Soldier Boy

by Delilah Devlin

  Glancing down at his cock, he could hardly deny that had been his intent. “I’ll be just a minute.”

  When he sensed her still hovering behind him, he gave her a wry, regretful smile. “Go get dressed. I need to have a look around your place again. No time for fun and games, now.”

  “I’m more than willing. Fair’s fair.”

  He aimed a baleful glare her way. “I wasn’t giving you anything because I expected a favor in return.”

  She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth then let it go. “I don’t get you, Mac McDonough.”

  Her large brown eyes gave him a look that reminded him of a wounded puppy dog. Damn, he didn’t want to care that he kept hurting her. “I know you don’t. And it’s a damn shame you’ve been conditioned to expect a man to act that way. I want you. I won’t deny that. But your safety and well-being come first. I let myself forget that for a little while.”

  “I’ll leave you alone,” she said, stepping back and closing the stall door.

  Mac hung his head beneath the spray and took deep breaths. He’d been seconds from pulling her inside, pushing her to her knees, and forcing his cock between her soft lips.

  But the next time he had her naked, he wanted to love her without restriction. Without having to think about his goddamn leg or whether it was safe to let down his guard and just enjoy being inside her.

  In the meantime, he didn’t need any distractions. He reached down, wrapped his hand around himself, and pretended he rocked between a set of lush, swollen lips.

  *

  Suki sat in the living room while evening shadows slowly filled the spaces around her.

  Mac had been busy most of the afternoon, hammer in hand, repairing latches that might be jimmied by an intruder. He’d roamed the house like a caged bear, his uneven steps stomping through the house as he checked doors, closets, and windows, time and again.

  Moments ago, he’d left to trek down the road toward the highway after hearing an engine slow in the distance.

  She was beginning to think he was avoiding her.

  All right, she knew damn well that was precisely his strategy. Ever since he’d chased Lyssa and Brand out the door, he’d been surly, his already dour expression turning to stone.

  If she hadn’t known for a certainty he still desired her, she’d have thought that maybe the sex they’d shared had been awful.

  However, his constant state of arousal was impossible to miss. Even if she hadn’t noticed his grouchiness seemed to sharpen every time his gaze lingered on her, the knot at the front of his trousers was a dead giveaway.

  As large as he was, erections weren’t something Mac could easily hide.

  So, while he slammed around the house, she’d played it cool, fighting a devious smile each time he left the room in a huff to find something else to keep him far away from her.

  Funny how just yesterday, she’d been fearful and tense, but today she’d found something wonderfully delicious to fill her thoughts. She was truly grateful Mac had entered her life, but would he still be interested when the danger passed? It seemed he had his own demons to conquer and a torn body to heal.

  Voices sifted through the windows, speaking softly. One belonged to Mac. By his even tone, she guessed the law had arrived.

  Suki wandered out onto the porch and waited as Mac led a uniformed sheriff’s deputy down the path.

  “Howdy, ma’am,” the officer said, his sharp glance taking in her relaxed pose. “I was just telling Mac, here, that we’ll be stopping by to check on you.”

  She reached out to take the hand he offered, mumbled a greeting, and shifted closer to Mac.

  Mac’s arm wrapped around her shoulder, and he brought her close. “We’re taking precautions. But we do appreciate your keeping an eye out for us.”

  The officer handed her a card. “911 will bring us quick, but you can reach me at this number, too. You two stay safe.”

  He touched the brim of his cream-colored cowboy hat and left.

  Mac turned her in his arms. “The deputy’s concerned. There are too many ways for a man to get to this house, and from too many directions. It’s just not smart to stay here, Suki. Maybe you should rethink. My ranch would be safer, and not a place your old boyfriend is familiar with.”

  She snuggled closer in his embrace, happy that he wasn’t trying to shunt her back to some safe house and seemed to want her to stay with him. “All right. If that’s what you want.” She lifted her head. “But can we leave tomorrow?”

  At his terse nod, she sighed. She had just one more night alone with Mac. But would he be as standoffish as he’d been all afternoon when it came time to go to bed?

  *

  Mac made a final check then padded barefoot back to the living room. He eyed the sofa with its lumpy cushions and grimaced.

  Who was he fooling? He had no intention of bedding down there again when Suki had made it very apparent she didn’t mind sharing her soft bed.

  Tomorrow, they’d be at the ranch, surrounded by family and hands. Would she be as amenable to sharing a bed when everyone in the house would know exactly where she slept?

  He didn’t think she was a prude, but maybe he was…just a little bit. He’d never brought a woman home. Somehow the thought of sleeping under his own roof, with his sister down the hall, made it seem like a declaration of sorts. It wouldn’t just be sex with a willing woman, but sex with a woman who mattered to him.

  Mac shrugged off the thoughts. He was a grown man with needs. Lyss could go to hell if she started making wedding plans before he’d even decided whether he liked the woman, much less loved her enough to marry her.

  Although he liked everything he’d learned so far. In fact, he craved another look at her slender body. Not that sex was the only thing that attracted him. He liked the hints of humor she’d betrayed as he’d slammed through the house today, trying to keep busy so he wasn’t tempted to “get busier” with her.

  Her lips had pressed together as though she suppressed a smile every time he’d aimed an annoyed glance her way. She didn’t buy his attitude.

  Must have been the hard-on he couldn’t outrun.

  His hand crept between his legs, and he cupped himself then adjusted his cock, letting it rise against his belly. He’d caught her curious gaze checking him out more times than he could count, and still she hadn’t said a word. Or when she did, it was to say something so ordinary he’d catch himself staring at her as though she’d lost her mind.

  And then he’d note the amusement gleaming in her eyes.

  Suki was subtle. And stubborn.

  And she was winning the game through a careful strategy of attrition.

  She’d conserved her energy, worn him out by keeping him on the move, until he was ready to knock on her bedroom door and wave a white flag.

  All the doors had been checked, he’d circled the house twice, walked to the end of the pier and listened for sounds of approaching boats. Nothing.

  He could bed down, could bed down with her. So, what was really stopping him?

  “Mac…?”

  Stifling a groan, he tore his glance from the window overlooking the porch to find her standing behind him, wearing only a snug little tee that bared most of her narrow waist and a pair of bikinis so small and tight they displayed the folds of her pussy.

  The woman had pulled out the big guns.

  “Would you like me to massage your leg?”

  Mac glared, feeling heat fill his cheeks. A show of consideration that he didn’t believe for a minute. She’d challenged his manhood with the mention of his injury, but shielded her challenge by offering a kindness.

  If any other woman had offered, he’d accept it at face value, but Suki was damn devious. The slight quirk at one corner of her lips gave her away.

  He turned, fisting his hands on his hips and swept her head to toe with a slow, intimate glance. “I was thinking about hitting the shower,” he said slowly.

  Her eyebrows lowered, and her chest rose
on a sharp breath. “Well, I guess I’ll just head to bed. Good night.” She turned on her heels and stomped down the hallway.

  Mac followed, slowing his steps outside the bathroom door, opening and closing it, and then he leaned against the doorframe.

  He didn’t have to wait long. Her door creaked open, her gaze widening and lifting to meet his. “I was just going to the kitchen,” she said, lifting her chin. “For a snack…seeing as how you’ll be a while.”

  Mac’s smile slowly stretched his lips. “Think we’re hungry for the same thing?”

  She tossed back her head. “What? You want some pork ’n’ beans, too?”

  “You got it half right, anyway,” he murmured. “You always prance around half-naked?” His glance slid over the front of her tee, snagging on the nipples beading under the thin fabric.

  Her lips pursed. “I don’t prance.”

  “No, you don’t.”

  Her next inhalation was a little shallow, and she gave him a sly glance. “My, it’s gotten warm in here, don’t you think?”

  “Maybe.”

  She stepped back, lifted the hem of her tee, and pulled it over her head. “That’s much better.”

  Mac sucked in a deep breath, his gaze falling to her small breasts. Dropping any pretense of taking his time, he shucked his T-shirt and opened his jeans, shoving them down his legs and stepping out of them while she rolled her tiny bikinis down her thighs.

  When they were both naked, he eyed the bed. “I want you in the middle of it, on your back.” His voice was rough as gravel, but she didn’t seem to mind.

  She turned, giving him an eyeful of her sexy little ass as she crawled onto the bed, and then turned to rest on her elbows in the center of the mattress.

  Mac crawled on his hands and one good knee until he hovered over her.

  With moonlight streaming through the window, he studied her pale, slender body. She was built so slight, he wondered how she’d ever taken him. Narrow shoulders, waist, and hips. A concave belly that trembled with her shallow breaths.

  Mac swept down to glide his lips over hers. “I finally have you in a bed.”

  She let out a shaky breath. “Have any idea what you want to do?”

  He settled his chest over hers, enjoying the soft jab of her nipples. “I’m pretty sure I’m going to fuck you.”

  She snorted. “You think? Sure you don’t want me to do the work? I mean, I wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself.”

  He grunted. “Why is it I get the feeling you stopped feeling sorry for me sometime today?”

  “I stopped worrying about you and your goddamn leg when you paced around the house like a growly bear. If it hurt that damn bad, you would have stopped and had a conversation with me.”

  He grimaced. “Why do women always want to talk?”

  A fine crease wrinkled her brow as she considered his question. “Maybe because it’s a way to connect? When you aren’t holding me, I want to know you’re still with me.”

  He hadn’t expected such an honest answer. Mac knew her response had taken courage. She’d as much as told him she truly cared about him. “What I’m thinking about matters to you?”

  She nodded, her expression not giving everything she felt away.

  “Why?”

  The casual lift of her shoulders didn’t match the wariness of her expressive eyes “I like knowing I’m not in this alone.”

  “I told you I’d stay until this is done.”

  She let out a shaky breath. “I’m not talking about Manny.”

  Mac leaned in to press another kiss against her soft lips. “You’re talking about…us. You and me.”

  Her eyes rolled. “See? It’s hard for you to even consider there might be an ‘us.’”

  “Maybe I’ve been worrying about the same thing,” he growled like the bear she’d accused him of being.

  “Sure, you have. That’s why you couldn’t stay far enough away from me all afternoon.”

  “I had to keep on task. Your safety comes first.”

  “And after you’d checked the doors and windows for the hundredth time, why couldn’t you just settle down in a chair and be with me then?”

  Mac leaned to one side and clasped her wrist, drawing her hand down between their bodies until her fingers glided over his cock. “This kind of made conversation between us impossible. If I’d settled on the sofa for longer than a minute, I’d have pulled you over my lap and fucked you right then.”

  “I wouldn’t have minded,” she said flatly.

  “As much company as we’ve had in and out of here today, I didn’t want the distraction.”

  Her chin jutted. “If you’re so worried about us getting caught, why are you here now?”

  His glare, if she could see it, was scorching. “I can’t fight it anymore,” he bit out. “Can’t stay away. I’ve been dying to get you under me, so I can sink right inside you and fuck you the way a man does when he’s crazy for a woman.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “You’re crazy for me?”

  Tension vibrated though him. “Don’t ask me for a definition. I don’t know how deep this goes. Not yet.”

  “All right,” she said, her voice even. “I won’t push. But maybe, I won’t let you have everything I have to give, either.”

  Which made him wonder what she would hold back. “This enough for you, now?” he asked, holding her gaze with his.

  “Truthfully, it’s more than I expected. We’ve only known each other a day. What do we really know about each other?”

  He nodded. “That’s right. We’ve got time to learn more. If you want…”

  Suki curled her fingers and stroked his cheek with the backs of her fingers. “We can take it slow.”

  Mac closed his eyes, enjoying the caress. “Maybe not so slow. Pulling back just might kill me now.”

  A very feminine smile curved her lips. “Just remember, you don’t have to be macho with me. If that leg starts to cramp, we can always switch.”

  “I think I’ll manage just fine,” he drawled. “I only need one knee to lean on. And there’s not a thing wrong with my dick.”

  Chapter Six

  ‡

  Suki sucked in a trembling breath. With Mac’s weight pressing her into the mattress, her insides had turned to Jell-O. All that heavy muscle tensing above her pretty much took her breath away.

  She reached above her head, slipped her hand under her pillow, and came back with a foil packet held between her fingertips.

  Mac’s slow, wicked smile warmed her to her toes. “We’re gonna have to stop at a store tomorrow and get the right size. Those things aren’t gonna hold up.”

  With his chest pressed to hers, every rumbling word shivered through her. “So long as it stays on just long enough…”

  Laughter shook Mac’s chest, and his head sank against her shoulder. “Suki…baby…it’ll be a goddamn miracle if I last longer than two seconds.”

  “Been kind of rough for you today?”

  “I’m sorry. The cool water helped some today, but I’ve been hard all day.”

  “Just go ahead and do me. I’m sure you’ll find a way to make it up to me.”

  He groaned. “Promise. Soon as I catch my breath.”

  Suki raised her knees and cupped his hips as he centered his cock between her folds and pushed inside.

  Mac’s breaths deepened, his eyes closed, and the look that crossed his face was worth any pleasure she might have to forestall for the moment.

  He looked as though he’d stolen into heaven. His mouth opened around a silent moan. He took several tentative strokes, gliding in the cream her body released, and then pumped furiously. Quickly, his soft grunts grew more strained. His jaw tightened. His head ducked closer to his chest.

  She knew the moment he came because his whole body shuddered and jerked as he thrust hard, and a long, whispering groan erupted from him.

  Suki held him as his motions slowed. She smoothed her hands up and down his sweaty back, providing what
comfort she could as he gasped and trembled above her.

  When his eyes opened, a crooked grin curved his firm lips. “Guess two seconds was overconfidence.”

  Suki bracketed his face and reached up to kiss him. “I don’t mind. Really.”

  “Gimme a minute.”

  She kissed his cheek, his chin, then pulled his face down to rest beside hers. “I’ll give you two.”

  “Uh…think this rubber’s had it.” He groaned and withdrew from her, rolling off her to lie on his back.

  Suki missed his weight, but rolled to her side, resting her head on a hand as she watched him slide off the condom.

  “Hate these things.” He jackknifed upward to sit at the side of the bed and got up.

  She watched him walk from the room, heard him close the bathroom door across the hallway, and then slumped against the mattress, feeling deliciously relaxed, if still more than a little aroused.

  “No, you don’t,” he chided when he returned.

  She opened her eyes. “I wasn’t sleeping.”

  He sat beside her on the bed, curving his palm around the corner of her shoulder, and then leaned down to kiss her.

  Her lips opened for him, accepting the gentle thrust of his tongue. She sighed and slid her tongue alongside his, sharing a lazy kiss that quickly grew more heated.

  When they broke apart, they both breathed hard.

  Mac stretched out beside her on the bed, scooting down until his face was level with her breasts. His thumb and fingers surrounded a curve and gave her a caress.

  She sighed and settled her head deeper on her palm, content to watch him.

  “I love your tits.”

  A wide grin stretched her lips. “Tits! Don’t you know girls hate that word.”

  “You do? I love it. ‘Breasts’ gets hard to enunciate when a man’s turned on.”

  She arched a brow. “Since you just came, what’s your excuse?”

  He arched a brow. “I wanted to shock you.”

  Her mouth twitched. “You’ll have to work a little harder to do that.”

  A smile played at the corners of his lips. “I’m gettin’ there. Your tits are pretty, by the way.”