Chapter Three

The sound of the hair dryer reached Sawyer Vance the moment he opened the apartment door, sending a burst of excitement through his veins.

Carm’s home.

He’d left the barbecue as soon as manners would allow, right after wolfing down his meal, hoping to be here when Carm arrived. He would have picked her up but she had insisted he enjoy some downtime with his teammates. She’d managed to beat him home but if he was quick, he could still sneak into their bathroom and surprise her.

And if he was real lucky, she’d be naked.

He set his Stetson, wallet and keys on the kitchen table and strode to the master bathroom. Pushing open the door a few inches to a cloud of steam that puffed out into the hall, he caught sight of his woman and stopped short, desire roaring through his body.

With her back to him and the noise of the hair dryer, she hadn’t yet realized he was there, giving him the opportunity to drink in the sight before him. Carmela was stark naked, all that long, dark hair curled over one shoulder as she dried it, exposing the line of her back, the indent of her waist flaring out to the swell of her hips and that sweet peach of an ass to his avid gaze.

His fingers itched to stroke all that smooth, golden skin and curl around those curvy hips. Damn, it had been way too long since he’d been inside her. Their jobs kept them apart a lot.

Stepping up behind Carm, he slid both arms around her waist.

“Oh!” She jerked her head up, her honey-gold eyes wide as they met his in the mirror above the sink. Then a naughty smile curved her luscious mouth. “Hey, handsome. You snuck up on me.”

His couldn’t drag his eyes from the rounded globes of her breasts revealed by her reflection. “I did.” He dipped his head to run his nose up the side of her neck, taking pleasure in the way she purred and arched to give him better access. God, she was just so freaking sexy in his arms, her body as lush and curvy as a pinup model’s. She filled his hands, his arms. His heart, which had been empty and lonely for so long. Sometimes it was still unbelievable to him that she was his.

Carmela spun to face him and looped her arms around his neck, rising on tiptoe with a naughty little smile on her face, her perfect breasts brushing his chest. He deserved a medal for keeping his hands off them. “You miss me?”

He was already rock-hard in his jeans, his body revved and raring to claim her, remind her she was his. “You know I did.”

“Hmmm. I missed you too.” She settled her lips on his, applying light pressure before sucking on his lower one for a moment.

Sawyer groaned and pulled her closer with one arm banded around her waist, plastering her naked curves to the front of his body. When even that wasn’t enough, he lifted her and turned them to pin her against the wall with his weight.

Laughing, Carmela wrapped her smooth legs around his waist and rubbed her pelvis against his steely erection. “Wow, you really did miss me.”

He had. And he wasn’t playing.

He made a low sound of agreement and sought her mouth again, spearing one hand in the thick mass of her hair and plunging his tongue between her full lips. He wanted inside her in the worst way. She went to his head faster than a triple shot of whiskey, and loved driving him out of his skull by teasing him until he broke.

Yeah, he was one lucky sonofabitch.

Her tongue slid along his, those gorgeous, full breasts pillowed against his chest. Sawyer dropped the arm at her waist and curved a hand around one round ass cheek, squeezing it, pulling her tighter to his erection, already dreaming of the moment when he sank into the heat he could feel through his jeans. She’d been gone for ten days and he was starving for her.

But Carm broke the kiss far too soon and gave him one of those sultry smiles that tied him in knots. The one that promised a torturous wait before the main event, when all he wanted to do was pounce. “How was the barbecue?”

He didn’t care about the fucking barbecue, he just wanted to get naked and inside her as soon as possible. “What barbecue?” he murmured, only half-joking. His stomach was still full to bursting.

She laughed lightly, the erotic, seductive sound going straight to his aching cock. “My mom called before I got in the shower. She’s disappointed you won’t be here when she arrives.”

“I’ll only be gone a couple days,” he muttered, seeking her mouth again. Less talking, more sexy times. They only had until noon tomorrow before he left with his team for a training school in Nevada. Why waste a moment of it talking about stuff that wasn’t important? He opened his mouth on the side of her neck, scraping his teeth over a sensitive spot. This was the important thing.

Carm curled her fingers over the tops of his shoulders and let out a hum of enjoyment. “By the time you come home she’ll have the whole wedding nailed down.”

“Fine by me.” He dragged his tongue across her silken skin, fighting the urge to lower her feet to the floor, drop to his knees and bury his face between her breasts.

She pushed at his shoulder, unwound her legs from his waist and set her feet on the floor. “Sawyer. Stop a second.”

The thread of annoyance in her tone broke through the haze of arousal. He tamped down his impatience, hid his disappointment and raised his head, meeting her eyes. How could she want to talk right now when his body was on fire? She was aroused too, he could tell by the flush in her cheeks and the sounds she’d been making when he was kissing her neck. “What?”

She sighed, an almost hurt expression creeping over her face. “Do you seriously not care about the wedding? I mean, you don’t want to be involved with the planning? Because I don’t want you to accuse me later of taking over and not giving you any say.”

He shrugged. “I already told you what I think.” They’d been through this several times already, most recently last night on the phone. He honestly didn’t know what else to say on the subject besides what he’d already told her.

She rolled her eyes. “Eloping isn’t an option. My mom would freak. She’s been dreaming of my wedding day even longer than I have. It has to be in a church, and there has to be a reception after with our friends and family.”

“Okay,” he said with another shrug. “Whatever you guys want.”

She set a finger to his lips to quiet him, a spark of annoyance in her gaze. “That’s not right, Sawyer. This is your wedding too.”

He wasn’t going to argue about this, because it was pointless and he didn’t want to fight when he was leaving in just a few hours. He’d rather spend it in bed with her. He didn’t love the idea of a church wedding in front of a hundred or more people he didn’t even know. But if it made her happy, then okay. “As long as I get to marry you, I don’t care about the rest.”

It was the truth. He just didn’t see why their wedding had to be such a big deal, that’s all. With his and Carm’s salaries combined, they were comfortable financially. But blowing that kind of cash on a big wedding made no sense to him whatsoever. And he wouldn’t know ninety-five percent of the guests in attendance anyway, as they were all people from Carm’s old neighborhood back in Miami.

He understood now that a white-dress, church wedding was a big deal not only to Carm and Mama Cruz, but in the Puerto Rican culture as well, so he respected that. The two of them had compiled a freaking binder together, full of ideas and various scenarios that Sawyer honestly didn’t give a shit about. Different churches and country clubs, color combinations, menu ideas, centerpieces and shit like that. None of which were important to him in the least and, in his opinion, were a damn waste of money.

If it were up to him, it would be just close family, a few of Carm’s friends and his teammates in attendance. Something simple. Quick. Then they could spend the remainder of the budget on an awesome honeymoon and a down payment on a great house instead. He’d said it early on, then never brought it up again because it was clear she had other ideas.

Carm searched his eyes, as though weighing his truthfulness. Or maybe looking for something she wanted to see. “I want you to be happy with it. I want it to be the best day of your life.”

“It will be, and I’ll be happy as soon as I make you Mrs. Vance,” he said, leaning down for another kiss and hoping she’d let it drop. He was starting to dread talking about the wedding.

Her lips curved into a slow smile beneath his. “I love you.”

Yes. Victory. “Love you too. Now come here, woman.” No more talking. He banded one arm beneath her bare butt and lifted her off her feet.

Carm let out a little squeal of surprise and delight and wound her legs around him again, the position pressing her open sex to his covered erection. He groaned into her mouth as her heat burned through the front of his jeans. He strode out of the steamy bathroom with her clinging to him, their tongues twined together, and carried her out into the living room. Bedroom sex was great, but today he wanted a change of venue to switch things up.

He set Carm down at the end of the tufted leather couch and yanked his shirt over his head. The sound of approval and pure female appreciation as she stared at his bare chest with naked yearning shunted every last drop of blood to his cock. He’d never get tired of the way she looked at him.

Her hands went to the fly of his jeans, impatiently ripping the button free. Sawyer plunged one hand into her hair as she shoved his jeans and underwear down his hips, kissing her with all the pent-up hunger inside him as he cupped one luscious breast in his palm and squeezed gently.

She gasped into his mouth when he tweaked the hardened nipple, murmured when he kicked his jeans and boxers away and bent her backward over the arm of the couch, forcing her back into a gorgeous arch and elevating her breasts.

It was an invitation he couldn’t resist.

He sucked one tight brown nipple into his mouth, her sexy moan mixing with the rush of blood in his ears. Christ, she was sexy. Ripe in a way he couldn’t get enough of. Everything about her was sensual, but the way she responded to him, the way she never held back, turned him on more than anything. He’d felt so damn guilty about fantasizing over his best friend’s sister for all that time, and now he didn’t have to because she was his.

Carmela purred her approval, her fingers rubbing against his scalp as he feasted on her breasts, first one, then the other. The position gave him perfect access to her body, his hips settled between her parted thighs, his cock snug against her core. He rocked against her slowly as he suckled, sliding along her open folds.

“Ooh, Sawyer,” she gasped, squirming, unable to move much with the arm of the couch beneath her and his weight pinning her in place. Being restrained did it for her in a big way, and he was happy to oblige in the fulfillment of that fantasy. He loved taking control in bed.

When her gasps and sighs turned to moans and she couldn’t keep still, Sawyer gripped her hips and dropped to his knees, his face level with the tantalizing folds between her thighs. At the first touch of his lips she sucked in a sharp breath, one hand grabbing the back of his head.

With a low, possessive growl that came straight from his gut, he feasted on her, sliding his tongue over every sensitive inch of her, sucking at the taut bud peeking out before plunging his tongue inside her.

She cried out and pushed her hips up, demanding more. He kept going until she was panting, desperate, then stood. Carm reclined on the tobacco-colored leather like a centerfold, her breasts heaving with each ragged breath, eyes glazed with need, thighs splayed open over the arm of the couch.

Seeing that need on her face ignited the most primal part of him. The one that wanted to take her, claim her, brand her with his body.

Sliding his arms beneath her, he lifted her slightly and spun her over onto her stomach, her stomach resting over the arm of the couch. She wiggled her hips in blatant invitation, impatient and restless. A low sound of approval rumbled out of him as he took in the view, all that gorgeous hair spilling down her back, her forearms resting on the couch, her ass up, sex exposed to his hungry gaze.

He set his left hand on her lower back and fisted his cock, bringing it to her entrance. Carm turned her head to watch, her cheeks flushed, teeth sunk into her lower lip, her expression and the tension in her body full of breathless anticipation. Primed and ready for him. And being able to take her without any barrier between them, was so hot he couldn’t control the shudder that sped through his muscles.

With one slow, firm thrust, he buried his length inside her. Soft, wet heat enveloped him in a tender caress that stole his breath and sent pleasure exploding through him. Carmela mewled and pushed backward, her eyes drifting closed, the muscles along her spine and shoulders straining.

So wet. So tight. Sawyer sucked in a breath and wrapped his hands around her hips, withdrawing almost all the way out, then pausing before surging back inside. Angling his stroke so the head of him slid over just the right spot.

“Oh, God,” she moaned, coming up on her hands now to rock backward. Demanding more. Craving more of what he made her feel.

Heart thudding, he eased one hand around to cup her in his palm, settling his middle finger over her swollen clit, and pressed as he thrust forward once more.

“Sawyerrrr,” she cried, throwing her head back, fingers digging into the leather as she moved into his thrusts, desperate for release.

Oh, hell, yeah. He loved it when she was so vocal about her pleasure, letting him know how much she enjoyed what he did to her. And he loved seeing her like this, all desperate and wild.

He growled in response and buried his face in the curve of her neck, scraping his teeth along her delicate skin, reveled in the shiver that rippled through her. She clenched around him, the increase in friction making every slick thrust hotter, until the pleasure burned like fire up his spine.

A little more pressure from his finger against her clit, every motion of their hips rubbing it along the sensitive bundle of nerves, and…yeah. Carmela pulled in a gasping breath and let out a sob as she started coming, her cries of release filling him with a soul-deep sense of satisfaction he’d never felt with anyone else.

Pulling his hand from between her thighs, he wrapped both arms around her waist, pinning her upper body to the couch as he drove deeper, faster, going after his own orgasm. Heat coiled low in his belly, spreading outward, every muscle in his body tightening in an agony of need. She was like wet silk around him, soft and sated, her hips moving lazily with his as she drifted on the currents of pleasure.

Carmela turned her head to look at him over one shoulder, her thick, dark hair tousled around her flushed face, those golden-brown eyes full of sultry promise. “I love the way your thick, hard cock feels inside me,” she murmured in a desire-roughened voice.

The words zapped his nervous system like an electrical shock. He dug his fingers into her hips and drove deep, a gruff shout tearing from his throat as the pleasure swelled then burst, sending pulses of ecstasy exploding through his body.

Breathing hard, a little weak in the knees, he rested his face in the curve of her shoulder, still lodged deep inside her. She felt so good and his entire body was loose with contentment.

He couldn’t wait to marry her and spend the rest of their lives loving each other like this. To be a permanent part a loving family, and maybe one day make one of their own. They’d talked about having kids, but not right away. They both wanted more time together as a couple first.

She laughed softly and wriggled beneath him. “If you’re gonna fall asleep, can we switch positions so I’m not squashed over the couch?”

Sawyer barely had the strength to move. “I’m not gonna fall asleep,” he mumbled.

“Yeah you are,” she said with the hint of a smile in her voice.

He groaned softly. Much as he hated to pull out of her warmth, he did, and tugged her forward off the arm, helping her turn onto her side with her spine pressed to the back of the couch. Then he stretched out in front of her, tucked her head into his shoulder and tugged the blanket draped along the back of the couch on top of them. Carmela made a blissful sound and snuggled in closer, her gentle hand stroking up and down his ribs in a soothing rhythm.

This was as close to heaven as a man could get on earth. Carmela was his miracle.

She didn’t speak, her hand still caressing his side. He only meant to rest his eyes for a few minutes, but it was so quiet now, just the sound of their relaxed breathing, his body was thoroughly sated and Carm’s soft curves were pressed to him…

He drifted off in her arms in a matter of moments, and woke in total darkness to the shrill chime of his phone coming from the floor.

With a groan, he forced his eyes open and groped around for his jeans. What the hell time was it? Finding a denim leg, he dragged them over and fished his phone out of his pocket so he could read the message.

Hell.

“Something wrong?” Carm murmured, her fingers drifting lightly over his shoulder.

Looks like. “It’s Tuck. Something’s come up. They’ve cancelled the training and called us all into HQ right away.”