by Tawny Weber
“Right.” He rolled his eyes again. “That moment?”
“And that place,” she confirmed, smiling over his amused sarcasm. “So happy to see each other, you run together, hugging tight.”
“But she, I mean, you are still naked, right?”
Oh. Sage wrinkled her nose. Good point.
No problem. She could still make it work.
“The emotions quickly change, moving from excitement to seeing each other to excitement to do each other.” She waved her hand between their bodies, as if he needed clarification of which other he was doing. “Passion overtakes common sense. You fall together to the sand, rolling, kissing, exploring each other’s bodies.”
“In the sand?”
This time she was the one who rolled her eyes.
“Okay, fine. You fall together onto her beach blanket, rolling and kissing and exploring. You get so carried away, you make love there on the beach, as the sun sets over the ocean.”
“We’re paying attention to the sunset during all of this?”
“Well, you are a SEAL. You have some kind of internal sensors that tell you when these things happen,” she tossed back.
He snorted, shaking his head before gesturing that she should go on.
“Afterward, even though your knees are weak with the power of our lovemaking...” She paused to thump him on the back when he choked on a swallow of coffee. “You wrap me in the blanket, carry me back to your room and we spend the rest of the week in a frenzy of sexual delights.”
“Your father is going to love this story,” he said in a contemplative tone. “Too bad we didn’t have pictures to share.”
“The camera fell in the hot tub or we would have an album full.”
“Nice.”
“Okay, fine,” she said waving her hand to shoo away his objections. “So this is the naughty, detailed version our friends hear. They aren’t going to share the sex stuff with my dad. But their smirks will go a long way toward convincing him, don’t you think?”
“That we had sex, maybe.”
She shivered at the way he said that, the words husky and low. Good. He might not be loving it, but at least he wasn’t unaffected by her little scenario if his voice was any indication. And his voice was all she had to go on, given that he was an expert and keeping the stoic face. And he was sitting sideways in loose slacks, damn him.
“Okay, but the sex was so good, so mind-blowing, so amazingly out of this world—”
“We’ve covered the sex part,” he interrupted.
Sage’s lips twitched.
“Okay, on to the engagement part. So, you were completely heartbroken over the idea of tearing yourself away from me, even after a week of constantly being inside of me, that you couldn’t leave. Oh, you told me you were. I was brave, holding back my tears until you were gone,” she said, lifting her chin and looking as brave as she could. He rolled his eyes, making her laugh.
“Because you know tears would make it harder for me to leave?”
“No, because I get all splotchy when I cry. There’s no way I’d want the last view you had of me before you went back on duty to be my face all swollen and mottled with a red rash.”
“Gotcha.”
Sage took a sip of her coffee, then pressed her palm to her chest in her most dramatic fashion. And smiled when his eyes followed the movement, his gaze darkening at the sight of her nipples beading beneath the silk of her tank top. The nubs tightened even more as she took a deep breath, the fabric gently sliding over them as she imagined his fingers would.
“So, splotchiness aside, what next?” he prodded after clearing his throat.
“Next?” Next she wanted to rip her clothes off, lie across the coffee table and invite him in for some covert operations.
“Yeah. You are crying, thinking I’m gone. Then what?”
“Um, then what...” She took a deep breath, trying to pull her focus off the coffee table and back to the fantasy. “Um, okay, so then I’m having dinner, alone at a small table on a restaurant balcony and you show up.”
“You weren’t so brokenhearted that you lost your appetite?”
“I never lose my appetite.” For anything. “So you show up, you sweep me into your arms and, over my delighted giggles, you carry me across the beach, up the side of a mountain where you set me down and point to the sand.”
Aiden opened his mouth as if to protest, then shook his head and gestured that she keep talking.
“Spelled out in rocks across the beach are the words, Sage, will you marry me,” she finished in her most dramatic tone. Which probably lost a little of its edge when she giggled at the end.
Aiden stared for so long, she wondered if he was running some kind of top secret mental background check of her personal history to see if she’d ever actually been proposed to like that. Since Sage had spent most of her dating life making sure the guys she went out with were more commitment-phobic than she was, she knew the answer he’d find was a big fat no.
“As interesting as that would be,” he finally said, his voice gruff enough to assure her that he was very, very interested. “I don’t think anyone is going to believe I’d go AWOL to carry you to the top of a mountain.”
“No?”
“Let’s try something just a little more traditional.”
Pulling a face, Sage set her coffee on the burl table and shrugged.
“Okay, fine. You took me to dinner at a nice restaurant, toasted me with pricey champagne, and hid the ring—which I still don’t have, by the way—in a slice of cake that was served for dessert.”
“I said traditional, not cliché.”
Oooh, interesting distinction.
She leaned one arm along the back of the couch, the nubby fabric rough against the soft flesh of her underarm. Her fingers were centimeters away from his shoulder, but she didn’t touch. Not yet.
“Why don’t you tell me what you consider traditional then,” she invited quietly.
The setting sun cast a warm, orange glow over the room, highlighting his features as he looked at her. His eyes were intense, but a smile played around the corners of his mouth.
“I consider a traditional proposal to be romantic. Not something that can be copied from a movie,” he said, his shrug just a little uncomfortable. As if admitting that he’d ever seen a romantic proposal in a movie put his man-card in danger. “Romantic is something that suits the couple. You know, it’s personal.”
“What kind of proposal would suit us?” Unable to resist any longer, her fingers trailed along his shoulder, soft as a whisper. “If we were a couple, of course.”
“A coded letter sent from an aircraft carrier to a commune on a mountain in Tibet?” he suggested.
“Try again,” Sage suggested with narrowed eyes, not sure if he was actually teasing. “I think you might have missed the romance angle with that scenario.”
“What if it was a secret code using romantic movie titles?” he asked, frowning.
Sage gave an amused groan. She knew that look wasn’t because she’d dissed the romance of his scenario. Nope. This was what Aiden did. He got an idea, then he obsessed with it until he found a way to make it work.
Which meant that somehow, some way, this code was going to be a part of their engagement story. Her dad would like that. So they might as well make it a fun one.
But, later.
She shifted, making a show of setting her cup on the table and surreptitiously inching just a little closer so their knees brushed.
Right now, she had other things she wanted to clarify.
Like how good her hotshot SEAL was with his hands. His mouth. And any other parts of his body that she might get her hands on.
* * *
AIDEN WAS PRETTY SURE that Sage wasn’t deliberately
trying to kill him. She might be flighty and a little self-absorbed from time to time, but she didn’t have a mean bone in her body.
She did, however, have a whole lot of gorgeous, sexy bones, covered with enticing silky flesh. Temptingly soft hair that slid like a golden waterfall over her shoulder, trailing down to curl at the tip of her breast. A breast he wanted to touch. To weigh in the curve of his hand before tasting.
And now, on top of all of that, she was talking sex with him? Painting a fantasy about the two of them, a week-long love-fest on the beach? Hot-tubbing?
She might not be trying to kill him, but his body just might if he didn’t do something—soon—to relieve a little of the pressure she’d stirred up.
Which meant she needed to leave.
“Dinner was great, and the coffee the best I’ve ever had,” he said, draining his before toasting her with the empty cup. “But we should call it a night. I’m still dragging a little, and could use some sleep.”
Damn.
Aiden knew the words were a mistake before they’d finished crossing his lips. He didn’t need her eyes lighting up or to see the delighted smile spread across her face to know he’d just opened the wrong door.
“I’ll bet you are,” she said, patting his knee gently, her fingers lingering long enough to make sure he appreciated the loss of them when she pulled away. “You travel so much, do you even get jet lag anymore? Or are you simply accustomed to setting your own time zone?”
Grinning, he gave a rueful shake of his head. He should have known better than to expect Sage to do the expected.
“I traveled from Coronado to Villa Rosa,” he reminded her. Of course, he’d traveled from Africa to San Diego two days before that, but that was need-to-know information. “The only difference in time zones is going from military time to Pacific time.”
“Ahh, so no jet-lag issues, just general tiredness. I can see how you’d be needing to rest up, given how hard you’re always pushing and working.”
Aiden shrugged, as if it wasn’t a big deal. That was his job, after all. But something inside him warmed, softened. Had anyone ever understood that before? His need to decompress, to take a few days to step out of his role as a machine and learn to be a man again?
Just Sage.
“Then again, the sun hasn’t even set yet,” she said, tilting her head toward the still-light yard visible from the window.
Ahh, there it was.
“Sage—”
“So why don’t we wind this evening up, quickly, so you can rest,” she said, talking right over his protest with a big, bright smile. “That way, none of it will be weighing on your mind, keeping you awake.”
Right. Because he wasn’t going to be up all night—in every sense of the word—reliving that little fantasy she’d woven earlier? Still, she had a point.
Aiden sighed, inclining his head for her to continue.
“You know after tonight, we’re not going to get a ton of privacy. My dad wants his illness kept quiet, so we’re going to be the focus of attention. Invitations, questions, teasing.”
“Goody,” he deadpanned.
Her eyes lit up.
“Goody, indeed. But that does bring us back to the reason for our visit tonight. We need to make sure we not only have our stories straight, but we also have to walk the talk. You know what I mean?”
Yeah. She meant they weren’t done yet.
At least, she didn’t think they were. Aiden had other ideas, though.
“We’ll be fine,” he told her.
“Don’t you think it’s a good idea to practice a little?” she asked, her fingers tracing along his shoulder, leaving tiny trails of fire that burned right through the fabric of his shirt. “You know, so we don’t look awkward when we do it in front of people.”
“I know it’s a big turn-on for some people, but I’m really not a fan of having sex in front of other people.”
Was Sage?
Aiden had never thought of himself as the jealous type. He had never cared enough about a woman to commit his emotions, or to want any sort of exclusivity. In or out of bed, physically or voyeuristically.
But Sage was different.
As much as he’d love to watch her being pleasured—by him. Or pleasuring herself—for him. But sex, with others watching?
His muscles tensed, adrenaline rushing his system right into fight mode.
Nope.
Others weren’t invited.
Feeling like his control fuse blew, Aiden knew he was about to make a major mistake. But without that fuse, he couldn’t help it. The need was too much.
His eyes locked on hers as he shifted forward. His hand cupped the soft curve of her neck. Her misty blue-green gaze was both soothing and exciting as Sage’s eyes widened, then softened in anticipation.
He took her mouth.
Without warning, without fanfare, he simply leaned in and kissed her. Soft and welcoming, her lips parted easily at the sweep of his tongue.
She tasted so good. Like coffee and something exotic.
She felt even better. Soft lips, hot mouth, her tongue entwined with his with ease, as if they’d been kissing this way all their lives.
The excitement was new, though.
It pounded through Aiden with a power he’d never felt before. It ripped at his control, shredded his intentions.
It simply took over.
She slid closer. Or he pulled her over. He had no idea which. He just knew that she was there, almost in his lap. Close enough for him to skim his hands over her side, to revel in the smooth silk of her skin as his knuckles brushed along the inside of her arm.
He reached her waist, curving his palm over her hip for one second, then slid his hand back up. He stopped just short of her breast, his hand along her side and his thumb curving under the full temptation.
But not touching.
“Mmm,” she murmured against his mouth. “You’re good at that.”
“We’re good,” he returned without thinking.
“What other kind of kissing are you good at?” she asked, her words so low and husky they were more a vibration against his lips than an actual sound.
“What kind do you like?” he asked, his tongue tracing her bottom lip.
Since even a breath was too long to wait to taste more of her, Aiden slid his lips along her jaw, placing tiny kisses on her chin, then following the curve of her throat. She arched her neck, shifting her head to the side.
A smart man, he didn’t hesitate in accepting her invitation.
He ran his tongue along her collarbone, before burying his face in the curve of her shoulder. She tasted so damned good.
He breathed deep, one hand burrowing into her hair to keep her from moving. She smelled even better. Like green grass and wildflowers.
Her fingers teased, tiny swirls down the back of his head, over his neck and across his shoulders. She scraped her nails, light and tempting, over his biceps. Aiden wanted to flex just to impress her. Hell, half of his body was already flexing in appreciation. Since she was rubbing her foot along his calf, the movement snuggling her thigh against his happily flexing dick, he figured she was appreciating already.
But was she impressed?
He’d never been the kind of guy to show off. Secure in who he was, what he was, Aiden always figured people could take him or leave him, he didn’t care either way.
But right now, for the first time, he was desperate to make an impression.
He, and his dick.
He wanted Sage to be awed, blown away. He wanted her to feel the same raging, desperate passion that was pounding through him.
With that in mind, he let loose the rigid control he’d held over his body, over his desire. Over his mind. And just let go.
His ha
nd shifted. It only needed to move an inch, and he had her breast beneath his fingers.
God, she felt good.
Full, soft, her nipple beaded and hardened against his palm.
Their kiss exploded.
Hot, wild, it went over the edge, taking Aiden with it.
Tongues battled, his hands raced over her body. She was so soft, but so firm. Long limbs gave way to gentle curves.
One hand still cupping her breast, his palm rubbing her nipple, the other slipped under her skirt. Up the hot, silky length of her thigh. Her legs shifted, just enough to offer an invitation higher.
An invitation he couldn’t resist.
Not letting himself think, Aiden grabbed her by the waist and moved, lightning fast, to lay her out on the coffee table. His mouth still on hers, he skimmed his fingers under that skirt, pushing the silky mass up to her waist and with one quick tug, ripped her panties out of the way.
She gasped against his lips, then gave a delighted laugh.
“More,” she demanded.
More indeed.
He wasn’t a stupid man. He knew this was going to complicate the hell out of everything. But he felt so good. So connected. He was pretty sure this was the best he’d ever felt, and he knew if he kept going it was only going to get better.
Aiden wanted better.
Skipping the niceties, desperate to taste her, Aiden slid down her body. He paused for a long moment to revel in the sight of her, spread out for his pleasure. Wet, pink and delicate, she was gorgeous.
He leaned in, tracing her damp bud with his finger. She jerked, then shifted her legs to wrap her knees over his shoulders and pull him closer.
He loved how she made her wants crystal clear.
The least he could do was meet them.
With that in mind, Aiden bent low between her thighs. Using his tongue and fingers, he worshipped her in ways he’d fantasized about so many times. Her reaction was even better than his imagination, though. She went up so fast, responded so intently, he felt like a sex god.
Then she exploded.
Her back arched off the table, the muscles of her thighs tight against his shoulders as she went over. Her panting cries of delight, combined with her fingers digging into his shoulders almost sent him over the edge with her.
