Cinderella Liberty (6 page)

He reached around and unhooked her bra before sliding it down her arms and clear of her fingertips. Holding it out to the side, he dangled the item from one finger. Wearing a smirk, he let it drop to the ground.

She smiled. "Very good. I'm impressed."

"You ain't seen nothing yet." Crash lifted her as if she weighed nothing, tossing her onto the mattress and following her down.

As his body covered hers, she spared a brief thought that they shouldn't be rolling around mostly naked right out in the open in the living area. Her brother was in the next room. But so was Dawn, and the bathroom was in the bedroom, so why would Danny come out here? She couldn't think of a single good reason he or Dawn would leave the bedroom and discover her and Crash.

That was good because the last thing she wanted was for this to be interrupted. Trish forgot her worries about her brother as Crash's weight pressed her into the mattress. He slid one of his legs between her thighs, parting them.

God, it had been too long since she'd had a man over her or between her legs. And it was very possible she'd never had a man quite as manly as Crash ever. Idiosyncrasies aside, he oozed masculinity. She felt it in his every touch. In his kiss as his lips possessed hers, soft at first, and then harder, more demanding.

In between punishing kisses and thrusts of his tongue against hers, he pulled back far enough to say, "I leave in a couple of weeks."

"I know. It's okay."

His blue eyes focused on hers. "Predeployment sex can get pretty wild."

If that was meant to be a warning to get her to change her mind, it did the opposite. He'd only made Trish want it more. "That's fine. Go for it."

Crash groaned. "Oh, God, you're perfect."

He moved down her body and closed his mouth over one of her breasts. She hissed in a breath when he tugged her nipple with his teeth. Sex with a man about to leave for a seven-month deployment that held no possibilities for sex of any kind . . . Just the thought had her getting wet.

He moved lower, down her stomach, his mouth spreading heat over every inch of skin it touched. She grasped for his head and felt the soft brush of his cropped hair against her palms. He slid his hands down her torso to hook his fingers beneath the waistband of her underwear. She knew any second that last item of clothing was going to end up on the floor next to her bra. With any luck, his boxer briefs would join them there shortly.

Crash paused with his hands so temptingly close to baring her to him. "I need you to know something."

"Okay." Trish could think of far better uses for Crash's mouth than talking, but he had something to say, so she was willing to listen. Besides, he could talk all he wanted, as long as he finished taking her underwear off some time in the near future.

"I have a couple of condoms in my pocket, but that's because Zip—uh, the guys—made me bring them. Medical gives tons of them out for free on the boat whenever we pull into a port."

Trish smiled. He was so cute, not wanting to tell her it was Danny who'd been the guy who gave him condoms.

"All right."

"I just wanted you to know that I didn't come packing—with the condoms, I mean—because I was expecting something like this to happen. I wasn't."

"Thank you for telling me."

Thanks to Danny too, as weird as that felt. Now, Trish wouldn't have to worry about protection. She could enjoy Crash without fear of consequences. They had what they needed because of her brother's quest to get himself and his friend some action on their trip to the Big Apple.

It would have been nice to think Danny had been most excited about seeing his dear sister before deploying, not about getting laid on this trip, but she'd get over it. Being with Crash would definitely help her move past that slight.

"Anything else you need to confess?" she asked.

A self-deprecating smile on his lips, Crash dropped his chin. When he raised his gaze to hers again, he said, "No. I'm done."

"Not quite, you're not." She glanced pointedly at her underwear.

He let out a short laugh. "I'm done talking. I haven't even begun with the rest."

Trish smiled. "That's very good to hear."

Crash pulled her underwear down and there was no more smiling because things were beginning to get serious. Trish ached from wanting to be filled by him and as if he could sense that, he slid his fingers into her.

His eyes narrowed. He hissed in a breath through his teeth as he stroked in and out of her. "I need to be inside you."

"That can be arranged." She licked her lips, her mouth dry just from thinking about it.

His gaze focused on the action. With a groan he moved back up her body and crashed his mouth against hers. Reaching between them, he zeroed in on her clit, working her with his fingers even as his mouth worked hers. His fingers were large, but they handled the delicate task beautifully.

His touch was light to start, waking up her tight little bundle of nerves slowly, circling her first in one direction, and then the other. As the pressure of his fingers on her increased, so did her pleasure. His touch sped faster and her muscles bore down, coiling for release. She tipped her hips. He took the cue and responded by working her harder.

Her breath began to come in quick bursts as he brought her closer to orgasm. She was gasping for breath and bucking against him when he broke the kiss. He latched his teeth onto his lower lip and intensified the speed of his fingers as he studied her face. He was going to watch her as she came and there was nothing she could do about it. Trish couldn't think about that much more as she felt her muscles clench and the climax broke free, sending her body into incredible spasms of pure ecstasy.

"Shh." Crash shushed her before his mouth covered hers again and she realized she'd been making much too much noise considering her brother was just a wall away.

Crash didn't let up on her though. He kept working her, pushing her to the next level of pleasure, all while he muffled her cries with his kiss.

She was weak and breathless when he finally eased his touch on her over-sensitized body, but he didn't go far. He slid two fingers inside her and groaned. "So wet."

He wasn't kidding. Trish could feel the truth of his statement. She echoed his groan, waiting for what he'd promised her before he'd taken the detour to make her come—him inside her. "Maybe you should take advantage of that."

"I'm not going to last. I know that already."

"Then we'll have to do it again. You said you have two condoms?"

"Yeah, I got two." His voice sounded gruff, husky with need.

"Good." And good thing Danny was very thorough in his equipping them for this trip. "Put one on."

For a big man, Crash moved fast. He was up and across the room in no time, pulling the foil packets out of his pants. He shoved his boxer briefs down his legs, stepped out of them and left them on the floor where they'd landed.

Yes, there was at least one thing more important to Crash than neatness. Trish was happy to see sex rated higher on his list than properly putting away his underwear. There was something else she was happy to see as well. He was hard and ready for action.

He tossed one packet onto the table next to them and tore into the other. She watched him roll it down his length. Maybe she'd offer to put in on him for the next round. There would definitely be a second time if she had anything to say about it, and if Danny and Dawn stayed put.

A renewed sense of urgency hit. She wanted him in her now before anything happened to interrupt this. Crash didn't make her wait. He was covered and ready, and moving over her again. She spread her legs and made space for him between them.

Braced on one arm, he slid the other beneath the small of her back, raising her off the mattress and driving into her with one hard thrust. Her back bowed with the force of it and the relief at finally being filled after lusting after this man for hours. He repeated the move, plunging inside, over and over, driving her beyond reason until she no longer thought, only felt. Until he was grunting out every labored breath he took, before he plunged deep and held there.

She felt the shudder pass through him as he came buried deep inside her. Felt his elbow give out and his weight crush her. But what was most important was that she felt. After endless hour upon hour and day upon day of a life that seemed to consist of not much more than work and home, punctuated by the obligatory weekly phone call to the parents and the equally scheduled girls night out each weekend with Dawn, Trish had done something just for herself.

It went against everything she'd always thought she believed in, but this one night of crazy predeployment sex with a man she'd just met made her feel more alive than she had in years. She didn't want that feeling to end, but they'd already agreed that it would. It had to. He was leaving. Her heart clenched with that thought.

"Sorry." He rolled to one side.

She missed the weight of him immediately. "For what?" she managed to ask.

"I was crushing you." Crash left his hand on her stomach. She covered it with hers and saw how small her own looked on top of his.

"It's fine. I was kind of hoping you'd crush me again later tonight."

He leaned close and hovered near her mouth. "A'ight. I think that can be arranged."

"Mmm, and tomorrow night too?" she asked. They'd agreed to uncomplicated predeployment sex, not to a one-night stand specifically. She didn't see any reason it couldn't continue through the weekend, and then end. He'd go back to North Carolina with Danny to get ready to deploy, and she'd head back to New Jersey and her boring life.

Crash wrinkled his nose. "Probably not.

The answer was like a direct blow to her chest. "Oh, okay."

His expression grew soft and he brought his hand up to brush the side of her face. "Not because I don't want to. Believe me. I just don't see how we could make it work."
 

Because they'd agreed not to get serious and apparently in his mind one night was casual, but two was serious.

Trish nodded. "I understand."

Not really, but . . .

Crash let out a sigh. "It sucks but we've got this damn Cinderella liberty tomorrow night so we have to be back on board the boat by midnight."

Trish's spirits rose along with her brows. Crash wanted to be with her, he just couldn't. "Oh. I didn't realize that. I thought you had all night again."

He shook his head. "Nah. We leave the following morning for home. I guess they don't want us out all night getting shitty. Suppose I can't say I blame them. We're taking the bird home. Don't want to be flying with a hangover on no sleep."

"Yeah." His mention of Cinderella had an image of glass slippers and a ball gown spinning through her mind. It was so incongruous with the manly man beside her, she couldn't help but smile.

He noticed. "What?"

"Sorry, I just found the Cinderella part funny."

He grinned. "You mocking my very official USMC terminology, woman?"

"I guess I am."

"Mmm, well I'm no Prince Charming, but I sure hope I showed you a good time at the ball."

"I think you better show me again."

"Hold on tight to your glass slippers, because that's exactly what I'm fixin' to do." His tempting lips curved up in a smile as he leaned low, closing in for a kiss.

Who needed Prince Charming when she had a Marine dedicated to making her happy for the night? If only it wouldn't all end at midnight tomorrow. Trish was feeling more like Cinderella than she'd ever imagined she could.

~ * ~

The bedroom door flung open and Zippy stumbled through. "Holy shit, what time is it? Are we late?"

Crash cocked a brow. "No, because one of us remembered to set the alarm on his phone last night."

Zippy perused him from head to toe. Crash was done dressing except for his shoes and his cover. "And were you going to wake me any time soon? Or wait until the last minute and then laugh at me as I ran around like a chicken without a head?"

"Don't get your panties in a twist. We have plenty of time." Crash grinned. It was extra funny since that's all Zippy was wearing—his panties or rather his tighty whities. "I was fixin' to wake you as soon as Trish got back.

Meanwhile, Crash had already showered this morning before putting his uniform back on. Tiptoeing through the bedroom in the dark to get to the bathroom all while trying not to see the two tangled bodies on the bed had been like a recon mission, but he'd made it in and back without waking them.

He'd set the alarm for zero-five-thirty. More than enough time to get dressed and then to the boat. He'd honestly set it so early in case they were in the mood for a little something this morning. That hadn't worked out. They'd gone through his only two condoms last night. There were plenty of other creative solutions to enjoying each other without the need for protection, but it hadn't felt right in the light of morning with goodbye looming so close ahead.

Zippy frowned. "Where is Trish anyway?"

"There's free coffee downstairs. Trish went to get us four." The gentleman in Crash had him adding, "I offered to go instead, but she insisted I'd never get the sugar-creamer ratio right for hers."