back to reality and no more dreaming.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
THE NEXT FEW days sped by in a blur of food and laughter and sweet, dirty sex. For the first time in a long time, Sean was a ridiculously happy man.
Some afternoons, they even used the siesta to have a real, honest-to-God nap. They explored the younger vibe in the new town, and stayed out late dancing a lot and drinking a little.
Jenna kept plying him with new and interesting foods, and he dragged himself out of bed most mornings to get a long run in before she woke up.
A few times he skipped the run, though, because she was soft and sweet to laze next to in bed.
The day they were planning to go to Gibraltar was one of those days when he just couldn’t pull himself away from her, so he let himself drift, not really asleep but in a warm, muzzy state, until she stirred.
She made the best pleased noise when she realized he was there.
“I could get used to waking up like this,” she said, her words soft and only half-awake. “I’ve never in my life slept so well, or so long.”
“It’s easy to impress someone who hasn’t slept through the night in four months.”
She smiled and burrowed tighter against him. “True. But this is still the best feeling in the world.”
Yeah, it really was.
He liked his space, he liked his quiet.
But Jenna didn’t crowd him, she complemented him. She gave him something to hold on to. She grounded him.
It had only been a week, and he already knew he was going to miss her like hell.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve slept next to someone other than the guy in the next cot. You are a definite upgrade in that regard.”
“Same. Well, not army guys. But it’s been a long time.”
Up until now, they hadn’t talked about their past relationships. It was as if they had an unspoken agreement that doing so might unmask this for a relationship, and given what they were both heading back to, that felt…complicated.
He also knew he’d burn with an unfamiliar jealousy if he heard about some other guy sharing Jenna’s bed, even if it was in the past. Because other guys could do this with her again, and he couldn’t.
They only had two weeks together, and one had already sped by.
He hugged her closer, and she twisted in his arms. They’d started sleeping naked, with a bowl of condoms handy. But she wasn’t reaching for his half-erect cock. Instead, she walked her fingers up his chest as she looked at him, curiosity all over her face.
Ah, shit. He grinned at her. “You want to ask more about this, don’t you?”
“I admit I’m curious. You’re an interesting guy. Hot, kind, funny. Quite talented in the sack.” She winked at him. “How come it’s been so long?”
He took a deep breath. “Life? Work, mostly. Not a lot of women are interested in being third on a list of priorities. Nor should they be.”
“Damn.” She leaned in and kissed his jaw, her lips catching on his overnight stubble. “I knew there had to be a catch. Because otherwise, you’re totally perfect.”
He nipped the end of her nose with his teeth. “Definitely not that. Anyway, I wasn’t thinking about a woman when I said that. I was thinking about sharing beds with my brothers, and how grateful I was when I finally got my own room.”
“Tell me about that.”
He’d rather make her scream his name, but the way she asked, he could hardly refuse. “My father has a big, rambling house. But four boys in three rooms meant I shared with my brother Matt. He’s two years older than me, and…” It was hard to explain. He cracked his jaw before continuing. “I had nightmares when I was really young, and my oldest brother would be the one who’d come to me. So when I got big enough, if I woke up scared, I’d just go to Dean. I’d wake him up by kicking him. In hindsight, I don’t know why he put up with a preschooler crashing his bed every night. He would have only been about fourteen.”
“Why didn’t you go to your parents?”
“My mom died when I was two. I don’t remember her.”
“Oh.” The shock in her voice sliced against his skin. “I’m sorry.”
“It is what it is.”
She swallowed, and he imagined she was shoving down the next question. What about your father? Yeah, that was a good one. And way too loaded for this morning, although he would tell her, in time. He’d tell her everything, because opening up like that with Jenna hadn’t felt bad at all.
She kissed his jaw, then his neck, nestling close, and he squeezed his arms around her. It had felt damn good, actually.
“What should we do today on our way to Gibraltar?” she asked quietly.
“Find a sherry bodega and get tipsy. Sleep it off under an orange tree.” He rolled her onto her stomach and kissed his way down her spine, until his breath brushed the tops of her hips, and she rocked up against him.
THEY ARRIVED in Gibraltar mid-afternoon and checked into their hotel for the night. Instead of cramming it all into a day trip, they were going to stay the night, tour the Rock in the morning then head back to Arcos in time for a late dinner.
He’d wanted to cram so much into this trip when he’d first planned it, but now that it was under way—now that he was doing it with Jenna—he was enjoying the slower pace. Maybe next time he’d do the rock climbing and wind sailing he’d originally planned.
Although maybe next time she’d be on this side of the pond, too, and he’d want to do more lazing in bed again. So far, that had proven to be his best vacation idea ever.
“Do you think you’ll sign up for another rotation through a camp?” he asked Jenna as they sipped coffee at a cafe in town.
She nodded. “I think so. If you’d asked me when we first met, I’d have said maybe I couldn’t hack it. But this
trip has done wonders for my spirit. And there’s always a need for trained medical staff. That’s hard to ignore. Next time, I’ll go into it with the experience from this time, and I’ll plan for a break like this in the middle.” Her lips curved into a brilliant smile and her eyes softened. “Not that this, or you, can be replicated.”
Damn straight. “I was just wondering if maybe it could. If when you signed up for another contract with Doctors Without Borders, I might be on this side of the pond at the same time.”
“That would be something, wouldn’t it?” Her eyes unfocused and he wondered if she was thinking about some distant point in the future where they might hook up again.
Except, it didn’t have to be that distant.
“It’d be great to stay in touch before that. We’ll be heading back to Canada around the same time, I think.”
She nodded. “I’m back in June, for sure.”
“I’ll come out west and visit you.”
Her eyes widened and refocused on him. “Oh.” A myriad of emotions played in her expression as she schooled her face. “Okay…”
That wasn’t the reaction he’d been hoping for. He cleared his throat. “That doesn’t sound like a good okay.”
“Just surprised, that’s all.” She licked her lips. “I was thinking that we were focused on this trip. And afterwards, we’d go back to…” She gestured east. “All the things that consume every moment of every day. Being an officer and a midwife on the edge of a war zone.”
Ah. She didn’t want any distractions.
She didn’t want him, and his promises of future hook-ups, to distract her from the thing she’d worked so hard towards. He could appreciate that. Her hard work, sacrifice, and determination were big parts of what he found so attractive about her. So he’d be an ass if he tried to persuade her to focus on him instead.
The temptation to be a selfish ass was strong.
He tamped it down. “That’s fair.”
She gave him a warm smile. “I like the idea of doing this again, though.”
As long as it was a theoretical fantasy and not an actual plan. He nodded. “Me too.”
