Operation: Tempt Me (27 page)

“Yes. I want
more.”

“Such a
nymph, aren’t you?” he teased, but his hips continued slapping into hers, the
heat on her ass cheeks still noticeable and adding to her enjoyment.

The thick
head of his cock reached her G-spot and stroked the same tender muscles the
dildo had. Oh, God, how her pussy ached to explode again, to feel the
vibrations of pleasure race through her womb.

Miller was a
wild man, his hand crushing her breast in his palm, tweaking the nipple between
his thumb and finger and causing her to cry out with the mix of pain and
pleasure. His heavy leg lay over hers so she couldn’t move, she lay pinned by
his body weight and at the mercy of his cock to stroke her to orgasm.

If only she
could touch him or touch herself. With her hands stretched to the side above
her head, it was impossible to reach her clit or his balls. The need to come
grew by the second, and the surge of ecstasy exploded within her taking him for
the journey.

“Cambrie!
Uhh. Cambrie,” he yelled, his body bucking behind her like a wild horse.

“Miller,” she
whimpered. “I’m coming!”

Helpless
against the onslaught of spasms and explosions, Cambrie held Miller’s arm when
it latched onto her breast. Her pussy exploded with a million tremors, each
colliding with another until she thought her pussy would never stop quivering.
The vaginal muscles tightened to grasp his cock in a death grip.

His thrusting
slowed when her pussy wouldn’t allow much movement within its tightness. Her
heart pounded and her mind remained sluggish.

“I love you,
Miller.” Cambrie thought she heard the words come out of her mouth, but
couldn’t be sure they weren’t just in her head. With her throat dry and her
breathing ragged, there’s no way she could’ve spoken. Where did that come from?

Was
she really in love with Miller? When he inched off the bed to clean up the
condom, she dared to turn and look at him. His face showed no sign of shock at
her spontaneous profession of love.

Phew!
She hadn’t said it out loud.

No
need to start throwing “love you” around when her emotions were so mixed up she
couldn’t develop a clear thought. That horrible night so long ago had taught
her to bury emotions. Now she wished she knew how to face them because the pain
in her chest was either a heart attack coming on or…love.

Chapter
Seventeen

Miller held the woman of his dreams in his arms
and didn’t know how to keep her there. He was an educated man, trained to
figure out problems that rarely had solutions. Then why the fuck couldn’t he
think of one plausible way to keep Cambrie in his life for more than a few
stolen hours? Maybe exhaustion played a role in all the dead end ideas he’d had
so far.

The alarm on
his phone rang with an ear piercing shrill to cut the early morning air.

“What’s
that?” Cambrie asked, not moving from where she slept on his chest.

“My alarm.
I’ve got to get ready to go, babe.” And fast. He was starting to hate these
goodbyes more than anything. “Cambrie? I’ve got to get up.”

“Five more
minutes.”

He couldn’t
help but chuckle. She wasn’t even awake, the poor thing. He’d exhausted her
with their rough loving, but, oh God, how he had enjoyed her delightful body
and willingness to experiment sexually. “I wish we could spend the entire day
in bed.”

“Tell them
you got lost.” Her sleepy whisper was too damn sexy and enticing.

“If my
training didn’t counter that claim then I’d be tempted.”

She rolled
off of him and sat up in bed. “Doesn’t the military do anything at a normal
hour?”

Her
complaining and sarcasm was music to his ears. As long as it wasn’t tears, he
was good. If he saw a single tear streak down her cheek, he’d give serious
thought to going AWOL if it prevented her a second of pain.

He jumped
from bed not wanting to think about the crazy ideas running though his head. Go
AWOL? Was he fucking insane? He dressed quickly. Never in his career had he
ever considered leaving the military. But with this gorgeous, naked woman
stretching in bed and staring back at him with sleepy brown eyes and long
tangled hair, he ruled out nothing.

Had she
really said she loved him last night? The surprised look on her face when she
stared at him after the words spilled from her pretty lips had spoken volumes.
Thank God he was an expert at masking his emotions.

Cambrie
climbed from bed and wrapped a robe around her slender body. Her hair wild and
her eyes still droopy with sleep, she looked as sexy as ever. “So this is
goodbye again, I guess.” Her soft voice was laced with pain.

“For now,” he
said, as he finished dressing in the clothes he had laid out the night before.
“I’ll see you as soon as my schedule permits.” He kissed her lips, lingering
just to feel her next to him. “Believe me, okay?”

She nodded
her head.

“I should be
able to email and call this time. I’m just training, so it’s not as restrictive
as when I’m in the field.”

She offered a
yawn. “It’s okay. I’ve got plenty of toys to keep me company.”

Her attempt
at humor touched his heart. She tried to make his departure easy for him. God,
the woman was always thinking of everyone else but herself. Simply amazing.

“Keep that
web cam handy, baby girl. I’ll want to watch.”

“Mmmm. Then I
better practice.”

The pink
color forming on her cheeks only made her look all the more adorable. Time to
leave before he couldn’t. “Okay. Bye for now, Cambrie.”

She wrapped
her body into his arms and clung. When she stepped back, leaned up on her toes,
and kissed his lips, he had to give her credit for masking her own emotions, at
least trying to. Her eyes avoided his, but he had already seen the sadness
within them. He decided it was best to look away as well or maybe she’d see his
sadness, too.

They walked
to the front door. “I had a fabulous night with you, Cambrie. Nights like that
help get me through the loneliness when I can’t be here with you. We’ll talk
soon.” One last kiss to her forehead and he stepped through the door and into
the dawn, so many regrets weighing heavily on his heart.

****

The days
without talking to Miller dragged by, but Cambrie kept herself busy with the
grant project and Aunt Annabelle.

Today the
Teen Readers Group accompanied Cambrie to Aunt Annabelle’s nursing home to read
to the residents while Cambrie spent some alone time with her aunt outside in
the fading autumn garden. The chilly air was refreshing.

“You’re in
love, Cambrie.” Aunt Annabelle’s statement was a loaded one.

“What? Where
did that come from?” Cambrie had never felt uneasy talking to her aunt until
now.

“It came from
a very wise old woman. Honey, I know you better than anyone. You try not to
wear your heart on your sleeve, but I can see the pain written all over your
face. You go ahead and deny that you love that boy. I dare you.”

Cambrie
smiled, her heart aching. “I don’t deny it, Auntie. Just nothing I can do about
it is all.” Admitting it out loud, that she couldn’t have a life with Miller
any time soon, was a crushing moment and tears licked at her eyes.

“What do you
mean?”

“Auntie, we
live in two different states. He can’t move to Maddyville because he’s
stationed in Virginia.”

“Then you can
move there.”

Cambrie
gasped. “What? I’d never leave you alone, Auntie. You know that.”

“I was afraid
of that. And how would I be alone? I live in a nursing facility with staff
surrounding me twenty-four seven.”

“Yeah, one
that you think is a prison that you need to be busted out of.”

Aunt
Annabelle waved her hand in the air. “True, but I’m not talking about that. I’m
taken care of and would hardly be alone with all my friends.”

“As tempting
as it is, I’m not moving anywhere so there’s no need to continue this
conversation,” Cambrie said firmly.

Who
was the old woman kidding? She didn’t have many friends left who were able to visit
her and she absolutely hated the nursing home. Cambrie would never leave her
alone for the last years of her life. Never. Not after everthing the dear woman
had sacrificed to give Cambrie a decent life.

“You know,
Cambrie, sweetie. I’d hate to see you move away, but I’d also hate to be the
reason you didn’t find happiness.”

Cambrie
caressed her hand. “Maddyville is my home. Besides, Miller and I aren’t even
officially dating, so I think long term plans are pre-mature.”

“That
boy has it just as bad for you as you do for him. You’d be a fool not to
realize that. It may not be your typical kind of dating, but any man that runs
to a woman the second he has the chance, well, there’s a commitment hidden in
there somewhere.

“I
can’t believe that in this day and age when you young people do things so
half-assed that you would be blind to the fact that the man spends more time on
the road coming to visit you than he actually spends here when he arrives. If
that ain’t some sort of dating ritual for today’s world then I don’t know what
would be.”

Cambrie
laughed, part of her knowing Aunt Annabelle was right. But Cambrie and Miller
came from two different worlds that were impossible to merge, so no sense in
dreaming only to suffer a broken heart when the dream couldn’t come true.

“Let’s head
back inside. It’s chilly,” Cambrie said, and began pushing the wheelchair.

“How about a
game of cards?” Aunt Annabelle suggested.

“Wonderful.”

****

Cambrie
stared at the email flashing on her laptop.

Hey Cambrie,
baby, Internet connection is sporadic at best. Sorry haven’t been able to keep
in touch. Can’t write much. Not secure connection so can’t guarantee privacy.
Thinking of you!

Miller

The email was a bittersweet read. At least she
had heard from him and didn’t have to wonder if he was alive or dead. But she
had half hoped that he’d close it with “love Miller.”

She sighed. All this stupid talk of love and
romance had her setting her heart up to break. Miller didn’t love her. Sure, he
cared about her, desired her. But love? Nah.

He wouldn’t allow himself to fall in love with
his busy lifestyle. He had too much control over his emotions. Maybe he could
teach her some of that control.

But
she did at least owe him a reply.

Hi
Miller, I understand about the Internet. I know you’ll write when you can. I’ve
been busy planning a costume party for Halloween at the library this Saturday
night. That gives me only five days to finish the planning and decorating.

The
proceeds will go to support the library’s military program and pay to ship the
care packages we’ve been sending to the homeless veteran’s shelter in Virginia
that you suggested. The shelter manager has been thrilled with the donations.

I’m
so proud of the residents of Maddyville. Donations continue to pour in. I’ll
text you a picture of me in my costume. Bet you can’t guess what I’ll be. LOL.

Well,
I should get some more work done before bed…or maybe I’ll go play with my toys—hahaha.
Miss you!

Cambrie

The tone of the email may have been lighthearted,
but it was far from how she felt.

With each passing day, the end of the military
pen pal program got closer. Would there come a day when Miller was no longer
her pen pal…or lover?

She didn’t expect Miller to stop talking to her
when the program ended in a few weeks, but that would have to happen some day.
They couldn’t possibly exist on short visits and sporadic Internet
communication.

She pushed
all negative thoughts from her mind and concentrated on finishing the details
for the costume party.

Glancing up
at her costume hanging from the coat rack in her living room, Cambrie wished
Miller could see her in it. But she’d be sure to give him a private showing
once he got to visit again.

****

Saturday
evening buzzed with excitement. The costume party turned out to be a major hit
and the talk of Maddyville. Cambrie couldn’t remember a time when the library
held so many people as it did tonight.

There
had to be a hundred guests mingling, dancing to party music, sipping warm apple
cider, and eating a variety of tasty dishes disguised as brains, severed
fingers, worms, and other creepy things.

Everyone was
dressed in costume, some very extravagant and all in the spirit of the party.
Cambrie forced a smile on her face even if the happiness didn’t reach her
heart. She missed Miller too much to put into words. The lack of communication
sucked for this training exercise. Besides his email, she had only received a
quick text saying “hi.”