by Tawny Weber
Either the oxygen or the thought of his mother did the trick, releasing enough blood from his lap so Jack could focus.
“Everything it is,” he agreed. “Where should we start?”
“Before the two of you exchange everything, do you want a drink?” Her bowl of silver hair tipped in pink and flipped at the ends, Gina took the material from Cari, then grabbed the rest, dumping it all into a purple plastic bin on her way toward the kitchen. “I’ve got beer and wine. Oh, and I made a pitcher of that recipe you gave me, Cari. The one you said you liked so much.”
“I’m intrigued,” Jack said, wondering at the color washing over Cari’s cheeks. “What’s the drink?”
At Gina’s arch look, Cari shrugged.
“Oh, just a yummy mix of vodka, coconut rum and a few other things.” When Gina’s expression didn’t change, Cari grinned. “It’s called Tie Me To the Bedpost.”
“Tie Me...?”
“To the Bedpost,” she finished with a nod. “It really is good. Just, you know, one of those things that are better in company. Like Screaming Orgasms or Between the Sheets. You know?”
And there went the blood again, right back in his lap.
“As long as I’m not drinking alone, I’ll do a Bedpost,” Cari told Gina, her eyes on Jack as if she was waiting to see if he’d play.
“I can’t leave Cari tied to a bedpost alone,” he said honestly. “I’m in.”
“Hell, no,” Rico growled. But Jack knew the glower wasn’t over the drink. Rico had protective big brother vibes shooting off of him like bullets.
But even as Cari laughed, Gina was tugging her husband into the kitchen with her before he could finish protesting the foofy drink.
“So...” She leaned forward from the waist and gave him a wide-eyed look. “Everything?”
“Pretty sure my everything was payment for yours. How do you know Gina?” He figured that was a safer topic to start with than favorite sexual positions. Mostly because he planned on finding that one out on his own.
By the time Rico and Gina were back with the drinks, Jack was almost as fascinated as he was turned on.
“Do you only work with the elderly?” he asked. Then, lifting his hand, he replaced that question with a more important one. “Is it weird talking about sex with people your grandparents’ age?”
“I like to think of sex as one of the healthiest forms of expression, and if done right, it’s great exercise. And, of course, it feels amazing.” Her expression was passionate as she leaned forward earnestly. “That’s what I love to do with coaching. Help people in a healthy way to find their bliss. What could be sexier than that?”
Her.
Cari was, without a doubt, the sexiest woman he’d ever met.
By the end of dinner, he was sure of it.
He watched her laugh with Gina and listened to her tease Rico. The four of them discussed sports and art with equal fervor, talked about movies and music with ease and agreement. He’d known he had a lot in common with the Santiagos. That was one of the reasons he liked them so much.
But he and Cari?
If anyone had ever told him that there was a woman out there who was absolutely perfect for him, he’d have scoffed.
But he was pretty sure he’d just met that mythical woman, his perfect match. Even as a little voice in his head warned that he was in a ton of trouble, Jack angled his head to watch her leave the dining room. Damn, he appreciated the way her hips swayed and made that dress flutter.
Damn, she had a sweet ass.
“You might want to wipe the drool off your chin before it drips on the table.”
Grinning at Rico, Jack shrugged.
“Just appreciating the view.” He glanced toward the kitchen and frowned. “Maybe we should help with the dishes.”
Rico rolled his eyes.
“Gina’ll just stack them in the sink for me to do later.” He stood. “C’mon. We’ll have dessert in the living room.”
“Maybe I can help the ladies bring out dessert.” A little reluctant to move since the living room was further from the kitchen than the dining room, Jack slowly got to his feet.
“Do yourself a favor. Sit your ass in the living room and breathe for a few minutes. I’m sure your brain can use the air.”
More amused than embarrassed that Rico knew he’d ate most of dinner with all of his blood in his lap, Jack shrugged and followed him with just one last look toward the door Cari had disappeared behind.
“Cari’s a sweetheart. Sorta like a little sister to me,” Rico said in a musing tone once they were seated.
“Dude, I’ve heard stories about how much trouble you gave Max St. James when he hooked up with your sister.” Jack gave a wincing sort of laugh.
“Good. I was hoping you’d remember those.”
Jack’s amusement faded.
“Is that a warning?”
“Nah.” His long legs spread out in front of him, most people would think Rico was at ease. Jack knew better. “Call it a friendly head’s up.”
No longer echoing Rico’s chill position, Jack lifted his chin to signal the other man to keep talking.
“You’re leaving. Heading off to San Diego to be a SEAL. Remember?”
Jack wanted to say hell, yeah, he remembered. He wanted to say it didn’t make a damned bit of difference that he was about to embark on a huge, life changing career shift. He wished he only thought about sex when he looked at Cari. And that he’d have no problem doing her like a one night stand.
But he couldn’t. And didn’t.
Damn it all to hell, he wouldn’t.
Call to Action: Chapter Three
“Are you sure you don’t mind giving me a ride?”
An hour ago, Cari wouldn’t have asked.
Because an hour ago, Jack hadn’t been acting in a way that made her think he had a problem with giving her a ride. But ever since dessert, he’d had his weird on.
“I don’t mind at all,” he said in a tone as distant as the moon. “Besides, you can’t fit these bins in your car.”
Which was why she’d originally planned to put them in Gina’s Volkswagen bus so her friend could take them to the art gallery. But when Jack had offered during drinks and Gina said she’d be happy to pick Cari up in the morning, it had seemed like the perfect excuse for more than just having a second drink.
Now that she was climbing into the cab of Jack’s truck, she was wondering if it wasn’t an imposition. She watched him circle around to the driver’s side and sighed. He moved with a comfortable grace so sexy that she just knew he’d be amazing in bed.
Which she’d kinda thought she might find out if he drove her home. She’d never had sex on the first date, let alone on the first drive home. She was the not-until-the-third date type. Not because she had some rule in place, but because it usually took her that long to decide if she felt that right combination of spark and comfort to get naked with the guy.
But tonight was different.
Jack was different.
The comfortable ease she felt in his company made her feel as if she’d known him for years. As if she could say anything to him, be herself with him.
And the intensity of her reaction to him was wild. Everything about the man made her think of sex. The way he moved, the way he looked. She wanted to strip him naked and explore every delight she was sure she would find. She wanted to taste him, to touch him, to eat hot fudge off of him. Just sitting next to him had her more sexually aroused than she’d ever been in her life. If he touched her, kissed her?
A tiny shudder of pleasure danced through her like a mini-orgasm at the thought. Cari shifted on the bench seat, her thighs rubbing together and her breasts tight against her bra.
She’d thought Jack was just as into her as she was him.
Until now.
Sliding a glance sideways, she watched his profile as he drove.
What had changed?
“I can’t believe we haven’t met before but it was lovely to ge
t to know you tonight,” she said as he pulled onto her street, keeping the understatement upbeat. “And I really do appreciate the ride.”
She didn’t want the evening to end. She hated the idea of saying goodbye. But they were at her condo, and he wasn’t acting like he wanted to come in.
“It was a fun night. You’ll have to come by Gina’s gallery some time and check out my program. Not that you need it. First, you’re obviously not old. And I doubt you need a boost of sexual confidence. I mean, you might, it’s always hard to tell from the outside. But I don’t get the impression that you do.”
Cari wanted to slap her hands over her mouth to stop the babbling. She hadn’t babbled since she was thirteen and trying to get up the nerve to ask the boy she was crushing on to be her date at the Sadie Hawkins dance.
“Maybe I’ll see you at their place again sometime. Or, you know—”
Jack’s mouth cut off her nervous rush of words.
Cari’s mouth trembled in reaction.
Her brain went blank. Her body was molten, soft and hot at the same time.
One hand on her cheek, his lips slid over hers in a tender caress that made her sigh. The nerves that’d been dancing through her system all evening faded in the sweetness of the kiss. The sexual need that’d gripped so tight loosened its hold.
Nice, she decided, one hand smoothing along Jack’s chest. She almost purred at the hard muscles under her palm. He was so, so nice.
As if he’d heard her thought, Jack shifted the angle of the kiss. His lips were still soft on hers. His hand still gentle on her cheek.
But when his tongue slid along the seam of her mouth, it was as if he’d flipped a switch.
Heat spiraled low in her belly, wild and needy. Pleasure grabbed her with a desperate edge when his tongue plunged. Her fingers clenched, trembled and clenched again in time with the throbbing between her legs.
A kiss.
Just a kiss. And she was ready to explode with what promised to be the best orgasm of her life. So when Jack pulled back, buried his face in the curve of her throat, Cari could only blink.
“Oh, my.”
That’s all she could manage. Her mind was too busy trying to process the power of that kiss. Her body trembled with need.
“You’re delicious,” he said, his words muffled against her throat. The feel of his mouth on her skin made her thighs clench. “I want to taste you. Every inch of you. I want to feel you. See you.”
Oh, yeah.
Her, too.
“Come inside,” Cari invited in a whisper, her fingers clenched tight on his bicep, her mouth watering at how hard it was.
Exercise, she thought, trying to mitigate expectations. His muscles were hard because he worked out. Exercised, lifted weights. She shouldn’t expect his dick to be as hard. It wasn’t like he could bench press with it or anything.
But...
Her hand raced down his flat belly, but before she could test her theory, Jack’s fingers bracketed her wrist.
“Hold on.”
“I was trying to.”
His laugh was a warm puff of air against her skin, the move pressing his chest tight against her aching breasts.
Then, dammit, he shifted away. He didn’t let go of her hand, though.
“Here’s the thing. I want you,” he said, his tone as intense as what she could see of his expression in the streetlight. “I want to give you pleasure in a million ways, then to climb inside of you, to feel you wrapped around me when you come.”
Her breath caught somewhere between her chest and her throat, Cari swore even her clitoris trembled at those words.
But before she could tell him that she wanted that, too, he shook his head.
“Once I’ve had you, I’m going to want you again. And again.” His eyes were nearly black with desire and even in the dark of truck cab she could feel the intensity of his stare. “But it wouldn’t be right.”
Cari frowned. It sounded right to her.
“I’m leaving in three days.”
Was it an army thing?
“Like, you’re being reassigned? Or, what’s the right word? Deployed?”
She remembered when Rico had been deployed to Kuwait. For six months, Gina had lived on nerves and Oreos. But they weren’t at war now, nor were she and Jack just married like Gina and Rico had been. Cari hoped she wouldn’t be nearly as jumpy if that was where Jack was going.
“When will you be back?”
“I won’t.”
The foggy pleasure that’d surrounded her faded just a little at those words. Enough that Cari’s mind gave a giant whoa.
“What do you mean, you won’t be back? At all? Ever? I thought you and Rico were in the same unit.”
“I’m not in the Army any longer.”
Oh.
A part of her did a little happy dance. Not because she didn’t appreciate his service. But because regular guy jobs probably meant he’d be around more.
But, wait, around where? He’d said he was leaving.
“And you’re moving?” she asked, shifting a little on the bench seat. Just enough for air to move between their bodies and, maybe, cool things off.
“In a way.” His brow furrowed, Jack gave her a troubled look. “I’ve transferred to the Navy. I’m going to be a SEAL.”
Cari knew her jaw dropped.
After all, she felt it hit her chest.
But all she could do was shake her head to try and clear the ringing from her ears and hope she’d heard wrong.
“You’re going to be a Navy SEAL?”
“I am. I had to finish my tour with EOD before the transfer, but that’s done. I’m heading for Southern California next week.”
Oh.
Cari’s fingers tapped a quick rat-a-tat-tat on her thigh.
Why hadn’t someone told her? Why hadn’t he made that clear before he’d kissed her? Before she’s started to fall for him? And, oh God, before she’d started imagining his dick doing pushups off of her body?
Her fingers tapped faster. There should be rules about the order of these things.
But even as that thought went through her head, another one followed, wishing he’d not told her at all. At least, not until tomorrow morning.
As if reading her thoughts, he shrugged.
“I had to tell you.”
Yeah. Because he was that kind of guy.
Because he was that kind of guy—and yes, because her panties were still damp—Cari took a deep breath. She had to swallow twice, but she eventually got the words out.
“Come inside anyway.” She shook her head at his shocked look. “Even if it’s just for one night, I want you to come inside.”
Call to Action: Chapter Four
Jack had always considered himself a careful man.
He thought things through, considered all options then made the most reasonable decision based on his overall goal. Right now, his life goal was simple—to become a Navy SEAL.
So by all rights, he should not be thinking about getting Cari naked and licking his way down her body. Even if she was okay with a one night—or even a three night-stand, he wasn’t. Not with her. Jack was trained in explosives. He recognized the volatile heat between them, and knew the destruction it could cause. To their emotions and to his plans.
But as he stepped into Cari’s apartment behind her, he simply didn’t care. None of it mattered. Not when she was right there, a few steps ahead of him.
“Welcome to my home,” she said quietly, turning to face him in the entryway.
Jack set the bins against the wall inside the door, then let it shut behind him. Before his eyes could adjust to the dark, Cari flipped a light switch. But instead of bright overhead fixture, tiny blue twinkle lights gleamed a doorframe, giving him just enough light to see her face, to watch her expression.
There was no doubt on her face, no worry in her eyes. He wanted to think he’d have left if there had been. But the need churning in his belly was so strong that he wasn’t ent
irely sure.
She gestured, as if to invite him to follow her into the living room. Or the bedroom.
But Jack couldn’t wait.
Trying to keep his hands gentle, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close. He took her mouth. Lips, tongue, teeth, he used them all in a kiss that rocked through his system like a missile, shooting straight for his throbbing cock.
More.
That was the only thing going through Jack’s mind.
He had to have more.
Keeping her body tight against his, he wrapped his hands around that tiny waist and lifted her as he turned them both to capture her slight body between his and the wall. There, he could anchor her hips with his, giving his aching dick a feel of the pleasure to come.
His body holding hers where he wanted, his hands were free to touch. To feel. To pleasure.
The concept of an enticing buildup shot to hell by the needs pounding through him, he aimed straight for the target. His palms closed over her breasts, his hands cupping the full globes. Cari trembled, her tiny mewling moan lost in his mouth as he squeezed.
Even as they learned the shape of her, his fingers itched to rip her dress off, to get it the hell out of his way so he could feel flesh, touch skin. Hot, bare skin.
He traced the edge of her bra through the fabric of her dress, then tucked the tips of his fingers under her bra so he could rub the back of them over her nipples. The soft fabric slid erotically between the pebbled flesh and his knuckle.
Cari’s moans were coming faster now. She pressed herself tighter against his erection. Her hips undulated, their movement restricted by the pressure of his body holding them against the wall. Her tongue danced uninhibitedly over his as her short fingernails scraped enticingly over his shoulders, down his arms until she reached his hands.
His mouth still hot on hers, Jack opened his eyes to watch Cari as her hands closed over his, pressing them tighter to her breasts. Message received, he squeezed her nipples between his knuckles and watched.
