Stronger (The Unit Book 2) (14 page)

“Mine,” he growled into her ear causing a fire to burn deep within her body. She agreed; she was his, but that was her secret to keep.

Rob bent over and picked up the towel which was strewn on the floor. He handed it back to Lola. Feeling embarrassed, she wrapped the towel tightly around her body covering everything Rob had just worshipped.

“I guess we better get some sleep,” Rob said sensing her embarrassment. He had to know. “Have you ever done that before? What we just did?”

“No,” she whispered as her face flamed red, and she felt the burn upon her cheeks.

“Did you enjoy it?” Rob asked in a breathy voice. He was breathing hard at the knowledge that he was her first. He heard his heart pounding in his ears as he awaited her response. What if he took it too far and pushed her away. What would he do then? He had to have her; he had to make her his – his to possess, his to own, his to pleasure. He noticed the pulse jump in her neck. No matter what she said, he knew she enjoyed it.

She would never lie to him. His steel grey eyes demanded the truth. She wanted a relationship with this man who she hardly knew, this man who had saved her life.

“It was amazing,” she said unable to make eye contact. She wasn’t a shy woman but things felt different with Rob; she didn’t want to scare him away. Before, with men, she was brazen and bold because she knew nothing was ever going to happen between the man she was dancing with or on a date with and her. But now it was the exact opposite. She knew she would willingly give herself to him – the greatest gift she could give the man who saved her life. A man who spent his own money to rescue her. Just because she didn’t care about money, didn’t mean he felt the same. And twenty-five thousand dollars was a lot to spend on a woman he didn’t know. Why had he spent his own money?

She started to move past Rob to go to her bedroom to get dressed. He was still so close to her she could smell his unique scent. He smelled divine. She lingered a moment like she was going to say something, then shook her head and continued to walk to her bedroom. Rob followed. She reached into her dresser and pulled out her night clothes. Normally, she slept in panties and nothing else, but with Rob in the house, she felt compelled to dress.

“Why did you do it? Why did you spend your own money to save me?” She had to know if it was just the mission or something more.

“I wanted to own you,” he said stalking closer to her standing at the dresser. He closed the distance in three long strides.

“Own me? What do you mean? No man owns me. My father still thinks he does and you saw how I feel about that.”

“I want to own you Lola. I have from the moment I first laid eyes on you in the barn. Something about you touched a part of me that has been closed for a long time. Something about you made me feel. I don’t want to go back to how I was. I want to own you, to know you will never leave, to know I am the only one who gets to bring you pleasure like I did in the hallway, to know I have the privilege of taking care of you and providing for you, to know you are mine.”

“Wow.”

“I don’t mean to scare you away. I know it’s a lot to take in.”

“I want all of those things,” she whispered.
Could she have those things with Rob?
“All my life I have been groomed to be someone I’m not. I’ve had to be seen with the right people, attend the right parties, shop at the right stores – all dictated by my father. I want my own life. I want a family, a large family, full of love and laughter. The kind I never had.” She bowed her head and squeezed her eyes shut trying to fight back the tears. He lifted her chin to look into those glassy blue eyes. He wiped his thumb across her check. He bent forward and gently pressed his lips to her cheek kissing each tear away.

How could he tell her kids weren’t in the cards for him? His life was too dangerous. He wouldn’t want to bring kids into the world to be used against him on a mission. He would put a gun to his head then. He would still have her, he just had to figure out a way around the kid issue.

“I don’t want to control your life, Lola. I want to own you. So I know you will always be mine. There is a big difference.”

“This is crazy. We just met each other. We don’t even know each other.”

“I beg to differ. I know what you want. I know about your secrets and more importantly, you know about mine. I would say right now, no one knows me better.”

“What about all of the things only time teaches?”

“I am willing to learn, if you are. Who was it that said we had to follow a time frame or a pattern when it comes to being together? We are two consenting adults. When we feel the time is right, then the time is right. I will not play games with you, Lola.”

“I won’t play games with you either.”

“So, you want to do this. I did already pay for you,” he bantered with a quirk to his lip trying to lighten the mood.

“Which reminds me. Why did you spend your own money for me? Are you rich? Is that amount of money nothing to you?”

“Are you kidding?! That was half of my savings. I just couldn’t let someone else claim you. I had to win you.”

“Win me, huh? And how do you plan on doing that?” she asked as raised up on her toes and brought her soft lips to meet his.

“Like this,” he said before taking her and demanding she open her mouth to him. He thrust his tongue inside, exploring her. He licked her lips and sought out her tongue. Their tongues touched causing a fire to burn deep within both of their bellies. A fire and an emptiness that only the other could fill. He firmed his tongue and continued his exploration. Being the tease that she was, she closed her lips around his tongue and suckled it, drawing it deeper into her mouth. She mimicked suckling his cock. He moaned a deep tone from his throat. He could only imagine her lips wrapped around his cock, sucking and licking. He placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away from him in one move shaking his head.

“We better stop, or I’m not going to be able to.”

She stood there, surprised. She wanted him and was trying to make it painfully obvious.
Did he just reject her?
She felt rejected, bereft.

“Sorry,” she said looking out of the window, anywhere but his eyes.

“Don’t you dare do that! Don’t you dare think I don’t want you, Lola. You have to know; you have to feel it.” He lifted her hand and placed it brazenly against his cock. “That is what you do to me. I. Want. You. Desperately. But, I also know you are a virgin and so, I am willing to wait until you’re ready.”

A gentleman. She wouldn’t have thought it. She would have thought he would be trying everything he could to get into her panties: to claim her.

“I think you just won me,” she mumbled more to herself than to Rob. But Rob heard and his lips tugged up at the corners causing one dimple to appear. She didn’t see his triumph. She was still looking out of the window trying to calm herself. She was so turned on – she wanted him so badly. She was ready.
Maybe he wasn’t
.

“I should let you get dressed and get some sleep. It’s been a long day.”

“It’s been a long two weeks,” she responded as she moved to her bedroom door. She stood, hand propped against the edge of the door waiting for him to leave her room. He got the hint and followed her to the door.

“I will let you get dressed and get to bed. I’m right down the hall if you need anything. If you sense something isn’t right, come and get me. Use every instinct you have to protect yourself. If you wake up with an uneasy feeling, that something isn’t right, come to get me or just yell my name.”

“Okay,” she said closing the door behind him. Once the door was closed she leaned her back against it for support. She had come so close to giving herself to him tonight. But maybe he wasn’t ready. After everything he had been through, Lola knew he probably needed to speak with Lizzie first before they could be together. She would wait for him. He was worth it.

On the other side of the door, Rob rested with his back against it. He had forgotten completely about his Lizzie. And damn if he didn’t feel guilty. This time, not for forgetting about her, but because he enjoyed being free of her ghost and feeling again. And damn did he feel for Lola. He felt more for Lola than he ever dreamt he could or would feel for another human being. Losing her was not an option. He didn’t like the idea of sleeping down the hall in a spare room. But, he knew, she needed her space. The last thing he wanted to do was to come on too strong and scare her away.

He made up his mind. He would talk to Lizzie the way Lola had suggested. They would go tomorrow. He would have the company jet brought down and he would fly Lola to meet his Lizzie. He had to stop thinking about Lizzie as his.
She was dead
. And for the first time in a year and a half, he admitted it. It took Lola, but he could finally admit Lizzie was dead.

Rob laid there in his soft, comfortable queen size bed in Lola’s guest room. His comforter had tiny wild flowers on it as did the curtains in the room. This room was definitely meant for a woman. No matter, he was comfortable. He just couldn’t fall asleep. He would let nothing happen to Lola. Nothing. He listened for every noise, every creak, every moan the brownstone made. He listened and tried to learn the noises of the house. It was imperative he learned what was normal so he could distinguish danger. He laid there staring at the ceiling, the moonlight peeking through the sheer panels which covered the windows. The heavy curtains were tied back with a matching piece of fabric. He should get up and close them.

He sat up and heard something strange. He heard feet padding down the hallway like someone was trying to be as quiet as possible. He grabbed his gun from the nightstand table and went to the door. He stood behind it readying himself to throw it open and be confronted by the men who were here to gather his Lola. He smiled. His Lola. It had a nice ring to it. He shook his head. Just then the door handle started to turn. He took a step back from his hidden position behind the door. He would let the bastards come into the room and then take them out. Only it wasn’t a strange man; it was Lola. She peaked her head quietly into the room. When she didn’t see Rob in the bed, she stepped fully into the room. Rob pulled his gun unsure who was on the other side. He reached for the door knob and with one quick movement pulled the door all the way open. He drew his gun and pointed it directly at Lola. She screamed.

“Shit. I’m so sorry. I thought you were the bad guys.”

She had her hand over her heart and felt it beat in the back of her throat. He really scared her. She stood there trembling. He pulled her into his arms and wrapped his muscular arms around her tight body. She wasn’t little. She stood at a cool five foot ten without heels. He was only slightly taller than her at six foot three. Still her cheek rested nicely against his neck. He held her in his embrace until she stopped shaking. When she was ready and not a minute before, she broke the embrace.

“Care to tell me what you were doing peeking into my room,” he bantered showing both dimples.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“Me either. I am too worried about you to sleep.”

She was still in his space and he could smell her wonderful honeysuckle fragrance.
Is it a body lotion she uses to smell that good?
How he longed to lose himself inside her. Lose himself to her smell. Lose himself to her.

“Do you feel like something isn’t right? Are you listening to your instincts about what’s going on around you?” he asked because he would check the entire God damned neighborhood if that’s what it took to make her feel safe.

“I am listening to my instincts, yes,” she said as she moved closer to him. “I am listening because they are screaming at me. They are telling me to do this,” she said before closing her soft, full lips over his surprised opened ones. She sought out his tongue with hers. They danced and then she suckled his bottom lip into her mouth and bit down on it hard. He went instantly hard.

This time he wasn’t going to be the gentleman. She had sought him out. She came to him. She was ready. She just told him so with her achingly beautiful kiss.

“I want that too, Love,” he said bringing his finger up to touch the lip she made bleed. “But your first time has to be tender, gentle. I won’t have it any other way. Are you sure you want it to be with me?”

“We are both consenting adults,” she threw his words back at him. “We say when the time is right. I have been lying in bed for the last two hours thinking of your touch, of your kiss, of your sexy hands.”

“You think these are sexy?” he asked holding them up in front of him for her to get a better look in the moonlit room. They were large and tanned. The veins in his hands protruded against his skin.

“Yes. I think they are incredibly sexy. Especially when they are touching my soft body.” She was making it very hard for him to say no. She pressed herself flush against him. Her large breasts molded to his hard chest. He could feel her erect nipples against his bare chest. She had caught him in nothing but his boxer briefs. And what was she wearing?

She came to seduce him. She had on a sexy lace negligee. The body of the piece was red and see-through. He could just make out her darkened areolas. He had to taste her. He ran his calloused finger down her arm and her hand. Once he reached the underside of her hand, he intertwined their fingers together.

“I want you to know what you are getting yourself into, Love,” he cautioned. “I have done some pretty bad things. I have done these bad things for good reasons. Some would call me a murderer, some, a torturer, and they wouldn’t be wrong. I have murdered men; I have tortured men. I have had missions where I have killed so many men in one hour it’s impossible for me to know how many. I have done all of this without batting an eye, without guilt. I served five tours in war-torn Afghanistan. I have killed women and children who meant to do me harm; they haunt me every night. You could do much better than me. For God’s sake, I’m still in love with my dead fiancée. But, if after knowing all of this, you still say you want me, I won’t stop this thing between us. Not again. Know that!”