Hunter Knox, known as “Cookie” by his friends, was driving his wife over to Caroline’s before heading into work. She’d been busy lately and he worried that it was taking its toll on her. He peered at his wife from beneath thick dark lashes—incredibly proud of her and all she had been doing to help her friends with their projects. She also worked part-time at a doctor’s office in town, but she had the day off. Today, she was helping Caroline sort through donations given to her at the military base, clothing items donated by several of the wives of the men who served. Caroline rounded up donations once a month and sorted through them. She brought the quality items to Commander Hurt’s wife at her shop downtown, Sister’s Keeper. Julie’s shop was a nonprofit organization and the proceeds benefitted underprivileged teen girls in their community. What they didn’t keep Caroline usually brought to the local Salvation Army.
Fiona enjoyed helping her friends with their projects and that’s why she had also agreed to serve on the board of directors of the new Riverton Rape Crisis Clinic. Cookie had been worried it might be too much for her, reliving the past and what had happened to her.
They met when he had gone on a rescue mission to Mexico to retrieve Senator Lytle’s daughter from a human trafficking organization that had kidnapped the both of them. Fiona had no family and very few close friends; no one even realized what had happened to her. She’d been their victim for months.
The jungle rescue had been fraught with difficulties, but through it all she had been a trooper. She had not complained in the least and even risked her life to save his when it looked like they all wouldn’t get out. That was the kind of woman she was. Selfless. To a fault. But she hadn’t come out of it unscathed. The torture, the drugs, and repeated rapes had scarred her and left her with PTSD. Getting involved in this latest project of Julie’s could bring it all back. She hadn’t had an episode in nearly a year, but she had been real quiet last night and again this morning.
“Everything okay?” he asked, trying to keep the worry out of his voice.
Fiona turned to him in the car and saw fine lines furrowing her husband’s brow. “I’m fine. Really!” she emphasized and gave him a bright smile. She knew what he was thinking, but she was just tired. He was worried that working on this project with Julie would trigger her PTSD. She hadn’t had an episode in a very long time. Still, she loved that he was so protective of her, but she didn’t want him to worry.
“Well, if you’re sure?” His tone did not belie his words. He had tried to talk her out of serving on the board, but she wanted to do it. She’d told him it was important to her to help others who’d been through what she had. And although she still found it difficult to talk about it at times, she knew talking about her experiences helped her to heal. Helped her to see she wasn’t the guilty party.
“And you’re okay with hanging out tonight?” He steered the car onto the miles long gravel road leading to Wolf and Caroline’s place. The man liked his privacy, and the ranch style home had great panoramic views. They all often gathered there for parties and celebrations.
“Yes. I really liked Monica and it’ll be nice to just hang out tonight with good friends without all the formalities.”
Cookie agreed. Being with Caroline and Jessyka and the other women had helped Fiona come out of her shell. Julie was different though. There was strain there. His wife and Julie had gone through a horrific ordeal—one no woman should ever have to go through. But Julie had nearly abandoned his wife in that jungle. She, too, had been a victim, and acting irrationally, it was something the two of them had yet to work through. He knew Julie was a different person now, but it was something he could never forget. Forgive? Yes. But forget, well, that was another story.
Fiona must have been reading his mind by her next words. “Julie has really been a help to me though she doesn’t know it. She’s come so far in two years and I’m proud of the work she’s doing. I want to be a part of it even though I’m still a bit . . . um, uncomfortable around her.”
Cookie nodded silently understanding what his wife meant. His entire team had been angry with Julie, but they had all come to accept her and love her. She was their commander’s wife and had dedicated her life to helping others.
“Julie is a different person now.”
Cookie laughed at his wife’s remark. Julie had come off as a spoiled rich brat in those jungles. But she wasn’t anymore, if she had ever been. He also couldn’t help thinking about how the commander was different too. “She’s made the commander softer.”
His wife gasped. “Don’t let him hear you say that!” Fiona giggled at the double entendre. He loved that sound. When his wife laughed, it chased all the demons away.
He sighed and looked at her. “You’re an amazing woman, Fiona Knox. I’m so lucky I found you. God, I love you woman,” he growled possessively.
The tenor of his voice made her stomach quiver. It was a promise that there would be a repeat of what they had done last night. Not in a million years would Fiona have thought she would enjoy sex so much. But her husband was irresistible. And insatiable. And on the plus side, he always made it about her. “We will be at Caroline’s in five minutes. You better stop doing that thing with your voice or I’m going to make you pull over.”
Cookie glanced at the clock. They had time. “I’m game if you are?”
She dropped her voice to a husky whisper. “Pull over, then.” She pointed towards a copse of trees. They could drive right into it and not be seen from the road if a passerby came along.
Cookie was glad for the tinted glass in his large SUV. He went in the direction his wife was pointing, and spotted the small break in the trees.
Fiona giggled again like a schoolgirl as her husband turned the vehicle sharply to tuck out of sight and avoid the bigger of the branches in their off-roading experience. He laughed to see she was already unfastening her skinny jeans and wiggling out of them. “You’re insatiable.”
“And you love it.”
They both laughed as Cookie cut the engine. He already had his fly undone as she began the climb over the center console. He lifted his rear and pulled his pants down to his knees. “Climb on, baby. This is going to be fast. And hard.”
“Always hard,” she murmured as she positioned herself above him and tucking in her knees on either side of his lean hips.
He was inside her in an instant.
She was already wet and ready as she sank onto him. She felt his length and girth fill her in a way that made her feel complete. Two becoming one. The horrors of her past were long forgotten as pleasure spread throughout her body. His hands slid up and inside of her shirt and he tweaked her nipples hard through the thin material of her barely there bra.
Pleasure tore through her. Her body was on fire like it always was when Hunter put his hands on her. Sometimes she could feel this way with just one of his searing looks. She reached for them hem of his t-shirt and pulled it off of him. She needed to feel skin on skin. She didn’t care that they were outside. The copse of trees Cookie had pulled into kept them hidden from view. With him, she felt safe, and brazen and brave.
Her hands slid along the bands of muscle across his torso. He was like stone. His entire body a sculpture, the perfect specimen. She bent down and skimmed feathery light kisses along his shoulders as his fingers dug into the flesh of her hips. She heard him groan as he helped her lift and slide along his rock hard member in the tight confines of the vehicle. She felt every long thick inch of him. Filling her to the brink and then pulling out. Her body began to tingle. She felt the excitement building and spreading out in waves throughout her body. Cookie pushed his hips up thrusting into her deeply as she flew over the edge into the abyss. Her orgasm came fast and hard, and his followed hers as he came quick and hard inside his woman’s body.
“God, I love being inside you, woman.” He moaned as he slipped out of her and helped her regain her seat. She popped open the dash to retrieve the wipes he kept inside and opened it taking several of them before handing him the plastic bag of baby wipes.
He laughed. “I’m glad Alabama forget those.” He took several to clean himself up and then he quickly fixed his clothes. Alabama was his buddy Abe’s wife. They had three kids and counting.
“Yes,” Fiona agreed. “They have come in handy.”
“Twice.”
She laughed.
He waited until she was ready. And when she was, he noticed she no longer had that lost look in her eyes. The afterglow of their impromptu love session had taken care of that. With a nod and sexy secretive wink, she indicated she was ready to go. He put the SUV into reverse, slowly backed out of the wooded copse of trees and got back onto the main road.
A quick glance at the dash told him fifteen minutes had passed. He wouldn’t even be late for work if he stepped on the gas a bit on his way to the base.
He looked at Fiona. She was straightening her messed up hair and fixing what little makeup she wore in the vanity mirror. She was still smiling. He loved her smile.
God damn, he loved his wife. To the end of the earth and back.