Rhonda+Nelson+-+The+Soldier (11 page)

muscles tighten around him in response. He loved that greedy squeeze, loved the way it made

him feel.

She upped the tempo and her breath came in short little puffs. She leaned back and shoved her

hands through her messy black curls, undulated her hips in the most mind-numbing fashion, like

a belly dancer. Slow and sure, then swift and sexy. All the while he pushed repeatedly into her,

could feel the orgasm gathering in his loins.

Oh, no, Adam thought. No way in hell was he coming before she did. It didn’t matter how long

it had been, Winnie deserved better than that.

And he fully intended to give it to her.

Right now.

IFWINNIE HADever felt anything more wonderful than their joined bodies, she couldn’t recall

it. Adam, her badass soldier, her love, her very heart was staring at her as though she were the

most beautiful creature ever placed on this earth. And having the possessive clamp of his hands

on her thighs, his mouth feeding at her breasts, was indescribably perfect.

She’d wanted this for so long…waited for so long.

He pushed up harder, increasing the tempo and she could tell that he was close. Every muscle in

his gloriously proportioned body was tensed and his lips were drawn in a feral sort of smile. Dew

slickened his chest, highlighting every bump, ridge and muscle.

He was, in a word, beautiful.

Achingly so.

Her chest gave a squeeze and emotion clogged her throat.

“Are you ready?” he asked, breathing hard.

Winnie tightened around him once more, then lifted her hips.

“Ready for what?”

“This.”

And with that enigmatic promise, he slipped his hand into her curls and found the sensitive nub

hidden there.

Winnie gasped as shock and pleasure lanced through her. He rubbed against her while pushing

up and the combination of the two made her entire body sizzle with sensation. She felt the

beginning flash of an orgasm tingle in her womb and, like a hound catching a glimpse of a rabbit,

her focus instantly narrowed. She rode him harder, panting, desperate and utterly driven by the

need bearing down on her.

He bent forward and suckled her once more, rubbed her once, twice, a third time…

And then bliss.

For both of them.

The orgasm burst upon her like a rogue wave, taking her under, then lifting her back up. She

tightened around him and her mouth opened in a long silent scream. Her back went straight as

the convulsions pulsed through her, on and on, until finally only tremors remained and she

collapsed, spent, against his chest.

Adam drew delicious circles on her back. “Wow,” he said, shifting so that he could tuck her

against his side. She winced as her back hit the cool tile.

“What?” he asked, instantly concerned. “Did I hurt you?”

“No,” she said, cuddling closer to him. “The floor’s cold.”

Seemingly relieved, the frown vanished. He quickly snagged a paper towel from the open

cabinet near his head, and disposed of the condom.

“Tell me about it,” he told her, humor back in his voice.

She laughed. “I didn’t hear you complaining before,” she said, feeling more safe and secure than

she ever had in her life. Why did he affect her like this? Why did she only ever feel completely

protected in his arms?

His chuckle rumbled under her cheek. “Who said I was complaining. I’d put my back against a

block of ice if it meant we would do that again.”

She grinned. “You know there’s a freezer in the back, right?”

He slung an arm over his forehead. “Bring it on. I’m ready.”

Winnie leaned over him, opened the pastry case and filched a petit four. “Want one?” she asked.

“To start,” he said, popping the entire thing in his mouth.

“Tsk. Tsk. You’re going to choke.”

“Not if you get me something to drink, too,” he hinted.

Winnie licked the tiny rose off the top of another petit four, savoring the sugar on her tongue. “I

don’t know if you’ve noticed this or not, but I’m naked. If I stand up to pour you a glass of tea,

I’m going to flash every person who happens to peer through my plate-glass window.”

His eyes darkened appreciatively and she felt his gaze drop to her breasts. “Believe me, I’ve

noticed.”

A flush of pleasure washed over her cheeks.

“So…I was thinking we should take off for a couple of days.

Would that be doable for you?”

Winnie blinked, surprised. Take off? What did he mean? “What?”

Adam slipped a finger along the top of her breast, seemingly mesmerized by its shape. “We’ve

only got two days left,” he said. “It’s my fault for wasting time, but…I don’t want to miss

another minute with you before I—” He hesitated. “—leave.”

His gaze searched hers, waiting for her answer.

Two whole days with Adam? All to herself? Winnie knew this wasn’t a promise, but it was as

close to one as she ever expected to get. She felt a slow smile move over her lips and the sheer

happiness of this moment made her almost giddy.

“I’ve, uh…” She thought about what she needed to do. “I’ve got a couple of cakes I need to

make, but Jeanette and Lizzie should be able to handle everything else.” She smiled at him.

“What did you have in mind?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Adam said, threading his fingers through hers.

“I just want to breathe the

same air as you.”

Her heart danced. That was quite possibly the nicest, most romantic thing anybody had ever said

to her, Winnie thought as a lump formed in her throat.

“We could beach it tomorrow?” he suggested. “And then take a ride up to McKinney Point?”

She grinned, pleased that he’d remembered. Winnie made a mental note to drag Adam’s old

parking sign out of her garage and erect it once more for this occasion. “That sounds fabulous.

Can you spend the night?”

His smile was lazy and confident. “I’d planned on it.”

Another dream, Winnie thought. She wondered if a person could die from happiness. Adam was

at home with her, spending time with her. Going to bed with her.

Being cuddled up beside her

when she woke up in the morning.

At last.

And the sex…Wow. Although her experience was limited, Winnie knew what they’d just shared

was extraordinary. Feeling him inside of her, his sleek skin beneath her palms, the frantic rush to

climax and the sweet rain of release…It had been utterly amazing.

She’d never felt so alive, so

connected to another person in her life. She hadn’t felt the earth move so much as her soul.

And they were going to do it again, hopefully repeatedly.

She snuggled closer to him. “Good,” she finally said. “I like the idea of you spending the night.”

His eyes twinkled. “Because you want to watch me sleep?”

That would be lovely, too. She blinked innocently. “You mean we’re actually going to sleep?”

Adam chuckled and slapped her thigh. “I doubt it,” he said. “Get dressed. We’ve got to get

busy.”

She frowned, confused. “Get busy doing what?”

“You’ve got two cakes to make before you can take off, right?”

“I do.”

He shrugged. “So I’ll help you.”

She shot him a skeptical look. “You’re going to help me? Bake and decorate cakes?”

“Yes. And I’ll warn you now.” He slipped his shorts on and reached for his shirt. “At some point

tonight I’m going to paint you with powdered sugar and lick it off…very slowly.”

“Oh,” Winnie said, suddenly overcome by the thought. Her nipples tingled in anticipation.

“How do you feel about almond icing?”

“Will it be coming off me in the same manner?”

Hell yeah. “Yes.”

His grin was equally wicked. “Then it’s my favorite.”

9

“IHAVEN’T DONE THISin years,” Adam said, carefully shoring up the sand wall around his

moat.

Winnie lay on her belly in the most obscene bikini he’d ever seen

—probably because he knew

what was underneath—and with a stone, she carefully drew a motif on their castle. They’d been

at the beach since early morning and had made a full day of lying around, carousing and taking

the occasional dip.

When she’d pulled out her sand-castle building tools from the back of her small SUV this

morning, he’d laughed, but had to admit this was turning into the highlight of their day so far.

Then again, the day was far from over. What was to come tonight would undoubtedly knock the

shine off of everything else.

“I love building sand castles,” she said. “My dad is a pro at this, you know.”

He remembered. Tommy Cuthbert didn’t just build sand castles—

he built sand-castle mansions.

Towering structures with soaring turrets. He’d pave the streets with seashells and make a

drawbridge from bits of driftwood. The local kids loved simply sitting back and watching him

work.

Adam frowned. “Where are your parents, by the way?” He hadn’t seen them around town since

he got home. He’d always sensed a bit of tension between Winnie and her mother, but she

seemed to get along with her father pretty well.

Winnie smoothed out a rough spot on the sand castle and started over. A tiny frown furrowed

her brow as she concentrated, and for reasons which escaped him, he found her expression

ridiculously endearing.

“They bought an RV when Dad retired and have been slowly making their way out West.” She

grinned. “And when I say slowly, I mean slowly. They’ve been gone since March.”

“Seriously?”

“Yep. If they find a place they like, then they settle in for a while until they get tired of it. Their

ultimate destination is Alaska. They want to pan for gold.” She brushed a speck of sand off her

face. “Who knows how long they’ll stay there.”

She must miss them, Adam thought. He knew she didn’t have any other family. She had no

siblings and he remembered her grandparents passing away while he and Winnie had been in

school.

“But they’ll be back,” she continued. She shot him a smile.

“Everybody always comes back to

Bethel Bay.”

Ah. Dangerous territory, Adam thought. She was right—most people who left their small

community usually returned, and he imagined he probably would, as well. Eventually. But that

was decades down the road for him. His path was set on life in the military. He would go where

he was needed until he wasn’t needed anymore.

Adam knew this as well as his own name.

It was just his personal life that was suddenly out of focus.

While he still believed that leaving Winnie was the best thing he could do for her, Adam also

knew that it was going to be one of the most difficult things he’d ever done. The ache and burn

in his chest, the pall of dread that settled around him, even now was enough to make him almost

choke with regret.

But…he couldn’t be the man she wanted. Not ultimately.

His gaze slid over her small, athletic form and the rush of emotion he felt made him quake with

its intensity. Smooth tanned skin, gleaming in the sunlight. The intriguing shadow between her

breasts, the soft slope of her womanly hip. Her untidy black curls were windblown and sexy and

her mouth…

Lush, plump and kissable, it was one of the most sensual things he’d ever seen.

Unable to help himself, Adam bent forward, tilted her chin up with his index finger and kissed

her.

She drew back, smiling and seemingly surprised. “That was unexpected.”

His broody gaze dropped to her lips again. “You have a gorgeous mouth. Sexy.”

The smile faltered with the barest hint of modesty and she blushed. “Thank you.” She treated

him to the same sort of lingering perusal. “I happen to like that little patch of soft skin just

behind your ear,” she said. “It makes my insides jittery.”

He frowned and fingered the part in question. “You mean here?”

he asked, amazed. Aside from

his mangled leg, he’d always been relatively proud of his physique. That she preferred a part of

him that he hadn’t truly worked on was somehow as appealing as it was annoying.

Her lips twitched and she nodded. “Yes, that’s it.”

He quirked a dubious brow. “Not the abs, then?” He sighed dramatically and looked away, as

though wounded. “All that work for nothing.”

She chuckled. “Oh, I wouldn’t say that. I like those parts, as well.

Actually, all of your parts are

pretty damned appealing.”

A thought struck. “Really? Because I seem to remember you telling me that I’d put on weight.

Gone soft,” he added distastefully. She’d mentioned it not long after he’d come home. It was a

bit of a turning point really. She’d stopped looking at him as though she’d wanted to cry and had

suddenly started treating him the same way she always had.

Then again, maybe that had just been him transferring his assumptions onto her actions. Because

Winnie had never been anything but honest with him.

Winnie laughed out loud, evidently remembering. “I had to do something,” she said. “You

wouldn’t even look at me.”

Because he was trying to resist her, Adam thought. It had been futile, he realized now. He’d

never stood a chance. The sudden chemistry coupled with their easy relationship—friendship,

even—was more than a force to be reckoned with. He’d been powerless to resist.

And the kicker? Right now, at this moment, he didn’t care.

Because he was with her.

Adam winced and pushed a shell into the side of their castle.

“Sorry about that,” he said. “I,

uh…I’ve been a bit of an ass.”

“You have,” she conceded. “But you had your reasons. You’re forgiven.”