21 Marine Salute: 21 Always a Marine Tales (118 page)

Worse, the Marine had been involved in her brother’s death.

But it isn’t and wasn’t his fault.… Accidents happen, bad intel happens, and it costs people
. She understood it on a level she couldn’t quite explain and, strangely enough, her heart accepted it. He suffered; she’d seen it bleed through every sentence of the letter he’d sent her family—and all their subsequent communications. Maybe that explained why he answered her letter when she wrote him back. Every response earned another one. She’d spotted the hurt in his gaze, revealed for a few brief seconds when he’d said,
It’s lonely
….

She struggled to get out of the flak, almost making a liar out of herself. Setting it on the back of the toilet, she stripped the rest of her clothes off and hung them to air out in the little room. The shower, still lukewarm, helped sluice away her embarrassment. By the time she finished and pulled on an oversized cotton shirt with the single word, Marine, emblazoned across it, and a clean pair of undies, she felt almost human again. She packed her dirty clothes into the duffel and shoved the whole thing under the sink.

Brush in hand, she padded back into her room and stopped.

Charlie sat on the room’s only chair, his helmet and flak missing along with the weapon he’d carried earlier.

“Oh.” She blinked.

“You asked me to stay, right?” He rose, appearing uncertain for the first time since she met him.

Her heart hammered against her ribs, and she wished she’d grabbed a bottle of water before they left the mess because her mouth went very dry. “I did.” The cooler air brushed her legs and reminded her of her lack of pants. “I just didn’t think you would.”

“I can go and let you sleep.” He turned the chair around and put it back precisely.

But he’d stayed—or maybe gone back to his room and then returned while she lingered in the shower? “Wait.” Her words caught him with his hand on the doorknob. “I really do want you to stay.”

Maybe he was the connection she’d come here to find—she’d formed one with his e-mails. Or maybe the bleak reality of this place had gotten to her. Somewhere between dinner, the shower, and the craziness of her entire trip, she’d made a decision and it all snapped into focus for her. She didn’t want him to go. He hurt—like she did.

“I think you know what’s going to happen if I stay.” He didn’t turn around.

“Are you married?” Her pulse rabbited faster.

“No.” The word was almost too soft to hear.

She swallowed. “Seeing someone?”

“No.”

Tension clenched her belly. “So….” She exhaled, gathering her courage.
See the hill, take the hill
. “Stay.”

He bowed his head and went so still maybe he sought a gentle way to turn her down. Dangling on the edge of disappointment, she tried to shove it all back down.

“A few hours—it’s all I’m asking….”
Let him go gracefully, girl
.

But he pushed away from the door and crossed the room in two swift steps to crush her against his chest, claimed her mouth, and she forgot all about letting go.

From the moment she closed the door to the bathroom, Charlie recognized the correct choice lay in leaving her alone. Go to his room next door, strip out of the gear, and sleep. But real rest eluded him anymore. He slept in brief snatches of moments, fifteen minutes here, thirty minutes there. If the dreams didn’t wake him, the pop of gunfire filling the darkness like crickets on a summer night would.

Back in his room, he’d set his gear aside and secured his weapon. But she’d asked him if he wanted to come in and seemed so damn vulnerable with her hair spilling over her shoulders and her beautiful, sad eyes begging him to make it better. Returning to her room, he intended only to tell her good night, but she was in the shower a long time, and he waited for her.

I’ll just make sure she’s okay
….

He paved a road to hell with intentions, because when she walked out of the bathroom, all fresh-smelling, with damp hair, and long legs, and wearing only a T-shirt, every single one of his honorable plans crumbled to dust.

She’s young…. Hell, she’s younger than Naomi
. He wanted to kick himself square in the nuts for even considering a woman his little sister’s age, and it took every ounce of his willpower to get to the door.

His hand didn’t turn the knob, and she asked him if he was married or seeing anyone. She didn’t shy away when he said she knew what would happen if he stayed.

“Stay. A few hours—it’s all I’m asking….”

The invitation, coupled with the wild need to be clean and free of it all, even for a brief time, eroded the last traces of his will. He abandoned his noble intentions and swept her up. Her mouth opened to him from the first brush of his lips.

Everything about her was sweet and soft, from the hint of sugar on her tongue to her decadent curves. Cupping her face, he tried to focus only on how their mouths met. Maybe if he took enough from it, he’d be able to let her go. Somehow, between one stroke of his tongue and the next, she worked her hands under his shirt, her palms cool on his overheated flesh.

She moaned low in her throat, demanding his kiss. Relief flooded him.
She’s not an inexperienced virgin
. Worries about taking advantage of the situation fled, and he wanted to rush, take her hard and fast. Unwilling to release her mouth, he tilted his head, deepening the contact and slid his hands down to cup her ass.

Soft cotton panties stood between him and sinking into her—well, those and his own clothes, which she tugged at impatiently. Growling, he stepped away and pulled off his shirt. His boots came off swiftly and he reached for his belt, pausing only long enough to make sure he’d locked her door.

The last thing he needed, or wanted, was an interruption. Turning back, he found her staring at him, her green eyes gleaming and alive. A smile warmed her swollen lips—swollen from his kiss—and pride thumped through him.

Was there anything more exquisite than a beautiful woman who made him ache simply by sharing the same oxygen?

Need speared through him. He wanted to explore her every curve and sample her skin. Stripping off his pants, he dropped them on the back of a chair. Her gaze widened when it reached his waist and lower.

His cock stiffened painfully, as though she stroked him with her hand, and he wanted to come right then imagining her caress—then she took a step forward and his mind turned off. He pulled her into his arms. Their mouths collided again and her nails dug into the back of his neck. Breaking away long enough to sweep her T-shirt up and over her head, he tossed the scrap of fabric with abandon.

Her panties went next. He lifted her until her thighs locked on his hips, and they tumbled onto the bed. The cot didn’t fit both of them, and he braced above her on one arm, delving into her mouth and lapping up her sweetness like a cat with cream.

His cock bumped against her sex, and he shuddered with the need to push inside of her. It had been a long time for him. He broke the kiss and worked his way down her body, pausing to tease each hard nipple. Her soft, low gasps were music to his ears. Brushing his lips lightly to her belly, her swift, indrawn breath encouraged him as he dipped lower. Exploring the softness of her thighs—first the right then the left—he couldn’t be sure who he tortured more.

The moment he inched inside her, he’d be over and he wanted this to be good for her—needed it to be. Tiny nibbling kisses and licks brought him closer until, finally, he placed his mouth at her sex and drew on her clit. The rich scent of her arousal filled his nostrils, and his eyes crossed at the first taste of heaven. Shudders wracked her and she tightened her thighs on his shoulders.

She was close…her demands nearly as sharp and piquant as his own. He didn’t spare her, teasing her by alternating between hard strokes of his tongue and sucking. Jana thrashed, and he glanced up. She’d buried her face in the pillow to muffle her scream. Fascinated, he pressed two fingers inside of her. Holy hell, she was wet, and when he ran his thumb around her swollen clit, she convulsed.

Delighted at her responsiveness, he drove her toward a second orgasm, working in and out of her with two fingers, wringing another low cry from her. Stroking her through the orgasm, he kissed her breasts and abandoned her long enough to retrieve a condom from his pants. He’d stuffed one in there when he dropped his gear next door—wishful thinking or calculated hope?

He didn’t want to worry about it.

Hands shaking, he ripped open the foil and took the two steps back to the cot. Jana stared up at him with glazed eyes and trailed her hand up his thigh. He bucked his hips and needed a hell of a lot better control than he showed.

But the gorgeous vixen on the bed rose up and smiled, killing his good intentions. “My turn.”

When she kissed the tip of his cock, it took everything not to thrust into her mouth. He caught a handful of hair, carefully urging her head away. “Darling, I’ll come.”

“I want you to,” she murmured, a Siren summoning him to the rocks.

“Me, too.” He bent down to kiss her again and whispered, “But I want to be inside you, here.” He found her sex and teased the swollen, damp lips again. Circling her clit, he swallowed her soft cry with a hard kiss.

Goal firm in his mind, he slid the condom on and pressed her back. “I don’t know if I can be gentle, sweetheart.”

“Don’t be.” She raked her nails down his back and wrapped her legs around him, giving him all the access he needed to enter in one long, hard thrust. It didn’t matter how wet or ready she’d been; she cried out and bit down on his shoulder. He blessed her for the desire to stay quiet, but the clamp of her inner muscles locking down on him felt so fucking good.

Pushing up on his hands, he stared down at her, wanting to watch her as he started to move. They rocked together like a perfect dance. Her legs tightened, and she arched up to meet him. He sank deeper with every thrust. He wanted her to orgasm again, but he didn’t think he’d last much longer. His balls tightened unbearably and, with each thrust home, heat spiked in his veins.

She pulled at his neck and he went to her, diving down to take her mouth. He drove inside one last time then his body dissolved, coming in a torrent, shattering even the minor illusion of his control. Everything blurred, and he rode the tidal wave, helpless. The clamp of her sex on his cock dragged every wild ounce of his orgasm from him.

“Charlie,” she whispered, shuddering, and he collapsed. It was his turn to shake. Shivering with the release and closing his eyes, he buried his face against her neck.

Jana didn’t know how long they lay there, wrapped together. In her experience, guys passed out after good sex—hell, even after okay sex—but mind-shattering, earth-rending sex? Thinking maybe Charlie had drifted off, she didn’t protest the weight of him. Everything about him was hard, from his muscles, to the way he held her to the way he kissed, but she enjoyed the feel of him, the taste of him, and….

Lord knows my body enjoyed it
.

He pressed his lips to her neck, and a delicious shiver raced across her skin.

“You’re awake.” Surprise filtered through her.

Amusement softened his expression when he lifted his head. “It would be terribly rude to fall asleep and crush you.”

She chuckled, and his face tightened as she clenched around his softening cock.

“That—” His ragged exhale, the way his eyes darkened and the muscles in his jaw flexed, pleased her on a distinctly feminine level. “Is evil.”

Amusement curled through her pleasure, and he let out a hissing breath, surprising her further when he bent to kiss her. Her amusement evaporated under the slow, sensual assault. When he lifted his head, she sighed. The taste of him lingered on her tongue and her lips tingled. Hell, every part of her tingled.

“Are you okay?” He rested his forehead to hers, every glorious inch of his body blanketing her.

“Mmm-hmmm.” Strangely enough, she was. More than okay, actually. She felt loose, like Marley’s ghost suddenly freed of all his chains.

“You sure?” Trouble lurked in his eyes, and she leaned up to caress his jaw with another kiss and worked her way to the corner of his mouth.

“Yes. Don’t regret this, please.” It came out both a plea and a demand. No, she hadn’t come to the base intending to seduce him. How could she? But she didn’t regret it and she wouldn’t in the morning. She didn’t want him to, either.

“I don’t—or didn’t—want to take advantage of you.” Consternation deepened the groove between his brows, the lines seeming permanently etched, deep and thoughtful. How she longed to erase them, smooth them away, and let him relax.

“I think it was quite the other way around,” she told him, primly. “I invited you to stay—not once, not twice, but three times—and, as I recall, you warned me what would happen if you stayed. I told you to. So, by those terms, I took advantage of you.”

“I’m a grown man.” He obviously objected to her characterizing him as the one being taken advantage of.

“And I’m not?” She loved the sound of his voice and the crinkles at the corners of his eyes when he tried not to smile.

“No,” he nuzzled the corner of her lips, “you are definitely not.”

She opened her mouth to argue, and he kissed her again, thoroughly derailing her argument. When they came up for air, she forgot what they’d been discussing.

A satisfied look settled on his face and he grinned. “I win.”

She couldn’t help it. She laughed.

Sometime around three in the morning, he slept. Really slept. He’d intended to go back to his quarters, but every time he thought about leaving, she kissed him or he kissed her. He’d honestly lost track of who did what to whom, but had made one trip back to his quarters…for another condom or three. When she finally fell asleep, sprawled across him, head pillowed on his chest, he couldn’t bring himself to disturb her.

Instead, he listened to her breathe. The soft sound soothed him, and the whispery little eddies of air puffing on his skin eased something deeper inside. For once, he fought sleep when it tried to claim him. He didn’t want to miss a moment of this too-rare serenity. Between one blink and the next, he drifted off, only to snap awake when the warmth pillowed against him pulled away.