by Natalie Ann
The thought of getting chicks was all Rob was interested in and it hadn’t taken much more to convince him to join too.
Then there was the memory and the excitement that he’d be doing this experience with his best friend. That he’d be away from family, but not really. Even if they weren’t stationed together, they’d both be going through the same thing.
And though they’d been separated a lot during their years of service, they started and ended together.
It just wasn’t how he thought it’d end.
Work a Man
Rachel had thought long and hard about tonight and what kind of date she wanted with Jake.
He’d left it in her hands and that was exactly what she’d had on her mind all week long. Her hands on his body. And going to eat at some restaurant would be pure torture in her mind, so she’d offered to cook for him.
It’s not like there wasn’t the plan to get naked, not after he’d touched and tasted the most personal part of her body on their first date.
Was she embarrassed by it when it was over? Yeah, she was. She hoped he didn’t think badly of her. She’d never done that before on the first date. Not even the second date. Maybe once on the third.
Tonight she was going to do it on the second, because really, why not? Like her mother asked, was he still as hot as ever? More. Definitely more.
And if her body had been heating up this past week thinking about what they’d done in her kitchen, well, she was only human. And this human wanted a hell of a lot more.
She liked to cook but didn’t do it often. Sometimes it was just too much effort for one person.
She’d had the day off, normally using it to go shopping on Black Friday. The thrill and excitement of getting a good deal was out the window this morning when she’d rolled out of bed.
Instead she was filled with the anticipation of getting her hands and mouth on a rock hard body that girls dreamed of and women woke up wet to. Yep, she was a woman and she was sick of waking up wet with nothing but self-relief at hand.
Frank was fed and snoring on the floor, his feet the only part of his body in his bed. She still couldn’t figure out why he never put his whole body in the soft cozy pillow she’d spent way too much money on.
When the doorbell rang a little before five, she made her way to the front of the house to see Jake standing there, a fleece North Face jacket on zipped halfway up, his hair blowing around in the wind. She’d love to see him with a short military cut but wondered if ditching the signature crop top was a form of pushing his past aside.
“It’s a little chilly out tonight,” she said, opening the door wider for him.
“Not as bad as yesterday. Glad Grey and Colt got stuck hanging the Christmas lights out front.”
She grinned. “My mother brought out the decorations too. We all helped set it up. Not the lights outside though. My father will do that another day this week when it warms up again. The inside looks festive though.”
She took his jacket and hung it up, then flipped the porch light off. No reason to keep it on now that her company was here. He didn’t come in carrying any bags so she was going to assume he wasn’t spending the night. She wasn’t sure if she was disappointed in that or not.
“Smells good in here,” he said, following her to the kitchen.
“Thanks. I figured we both got our fill of white meat yesterday, so I went back to beef. I’ve got a stuffed beef tenderloin in the oven. I should have checked to see if you liked mushrooms, but figured the bacon would overpower the flavor if you didn’t. Or you could pick them out.”
“I’ll eat just about anything, but that sounds fabulous. Come here,” he said, pulling her into his arms, then crushing his mouth to hers. As far as welcomes went that one was pretty awesome.
“It took you long enough,” she said, leaning back to look at his face, but glad he still had her wrapped up tight.
“I wasn’t sure if you wanted your neighbors to see me attacking you at the front door.”
“I wouldn’t have minded. It’d give them something juicy to talk about.”
“Anything I can do to help?” he asked, releasing her when a timer went off.
She walked over to the oven and peeked inside. “It’s all good. Another forty minutes to go, at least. I figured I’d make some twice baked potatoes with bacon, since I had it for the roast. Do you want a beer?”
“You sure know how to work a man. Beef, bacon, and beer.”
She’d never thought of that before. Never thought to work any man in her life. Not even with food. What she wanted was to give him a good meal because she was hoping to get him in bed.
“Glad to be of service,” she said, letting out a little giggle.
She pulled the craft beer that he’d ordered the other night out of her fridge, opened it, and poured it in a glass to hand over. She was sticking with her wine. “Speaking of service.” When the glass stilled at his lips she realized she used the wrong word. “Not that kind of service. I see you came empty handed.”
“You told me not to bring anything when I asked.”
He had asked and she assumed he meant for dinner. “I was thinking about the last time we were here in this room.”
“Oh, I’ve got that covered, no worries there,” he said, winking at her.
“I’ve got it covered too. No way I’m making that mistake twice.”
“Then what was your comment about?”
“Nothing,” she said, turning to move away from him. Might as well get comfortable in the living room.
“Did you want me to spend the night?”
“It’s up to you, but you didn’t come with a change of clothes or anything.”
“I wasn’t going to assume. Plus I didn’t know if you wanted your neighbors to know you had an overnight guest.”
“Why are you so worried about the neighbors?” She didn’t picture him the type that cared what others thought.
“I’m not. My father knew I had a visitor the other day. I figured out one of our neighbors told him.”
“And that bothers you?” she asked not sure how to take this.
“Not really.”
“Did you tell him what it was about?”
“I told him why you showed up. I didn’t tell him I had my mouth on you last week, just like I’m not going to tell him where my mouth is going to be tonight.”
“And you want to return home so he doesn’t ask where you were all night long?” she asked, guessing.
“That’s part of it.”
“What’s the other part?”
“That I didn’t want to push things too fast.”
“Meaning you don’t want me to assume there is more to this than sex?” What the hell was wrong with her? It’s like she was looking for a fight.
“I don’t know what we’ve got. I don’t know where I’ll be in a month, two months, a year.”
“I know,” she said, taking a sip of her wine. At least it’d keep her mouth busy so she’d shut the heck up.
“Is that a problem?”
“No.”
“It seems like it might be.” He took another sip of his beer, one eye squinting at her, the other showing a lot of humor.
“This is all a little new to me.”
“Which is why I cut you off last time.”
She felt the heat fill her face again. No reason to ask what he was talking about. “I wanted to.”
“I get that too. But again, no rush. Plenty of time tonight to experiment on what we like.”
“Now you’re just teasing me.”
“Maybe, maybe not.”
***
Jake wasn’t sure what to make of tonight. When she asked him to dinner rather than going out, he had every intention of stripping her naked and finishing what they started the other night. That she was thinking the same way was just icing on the cake.
He had debated bringing a change of clothes, but she’d hit the nail on the head about him going home tonight. Of course if h
e arrived late again his parents would still know. Not that it was a big deal, but he wasn’t ready to talk about anything he might have with Rachel.
And what they had exactly he wasn’t sure of either. She knew his situation; there were no secrets or anything misleading there.
He knew about her, the type of person she was. Or came across as. It was best to make sure that there weren’t high hopes of something long term when he didn’t know what tomorrow was going to bring, let alone a year from now.
Not to mention her background and his. He’d never been one to depend on anyone and his personal situation might lead people to believe he was looking for a free ride.
Anyone who knew him personally wouldn’t think that and though he’d never cared what other people thought of him before, he cared what Rachel thought.
She didn’t seem all that disappointed, so he’d take it for what it was.
What he was more interested in was the fact that she was nice and comfy looking in leggings and a soft sweater that hit her mid-thigh. She didn’t even have socks on her feet, giving him images that made him want to toss her over his shoulder and bring her upstairs now.
She did say dinner would be forty minutes, plenty enough time.
“You seem nervous,” he said when she put her wine on the coffee table and shifted on the couch. She was sitting close to him and now put one foot under her thigh.
“Do I?”
“Okay, horny then?” he threw out there. Maybe she was as turned on as him and just needed some relief. That’d be nice.
“That’s a given.”
He set his beer down next to her wine with that answer. “Then why don’t you give me a tour of the rest of your house.”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
She stood up and pulled him up the stairs, past a bunch of closed doors and into a set of double doors that were wide open at the end of the hall.
Grand, that was what this room looked like, reminding him she was on a whole different level than him.
His tiny apartment above his parents’ garage was the same size of her master suite, he was guessing.
With her hands on his chest, he figured she wasn’t in the mood to talk, and neither was he. “Frank will be fine downstairs? He won’t come up and bother us?”
“Nope. He’s been fed and is down for his nightly nap. As long as food is cooking in the oven, he won’t be far from it. I’m all yours for about thirty minutes.”
“You’re going to put a time limit on it?” he asked, pulling her sweater over her head. He was dying to see her body fully.
“Just this time,” she said. “I’ve put a lot of effort into that dinner and don’t want it ruined.”
“Then I’ll make sure I put a lot effort into this.”
Her hands went to his shirt, lifting it over his head. “Sounds like a plan to me. And can I say, wow, look at you.”
What guy didn’t like hearing that when a woman was pulling his clothes off? “Do I need to get a condom out of my wallet or are you set?”
“Got them in the drawer. I’ll pull them out while you finish removing your clothes. I think it’s only fair I get to see what I wanted to the other night and you denied me.”
“I won’t deny you a thing tonight.”
She wiggled out of her leggings, pulling her underwear off with them. Her bra followed suit and dropped to the floor while she strutted to the bed giving him one hell of a view of her shapely ass. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to touch first.
Once he was as naked as her, he climbed on the bed, pulling her on top of him, loving the softness of her body touching all of him. Yeah, he’d been missing this in his life. All that traveling he’d done, he hadn’t been with one woman. Nothing.
His brothers may think he slept around. That he picked women up wherever and whenever he could, but he didn’t. Not often. Not like Rob did.
He shut his eyes when that thought popped into his head. Ghosts had no place being in Rachel’s bedroom and he wasn’t about to let it happen.
“I figured you were a take charge type of guy,” she said as she wiggled her hips against his. He had his arms wrapped around her back, holding her in place.
“I am, but you seemed to want to take charge the other night, so I thought I’d put you on top now.”
“I like being on top, but sometimes a woman likes a man to take over.”
Shit, she was going to push him over the edge and he wasn’t sure how long he’d last.
He rolled her fast, turned his head to see the condom not far out of reach. She caught his glance and grabbed for it, then got to her knees and ripped it open, rolling it down the length of him. “Damn, I’ve been wanting to touch you.”
His eyes had shut when she covered him. Soft and urgent at the same time. A caress of sorts that was just another layer of erotic in his mind.
She lay back on the bed, her arms open, welcoming him down. He wasn’t in the mood for tenderness, at least right yet and he didn’t think she was either.
He crushed his mouth to hers, heard the groan, then slid one hand under her hip, lifting her up and letting her wrap one of her thin legs around his waist.
He entered her fast. She was wet and tight and milking him already, making him wonder how long he could go before he got to the explosive part of the program.
“Jake,” she said, her nails starting to leave a mark as he moved in and out of her at a steady clip.
“Yeah.”
“Don’t you dare hold anything back.”
He dropped his forehead to hers. “I’m trying not to rush.”
“Time limit,” she reminded him as she let out another groan, lifted her other leg up and crossed her ankles around his hips now. “Take your time later.”
She gave him permission and he had to wonder why he wasn’t just running with it. “I don’t want you to think I’m inexperienced and have no control.”
His hips were moving as he spoke. Slow and steady, then diving in deep and holding there. She let out a low moan, her head hit the pillow hard and her back arched. “I don’t think that at all.”
“Good to know,” he said as he changed it up again. Her muscles were clenching around him, letting him know it wouldn’t be that long before he set her off.
“Explosive,” she said to him. “Make me feel what you promised.”
“Shit,” he said and started to pump into her faster. Harder. Both of his hands were under her hips now, squeezing her ass and holding her there as he moved at a speed he wasn’t sure he could maintain much longer.
There were noises coming out of her mouth, nails scratching his back, and thoughts of a cat in heat were filling his brain.
“Don’t you dare stop,” she said.
He had no intention of it even if he wanted to, which he sure the hell didn’t.
The minute she clamped down around his cock, she let loose with a shout, and he found one escaping his own mouth, then crushed his lips to hers until neither one of them could move again.
The only noises in the room now were their heavy breathing and the pounding of his heart and he wondered how the hell he thought he didn’t know what tomorrow would bring because right now, tomorrow was going to be right here with her just like this again.
A Pretty Thing
Two weeks later Rachel was at her desk when the phone rang. She reached over and picked it up after recognizing the name. “Hey, Maryann.”
“Rachel, I’m so glad you’re at your desk. Please tell me you have nothing planned today. Or at least for the next few hours.”
“Not much that can’t be put off.”
“Thank God.”
It wasn’t like Maryann to sound so...desperate. She was the Director of Development. A high-profile job that put a lot of pressure on her shoulders to get money to the hospital. Big money. “What can I do for you?”
“I need a huge favor.”
“Ask away.”
“My brother just called. His wife was rushed to the
hospital in Glens Falls. I need to get there and be with him, as it sounds serious. I’m not sure what is going on, I couldn’t get all the details, but my brother has never sounded like this before. I’ve never heard him so scattered. Anyway, Billie Austin is flying in from Texas and I need him shown around campus.”
She gulped. This wasn’t her forte. Showing prospective candidates around was one thing, big money people, no way. “I don’t know, Maryann.”
“Listen, Rachel. I’ve met with him three times already. He’s ready to sign over some serious money for a wing. He really is. He was born and raised in Upstate New York and his mother lived here until she passed away last year. He was impressed with the care at Albany Med and wants to do something in her name. I’ll work that out. He just wants one more pass through. He has some questions on how we hire staff, what we offer. Things like that.”
“Isn’t that something Craig should do?”
“Really? I guess HR could handle it, but Craig is not the person I want walking Billie around. You’ve got charm. You’ve got personality.”
“I’m a woman,” she threw out there. Maryann was close to her mother’s age, but she presented herself well, she was soft spoken but firm at the same time, and she knew what to say and when. Craig really didn’t.
“It does help. You know it. Billie is harmless. Please, Rachel. I need to get on the road, if you can’t do this then I’ll call Craig, but I think you’re the better fit.”
“Fine. I’ll do it. Where do I have to meet him?”
“He’ll be at my office within an hour. His plane hasn’t even landed yet. I’ll shoot him off a text right now to ask for you.”
“Okay. Go. Hope your sister-in-law is fine.”
“Me too. I’m going to send you my notes on Billie as soon as I hang up.”
Rachel placed the phone down and waited for the email to come in so she could see what the heck she was getting herself into.
Once she felt she was prepped enough, she made her way to Maryann’s office on another level and started to talk to Linda, Maryann’s secretary. “Tell me about Mr. Austin.”
