Chapter Three

Vanessa slid the fork with the last bite of chocolate soufflé into her mouth and moaned as she pulled the tines slowly between her lips.

Craig swallowed against the lust rising like a tidal wave, not to mention the rising erection behind his zipper. “You keep moaning like that, and every woman in this restaurant will have to order that soufflé.”

Vanessa’s tongue flicked out and she licked a tiny morsel off the back of the fork. “But every man will thank me.”

“Now you’re just trying to torture me, aren’t you?” Craig said. 

She grinned. “Nope. I can’t help if you have a dirty mind.”

“Only around you, Nessie.”

She laughed. “I bet you say that to all those other women.”

He frowned. “What other women?”

“You know. “ She waved around her hand. “All those women you date.” She leaned closer. “I’ve heard all the stories.”

He caught her raised hand and lowered it to the table, pressing his hand over hers. “That’s all they are, just stories.”

Her gaze dropped to his hand covering hers and then she lifted her face until their gazes met. “Don’t.” She tried to pull her hand away, but he tightened his hold.

“Don’t what? Don’t want you? Don’t miss you?”

With a tug, she freed her hand. “Don’t tease me, Craig. Yes, I was a rough, tough Marine, but I am still a woman.”

“I noticed.” He leaned toward her. “I’ll never stop missing you or wanting you. You may have walked out on me, but I never left you.”

“I’m here for the job and when it’s over, I’m gone. We can’t go back. The past is the past and should stay there.”

“Fine, leave our mistakes in the past, but haven’t you ever thought about the what ifs?”

“No. Playing the what if game is a sure why to make yourself miserable. Why do that?”

Reaching across the table, he reclaimed her hand. He remembered her having a thin, soft, petite hand. But that wasn’t the hand he held. This hand was still soft, but now it had a strength that hadn’t been there before, which made sense. Vanessa was a stronger person than she’d been during their years together. Where once she’d been a sweet woman he took for granted was now a powerful woman who could take on the world. Her leaving him for the Marines might have been the worst thing for him, but their separation was the best thing for her.

“There’s one what if that has always bothered me.”

She took a sip of her water, sloshing a few drops out on the table. “And that is?”

“What if I never got the chance to tell you I was sorry? I am, you know. I was a lousy husband who took his wife for granted. Then I morphed into a total jerk who somehow came to believe I was so much better and smarter than all the people I knew. I took a long time to do a lot of soul-searching to realize what an ass I was.” He raised her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss on her knuckles. “I am so sorry, Nessie. So very, very sorry for how I acted and for the unconscionable things I said. Forgive me.”

She didn’t say anything for a couple of minutes. Her gaze held on the napkin in her lap as she twisted the cloth’s material around fingers and then straightened out again, only to start the twisting again.

As he waited, his life flashed in his mind like movie, especially those times when he was at his worst. Nervous tension pinged inside him. And while he, of course, continued to breath, each breathe was shallow and difficult to draw.

He hadn’t confessed all he had to, but every journey started with a first step and this was it. Her response to his apology would set the stage for everything else he had to say.

“Without a doubt, you were a contemptibly obnoxious husband and person.”

“True.” He nodded, ready to agree with almost any criticism she offered of his past actions. “I admit it.”

“I came to this job still angry with you. I worried that I couldn’t do my job because of how resentful I was.”

“I understand. I really do. Mike’s hiring you to protect me is his way of putting us in the same room so we could bury the hatchet, or at least that’s my opinion.”

She chuckled. “Yeah, well, I wanted to bury that hatchet in your groin.”

He winced. “Ouch.”

“But I am also smart enough to know that carrying around that much anger poisons a person. More damage is done to the hater than the hatee.” She sighed. “It’s time for me to let go of the past, so I accept your apology.”

Their waiter took that moment to bring the check to the table. Vanessa pulled her hand back to her side of the table, a pink flush rushing to her cheeks, as if the waiter had caught them doing something illegal or immoral. Craig laid enough cash on the table to cover the meal and a respectable tip.

“Ready?” he asked.

She nodded. “I need to make a quick stop in the ladies room.”

“No problem. I’ll have the valet bring around the car.”

As he stood talking with the valet while he waited for Vanessa, another man walked up to the entrance, opened the door, and held it as Vanessa walked out. The warm smile she gave her doorman made Craig’s gut flip. What he wouldn’t give to have her greet him with that smile every day for the rest of his life.

Vanessa stopped and tossed back her long hair with a head shake. Right then, a breeze swept down the street, lifting strands of her hair like a model in a fashion shoot.

Her admirer holding the door leaned close and spoke in a low voice.

She softly laughed and tapped him on the arm.

The jealousy dragon living inside Craig raised its head and shot a green flame into his heart. He fought the urge to run over, wrap his arm around her shoulders and claim her as his. And if he did, he was sure of her reaction, which wouldn’t be positive at all. All the progress he’d just made would be erased, and their relationship, such as it was, would be back to square one.

Beside him, the valet, a teen who looked like he was probably still in high school, whistled low under his breath. “Now, that’s a woman,” he said in a whisper to Craig.

 “I know.” Craig grinned. “That’s my wife.”

“Seriously?” The valet studied Vanessa, looked at Craig, then back to Vanessa. “Man, she’s hot.”

“I agree, but you might want to keep that to yourself. She’s an ex-Marine who can kick your butt without messing up her nails.”

The teen’s gaze stayed glued on Vanessa, his pupils dilated.

Craig couldn’t blame him. She had a way of capturing every male’s attention.

“Thanks for waiting,” she said, walking up to him.

“No problem. Want me to drive?”

“Not after you’ve been drinking.” She gestured toward the passenger seat. “Slide in.”

At that moment, the squeal of tires drew his attention. A speeding half-ton black truck raced toward them. Vanessa pushed him behind her and drew her gun.

He mentally rolled his eyes. What an overreaction.

Then a bright flash shown through the passenger window, followed by three more rapid flashes and loud pops. He found himself shoved to the ground with Vanessa sprawled on top of him. His heart leapt into his throat. His breathes came in pants.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her gun pointing toward the truck’s tailgate as it sped out of sight.

Around them, screams filled the air as other restaurant patrons dove for cover.

“Get off of me,” he grunted out. “I feel like a fool.”

“Just wait a minute. If he comes back, I don’t want to have to worry about where you are.”

After a couple of minutes, Vanessa rolled off him and stood.

He followed, brushing the dirt off the knees of his slacks. “Don’t ever do that again,” he hissed. “The next time you’re on top of me, we’d both better be naked.”

She looked around before turning her gaze to him. “You okay? Hit anywhere?”

“Of course not.” He straightened his shoulders. “I’m fine.”

“Then where’s that blood coming from?” She pointed to his white shirt.

He looked down, and jerked with shock at seeing blood splatter on his side and shoulder.

She yanked his shirt out of his pants and pulled it up to his shoulders.

“I don’t see anything.”

“I don’t hurt anywhere, except where you threw me to the ground.”

Her eyes narrowed. “It’s called doing my job.”

“Help me,” a terrified voice cried in a strained voice.

Vanessa whirled and took off in a run, Craig on her heels.

“Damn it,” Craig muttered. “Poor kid.”

The teen valet lay in the flowerbed, his white shirt soaked with blood. “It hurts,” he moaned.

“You’re going to be fine,” Vanessa said as she crouched beside him. “You got a clean handkerchief?” she asked Craig. “I need something to press to his wound.”

Craig tugged off his shirt and handed it to her.

She snatched it and pressed it to the gunshot wound.

The kid moaned in pain.

“Hold this,” she ordered Craig. “Let me see if anyone else was hit.”

The restaurant front window caught one or two of the bullets. A number of patrons suffered minor cuts from the flying glass. One woman had a large sliver of glass sticking out of the side of her head. A man knelt beside her hold her head steady.

“Can I do anything?” Vanessa asked.

The man shook his head. “I’m a nurse and her husband. I’ve got this. Has anyone called for EMTs?”

“I don’t know. I’ll check and make sure she’s got an ambulance coming.”

He nodded. “Thanks.”

The wail of sirens broke into the sounds of crying and panicked people. A fire truck followed by two ambulances flew down the street, stopping in front of the carnage. Three police cars roared to a stop, blocking the street in both directions.

Craig kept pressure on the valet’s chest. “You’re going to be fine. You’ve got this. What a great story you’ll have to tell. Think about that. Girls love heroes. You’re going to be so popular with the ladies.” Later, he had no idea all the things he said, mostly nonsense to distract the kid.

Two paramedics hurried over. “We’ve got this, sir.”

Craig stood and stepped out the way to allow the paramedics room to work. A warm hand touched his back between his shoulders.

“You did great,” Vanessa said into his ear while rubbing up and down his back. “You held firm pressure on the wound and kept him calm. That’s all you could do.”

His heart had started to slow to normal until that first stroke down his back. Now, the rate was climbing. He looked over his shoulder until he could catch her gaze. “You’re pretty impressive yourself.” He turned toward her. “Anyone else shot?”

She shook her head. “Flying glass injuries.”

“I heard your conversation with that nurse.” His lips tightened. “Do you think those bullets were meant for me?”

“I don’t know. That’ll be up to the police to decide.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked again. He ran his gaze over her face, down her body and back to her face. “No glass, no bullet wound you’re toughing out?”

“Bullet wound I’m toughing out?” She chuckled. She touched his cheek. “I’m fine. Let’s find the lead detective and fill him in. After that, I need to contact Hank Patterson and the FBI agent on your case. We don’t know if this attack was directed at you or the restaurant or someone else, but they need to be made aware. Even though you are positive that Knue had no way to travel to Texas, we can’t know that.”

When they finally staggered into the house, the hour was late, almost eleven.

“Want a drink?” Craig asked. “Because I’m sure having one.” He pulled two glass tumblers from the kitchen cabinet. “Never mind. You’re having a drink with me.” Bourbon followed a couple of ice cubes he threw into the glasses. He handed one to her and then tapped his glass to hers.

“What are we drinking to?” she asked, looking over the rim at him.

“Life and never having to go through something like that again.”

“I can drink to that.”

As the initial sip of whiskey slid down his throat, he released a long sigh. After such a positive dinner, he’d hoped to bring up their marital situation but after the last four hours, he wasn’t in the right frame of mind for that kind of discussion. And the way she tossed back her bourbon suggested she wouldn’t be receptive to his news.

He caught the bottle of bourbon between his fingers and lifted it. “Come on.” He walked toward the living room. After a couple of steps, he looked back and saw she hadn’t moved from the kitchen. “I’m tired. I’ve been interviewed by half of the Big Branch sheriff’s department while half-dressed for the last four hours. I want to sit on a comfortable couch and drink.”

“I understand that, more than you can probably know. If you want to be alone, I have no problem heading on up to bed.”

“Hell, no, I don’t want to be alone. I want company.”

She trailed in his wake to the living room and took the wingback chair across from the sofa.

He dropped heavily onto the sofa cushions.

“And before you make something out of my last comment.” He leaned forward to set the bourbon on the table between them. “I want to clarify that I want your company, not just anyone’s.”

She smiled and relaxed into the chair. “You might know me too well.”

He smiled and refilled his glass. “You might be a prickly cactus sometimes.”

Her eyes narrowed and her lips drew in a firm line.

“But a very pretty prickly cactus,” he added, throwing in a wink with his smile.

She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “You might want to slow down on the booze. It’s making you a little too honest. And I’d hate for all your honesty to make me move slower when shoving your ass out of the way of the next bullet.”

The smile dropped from his face. “That shooting was a hell of thing, wasn’t it?” He ran his hands through his hair. “I hope that kid is going to okay.”

“His wound didn’t look too bad. He should be fine. I’ve seen a number of similar injuries.” She poured another shot into her glass and tossed it back.

“I guess things like gunshots and blood are old hat to you.”

“Don’t forget all the dead bodies I’ve helped cart away.” She closed her eyes for a second, and then said, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.” Their gazes met. “What I’ve found is that unless I’m talking to someone else who served over there, explaining what war is like can be almost impossible. Easier to say that war is hell on earth.”

“Are you sorry you joined?” Tonight was the first time they’d ever discussed her years in the military. Part of him was proud of her service. But parts of him winced at what she must have been through. Having known her all his life, hearing about these years where he was missing was painful, like punching a fresh bruise.

Her eyes opened wide. “Never. Being a Marine is the best thing I ever did for myself. If I hadn’t left, I’m not sure…well…” She paused. “I was so unhappy. You knew that. My life had gotten to the point that it was either leave you or kill myself.”

Her comment was a hard punch to his gut. The air rushed from his lungs. His hands and arms went numb. Leaning forward, he set the tumbler on the coffee table between them. “Oh God, Nessie.” He dropped his head into his hands and stared at the hardwood floor. “I’m sorry.” A sad chuckle escaped his throat. “Sorry is such a stupid word. It can’t begin to reflect the depth  of my feelings.”

The scent of her perfume preceded her joining him on the couch. Soft fingers stroked the back of his neck.

“I’ll agree that you were a complete fool. Conceited. Vain. Self-absorbed. So wrapped up in your success that you didn’t have time to be married anymore.”

His head lowered more. “Great pep talk. Let’s do it again soon.”

“Let me finish.” She put her arm around his shoulders. “I was your wife. Your partner in life. I should never had put up with all your nonsense. I could have stood up for myself. I could have fought to save our marriage. I could have made us go to marriage counseling. Shoot, I could make a list of other actions I could have taken instead of running away, but that was how I faced adversity then. I ran. Lucky for me, there wasn’t a circus in town. Otherwise, I might joined it.”

He chuckled. “Oh yeah? What job?”

“I don’t know. Maybe fortune teller. Or bareback horse rider.”

“You don’t know the first thing about telling fortunes, and I know for a fact you can’t ride a horse.”

She squeezed his shoulders. “True, so the Marines it was.”

For the first time, he raised his head to look at her. “You would have looked good in a bareback rider’s tutu.”

She laughed. “Thank you, I think.”

“I wish…No, I’m not going there. No playing what if tonight.” He looked into her eyes. “I like who you are, Nessie. Don’t get me wrong. There was nothing wrong with how you were, but now, well, you’re more confident, more self-assured. You carry yourself with a poise you never had before. It’s very sexy.”

“Well, thank you again.” She bumped shoulders. “My ego is loving all the flattery.”

“I’m serious. Didn’t you notice that every man in the restaurant watched you walk in? And that guy on the way out? I thought of coming over to remind you that you were with me.”

“You’re such a goose.”

“And that poor valet? He told me you were a hottie.”

This time, a loud laugh burst out. “Stop it. You’re embarrassing me.”

He turned on the sofa until they were facing each other. He set a hand on her waist. “You take my breath away, Vanessa Britt Devlin.”

“Just Britt,” she reminded him. “I dropped your name after the divorce.”

“Why? Losing my last name wasn’t part of the divorce petition, or at least I am sure I didn’t ask you to.”

She shrugged. “I felt like I was starting over so I figured it was like being reborn.”

He ran the back of his hand down her cheek. “I look at you and I look at my life, and I realize how much I lost.”

“But you have your millions to keep you warm at night.” With a two-finger grasp, she lifted his hand off her face.

“Ouch.”

“You had a choice. You made it. Now, you have to live with it.”

“No, I don’t have to. I can change, Nessie. I have changed, but my feelings for you haven’t.”

She pressed a hot kiss in the palm of his hand. “I think the emotional stress of tonight has you confusing the adrenaline rush of surviving a shooting with true feelings. You’ll be back to normal in the morning. Speaking of which…” She leaned forward and pressed her mouth to his. “I’ll do a walk around of the house before we go to bed.” When he grinned, she added, “Separately.”

When she stood, he rose and took her hand. “I’ll do the door and window checks with you.”

“No need. That’s my job.”

“That may be your job, but if I go with you, I can postpone being apart from you.”

She scoffed. “If only you’d been this attentive all those years ago.”

He cringed at the truth in her words. “I’ve grown. Matured. Gotten wiser.”

“So have I,” she answered. “And I know how to protect not only my person, but also my heart.”

After ensuring the house was locked up tighter than a merry widow’s corset, they said their goodnights and went their separate ways. Once in the bedroom she was using, Vanessa pulled out her computer to compile a report for Hank.

She’d already spoken by phone with him and Agent Freeman from the FBI. So far, Knue hadn’t been seen in or around Malibu, so they all agreed that no matter how unlikely, they had to give credence to the idea that Knue had somehow traveled from California to Texas and discovered where Devlin was staying. A written report from her for the files was SOP.

She decided sleep was overrated anyway. Might as well get the report done.

Hank had asked if protecting her ex was too much of a hardship. She’d assured him they had worked through all their issues. Hank asked her to include a statement about the working conditions and cooperation of Craig Devlin as part of her report.

When she got to that section of her statement, her fingers froze on the keys. Lifting her shoulder, she rubbed her cheek, as if that could remove the sensation of his hand stroking her face. He had no idea how much she’d wanted to lean into that caress. How much she’d wanted to move closer when he’d grasped her waist.

And then, to do the dumbest thing of all, how could she have kissed him? Sure, it’d been a light brush of lips. She’d not stayed there long enough for him to deepen the kiss, and heavens knew that was exactly what she’d wanted. And because she’d craved that gesture, she slapped another brick in the wall separating them.

Letting her love for him flourish again would be so easy, but she’d never survive if things fell apart again. Had it not been for bootcamp, she’d never have made it the first time. Bootcamp took every ounce of her determination. She didn’t have time to mope. Hell, she hadn’t had the strength to mope. Every day had been a challenge, and she’d been unwavering in her commitment to succeed.

Bootcamp had saved her sanity and her life.

With her account of the evening filed, sleep was evasive. She relived the shooting again and again, analyzing what she missed or what she could have done differently.

She had been a little distracted by the attractive man who’d held the door open, and then asked for her name and phone number. She’d been flattered, especially since she’d been aware Craig was watching the scene play out.

She’d been thinking, See what you threw away. Other men find me attractive.

And maybe she had strutted a little toward where he waited at the valet stand. And maybe her mind had been on watching his reaction instead of being alert to possible threats.

He could have been killed on her watch. His life was her responsibility.

After a full hour of reliving and reanalyzing the evening from every possible angle, she finally felt the pull of sleep. She was right there on the edge between awake and asleep when a noise sat her straight up in bed. Straining her hearing, she listened for a repeat of the sound.

There it was. A low moan. A deep shout.

She threw off the sheet and hurried next door. As she’d instructed, the door was shut, but wasn’t locked. The room was inky dark. The curtains over the window were pulled tight, not letting in an ounce of moonlight.

From the dark came a grunt and cry. “Stop. Don’t hurt her.”

Craig’s voice. Nightmares from the shooting was her guess, although with the gritty suspense books he wrote and the research he had to do, she wondered if he had nightmares often or if this experience was something new.

Holding up her phone as a flashlight, she saw him, white sheets twisted around his tanned body. Her heart did a rat-a-tat as she looked at him, his firm chest muscles reflecting her dim light.

Not that she would admit this fact to anyone else, but she’d fallen in love with him in the second grade. There’d never been another man for her.

If she said she’d never kissed another man, that’d be a bold face lie. She and Craig had broken up in high school and she briefly dated a couple of other senior football players, but that’d been to make him jealous. Dating other guys hadn’t been a serious attempt to start a relationship with anyone else.

He threw an arm over his head and kicked the sheets off his legs, leaving only a swatch of material covering his groin. Did he still sleep in the nude? She’d had to give up that habit in the military, but she missed the slip and slide of satiny sheets across her skin at night.

The room was now quiet. He seemed to have settled down from whatever he’d been dreaming. She took a couple of steps backward to leave when he cried out, “No.”

This time, she hurried over to the bedside.

“Craig,” she said. “Craig. Wake up. It’s only a dream.”

“What?” he asked in a groggy voice.

“You’re having a bad dream,” she said.

“Nessie?”

“Yeah.”

“I dreamed you got shot,” he said. “You died over there.”

She smiled and brushed his golden hair off his brow. “Nope. Still here.”

He scooted over. “Don’t leave.” He lifted the top sheet for her to slide in.

The plea, so heartfelt and raw, tore at her restraint. After turning off the light on her phone, she sat on the edge of the bed, her heart racing like at the conclusion of a twenty-five mile jog.

The sheets were warm and smelled like Craig. Love and longing overwhelmed her. Not longing for any man’s touch. Only his. They might have had trouble during the day, but their nights had been filled with love. She missed this—the comfort of knowing someone was with her.

She slipped between the sheets and drew in a deep breath, letting his scent fill her senses. Her stomach quivered with nerves. Ten years had passed since they’d shared a bed. How should she act?

An arm wrapped over her side and around her waist. He pulled her snuggly against him.

His hard chest pressed to her back. His thighs cradled hers. His erection nudged at her bottom.

She swallowed against the lump in her throat and the rising lust in her groin.

“I’ve missed you,” he said, his nose in the tresses of her hair. “You’ve changed your shampoo.”

She chuckled. “Well, we haven’t seen each other in ten years so I suspect a number of things have changed.”

“No, it hasn’t.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve seen you since our separation. I was at your bootcamp graduation. And I saw you every Christmas when you visited your parents.”

Stunned by his revelation, her breathing froze. “You came to my graduation?” She dragged in a breath. “And at Christmas? Why didn’t I see you? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I didn’t know if you’d be glad to see me, so I watched but didn’t speak. You looked great every time.”

She glanced over her shoulder. “What if I’d brought home a husband? Or a lover? What would you have done then?”

If possible, he drew her tighter to him. “I don’t know. Hitman maybe?”

She sighed. “You realize how sick that is given the current situation.”

He kissed the area behind her ear. “I probably would have gone nuts. I knew you might have a boyfriend or two since you left, but I also knew you couldn’t have married.”

His kisses and caresses while he wrapped himself around her made her insides melt. Of course, alarm bells clanged loudly in her head.

The arm at her waist shifted downward. Thick fingers worked their way under her T-shirt until she felt them glide along her abdomen. Reflexively, she sucked in her gut as they moved upward until his hand fondle her breast.

Reality crashed through her lust fog. Through her shirt’s material, her hands caught his. “Craig. Doing this is a really bad idea. Really bad.”

He ran the tip of his tongue around the rim of her ear, sending a platoon of marching goose bumps down her spine. “I disagree. This is really good idea.”

When she turned her head to continue her protest, she was met by his mouth taking hers in a soft kiss that rapidly grew hotter and deeper. His tongue tasted her bottom lip and she open her mouth, and herself, to what he offered. He thrust his tongue between her teeth and into mouth. Their tongues met in stroke-for-stroke caresses. The next moan she heard wasn’t from a bad dream, and the sound wasn’t from him.

With a deep groan, she rolled over to face him, dislodging his hand from her shirt. Her vision had adjusted to the dim room and now she could make out his chiseled, beautiful face. She placed her hands on either side of his head. “How can you still be so fucking handsome?”

He smiled.

Another brick in her resistance wall fell.

“Clean living.”

A laugh burst out. “I doubt it.”

Threading his fingers through her hair, he pulled her face to his for a kiss.

This kiss wasn’t a soft kiss of past love. It was a rough, powerful, take-no-prisoners demand for her total surrender. He lowered her back to the mattress and rolled atop her.

Her bones melted and her insides flooded her canal in preparation. She wanted to fight, wanted to tell him again they shouldn’t do this, but for once, she let her emotions override her logic. She kissed him back, his lips firm and open and welcoming for her tongue.

He closed them when her tongue was inside his mouth and sucked it.

She wrapped her arms around his back and her legs over his thighs, opening herself to him. Her heart raced with an emotion she didn’t want to name. Her breathing was ragged and shallow. Every cell ached with yearning for this man.

“Nessie, oh, Nessie,” he said with a moan. “I’ve missed you so much. You have no idea.”

She didn’t say anything because she didn’t know what she wanted to say. Part of her agreed with his sentiment. She’d missed him also. But another part, albeit a much smaller part, demanded she protect her heart, reminding her that he’d been responsible for the greatest pain she’d ever experienced.

So, no words. Instead, she spoke with her body, sliding her calves up and down his legs, luxuriating in the feeling of his coarse hair. She scored her fingernails down his back until she found his naked ass…and it was a very fine ass. Not too flat. Not too full. Just tight and firm and perfect.

Pulling his mouth from hers, he left a trail of damp, chill-bumped flesh as he kissed and licked his way down her throat until he met the resistance of her shirt. He rolled off and reached for the hem of her shirt but then paused.

“If this comes off, I’m not stopping,” he warned.

She met his fingers at her hem. “This…this…whatever this is, doesn’t change anything between us.”

“We’ll see,” he said.

“No, you have to agree. We live separate lives. I can’t, I won’t, plan for any type of future with you.”

He gave her an almost violent kiss, invading her mouth with his tongue like an advancing army. She arched her back, pressing her swollen and achy beasts against his chest.

“Whatever you say,” he finally said. “I’ll agree to anything. I need you tonight like I need oxygen.”

She grabbed the hem of her shirt and jerked it over her head.

Fire and desire flashed in his eyes as he stared at her.

The room was suddenly hot. Her flesh tingled. Lust filled every pore, every cell. Dampness coated her panties and thighs.

Almost reverently, he traced a fingertip across one nipple and then the other.

Her breasts swelled under his touch.

“Beautiful,” he said on a whisper. “So beautiful. Even better than my memories or my fantasies.”

He took one breast into his mouth and fondled the other with rubs and caresses.

She sighed and arched into his hands, into his mouth.

“Harder,” she said, her hips thrusting upward. “Suck harder.”

He did, almost to the point of pain, but it was a delicious agony. Her pelvis ached with need. Rubbing her thighs together only magnified the throbbing of her sex.

He released the suction on her breast and blew across the damp nipple, drawing the erection tighter.

She shivered at his touch

As he applied his mouth to her other breast, he rolled and firmly pinched her rigid nipple.

A combination of pain and ecstasy shot to her groin and she moaned in pleasure.

After a while, he settled himself between her legs and started a trail of sucks, licks, nibbles, and kisses on her flesh as he worked his way down her body.

The musky scent of arousal filled the air. Hers or his? She didn’t know, didn’t care. But the aroma heightened her sexual excitement even more, and she didn’t think that was possible.

When he reached her panty line, he caught the elastic between his teeth and pulled as he scooted down the bed.

Lifting her hips, she helped him get off her panties. Cool air wafted across the engorged, hot flesh between her legs.

“You smell so good,” he muttered a second before setting his mouth on the delicate, swollen lips of her sex. He sucked and then thrust his tongue into her wetness.

She dug her heels into the mattress and arched into his mouth. “Oh God,” she moaned. “Feels so good. So good.”

He ran his tongue along her slit and up to her puffy clit. He traced the distended button around and around.

“Yes, yes, yes,” she said on a gasp. “Don’t stop.”

He shoved a finger into her opening. He glided his finger in and out as his lips and tongue sucked and stroked  her sensitive nub. A second and then third finger joined the first, filling her, twisting around inside her, and flexing until he found the secret area of release.

The tension inside her grew, the voltage amping up to painful levels, but she didn’t want to come yet. She fought against the rising tide of energy.

Craig continued his fingers thrusts but glided his other hand under her rear. He separated her globes with his fingers, finding her puckered hole. He rimmed the edge with his thumb.

Vanessa gasped even as her hips rose off the mattress.

He took his mouth from her clit. “I want to watch you when you come,” he said.

His voice was raspy and rumbling. She felt every word and every vibration deep inside.

He pulled his fingers from her and when he shoved them back in, he pushed his thumb through the tight ring of her ass. “Come on, baby. I know you want to come. Let go.”

Her ass burned from the intrusion. Her heart and breath raced each other. Fire like she’d never known shot through her.

They’d never engaged in any type of ass play and she’d never thought she’d like it, but damn. She dug her heels deeper into the mattress, elevating her ass farther into the air.

Rotating his thumb in a circle, he jammed it up his knuckle.

Her hands knotted the sheet beside her. She pressed her head against the mattress. Sucking in her stomach, she pushed her lower back off the bed to give him complete access.

“You mouth. I want your mouth on me,” she demanded.

His thumb left her hole and his mouth found her clit again. Catching the swollen, tender bud, he sucked on it and pounded his fingers in and out of her in rapid moves.

The building tide of energy was a hair’s breadth from pain and she loved it. She was on the edge, reaching for the golden ring. And then he bit gently on her clit, and she flew. Tidal wave after tidal wave of electricity shot through her veins and bounced between each cell. She cried out, every muscle jerking from the release of energy. With even the slightest ebb in her orgasm, he’d lick and nibble on that tender nub and set off another round of pleasure.

Finally, she floated back to reality and opened her eyes. Craig watched her, a smug expression on his face.

“Liked that, did you?”

She sighed and stretched. “It was okay.”

He laughed and crawled up her body until his full weight rested on her. “Okay, huh? I guess I’ll have to try harder next time.”

She didn’t tell him this was a one-time deal. This was it. One and done. Instead, she met his mouth with hers and drew him into a long kiss.

When she could get her mouth back, she asked, “Do you have a condom?”

“We don’t need one,” he said, leaving kisses on her neck.

“Yeah, we do. I might be almost forty, but I can still get pregnant.”

“So what?” he said in a hot, breathy whisper in her ear. She shivered in response.

“Condom,” she repeated.

He sat back on his heels and looked at her. “I’m serious, Nessie. I’m clean. Aren’t you on the pill?”

She nodded. “But to be on the safe side, I think we should use a condom.”

He got off the bed and went into the adjacent en suite. In a minute, he was back, tossing a strip of condoms onto the bedside table. “There. Condoms. Happy?”

“Not really. I hate them, but we’ve been apart for ten years. I don’t expect that you were monk during that time.” She threw out an arm, grabbed a foil packed, and brought it back. “Want me to do it?”

He jerked the packet from her hand and unrolled the latex condom over his stiff cock. “I’m dressed for the party now,” he said with a resigned sigh, but added a wink, which she interpreted as he was okay with this.

He settled himself back between her legs and pushed himself inside with a groan. “Damn, you are tight.”

Her flesh stretched to accommodate his girth. Muscles long dominant were pulled and extended. The resulting burn was a delicious mix of pain and agony. 

“Complaining?” She pushed back.

“Hell, no. Loving it.”

“I probably won’t come again,” she warned.

He groaned out a laugh. “Oh yeah?”

He pulled out and sat back on his heels. Shoving his arms under her thighs, he lifted her hips and slammed into her canal.

With a cry, she arched her back, leaving only her shoulders touching the sheet.

He answered her cry with multiple thrusts, each one connecting with the most erotic and sensitive area inside. Tension and energy pulsed inside her. Muscles tightened as they prepared for another release.

On the next thrust, he ground against her clit. The energy spiked and she came in a shower of sparks and spasms. In a minute, he pushed deep and held. His cock pulsed inside her as he found his release.

With a deep groan, he lowered her legs to the bed. “Damn.”

“I agree.” She pushed her hair off her face.

After a quick stop in the en suite, he climbed back into the bed, threaded his arm under neck and pulled her to him. He kissed her gently.

“I bet I only have great dreams the rest of the night.”

He fell to sleep like someone flipped a switch.

She, on the other hand, laid there thinking about the guy she was dating in Montana. This situation was going to be a total clusterfuck in the end and it’d all be her doing.

 

Craig’s stalker gulped down the vodka and slammed the glass on the table. “Goddamnit.”

“What happened?” her sister asked. “What’d you do? Where have you been?”

“I did a little target practice tonight.” She refilled her glass and poured the vodka down her throat. “Did you know that hitting a moving target is so much harder than hitting a piece of paper with an outline of a man?”