Chapter Six
I t took every ounce of self-control not to come in her mouth. She’d seemed enthusiastic enough but he hadn’t known for sure.
But something about her.
Tumbling blond curls, eyes that changed from brown to green, and sweet, soft curves.
And a velvety mouth and an even more velvety cunt. Tight, hot, and wet.
His shoulder throbbed but there was no way in hell he would stop.
He’d seen this need inside of her from the beginning. The tension he’d felt from her had left little doubt.
Watching her in the mirror yesterday had confirmed his suspicions.
And now, all of that tension, all that pent-up need, was wrapped around him, sliding heat along his length.
She rode him almost mindlessly, clutching his thighs, then his arms. Whatever she could grab.
Still fully clothed, her skirt gathered at her waist revealing warm, supple thighs. He’d done nothing to remove her T-shirt and bra. With the use of just one hand, he didn’t want to attempt maneuvering it over her head.
At that thought, he reached out and pulled her down so his teeth could capture her collar and then…
Rip!
He tore it off – ripped it straight down the front, revealing a thin practical bra and pale, vulnerable… lickable, tasteable skin.
Her eyes flew open and she lost her rhythm. “I want to see you.” He’d not apologize. And then he thrust his hips upward.
“Ohh.” Her head fell back. “Oh, fuck me. Oh, please, just fuck me.” She looked like she would cry if he didn’t.
He needed no additional encouragement.
He only wished he had the use of his other arm!
But she was helpful. Moving, grinding, riding, and gliding along him.
He pushed her bra straps down her arms until they caught around her elbows. With hungry fingers, he scooped his hand inside one of the cups of her bra, freeing one breast, and then the other. They felt heavy in his hands but they were also pert. How had he never found breasts like this before? Leaning forward, he took one nipple into his mouth, tugging and nipping. She moaned again.
Her low, sexy sounds nearly had him exploding then and there.
He sucked and then tugged harder. Her nipples were like pebbles. He kneaded the other one with his hand.
And she kept grinding.
And moaning.
Thank God they were alone in the house. Hopefully, the other neighbors side weren’t home this morning. He’d hate to think what kind of report they’d give his mom if they were.
Not that he cared, but he knew she would.
It was as though everything she needed, the only thing she needed, right in this moment, was something only he could give her. She needed a man who could fully appreciate the want inside of her.
And he, in turn, needed her. She wasn’t looking for a guy to show off to her friends. A guy she could take out to the clubs. She wasn’t looking to land a pilot.
The things other woman chased him for seemed to be the things Penny needed to look past.
Because she hadn’t been going to take him seriously. She’d fought it.
She hadn’t stood a chance.
Sure as hell, this was ninety-nine percent physical but he felt something else. Something in her soul tugged at him.
Ever since that fucking blast! He’d been harassed by gnawing anxiety, frustration… and a blood-sucking worthlessness. The notion that he wouldn’t fly again, that he was no longer the go to guy, had taunted him.
And then he’d caught Penny watching him.
Not knowing who he was. Not knowing anything about him. She’d watched him.
She’d watched him with that innocent but ferocious hunger.
And in doing so, she’d chased away those taunting voices of irrelevance.
She needed him. Something had gone very wrong in her life, leaving her lost and second-guessing her own worth.
And a woman like Penny… needed to feel treasured, beautiful… lusted after.
Being inside of her, engulfed by her warm, tight heat, he felt connected on an almost spiritual level. Which made no sense at all.
It made him wonder. About fate, destiny, all that crap he’d never really thought of.
He was pretty sure she’d come more than once already, and yet she wouldn’t stop to catch her breath.
Chaz put a hand on her hip and raised himself up off the bed, meeting her but slowing her down at the same time.
She sat straight up on top of him now, her head dropped back, too heavy to hold up. Chaz, clutching one of her thighs, drove their motion. And then…
“Oh, fuck, Penny.” He barely managed to get out, “Condom.”
It took a minute for his words to penetrate her thoughts.
“No.” She fell forward and moaned, “Oh, shit. Do you have any?”
Every single day of his life, since turning sixteen, he’d kept condoms in his possession. In his wallet, his shaving case, his dresser.
Except for now. When his mom had collected his belongings from the barracks and then picked him up from the hospital, she’d failed to grab the box of condoms out of his bathroom.
Chaz slid his hand up from her sweet little tush and then rubbed her back. “I don’t.”
At which point, she collapsed heavily on top of him.
He was still hard, inside her, but the pain in his shoulder had decided to make itself known again.
She raised one of her legs and rolled off but when she went to get up from the bed, he stopped her. “No, stay here a minute.” He didn’t want this to end. He was inexplicably fearful that she’d throw her clothes on, run out the door, and never talk to him again.
Which was not something he was used to.
She hesitated. “I’m not on the pill.”
“That’s not what I mean. Come back here.”
He reached out his good arm and indicated she lay beside him. Looking uncertain, she tentatively crawled across the mattress, put one hand on his chest, and then curled up beside him.
His situation was painfully obvious. If he had the use of his other hand, he could do something about it. His cock twitched as though demanding attention.
And then, thank God, Penny trailed her hand downward. “It’s all messy.” She flicked her eyes up at him. He couldn’t remember being with a woman who was so apologetic about her sexuality. “From me.”
Chaz pulled his arm out from behind her, took her hand in his, and then placed it at the base of his cock.
“That’s a good thing, sweetheart. We won’t need any lotion that way.”
He was slick with her juices. Guiding her hand along his arousal, he showed her exactly what he liked, what he needed.
She seemed mesmerized as she watched their hands work together on him. “God, woman, so many things I want to do to you.”
Her breasts pressed into his side and her curly blond hair cascaded around him.
She smelled like something fruity and flowery and musky, like a woman who’d spent the last thirty minutes fucking him.
“So good, so damn good.” But that was all he could get out.
Because watching her, watching their hands move together up and down, was almost more than he could bear. And in his mind, he kept remembering the last time he’d done this, alone… with her watching.
Oh, hell.
He picked up the pace – held her hand tighter, once, twice, and then shot off like a rocket.
As he pulsed beneath their palms, he finally relaxed back onto the bed. Damn, his shoulder hurt like hell.
But it had been worth it.
Using what little strength he had left, he lifted his thumb and rubbed it along the back of her hand.
“Thank you,” he said. And then with a hitch of laughter, he added, “Penny Pyncher.”
She groaned but snuggled against his side. “I should find a towel.” Her voice was muffled. She sounded embarrassed. “But my shirt is ripped.”
“I suppose I owe you a new one.”
She burrowed deeper into his side. “I’m not used to doing this in daylight.” For a woman who’d been married over a decade, she certainly was repressed.
He chuckled again, remembering the sight of her on top of him with passion-glazed eyes. “It didn’t bother you a few minutes ago.”
“I know,” she mumbled. “I’m sorry.”
At this, he tipped her chin back so that she had to look at him. “Didn’t you just hear me thanking you?”
Her eyes were practically black. When she’d been on top of him, they’d looked green.
He dropped his hand to her breast and cupped it firmly. “I absolutely loved every fucking thing we just did. I refuse to allow you to even think about apologizing.” He squeezed her breast slightly. “Do you like this? Did this feel good?”
She nodded slowly. “But–”
“No buts.” He kissed the top of her head and eased off the bed. Opening his dresser, he pulled out one of his T-shirts and tossed it to her. The words across the front read Pilots do it in the cockpit.
She quickly slipped the too-large shirt over her head. “Thanks.” She adjusted her bra beneath the material and looked again as though she was ready to bolt.
Chaz just stood there, totally nude but for the bandage around his torso and the socks she’d slipped on him earlier. She’d watched him happily enough from the privacy of her room before but averted her eyes now. “Hey.” He insisted she look at him. “Get back in bed. I’ll be right back.”
She raised her eyebrows.
“I’m not done with you yet.”
***
Penny pulled his T-shirt down to just above her knees and snuggled into his pillow. Part of her wanted to run as fast as she could back to her own house and the other half was happy to stay right here. Happy to enjoy this moment, for surely, this – whatever it was – would die a quick and happy death.
Nimble as a panther despite his injury, Chaz climbed out of the bed and then disappeared through the door wearing nothing but a pair of athletic socks.
With his absence, her doubts quickly returned. What on earth was she doing? She barely knew him! He was injured! She’d promised his mother that she’d ‘check in’ on him! Surely this wasn’t what Mrs. Wright had in mind!
She heard a toilet flush from down the hall and a moment later, he returned to stand in the open doorway. Leaning against the doorframe, he watched her curiously, as though she were a puzzle he’d yet to figure out. In his left hand, he held a damp, folded washrag.
Penny held up her hands, expecting him to toss it to her, but he shook his head, pushed himself away from the door, and approached her ominously.
What the heck?
“Lie back, lady.” He nudged her shoulder onto the pillow.
And then, tenderly but thorough, he used the warm cloth on her. First her hand, a little in her hair, and before she realized what he had in mind, the cloth was between her legs.
She flinched her eyes shut.
“Are you always this… helpful?” Throwing her arms above her head, she wavered between mortification and appreciation.
This part of sex had always been done privately, separately. Not in a million years could she imagine Kent doing anything like this for her.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” He finished and tossed the rag toward a hamper. Then he lay back on his uninjured side, facing her. He looked a little pale beneath his tan.
“Are you in pain?”
He didn’t answer her.
“Oh, my God, you are, aren’t you?” Penny pushed herself up and glanced around wondering what she’d done with her shoes. “I should go. I should let you sleep.”
“Stay.”
Penny froze. Something in his voice tugged at her to meet his gaze. He truly didn’t want her to leave. He wasn’t at all anxious to get rid of her.
“Please?”
How could she deny him? He caused her to lose all sense of reason, in a really good way.
Catching sight of a prescription bottle on the dresser, she upped the ante. “I’ll stay if you take one of your pain pills. Have you had any today?”
“Not since yesterday.”
Jumping out of the bed, she opened the container, tilted out one pill, and handed it to him. He grabbed a water bottle from the other nightstand and swallowed it without argument. “Now get back here. I want to know more about you.”
A little confused, she sat on the bed again and tucked her feet under her. What was this?
Wasn’t it just some crazy, insanity-induced sexual fling. People who did this sort of thing didn’t actually get to know one another, did they?
She had no idea.
“How long were you married?” He reached for her and then pulled the sheet over both of them, tucking her in beside him.
Huh.
Okaaay. “I got married when I was twenty-four, when Kent finished medical school.”
Chaz had closed his eyes. “A doctor, eh? But no kids?”
“No, we figured we’d wait.”
“And when did you find him with butt-pillow girl?”
“Eight months ago. On Halloween.”
At her answer, he opened his eyes. “Huh,” he said. “We drove over the mine on Halloween.” But he was just recovering, and that had been eight months ago.
“They didn’t get everything out the first time,” he answered her unspoken question. “This last surgery is the third time they’ve had to go digging.”
“Oh, my God! That’s horrible.”
“Yeah.” He’d closed his eyes again. “I thought I was all fixed up but then the pain increased again. Infection. When more fragments showed up after the second surgery, they shipped me back to Colorado. I sure as hell hope they got ’em all this time.”
“Me, too.” She couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. And afraid.
They talked about other things, some about her marriage, and some about his life in the Navy, before he finally drifted off.
Penny was torn.
He looked even younger when he slept.
And even more perfect.
Up close, she discovered a tattoo she’d not noticed before. It started at his neck and disappeared beneath the bandages. Flames? She couldn’t tell. The rest of his skin was unmarked.
And his hair was soft, not bristly at all. She rubbed her cheek against it and sighed. He didn’t look so pale anymore. Hopefully, the pain had receded.
Was it possible he actually liked her?
She crawled off the bed and took stock of his bedroom. Some old football trophies, his wallet, medical instructions, and a few dollars sat on the dresser. A small desk tucked in the corner had several picture frames propped on the surface.
The largest of them featured his parents, younger looking, but smiling with their arms around one another. Beside that were a few smaller frames displayed football pictures of a youthful, but equally adorable Chaz.
Propped adjacent to those, stood several portraits of him with a beautiful adolescent-looking brunette. The same brunette appeared in a few different dance photos. In the largest of them, the same girl posed in a meadow with the name ‘Francine’ written diagonally across the bottom.
Must have been her senior picture.
Obviously, Francine had been his high school sweetheart.
Not so very long ago.
This must be the room he’d grown up in.
She tiptoed back to the bed and brushed her hand along his unshaven jaw. She couldn’t help herself. This had been amazing, phenomenal, earth-shattering… but it couldn’t be anything more. He lived his life in an entirely different world.
She located her skirt and glanced in the mirror. Her lips were swollen and her hair a tangled mess. But other than that, she was the same.
She locked both the front and back doors before leaving the house.