by S A Monk
“I just haven’t been able to get home with all that’s been going on in the world the past three years. I can’t seem to get more than a few days leave at a time. But that doesn’t mean that I haven’t wanted to come home to see you. I remember what happened between us like it was yesterday. There hasn’t been a day that has gone by that I haven’t thought about that night— or you.”
Hanna could hardly believe what he was telling her. She was so skeptical, she knew it showed on her upturned face. “Nick...” she paused for a moment, trying to collect her tumultuous thoughts. “You were drunk!”
He gave her one of his mind-numbing, slow, wickedly sexy grins. “Not so drunk, after all that coffee you poured down me. Not so drunk that I forgot what you felt like in my arms” His hands rose to settle on either side of her waist, underneath her silk pajama top.
Hanna caught her breath. It felt suspended in her lungs for a long moment as she stared up at him and his mesmerizing smile. Then anger and accusation took hold. “But you left the next morning without saying a word, even a goodbye.”
His fingers curled into the slippery fabric of her pajama bottoms. “I didn’t want to leave. I didn’t leave by choice. I tried to call you, but your cell phone was turned off. I figured you were probably in class, teaching, by the time I tried calling.”
As a Force Recon Marine, he had to be ready for duty immediately upon being called by his commander. Her brain knew that, but her heart had ached as a result of his abrupt departure. It was still afraid to let her brain believe him now.
“You didn’t want to go?”
“Hell, no!” he adamantly reassured her. “I wanted to stay and explore what had happened between us, and I’m not just talking about sex, Hanna. I wrote and told you that I thought it was special, but you never responded to that. I didn’t want to risk our friendship by pushing it, so I dropped it.” Now he sounded disappointed. A touch of accusation even tinged his voice. But that was replaced by chagrin when he continued. “I didn’t know how to approach you about it further, either. I tried, but I just couldn’t put my feelings about that night into a letter.”
“I guess I didn’t know how to put it into a letter, either,” she admitted.
Hanna was just so stunned, she didn’t know what to say to him. She hadn’t known how to address their night together long distance, either. Not once in three years had she thought that night meant more to him than sexual pleasure. Her mind was reeling.
Her look of astonishment made him stifle a small laugh. “I was worried afterward that you might have gotten pregnant. I hadn’t used anything. It’s not something I ever forget, either.”
That surprised her, too. He was telling her that he had gotten so carried away with their lovemaking that he’d forgotten his normal safeguards. “I wondered why you kept asking me how I felt.”
“Now you know.” His hands maneuvered their way higher up under her silk top to the bare skin of her back. “I want to make love to you again, Hanna.” His eyes swept her figure in a wicked grin, while his hands moved to caress her shoulder blades. Hers rose to curl around his broad, linebacker shoulders. Nervously, her long, surgeon’s fingers flexed into the soft, white cotton of his t-shirt.
“Nick....” She looked into his smoky gray eyes, and wet her lips. “I’m kind of nervous about this. I mean I’m not.... Well, I don’t have.... You know that you were the first, don’t you?”
One big tanned hand came away from her back to caress her cheek. His thumb traveled over her moistened lower lip as he gave her a curious chuckle. “Oh, sweetheart, I definitely know that I was the first, and believe me, that blew my mind! But what about now? Am I encroaching on someone else’s territory?” With that question, his eyes sobered and narrowed. “Are you seeing anyone or involved with someone? Is it my brother?” he demanded, his jaw clenched in a scowl.
She wanted to cry with joy, but she shook her head and bit her lower lip anxiously. “No, no.” She uttered a nervous little laugh. “I’m not involved with anyone, and I haven’t…you know…since you left.” She felt her cheeks burn with intense embarrassment. For God’s sake, she was a doctor! Why was this so difficult? “It’s just that I really know nothing about making... well, having sex. I haven’t done it.... except that once… with you.” Humiliated and furious with herself for stammering, she pressed her lips together and ducked her head to hide the tears that had sprung to her eyes. “This is so pathetic at my age! I’m not even on the pill.”
She so wanted to please this man that she’d adored all her life. She was terrified of disappointing him. It was so risky to open herself up this way.
“Oh, Hanna....” The amusement in his voice didn’t help. She started to spin away from him, but he caught her in his arms and pulled her tightly against his broad chest. “Honey, I’ve had lots of experience, being a soldier. One nighters are full of that, but absolutely no real intimacy. I want what we had three years ago.”
“That was a one nighter,” she reminded him in a small shaky voice that was muffled against his t-shirt.
“That was genuine intimacy between two people who actually gave a damn about one another,” he insisted. “I’ve never had that before.” Lifting her head off his chest with one finger, he looked down at her. “I’ll teach you whatever you want to learn.”
Oh lord! Seeing the intensity of the desire in his eyes and hearing the husky timbre of his voice sent shivers of delight through her. When his mouth curled into another one of his sexy, crooked grins, it sealed it for her. She melted into his arms, unable to resist him a moment longer.
“You excite me, sweet Hanna. Just be yourself. It will be more than enough. And I brought protection, hoping this would happen tonight.”
Then he lowered his head and took her mouth in a kiss that was hot and sweet and deep. Her arms rose to twine around the thick column of his neck. The kiss went on and on until he abruptly pulled his tongue out of her mouth and licked her lips.
“All night…” he explained, taking a nibble of her lower lip “…I’ve wanted to lick off that frosted pink lipstick you’re wearing.” Stepping back, he swept his eyes over her. “I knew you’d be wearing long-sleeved pajamas to bed, too.” He chuckled as he ran both hands down her arms. “At least they aren’t flannel.”
They were a baby blue silk with embroidered roses on them. “I was wondering what you wore to bed.”
“Just skivvies, as we call them in the military.”
His fingers went to the first satin covered button on her top. It slipped slowly from its button hole. After that, he went to the second and third ones. When he finished slipping all her buttons from their holes, he slid both his hands inside, to caress her shoulders, then her upper back in slow sensuous strokes that left her aching for him to move those skilled long-fingered hands to her exposed breasts.
“Can we make love now, Doctor? Are you sure you’re sober enough to clearly consent?”
He was teasing her, and she wrinkled her nose at him. “I wasn’t that drunk!”
“No?” He laughed and pulled her hand to the opening in his boxer shorts, where his erection rose high and hard. “Well, I’m that horny.”
Feeling a tremor rock her, Hanna wrapped her fingers around the prominent evidence of his desire and squeezed the hard thick length. “I can feel that,” she murmured. “So, stop talking and do something about it, Colonel.”
Expelling a deep breath, he laughed. “Finally!”
In one proficient move, Nick swept the silk pajama top off her shoulders, exposing her to his instant assessment. Hanna just as instantly moved her hands to cover her bare breasts. Had they undressed each other like this before? No man had ever seen her naked, except Nick, and that had been in the dark. She was immediately self-conscious.
He took her hands and gently set them aside. “You’re too lovely to hide a thing.”
Oh, if he only knew how long she’d been waiting to hear him say these kinds of things to her; to look at her the way he was now―
with heavily lidded passion glittering in his smoky eyes!
Nick reached out to caress her with his fingertips, just a light brushing back and forth across her nipples. They pebbled instantly. He used his knuckles and lightly rubbed the peaks, then cupped each round globe in his palms, lifting them, then squeezing them together gently.
“I’ve wanted to smother and die here,” he groaned as he briefly pressed his face between them. “So butter soft.” He kissed the tip of each breast. “So perfect and exquisite.”
“You’re making me blush, Colonel.”
His words of praise were interlaced with kisses that left Hanna breathless and gasping. After lifting his head from her, his thumbs and forefingers caught the peaks of her breasts and tenderly rolled them, then pulled. The tugging sent a ribbon of pleasure all the way to her pelvis. She felt the backs of her knees touch something, and was surprised to find he’d backed her slowly toward her bed while he’d been undressing and touching her.
He started to untie the drawstring to her pajama bottoms, but she stopped him. She needed to touch his bare skin, too; to feel him less clothed.
Her hands slipped under his t-shirt, pushing it up the rippling sides of his torso. “You need to lose some clothing, too.”
“Take off whatever you want.”
Taking him up on his offer, she pushed the soft white cotton up over his head as he bent to accommodate her. When he straightened again, the tips of her breasts brushed against the dark sprinkling of hair on his chest.
Hanna shivered with delicious pleasure, and Nick groaned as he tried to wrap her in his arms. Boldly, she pressed her hand to the center of his chest to stop him. “Let me touch you— feel you.”
He stood with his hands on her waist. She lifted them away and placed them at his sides.
He groaned. “You’re going to make this hard, aren’t you?”
“Harder,” she corrected with a wicked laugh.
He muttered something under his breath which she didn’t quite catch, but it didn’t really matter. She was completely distracted by his body.
It was magnificent. Lifting her hands to his torso, her fingertips began to chart every sculpted angle, curve, and bulge. He was an anatomy class in living 3D detail.
He was a big man, tall and muscular, but it was all efficient, well-honed muscle. His pectorals were remarkably carved and defined, to the point of having a deep indentation down the middle that disappeared into a flat, washboard stomach. His commanding shoulders were rounded with muscle that flowed into chiseled biceps and strong, lightly haired forearms. Even his elbows had muscle. Every part of his rock hard body exuded strength and power. And it all rippled delightfully every time she caressed him.
The soft pads of her fingertips wandered all over him. Being new to the act of lovemaking, Hanna wondered if his nipples were as sensitive as hers. She touched them experimentally, then did what he’d done, and caught one between her thumb and forefinger. He sucked in a sharp breath.
Emboldened, she took one in her mouth, rolled it gently between her teeth, then circled it slowly with the tip of her tongue, while she continued to torture the other with her fingertips. Nick uttered a deep groan. Pleased, she slid her hands down his sides and slipped them inside the waistband of his boxers. Her long fingers slid around to mold the hard curve of his buttocks. Her nails dug in to grip him. Lord, he had the firmest butt! Muscular, even there! She couldn’t resist rubbing herself against him, making a little swivel motion with her hips. It was just too much fun to have him all to herself like this. Her mouth continued to play with his flat dark nipples, while her hands ran all over him.
Nick growled low in his throat and pulled her hands away from him at last.
Hanna looked up, embarrassed. “Oh! I’m sorry. I told you I wasn’t any good at this.”
He captured her chin between her thumb and forefinger, his mouth quirked with amusement. “I like what you’re doing,” he reassured her. “It’s just that I need....”
“What?” she asked eagerly, wanting desperately to please him and not make a fool of herself.
“You— in that bed with me, soon. You’re killing me with all this one-sided touching.”
“Oh.” She let out a breath of relief. “Okay.”
Impatiently, his fingers worked the bow on the drawstring of her pajamas free. Loosened, the silk bottoms slid down her legs to the floor. She stepped out of them, completely naked. Before, when they’d made love, they’d undressed each other in a rushed frenzy, then come together under the bedcovers so eagerly and urgently, there hadn’t been time to be aware of all this baring of flesh.
It made Hanna uneasy. She didn’t want Nick to be disappointed with her. But he soon chased that concern away by caressing her from shoulders to buttocks and back up again, murmuring to her all the while how lovely she was. Eventually, he stepped out of his boxer shorts. When Hanna saw how rampantly aroused he was, her entire body quickened and quivered.
Gripping her hips now, he ground himself against her, returning her earlier teasing. The slow circular motion extracted a funny little whimper from her. It was glorious to be naked in each other’s arms, and so much better than all the memories she held of their first time. The real Nick was much better than her dreams. He was so big and warm and hard all over!
And she loved the way he was kissing her, invading her mouth with his tongue, ravishing her, tasting her, devouring her. He was so good at it. He seemed to know instinctively what she liked. She wondered if it was a natural gift, or if it was her. Whatever it was, she reveled in it as she stood in the circle of his arms and let him kiss her for long endless minutes.
Finally, uttering another deep throaty growl, he pressed her backwards, onto her odd shaped bed. She scooted toward the pillows, thinking he’d join her, but he gently grasped her ankles and pulled her back to him until her legs were dangling over the bottom of the mattress. Standing between her knees, he braced his arms on either side of her and leaned over her body.
Hanna watched, trembling, as he began kissing her body. The journey started at her breasts. He buried his face between them. They were indeed ample enough to smother him.
Inhaling her scent, he sighed and lifted his dark head to look up at her. “For three years, I’ve had fantasies of you looking just like this— spread out naked before me so I could taste every inch of you.”
His revelation made her blush hotly and whisper his name. She reached for him, but he shook his head and gave her a devilish grin. “I’m going to enjoy my fantasies first, pretty doctor.”
Her head fell back onto the mattress as his mouth moved back to her breast and began to suck on a nipple. When he’d had enough of one, he proceeded to the other. She felt the tug of pleasure all the way to the pit of her stomach.
His tongue made a slow sweep from peak to peak, between her breasts, then wandered between her ribs to her navel, where it dipped inside to swirl erotically. All that was exquisite torture, but when he reached her tummy, he took gentle sucking bites that made her breath catch sharply. In response, his teeth raked her quivering flesh, making her moan and curl her fingers into his dark hair. She expected him to go lower, but he surprised her by straightening.
She pushed up on her elbows to stare at him, flushed and trembling. “Nick?”
“Shhh....” He soothed her by rubbing slow massaging circles over her well-kissed tummy. Then, surprising her, he reached back for her leg, lifted it, and kissed the instep of her right foot. With gentle bites, he nibbled his way to her ankle, then to her calf and the back of her knee. Finally, his mouth traveled to the inside of her thigh and slowly moved toward his goal. His breath was hot and moist against her skin. His journey was painstakingly slow, and by the time he found the honey blonde curls between her thighs, Hanna was completely undone.
Floating in a sea of desire, she was certain every bone in her body had melted. She’d read about this, but never imagined it could be so staggeringly wonderful. The part of her ever-curious mind th
at was still functioning knew there was a term for what he was doing to her. But the exploration of his mouth was more like an oral feasting. When he lifted her bottom and dove more deeply into her, she nearly lost her mind.
One sensation after another tore through her body, making her throb and tingle and spiral upwards until she was writhing and squirming beneath his wicked tongue. Despite her glasses, her vision blurred as she teetered on the edge of an jolting orgasm.
“Nick!”
Weak with building pleasure, she pushed up on her elbows and looked down at him. She felt suspended on the edge of a cliff. His big long-fingered hands looked so dark against her soft pale skin. His thumbs were moving over the wet folds hidden by blonde curls, caressing the ache, but not dispelling it.
He looked up at her, his expression taut, passion defining every beloved feature, eyes dark and glazed. “Wait for me, sweetheart,” he entreated as he crawled up between her legs and settled over her. The moment his lower body touched hers, she arched beneath him, and he groaned, “Mercy, I’m nearly there myself!”
Her long legs parted wider for him. He didn’t need further invitation. His gaze locked with hers as he pushed into her in one deep, penetrating plunge.
Hanna could feel how wet, hot, and tight she was around him. Having only done this once, with him, three years ago, she was so narrow, it was almost like the first time.
“Aw, Hanna!” His voice was hoarsely drawn out across his heavy breathing. “Heaven help me! I want to go slow, make it last, but you feel so amazing!”
There was a bar attached to the teak ceiling, above the bed. It looked like a handicap bar. It had been there when Lance had gotten the boat. Because it was brass, it had remained. Hanna had always assumed it was there to help a person get out of bed since you couldn’t exit from the sides, only from the foot. In a storm, when the boat was rocking and pitching, she imagined it would really come in handy.
Nick showed her a different use for it, though. Spotting it, he reached up and grabbed it with both hands, using it to help himself penetrate her more deeply. It also assisted his balance as he moved his hips back and forth in the age-old rhythm of lovemaking.
