by Cherry Adair
Bringing his mouth to hers he groaned his pleasure as their tongues rolled and stroked in a mind-bending tangle that had her almost climbing his body to get closer. Impossible to do sitting side by side, although Kendall was practically riding his thigh in an attempt to climb inside him.
Hands tangled in her hair, he nibbled and teased, catching lightly at her lower lip with his teeth, then played over the little sting with a hot sweep of his tongue. Her breath hitched, but his lips drifted away to stroke a burning path across her cheek, paused over her closed lids, then returned to her eagerly waiting mouth.
She welcomed his tongue, silky-smooth and wet, against hers as he tasted her, the subtle strokes and forays made more thrilling by his control. He didn’t plunder. He didn’t grab. Instead he savored, which made her feel cherished. It also made her temperature spike and her pulse race with anticipation.
Nor was he immune himself, she felt the fine tremor riding through his body as Joe kissed her. He buried both hands in her hair, cupping the back of her head in one palm as he gently teased her mouth.
Twisting to gain better access, she reciprocated by combing her fingers through the cool, silky strands of his dark hair. She scored her nails gently against his scalp, causing him to draw in an out of rhythm breath, but he didn’t stop what he was doing.
When their lips finally parted, she struggled to draw in an even breath. Joe touched her forehead with his. They were both breathing as if they'd run a marathon.
Holding her gaze, he ran the back of his fingers under the edge of the scooped neckline of the velvet dress, just brushing the upper swell of her breasts but missing the aching peaks of her nipples. She felt that ghost of a touch directly to her core.
"Are you wearing anything under this mind-blowing dress?"
She was not. Her nipples peaked, painfully hard, exquisitely sensitive. "Some things are worth discovering for oneself."
Joe closed his eyes as if in pain and withdrew his hand to pick up his fork in his left hand. His arm brushed hers so that she felt the flex of his muscles as he moved. A shiver of anticipation heated her blood. She licked her bottom lip, tasting the ghost of syrup and wishing she was tasting Joe again instead.
His pupils dilated as he followed the movement of her tongue. She licked her lip again. Slowly.
Joe groaned softly. "Do you go to third base on a first date?"
Kendall's laugh was strained. She leaned into him, pressing her breast against his bicep. The friction caused her nipples to tighten even more. "I never have before. But with the right incentive—"
"Three dates," he told her thickly. A diabolical gleam lit his hungry eyes. "Just so you know. I excelled at SERE training."
Vaguely she knew what that was, but teased, "So you grill a mean steak?"
"Survival Evasion Resistance and Escape. Part of my training is to resist enemy interrogation and their torture techniques."
"You think I'm torturing you?" she scoffed settling back on the seat. "Please. I haven't even started."
He groaned. "Then you'd better eat that protein and gather your strength. We have two and a half more dates to go."
Kendall shook her head, the magnitude of how deeply she felt for this man she barely knew, stunned her. "You think you're going to last through two and a half dates?" She cut into her pancake with her fork. "Silly man."
"Happiest memory from your childhood?" he asked, a muscle clenching in his jaw.
Freaking hard to think of a memory when her body was on red alert at the feel of his slick tongue. Despite her hunger for the food in front of her, Kendall wanted Joe more. Switching hands so that she too ate with her left hand, she spread her fingers on his leg, just above his knee. Even through his jeans, his thigh felt like hot steel as it flexed beneath her touch. She slid her palm a little higher.
He gripped her hand. She didn't move it, just waited until he picked up his fork again, and once liberated, slid her palm a little higher.
"I had a great childhood. All my memories are good," she said softly, watching the color of control darken his cheeks as she brushed the tent of his erection. He sucked in a sharp breath as she explored the shape of him through his pants. She'd never been so bold, and she felt the high of stepping outside herself and doing something because it felt right.
"I was incredibly lucky." Taking her sweet time, she glided her palm back down to his knee. "But one of my favorites was my Mom's face the first time I knitted a sweater for her, I was about twelve. Her approval meant- means- everything to me. She's always been my champion, my biggest supporter, my rock. I'm grateful for her every day. I hated that they were at the trial, and so damned grateful to have them there supporting me when what they heard was so shocking."
"You weren't responsible."
"Intellectually I know that," her fingers climbed up his thigh again, lingered, circled. "But my heart hurt watching her there, day after day."
"And no doubt she felt the same watching you. Favorite—"
With a shake of her head, Kendall put a finger to his lips. "My turn." His tongue darted out to taste her skin. "H-happiest memory when you were a kid?"
"Eleven years old." His voice was strained as she inched her fingers back to his gratifying hard erection with one hand, and gripped the edge of the table with her other.
The only way she could closer would be to straddle his lap. Kendall was ready to flip the table, dishes and all, and do just that.
"My dad took me camping to Lewis and Clarke State Park. Little log cabin in the woods. I went under duress and ended up loving it."
"I can't imagine you as a little kid." He seemed invincible to her. Under her exploring fingers his penis lengthened and hardened. Moisture pooled between her legs.
"Everyone starts as one," His lips twitched, and he shifted his hips as her fingers circled his length over his jeans. "I'm sure you were the cutest kid in the neighborhood."
"Shy. Painfully so. . . Your SERE training is impressive."
"Top. Of. My. Class." Eyes glazed. he made no pretense of eating. "Favorite drink?"
"Coffee, strong and black." There was no way she could unzip his jeans. He'd have to stand for that. Or lie down. "You?"
He blinked, distracted as he kneaded her breast, his strong fingers gentle as he pinched her nipple. A hot flood of moisture readied her body for sex. Hard, driving, powerful sex. She needed more. More kisses, more touching. She needed him deep inside her. Now, damn it.
"Strong and hot." Skin stretched taut across hos cheek bones, he rubbed his thumb back and forth across her nipple. " Favorite thing to eat?"
He was fueling the fire so hot inside her that she was about to explode. She was ready to slide from the bench seat and seduce him. On the floor if necessary. Kendall withdrew her hand from and picked up a slice of crunchy bacon. "Bacon of course. What about y—"
Joe guided her hand to his mouth and took her last piece of bacon between his strong white teeth.
"Hey!"
His smile was wicked as he slid his palm up her thigh, bunching the thin velvet fabric to bare her leg. "Trying to hurry things along, I'm hanging by a thread here, Miss Metcalf."
She wanted to taste his smile again. His touch, so close to where she craved it, made Kendall forgot about the barely eaten food on her plate, and that bite of bacon she'd saved for last.
"No need." She slid out of the booth seat, legs weak. "I think we've had enough foreplay, don't you?"
"God yes," Swinging her up in his arms, he touched his forehead to hers and whispered harshly. "Mercy. You broke me. I cave. I give up. I'll tell you all my secrets."
"I should be doing the SERE training. I'm that good."
Energy vibrated off him like a tuning fork. Kendall wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her to the center island, with his hands cupping her butt cheeks to support her. She helped by winding her arms around his neck and tightening her legs around his waist.
"Yes," he said with feeling. "Yes, you are."
&nb
sp; Feeling euphoric, she laughed as he set her bare butt on the cold quartz countertop, her spread legs bracketing his hips. Combing her fingers through his hair, she lowered his head, bringing his mouth down to hers. She met the thrust of his tongue thrust for thrust as his fingers closed around her breast. She leaned into him, flattening the pillows of her breasts against his chest, breathing in the smell of him. Soap and musk. A heady combination.
Digging her fingers into his chest, she disengaged their lips to explore. Drunk on lust she stroked her tongue down the pulsing cord on his neck, then dragged her teeth over his skin. The sexual tension between them pulled inexorably tighter until the very air around them seemed to vibrate. She shifted impatiently as every cell in her body gravitated toward him.
He stuck his fingers into his front pocket and pulled out a small foil square.
She almost groaned out loud with impatience. "You carry condoms around with you?" Not that she wasn’t eternally grateful, but the fact that he was such a Boy Scout gave her pause. Was he always ready for a quick lay? Worse yet – when had she become a quick lay?
"Let me put it this way," he said, twisting the small package between his fingers. "Condom. There’s no plural about it." He trailed the foil up and over her breast making her nipple ache for a firmer, more personal, touch. "And this damn thing is so old I’m not going to guarantee it’s reliability. Still game?"
Since he asked the question with his lips against her throat, and his hand sliding purposefully up her inner thigh, Kendall only managed to push out the words
"Then there doesn't seem to be much point using it, considering you only have one, and we have two dates to go."
He tossed the foil pouch over his shoulder. "Done." He brushed his lips around the curve of her ear, causing every nerve in her skin come alive, and nudged her knees apart. "Is that an all systems go?"
She wanted to say something clever and witty, but she barely had enough breath to demand, "I want you inside me. Now." And just in case her urgency wasn’t coming through loud and clear, she slid her hand down his hip, then wrapped her fingers around his jean encased penis.
She wanted him in her. Around her. Over her. Under her.
"It's broad daylight, the blinds are open and anyone can see in," she felt compelled to remind him. Honestly, she didn't give a damn if someone sold tickets or pulled up a chair. Her body craved release. Now.
"There's no one out there, and even if there was, I don't give a damn." He nudged her arms. "Up."
Kendall raised both arms so he could pull her dress over her head. It would've been faster if she'd ripped it off herself. He took his sweet, sweet freaking time.
THIRTEEN
As still as a statue, she stared up at him, eyes blazing, face flushed as Joe slid the dress up her naked body, inch by inch. He tortured himself by making the reveal painstakingly slow. He didn't think it was possible to get harder or hotter. The soft, stretchy velvet clung to the jut of her nipples until he tugged it free. He tossed her dress aside as he looked his fill.
The heady scent of pears increased with her body heat. The head to toe tension in his body was almost unbearable, and he had to swallow a groan of desperation. He wasn't a fucking saint, but this, she, was more important than a quick fuck.
Stroking his hands from her waist to her hips and back again, he murmured, "You take my breath away. If I'd known you were bare-assed naked under that sexy dress, you wouldn't have had a chance to eat one bite of breakfast."
She was so lovely she made his throat ache. His belly cramped with fury seeing the dozens of scars covering almost every inch of her pale body from her throat to her toes. And the butterfly bandages on her upper arm.
It was inconceivable that she'd managed to survive Treadwell. Twice.
She'd shot the fucker dead.
She was a warrior.
A survivor.
The least he could do was pace his impatient self.
As enthusiastic as she seemed, he didn't want to risk freaking her out by doing what he desperately wanted to do. Which was to pound into her until neither of them could see straight. Nothing that smacked of violence, no matter how fucking hot he was for her. No matter how willing she appeared to be. She'd been traumatized enough already.
How long had it been for her? Hell, he didn't even know if she was in a relationship back in Seattle. And if she was? Would the answer make any difference to how much he wanted her? "Boyfriend? Lover? Christ. A husband back in Seattle?"
"No. No and no. I haven't been touched since. . . before. Actually,quite a long time before." She brushed his mouth with two fingers.
Joe felt that touch as if an electrical current ran directly from his lips to his dick. He stroked both hands from her shoulders to her wrists.
Delicate, fine-boned.
Scarred.
He closed his eyes. Opened them. "I'm going slowly here, sweetheart. I don't want to spook you with how badly I want to be inside you."
Her breathing was ragged, the pulse at the base of her throat throbbed in time with the throbbing in his tightly confined dick. "Don't be slow. I want you hard and fast."
While he was looking his fill,too afraid to move because his dick was being strangled by his pants. One wrong move would be the end of this encounter.
Her cheeks flushed. Eyes all pupil, she tried to cover herself with her hands, clearly thinking he'd stopped when he got a good look at all the scars. "Sorry. In the dark would be better."
"Never," he tilted up her face with a finger under her chin. "Don’t hide from me," his voice was soft, thick with desire. "Every inch of your body makes me hot. There’s not a part of you that I don’t want to touch. Taste. Linger over."
Gently he moved her hands so her palms flattened on the counter beside her hips. "Don't ever apologize. Every mark is a badge of courage," Joe's voice was rough with emotion. "And don't ever suggest I look at you in anything other than the brightest of lights. Everything about you turns me on."
The full, pale globes of her breasts were traced with thin blue veins. The pink tips hardened in response to his gaze. Joe gathered her hair into a bunch, then bent his head to inhale her unique fragrance.
Kendall traced a jagged scar that ran across his ribs. "You've been to battle."
"It's what I do."
"Rescue strange women from deranged serial killers?"
He smiled as he cupped her cheek, stroking her soft skin with his thumb. "You're not that strange."
"Ha."
Lowering his head, he took a tight bud into his mouth, using a flattened hand on her lower back to draw her more tightly against him. She drew in a breath at the moist suction. Head thrown back, she arched against his mouth with a broken murmur.
Cupping her breast, he stroked his thumb over the hard bud, nibbling his way up her throat, swamped with the heady fragrance of ripe, juicy pears and aroused woman. "I have a major problem," he said hoarsely, licking a path to her ear.
She froze "Oh, God. What?"
"I'm still fully dressed and you're gloriously naked."
She started tugging his sweater up his chest. "I can solve that problem." As soon as it cleared his head, she lay her lips on his and kissed him sweetly, then held his head in both hands and kissed him with tongue until they broke apart breathing heavily.
"Will we survive dating?" she asked, resting her forehead on his, her breathing rough, her skin dewy.
"It's a necessary step to our future." It was the first time Joe had ever considered he had a future. He kissed her shoulder and she tilted her head to give him better access.
Kendall gave a half laugh, lifting her head. Her eyes were all pupil, her lips pink and swollen from kissing. "Do I need to cut you out of those jeans?" Her breathing was uneven, her chest rising and falling which distracted the hell out of him. It felt incredible having her slide her hands up his chest. "God, you feel good."
"To ensure the future of our children, it's best if I step away for a moment and get them off mysel
f."
She looked at her bare wrist. "Two seconds. Go."
Joe shoved his pants down, not off.
He couldn't wait that long.
With his arms around her, his dick became a divining rod, plunging into her wet heat without preamble. With a gasp, she clung more tightly to his shoulders, tightening her ankles at the small of his back.
The moment he was deep inside her, they climaxed simultaneously.
Dropping her head to his chest her body clamped around his as her internal muscles spasmed around him. For an eternity, neither could move as the orgasm pulsed and shimmied through their bodies.
Eventually Joe reluctantly unglued their upper torsos. "Well," he said softly, moving a damp strand of coppery hair from her sweaty cheek, "How do you like our first date?"
"More than eager to get to our second date," she told him, slipping off the counter to stand in front of him, her magnificent breasts pressed flat against his chest as she slid her arms around his waist. "There were things I missed due to our. . .haste."
"Yeah. I missed a few vital stops along the way. I'm afraid speed might be an issue for several more dates since I can't seem to keep any of my body parts off your body parts because my body parts are overeager. I want you so badly my training is absolutely useless. Thank God you're not a terrorist. I'd be toast."
#
A quick stop in the hall bathroom to clean up and Kendall padded into the great room. She'd grabbed her dress off the floor and now wore it over her over-stimulated body.
"I'm ready for our second date," she told him.
Long red tapers and twinkly white lights from the bottom half of the partially decorated tree lit the room along with the fire leaping in the massive stone fireplace. The drapes were firmly closed, blocking out the thin morning light.
"Movie night accompanied by popcorn. Followed by a lengthy- or as lengthy as we can make it-necking session."
"It's barely nine in the morning, hardly night," she pointed out, bending to pick up a bowl of popcorn so she had something to do with her hands. While she'd redressed, Joe stood there naked, bathed in amber firelight, gloriously erect. His body was big and broad, his muscles sleek and cut, with not an ounce of fat on him. He looked like exactly what he was. A warrior.
