Chapter Three
Some inner proximity alarm made Izzy look up. Drake stood two feet behind her, ferocious scowl on his face. She drew in a breath and straightened her shoulders. "Yes?"
"Let's go get some food."
Izzy felt her mouth drop open a little. He'd just left her, not even half an hour ago, in a back room reeling from his touch. She thought that had been the end of it in his mind. Now, he was here wanting to grab dinner with her? Really?
"Okay, nice invite," she murmured, frowning. "Drake, this is Virginia. Ginny, my Navy SEAL rescuer, Drake."
The two of them shook hands and she watched Drake's face to see how he reacted to the sultry, dark-haired, perfectly made-up Ginny. There was no reaction. His gaze flicked away as soon as he dropped her hand, focusing back on Izzy.
"Let's go." He held a hand out toward the buffet line.
Rather than cause a scene she headed that way, tugging Ginny along behind her.
"What is this about," Ginny hissed in her ear.
Izzy shrugged and shook her head.
They made their way to the line and several men stepped aside to let she, Ginny and Drake ahead. It must be a rank thing or something because Drake stood glowering just behind them.
Dylan and Kiko were already at the raised table with their parents eating. Izzy gathered her utensils and went down the line, but she was too conscious of the man behind her. The food looked delicious, but she only took a few things. Ginny did the same. She glanced back at Drake. His plate was heaped with food.
"Do you need a back-up plate?"
He glanced up at her and gave her a slight grin. "I like to eat."
"I guess so," she murmured.
She didn't wait for him to finish piling, just headed back to their table. Ginny was already there, swirling sugar into a glass of tea. "So is this good or bad?" she whispered.
"I have no idea. He's kinda purty, though, isn't he?"
Ginny giggled and nodded, face flushing pink. "In a dangerous, 'I might snap your hand off if you try to pet me' kind of way. I'll make sure if things start getting intense to find something important to do."
Drake sat down beside her in the almost-too-small white folding chair and plunked down his plate. Then he got back up and waded through the crowd. When he returned he had a handful of longnecks woven through his fingers. He set them in front of the three of them. "Help yourselves."
Izzy took one and unscrewed the top. Maybe she needed a little liquid courage to steady her rioting nerves.
"So," she said. "What happened to not being good for each other?"
Drake threw Ginny a glance, then looked at Izzy. "We're just grabbing a meal. What's wrong with that?"
Izzy narrowed her eyes at him but didn't say anything. If he wanted to play dense she would let him, for now.
“I do need to apologize, though,” he murmured gruffly. “I shouldn’t have grabbed you like that, especially after what the other guy did.”
Tilting her head to the side, Izzy considered him. “You’re apologizing for rescuing me?”
“No,” he said, voice firm. “But I am apologizing for manhandling you afterward.”
Izzy smiled slightly. “Well, in all fairness, I kind of encouraged it.”
He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes and gave her a tight nod. They ate in silence for a few minutes.
"So, Drake, you're a Navy man, huh?" Ginny asked.
He flashed her a grin and nodded. "Yes, ma'am."
Izzy tucked into her food, letting Ginny ask questions. Her friend seemed to know what Izzy wanted to know, but was afraid to ask. Drake was based out of Virginia Beach, had three siblingsall male and was not currently attached.
He sounded like a typical bachelor, living it up while he could. But he was definitely older than she'd expected. If he'd been in the SEALs fourteen years, he had to be about mid-to-late thirties, well into the time when he should have started to settle down.
"No skeletons in your closet?" she asked impulsively.
With a quirked brow, he grinned at her. "No, not really."
"Hmm…"
Izzy ate her food, but she barely tasted anything. And Kiko's poor, beleaguered dad had spent so much money on it. But she was too fascinated by the man beside her. Mere inches separated their hips and occasionally their knees brushed. His shoulder was a solid heat against her side.
Then, as if without conscious thought, he brushed his fingers over her tattoo. Her body flared with heat and she glanced at Ginny, but she was occupied by the man sitting on the other side of her. Izzy glanced back at Drake. "What are you doing?"
"Just… checking," he told her eventually.
"Checking what?" she hissed.
He smiled at her frustration, and there was an edge to the narrow quirk of his lips. "Seeing if you'd changed your mind."
Izzy frowned. "You were the one that left."
He shrugged his broad shoulders, then winced, as if he'd just remembered the scratch on his side. "I pulled back because I'm not the kind of guy that you can count on long term. My job doesn't allow long-term."
He paused and she found she held her breath just waiting for his words. "But…" she prodded.
"But, if you'd still like to explore this thing that's between us, no expectations beyond tonight, I would be more than willing."
Izzy choked out a laugh. "I'm sure you would."
Then she looked at his face. He was not joking. His eyes were steady and calm, though there was a need in them that she only just recognized.
Did she dare turn him away? That one kiss had left her slick with need, and the mere mention of continuing their interlude made her heart hammer. Just in the hour's worth of time she'd spent with him he'd done more for her than any other man ever had. The curiosity would kill her if she didn't explore this.
Settling the decision in her mind, she gave him a look. "If I said yes, just what are your plans? I'm thirty-four, a little old to climb into the back seat of a truck, and I know for a fact this hotel is booked solid with Kiko's family and wedding guests."
"I'll take care of it." Drake's eyes closed, and one hand rubbed across his brow.
If she didn't know better she would think he was relieved that she'd given in. His cool emotions were a little hard to read. She kind of figured he'd get cocky about it.
With a glance at her sideways, he gave her a slight smile. "I wish you could feel the rush of heat that just rolled down through my body to my cock," he told her softly. “You’re a beautiful woman, Isobel.”
Apparently it wasn't soft enough. Ginny swung around, her dark eyes focusing on Izzy. "It sounds like things are getting a little intense. I'm going to roll out of here, okay? Are you good?"
Izzy nodded, loving her friend for being protective. Reaching forward, she hugged Ginny. "That guy's cute," she murmured in her friend's ear. Ginny nodded. "If Kiko starts looking for you, I'll tell her you're busy."
They giggled together and Izzy watched as the tall man Ginny had been talking to led her to the dance floor.
When she glanced back at Drake he was just swallowing the last swig of beer from his bottle. He turned, their gazes connecting. "Are you ready?"
Izzy nodded, her skin flushing pink as gazes turned to them as they walked across the crowded patio. A few of the guys grinned at Drake, but nobody said or did anything disrespectful. Drake held the door open for her to enter the resort building, and she appreciated the wave of air conditioning that hit her. Maybe it would cool her excited, tingling skin.
Tugging her by the hand, Drake led her down a softly lit hallway, then another side hallway. One of the florescent lights in the ceiling had gone out completely and he stopped in a little shadowed alcove area. Izzy was about to ask him what was going on but he pushed her back flush against the wall, then leaned into her. The erection that she'd been thinking about for the past hour pressed into her and it was more than she could have dreamed. "Oh, my happy hell."
His hard lips came down on hers, almost swallowing her words. With an aggressive thrust he kissed her, his tongue gliding smoothly along hers. Izzy moaned, lost in a need sharper than any she'd ever felt before. The man knew how to kiss. His hips surged into her and it was everything she could do to restrain herself from stripping right there in the hallway. If he didn't have a way for them to follow through, she was going to be majorly pissed.
Then one of his hands traced the sweetheart neckline of her dress. One finger slipped between the fabric and her skin, brushing her right nipple, and yet he seemed to be waiting.
"Yes," she hissed.
Instinctively, her hips rocked forward into his erection. When he paused his movements to feel what she was doing, Izzy was pleased to realize he wasn't as in control as he pretended. She rocked again, then hiked a leg up his thigh.
It wasn’t as well-done as she would have liked. She almost pulled her own legs out from beneath her as the narrow skirt of the dress caught and tightened. With an aggravated huff she pulled the skirt up to her thighs.
Drake caught that leg and ground himself into her deeper. Only a couple of layers of cotton and satin separated them, and it was getting hard to think.
Then Drake did something naughty. Sweeping his hand down to her knee he found her skin, then followed it slowly, torturously, up her thigh to her damp heat.
Izzy quivered, praying he would touch her there. But he paused, panting, and pressed a kiss to her temple. Then he shifted to the side to lean against the wall and stopped moving completely. Izzy heard a sound. Somebody had just come in the same doors they had and were walking down the perpendicular hallway. "Hold still and be quiet," he whispered into her ear.
Izzy nodded, quivering, and listened to her heart damn near beat out of her chest. How could anyone not hear how hard it was thumping? She did as she was told and within a few seconds, she heard the footsteps fade away.
Then a single finger stroked over her satin-covered core.
Izzy gasped, her thighs shaking. Drake would be holding her entire weight in a minute.
"Why is it wet, Isobel?" he asked her, deep voice taunting.
"Why do you think, Drake? Maybe because you're such a tease."
Her prodding earned her a second stroke, longer this time. Izzy smiled into the darkness, glad that her ploy had worked.
"I'm not teasing, Izzy. I'm building you up. So that you're ready when I take you upstairs to fuck you."
She choked out a laugh. "I'm beyond ready, Navy man."
Then that devious finger burrowed beneath her satin panties and parted her swollen skin. "Hmm… you might be."
The tip of his finger made a circular motion, directly around her swollen pleasure point and Izzy cried out. She flexed her hips against his touch, praying that he would continue, but he just stood there. Then he twitched his finger, right around her clit. And paused. Then twitched again.
Izzy was ready to scream. "Please," she panted, clutching his neck. "I need… I need to come."
He took pity on her. Settling into a devious rhythm, he urged her toward that ultimate release. It was embarrassingly easy. With just a few steady movements she shattered in his arms, and when she would have cried out he sealed his mouth over hers, absorbing her pleasure. He held her weight as she lost control of her body in pleasure.
It took a few seconds for her to regain her composure. Izzy couldn't remember ever being so turned on before. Drake let her open leg fall and he removed his hand, but he wrapped his arms around her waist to hold her as she recovered. "Are you okay?"
Izzy nodded, her nose buried into the fabric of his stolen shirt. She was too lost in her pleasure to feel embarrassed at where they were. After a minute she looked up at him. "So, do you have a room or what?"
Drake grinned, his bright white teeth flashing. "It just so happens I do."
Taking her hand, he led her through a couple of hallways then through the glorious main lobby. Izzy felt like people were staring at her, knowing what she'd just done in the back hallway. His hard kisses had left her lips feeling swollen. Her panties were soaked and even her thighs. For a girl that usually loved a good show, she was feeling decidedly shy in this environment. She would never want to do anything to embarrass Kiko and her family.
Avoiding most of the people, Drake led her to the gold elevators on the opposite hallway and punched the up button.
"So, how did you get a room? Ginny and I are rooming together, but I know others have been turned away."
Drake gave her a look out of the corner of his eye. "Well, I've been out with my guys before and they tend to get… a little free with their affections. Or they overindulge. So, I had a back-up plan. At the very least, I thought it would save me a drive to pick them up from wherever they landed. As soon as Dylan let us know where it was being held, before the invitations went out, I made a reservation."
"You are a smart man."
He grinned, shaking his head. "Not always."
The elevator doors dinged in front of them and Izzy stepped on. Three other couples stepped on as well, so Drake pressed close but he behaved himself. If the other people hadn't have been present, Izzy wasn't sure she could have kept her hands off him. The orgasm he'd given her moments ago had been fantastic, but she wanted more. She wanted to have that hardness inside her, sooner rather than later.
It wasn’t like her to be this… hungry, but something about Drake, or maybe the short amount of time she knew they could be together, was motivating her. She couldn’t ever remember being this aroused for a man. She’d certainly never done anything like what they’d just done in public.
They were the next to last couple to get off, and every floor stop made her want to scream with impatience. Finally, he tugged her off the torturous ride and down a long hallway. He stopped in front of a door and swiped a key card, then stood back to let her in.
Izzy walked in, looking around. Typical hotel room, of course, if a little higher end than normal.
"The fridge is stocked with water. Help yourself."
Reaching inside the mini-fridge, she snagged one. He shook his head when she offered him one. "I don't like water."
Izzy's brows lifted. "Really?"
He shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest.
Izzy twisted off the cap and took a huge swallow, then set the bottle aside. She had other things she wanted to be doing with her mouth.
Drake was built for sin. As she looked him up and down, she could see the erection behind the placket of his pants. "Thank you for the water."
He didn't say anything, just stood there with a sexy smirk on his face. Izzy took a step toward him and reached beneath her left arm. It took her a second to find the tiny zipper tab, but as soon as she did she started to unzip. Drake's gaze focused in on her fingers and his hands fell to his sides as he straightened. She thought he was going to step forward and take over, but he just stayed where he was. That was okay. If he wanted to play hard to get, she was willing.
There wasn't a lot of lingerie that could be worn under a sleeveless dress like this. As the bodice began to peel away, he didn't seem surprised that she wasn't wearing a bra. Oh, that's right. He'd already played with her nipple. As the cool air hit her breasts, Izzy watched his face.
Yes, he was definitely reserved, but there was no mistaking the flare of heat in his eyes. And if she read him right, he was about done standing on the sidelines.
She peeled the dress down her body and pushed it over her hips, letting it puddle to the floor. Then, unable to help herself, she laid the dress over a chair back. It had been expensive.
When she turned back, Drake's gaze had fallen to her pubic area. Izzy shucked her damp white panties to the floor. "See what you did to me?"
A slow smile spread his lips. "What? Got you so hot I could hear you walk beside me when we went through the lobby?"
Izzy laughed, taking a step forward. "You are evil. That was embarrassing."
“Yeah. I can understand that.” An empathetic look settled on his features. "They'll probably forget you in a few days, all those people that were looking."
Izzy reached out and smacked him on the arm, laughing even harder. "You are merciless. You're supposed to be stroking my ego right now."
His gaze bounced down her body, turning serious. "Yes, you're right. I don't think you need your ego stroked though. You know you have a stunning body. I think something else needs stroked."
Izzy gasped as he reached out and ran a finger down the slope of her breast, circling the hard nipple. Then that teasing finger wandered down her side to her hipbone. Cupping her hip in his hand he tugged her forward.
Izzy didn't wait for whatever he was going to do. She was too curious. Reaching for the belt of his pants she tugged, flipping the belt pieces to the side. Then she unbuttoned and unzipped enough that she could get her hand inside.
Oh, merciful pink petunias. The man was built like a tank. As she eased the elastic of his underwear band down, her heart thudded with anticipation. "Are all Navy SEALs as well-endowed as you are, Mr. Hardwick?"
"Well, they'll probably tell you they are."
Izzy laughed, even as her hand wrapped around his impressive length. Drake groaned as she explored his body, then shimmied enough to force his pants and underwear down his legs. Izzy was glad he managed that because she did not want to let go. The small bandage on his side seemed very bright against his tan skin.
He did pull away, though, and crossed to the go bag she’d just noticed laying on the far bed. The man had an ass like nothing else she'd seen before. Taut and muscled. Then he turned around with a strip of condoms in his hand, and she had to admit that the front was even more impressive than the back. His cock strained upward, heavily veined and throbbing with his heartbeat. It also glistened with moisture at the tip. Damn, he was really on edge.
Drake ripped one of the condoms from the strip, then dropped the rest to the nightstand.
"We only have a little while," she warned. "We have to go back to the reception at some point."
Once again that slow smile spread his lips. "I know."
Then he ripped open the packet and rolled the condom onto himself.
Izzy had been with a few men in her life, but none so sure of themselves. The pure sensuality of the move made her mouth water and her legs tremble. Her body started to move forward before the thought even registered. Drake cupped her face in his hands and leaned down to press a kiss to her mouth. She opened wide as his tongue swept in, welcoming his invasion. As his mouth angled against hers, his hand slipped down to squeeze her ass. Goosebumps raced across her body.
Izzy took that as encouragement to press forward. Drake huffed out a breath as their bodies touched, then he pulled her in tight against himself. Instinctively, Izzy lifted her legs as Drake cupped her ass and he lifted her into his arms. She breathed him deep, basking in spice. Muscles flexed beneath her hands, but he didn’t seem to be straining. There was some jostling as he took a few steps to lean her back against the wall, then he let her body slide lower. As Drake's erection found her entrance, Izzy sighed, but he stilled, a tremor rippling through him.
Though she'd only known him a couple hours, it seemed like she'd been waiting for this moment all her life.
Drake seemed to sense something in the air as well, because he pulled back just for a moment. Long enough to make eye contact. He held that eye contact as he let her slide down the wall, onto his thick erection.
Izzy moaned as he filled her, wondering what the hell she'd gotten herself into. She couldn't move because he held her so tight, but she didn't think she would change anything. They had to go slow or she could be hurt. He seemed to be very aware of what his size could do to her.
But she was also soaked to the point that he glided in surprisingly easy. Her tissues felt every vein, every heartbeat as he settled into her. For a timeless moment, it seemed as if they shared that heartbeat. Then he started to move. Slow, long, gentle slides up into her body, getting her used to him. Izzy couldn't believe how heightened her senses were. Then she caught a glimpse of his muscled body in the mirror, and she could see what he was doing. It was one of the most carnal, seductive images she’d ever seen. Though he'd only been moving for a minute, her arousal began to tighten her body.
"Yes, just like that Drake. Oh, damn, you feel so good."
His movements gained urgency, as if his own orgasm were approaching. He rested his head against her neck as he sped up and Izzy cupped his nape, pressing kisses along his ear and his shaved head.
The position she was in restricted her movement, but she tried to rock into him. His hard hands tightened on her ass, pulling her toward him as he shoved.
Oh, damn, that felt amazing.
Then that heat that had been building suddenly crested. Izzy flung her head back but she had nowhere to go. His hands held her exactly where he needed her and forced her to accept the pleasure he was giving her. Crying out, she contracted in his arms, her body tightening painfully, a sweet, sharp heat rolling through her. Then Drake cried out and it was one of the sexiest things Izzy had ever heard. She cradled him to her as tremors shook him, his body contracting like hers had done moments ago.
Izzy basked in the moment, loving the feel of him in her arms as he splintered apart. When they finally stilled, breathing into each other's necks, she was more stunned than she could ever remember being after sex. Aftershocks rolled through her, making her thighs twitch. When he moved, she blinked her eyes open.
They had slid down the wall, Drake now on his knees and Izzy sitting in his lap, still connected.
"You took my feet out from under me," he groused, but she could see the humor in his expression.
"Probably safer for us both. I'm not sure I can even stand right now."
Grinning, he tweaked her nipple. Izzy shivered at the touch and his gaze sharpened. "Oh, really? Think you can do a round two? I’ve got another one in me."
Grinning right back, she rocked her hips against him.
Drake prodded her to her feet, then escaped to the bathroom to dispose of the condom. Izzy moved to lay down on the comforter, her body lax and sensual. Though she wasn't normally a highly sexed person, the thought of going another ten rounds with Drake held massive appeal. This afterglow was better than anything else she’d ever experienced.
She heard the shower start up, then the sound of feet on tile and the curtain being jerked into place. If she could have found the energy to rise she would have joined him, but she was too content to lay here and just let her body hum with satisfaction.
When he returned a few minutes later, beads of water running down his chest and saw her laid out upon the mattress, fondling her own breasts lazily, his dick began to lengthen. Izzy, suddenly finding the energy to move, reached over her head for the next condom in the strip and ripped the package open. Then she sat up on the side of the bed.
Wiggling her fingers she pulled him close, setting the condom aside. "Before we get too involved..." she murmured, then took his burgeoning length into her watering mouth. Drake groaned, cupping her head in his hands.
The thought of tasting the saltiness of his own previous climax spiked her arousal, but he’d washed it all away. Going down on a man totally lit her fire, but something about doing it for Drake felt different. It felt more natural, more vital. As she teased and nibbled, she wondered if he would let her go all the way with him.
Izzy worked her way down his length as he hardened, cupping his heavy testicles in one hand and the base of his dick in the other. When he began to twitch in time to her movements, Izzy knew she was on the right track. Widening her mouth, she surged down even further.
Drake's fist tightened in her hair until she stopped. Releasing him from her mouth she looked up at him.
The look that settled on his face was pensive and she thought affectionate. "As incredible as that feels, I don't want to come that way. I want to be looking into your eyes when we come together again."
Izzy's heart melted. Wow, she didn't expect that. Without saying anything she released the condom from the wrapper and rolled it down his length, then pushed herself back on the bed. She lifted her arms to him and spread her thighs.
As Drake looked down at Izzy, her arms open in welcome, he thought he felt something in his chest shudder. There was a smile on her face that he had never seen on any other woman's. Actually, he couldn't ever recall seeing it on any other person's face when looking at him. He and his brothers got along fine from a distance, and his dad liked him well enough he supposed, but he couldn't even name what it was he saw in her expression. Affection? Fondness? Would he even know what love looked like if it happened to him?
Shaking his head, Drake moved forward, letting her arms wrap around him as he settled his hips over hers. This welcoming womanliness would be nice to come home to after a deployment. Or even after a training session. Or a hard run.
His dick settled against her channel with no special direction and they both moaned. Reaching down, he rubbed the head of his cock against the high point of her pussy, around her clit. Izzy cried out, her hips moving in counterpoint to his. Her fingernails dug into his back, but he didn't mind the pain.
Her breathing was picking up again. Pulling away just for a moment, he pressed a line of kisses down the length of her neck, waiting for her body to calm a little. Then, with no warning, he slid deep within her. She cried out, rocking her head into the pillow, her body shuddering again.
"Oh, my god you're huge. Give me a sec to get used to you," she hissed. "This is different than the last position."
Drake stilled, but her tiny quivers and twitches beneath him were just as enticing as anything else they'd done. In spite of holding completely still, he felt his pleasure rising. Then, with a heavy lidded look, she kissed him. You would think since she was on the bottom that her power would be diminished, but it was quite the opposite. With gentle nibbles and kisses, their mouths teased at each other, and Drake was taken aback at the sensuality of the moment. Then she moaned as he seated himself deep inside her. And moaned again as he withdrew.
The sound sent a sharp pang of pleasure through him. It was a kind of proof that he was doing what gave her pleasure. Shoving one arm beneath her hips, he tightened his body against hers, wondering vaguely how they could get closer. Everything about her pleased him, and he wanted to climb into her skin and be a part of her. Maybe then he could get enough.
Izzy panted in his ear. "Yes, yes, yes," she chanted softly in time to his thrusts.
Still seated deep within her, Drake lifted himself. "Close your legs."
She shifted to do as he told her, and the tightness around his dick was almost his undoing. He retreated, then surged forward again, learning the feel of her lengthened channel.
Izzy cried out, her hands fluttering around him, from neck to sides to ass, encouraging him to move again. "More. My god, I thought you felt huge before. I've never... That's amazing..."
Her voice drifted off. She rocked her hips up, even as her legs stayed together between his.
Drake moaned, taken off guard by the desperation he felt in her movements.
"I'm so close," she moaned, hands clutching his butt cheeks. “You rub my clit so nice right there. More, please.”
Feeling just a little evil, Drake stilled above her, savoring the need her body was screaming.
He underestimated her arousal, though. He held completely still, but she still had a small range of movement- up and down beneath him. She rocked her hips faster and faster, the slick grip of her body holding him tight. Drake gasped as the orgasm rushed at him, and he was powerless to deny it. Even as he started to pull away she tightened her grip, riding him to completion from beneath. She cried out, her voice hoarse and her thighs strong as the climax took her over. Drake was right there with her, fighting his body's urge to slam hard and deep.
The way their bodies met was cataclysmic.
They dozed off for half an hour, but they needed the time to recover. Izzy hated to move, but she had to. People were going to be looking for them and asking questions.
When they'd been preparing for the wedding, the brides-maids had been joking about finding a man for the night. Izzy had joked around as well, honestly not believing that she would partake in the risky business of one night stands, but here she was. She thought if it had happened it would have been with her blind date. Instead, she was laying with one of the most extraordinary men she'd ever met and was more sexually satisfied than she'd ever been in her life.
On an even deeper level, she was a little shocked at how comfortable she felt with Drake. They were so very different. She was an eclectic person, she would admit that, but she had a good heart. She was a giving nurse and worked hard for her patients. Drake, on the other hand, was a hero in the truest sense of the word. They were both put on a path to serve the public, apparently, both visibly and covertly, like he did.
The man lay on his side beside her, eyes closed, but she had a feeling he was still awake. Reaching out, she ran a fingertip over the swell of his pectoral muscle. Drake shaved his head skin close, but his chest was nicely furred with black and gray hair. The gray surprised her. He didn't seem old enough for it.
But when she looked at his skin closer, she could see how beat up he was. The job of being a hero for the country obviously came with a lot of cost. Her gaze drifted over him. There was another, deeper knife wound there, and what was obviously another gunshot wound, not the same one she'd spotted earlier. There was a spattering of scar tissue along his ribs, as if he'd been dragged across gravel or something equally as painful that had left its mark. She could see years of pain on his body.
When she glanced up at him, his eyes were open and watching her.
"Why do you do it?" she asked.
One side of his mouth tipped into a smile. "I've always done it. I don't know any other way."
Izzy frowned, thinking about a soldier they'd had on the floor a few years ago. His body had been beat up like this as well, and even though his latest altercation had blown off his leg and written him a pass straight out of the military, she could tell he would go back in in a heartbeat because his team needed him. But the same injury that had taken his leg had also taken part of his vision. You couldn't fight in the military if you couldn't see.
They released the young man from the hospital, but she'd seen him a couple of times after that for one issue or another. Each time he'd seemed a little more depressed, a little more lost. Then he'd come in with vibrant scarlet lacerations down his arms, where he'd tried to open his veins. It had made Izzy so sad. Nurses weren't supposed to become attached to patients, but sometimes it was unavoidable. They lined up psychiatric help for the former soldier and she really hoped he'd taken advantage of it. It had been a few months since they'd seen him.
It had to be hard having such a massive change in your life all at once like that. Did the military give them training when they left like that, so abruptly? They trained them for years to be warriors, but she wondered if the government took the time to train them not to be warriors. Probably not.
"So, I know you're a nurse," he rumbled, "but what else do you do? Do you live in Colorado Springs?"
She grinned, leaning up on her elbow. The sheet gapped seductively over her breasts and he got sidetracked, reaching out to caress. "I do, yes. I like to hike the mountains with my dog, and I try to cook but I'm not very good at it. I like to get busy," she looked out the window, "on breezy afternoons in mountain resorts. How about you?”
Drake grinned slightly and levered up on his own elbow, mirroring her position. "That's really something. I like to hike in the mountains, I'm not much of a cook, and I also," he looked pointedly out the window, "like to get busy on breezy afternoons in mountain resorts."
Izzy laughed, enjoying the glimpse of his humor. Drake seemed like a pretty tightly wound kind of guy. It was good that he could let loose. With a glance at the alarm clock on the bedside table, though, she knew they needed to get moving. They'd been here almost an hour and a half. "People are going to be wondering where we are."
He heaved a sigh and gave her a tight nod. Rolling out of bed she headed for the bathroom for a super quick shower. She didn't wash her hair, but she rinsed everything else. As she was stepping from the stall, she realized Drake had leaned against the jamb to watch her, naked and beautiful, dick semi-erect.
"Sure you don't want to steal a little more time?" he asked, fisting himself.
Izzy shook her head. "As tempting as you are, we've been gone a good while. Aren't your men going to be wondering where you are?"
When he grimaced, she knew she'd gotten her point across. With a harsh sigh, he stepped up to her and gave her a lingering kiss, erection pressing into her belly. Just when she was thinking about saying fuck it and delaying, he stepped back. "If I'm going out there on edge, you are too," he told her softly.
Izzy squealed and smacked his shoulder. "Okay, big man, I see how you are," she laughed.
Drake grinned at her and gave her an audacious wink before stepping into the steaming shower stall. Izzy could only stare at his perfect ass. She jerked her gaze north and tried to concentrate.
"You know this isn't going anywhere, right? We live very different lives." He looked at her but didn't say anything. "Maybe it's good if you turn that shower to cold."