Snatched (Coronado Series Book 2) (8 page)

He needed to make her understand that they needed to be together. He was not going to give her a choice and he just needed to make her understand that it was the only option.

CHAPTER SIX

“I knew there was going to be an earthquake. I could feel it when the Santa Ana winds started the other day. Whenever those winds start to blow, it signals a change.” She felt him run his hand up and down her back as she laid on his chest.
 

They had just woken up and he was damn happy they lived in a state with earthquakes. She’d come in last night when it started and crawled into bed with him. “I love earthquakes…. shakes things up.” He slipped his hand inside of her night gown and ran his finger over her breast and sighed with pleasure. He felt it was important to comfort her last night, so he kissed her and ran his hands all over her body so she’d forget about being scared. It was his job to take care of her and he took it very seriously. He wanted to make sure that she was mindless with desire so she wouldn’t feel scared when the house was rocking and rolling with the earthquake.

“I think you liked making out and feeling me up. That’s what you liked.”

He levered himself up on his arms and framed her face with his hands. “I sure did. I like getting my mouth on you and putting my hands all over you. I seem to remember your wandering hands last night as well.” She laughed as he dropped his lips and started kissing her. Her laughter turned into a moan quickly as he continued to kiss her deeply. They breathed through each other as his tongue stroked hers. She kissed him back and mindlessly pushed into him.
Finally…
she was kissing him back. He felt the strap on her night gown slip down, he watched as one beautiful perfect breast was exposed. He ran his fingers over her and watched her body react to his touch. No longer able to resist, he dipped his head and ran his tongue over her nipple and felt her shudder as his mouth ran over her skin. Low noises came from her throat as he kissed and gently nipped at her. “You like that?” He took her nipple into his mouth and pulled on it and felt her arch into him. He continued to let his mouth play against her skin and felt her begin to give herself over to desire.

“Yeah,” she breathed. They soon became a tangle of touching and stretching and reaching and doing their best to hold onto each other. Her heart beat against his and lit him up - it almost made him go up in flames. He felt like he was about to explode, lifting his head, he dropped small sweet kisses on her face. “Baby, I am right on the edge. I am about to go up in a fucking firestorm. We have to slow this down.”

She blinked and tried to process what he was saying but couldn’t; it sounded like a foreign language. Her eyes began to focus and she finally processed what he said. “We were just going to kiss a little - what happened?” She pulled her nightgown back over her shoulder and sat up. This was crazy, to feel so intensely for a man she barely knew. She had never reacted to a man like this – it was a little disconcerting.
 

Watching her with her mouth still a little wet from their kisses and her soft unfocused eyes was almost his undoing. If this is how he felt after making out, this was it for him. Game over. He’d just guessed at what it would be like between them. Now that he experienced a little, he knew there was never going to be another woman for him.
 

She turned around and sat on his lap facing him, “What are we going to do?” She was so distressed that it took her a moment to realize what she was sitting on. Her eyes got big, “Oh god, sorry, I didn’t mean to...”

He wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her and made sure that she didn’t move. “It’s ok baby. Why are you so panicked? This should be happy news - we light each other up. Generally this is when it gets better between two people.”

A tear ran down her cheek, “I don’t want to fall for you… I don’t want a boyfriend.” Another tear ran down her face and he quickly wiped it away with his big hand.
 

Rubbing her back and holding her close was all he could do. “I’ve fallen for you, but you take all the time you need.”

She sniffled and gently kissed him, “I’m going to need a lot of time…” She kissed him quickly and lifted herself off him and got up, “I should go take a shower and cool off.”

He got up and sat on the edge of the bed for a moment and gave himself a moment to calm down. The desire he felt for this woman was about to drown him, which he found ironic considering what he did for a living. Swimming under water near the Arctic Circle was almost easier than this. He was going to have to talk to Mark about this, and see if he could give him any tips. He finally got himself together and went to the kitchen to make coffee. He heard the shower and noticed that she’d left her bedroom door open. He took it as a good sign that she was starting to trust him a little. He went into the other bathroom, took a quick shower and got ready for work.

He walked into her bedroom and watched her as she sat at her table in front of the window. It was like watching a scene out of a movie. She sat in front of a mirror in her silk slip and applied makeup with complete concentration. He put her coffee cup down next to her and she looked up and smiled into his eyes. “Thank you, how lovely.”

“I have spent most of my life in the company of men. I grew up with three brothers and I spent all of my time playing football before I joined the Navy. I’ve spent fifteen years in the company of men in almost exclusively male environs. Being in your house with all of these girl things is cool. I feel like the curtain is being lifted and I’m finally able to see how the other half lives. You smell good, your house smells good and you have a full fridge. I like your world.”

“I have the opposite experience. I have two sisters, went to an all-girls high school, and I have mostly female friends. Men are just a place I visit occasionally for short periods of time. Then I go back to my world which has a lot of pink in it.”
 

“I think it will be interesting to see how our worlds combine. We are both at opposite ends of the spectrum.”

She watched in the mirror as he sat on her bed and drank his coffee. He was looking around at her room and then he studied her. “Why are you watching me put my face on?”

“Is that what you call it? You have a pretty face already.”

“I’m putting on war paint for my outside face. Woman have their at home face and their outside face.”

“I had no idea. I like watching you do this - it feels intimate.”

“I have never had a man in my house, so it feels very weird to me. But I’m embracing the suck and trying not to freak out.”

“Having me here sucks?”

“No, it is just weird. I’m living with you and I don’t really know you. I’ve never shared this much with any man before. I’m just getting used to it.”

“I have rarely spent the night with a woman, much less lived with one. It doesn’t feel weird to me - it feels right.”

“I feel like I should know you better before you see me put my makeup on.”

“Do you want me to leave?”

“No, if you were going to be scared - it would have already happened. You’ve seen me in the morning and you haven’t run screaming from the room.”

He got up and kissed her on the head, “I think you are prettiest in the morning with crazy hair and no makeup.”

“You may be perfect Max Bishop… you may be perfect.” With that she turned back to her mirror and finished putting her face on.

***

She sat in his office for the second day in a row and worked on her computer. Bob had told her he would have a memo sent out today letting everyone know that she was leaving. He gave her a list of the final reports that he would need, and gave her the contact information for the new buyers. Max hoped it would push the stalker into action. He didn’t like waiting for the fight, he wanted to go to it and solve it quickly.
 

She looked up and admired the view…. Max was working at his computer as the sun filtered through the blinds making him look like a hero. The thought scared the hell out of her, and she didn’t want to fall into the trap of depending on him. That is something that never worked out for her in the past. She could admire him, but it didn’t mean that she had to fall for him. This could just be her hormones doing a happy dance in the presence of someone who so clearly looked like he was capable…. of dancing.

He looked up and caught her looking at him, and waited for her to say something. She shook her head and returned her attention to the computer sitting on her lap and started typing away. He liked having her nearby - he wanted to figure out a way of keeping her here for a while.
 

She heard her phone buzz and picked it up, then regretted not letting it go to voicemail.

“Hello Jackson. Yes, I’m sure that you are surprised. No, I didn’t feel it necessary to give you a heads up. After all, it’s not your name at the bottom of my check each week. Yes, I’ve considered the consequences. No, I’m not going to change my mind. Jackson that’s rude, and uncalled for …..” The phone was snatched from her hand and Max put it up to his ear and listened to the rest of what Jackson had to say. She thought she saw actual smoke coming out of his ears. His body became tense and his voice was deadly calm.

“Now Jackson, you know that is anatomically impossible. Yes, it’s Max and it’s your lucky day you dumb son of a bitch. Why is it your lucky day? Because we are not having this conversation in person. If you ever think of speaking to Rory that way again, I’m going to have to teach about the many ways that I know how to kill a man. No, I’m not kidding - I’m completely serious. I don’t care about your sorry ass excuses - pull it together. Rory has nothing to do with you anymore. Do I make myself clear? I understand this is going to make holidays a little uncomfortable, but I’m willing to live with that. You need to accept that Rory has moved on. Hell, your Dad could not have been nicer about it last night. Remember I want you to be on your best behavior around Rory from here on out - no bullshit. I take this very seriously and so should you.” Max handed Rory her phone back and smiled. “I’m glad we got that worked out - I think he understands now. Just so you know, I’m not looking forward to Christmas at your Mom’s house. I think we are going to have a lot of awkward holidays for years to come.”

She stood up and carefully straightened her dress, and took another moment to flip her hair back. She looked at him dead on, “I am capable of fighting my own battles.” She heard him start to protest and put her hand up, “I wanted to tell him off and you took that away from me. Next time let me have a shot at it.”

“Well hell honey, it’s not like I could have stood by and let some crazy fuc… I mean asshole speak that way to my girlfriend. It’s not possible - it never will be.”

“Did I become your girlfriend before breakfast or after lunch today? I seemed to have missed an important conversation.”

“It happened yesterday, at your office, when you introduced me to everyone. Don’t you remember?” Taking her hand he pulled her down on the couch, “I’m surprised that you don’t remember.”

“It’s interesting how your accent and southern bullshit is coming on really strong right now. Maybe because you know you’re in trouble.” She leaned her head against his considerable chest, “You are a con man in the best possible way. I’m going to have to keep my eye on you.”

“I like the sound of that – you’d better keep a very close eye on me.” Leaning down he gently kissed her and tried to get her to open her mouth. Finally she let him and he enjoyed having his very pretty girlfriend kiss him back. She hit the nail on the head…. he was totally willing to use his southern charm and anything else he could think of to get his way with her. He noticed that she didn’t outright deny the fact that he was her boyfriend, and he was going to take that as a win. Things were heating up a little as they continued to kiss, he heard the door fly open and in walked his brother.

“Big brother, I had no idea this is what happened in your office. If I did, I would have agreed to come work with you a long time ago.”

“Sean, you dumb son of a bitch, you have the same lousy timing you always had.” He got up and pulled Rory up with him. “Sweetheart, meet my little brother.”
 

She straightened up and smiled at Max’s brother. “My goodness, are you all good looking? Or is it just the two of you?”

Max didn’t care for the smile she was giving her brother. He was the only one who should get a smile like that. Needing to make things clear right away, he introduced Rory to his younger brother. “Sean, this is my girlfriend, Rory Basso.”

Sean started to laugh, “No way man. Someone who looks like her is never going to be your girlfriend.” It was a brother’s job to give his sibling as much grief as he could, and Sean took his job very seriously. He loved his brother but he’d grown up in his shadow and it sometimes got a little old.

Rory laughed, “So you must be the younger brother.”

Max snickered and watched his brother stare at Rory. “You got it sweetheart, Sean had to follow behind me growing up, and it pissed him off.”

“Well it’s nice to meet you. Come here and give me a hug. It looks like we’re going to become friends.” She stepped forward and hugged Sean, and Max saw the look of surprise on his face.
Get used to it. We may be Special Forces, but she has a special force all her own.

“How long are you in town for? I haven’t seen you in a long time.”