Nick UnCaged: Sanctuary, Book Four

by Abbie Zanders

It didn’t take long to get a good cooking fire going. He extracted fixings from the micro coolers he’d stashed in the saddlebags as well as two square metal cooking tools with long handles from the storage box.

  She eyed them warily. “What are you going to do with those?”

  “Ever had a mountain pie before?”

  “No, but if it’s anything like a cow pie, I’m not interested.”

  He laughed. “Not even close, I promise.”

  He showed her how to butter the bread on the outside, and then he had her pick her filling ingredients from the assortment of plastic containers Kate had prepared. Bree opted for chopped chicken and veggies; he went with ground meat in sauce and cheese. Then, he demonstrated how to close and lock the squares and balance them over the coals.

  “These are delicious!” she admitted a short while later. She took another bite of the cooked pie, licking at the juice that had dripped over her lips and inadvertently testing the fit of his jeans in the process.

  It wasn’t like she was trying to be sexy; she just was. It was in the way she moved, the way she smiled, the way she challenged and questioned everything. Cage found himself more entranced by the moment.

  “Well, Nick, I have to say, I’m impressed.”

  “The night is still young, and no field trip would be complete without s’mores.”

  “They can’t possibly be better than this.”

  He gaped at her. “Don’t tell me you’ve never had s’mores before?”

  “Brooklyn girl, remember?”

  How could he forget? Everything about her called to him on a level he didn’t fully comprehend, including her history. But he wasn’t supposed to know anything beyond what she’d told him. Plus, he liked the way she looked at him now. If they started talking about common backgrounds and his family, that could change the dynamic quickly.

  Cage stood abruptly before he said or did something he’d regret, like telling her how much they had in common—or worse, pulling her onto his lap and kissing her senseless.

  He needed a few minutes to regroup—preferably in the cold water of the lake.

  “Before we do that, how about a swim?”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Bree

  She smirked. “Right. In the forest?”

  “The lake is just over there, beyond the trees. It’s a great way to cool down after an afternoon trail ride.”

  His expression held a hint of amusement. She looked in the direction he’d indicated, trying to get her bearings. Her sense of direction wasn’t great on the best of days, but after zigzagging through the woods for a couple hours, she didn’t have a clue where they were relative to anything. He could be telling the truth, or he could be having fun with her.

  Then, he began removing his boots. “Coming?”

  “I don’t have a suit,” she hedged.

  “You don’t need one.”

  She shivered—as much from the thought of an evening skinny dip with a sexy SEAL as the idea of wading into water that wasn’t heavily chlorinated and contained by cement walls painted blue. “Aren’t there ... things in the lake?”

  “Lots of things,” he agreed. “But they’re more afraid of you than you are of them.”

  Wrong answer. She’d gone to the Jersey Shore once as a kid, and the memories of things brushing against her legs as she’d waded into the water still haunted her.

  “Isn’t there some rule about not swimming right after you eat?”

  He narrowed his eyes. “You don’t know how to swim, do you?”

  “I can swim!” she protested. “I’m just not ... very good at it.”

  “All right, suit yourself.” He threw another log on the fire. “Stay here. Don’t go wandering off. There are things in the woods, too. I’ll be back shortly.”

  “You’re not serious!”

  Apparently, he was serious because he sauntered off and disappeared into the trees. She remained by the fire, staring off into the darkness, which seemed to have suddenly intensified now that she was alone. Something ruffled the bushes off to the right, and she was on her feet. Then, another sound came from behind her.

  “Screw this.”

  Ignoring his warning, she moved quickly across the campsite, tracing his steps into the trees, only to emerge on a grassy shoreline.

  Dark water lapped at the shore, reflecting the deep blue-black velvet of the sky, the gentle ripples frosting silver at the crests. She drew in a breath. It was a lovely view. But not quite as lovely as the male figure moving deeper into the water. All she could make out in the scant light was his silhouette, but what a silhouette it was! Broad shoulders and back, tapering down into a trim, narrow waist ...

  Was he naked? She squinted, hoping for a better look, but it was impossible to tell.

  He sank down before she got her answer and began to swim in a picture-perfect overhand crawl. She watched, mesmerized as his powerful arms rose out of the water and entered again, propelling him along without a sound.

  She caught movement in the corner of her eye just before something swooped down toward her. She ducked and squealed in surprise.

  When she turned back to the water, Nick was nowhere to be seen. She scanned left and right, searching but to no avail. The seconds ticked by as she waited for him to resurface. She listened carefully, too, but the only sounds she heard were the soft lapping of water against the shoreline, the warm summer breeze rustling the leaves, and the muted chirps of whatever nocturnal creatures were dancing in the air above her.

  “Change your mind?”

  Nick’s voice, coming from just to her right, startled her. She might have screamed a little.

  “How did you ... you were just ...” she stammered out, her heart beating a mile a minute.

  Then, she remembered that he was a Navy SEAL. Water and stealth were big parts of his training.

  “No, I didn’t change my mind. I was just curious; that’s all. Did you have a good swim?”

  Green eyes bored into hers from the darkness. “Yes.”

  “Why are you hiding in the shadows?”

  “Because you’re standing next to my clothes.”

  She looked down, and yep, there were his jeans and T-shirt in a pile near her feet. A bolt of lust lanced through her as several naughty possibilities occurred to her, each of which involved her seeing him naked. Then, she reminded herself that she was there to do a job—not to ogle a gorgeous, naked Navy SEAL—even if it no longer felt like a job.

  “Oh. Right.”

  She was glad the darkness hid the heat now burning her cheeks, which were probably close to glowing as brightly as the coals in the campfire. She turned and walked back into the woods.

  She’d barely taken five steps when Nick’s amused voice called out, “Wrong way, city girl. The campsite’s to your right.”

  “I knew that,” she mumbled. She totally hadn’t.

  Nice, Bree. You see one almost-naked man, and it shorts your circuits.

  Maybe Toni had been right. Maybe she did need a little less work and a little more play.

  Nick returned to the site a short while later, fully dressed. Only his damp hair suggested he’d been in the water. It was hard not to imagine him naked, water glistening over his body, clinging to each delicious ridge and dip ...

  “I could teach you, you know.”

  She nearly choked on her water. “Teach me what?”

  His eyes narrowed. “To swim.”

  “I told you, I know how to swim,” she said irritably. “I just didn’t want to, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  She immediately felt bad for snapping at him. It wasn’t his fault she had a fear of water. “Can we make s’mores now?”

  “Sure.”

  He pulled out a knife and quickly whittled the ends of two sticks to sharp points. He handed one to her and then proceeded to show her how to properly roast a marshmallow. Her first two attempts failed miserably, resulting in blackened flaming balls of goo, but he was patient, and her thir
d try was a golden brown puff of perfection.

  “These are really good,” she told him, licking a dab of melted chocolate from her finger and feeling a flash of desire when his eyes latched on to the movement.

  “It’s the mountain air. Everything tastes better out here.”

  Do you?

  His green eyes snapped up to hers, reflecting the flames and making it look as if they were filled with fire. She then realized she must have spoken her untoward thoughts aloud.

  She cleared her throat and tried to cover her oops. “Do you ... really think so?”

  Her heart beat once, twice, as she waited for him to answer. She wondered if his thoughts were running along a similar channel, followed closely by a mental image of him between her thighs. A needy heat pooled in her core.

  “Absolutely.”

  Was it her imagination, or was his voice huskier than it had been?

  The awkward silence stretching between them was heavy with possibility.

  His jaw clenched, and then he looked up toward the sky. “It’s almost time for the meteor shower. Are you up for it?”

  “What? Oh. Yeah, sure. Of course.” The quick change in topic cleared some of the lusty fog permeating her thoughts.

  He walked over to the platform and tugged on a rope, releasing a rolled-up rope ladder. He had her ascend first, assuming the role of protective safety net if she should misstep. She could feel the heat of his gaze on her ass and almost wished he’d do something more. He didn’t.

  The platform wasn’t terribly high in the overall scheme of things, but it was positioned perfectly to look through a clearing and out over the lake. Darkness had fallen completely, but the sky was clear, and the light of the moon provided enough to see by after her eyes adjusted. Once they were up there, he lifted a tarp to reveal a telescope.

  “You are just full of surprises, aren’t you?”

  “What can I say?” he said with a shrug. “I’m a geek.”

  Of all the words she could think of to describe him, geek wasn’t among them. Strong, smart, kind, polite, sexy, funny, sweet—absolutely. But geek? No.

  She sat down on the platform, content to watch him turn the scope this way and that, twisting a knob here, fiddling with a ring there. He looked so comfortable, so in his element.

  “I’ve always been fascinated by the stars,” she admitted quietly. “I think that’s what I dislike most about living in SoCal. I can so rarely see them. But I can see the moon. It’s pretty incredible that we can look up and see the same thing as someone on the other side of the world. In that one moment, it’s like we’re connected or something.”

  “Same,” he said, peering into the lens. “The moon, the constellations—they’re always there. When I was in the Navy, no matter where I was, I could look up at the sky at night and find something familiar. Now that I’m stationary, I find I still like looking at them.”

  She tried to imagine the strong but gentle, capable yet shy man before her in unfamiliar, potentially unfriendly territory, seeking comfort in the night sky. “How old were you when you joined the Navy?”

  “Eighteen.”

  “Just a boy.” She’d been twenty-three and had a couple years of college and work under her belt when she moved to the West Coast, and that had been a difficult adjustment.

  “Old enough. Here, take a look.”

  She moved closer and put her eye to the scope, aware of his nearness, her pulse quickening.

  “Keep your eye to the northwest,” he said, his voice soft.

  She tried to concentrate on the stars and not so much on the man beside her. A ball of light streaked across the sky. Then another.

  “I see them!” she exclaimed, turning away to find him right there, grinning at her.

  His smile began to fade when she continued to look at him instead of turning back to the scope. A sudden, unignorable urge to kiss him overwhelmed her. She went with it, leaning forward to press her lips to his.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Bree

  At first, he tensed and did nothing for one interminably long heartbeat and then another. Mortified, she began to lean away, only to feel his arms pull her closer as he deepened the kiss. Her body relaxed in relief. Her hands gripped his shoulders and then moved to his neck and tangled in his hair, still damp from his swim, super soft, and oh-so pullable.

  The kiss lasted forever and was over in an instant.

  “I’ve been wanting to do that all day,” he whispered.

  “You have?”

  He nodded.

  “And now?”

  “Now,” he said, his eyes a deep, glowing green, “now, I need to do it again.”

  Anything else he might have said was lost as his mouth once again came down on hers. His large hand curled around the back of her neck in a possessive grip, sending shivers of want and desire along the length of her spine.

  The man knew how to kiss! By the time he pulled away, her lips were tingling and protesting the loss of his. She was about to beg him for more when he moved those talented lips over her jaw and down the column of her neck, making her shiver. The possibilities thrilled her.

  “Tell me to stop,” he whispered against her skin.

  Her nipples, already firm, grew even harder, craving some of that skillful attention. She arched toward him, guiding his head toward her aching breasts.

  “No.”

  He immediately went still. “No?”

  “No, don’t stop,” she clarified, gripping his face in her hands and punctuating her intent with a kiss and a nip to his chin. “Please.”

  He growled softly, a purely masculine sound that intensified her desire. He lifted the hem of her shirt, revealing the satiny cups beneath. He traced the lines with his tongue, ratcheting her desire. Needing more, she reached behind her and undid the clasp, shrugging her shoulders to loosen her bra and give him a blatant nudge.

  He hummed his approval and wasted no time in replacing the cups with his hands. The roughened calluses scraped across her skin, increasing the wetness between her legs as he kneaded and explored. She thought she might die of pleasure when he closed his lips around one hardened peak and sucked before tonguing her tortuously. Clearly, there was a direct line from her breasts to her core that she hadn’t realized because every sensation was felt in both places.

  He took his time, savoring one breast with his mouth while stroking and lightly pinching the other with his fingers, creating an erotic rhythm of near pain and absolute pleasure. It was wondrous, so much so that she was close to coming from that alone, which would have been another first.

  As pleasurable as it was, it didn’t get her close enough. She needed more. When he continued his glorious onslaught and made no move to do more, she once again felt compelled to take matters into her own hands and nudge him along. Placing her hand over his, she guided it between her legs and then boldly reached between his. She found him large and hard—two of her favorite things in that moment.

  He made a strangled sound but got the hint, deftly unfastening her jeans and slipping his hand inside. Her eyes crossed when she felt the pads of his fingers parting her slick folds, teasing the tight bundle of need close to exploding.

  “More,” she rasped into his mouth.

  She lifted her hips impatiently. His eyes glowed with hunger as he pulled her jeans off completely, taking her panties with them. His gaze raked over her with undisguised lust, making her feel both desired and powerful.

  “Fucking gorgeous,” he growled.

  Bree started to lean back, but he grasped her around the waist and lay back, tugging her over him. Completely naked, poised above his fully clothed form on a platform in the trees, she felt like a sex goddess, uninhibited and free, especially when he looked up at her with such stark hunger in his eyes.

  He guided her down onto his face and began a new onslaught of oral warfare. He’d already proven he had skilled lips and tongue when he put them to use on her mouth and then her breasts, but between her legs was
where his talent really showed.

  Before long, she was pumping her hips, riding his face, caring about nothing but chasing down the bliss he offered, spearing her alternately with his tongue and fingers, sucking, licking, biting. With a final scream, she lifted her face to the sky, only vaguely aware of the white balls of light streaking above them.

  Make a wish, a little voice said in the back of her head.

  I wish this never had to end.

  Her body was still shaking with aftershocks when he used his powerful arms to lift and reposition her over his body, and then he curled around her. Such an odd and wonderful sensation to have his warm, hard, and still-clothed body beneath her, her bare back exposed to the night.

  “That was ...” She searched for words to describe how she felt and came up lacking, finally going with, “Amazing.”

  “Good.”

  She expected him to want something in return, but he just lay there with his eyes closed. One large hand flexed over her ass; the other was stroking masterfully along the curve of her back. Incredibly, even after her powerful orgasm, she was still turned on. Feeling the hard bulge pressing into her belly only stoked the fire. She wanted that inside her.

  With that in mind, she kissed him, deep and slow, reveling in the taste of herself upon his lips. Then, she started to work her way down his body, much the way he had hers. She nibbled along his stubbled jawline, over the pulse points in his neck. When she reached his collarbone, her hand slipped up under his T-shirt. The feel of hot skin and short, coarse hair delighted her.

  “Stop,” he rasped, grasping her hand. “You don’t have to do that.”

  “I know. I want to.”

  He didn’t release her.

  “Please, Nick. Let me do this.”

  They remained frozen like that for so long that she thought he was going to deny her the pleasure, but then his grip relaxed. She wasted no time in resuming her exploration. She was anxious to get him to the point of no return, just as he had done to her. Once he’d started working his magic, there was no way she could have stopped him.

  She pushed the hem of his T-shirt upward, uttering a command, “Off.”