by Soraya Lane
Saskia gulped. Maybe she was in over her head, maybe…
“Do you have any idea how beautiful you look lying there?”
Luke’s deep whisper was enough to make her relax. She might not agree with him, but the way he was looking at her did make her feel beautiful. The hunger in his gaze, the sin written all over his body, made her decide to toss away her inhibitions and just let this happen. When else would she ever be trapped with a hot SEAL with nothing to do other than let him pleasure her?
“Are you having second thoughts?”
Saskia shook her head, wishing she wasn’t quite so self-conscious about the fact she was wearing just her bra and jeans.
“Good.” Luke’s voice was dark, experienced, terrifying.
He hadn’t moved any closer to her yet, and then he reached out, slowly unbuttoned her jeans, tugging until they reached her ankles. She giggled when he got to her feet and had to tug off her shoes too. Then her socks.
And now she was lying in only her underwear, with a hulk of a man looking down at her, running his eyes up and down her body like he was actually going to eat her. But it wasn’t fair, because he was getting all the viewing pleasure, not her. And if she wanted to enjoy herself, she was going to have to make sure she got exactly what she wanted. The time for being bashful was over.
“Your turn,” she told him bravely, eyes meeting his gaze.
Saskia lay still, waiting for him to respond. Luke grinned and unbuttoned his own jeans, kicking off his shoes first then shedding his pants, all while she watched him. He clearly didn’t share her hesitance.
“Now what?” he asked, his voice half whisper, half growl.
She swallowed, pushed herself up onto her elbows and sucked down on her bottom lip.
“This?” he asked when she didn’t say anything, leaning in close and kissing her, running his tongue across the lip she’d been biting on, before delving it into her mouth and pulling her closer as his palm found the back of her head.
When he pulled back, as breathless as she was, all Saskia could do was nod.
“How about this?” he asked, pushing her down flat and starting at her neck, his lips softly kissing and nipping at her skin, teasing her all the way to her breasts, then down to her belly. Her stomach was quivering, her body arching as his tongue touched the top of her panties, flicked beneath the elastic and then hovered. Luke placed a soft kiss there, before trailing his way back up.
She wanted him. Bad.
This time Luke didn’t ask her what she liked, he just took what he wanted. First her mouth – wet lips torturing her – and then her breasts again. Only now he was more brazen, wasn’t teasing her anymore. He tugged her up into a sitting position, shifting his weight so he was still straddling her thighs and she was free to wrap her arms around him, touch him. She sucked on the soft skin at his neck, ran her hands down his strong back, fingers playing over his hard muscles.
But when he unhooked her bra and tugged it away she could feel his urgency increase. He pushed her back against the rough carpeted floor of the back of the truck, his hands racing across her skin, hands cupping her breasts, fingertips seeking out her hard nipples.
Saskia couldn’t stop the moan as it escaped her lips, head back as she arched her body up toward Luke. His mouth, hot and wet, took up where his fingers had left off, sucking hard.
“Luke,” she gasped, as he switched to her other nipple. Please don’t stop, she wanted to say, but she had no breath left for words.
She caught Luke’s smile when she looked up, watched as he tugged down her panties, painfully slowly, sliding them off her ankles. He stopped, looked at her long and hard, before hooking his thumbs in the waistband of his boxer briefs and then shucking them off.
There was no backing out now, and she didn’t want there to be. Luke slowly moved toward her, like he was giving her time to change her mind. Time she didn’t need.
But instead of what she was expecting, he dropped to his knees, eyes hungry as he nudged her legs apart, lips finding the soft skin of her inner thigh as he kissed his way up. And then his tongue flicked closer. His hot, wet mouth was suddenly everywhere, making her moan, tongue doing wicked things to her, making her shudder in ways she’d never imagined. When his tongue teased her, touched her so intimately, it was all she could do not to clamp her legs around his neck and lock him in place forever.
Luke couldn’t take his eyes off the woman lying naked in the back of the Humvee. She was braced on her elbows, knees up, legs slightly parted. The look on her face, lazy hooded eyes, told him she’d liked being pleasured, but he was ready to be selfish. Couldn’t wait a second longer, because he was struggling not to grab her, hold her down and thrust himself inside her. Instead he reached for his wallet, pulled it from his jeans pocket and took the foil packet from where he had it tucked away.
He got the feeling she was nervous, and he wanted her to enjoy every single moment of this. Sex in the back of an army vehicle wasn’t something he’d ever imagined doing, was a fantasy he hadn’t even known he had, until now.
Luke rolled the condom on and lowered himself gently over Saskia, kissing her face – her nose, her eyelids, her mouth – before nudging her knees further apart, settling himself above her.
“Did you believe me before when I told you how beautiful you were?” he asked, murmuring in her ear.
Saskia tugged his head closer, her hand on the back of his skull, lips catching his and drawing him into a deep kiss.
“You are,” he whispered, breaking their kiss for just a moment. “You’re perfect, every inch of you.”
Luke wanted to pleasure her more, wanted to spend all day doing wicked things to her that made her moan, but it had been so long since he’d been with a woman and Saskia was so…
Holy shit. Her ankles locked around his hips, thrust him forward and into her, her hands looping around his shoulders to tug him down lower. Luke was a goner. He couldn’t have resisted her if he tried.
Luke rocked back and forth with her, thrust as deep inside her as he could, mouth on hers, losing himself to every clench of her muscles around him. But Saskia had other ideas. She pushed him back, hand flat to his chest, forcing him onto his back this time. She sat astride him, holding down his arms as she settled herself above him before letting go.
He moaned, eyes fixed on her body, hands cupping her breasts, loving the heaviness of them in his palms. Luke let one hand skim down her waist, holding her backside, guiding her gently as she rocked above him.
When she sped up, moved faster above him, Luke knew he was a goner. He looked at her face, eyes closed, neck arched back.
If this wasn’t heaven, then he’d be damned if he knew what was.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Saskia stretched out an arm and squinted. Then stretched.
Oh my. She glanced down, realized she was naked beneath the blanket covering her, and that the vehicle was moving. Which meant she probably had a couple of minutes before Luke realized she was awake.
Luke. There was a reason that name made her entire body flush, made her cheeks flood with heat. Because what she’d done with him, what had happened, was something that would probably make her toes curl for the rest of her life. In a good way, definitely in a good way… just with a good measure of embarrassment.
She shifted sideways, trying not to fall over, and reached for her underwear. She slipped her panties on, then her bra, but the rest of her clothes weren’t quite so handy. Which meant she was going to have to face Luke. After what they’d done it shouldn’t have worried her, but still – she wasn’t exactly used to chatting with a man after sex. The only man she’d ever done that with was her ex-husband, and they’d been together for months as teenagers before even getting to second base.
“Hey.”
Saskia gulped, eyes seeking him out. “I can’t believe I fell asleep.”
She kept the blanket wrapped around herself and wiggled through to the front passenger seat. She retrieved her jeans from wh
ere they were slung and reached for her T-shirt and sweater, yanking them over her head quickly.
“Come here.” Luke glanced at her, his smile sending a fresh wave of goose bumps down her spine. Only this time it wasn’t from embarrassment.
She sidled closer, shy, but when Luke put his arm out she let him curl it around her. She tucked into the warmth of him and shut her eyes. She had nothing to be embarrassed about, she knew that, but what had just happened was so far out of her comfort zone it was hard to act nonchalant.
“Where are we?” she asked, mumbling into his sweater.
Luke squeezed her around the shoulders and left his arm there, slung around her as she sat between the seats. “By my calculations we should have less than an hour before we hit Buffalo.”
Oh my God. Saskia glanced at her wristwatch, hardly able to believe how late it was. “So we’re actually going to make it?”
Luke grinned down at her, dropping a quick kiss to her lips before focusing on the road again. “Yeah,” he said softly. “I think I might actually have a chance of getting you there for dinner.”
Saskia choked up, she couldn’t help it. Tears sprang into her eyes, made her blink furiously to try to shed them. “I’m so sorry I fell asleep. I can’t believe we’ve come so far, and I’ve probably snored through the whole trip.”
Luke didn’t seem to care. “You were tired, it’s fine,” he said. “And I figured you were better to sleep so you can stay up all night with Jack if you want to.”
Before she had to leave again. That’s what he wasn’t saying, but it was true. Because she wouldn’t even have 24 hours with Jack before she had to turn around and leave.
“About before…” Luke cleared his throat. He kept his eyes on the road.
“I need you to know that I never do that sort of thing. I mean,” Saskia paused. She didn’t owe him an explanation but she wanted him to know, “jumping into bed with a man, especially a stranger, isn’t exactly my normal modus operandi.”
Luke grinned, she could see it from where she was peeking under his arm, watching his face. “Technically we didn’t jump into bed.”
She groaned and he laughed.
“Let’s just say the cold weather got to us, okay? Made us do something crazy.”
She laughed this time. “Crazy in a good way, right?” she asked.
“Oh yeah. Definitely good crazy.” He chuckled, taking his hand from her shoulders and placing it back on the steering wheel as they approached a road block.
Saskia sat up straight, straining to see what the hold up was. “Please don’t tell me we’ve come this far…”
“Not a chance,” he said, not letting her finish. “I’ll put you on my back and run you the rest of the way if I have to.”
Saskia reached for his hand, clutching his fingers when he intertwined his with hers. He was joking, trying to make her feel better, but deep down she had a feeling that he’d do exactly that if it meant making sure she arrived home in time for Christmas dinner.
“Looks like there’s only one lane open,” Luke told her, leaning forward over the steering wheel as they slowed to a crawl, but without letting go of her hand.
Saskia realized she was holding her breath and let it out slowly.
Luke put his window down as they approached, arm out the window despite the freezing cold temperatures. The officer looked less than impressed with his job, but he smiled back at them both peering at him.
“We going to get past okay?” Luke asked him.
The officer nodded. “We’ve had to close one lane, should be opened up soon. The snow’s been a pain in the backside since yesterday.”
Saskia watched as Luke nodded then casually leaned a little closer, tilted his head like he was about to let the officer in on a secret.
“You see this woman here?” Luke asked, nodding back at her.
The officer looked in and smiled.
“She’s flown across the world to get back here for Christmas. In just over 24 hours she’s going to be winging her way back to her unit, and if I don’t get her through here soon, she’s going to miss Christmas dinner with her son.”
The officer raised his eyebrows, peering in further. “You’re a soldier?”
“Yes, sir. United States Army Corporal.”
He gave her a nod and then a wink, straightening and pulling out his radio. “Boys, we have a US Corporal home for the holidays trying to get through. Halt all traffic so I can let them pass, radio me when they’re cleared to proceed.”
Saskia couldn’t let go of her breath this time. She held it in her lungs so hard she was about to burst. “Thank you,” she called out, leaning over Luke.
The officer just touched his hat and nodded. “We’re all proud of you, Corporal. Enjoy your time at home.”
Luke waited until the officer walked forward, holding up his hand to a car and waving to a vehicle approaching them from behind, before putting the window back up. The air inside the Humvee was freezing now, but she didn’t care – nothing could stop her getting back now.
Saskia leaned over Luke again, turned her body so she could look straight into his eyes. “I’m sure you’ve been told this all your life, but you’re pretty damn incredible Luke Gray.”
He frowned. “Who the hell would have told me that all my life?”
Saskia didn’t bother answering him back, because talking to him wasn’t what she wanted. Instead she traced her fingers across his face, touching his lips before pressing her mouth to his, kissing his lips so softly over and over again. “I’m never going to stop saying thank you, you know that right?”
“Sweetheart, if this is how you’re going to thank me, you won’t hear me complaining.”
Saskia jumped at a tap on their window. The officer was waving them along and Luke didn’t waste time. He slammed the vehicle into gear and accelerated slowly, sending them on their way again.
“I meant it about you being incredible,” Saskia told him, buckling up again but twisting toward him in her seat to watch him. She was no longer shy – now she just wanted to enjoy every moment in Luke’s company.
“Let’s just get you home, okay? You can tell me how incredible I am if I actually manage to get you to your front door.”
Luke tried to focus on driving, but the snow wasn’t nearly as bad as they neared Buffalo, and when they hit the highway he couldn’t distract himself any longer. Because he’d actually done it – made sure Saskia got to where she needed to go, which meant that whatever the hell had just happened between them was almost over.
But it felt good. He’d never stop wishing he’d been able to hold his wife one last time, wished he hadn’t made her a promise that he’d make it back home and had to break it. Because just like Saskia stuck at the airport, he’d been powerless to do anything. The only difference was he’d been too late, and she was going to make it. Just.
“I can’t believe we’re here.” Saskia was smoothing her hair back into a high ponytail and squirming in her seat a little like she was too excited to sit still.
“Do you want to phone them?” he asked. “Tell your parents that we’re not far away?”
Saskia shook her head, a smile taking over her face. “No. I want to see their faces when I walk through that door,” she said. “I just hope my son forgives me for not having any presents, because I’d thought I was going to have time to stop somewhere and get him what he wanted.”
Luke reached for her hand again, wishing he hadn’t let go of it before. The last 24 hours had been crazy, unimaginable, and now the thought of leaving this woman behind and never seeing her again was… unreal. Like this entire thing had been a dream, with him passing into her life for only a short time.
“I think,” he said, raising her hand so he could press a kiss to it, “that you will be all the present he needs.”
She sighed, wriggling closer and leaning so her head fell to his shoulder. “I hope so, Luke, I hope so.”
You’d be present enough for me. And it was
true. After all of the time spent grieving and feeling guilty about what he hadn’t done, what he could have done, and wanting to be alone at the holidays, he’d been missing out. Because being with Saskia had made him realize that there was nothing worse than being alone.
He tried not to think about what they’d done earlier, when they’d been stuck on the side of the road. Any more flashbacks and he’d be pulling over and dragging her into the back to have his wicked way with her again.
“Turn left up here,” she told him, head still on his shoulder.
Her hand snaked across his thigh, resting there. Luke stayed dead still, hand clenching on the wheel. She clearly had no idea what he was thinking about, or maybe she did and wanted him to indulge his lusty imagination.
Luke cleared his throat. If she moved her hand another inch she’d know exactly how dirty his thoughts were.
“You’re going to come in, right?” Saskia asked him. “I’d love you to meet my family. Tell me you don’t have to hurry back?”
Luke hadn’t even thought about what he was going to do next. He had nowhere to be, nothing planned until he joined his team again. He knew Saskia wouldn’t be making the long drive back to JFK with him, not when she could fly direct from here. She needed to take every spare minute with her son, he understood that.
“Ah, sure,” he told her. But meeting her parents after what he’d done to her less than five hours ago? Now that would be a first.
“If I keep thanking you, you’re going to start rolling your eyes, right?”
Luke dropped a kiss to the top of her head. “Seeing your little guy fly into your arms is all the thanks I’ll need.”
“So that settles it,” she said, straightening and pointing at a two-story clapboard house. “You’re definitely coming in.”
Luke swallowed and slowed the vehicle to a crawl. “Yes ma’am.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Saskia jumped from the vehicle, straightening her shoulders and shutting the door. She took a deep breath, smiling at Luke as he joined her at the front of the truck.
