Striking Distance (24 page)

He could understand that.

“Also, I don’t know how I would feel about you being on top of me or inside me and . . . and no anal play.”

“I thought we agreed in Dubai that neither of us was into that last one.” Understanding dawned on his face. “Aw, God, Laura,
no
. I’m so sorry.”

She blinked back tears, willing herself to look straight into his eyes. “My body was a battleground for so long, and I . . . I don’t know how to let you get closer.”

He sat up and ran his knuckles over her cheek. “I can think of a thousand ways to make love to you,
bella
, a thousand ways to satisfy you. Forget about everything but us. Just let me touch you. Tell me what feels good.”

His words sent a tremor through her, hope warring with despair inside her.

He teased her lips with his, traced their outline with his tongue, nipped them with his teeth, tiny bites that brought only pleasure. And her lips began to burn. Then he claimed her mouth with a slow, deep kiss that she knew would drive darker thoughts from her mind—if she let it.

Don’t think. Feel.

She leaned into him, her lips parting for him, her tongue accepting his, the warmth of his body and his strength seeming to surround her. By the time he broke the kiss, they were both breathless, Laura’s heart pounding so hard she was certain he could feel it against his chest.

“Laura, mi amor.”
One of his hands slid into her hair, tilting her head back to expose her throat, his lips pressing kisses against her cheeks, his tongue teasing the whorl of her ear, his teeth nipping the tender skin just above her pulse.

Shivers danced across Laura’s skin, her breath coming in sighs.

“I want to see you. I want to feel you. Can I take this off?” One hand tugged on her bra strap.

“Yes.”

He sought for the clasp, unhooked it, then tossed her bra aside, leaning back to look at her. His brown eyes went black as he stared at her breasts, her nipples drawing tighter under the heat of his perusal. “So beautiful. I want to touch and taste you the way you touched and tasted me.”

She nodded.

Don’t think. Feel.

He cupped and lifted her breasts, his thumbs making slow circles over her areolas, the sensation sweet, shards of heat splintering through her, the ache between her thighs growing stronger. “Do you like that?”

“Oh, yes!”

He teased her nipples with the pads of his thumbs, caressed them with his palms, pinched and rolled them with his fingertips. Then with a moan, he arched her back, bent down, and began to suckle her, the wonderful sensation making Laura gasp.

She heard herself exhale in a long, trembling sigh, feeling the heat of his mouth and the friction of his tongue all the way to her womb. She grasped his shoulders and held on, every tug of his lips heightening her need for him, until her hips began to shift impatiently beneath her, the ache inside her begging to be answered.

Javier withdrew his mouth, making her moan in frustration. He turned her, brought her hips square with the edge of the bed, then knelt between her thighs. “Now I can reach all of you.”

“Yes, Javi, please!”

He leaned in, cupping one breast with his hand, holding it for his mouth, his tongue flicking lightly over the aching, puckered bud while the other hand slid slowly, agonizingly down her side, over the curve of her hip, along the outside of her thigh and up the inside again, his fingers teasing and tickling her skin. “Is it okay if I touch you—”

Before he could finish asking the question, her hips answered for her, moving against his hand.

He grinned, his finger seeking and finding her clitoris. “I don’t get why women are afraid of how they look here. You are so damned hot, Laura, and so wet. I can’t wait to get my mouth on you.”

Her heart gave a hard knock.

He began to stroke her, teasingly at first, his mouth finding her nipples and suckling her again, the two sensations together almost more than she could handle, the ache inside her making it impossible to hold still. Her hands moved restlessly over his shoulders, her anticipation building.

When his mouth left her breasts it was almost a relief because she knew where he was headed. But he wasn’t in a hurry to get there. He trailed kisses over her rib cage and down to her belly, flicking her overly sensitive skin with his tongue, making her body jerk just as she’d done to him earlier.

Without breaking the rhythm he’d built with his hand, he ducked one shoulder down and then the other, catching her thighs, nudging them farther apart. “Mmm . . . Beautiful.”

But rather than putting his mouth on her, he began to kiss and nibble her inner thighs, the exquisite sensation raising bumps on her skin, making her shiver.

She sank backward onto the bed and lifted her feet onto his shoulders, all hesitation fading in the face of his sensual onslaught.

“Oh, yeah,
bella
, open for me.” He parted her labia, lowered his mouth to her, and tasted her with a single long lick.

She gasped, her back arching, her fingers curling in his hair.

He licked her again and got the same response, his groan proof that he was enjoying the sight and taste of her. He flicked her clit with his tongue, drew it into his mouth, and sucked, tugging on her with his lips.

Laura had forgotten what it felt like to have a man’s mouth on her, had forgotten the staggering pleasure of it. She buried her fingers in his hair, let her knees fall open to give him more room, and was rewarded with a deep groan, the low sound sending vibrations through her swollen flesh.

She was trembling now, her breath coming in pants and gasps, his mouth working magic. Some part of her had longed for this, longed to give herself to him, to be strung out on him, to reel out of control at his touch. Oh, God, it was sweet!

But that delicious ache inside her—it wouldn’t go away. She felt a throbbing emptiness, her body yearning to be filled, needing to be filled.

She panted out the words.
“Inside me.”

With a moan, he slipped a finger and then two inside her, stretching her, filling her with slick, deep strokes, driving her toward the edge.

And then she was flying, orgasm shimmering through her in blazing, golden waves, the bliss of it tearing a cry from her throat as she was lifted skyward, then left to float breathless and weightless among the clouds.

After a time—she couldn’t say how long—Javier drew her into a sitting position, scooped her into his arms, and lowered her to her pillow, stretching out beside her. His gaze was warm, his lips wet, his skin drenched in her scent.

“A thousand ways?” Tremors of pleasure still shivered through her.

He smiled, ran a finger over her lower lip. “That was just one.”

CHAPTER

22

JAVIER DIPPED THE
strawberry first into melted chocolate, then into brown sugar, and then into the dish of sour cream. He held the strawberry to Laura’s lips, watched her take it with her tongue.

Her eyes drifted shut as she chewed. “Mmm.”

She sat beside him wearing her bathrobe over hot-pink panties and a white cotton tank top that left little to his imagination, her hair still wet from their shower.

He leaned in and licked a spot of chocolate off her lower lip. “That good, huh?”

She opened her eyes, smiled. “Your turn.”

She selected a fat, red strawberry for him, dipped it in the three small dishes, then held it to his lips.

His gaze fixed on hers, he took her offering and chewed, the sweet-tart-chocolate taste combination surprising him as it exploded across his tongue. “Mmm. Amazing.”

She’d been right when she’d said it was a culinary orgasm.

They’d already polished off their eggs Benedict—which, Javier had discovered, was just a name for poached eggs served on an English muffin with Canadian bacon and some kind of lemony sauce—and were finishing their mimosas and the strawberries he’d grabbed on the way back from his run. He hadn’t had many breakfasts as nice as this, and he knew he would never forget it, not only because of the food and the company, but also because it had followed one of the most incredible nights of his life.

He would remember every moment of last night until the day he died. Last night, he had watched Laura come back to life in his arms. She had trusted him, and together they’d found a way to break through her fear. No, they hadn’t had conventional sex—no tab A in slot B—and yet it had been one of the most sensual nights of his life. If he’d doubted that he was in love with her, those doubts had been blown to bits.

Wouldn’t the guys get a kick out of this if they knew? The Cobra was hopelessly, helplessly in love—and happy about it.

You are in deep shit,
chacho
.

As for Laura, she’d slept through the night without a single nightmare—which was more than he could say for himself—and seemed more like her old self than she had since he’d arrived in Denver, more playful, more lighthearted, a smile on her beautiful face more often than not. Just seeing her happier made him happy.

They’d already made love once this morning, making creative use of touch and tongues and tile walls—not to mention Laura’s pulsing showerhead.

“That’s two,” he’d whispered when she’d sunk against him in a boneless, postorgasmic stupor.

There was nothing like sex to wake up a man—or a woman—in the morning. And, despite his nightmare, this was the most relaxed he’d felt in months.

He reached for another strawberry, dipped it, and held it out for her. “Where’d you learn this? Is this the way your grandma serves strawberries, because, man, if it is, I got to figure out how you stay so skinny.”

She raised a hand to her mouth, fighting not to laugh while she chewed. “I learned this from my college roommate. She learned it from some other woman and used it to try to seduce some guy she was seeing.”

“She went to all this trouble for that? All she had to do was tell the man he’d be getting puss—” The annoyed look on her face cut his words short. “Uh . . . I mean . . . did it work?”

The corners of Laura’s eyes crinkled, and she burst into laughter. “Just so you know, the p-word doesn’t offend me provided you use it for the correct body part and not to insult people. And, honestly, Javi, I think all women understand that about men. In this case, she was looking for more than sex.”

“Oh.” Okay, that made sense. “She was?”

Laura dipped a strawberry for him and held it. “I think Kim wanted to do the traditional thing—marriage, kids, the dog.”

“You got something against dogs?” He took the fruit from her and was again blown away by the taste.

“I’ve always been focused on my career.”

And Javier’s mood dropped a notch.

They fed each other the rest of the strawberries, the conversation drifting while Javier tried to sort through his feelings. Yeah, the nightmare had sucked. It had been the same nightmare he’d been having off and on for the past three months. He’d been lying wounded in the dirt, holding Krasinski’s hand, trying to keep him conscious, only to discover as the medevac helo went up in a fireball that it was Yadiel bleeding out beside him. But Javier didn’t think the nightmare was to blame for how he felt right now.

Then it hit him.

When they’d met in Dubai, Laura had been clear that she didn’t plan on getting married and having kids. He’d felt the same way. They’d both agreed—no strings.

But now Javier found himself wanting strings.

How was Laura going to feel about that?

She looked into the small dipping dishes. “I wish we had more strawberries. We’ve got leftover chocolate.”

Javier set his thoughts aside and smiled. “I know just what to do with that.”

Oh, yeah. She was going to like number three.

* * *

LAURA LEANED BACK
against Javier’s chest in a tub of hot water, feeling languid and sleepy, little tremors of pleasure still shivering through her, her body replete, the chocolate that hadn’t been licked off her skin now washed away. “I hope you’re enjoying this as much as I am.”

He kissed her hair, one arm encircling her just above her breasts, his fingers caressing her shoulder. “You know I am.”

“How did I get so lucky?” She trailed her fingertips over his forearm.

“Hmm?” he asked.

“One night in Dubai, a man steps in to save me from two drunk Russians, and the next thing I know, I’m in bed with him.”

“Nah, not in bed.”

He was right. The first time
hadn’t
been in bed.

“The next thing I know, he’s shagging me against the wall.”

“It’s a miracle we weren’t arrested.”

True. But that wasn’t the point.

“Now, more than three years later, that same man steps back into my life and changes
everything
. I never thought I could have this again. I thought . . . I thought this part of me was dead. Thank you, Javi.”

He kissed her hair again. “Hey, all I did was open the door.”

“Oh, you did more than that.”

By some miracle, Laura felt almost whole.

He nuzzled her ear. “Well, I am pretty good in the sack—or so you’ve said.”

She smiled. “You’re very humble about it, too.”

Javier wasn’t just the most creative lover she’d ever had or the most confident, but he was also the most thoughtful. She’d seen that side of him in Dubai, but she’d come to appreciate it even more last night, perhaps because that was what she needed most this time. He’d been patient with her, getting her consent each time, making certain that she felt comfortable—and then driving her wild.

It amazed her to think that he was still holding back. If she’d just met him, she would have no idea how forceful he could be, how physical sex could be with him. As much as she treasured the gentleness he’d shown her, some part of her was beginning to long for the thrill of his more aggressive side—and the feel of him inside her.

She hadn’t found a way to tell him yet, still afraid that she would freak out the moment she felt him thrust into her. But the ache was there.

She wanted him—all of him.

But there was still time for that. In Dubai, they’d had only three nights and two days, and that had been magical. They still had more than a week to be together, and . . .

Her pulse spiked.

More than a week.

That was no time at all.

In the blink of an eye, this would be over. He would go back to the dangerous job that had almost cost him his life, and she would stay here in isolation, waiting for the cops to catch this killer, working at the paper, fighting to get Klara back. And God only knew whether they’d see each other again.

No, she couldn’t let that happen this time.

She decided to come right out and ask. “Can we stay in touch this time?”

“Are you asking for my phone number?”

“E-mail, phone number, address—and your grandmother’s, too.”

“You want to call my
abuelita
?”

“If anything were to happen to you, I would want to know.”

“Well, it’s kind of sudden. You’re talking about taking our relationship to a whole new level.” He kissed her cheek, his voice going soft. “You got it,
bella
.”

* * *

BY SUNDAY EVENING
they’d made it to number seven. Laura knew it was humanly impossible to reach a thousand in the time they had, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t try.

Javier had made love to her with his mouth, his fingers, her massaging showerhead. He’d even made them both come by rubbing her clitoris with the hard length of his erect cock. They’d tasted each other on the bed, in the shower, on the table, on the floor, and still Javier kept coming up with ideas that were new to her.

Ice cubes. Side-lying sixty-nine. A dab of minty mouthwash on his tongue.

She was just finishing the supper dishes and thinking about the start of the workweek when she heard a buzzing sound. She turned to find him standing there, one dark eyebrow arched, her blue jelly vibrator buzzing and rotating at high speed in his hand. Heat flooded her face. “Oh, my God! Where—”

“You left one of the bathroom drawers open.”

Helvete!
Damn!

She reached for it.

He angled his upper body away from her and held it out of her reach. “Hold on. I’ve got a right to check out my competition. Are you blushing? You are.”

She pressed her palms to her cheeks. “I don’t blush.”

He leaned in, still holding the vibrator out of reach. “The hell you don’t. Look—your cheeks are all pink.”

She lunged and tried again to grab it from him, torn between amusement and irritation. “Give that to me!”

“You want it,
bella
?” He grinned, took a step back. “You’re going to have to let me use it on you.”

She gaped at him, heat suffusing her face—and other parts of her body. “Fine. On one condition.”

“Sure.” He grinned, so sure of himself, so smug. “What’s that?”

“I get to use it on you, too.” The look of shock on his face made her laugh. “What’s the matter? Is the big, bad special operator afraid of a little sex toy?”

His eyes narrowed. “You got a deal.”

She hadn’t expected that.

Next time he was here, she would hide the damned thing.

He grinned again. “You didn’t think I’d call your bluff, did you? Now get on into the bedroom—and get naked.”

She walked to her bedroom, anticipation beginning to build despite her embarrassment, Javier one step behind her. She’d never imagined doing something like this, but then Javier had always managed to surprise her. She undressed, dropping her clothes on the floor. “Not sure why I bothered to put clothes on at all today.”

“You complaining?”

“Absolutely not.” She looked over her shoulder at him, then crawled onto the bed, teasing him with a view of her from behind. “Maybe I should just stay naked.”

“I like that idea.” He nodded, his gaze fixed right where she knew it would be.

She sat facing him and reached for the vibrator. “I’ll show you how to use it.”

“No, I got this.” Javier turned both switches on, activating both the vibration and the rotating steel balls. He ran a finger down the translucent blue shaft. “The dick part with the rotating balls goes inside you, while the part that looks like a bunny with long ears vibrates against your clit.”

Okay, so he had figured it out.

“Don’t look surprised. I know how to operate some very tricky weapons systems. I can even fly a helo if I have to. This”—he held it up—“is easy.”

Laura lay back on her pillows, expecting him to put the vibrator to work between her legs, but he didn’t. Instead, he brought it up to her neck, running the little buzzing rabbit ears along the tender skin there. It certainly wasn’t what she was used to doing with it, but it felt good. She turned her head to give him better access, the delicate sensation raising bumps on her skin.

He traced a line down her neck, across her clavicle, and down to her breastbone, amused curiosity mingling with desire on his face. He was having fun with this.

Laura felt her nipples tighten and wondered what the vibrations would feel like there. She didn’t have to wait long to find out. He made circles around one breast and then the other, tickling the sensitive undersides before touching it to her aching nipples.

She gasped, her eyes drifting shut as frissons of arousal skittered through her. The jelly texture tugged at her skin more than his tongue did, the heightened friction and the vibrations creating an intense new sensation. She felt herself grow wet, sexual need flaring to life inside her.

But he was just getting started.

He bent down and began to use the vibrator in tandem with his tongue, suckling her nipples, then rubbing the vibrating shaft over the wetness he’d left behind.

Laura arched her back and reached her arms above her head to give him unimpeded access to her breasts, the vibrations seeming to settle deep in her belly. He switched from one breast to the other until she thought she might go out of her mind. By the time he finally nudged her thighs apart, she was on the brink.

He touched the shaft of the vibrator to her clit.

“Oh!” Her hips jerked, the sensation almost too much.

He eased off, stroked her lightly, the vibrations like a thousand flicks of a feather, his lips scattering kisses across her sensitive inner thighs. “Like this?”

“Yes.”
She was certain nothing could possibly feel better.

He proved her wrong, penetrating her with his fingers, taking her with slick thrusts, heightening her pleasure even further.

She cried out, dug her nails into the comforter, fought to hang on.

“Mmm.” He kissed her inner thigh again. “You are
so
wet.”

Oh, how she wanted him inside her!

Not the vibrator—Javier.

But some part of her held back. “Please, Javi.
Now.
”