Still Mine (23 page)

“But it would have polished my reputation to a high shine.”

Jo ignored the rise of heat that his words earned. “You suck at dating.”

He offered her a cheeky grin. “I didn’t use that key, that’s got to be worth something.”

Lifting her hands she offered him a round of soft applause. “I’m amazed. Truly impressed.”

“Why do you think I was in such a hurry to marry you, Jo? Taking you to a restaurant just might have killed me.” He pulled her into his embrace but turned her around so that he was at her back. “But I’m trying to break out of my set ways, a little at a time.”

A tiny gasp escaped her lips as she faced the bedroom. Yellow light spilled out of it. Candles sat on the corner of the desk, their wicks burning with an orange flame. Paul’s arms wrapped around her as his hard body pressed against her back. There was some sort of soft music playing from the laptop and more candles on the bedside table. Simple, but touching with its forethought.

“But that doesn’t mean that I can’t make an effort at setting a scene.” His words held a mild amusement as his arms tightened. “I guess if I suck at it, that only leaves room for improvement.”

He loosened his grip, slipping one hand around her back to where her gun was clipped into her waistband, forming a bulge between them. Pulling it free, he set it on the armchair next to them. His hands stroked along her sides, targeting her breasts, cupping each mound as his thumbs stroked over her nipples. “I’m impatient as hell, though.”

Shifting back, she pressed her bottom against him harder. His cock was rigid. There wasn’t a romantic card or bouquet of flowers that could bolster her self-confidence as quickly as feeling his erection did.

Maybe that was coarse of her but it was honest.

“You have no idea how hard it was to find candles on this post.”

Her nipples tightened as he moved his thumbs over them in tiny circles. Heat moved through her in a slowly increasing flow. There was nothing abrupt about it. Only the teasing press of his cock against her bottom as she caught the scent of his male skin.

“Considering how male-dominated it is, I’m impressed that you actually found some.”

He pressed a kiss against her neck and she raised her chin to offer the sensitive skin up for more attention. He didn’t disappoint her. A second kiss found her neck. He lingered over this one, sucking harder before she felt the nip of his teeth on her skin. She shivered as a jolt of delight raced down her spine. A soft male chuckle brushed her ear as his hands left her breast. Smoothing down across her belly, he found the first button on her shirt and worked it free of its hole.

“I almost had to steal them. The two female nurses we have weren’t about to give up their girly things since they agree with you on my status as a jerk.” Two more buttons opened as he stopped for a moment to stroke the skin he’d uncovered. “But confessing that I wanted to seduce you redeemed me. I think.” He attacked another button. “I got the damn candles anyway.”

“I am impressed.” She meant it too.

Her shirt came apart and he stepped back in order to pull it over her shoulders and down her arms. He unhooked her bra before letting her turn to face him, but his gaze was centered on her face. He framed it with his hands, the candlelight shining off his eyes.

“I love you, Jo. It’s got to be enough for you because I don’t think I can face life without you.”

He growled the words, his hands trembling against her face. His voice sounded more demanding than any seduction should have but it simply fit him. Reaching forward, she stroked his cock though his pants. His breath rasped as she made her way to the base and then pulled her hand back up.

He stepped away to reach into his pocket. There was a crinkle of foil as he withdrew a condom and held it up.

Choice. So simple but so essential to her. One dark eyebrow rose as he waited for her to decide.

“You did invite me to dinner, but I’m really not hungry for food.”

He snorted softly at her humor. “I never thought I’d be grateful for a woman’s pity. But I’m happy to accept yours, baby.”

Stepping forward, she pressed up against him once more. Plucking the condom from his fingers, she tossed it onto the chair with her gun.

He cupped her chin, raising her gaze to lock with his. “Sure about that, Jo?”

“Fate got us into this. Somehow, I figure she won’t let anything stand in her way, so we might as well just go with the flow.”

“I love the way you think and feel.”

“Besides, you’re right about one thing. I can’t leave this post.”

His hands framed her face, stroking over her cheeks as his eyes darkened. “I’m not sorry.”

She didn’t want him to be. What she needed was to press up against his body, feel the pounding of his heart and smell the scent of his skin. She desperately needed to touch him in life because Nolan was right, the details didn’t matter. Holding him did.

It wasn’t just for him. Fluid was easing its way down her passage as she unfastened her pants herself. Freedom from her clothing was a need, living and pulsing inside her. Her boots kept it from being a simple task.

Paul swung her up against his chest before she got the chance to decide what to do. He sat her on his bed, the candlelight covering both of them as he knelt down and unlaced her boots. Tugging her pants off, he eased the fabric around the monitor still attached to her ankle. When finished, he pressed her knees apart with his body. His head hovered over her sex as he fingered the soft cotton of her underwear. Her clit was sensitive now, pulsing with demand as he stroked her through the fabric. Leaning forward, he pressed his lips against the fabric, grinning when her hips jerked towards his face.

“Hungry, Jo?” He trailed a finger up the center of her covered slit, clicking his tongue in reprimand.

“No, Jo, my sweet. If you want me to play the suitor, you’re going to have to give me permission. Isn’t that how the dating game is played? The gentlemen awaits the lady’s pleasure?”

“You’ll die of stress.”

Kicking up her legs, she rolled over her shoulder and onto her knees in the center of the bed. Her husband chuckled at her retreat, standing to pull his own shirt open before tossing it aside.

“Then again, I could get used to watching you kneeling on my bed with nothing but a scrap of cotton on.” He lowered his fly and his cock sprang through the opening, the head ruby red, the length stiff and standing up towards her.

“You know, Paul, there are advantages to seduction.”

His eyes narrowed as she placed her hands on the bed, stretching out on all fours. She caught the unconscious way his tongue moved across his lower lip in response.

“For example, if you tempt me enough, I just might reach out for you.” She stroked his cock with her fingertips and he growled. A low mutter of profanity crossed his lips as his jaw tightened and his body shook with the effort of remaining in place. Lowering her body to the bed, she cupped the sac at the base of his shaft. “But to appreciate it, you would have to stand very still and wait for me to make up my mind on just where I wanted to put my hands.” Leaning closer, she teased the slit on the head of his cock with her breath. “Wait for my whim, standing absolutely still while I decide just how to approach you.”

“Bitch.” He muttered it like a compliment, his voice rough and needy. Stretching her neck out, she licked the eye on the head of his cock, tasting his precome. Stroking him with her fingers, she moved towards him, relaxing her jaw to take the head into her mouth. His hips jerked as she sucked gently on it, rubbing her tongue around the head.

“Sweet, sweet bitch.” A hand fisted in her hair but didn’t press her towards taking more of his length. Pulling her head away from his cock, she worked her hand down the hard flesh before taking it between her lips again. This time she let him penetrate deep into her mouth, working her hands along the portion that didn’t fit. She heard another round of profanity get crushed behind his clenched teeth as she worked her hands and tongue over his erection.

His pulled her away from his cock. “You’re right, Jo, I suck at this.”

Releasing her hair, he captured a wrist and rolled her onto her back. Leaning over, he grasped the sides of her panties and pulled them down her legs. Her hips lifted off the bed an inch as he yanked her last garment past her ankles and chucked them across the room.

“I don’t want to wait. The scent of your pussy is driving me insane.”

Pushing her knees wide, he lay across her body, pulling the folds of her sex away from her clit. He didn’t tease it, but sucked it into his mouth, working his tongue over the tender button. A whimper got past her lips as her hips lifted towards his mouth. A single finger found her pussy, circling the opening as his tongue drove her insane with pleasure. Climax began to tighten in her clit, pulling her towards release. Growling at his easy conquest, she reached for his cock, turning her head and rolling onto her side so that she could suck the head back into her mouth.

He suddenly stopped, standing and pulling his cock out of her mouth. Lifting her eyelids, Jo looked at him. The candlelight flickered across his body as he watched her.

“I want more than that, Jo. Call me a jerk but I just want to come inside you.”

“Deal,” she answered without thinking, her body rising to the idea of being connected with his once more. She didn’t want to play anymore. He sat, pulling at his boots as she rolled over, watching him with hungry eyes. His boots hit the floor and the bed rocked as he flipped around, his powerful body surging towards her.

He clasped her against his chest, his hips pressing her thighs wide. She clung to him as his cock speared deep into her, filling the empty spot that craved him. The bed groaned beneath them. Both of them strained towards the other, seeking more contact, deeper intimacy. Conversation held no attraction as pleasure built to a crescendo, breaking apart and showering her with delight. It ripped through her belly, her sheath contracting around his length. The gasp and curse of her partner heralding the hot splash of his climax. It flooded her, feeding the urge that had been driving her since she read that note. Satisfaction rippled through her as she gasped for breath, her skin suddenly too hot to be pressed against his.

He rolled off her, his breathing raspy and labored just like hers. But he captured one hand, threading his fingers through hers as they stared at the ceiling, letting the air cool them.

Too many days of stress took control of Jo. She slipped into slumber without even thinking about it. Satisfaction lured her away, confident in the fact that her husband’s touch really was the only one for her. No details mattered, just the ringing echo of his voice telling her that he loved her. That one thing that made up for all the wounds across her heart. Love was the magic elixir that soothed even the mistrust clinging to her mind.

Love was the one thing worth everything and tonight, it surrounded her.

Paul rolled over and propped his elbow against the mattress. Resting his head in his hand, he ran his gaze over his sleeping wife. His eyes narrowed as he rolled the word “wife” across his tongue. It was an addictive concept, something he’d put his life on the line to get another hit of.

But she hadn’t told him she loved him. He frowned as he considered the even rise and fall of her chest. So relaxed, but it wasn’t a condition he might join her in. It sobered him, driving home the reality of how simple it would be for her to leave him. Sure, he could strong-arm her into staying, kick her boss off the post and imprison her, but that wasn’t enough. Sex wasn’t enough; making love wasn’t sufficient. He needed her to trust him with forever, with that wonderful gift she’d handed him the night they’d married.

The same treasure he’d failed to understand the value of. It was rare, so precious he’d been a fool to allow any man or project to pry it out of his grasp.

The only reason strong enough was knowing her safety was at risk. Reaching towards her shoulder, he fingered the healing skin, red and marked with the faint traces of where stitches had held the edges of the wound together. He felt his confidence rise. He’d let her go for the best reasons. Jo would have to understand that, because he would never apologize for loving her enough to allow someone to separate them. If that made him a jerk, so be it.

It wasn’t noble but it had worked, in its own fashion. Somehow, fate had filled in the canyon between their lives so that they could meet in the middle.

Tomorrow, he was going to force her to admit it.

At least there were advantages to being a jerk.

Chapter Twelve

The candles were still lit when her stomach rumbled, jerking her out of her slumber. Rubbing her eyes, Jo opened them to find her husband watching her.

“We bypassed eating.”

Offering him a grin, she rolled over as her stomach demanded attention. She needed food—now. Finding her clothing was a chore with the meager lighting, but the box of crackers sitting in the front room wasn’t going to cut it. She blew the candles out before they left, the faint trace of smoke following them into the front room. Picking up her gun as she passed by the chair was a habit. She clipped it into her belt at the center of her back without missing a step.

Her husband watched her do it, a gleam of approval in his eyes. It touched her, to see that on his face. He nodded his head before he captured her hand and held it as he opened the door.

He kept that grip firm as they walked across the tarmac to the mess hall.

Although it wasn’t late, it was still past the basic dinner hours. But the building yielded a heavy aroma of chow that made her belly rumble with approval. Shaking off the grip on her hand, Jo reached for a tray. Everything looked good and she wanted double helpings too.

“Well now, look here, two people to enjoy my coffee with.” Ross Locke sat next to her, chuckling across the table at Paul. Her husband looked harassed and Jo found the entire moment funny.

Ross Locke was in his element, stirring up the water just to see what floated. “I’d look like that too, if I were forty years younger. Benate here is worth a little male posturing. Got to admit that you have a talent for strutting. Not that I’m impressed. Seen better. Hell, I’ve done better.”