Chapter Four
“I don’t go back home until Monday, so I can stick around for a drink tonight. As long as you don’t mind waiting.”
“Not at all,” he answered, flashing that charming smile she remembered. Her knees went a little weak, so she started walking slowly toward the bar. He followed.
Tristan set her up with a fresh bottle of water, and she lingered at one end of the bar while Jim ordered a beer for himself. They talked of generalities. He told her about his tour in Afghanistan and some of the places he’d seen in his travels over the past year. She talked about her solo efforts and the album she’d just released. He seemed so pleased for her, and it warmed something inside her to know he felt so strongly about her achievements.
She got the feeling he was glossing over what had to have been hazardous times in his travels, but she wouldn’t pry. It was his right to keep things private. After all, they didn’t really know each other all that well…except maybe in the Biblical sense. And that was only the one night.
She was all tingly during her next set, knowing she’d talk more with him once she finished up for the night. Excitement filled her, and she felt truly alive for the first time in a long time. Since the last time she’d been with him, in fact. There was something about this man in particular. Something vital that was missing from her life usually. Incredible as it seemed.
When she finished, he was right there, at the foot of the stage. The usual round of well-wishers waited to say a few words while she packed up her instruments. The guitar was the biggest piece, and Jim held onto it while she packed up her small keyboard and the associated wires.
Normally, she’d have to make a few trips to her vehicle to get all her gear packed up, but Jim had already offered to help her to her car later. He truly was an officer and a gentleman. He worked with her, making small talk as she bustled around.
“I’d love to hear your new album,” Jim said at one point.
“That can be arranged,” she replied, surprised at her own flirtatious tone.
Did she really want to flirt with him? Did she want a repeat of what had happened the last time they’d met? If so, flirting was one way to get there, but the question remained—did she want another one-nighter with Jim?
Now that he was back in the States, was one night all they could have? Or was there some possibility that he might be looking for more? And, did she want more with him?
Since she’d been dreaming about him for an entire year, she thought maybe the answer to that last question was probably yes, though spending another night with him would give her the true answer. Had she built up what they’d shared into something it wasn’t? Had she been deluding herself all this time?
Maybe he wasn’t the lover she remembered. Maybe she’d just been feeling vulnerable, and he’d fit the bill for the night but wouldn’t work out long term. The crux of it was, she wanted to know for certain.
The fastest way to find out was to see where this night would lead…and if it led to them sharing a bed again, well, worse things had happened. At least she’d know for sure if last year was just an embellished fantasy or the real deal.
So, when he suggested moving on to a local twenty-four-hour coffee shop, she gladly accepted his invitation. She wanted more time with him, if only to talk. The conversation turned again to the past year he’d spent in the war zone when it struck her just how much danger he’d actually been in.
“I’ve never told you how much I admire you for serving our country,” she told him, truly awed by his descriptions of what he’d been through over there.
He’d probably censored his own words and glossed over a lot, but she could read between the lines. It hadn’t all been easy going. He might be a lawyer, but he was also a soldier, and he’d been right there in the war zone. At risk, along with every other service member there.
He tried to brush off her praise, but she wouldn’t let him. She covered his hand on the table and looked deep into his eyes.
“I thought about you a lot over the past year, but it didn’t really hit me that you’d be in the thick of things. I guess I thought, as a lawyer, you’d be away from the actual fighting, but it’s clear, from what I suspect are your highly-edited stories, that I was wrong. I’m kind of glad I didn’t realize, because it would only have added to my worry,” she told him, being brutally honest as only one could be over an after-midnight cup of coffee. The emptiness of the coffee shop and the quietude of the hour invited confidences.
“You were worried about me?” he asked, his voice pitched low, the atmosphere between them suddenly intimate.
She smiled a little. “Yeah. I was. You were in my mind more than you probably should have been for someone I’d only known a few hours.”
“You were in my mind a lot too, Roisin.” Suddenly, the world shrunk down to just the two of them. His words felt important. Heavy. Almost life-altering.
“Odd as it seems, I missed you,” she dared admit.
“It’s not odd at all,” he told her. “I missed you too. It felt like we connected more than I’d ever done with anyone else in such a short time, and all the way across the world, I kept thinking about what might’ve happened if I hadn’t had to leave.”
“You don’t have to leave this time,” she stated, surprising herself.
“You’re right.” He smiled, turning their hands over and taking hers in his, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb in a rhythmic way that set up a little dance of electric sparks radiating up her arm and straight down her spine to her most intimate places.
“Do you want to get out of here?” she found herself whispering. “My hotel is just up the street. We could order up a nightcap from room service…or something.”
His eyes widened for a brief moment before he stood abruptly. They hadn’t gotten the check yet, but it didn’t matter. He took out a fifty-dollar bill and left it on the table. That would more than cover their coffee, with a very generous tip besides.
The walk up the block to her hotel was accomplished with a tense sort of anticipation. Roisin knew full well what might happen as soon as they got up to her room, but she didn’t care. On the contrary, she wanted it very badly indeed.
“Hang on a minute,” Jim said as they entered the lobby.
There was a small bar off to one side, and he led her in there. Few people were sitting in the darkened corners, and the bartender was quick to supply Jim with the requested bottle of champagne in a bucket of ice and two glasses. Roisin felt like they were going on some kind of romantic adventure as they stole up to her room through the deserted hallways. Arriving at her door, she waved the electronic key at the lock and let the door swing wide.
“I’d carry you in, but then, you’d have to hold this,” Jim joked, lifting the ice bucket with bottle in one arm and the glasses in the other.
“That’s okay.” She smiled at him. “It’s the thought that counts.”
She preceded him into the room, suddenly self-conscious about bringing him up here. It was a brazen move, unlike her usual behavior. Then again, that seemed to be the norm where Jim was concerned.
He placed the ice bucket on the sideboard and set about opening the bottle. Pouring two glasses, he gave one to her, and they toasted each other. The sparkle in the wine matched the sparkle in his eyes as he looked at her, and she was beguiled. Jim always seemed to have that effect on her.
“Champagne makes me think of New Year’s Eve,” she told him, looking for something to say. “Or special occasions.” She took a sip, kicking herself for her inanity. Why couldn’t she come up with something mysterious and intriguing to say?
“This is a special occasion,” Jim replied, moving closer to her. He took the glass out of her hand and put it with his on the side table. Then, he took her into his arms and kissed her.
He was right. This definitely was a special occasion. His kisses felt like coming home after a long journey. Or embarking on an exciting adventure. They were comfort and adrenaline all rolled into one, and she sank into him, making no move to stop him as he took her to the bed.
Things moved fast from that point. Clothes were thrown to the four corners of the room. His. Hers. All fabric was banished quickly as his lips and hands pushed her passion higher.
She wasn’t sure exactly how it happened, but the next thing she knew, she was bent over the bed, ass up, and Jim was fucking her from behind. He had his hands on her ass cheeks and his dick in her pussy—where she’d missed having him this past year. All felt right with the world.
Right and really, really hot. Inferno-hot. The way it had been with Jim—and only Jim—that one time they’d been together.
She was glad to discover it hadn’t been a fluke. She hadn’t over-dramatized their encounter in her memory. Jim and her together were explosive in the most delicious possible way.
She screamed when she came, and he tensed behind her, his hands tight on her hips as he joined her in a quick, hard climax.
Sweet mother in heaven, what had just happened? Jim tried to collect his spinning thoughts as he pulled out of Roisin’s luscious body. He helped her onto the bed before taking a moment to dash into the bathroom and take care of the condom he’d remembered to put on at the last possible moment.
Only Roisin had ever affected him so strongly that he had to scramble like a schoolboy. He liked the way she made him feel. As if it was all fresh and new. Exciting and…real, somehow…in a way his other encounters weren’t. Not that he’d had many in the past year.
He’d been overseas most of the time, surrounded by guys, mostly. And it just wasn’t done to fraternize with his subordinates—what few females were posted in his detachment. Female company had been scarce while he was deployed, and when he’d come back for the rare visit, he’d been too busy with family obligations to seek out much company.
It had been a hell of a long dry spell, but he was making up for it now. He’d only just come, and already, he was thinking about round two. He only hoped Roisin was up for it.
He returned to the bedroom to find her slumped on the bed in the position he’d left her in. She looked adorably wrung out, and it made something inside him warm at the idea that he’d done that to her. He’d given her so much pleasure, she’d collapsed on the bed and hadn’t moved. Round one to Jim, then. Not that he was keeping score.
He joined her, scooping her gently into his arms and laying down with her on the wide bed. The way she fit against him felt special. He’d never been much of a cuddler, but Roisin was different. So different from any other female he’d ever known.
Fiery in bed, demure in public. She matched him in many ways. He loved knowing that he could turn the polite, proper woman into a wildcat with a single touch.
She turned in his arms after a bit, stretching lazily against him. He loved the soft feel of her skin against him, and the deep blue of her eyes as she gazed into his made him feel like he was drowning—happily—in the peaceful ocean of her gaze.
“Mm. That was nice,” she said, a satisfied smile lifting the corners of her mouth. “Good to know I wasn’t imagining things.”
“You too?” he asked before he could censor himself. “I mean…”
He might as well be truthful. He’d never been anything less than truthful with Roisin. Their previous encounter had been fast and honest, right from the start. Refreshing. No games. No pretense. He’d like that and wondered if it could continue. In his experience, women tended to over-complicate things and say one thing when they really meant another. Navigating a relationship often left him scratching his head, wondering what the woman he was with was really thinking.
Roisin chuckled. “I thought maybe I’d imagined how good we were together last time. It’s both good and a little scary to realize it was all true.”
He had to laugh. “I was thinking pretty much the same thing,” he admitted. “And for the record, I love your honesty.”
He paused for a moment. He’d unconsciously used the L-word. Would she notice and make a big deal about it? And why in the world had that particular word—something he’d avoided ever using when he’d been with anyone else—had just popped out of his mouth as naturally as breathing? It was something to consider.
Had he used that particular word because he really felt that way…about more than just her propensity for not playing verbal or mind games? Was his heart really involved more than he’d thought with this woman—this amazing woman—he’d only been with once before?
He hardly knew her, if truth be told. They’d only spent a short amount of time together.
But he’d spent a year thinking about her. A whole year considering what they’d had in that short night they’d spent together. An entire year to think about the way she’d rocked his world without even trying.
“I like your honesty too,” she told him playfully, reaching downward. He gasped when she took his cock in her hand, stroking him to hardness. “I like this even more.”
They didn’t say much after that as round two began in earnest.