Hers To Take

by Karen Anders

  He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. “You are the biggest pain in the ass.”

  “Takes one to know one.”

  “I’m only going to ask one more time.”

  She rushed him. As she struck him, her momentum took them into the living room, over the couch and onto the living room floor.

  A.J. landed on his back with a thud, Sienna sprawled on top of him.

  She felt him give in. “You knew I wouldn’t hurt you,” he admitted.

  “You’ll never bluff me.”

  She pushed herself up on her elbows to look into his face. When she did her heart twisted. His eyes had a sheen to them, his face contorting.

  Sienna reacted, whispering, “It’ll be okay.” She caught him by the back of the neck, the frustration and need inside her overflowing. She didn’t know what to do with it. The emotions inside her made her frantic to comfort him. The hot skin of his neck seemed to sear her until she was gasping. The tension between them was always high, but here in this isolated place, Sienna felt out of her element. Before she realized what she was about to do, her mouth was on his with a frenzy. The hot moist feel of his lips made her only hunger for more as she literally began to rip at his coat, her nails sliding against the leather with a tearing sound.

  After his first startled gasp, he moaned into her mouth, bringing his body flush with hers.

  She felt as if she were unraveling, a sensation that only he could invoke. It made her grapple with his clothes in an attempt to get to the smooth, hot muscle beneath. His calm, his sheer tenacity while flying the plane rocketed through her brain and only made her want to get closer to him. He was the only man she cared about in all her adult life. She wanted his brother to be safe, but more importantly, she wanted A.J. to be safe. There was no way she’d let him run out into the ice storm to find David.

  She was weak where he was concerned and she knew it. She couldn’t fight it. She’d turned her back on Captain Sandoval and her cop family and run after him.

  He made her insides jangle.

  She was out of control

  She was wild.

  She loved it.

  She reached down and palmed the ridge of flesh straining against the fly of his jeans.

  His response was instantaneous. His hand slipped around the back of her neck as he pulled her down to his mouth. “Sienna,” he said just before he captured her lips.

  She murmured as he broke away from her. “Let me help. Stay with me. We’ll find him. I promise.”

  What she felt right now was beyond her imagination. She should have run from this passion. It was consuming her, but she couldn’t seem to care. The heat of him against her skin was like a potent aphrodisiac; the musky male scent of him made her head swim, her heart triple beat. She pressed her hands to the soft cotton and it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t satisfying; it made her more frantic. Only his naked skin could satisfy her. She yanked on his T-shirt and A.J. said, “Sienna, you’re strangling me.”

  She pulled harder. “Get it off.”

  A.J. rose, grabbed at her hands. Softly, he whispered, “Slow down, babe. Slow down. This is not going to happen on the floor, or the couch. I want you in a bed.”

  “A.J.” was all she managed to say as she pressed her body against his. He made a soft, deeply satisfied sound in the back of his throat that made Sienna crazy.

  They moved in tandem as he backed her down the hall, simultaneously battling with her attempt to remove his shirt and propel her where he wanted her to go.

  “Dammit, Sienna…” he gasped as she palmed him hard.

  She felt as if she’d waited a lifetime to feel this way and it was overwhelming her. She had to have him naked, hot and out of control beneath her hands. She pressed him against the wall.

  The longing pulled at her like a fast-moving current. As if there weren’t enough minutes in her life to get enough of him.

  He tried to remove her hand, but she’d already gotten his fly unzipped, his jeans were already halfway around his hips. She reached down and slipped her hand inside his underwear, taking what she wanted. He was exquisitely hard, exquisitely male.

  He shuddered and groaned, pressing up into her palm in an uncontrollable, undulating movement of his hips.

  He grabbed her wrist, breathing hard. “Sienna. If you keep this up, it’s going to end before it begins.”

  She let go of him in one long caress, and he jerked against her hand.

  She grabbed his T-shirt and pulled it over his head. She heard him laugh, but the sound got strangled in his throat when she pulled off her shirt. He drank in the sight of her, making Sienna feel like the most desirable woman on the planet.

  He closed his eyes, pressing his forehead to hers.

  “Damn you, you make me crazy,” she whispered, her mouth going to the heated steel muscles she bared. Pressing her lips to his salty, musky flesh, she kissed the exposed skin of his enticing flesh, trailing her fingertips along hard muscle.

  He moaned softly on an indrawn breath. When her tongue came out and licked his flat nipple, she swallowed as excitement coursed through her. She couldn’t help doing it again, this time gently sucking the hard nub.

  Breathing hard, his whole body jerked, his head falling back, his eyes closing in sensual rapture.

  In a quick, deft movement he picked her up around the waist and headed for the closest bed. Sienna struggled. She wanted, wanted, wanted until she couldn’t think, breathe or wait. He made it there just before she slipped out of his grasp.

  She grabbed for him again. “Wait.”

  But she couldn’t. A.J. captured her hands and spun her around. He held her imprisoned against his chest. He took a long, shuddering breath.

  With one hand he held on to her, with the other he unsnapped her jeans and worked them and her panties down her legs. He picked her up, kicked the jeans and panties away. His hand grabbed her naked hip and pulled her buttocks tight against his groin. Sienna moaned softly, unable to think straight. “Please, A.J., please,” she pleaded.

  “Ah, babe. You are so beautiful.” He buried his face in her hair, thrusting his erection against her. He slid his hand down between her legs, stroking her where she so desperately needed to be touched. He let go of her wrists, and she arched her back, twining her arms around his neck. He slid his hand up her taut rib cage and cupped her full breast, his thumb stroking across her hard nipple. She cried out and bucked in his arms.

  “Sienna,” he whispered hoarsely as he moved with her toward the bed. He pushed her down, and followed her, but was up again, racing out of the room. When he came back he fumbled with the foil packet, while Sienna clutched at him. Her hands were at his waist, removing his jeans and underwear. The heat of him, the thickness of his muscles, and the heavy sound of his breathing made the need tighten within her again.

  With quick movements, he protected her, then he was on her, shoving into her with his hands at her hips, pulling her toward him, breathing hard and raggedly and saying her name over and over.

  She put her arms around his neck. His kiss was wide-open against her mouth as his body drove into her. The sensation engulfed her: the force of him, his hands pressed into her buttocks, pulling her up into him in his own impassioned cadence.

  She wanted to cry out; she couldn’t seem to breathe deeply enough for the sensation that dilated and spread inside her. She pressed upward and he drove into her, harder and harder, his thrusts pulling something impossible from within her, something crazy and frightening that she could not defend against.

  He gripped her to him. She heard him making low sounds as if words were throttled in his chest. A deep tremor passed through him and into her, a powerful instant of suspension, with his face pressing into the curve of her shoulder.

  Then, with a harsh rush of air between his teeth, he relaxed. He rested his forehead against her breast, breathing deeply, pulling back a little to put weight on his hands.

  She felt him trembling with the awkwardness of the position, and
it dawned on her with a shaky, hysterical little spurt of humor that he still had one foot on the floor.

  “I’m glad you find this so funny. I’ve never been in such a precarious position while making love. You’re a dangerous woman.”

  She laughed again. She couldn’t seem to help it. She felt as light as air. A.J. laughed, too, pushed up and away from her and stood.

  He tilted his head, gave her a wry, bemused smile and went into the bathroom. She heard the water come on as if it was filling a basin.

  He reached out his hand, and Sienna rose into his embrace. The feeling of his hard-muscled body naked against hers was luxurious.

  He carried her into the bathroom to the sunken tub and immersed her in the water. Climbing in with her he proceeded to soap her, his hands running over every curve of her.

  Soon, they were both panting from the sensual play and A.J. pushed her back and began to descend. Sienna caught his head. “What are you doing?”

  “Going down.”

  “Under the water?”

  “At BUD/S they had a nickname for me, too.”

  “What was that?”

  “Shamu. I can hold my breath for a long time.”

  “You can.”

  “A very long time.”

  When his head descended and she felt the unique touch of his mouth intimately against her, she closed her eyes and let the world fade away.

  LATER, THEY SAT together on one of the two sofas in the cavernous living room, the glow of the fireplace reflecting off the polished mahogany beams of the ceiling.

  “Thanks for stopping me. You were right. It would have been a waste of resources and energy.”

  The quiet way he spoke set off sensations in her midriff that made her pulse skip and falter. He held her gaze, a bleak look in his eyes, and then he gently reached out and grabbed a thick strand of her hair, absently rubbing it between his fingers. He tugged gently.

  “I’ve never cracked under battle conditions. It seems I get calmer. But today…”

  “Was different. David’s not a guy you serve with. He’s your brother. The normal rules don’t apply.”

  “I feel that somehow I’ve let him down. I’ve been gone so much and so long that I wonder if he needed me and I wasn’t there.”

  “A.J., beating yourself up isn’t going to help.”

  “Gibson told me that David needed the money. He had large gambling debts. Why didn’t he go to my father?”

  “Maybe he was too ashamed?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Are you going to let your parents know what’s going on?”

  “No, this is not the kind of information you tell them over the phone.”

  “How long have your parents been married?”

  “Twenty years. My mother worked for his campaign when he was a delegate. It was true love at first sight.”

  “What happened to your father?”

  “He was a merchant marine. I guess the ocean is in my blood. He split when I was a baby. Then it was just my mom and I.”

  “How old were you when they married?”

  “Six. It was tough for my mom, barely making ends meet. My mom worked two jobs, but I never went hungry or felt neglected.”

  He paused and looked at her with those arresting eyes. “I was seven when David was born. He was…a great baby. Smart kid. Used to follow me around all the time. Followed me right into the military.”

  She wrapped her arms around him.

  “I don’t know what happened to change him.”

  “Life has a way of changing people,” she said, holding him tight.

  It was late when they finally went to bed. Drawing the covers over her, A.J. walked to the light switch, giving Sienna a stirring view of his taut buttocks.

  “I’ve been meaning to tell you this. You have a very nice ass, Camacho.”

  He chuckled in the darkness. When he slipped into bed, she immediately curled against him with a sigh.

  There would be the future to face, but here in the cocoon of his safe arms, it was as if her mind had separated from her body, and she didn’t think further than physical awareness, the sensual heat of his embrace.

  Her dreams were enough for this night.

  SIENNA OPENED her eyes and the first thing she saw was A.J. moving in slow motion in a beautiful dance. The morning sun slanted across the floor, falling on his skin, turning it a golden hue. His dark hair glistened. Every time he moved, his muscles flexed in a rhythmic flow, a slow dance of spiraling movement that she couldn’t look away from.

  He kept his eyes focused straight ahead, didn’t even glance at her, but she knew he was aware of her. She raised herself onto her elbow to watch the fluid athletic motion of his powerful body. A light sheen of sweat lay like a fine mist on his supple skin. She watched in fascinated interest as his muscles flexed and stretched in a pliant, superbly masterful way. His balance and undulating arms and legs worked in perfect unison and she was beginning to believe that self-defense and the resulting violence that came from these movements were only a small part of the overall meaning.

  When his crystal blue eyes met hers, he smiled, coming to a position where his hands were together in front of him as if in prayer. Very slowly he bowed.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, her voice husky.

  “Trying to keep from coming out of my skin. Distract me some more. Come over here and I’ll show you how it’s done.”

  “That was quite beautiful.”

  “I’ve been called a few names, but beautiful was never one of them.”

  She laughed. “I bet.”

  Sienna slipped out of bed and went to reach for her gown.

  “You don’t need that. Come over here.”

  She picked up one of their discarded towels from the night before and walked to him; his eyes were intent upon her face and she smiled.

  She perceived a change in him, he seemed calmer, and more relaxed and she breathed a silent sigh of relief.

  “I want you to promise me something,” he said. She trailed the towel down from his neck to his shoulders and wiped off the perspiration that had accumulated down his torso.

  “What?” she asked warily. “I don’t usually make blind promises.”

  He tilted his head to study her. She traced her finger over one of the shrapnel scars, starting at the top of his shoulder and slashing down over his biceps. The feel of his taut, moist skin sent a shuddering warm sensation throughout her body. Her eyes finally met his.

  “It’s regarding David.”

  Her eyes fell and she bit her bottom lip, running her delectable pink tongue over her dry lips. “A.J., don’t ask me something that will make me choose between what I know is right and wrong.”

  He closed his eyes briefly. She held the towel against her like a shield; against what, she wasn’t sure.

  “All I’m saying is that I want to take the lead.”

  “You think he’ll do something drastic?” She swallowed and stepped closer to him, mesmerized by the tender, pleading light she saw in his eyes. She put her hands on his damp shoulders, straining toward him, aching for him.

  His hand came up and brushed strands of burnished hair off her cheek. “I’m just asking for you to relinquish that formidable control and let me handle it.”

  “All right.”

  He gave her a slow bright smile and she sighed and leaned against him. She realized how close she had gotten to him and it had nothing to do with the physical at all. She longed to tell him how she felt, but knew in the long run it didn’t make any difference. She wasn’t yet sure that she could even verbalize what she felt for him and the emotions were beginning to frighten her.

  “So, do you have any other deadly moves you can teach me?”

  “Tae Kwon Do isn’t about violence, Sienna. It’s about centering yourself. Becoming aware of yourself enables you to use positive energy and understand that thoughts motivate intentions.”

  He turned her so that her bare back was against his dam
p chest. “The original intention of the art was aimed at the development of individuality by steadfast courage in fighting for the cause of justice and peace, even in a life-and-death situation. And above all it is aimed at developing knowledge of the importance of total devotion to a spirit of humanity and achievement of self-discipline in mind and body.”

  “So you’re saying that it is more than a way of violent fighting. It’s a way to meld the mind and the body to achieve peace with oneself and others?”

  “You’re very perceptive, Sienna.”

  “So, have you achieved self-perfection?”

  “Hardly. We say we are always learning, always experiencing what life has to offer. Only when we strive to achieve such elements as courage, fortitude, dedication, loyalty and—importantly—honor can we know and master ourselves.”

  She listened to his soft calm voice and knew he had achieved all those virtues and more. Recalled the way he had tried not to take advantage of her in a weak moment, the way he held her, the worry over his brother and the way he had backed her up. She knew that he lived these teachings and that those virtues were woven into the very fabric of his soul. It was thrilling to find another layer of A.J., one more fascinating piece of the puzzle.

  She turned and touched his face lightly. “You possess all of those, especially honor.”

  The words seemed to curl around him like smoke. They soaked into his skin becoming the blood that ran through his veins. He cupped her face, his thumbs caressing her delicate cheekbones. Her wide eyes connected with his and he felt a wrenching deep inside him as if somehow they joined and became one for a brief breathless heart-aching moment.

  He knew she felt it, too, by the emotion he saw in her eyes. She stared at him in awe and amazed wonder.

  He covered her mouth with his in a gentle, tender kiss using his willpower to hold the dark need rising in him. He perceived that she was still afraid of her emotions, still afraid of what he did to her.

  She clung to him, offering her lips up to his like a sacrifice. His body ached and throbbed with desire, pushing at his rigid control, threatening to snap it like a dry brittle stick.

  Instead, he began to move using his arms, torso and legs to bring Sienna with him. Their naked bodies absorbed the sheen of labor and the glow of desire.