Sand and Sin (4 page)

He slumped.

It’d taken years to gain the strength to stand up to him.

Jax opened the kitchen door. “Time to go, Commander. Wherever you left your vehicle, you can walk.”

* * * *

Jax shook off the scene that reminded him of arguments he’d witnessed between his parents. He clasped Peri’s cold hand, then drew her to face him. “You okay?”

Her face brightened. “Handyman, babysitter, and professional bodyguard. Geez, is there anything you can’t do?”

“Those are only a few in my job description, ma’am.” He rubbed her knuckles.

“And modest, too.” Her tongue slid across a plump bottom lip.

The entire time at the club, he’d been imagining her instead of the dancers and her luscious lick brought the images back. “Let’s have a drink.”

She plied a single-barrel whiskey she’d been saving for a special occasion from the cabinet and directed him to the glasses.

“Ice?” He opened the freezer door.

“Please.”

He placed the glasses on the counter.

She free-poured liberally over the cubes, then downed one of the whiskeys.

The woman could shotgun with the best. He’d have to remember that.

She studied him. “What’s your rank? You held your own with my ex.”

“Chief Petty Officer.” He finished his drink in one swallow.

She fluffed her loose, wavy hair. He loved the way she appeared aloof but, in reality, didn’t miss a thing.

“Been in ten years. Made the teams in my second year.”

“Been divorced for nearly five.” She headed for the den. “Bring the juice.”

“Confession time?” He snagged the bottle and followed, appreciating the sassy sway of her toned rear in non-mom jeans.

After closing the sliding door, she faced him. “My fifteen-year-old said to use you up while I have the chance.”

He checked his jaw drop, chuckled, and dropped onto the sofa. Then he sat the liquor on the large suede hassock. “For a sullen teen, she gives sound advice.”

She sank next to him. “So, no wife, fiancé, or relationship in California? I know how sailors are.”

“Nothing exclusive.” Amber liquid swirled into her glass as he poured her another. “Sean cheated on you?”

She pointed the remote and flipped on the TV. “Ding, ding. Next question.”

“His loss, Angel.”

Peri’s eyes dilated and welled with tears. “No one has ever called me angel.”

He set her glass beside his, then gathered her in his arms.

She melted against his chest.

He stroked her back in small circles, loving the feel of her against him. He yearned to win her trust, but what did he have to offer?

She latched around his neck, and leisurely threaded her fingers though his hair.

After months without any loving touch, the intimate sensation set him afire. He scooped her onto his lap, nuzzled the soft skin of her neck. Her clean, tropical scent reminded him of the beach as he curled his fingers in her waves of hair. Long-held tension began to fade. He ached to search her lips and mouth and take in her feminine essence.

He’d just glimpsed a slice of lingering naïveté about her former marriage. Was her hardline sarcasm and owning a bar, frequented by mostly men, a self-induced therapy so as not to be hurt again?

She drew away, narrowed her eyes, and licked her lips. Slowly, she swept in and brushed her supple mouth over his, granting his wish.

A hint of whiskey mixing with her natural sweetness suffused his taste buds. But his greatest delight came when her tongue begged entry. With her straddling his hips, a heat spread from his groin up into his lower belly.

He gently caught her tongue in his teeth and teased it with his own. God, she tasted exquisite. Sweet and clean like a waterfall.

“Wow.” She drew a deep breath. “Knew those handsome lips were skilled.”

He caressed her fine-boned cheek. “And that pouty one of yours has had me wanting a taste since I sat down at the bar.”

She straightened the collar of his polo. “So, did you and TJ have fun?”

“It was good to catch up. We’ve only seen each another during a couple of training exercises since BUD/S.”

“So, he didn’t get you laid or a lap dance?” She winked and rocked her hips.

He groaned inwardly as her heat threatened to push his cock into launch mode. “He knows I was rescued by a lovely lady and that’s where my interests lie.”

“Oh.” She sounded surprised, then recovered with a haughty flip of her hair. “Can you do simple, Jax?”

“I can do whatever you need, sweetheart. While I’m here.”

“Angel.” She pinned him with bedroom eyes.

He cupped her ass and brought them nose to nose. “Whatever you need, Angel.”

Lost in his lusty gaze, Peri’s vision blurred.

Whatever she needed…

With his arousal obvious, what she needed evaded her. Her desire, however, was perfectly clear. Forget the world beneath his smoking-hot body. The way he handled her ex and Haley, both of whom seemed oblivious to her needs―at least Jax was in tune to her.

He swept up the curve of her rear, along her back and continued until he cradled her head. Pressed his lips against hers. Warm and firm, they filled the contours of hers. He tasted like aroused male.

Trained with every firearm known to man, SEALs tended to be experts at nearly everything through sheer will and determination. She bet Jax had satisfying a woman down to a science as well, but his touch felt far from mechanical. Having married for love and security, she’d missed out on the fun side of casual sex.

He roamed the curves and hollows of her body with a talented skill. Excitement rushed through her like a speeding train.

She ground against his erection, sending waves of heated desire to her pussy. Her swollen and needy clit ached for the solid cock currently restrained beneath his jeans.

Until tonight, she’d had some lingering guilt she might have failed Sean in some way, but no more. She deserved to have this awesome warrior rock her world.

“Hmm. How about I tuck you in before the sun comes up?” His lidded gaze hinted at more.

“I need a shower, first.” A tingling excitement raced along her spine. She moved her feet, disliking the idea of losing contact with him.

He stood. “I’m happy to help wash your back.” His fingers smoothed over her shoulders. “I’ve been told my second occupation should be a masseur.”

His mischievous smile challenged her. “Another of your job requirements?” She tugged on him to follow.

Playing into the devil’s hand. So be it. Being a good girl had grown old and boring.

In the master bath, Jax turned on the water in the shower. Hopefully before he left, she’d have a bubble bath with him in the large sunken tub. Her lips twitched as she fetched towels from the linen cabinet. Her stomach fluttered as if she hung at the top of a monster roller coaster.

After a couple of deep breaths, she turned to find the hunky SEAL stripped to his birthday suit.

Holy shit. If his body wasn’t impressive enough, what he packed under his zipper resembled a frickin' Desert Eagle, the most powerful gun in the world. She willed her lips still from a broadening smile.

Like the onset of night, his twilight-blue eyes hinted at mystery. He moved closer and sealed his lips to hers in a wanton kiss. Next, he worked under her T-shirt with his large, capable hands and pulled it over her head.

“You’re gorgeous, baby.” His breathy tone excited her as he cupped her breasts, taking note of her lacy bra. His thumbs found her straining peaks and began a sensual massage through the skimpy fabric.

The rasp of his beard stubble lightly abraded her throat as he feathered kisses along her neck. He nudged a bra strap off one shoulder while his searching lips sent sparks of heat to her breasts and lower. A pool of moisture gathered between her thighs as her gnawing ache spread.

Only last night, she’d found him passed out behind her bar. Was she trashy or cheap to have fallen for him within twenty-four hours? In that time, he’d fixed her pool, secured Haley, and literally bounced her ex on his ass.

In the last five years, only Phil had been there for her. Gave her a job and offered her partnership in his business. He’d shown she could trust a man again. Jax Taylor might be a stepping-stone to rebuilding her belief in romance. Although their time would be short, it might prove to be the most erotic adventure of her life.

He pressed her against the counter, and raised her to sit on the cool surface. He caressed the length of her thighs in a slow glide, then hooked his thumbs under the lacy band of her panties and peeled them off.

He palmed her knees apart.

Bare before him, her juices flowed under his scrutiny. Thankfully, she’d waxed a few days ago. Although, some men liked au naturel.

A corner of his mouth twitched. “Dessert without a spoon.”

He held her in place as he ran his tongue in a slow glide the length of her folds.

She almost moaned at the sheer pleasure as he traced a circle around her sensitive nub and rocked her hips toward his seeking mouth.

“So sweet,” he mumbled and inserted a finger into her slick channel.

Short pumps stirred her nerve endings to a fever pitch. Heat welled deep and she felt her body opening, accepting, pleading for euphoria. His passionate gaze fueled her desire as he ate her with abandon.

The visual in combination with his skilled mouth and fingers made her pussy clench. Peri willingly submitted to his dominance as he swept her away.

A sensual tsunami.

A long held moan spilled from her lips as she grappled with his short dark hair.

Her head fell back. Her eyes closed, lost as the surging orgasm swept through her body and left her quaking in his arms. Falling never felt so good. A man she hardly knew awakened a part of her she’d long forgotten.

* * * *

As her pussy contracted around his finger, Jax fought the urge to fill her sweetness with his begging cock. Patience. It was going to be so fucking good. After she stilled, he helped her to her feet.

She laced her fingers behind his neck. “Wow.”

“I’m going for speechless, next.” He pushed a curl behind her ear and drew her tight. Her unfocused, sexy stare held him captive until she branded his mouth with a tongue-tying kiss.

He loved that she didn’t mind the taste of her own release. Tangy sweet. He already longed for more.

Entwining his hand in her thick blond strands, he imagined her as a lioness in his bed and drew her into the roomy marble shower.

The warm spray mingled with the gel he lathered in slow circles as he worked the foam over her pert breasts. Her peach-colored nipples hardened under the attention.

With a sigh, she rested the back of her head against the wall of his chest.

He almost heard the warring inside her head and turned her to face him. “Forget the world for now, Angel. It's only us.”

“Kinda hard.” Her voice sounded small.

“Kinda hard? Baby, I’m like the barrel of a cannon.” He chuckled, running his fingers along her back and settling on the firm cheeks of her ass. Tugged her against his dick to tease her belly.

She curled her fingers around the head, slick with pre-cum, feeling the weight of him. Then she peered up wearing the barest of smiles and began pumping him with firm strokes. “What’s my name, again?”

So long since he’d felt anything besides his own hand. He widened his stance as her other hand cupped his balls. His boys clenched at the soft caress.
Fuck.
In reflex, he thrust, mimicking the carnal act. He’d love to do her against the shower wall. A position he’d bet she’d never experienced, but he was too brazen to try after her ex stalked her home. The pressure of her slim fingers threatened to end things too soon.

When she started to kneel, he caught her. “Not yet, baby. I want to be inside you.”

She took her sweet time soaping him from head to toe while playing particular attention to his junk. The little imp even dared to tease between the cheeks of his ass. “Be careful, Angel. Two can play that game.”

“Promise.” She winked.

Lord help him, because he wanted to be that naughty.

After her tenacious efforts, he offered her the same attention. Under the hot spray and suds, her bare folds were slick with desire. His heart’s maddening gallop echoed in his throbbing shaft.

As the water cooled, he ended his foray of her lovely body and shut off the shower. After grabbing the towels, he wrapped her in one then slung the other around his waist.

“Let’s go to your room.” She grasped his hand.

He followed her like a trained dog. Jax couldn’t deny his excitement about things progressing so quickly. Shit, he just might have to thank the fucker of an ex-husband.

He paused at the bathroom by the kitchen, needing to bandage his wound. “I’ll be up in a minute.”

“Condoms?” She twirled her fingers through her wet curls.

He gave her a quick kiss and let her question drop, closing the bathroom door. She’d played nurse last night. Having her do it now would totally kill his wood.

After applying antibiotic cream, he slapped on one of the large, padded, self-sticking pads, and sprinted up the stairs, sans towel, ready to start his own brand of physical therapy.

The TV light cast a glow over the low, king-size bed, where a beautiful, big-eyed blonde lounged. Dark sheets emphasized her tawny skin.

She held his gaze, then let it drop.

Straight to his dick.

He’d always been confident. Yet insecurity crept through his brain in ways he didn’t understand. Peri prompted him to seek her validation in other ways.

He covered his concern with a predatory squint and strode for her. Kneeling on the bed, he wrapped her in his arms. So soft, so opposite of him. He caressed her temples and her hair, giving her a minute as he searched her face for any sign of reluctance.

“You changed your dressing, didn’t you?” A dimple creased her cheek.

“Can’t a guy have any secrets?” He tipped her chin.

“Hmm, isn’t your whole life a secret, Chief Taylor?” She lightly scored his back in a sexy tease, then squeezed his ass.