Chapter Twelve
Luke let her body slide down his, then scooped her up, one arm under her knees. She turned the knob on the bedroom door, and he carried her to the foot of the bed. Carefully, as warranted for the most precious cargo he’d ever carried, he set her on bare feet. His gaze swept over her. Damn, she was beautiful—and he’d never look at his blue shirt the same way again.
His hands moved to the buttons and started undoing them one at a time. He could tell the instant she became nervous, uncertain. She took a step back.
“Don’t move,” he whispered. “You wore this for me, didn’t you?”
A faint nod accompanied her slight smile.
Finishing the last of the buttons, Luke softly caressed the underside of one of her breasts, where the fabric had fallen open. “You do a number on me in that shirt—no doubt about it. But I’ve got a hunch this is nothing compared to what’s underneath.” He tugged on the shirttails teasingly. The lamp, near the head of the bed, provided just enough light to see desire darken her irises.
Luke stepped toward her and, with a flick of his fingers at her shoulders, the shirt slid down her arms, landing in a blue mound of fabric behind her. He started to reach for her, then dropped his hands to his sides. Mesmerized, his gaze moved slowly over her, and the rightness of the moment amazed him. Perfection. Her long strands of wavy brown hair hugged the flawless innocence of her face, of which the focal point at the moment was her larger-than-usual, luminescent blue eyes. Surely she could see clear to his soul. Her small, rounded breasts and firm, flat stomach gave way to a tiny triangle of fabric—light blue—that barely hid her womanhood and disappeared between strong, shapely legs that Luke could almost feel wrapped around him.
She was exquisite in a world that had stopped making sense.
Sally took the step that separated them and tugged upward on the bottom of his T-shirt, her lips curved in a playful smile. “Your turn. I’m not going to be the only one in the room who’s naked.”
She didn’t have to tell him more than once. He reached over his shoulder, grabbed a handful of shirt and peeled the garment off over his head and arms. Then he wadded it into a ball and, not caring where it landed, tossed it behind him. That brought a laugh from her, and he was just about to grab her in his arms and satisfy his burning need to touch her everywhere when she stopped him short.
“Don’t move,” she said in a sexy whisper that froze him to the floor.
Luke recognized his words of only a few minutes ago. She was turning the tables on him again, and hell if he wasn’t inclined to let her do any damn thing she wanted. Although, considering he’d been hard and ready for a while now, this would be an exercise in self-control. He took a slow, deep breath and fisted his hands as she placed hers on his chest.
Sally skipped her fingers lightly over his pecs until his nipples peaked in eager anticipation, sending sharp pangs of need straight to his groin. She smiled in smug satisfaction when a groan tore from his throat. Any sign of humor disappeared, however, when she spotted his scar.
Nearly dead center, just below his heart, the bullet wound still ached if he pushed himself too hard. And he’d done a lot of that while trying to regain his strength after the surgery that gave him back the use of his legs.
Sally pressed her palm lightly over the scar, and he sensed her starting to pull back. Ignoring her directive to stay still, he tilted her head and gazed into her troubled eyes. Tears threatened, and he had no choice. He had to put a stop to this before she saw the rest of his body. The scar beneath her hand was only one of many. There’d be a time for full disclosure…but not tonight.
He bent slowly and kissed her lips. Then he framed her face with his hands, capturing her complete attention. “Tonight, we’re looking ahead to our future. You, me and Jen. The past is behind us. It can’t hurt us anymore unless we let it.” He gently drew her hand away from his scar.
Sally’s gaze flicked briefly to the rutted and pulled skin on his chest, then she firmed her jaw as she blinked away her sadness, and her fingers traced circles down his arms to his wrists. Her eyes shone with warmth and caring that lit up dark places within him—places that had known only emptiness for a long time.
Small hands landed on his open waistband, and a mischievous grin took up residence on her full lips. “Aren’t you forgetting something?” She tugged his jeans down a couple of inches before she stroked teasingly around his engorged shaft, never touching him but managing to set every nerve on fire.
“No, ma’am. I’d never forget something so…essential.” Luke pushed his jeans down below his knees and sat on the edge of the bed to unlace his boots, kick them off and jam his socks inside. Sally watched him intently as he stepped out of his jeans and briefs. Color flowed freely into her smooth cheeks when she grasped the narrow bands of lace at the top of her panties and stripped them down her legs, dropping them on the floor.
The knowledge that she obviously wasn’t an expert in midnight trysts with men turned up the heat on his possessive nature. He wanted her all to himself when it came to shedding clothes. Her uncertainty appeared in her body language and her slight hesitation, yet she was willing to place herself in his hands. That meant the fucking world to him.
He quickly reached for her and pulled her against him, pressing the full length of his erection into the softness of her belly. Covering her mouth with his, he kissed her hard until she was breathless and his restraint was stretched to the breaking point. “Sorry, babe. It’s been a while since…do you happen to know where those condoms ended up?” Luke moved around the side of the bed and began searching through store sacks.
Sally kneed her way onto the bed and stretched on her side, bracing her head on one arm. “How long has it been?”
He stopped and looked at her. “Well, not that this is appropriate first-time sex small talk, but…it was about a month before I met you.”
She chuffed a laugh. “That’s not so long. Try ten years.”
His first instinct was to laugh at the improbability of that statement, but the acute embarrassment that washed over Sally’s face told him she hadn’t just pulled that number out of the air for the sake of topping his. And she wasn’t talking about someone else. This was an incredibly personal confession. It was also too much of a coincidence that ten years would place her last sexual partner at about the time Jen was conceived. Even if he couldn’t feel her anguish from where he knelt, the SEALs had taught him to discount anything that resembled a coincidence.
Luke had heard pieces of whispered conversation between Rachel and Sally, and he’d been the cause of their dialogue abruptly ending when they’d become aware of his presence. He’d had his suspicions about what they’d been discussing, but he’d respected Sally’s privacy…until now, but damned if he didn’t want to know what had happened to her that turned her off men for ten years.
He renewed his efforts to find the elusive condoms, finally locating them at the bottom of one of the sacks, and tossing them on the nightstand by the bed as he rose to his feet. Carefully composing his expression so Sally, hopefully, wouldn’t notice how much her admission had affected him, he climbed onto the bed beside her. He slipped his arm around her waist and laid her down amid the pillows with him, gently smoothing back the hair that had fallen into her eyes. “Let me get this straight. Ten years ago, you had sex so incredible you knew every other man in the world would suffer by comparison…so rather than damage their egos, you’ve just been waiting until I came along? Well…no pressure there.” Luke rubbed the back of his neck and let out a harsh breath.
The sweet smile he’d hoped to evoke spread across her lips, and he kissed both corners of her mouth before moving to her ear. Oh, he’d given her a pass—a way out without having to explain herself and a situation that he suspected had been just the opposite of the scenario he described. The anger that still stirred in his belly correlated to whatever had happened to Sally, and he’d wager it hadn’t been good. Eventually, he’d find out what it was.
Luke slid his hand up her side until he covered her breast, his palm rubbing over her pebbled nipple, the sensation hardening his shaft even more, and he pressed the throbbing member against her. A growl worked from his throat as he took her breast into his mouth, his tongue running back and forth across the swollen tip.
Sally shivered in his arms, crooking her leg over his hip and pulling herself tighter. Luke guided her leg forward until he draped it over his shoulder, using it to push off and move his body down hers. Slowly, he kissed his way to her belly button, pausing to thrust his tongue in and out of the small cavity, a precursor to the hot, tight receptacle waiting for him only a few inches away. With an impatient snarl, he continued his exploration to the small rise of her stomach and then to the patch of hair that led to her folds. Her soft moans encouraged him as he cupped her delicious ass, pulling her toward him while he positioned himself between her thighs.
Sally raised her upper body, bracing on her elbows, and stared into his eyes. He met her curious gaze as he deliberately swept his tongue from one end of her folds to the other. He grinned when she threw herself down on the pillows, uttered something beneath her breath that sounded suspiciously like the f-word and fisted the sheets with both hands. The fact she was already wet and slick made the full length of his hard-on throb with impatience. God, he ached to be inside her warmth, and he wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer.
“Oh my God! What are you doing?” She moved her hands to his hair, grabbing two fistfuls and tugging.
Luke quickly loosened her grip and pulled her hands free, holding both of them down on her stomach. “It’ll become obvious in a minute, sunshine.” He slid one finger deep inside her, followed by a second, and worked them in and out in a rhythmic movement. Each push inward allowed him to thumb her sweet spot hidden in the triangle of hair, resulting in her thrashing and pulling to free her hands.
“Luke! It’s too much. I need you now.”
He almost couldn’t resist her plea. How long had it been since anyone had wanted him that badly? But it was obvious no one had ever tended to her needs before, and he meant for her to have it all tonight—wanted her to know how good sex could be…would always be. He didn’t have as much control over himself as he’d like for their first time. Another day, he’d make up for that, when his need wasn’t so raw.
Luke continued his sensory exploration, bringing her to the edge twice and backing off before she reached her release. He was fairly certain she issued the ultimate insult to his mother beneath her breath as he started over again. This time, when he felt her body tense and arch against him, he sucked her swollen womanhood into his mouth and rolled it unrelentingly between his tongue and teeth until she came, crying out his name.
He pulled himself alongside her, holding her until her trembling subsided. A drop of moisture rolled down her cheek, and Luke brushed it away, landing kisses on both eyes. “You okay?”
She nodded. “You could have warned me.”
“About what?”
“That you were going to make me lose control. That I’d feel so alive it’s scary. That one experience and I’d be addicted to you…and what you do to me. Great! I’m a sex addict!”
Sally’s words, though apparently meant to sound accusing, had no sting. When she couldn’t maintain a straight face any longer, a bubble of laughter surfaced. Luke drew his arms tighter around her and covered her mouth with his in a kiss bearing all the tenderness he felt for her.
“Don’t let that get around, babe. Every male between here and the Montana border will want to supply your fix, and I’ll have to fight them all.” One hand stroked the silky skin of her back. It was hard not to be elated by her words, especially the addicted-to-him part. He was more than fine with that. “In my own defense, I didn’t know that part of it was a first for you until we got into it a ways. You said you trusted me, so I made an executive decision. Would you rather I’d stopped?” Luke dropped a kiss on her lips, then cocked an eyebrow as he awaited her response.
A smirk lifted one corner of her mouth. “No. Stopping definitely wasn’t an option.”
“Okay. Good to know.” He captured her lips again and rolled until his body covered hers and his arousal pressed against the warmth of her core. “Actually, I was hoping you’d say that, because we’re not exactly finished.” Luke rubbed his hard-on along her naked thigh. “Just one more little item.”
Sally laughed and wrinkled her cute little nose. “It doesn’t feel that little.”
“I’m glad you think so.” Luke took her mouth roughly, claiming her with an urgency he couldn’t keep in check any longer. He pushed to his knees and reached for the condoms on the nightstand. Grasping the box, he ripped open the package, sending foil packets flying in every direction. Managing to locate one that had landed between Sally’s legs, he freed it from yet more packaging and rolled it on, while she tried to stifle her giggles, unsuccessfully. Damn good thing he didn’t have a confidence problem.
Spreading her legs wider, he lowered himself again, covering her mouth and swallowing the remainder of her laughter. With his shaft positioned snugly at her opening, he rocked back and drove in to the hilt. Her surprised cry went unheard as he plundered her mouth, probing with his tongue and savoring her taste. Her sweet warmth wrapping around his swollen manhood was far better than he could have imagined. Mind games had kept him alive for months, make-believe scenes just like this one, but his preconceived ideas crumbled into dust in the face of reality. This woman was real. He loved her so much his heart ached. She loved him too. He was sure of that, even though she hadn’t voiced it yet. She was his now, and he’d never let her down again.
Luke stared at her beautiful face as he drew out and then thrust forward, seating himself deep inside her again, grinding his pelvis against her sweet spot with each pass. After repeating the sequence several more times, he increased the tempo. The blatant need in her eyes seemed to match his, and he let go of some of his control, driving into her harder. Though Sally hooked her legs around his hips and met him thrust for thrust, she was still much smaller than he, more delicate. He’d never forgive himself if he hurt her, even accidentally.
A sensual smile forming, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his lips to hers, inserting her sweet tongue in his mouth while he sank into her. As he felt his release within reach, a tremor rocked her again, and she breathed his name before shattering in his arms. Gathering her tightly, he buried himself in her hot sheath as his climax slammed into him and he continued to pulse and twitch in rhythm with her spasms.
Long moments passed before Luke could shift positions and roll off Sally. “Don’t move—I’ll be right back.” He covered her lips with his, reluctant to leave her even for a minute.
In the bathroom, he disposed of the condom, splashed cold water on his face and hurried back to the woman in his bed. How he’d lived without her up to this point was pure mystery, but sure as hell, he wouldn’t make it a day without her now. Sliding in beside her, he patted his side in invitation, and she lay her head on his shoulder, one hand stroking his chest with a feather-light touch.
Luke kissed her forehead. “Love you, sunshine.”
Sally smiled and stretched to touch her lips to his jaw.
Disappointment bit him when she didn’t respond in kind, despite his inner voice telling him it wasn’t all about him. It was okay she didn’t say the words back to him. Things were great between them. Considering the emptiness in his life twenty-four hours ago, his circumstances had definitely taken a turn for the better. She was still reeling from the fire and explosion, probably nervous about the marshal and obviously scared shitless of Clive Brennan. So how about giving her a break…and some time to get used to the idea he was going to stick, no matter what.
Luke brushed her soft lips with his and gazed into her sparkling eyes. “Do you like to dance?”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Yes, but I’m not very good.”
He guided her head back to his shoulder. “I’m no Fred Astaire either, but I’d like to take you dancing. Would you go out with me on a real date?”
“I’d like that.” She traced a line from his cheek to his mouth, and he caught her hand, pressing her palm to his lips.
Two days ago, all he’d had was a picture to keep him sane. Here he was, lying in bed with her after incredible sex. She wasn’t the kind of woman who slept around. How much more evidence did he need that she loved him?
It didn’t matter. All his logic wouldn’t change a thing. He wanted the words from her sweet lips, and he wasn’t going to rest until she was his in every way.