Beyond Redemption (3 page)

Would she ever heal? Could she ever regain that lust for life that had so captivated him? The idealism was lost to the realities of war, but maybe he could help her to feel again. He watched as she gathered her papers and stood, nodded, and took her leave. He hurried outside to wait for her, talk her into having dinner with him, letting him spend the night.

“Hello, Angel.” He chuckled softly as her lips formed a surprised O.

“Acosta?” She slung her tattered messenger bag over her shoulder and flung herself at him. “Oh my God! When did you…how? Did you testify?”

He lifted her off her feet, swung her around, before setting her back down. Damn but she felt good against him. “This morning, and when I saw your name on the witness list, I knew I had to stay.”

She gave him the full force of her smile, and Mitch thought his knees might give out. “I’m so glad you did.” She looked around. “Is Boudreaux here?”

Mitch nodded. “He is. Testified before me, then left with a little Scandinavian beauty. You know Seth. His life is a smorgasbord of beautiful women.”

Angelique laughed, and he knew she wasn’t overly disappointed that Seth wasn’t with him. “Well, there are certainly enough of them here. Honestly, I’ve never seen so many gorgeous women. It’s disheartening.”

Mitch snorted. “They’ve got their share, I’ll give them that, but I only have eyes for you, Angel.”

“More the fool you.” She laughed and tucked her arm underneath his. Of course, she thought he was bullshitting her, but her smile told him she was pleased nonetheless. “It’s sweet of you to say so, but I look like a concentration-camp refugee. Speaking of which, care to join me for dinner? I have reservations at Bassal. Maybe after dinner we can go back to my room, rent a couple of pay-per-view movies, and gorge ourselves on popcorn and beer.”

He led the way. “How long before you head stateside?”

“I have one glorious week; then I’m New Orleans-bound for a week with my family. I have to put on the feed bag before I get home so my poor mother doesn’t pass out. Bitsy is one of those women who think you can never be too thin or have too much money, but even she would agree that Africa has taken its toll. Then I’m off for a summer program on tropical health at Johns Hopkins.”

“Well, that sounds—”

“Fascinating? Hideous?” She laughed when he grimaced. “I can’t tell you how I’m looking forward to the module on intestinal infections.”

He cracked up. “Yeah, I can see why. But tell me, where are you spending this one glorious week of downtime before heading back to the States?”
Please God, let her say she’ll still be in Europe.

“Oh, a group of us have rented a villa on Hydra, in the village of Kamini. Have you ever been there?”

They arrived at the restaurant, and Mitch held the door for her to enter. “I haven’t. Most of my time in Europe is spent in Germany, with a few short trips to Paris and London. And of course, we were in Kosovo.” He followed behind her as the hostess led them to a table. “I’ve seen pictures, though. Don’t think I’ve ever seen a blue quite like the Aegean Sea.” He briefly scanned the menu. “Any idea what you want to eat?”

Her gaze collided with his. “You mean, aside from you? I believe I’m in the mood for a thick, juicy steak. How about you?”

Mitch grinned. “Angel, it’s nice to know we’re on the same page.”

* * * *

Christ, she was staying in one of the royal suites, which was basically a penthouse, though it was small. As career army, he’d never be able to afford such luxury, and it brought home the fact that his Angel was used to the finer things in life, coming as she had from old Southern money. He didn’t know why the idea of her being rich bothered him. It wasn’t as if she acted rich. She’d certainly never turned her nose up at him, and she was as compassionate as they came, working to improve the lives of the poorest of the poor. Hell, he was probably the only one bothered by her background. He took the card key from her, opened the door, and snagged her around the waist to lift her off her feet. “I can’t wait to get you naked.”

Shit. Angelique shrugged out of her jacket and, yeah, she was right. She was damn skinny. He didn’t know much about women’s dress sizes, but as he unzipped the stretch-knit dress, Mitch knew if it wasn’t for the spandex incorporated into the material, the tiny dress would have hung on her. She definitely needed fattening up. He smoothed the dress off her shoulders, and she let it fall to the floor and stepped out of it. She might be thin, but the woman had great taste in underwear.

“Damn, baby, that’s hot.” And it was. Tiny black panties with pink pinstripes and thin pink ties joining front to back. The matching demibra plumped up breasts that had once filled his hands to overflowing. He practically tore off his own clothes as he stalked her across the room. “You might want to take those delicate things off, honey, before they get torn, because I’ve got a powerful hard-on for you.”

She laughed, but he could tell she was self-conscious as she reached around and unhooked her bra. She cupped her breasts in her hands with a grimace. “I used to have boobs.”

Mitch kicked his clothes aside. “You still have them; they’re just smaller.” He took her in his arms and skimmed his hand down her back. Damn, he could practically count every vertebra. “Once we strap the feed bag on you, you’ll fill out just fine.” He hooked his thumbs through the sides of her panties and dragged them down. “Until then, let’s see if I can’t fill you up with something else.” He tore open a condom and covered himself. “I’m going to show you just how hot I still think you are.”

GOD, SHE LOVED the way Mitch kissed, his tongue melding with hers in a velvety swirl that at once coaxed and demanded. His cock throbbed against her belly, and she moaned, wanting him so badly her body actually shook with the need. He moved his hand to her breast, caressing and teasing a beaded nipple, tweaking lightly until she was trembling with the need to come. With a hard, twisting pinch, the orgasm rolled through her, and she cried his name.

“That’s right, baby; God, I love to watch you come.” His voice was honey-thick with desire as he lifted her. She automatically wrapped one leg around his waist, then the other, as he pressed her against the window. She was wet and ready for him, and they both groaned as he settled her over his thick cock. “You feel good, Angel. I love fucking you. I love the feel of your pussy wrapped around me, taking me so deep, the way it feels when you come, milking every drop from me.”

He gripped her ass, holding her tightly as he drove into her, their tongues thrusting in unison with their bodies. He ground against her clit, and she knew she couldn’t hold on much longer. “Mitch, I’m gonna come again. Come with me, sugar; fuck me hard and come with me.”

He spun around and dumped her on the bed, crawled on behind her, flipped her over, and dragged her to her knees. “Yes, oh yes,” she hissed. “Fuck me like that. Hard and fast, Mitch.”

She couldn’t suppress a throaty laugh when he growled and entered her with a hard thrust that made her teeth click. She screeched and snagged the pillow to muffle the sounds of her cries as he plunged into her over and over. She came hard, clutching the duvet with her fists. Behind her, Mitch drove in one last time, roaring out his release as he came.

“Holy shit.” He gasped, all but collapsing on top of her. She grunted, and he murmured an apology, spooning her as he rolled onto his side. “I think I might have ruptured something.”

Unable to help herself, Angelique laughed, gasping for breath. “I forgot…how intense…you are. God, that was great.”

They lay there silently, spiraling down from what had just passed between them. Angelique spoke. “I don’t suppose there’s any chance you could spend the next week lolling around on the terrace of a Grecian villa feeding me sinfully fattening food and rubbing suntan lotion on my back.”

Mitch laughed and withdrew from her. “Well shit, honey, what’s in it for me?”

“Um, all the hot monkey love you can tolerate, anytime you want it?”

He got up and went to the adjoining bathroom. The water came on, and she knew he was cleaning up, disposing of the condom. He came back out, tanned and beautiful, and stretched out beside her. “Shit, man, that just might kill me, but I’d surely die a happy man.” He reached for the room-service menu. “Let’s get you started with the sinfully fattening food right now, seeing as how you’ve probably burned off every calorie you gained at dinner.”

She uttered a snorty laugh. “Ya think? What’s good on that menu?”

“Hell, I don’t know. You have to wonder how good a burger and fries from Holland can actually be. But this is a Hilton, so maybe…oh, crap, and ice cream sundaes, with plenty of whipped cream and walnuts.”

Angelique sat up. “Oh man, a burger with the works and a big pile of fries. Oh, or onion rings. And extra cherries.”

He grimaced in disgust. “Cherries on a burger?”

“On the sundaes, you horse’s ass.”

He grinned and grabbed the phone. “Yeah, this is Ms. Vernet’s suite. The good doctor is starving and would like to order some food.” He hung up after giving the order and pulled her into his arms, kissing her deeply. As always, she melted against him. When he broke the kiss, he asked, “Are you sure about Kamini? I mean, what about your friends? And I wouldn’t want to, you know, step on any toes.”

Angelique didn’t think twice. She might regret it later, but he was here and his presence was a balm to her jangled nerves. She was pretty sure Acosta’s feelings ran deeper than hers, and she didn’t want to hurt him. Trouble was, she liked him and he was great in bed. If she examined her feelings for the man, she had to admit he was getting to her, thawing the frozen lump inside her chest that passed for a heart. He was a danger to the carefully crafted wall she’d built around that mythical organ, and she would have to tread carefully. She could not afford to live in a heart-shaped world and protect herself from the pain of losing someone with whom she could easily fall in love. That was why she kept her interactions with men strictly superficial. “It’s just some hospital staff, some of whom you met in Africa. And there are no toes to step on.” He raised his eyebrows at that, and she shrugged. “I’m not going to say there hasn’t been sex, Mitch, because there has. Sex and alcohol are the two big releases we had, but that’s all it was…a release. If I thought there would be any problems, I wouldn’t have asked if you wanted to join us.”

“That’s all I needed to know.” He snagged his pants off the floor and rummaged for his cell, hit speed dial. “Yo, Boudreaux. I’m with Angelique Vernet. She’s heading for the Greek Isles for a week, and I’ve been invited to accompany her. I’ll be in the village of Kamini on Hydra if something comes up. Call me and we’ll decide on a place to meet up, or I can just meet you in Germany. Let me know, man. Later.”

* * * *

The Aegean was everything he’d anticipated it would be, and Mitch was glad he’d taken Angel up on her offer. He knew that, of the two of them, his feelings for her were stronger, but he could live with that for now. He’d enjoy the time they had together, feed her all the fattening food she could stand, rub suntan lotion on her back, and make love to her every chance he got. It would have to do for now.

After they arrived at the villa, Mitch dropped their luggage on the floor and followed Angelique out onto the terrace, wrapping his arms around her as they both gazed at the sea. He lowered his head and nibbled her neck, then whispered in her ear. “I can’t wait to get you in that water and fuck you.”

Angelique laughed. “I was just thinking the same thing. Great minds.” She turned in his arms and lifted her face, smiling up at him. “I’m glad you decided to come with us.”

Mitch felt as if his heart had swelled to double its size, so moved was he by her simple declaration. It probably didn’t mean as much to her as it did to him. He was on dangerous ground with his Angel and he damn well knew it, but for some reason he couldn’t help himself.

The weird thing was, he never did this. He was a man who genuinely liked women and was more than happy to gorge himself on as many as possible. He loved the way they thought, loved their passion, loved the way they obsessed over the smallest details, loved the way they loved—physically and emotionally. A woman’s love was a fierce, white-hot thing and he was pretty sure if they ever took over, they’d save the world in no time flat.

The woman he held in his arms right now was one of those women. She was bound and determined to save the world, one life at a time if need be. He admired that, but it also scared the shit out of him because saving lives meant taking the chance of losing yours.

He lowered his head and kissed her. A long, slow, deep kiss that had her melting against him with a soft sigh. And it hit him like a thunderbolt. He was in love with her. Mitch Acosta, the man that loved women but avoided any long-term attachments, was crazily, wildly, hopelessly in love with a woman who was very likely going to break his heart into a million tiny pieces.

Well shit
. “I want you,” he whispered against her kiss-swollen lips. When she didn’t protest, he lifted her off her feet, kissing her as he carried her back into their room, kicking the door shut. He moved his lips over hers, his tongue delving deep, the taste of her filling his mouth, tart and sweet. Lemon drops, her favorite candy. Her pussy would taste slightly salty and sweet, like the liquor from a fresh oyster, and his cock swelled, pulsing and pounding in anticipation.

He had to get her out of the flirty, off-the-shoulder dress she’d worn on the ferry ride to Hydra. He knew what she had on under that silky, little dress: skimpy white panties trimmed in pale pink lace—not quite a thong but the next best thing. The dress came off, and, oh yeah, no bra. He leaned down and flicked his tongue over each taut nipple before settling on one, drawing deeply as he pushed the panties past her hips.

She sighed his name. “Mitch.”

“Shhh.” This wasn’t about fucking; it was about making love. Slow and sweet, a communion of souls. They had a week to fuck until their eyeballs rolled back in their heads; right now he wanted this moment to carry with him when he shipped out to God knew where. He swept her into his arms, crossed to the bed, knelt on the mattress, and gently laid her down. He made short work of his clothes, covered himself with a condom, and climbed onto the bed to straddle her body.