by Hoff, Stacy
“Because I don’t want to start. I’m not getting involved again.”
“Again? Someone was so bad, you stopped your writing over him?”
Stephanie looked down and smoothed out the aluminum floor covering. She knew the break-up wasn’t her fault, but she still felt—what? Embarrassed? Inferior? There was something about being dumped for a sexier, younger woman that had the horrific effect of making a person feel old and ugly. Unworthy. Unlovable. And when the person your fiancé cheated with was your cousin, you could throw in “betrayed” to boot.
“Look,” Colin said firmly, I don’t know what that guy’s problem was, but it’s not a problem I’ve got. Steph, look at me.”
Their eyes locked. She guessed the heat flaring up in his eyes mirrored her own.
“You’re beautiful, Steph. And from the short time I’ve known you, I can see how special you are.”
Her face was now fully flushed with heat, warmth spreading down through her body. “I want to get to know you,” he said. “All of you.” His words curled around her, feeling as warm and enveloping as the fire. “Take a chance on me. Let me take a starring role in one of those books of yours. You be the damsel-in-distress. I’ll be the knight-in-shining-armor. Or the guy in a limo. Only without the limo.”
She bit back a smile. “You’re more the ‘Viking warrior’ type. Though the ‘Outback hero’ role also suits you pretty well. But lately I’ve been considering you a god. Two of them actually. If we go with Ancient Greece, you’re Adonis.”
“Thanks for that, ’cause I understand he was a real good-looking guy. Who is the other god? Or has my ego recovered enough already?”
“I’d hurt your ego?” she sputtered. “You’re kidding!”
“I’m not kidding. Unlike your gods, I’m a mere mortal.”
She ignored his joke. “Since we’re being honest, I’ll admit I thought you were hot the moment I saw you. That little factoid should fully restore your ego, if it hasn’t been already.”
His eyes crinkled. “That oughta do it.”
“I thought it might. In keeping with candor, though, I’ve got to tell you that your Greco-Roman knowledge is mediocre at best. Adonis was a mortal god.”
“Enough with Adonis. Tell me who the other one is.”
“Vulcan. He’s a Roman god.”
“Vulcan? Nobody’s heard of Vulcan. No wonder you’re into books. You read too much.”
“So I like contemporary romance and mythology. So what?”
“Fine, fine, whatever turns you on. So okay, I’ll bite, tell me who Vulcan is. No, wait, let me guess. God of volcanoes?”
She snorted out a laugh, not even cringing at the coarse sound this time. “No. He’s the god of fire.”
“Sure, I’ll be him. It’ll be easy, I’ve already got a head start.” Colin sat up on his knees, shifting forward until he was leaning over her, mouth hovering just above her own. Slowly and softly he whispered in her ear, “I burn for you.”
Like a true god of fire, he had set her ablaze.
“Don’t fight me,” he said, in words as soft as his light caress. “Don’t fight tonight.”
She nodded, all of her doubts burnt to ash.
Chapter 11
Stephanie held her breath as Colin’s lips came down on hers. The firelight, flickering low with its last embers, provided little warmth. It was only her reaction to him causing the surge of heat. He’s right, she thought, with her last flicker of reason, she shouldn’t fight tonight. Taking his tongue into her mouth, the heat intensified. Wrapped in his arms, she felt him tug at the bra clips on her back. She pulled away from him only long enough to mumble, “There are three hooks. And I’m on the pill.” Leaning forward to kiss him again, she realized he was laughing.
“Thanks for the info,” he said. “If I can find my way around the ’Glades, I can find my way around a woman. I’ve never failed yet.”
He said it with a wink that made her laugh, too.
“Steph,” he said, now in a serious tone, “I want you. And at this point, I’m desperate enough I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I want to do the right thing. You don’t have a boyfriend, right?”
She cocked her head to the side. “We’ve already covered this,” she said, lips pursed tight. “Yes, I’m quite sure. Why?”
He breathed deeply and let his mouth bend into a small smile. “I only ask because you’re using the pill.”
What an amazing thing to do, Stephanie thought. To do the right thing, at the risk of his own pleasure. That made her want to be with him more. “It regulates my cycle. My system goes all wonky unless I use it. That’s the only reason.”
Colin nodded and reached behind her to gently tug off her hair elastic. Nuzzling his face in her loose hair, he said in a low murmur, “I’m sorry for your wonky cycle. At least there’s an upside. There won’t be any barriers between us. Tonight I get to feel all of you. Explore all of you. Be naked, inside of you.”
Stephanie’s breath hitched. Her red-lace thong, already completely soaked from the rain, was becoming even wetter in her desire. Were his words enough to cause her to climax? She hoped not to find out. He put his hands on both sides of her face and drew her in for a deep, languid kiss. His hands slid down to her shoulders, massaging them. Slowly they slid down her back. A cold shiver ran through her when she felt her bra pop open, air suddenly circulating around her breasts. The change of air set her nipples on edge, turning them into hard nubs. His hands stroked the length of her breasts, until his mouth came down on one.
“I want that. All of that,” she whispered throatily, not caring how desperate she sounded.
As the fire faded, she saw with just enough light that he was staring at her. A slow smile crept up his face, his eyes alight with desire and amusement. “I always do what a lady wants.” Tossing her bra aside, he pointed to her panties.
Without a word, Stephanie moved onto her side to slide them off.
“No. Let me,” he said, reaching for them himself. Instead of sliding them down, he pushed the thong’s little fabric triangle to the side and began to stroke her soft folds with his thumb.
She gasped at the intimate contact. His touch felt light, smooth and soft. Her entire body quivered in response.
“You feel so good,” he murmured. “Silky. Slick.” He slid a finger inside her, creating a ripple of pleasure. But after a few swirling motions gloriously deep within her, he shifted away. “We are going to feast on each other tonight,” he said. His voice left no room for doubt. Her eyes wide, she silently nodded.
His hands went around her hips, gliding her thong off. She was naked before him. Physically and emotionally. Their eyes met and locked. He broke the spell only long enough to pick up her bra, too, and lay both garments down by the embers. “So you can be dry later,” he said. “But right now, I’m going to make you wet.”
“Seems like Mother Nature already gave you a head start,” she teased softly, gesturing to the rain outside.
“The Marines taught me to use every natural advantage I can avail myself of,” he murmured. His throaty, earthy voice belonged to this wilderness. “Steph.” He leaned down to whisper in her ear.
His voice was a low and wild sound that worked some primitive magic in her. She reached for him, stroking his chest in wonderment over his perfect body. One jagged, six-inch scar under his collarbone was the only mar, remarkable for a man who had survived so many battles. She traced down the contours of his eight-pack, hearing his low groan. Pushing him back just an inch away was enough for her to grab the edge of his briefs. But he didn’t let her get too far. He grabbed her right wrist, placing his hardness directly under her hand. Heat surged from his long hard shape. She pulled her hand out from under his grasp to tug his briefs down. Easily he got out of them, twisting himself around to lay her
underneath him.
“You know I’m good at unchartered destinations,” he teased, licking his way from her neck down.
“Let me know when you find an area you like.”
She felt him bending her knees up. Pushing her legs apart. Lowering his face down to the inside of her thighs. Answering with his tongue and circling her softness. She bit the inside of her lower lip hard to stop from crying out. Not until he suddenly stopped did she resume her breathing.
“I can feel you holding back. Don’t,” he warned. “We’re all alone out here, just me and you. Nobody to see or hear us. Let yourself go.” His tongue, with its gentle probing, encircled her in a cloud of soft, heated bliss.
She tilted back her head, closed her eyes and focused on the feel of what he was doing. “God, Colin. Don’t stop.” Her own wetness mingled with the wetness of his mouth. Her blood quickened, a maddening, drum-loud, frenetic pulse. Her thighs tensed. Lightening shot through her. She screamed out his name as she released, seeing more stars with her eyes closed than she’d ever had staring at the night sky.
“Happy?” he asked softly when he slid back up her body.
“Yes. Very.” She let out a giggle, which led to a snort. That made her giggle harder.
“Me, too. And you’re going to feel even better.”
“Better? Cool. Do it,” she said, relaxing and closing her eyes again. At this point, she’d agree to anything he said. She felt the crush of him on top of her, him pushing her legs back open, and him sliding himself easily into her. Her body quivered in response.
“You’re even wetter on the inside than you are from all this rain. I love that about you.”
Still floating on her cloud, she could not form the words to answer. Each time he thrust she let out raw cries of pleasure.
“Let me do something for you,” she murmured. Without waiting for an answer, she then pushed him off, and flipped their positions. Dragging herself downwards over him she put him into her mouth. Larger than any man should be, she did her best to take him in.
He grabbed the back of her hair, gently pressing her to him, until he finally let go. “Better stop. Or it will be too late.”
She sat up while he lay flat on his back.
“C’mere, beautiful,” he said.
She straddled his hips and guided him inside her. Letting out a sharp gasp, she clenched against him, rocking back and forth. Letting his thrusts take her higher. They were one, now. One beautiful, wild creature.
They reached their release together. It was a heavenly high for her, but then a plummeting low. Don’t stop now. She bit her lip, impatient to start again.
“Still more?” he asked a moment later when he caught his breath.
“What makes you say that?” God, she didn’t want him to think she was sex starved or anything. Sure she was, but he didn’t need to know that.
“You went from screaming out my name to giving me a petulant pout.”
Feeling her face heat with embarrassment she managed to laugh. “I’m glad ‘more’ is even an option. Impressive.”
“Don’t worry.” He laughed. “It’s not like I have bionic abilities. I do have my limits. But my limitations don’t have to impact you. I’m a man on a mission.”
His sense of humor managed to do the impossible—make him even sexier. She couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “A mission, huh? Please don’t call in the rest of Special Ops. Like you said, this is between you and me. You’ll have to succeed—or fail—all on your own.”
“Succeed. Duh,” he murmured in amusement. In fact, if ever there was a mission he was going to accomplish, it was this one. One thing he could say about Stephanie, she gave him a good challenge. Even after all they just did, she seemed hot enough to spontaneously combust. Well, what did a military man do with an object ready to explode? He grinned broadly. Yep, make sure it was fully detonated.
Despite her tongue-in-cheek suggestion, he sure as hell didn’t need any help from outside operatives. This mission, he was flying solo.
“Um, Colin, your grin is scaring me. What do you have in store?”
She didn’t sound scared. But she did sound shy, intrigued, and outright excited, all at the same time. A very appealing combination. He felt his body harden in response.
“You’ll have to wait and see. My missions are always top secret.”
“I can keep a secret.”
“I’m sure you can. But I’m still not talking. My mouth will be busy conducting further covert operations.” Reaching down to spread her legs apart again, he slid down her body. He put his mouth on her inner thigh and kissed. When she squirmed, he wrapped his hands around her legs to hold her tighter and buried his tongue deep within her. He felt her body seize again, then release with thundering shudders. She arched her back and screamed his name even louder.
It was as if she’d pulled his trigger. A rocket went off inside him, exploding like a grenade. Now rock hard again, he climbed on top or her and slid himself in. She was even hotter this time. Wetter. Desperate. Like him. He felt her womb clench around him while she shuddered through another orgasm. Once again he rode a typhoon wave of passion until he exploded, too.
He gently let go of her when they both stopped shaking and gave her a lingering kiss on her mouth. “Best. Mission. Ever.” He grinned down at her.
She let out a loud laugh. “I’ll bet!”
“Covert operations are my very favorite.”
“Mine, too,” she said, her voice soft.
He hugged her tight, and then moved behind her to spoon. He placed one arm loosely over her belly, the other around her shoulder. “You are beautiful, Steph. Absolutely beautiful. You are lively. You are luscious.” He gently bit her neck and heard her let out a giggle. He smiled into the back of her hair. A tough businesswoman, she still giggled like a little girl. Would cuddle against him. Let herself be vulnerable around him.
He wondered how anybody could be so powerful on the outside and yet so fragile on the inside. Whatever had happened to make her this way must’ve been bad. He hoped he never met the guy responsible. Having the Special Ops background he did, he knew many, many, ways to kick the shit out of someone.
Right now, however, his body was far from a fighting mood. He was languid, relishing the warmth surging through him. His feeling of contentedness was almost palpable. It coursed through his veins like liquid Jell-O.
He’d had sex before. Hell, lots of times. Mostly with women he didn’t know too well. He never cared much about what they wanted, or how they felt. Not that he was callous—he wasn’t that hardened. He’d just assumed they were having a good time, so he didn’t worry about it. Sex was his one indulgence in life, the one thing he had going to make himself happy for a too-short time.
Stephanie, though, brought about a new feeling. She was someone he actually wanted to do something for. Sexually. Emotionally. Making her happy was somehow also a gift to himself. Sure they both had multiple orgasms tonight. Somehow, though, it seemed a whole lot less like sex and a whole lot more like making love. He’d need to think about all of this. Figure out what his true mission was.
Quiet and still, they lay in each other’s arms. The only movement was from the raindrops seeping through the roof and him stroking her long, soft hair. He wrapped his arms tighter around her and she nestled into him. For the first time in as long as he could remember he felt all the comforts of his childhood—warmth, security, and simple happiness.
Chapter 12
Stephanie wondered how she could feel more secure here in the Everglades, at night, in a mere lean-to, surrounded by wild animals, than in a New York City high-security building. How she felt more cherished by a guy she hardly knew than she ever had with her ex-fiancé. How she could develop such a strong passion for someone so fast. She couldn’t contemplate all this for t
oo long, no matter how hard she tried to grasp at her feelings. In moments, she was fast asleep.
She awoke much later and darkness still surrounded. Whatever time it was, it was the dead of night. The rain continued to pour down, but the lean-to remained fairly leak-proof. At least so far. She started to stretch but stopped when she realized she and Colin were still entwined.
Number of times her “ex” had spooned with her—zero. Colin, however, had obviously wanted to hold her all night long. Her heart leapt at that. It both calmed and stunned her to feel so wanted. She only hoped that when he woke up he’d feel the same.
Even though he was asleep she wanted to reach for him. Trying to disturb him as little as possible, she carefully moved her arm behind her, not shifting her body up, or even turning her head. Feeling for his leg, she gently placed her hand on it. For a moment she felt good about making the physical connection.
Then the hair on the back of her neck stood straight up. Her breathing, and heartbeat, stopped. A cold feeling crept over her, as chilly as the long scaly tube she was holding. Wait—a tube? And was the tube moving? This was definitely not good. Her heartbeat was back, banging away in her ribcage as if attempting a jailbreak. She was still holding off on breathing, though. She drew her hand back slowly, as if pulling it out of wet cement.
The tube, however, moved again, touching her. She froze. What the f—?
The tube sprung itself into a vertical coil. Its movement was hard to see, but as her eyes adjusted, it looked like a three dimensional letter “S.” Now she realized the “S” shape was hissing. Hissing.
