by Anne Marsh
“Work with me.” He scooped her up so quickly that she shrieked. His chest was icy cold, but his eyes held all the heat in the world.
“I was going to make you dinner,” she said breathlessly. “I’m an awesome microwaver.”
“You still can.” He carried her effortlessly, and God, that was one more thing she needed. Just for a few minutes, it was okay to let him take over, let him take charge.
He lowered her down onto the bed, then followed, swinging himself over her. “I believe you offered fish fingers.” He traced the strap of her camisole with the tip of one callused finger. “But I have a better idea.”
“I’m listening.”
“You,” he said and gave her a crooked smile.
“I’m dinner?”
He rolled her into his side, bracing one arm by her head. A Kade cage of warm muscles and sexy smiles. She was a lucky woman. “I’ll take you over fish fingers any day.”
She laughed and then smacked his chest. He captured her fingers and then her mouth in a long, mindless kiss. Okay. That worked for her too. He kissed her slow and deep, then harder and more urgently, his tongue licking the seam of her closed lips until she opened up and let him all the way in. Heat warmed her from the inside out. She’d been hoping for sex, but she hadn’t planned on the laugher or this feeling of closeness. He was even better than she’d dared dream. More wicked.
She ran her hands up his arms, linking her fingers behind his neck. He was good at this. She forgot about the shower, the cold water he’d shared, her doubts that having hookup reunion sex when she was pregnant and widowed was a good thing. Because Kade was the best thing that had happened to her in a long time, and she didn’t want to waste a minute on regrets when she could lose herself in the sweet, familiar hum of arousal. She kissed him back, her mouth dueling with his, pushing their kiss farther and deeper. So his pulling back was not part of her plans for the evening.
“I’m not done with you,” she muttered, hooking a finger in his dog tags. Look at that. Found the perfect leash.
“Wait,” he said, which was pretty much the last word she wanted to hear coming out of his mouth. Beautiful, hot, or even a husky I’m coming. Those worked for her. Slowing down did not.
Which meant total honesty was definitely called for. “Only if you want me to kill you.”
“Point taken.” He gave a ragged laugh. “But I haven’t done this before.”
“Had sex? Because I can assure you, you have. I was there.” And if she’d always suspected that she’d been his first, like he’d been hers, that had only made their time together sweeter.
“No. God.” He groaned. “I’ve never had a pregnant lover.”
“I still have the same good parts,” she whispered, tugging him closer. “There’s just a little more of me.”
“I can see that.” He cupped her belly, massaging the sides with his fingers. Ooh. That was possibly almost as good as sex, but when she said so out loud, he groaned.
“You’re killing me. I don’t want to squish anyone.” He patted her belly with his palm.
“Do you want a menu? Of things that are on or off the table?”
His eyes darkened. “I get a menu?”
“Uh-huh.” Oh. She bit back a moan as his fingers resumed their magic, finding a particularly sensitive spot. “I can lie on my side. We can do it doggie style. Or I can ride you like a cowgirl.”
Oops. Kade’s eyes widened as her words hit him.
Don’t scare him off her girly bits ordered. We have plans for him.
“Too blunt?” she asked. “Or are you torn between options A, B, or C?”
~*~
Abbie drove him crazy.
Kade stared at her, trying not to look shocked. He was a SEAL, and he’d seen shit straight out of an action movie. So how could a dance instructor surprise him? She’d greeted him on the porch, all tousled and flushed like she’d just gotten out of bed, which naturally made him think of all the ways he could get her back into bed. Even though she’d propositioned him by the lake, he hadn’t been entirely sure she wouldn’t change her mind. He could offer no-strings sex. He could probably even manage friends with benefits. Hell, he’d be a first-class idiot not to take her up on her offer. She was smart and pretty, with a mouth on her that warmed him up inside. And other places too, exhibit A being his erection.
“Don’t pass out on me, soldier,” she ordered with a smile.
Technically, he’d been a sailor and not a soldier, but maybe that was part of her fantasy. God knew he’d had plenty of them himself. She could call him whatever she wanted as long as she let him take her to bed.
“Nothing?” she asked, while he continued to stare at her like an idiot. Yeah. He was winning all sorts of prizes for being supersmooth in bed.
“I’m thinking,” he said. “You shouldn’t rush a man.”
He still liked her. Maybe that was the surprise part, because liking definitely hadn’t been part of the drive-Abbie-so-crazy-she-gets-mad-and-comes-back-to-life plot. Of course, that plan also hadn’t been well thought out to begin with. Her happy delineation of their possible sexual positions made him smile. She was funny, she was blunt, and she’d made it clear she knew what she wanted. Truthfully, he felt more than a little relief, too. He hadn’t had sex since before he deployed, but he was fairly certain his knee wouldn’t like anything remotely resembling the missionary position.
She poked him in the chest. “Think faster. A gal could acquire a complex in the time it takes you to put together a thought.”
“Can I pick all three?” Good to know his options.
She grinned at him. “We can try.”
Fair enough. That sounded like a definite maybe.
“Take this off.” She tugged at the butt-ugly pink loaner towel. He covered her hand with his, feeling the stupid-ass grin stretching his face. Happy wasn’t sex god territory, but she made him smile, and he’d had enough shit days recently to value that.
“I’m thinking we could trade,” she continued, licking his nipple. Hot sensation burned through him. Her negotiating skills were definitely better than his. “You lose yours, and I’ll lose mine.”
“Somebody thinks life is fair.” Christ, they both knew that wasn’t true, even if it wasn’t bedroom material. While he tried to not get stuck in his head, she tugged determinedly at the waistband of his towel until the cotton slithered free.
“I win,” she announced cheerfully and stood up. Apparently he did too, because she shimmied out of her flannel shirt and then reached for the hem of her tank top. Her tank top was a soft coral, because apparently pink was her favorite color. Towels, clothes—hell, he was almost willing to bet that when they actually managed to get between the sheets she’d have pink ones. Even better, she’d skipped the bra so she was completely naked from the waist up when she yanked the shirt over her head.
Her breasts were spectacular. Soft and full, the nipples large and a dark pink like she’d ordered up the color to match her favorite. He could just see the soft curve of her pregnant tummy above the waistband of her shorts. Yeah. He definitely felt like a winner. She was beautiful, half naked, and making promises to be his for tonight.
“You got any idea how gorgeous you are?” His voice sounded gruff to his own ears, and he was no poet, but her face lit up.
She cupped her breasts, stroking her thumbs over the undercurve and grinned at him. “I could say the same thing about you.”
“Don’t let me stop you. We can compliment each other all night.”
Her eyes darkened. “Or we could do something else.”
He wasn’t sure when he’d lost control of the evening, but somehow he was the one lying naked on the bed like a virgin while she was shucking her clothes and giving orders. She made a pretty sight though. She shimmied, working her shorts and panties down her legs. He caught a quick flash of something bright blue and lacy. Abbie loved her colors. The blue was vibrant and alive, a punch of color kind of like the woman herself. It made
him wonder what paint she would have chosen if she’d been left alone in Home Depot.
“Come here.” He didn’t wait for her to make the move, lifting her onto the bed and over him.
She grinned. “I hear a vote for cowgirl style.”
He settled his hands at her hips, sucking in a breath as he aligned her good parts with his. Sweet Jesus. She was slick and hot, and he could slide in so, so easily. He could wait. “I want to do whatever makes you happiest. And”—honesty was a virtue, right?—“whatever makes you scream.”
“Works for me.” She wriggled backward a few inches, reached down, and wrapped her hands around his erection. His dick liked the move, his breath hissing out between his teeth. Other parts of him were still on the gentleman train, however, and her touch made this all about him. That wasn’t how he wanted tonight to go, because exploring her lush body topped his agenda.
“Slow down, cowgirl.” He slid a hand around the back of her neck, tugging her down. He wasn’t rushing this, and not just because she was pregnant and that was a first for him. He’d been thinking all day about getting inside her, about the feel of her mouth and her sweet, slick pussy squeezing him. Tonight played out on slo-mo rather than fast-forward if he got his way.
She rocked against him. “Having second thoughts?”
Not a chance.
“Does this feel like hesitation?” He pushed up against her, his dick sliding through her wet folds.
“Do that again.” She licked her bottom lip, and he groaned.
“You definitely want to kill me.”
“Only with kindness.” She lifted up, teased herself back down him like he was her own personal toy, and he was one big, on-fire nerve ending. There was nothing between the two of them, nothing to stop his eyes from rolling back in his head at the sheer heat and pleasure and... no condom. Shit. He needed to do something about that before his brain short-circuited completely.
“I’ve got condoms in my jeans.” Which were on her bathroom floor. The ten yards suddenly seemed like a march to outer Siberia.
“As in plural? Somebody was feeling optimistic.” She slid again, and he pressed up to meet her. She was hotter, slicker, and his brain quit on the spot because she felt so fucking perfect.
She’d asked him a question. There was no great answer there. He needed her to know he’d never do anything to put her at risk. That they’d do this however, whenever she wanted. At least the first time. The second time, he might have a few suggestions of his own to make.
She laughed, taking pity on him. “I’m teasing you.”
He looked down where she was riding him. “Hell yeah, you are.”
“You can’t get me more pregnant, and I’m clean.”
Sinking into her bareback? He hadn’t thought he could get any harder, but that mental image did it. Her trust was even more of a turn-on.
“Are you sure?”
She braced her hands on his shoulders, her fingers tracing his collarbone. “I want to have sex, not play twenty questions.”
Green light received. He closed the distance between their mouths, brushing his lips over hers in a light, teasing touch. Unlike his, her lips were soft and berry-flavored. Some kind of lip gloss or ChapStick maybe. It wasn’t like he was a Sephora expert. Once. Twice. She sighed but didn’t stop her slow glide against him.
He kissed her again, his tongue tracing the seam of her lips. She caught her breath, freezing against him like every inch of her had focused on the erotic path of his mouth. Or fuck, maybe he was projecting because their kiss felt so impossibly good that he had to kiss her again, deeper and harder. She opened her mouth on a gasp, her tongue tangling with his as she shivered, nails digging into his shoulders. The heat burning through him had him rethinking his plan of slow and sweet. He needed to be inside her, taking her deep. Tomorrow would be a good time for slow. Or later tonight. When he finally broke their kiss, his breathing rough, he was completely lost in her. For her.
“More kisses.” She moved against him in sensual demand.
“Absolutely,” he growled. Nothing could keep him from her now.
Chapter Ten
Ooh. Somebody was feeling dominant.
Since that worked for her, Abbie didn’t tell him to back off. Instead, she grabbed his shoulders and hung on. Now that she had him spread out beneath her like her favorite page from the Strong firefighter calendar, she planned to enjoy him. One inch at a time, she decided, because she wasn’t in the mood to rush. Instead, she rocked against him, enjoying the heat and strength of him.
“You’re not going anywhere,” she announced, hearing the gleeful note she couldn’t quite hide, and he groaned something that certainly sounded like agreement to her. Good. It was important they were both on the same page here.
She wriggled, enjoying the sensation of having him pressed against her. There sure was something to be said for opposites attracting, what with the hard-soft juxtaposition they had going on. Nothing subtle about it either, but she hadn’t asked him to come over for candy hearts and poetry. Hot sex, on the other hand, definitely worked for her.
“Neither are you, Abbie.” His hands tightened on her hips holding her in place.
“Is that a complaint?” She knew she looked amused, but since when had sex needed to be serious? This was supposed to be her fun treat to her herself. For herself. Whatever. Giving up on words, she scooted down and got a good look at him. Kade was more than up for the job.
“This part of you isn’t complaining,” she said, close enough for her words to whisper against his penis. He jerked and cursed.
She palmed him. Oh, he felt good. The heat of him seared her skin, and he was hard, so no worries about whether or not he wanted her enough. She dragged her hand down, then back up, enjoying the slick glide of her skin over his and earning herself another hoarse curse. He pushed against her fingers, and she leaned in, blowing gently over the tip of him.
“Abbie!”
She had plenty more surprises in her. His pleasure in this, in her, was an aphrodisiac. So she leaned a little farther, bracing her hands on the bed, her fingers brushing the warm skin of his hips. And licked him. Swirled her tongue around the swollen head like he was her favorite flavor. Swept her tongue down and down, exploring and tasting. He groaned something, gasped words as his hands tangled roughly in her hair, guiding her, hanging onto her. She liked this wilder, fiercer side of him, so she showed him by humming approvingly and kissing a naughty path back up him.
Then he took over. She was secretly surprised he’d let her set the pace for this long. Kade was good at pretending he was a gentleman—and he probably thought he wanted to be one—but he was all rough-and-tough SEAL. He pulled her away and up his body so he could see her face. Just to provoke him a little more, she licked her lips. He looked heated... and more than a little questioning.
“If you stop now, I’ll kill you,” she said, just to make her position on what was happening understood.
He nodded. “Works for me.”
He slid his palms over her hands, threading his fingers through hers and pulling her hands slowly over his head. The move stretched her out over him and put her breast at mouth level. She could work with this, she decided happily. Her nipples were just as happy with their current position, puckering into hard, tight buds as he brushed his mouth over the sensitive skin. Forget holding back or holding in what she felt, because she moaned, and he gave her more. He licked and sucked, his mouth exploring her and pushing her down that familiar-unfamiliar hot slope toward what she really, really hoped was the best orgasm she’d had in months. Years. Really, the timeline didn’t matter—just that he kept going and going.
“Equal time is good,” she said when he lifted his mouth away from her left breast. He’d made her breathless. Next thing she knew, she’d be moaning and sighing.
“I can do that.” And then he did. He kissed her, his mouth covering the soft slope and working down to her nipple. Her breasts were sensitive, thanks to Baby, but Kade
also knew what he was doing. Boy, did he ever.
“Wow,” she said, long minutes later, her knees trembling and her nipples greedy little points. “You do live up to your high school reputation.”
“You have gorgeous breasts.” Then he blinked, like he’d just processed her words. Good to know she scrambled his brains too. “You’re holding what I did all those years ago against me?”
She thought about that for a few seconds. “Absolutely. You were a legend in the girls’ bathroom, and I might have shared a few secrets of my own.”
“Do you remember my signature move?” He teased.
“Give me more words.” Because that sure sounded promising, even if it didn’t ring any bells. He’d been the high school bad boy, although he’d promised her he’d been tamed the minute she’d agreed to date him. His heartfelt promise had been sweet, but she’d snorted at the mere thought of Kade Jordan limiting himself to just one girl. Maybe that was one more reason why they’d broken up, because she’d heard the stories, and what he’d done in the back of his truck had been legendary. A girl could tell all sorts of stories if she substituted Kade’s name for the name used in her Cosmo. He’d been a living, walking fantasy, and for eighteen months, he’d been all hers.
He eased her up, big hands lifting her butt. Lifting and lifting until she was right over his face. His arms tightened, the muscles bunching, when she squeaked and tried to scramble backward. And then to the left because, sweet baby Jesus, his high school self had apparently gotten up to all sorts of things that hadn’t been reported in the girls’ bathroom. He certainly hadn’t done this to her.
“Nuh-uh,” he said. She wasn’t going to look down at him. No way, no how. But she could hear the amusement in his voice. Worse—better, her inner bad girl sighed happily—she could feel the small puff of air as he spoke right on her center. Oh. My. God. He was looking at her. And the lights were on, and no way she was prepared for this kind of close up... “You need to give me a chance.”
“I think we should try something a little more conventional.” But she let him pull her a little closer, closing her eyes because one of them needed to not be looking.
