Only Her (A K2 Team Novel) (19 page)

He reached for the hem of her top, and pulled it up. She lifted her arms, and he tossed the shirt onto a chair. There were still no words spoken between them, and he didn’t want any. The skin under his palms as he slid them down her back—tracing the curve of her spine—was silky smooth. Waves of shivers rippled through her when he danced his fingers up her ribs. She leaned against him, and he rested his chin on her head, closing his eyes.

Using his sense of touch, of smell as he inhaled the essence that was Riley, and of sound—listening to her little gasps of breaths—he knew nothing, saw nothing, felt nothing but her. When his thumbs scraped under the soft flesh of her breasts, she made a little humming sound that had him throbbing with desire. He pressed his erection against her bottom, letting her know how much he wanted her.

But not yet. There was more to learn about her. He shed his shirt, needing to feel her, skin to skin. With her back against his chest again, he cupped her breasts, and flicked his thumbs over her nipples.

“Oooh,” she murmured.

He would allow her that one word tonight. While he played with her breasts, he pressed his mouth to her neck and sucked, marking her as his. She lowered her hands, digging her fingers into his thighs when he gave her nipples a light pinch. Cody licked the red, irritated skin on her neck, soothing it. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt the need to mark a woman, if he even ever had.

Still standing behind her, he slid one hand under the waistband of her silk pajama bottoms. He cupped her mound, and just held his hand there, feeling her heat. She tilted her head, looking up at him with eyes darkened by desire, and he covered her mouth with his. Keeping his hand cupped over her, he pressed his tongue to the seam of her lips, urging her to open for him. When she let him in, their tongues sought out each other, tangling in a demanding dance.

He could no longer keep his hand still, and he slipped a finger into her slick heat. She was so damn wet for him. There was something hot about both of them bare from the waist up, but clothed from the waist down. Half their bodies touched skin to skin, while the friction of the material separating their lower halves created a kind of pleasurable pain.

Finding her sweet spot, he toyed with her until her breaths were coming fast. When she came, it was as if her legs gave out, and he held her close until he was sure she would remain upright. He moved to stand in front of her, and when she opened her mouth, he put a finger over her lips, shaking his head. All that existed in her bedroom this night was the two of them. They didn’t need words.

Understanding entered her eyes, and she lifted on her toes and kissed him. He didn’t know why he wanted it this way, had never cared before how much a woman talked, but the quiet between Riley and him seemed . . . spiritual. Yes, that was the right word. She brought her hands up, cradling his face as she kissed him, and he covered her hands with his. The kiss started as gentle, but quickly became intense. He wanted to devour her, wanted her to climb into his skin and live there.

Was that love? He didn’t know. All he did know was that she calmed him, that he desired her like no other, and that he couldn’t imagine ever tiring of her. With her, he felt complete. Because of her, he was determined to conquer his demons. She didn’t know it yet, but he was hers for as long as she would have him.

She lowered her hands to the button on his jeans, and he inched away, giving her room for her task. He’d gone commando after his shower, and decided he’d best take over the job of unzipping the jeans, considering he was already about to pop out of them. The thought of getting caught in the zipper made him want to squeeze his legs closed. He took out the condoms he’d put in his pocket, then pushed his pants over his hips, chuckling when Riley’s eyes widened at the sight of him.

She had mentioned that she hadn’t been with anyone since starting her clinic. He knew she’d been with the boy she’d loved, and he assumed there had been college boyfriends. But those were boys, and he would be her first man. He liked that.

After kicking his jeans to the side, he lifted Riley in his arms and carried her to the bed, dropping the condom packs on the bedside table. The lamp was on its brightest setting, and he dimmed it. Her gaze roamed over him when he knelt beside her, and he hoped she liked what she saw. She reached up and traced the Trident tat—an eagle clutching a U.S. Navy anchor, a trident, and a flintlock pistol—on his upper arm. He’d been proud when he’d made it through BUD/S, the SEAL training school. Only two hundred or so sailors out of a thousand made it through the rigorous course each year, and the first thing he’d done when he had was to get the tattoo.

Her eyes lifted to his when he pulled her pajama bottoms down. Every time she looked at him with those soft, desire-darkened eyes, he felt caught up in something he’d never known before, something magical, and he couldn’t tear his gaze away.

The yellow glow of the lamp fell on her hair, spread out over the pillow, making the red and gold highlights shimmer. He wondered what she’d think if he told her that her hair reminded him of a German shepherd’s coat. Coming from him, that was a high compliment, but he thought it wise to save that piece of info for some other time. It amused him, though, and a smile slipped out. To keep her from wondering what he was thinking, he kissed her. He’d been wanting to do that, anyway.

It was almost scary how attuned they were to each other without words between them. He hadn’t been searching for
the one
, and maybe there was something in the water at K2. He no longer cared why Riley had walked into his life at a time when he’d thought he least needed that to happen, only that she had.

Without breaking the kiss, he stretched out alongside her, and because his fingers were itching to touch her, he allowed them free rein to roam. She sighed into his mouth when his hands slid over her skin, and she arched into his palm when he cupped a breast. It had been much too long since he’d been with a woman, and this one, Christ, this one brought him to the edge of losing control.

There were so many things he wanted to do with her, and he would, but if he wasn’t inside her in the next minute, he was going to embarrass himself. He reached for a condom, tore it open, and rose to his knees. It was a turn-on watching her watch him put it on, and although it seemed an impossible feat, he grew even harder.

Moving between her legs, he put his hands on the insides of her thighs, caressing his thumbs over her flesh, a little surprised at how firm her legs were. But she was a runner, so she would be fit, another thing he liked about her. He pushed her knees farther apart, and took himself in hand, rubbing the tip over her, teasing her. She moaned, and he could take no more. In teasing her, he was torturing himself. He slid into her, pausing to let her get used to him, moaning at how hot and wet she was.

The discipline he’d learned as a SEAL was the only thing keeping him from going caveman and pounding into her with the insatiable lust of a beast. He had the feeling she could take that side of him, and they’d get around to crazy monkey sex soon enough. Tonight, though, he wanted gentle and tender, not only for her, but for himself. That was a first. He didn’t do tender. Not until Riley, anyway.

When her eyes slid closed and she pressed her head back into the pillow, he covered her mouth with his, swallowing the little noises she made. She hooked her ankles behind him and dug her heels into his ass. Her hands were all over him, as if she wanted to touch and know each part of him. His SEAL discipline failed him. He grunted, giving into his need for her.

Sounds of sex filled the air, and he didn’t want it to end, wanted to listen all night to their bodies slapping against each other and the mix of their harsh breaths. She squeezed her core muscles around him as her climax hit, and he hissed when the pressure that had built up in his lower back and groin gave way. As he sucked in air, he wondered if his entire insides were pouring out.

“Riley,” he rasped. He fell over her, catching himself on his elbows, and stared down at her. What was it about this woman that had him thinking of forevers?

CHAPTER NINETEEN

R
iley pressed a hand over her stomach in an attempt to calm the butterflies taking flight. She looked out the window of Cody’s truck, watching as the houses became grander the nearer to the beach they got. Although she’d met his K2 friends, other than Maria, she didn’t know any of their wives or girlfriends. In her entire adult life, she’d never attended a party with a group of grown-up couples.

As if making a good impression on his friends wasn’t enough to worry about, she wished she hadn’t let Cody talk her into wearing jeans. Wouldn’t a blouse paired with a skirt or slacks be more appropriate for a dinner party at a rich man’s house? She hoped Cody was right when he swore everyone would dress casual. She’d decided on a pair of black skinny jeans with a deep green turtleneck sweater, and black, flat-heeled boots. She’d left her hair down at Cody’s request, and her only jewelry was large hoop earrings.

At least he’d been impressed, if his wolf whistle when he’d come to her door to collect her was any indication. Did it matter what anyone else thought? He looked pretty darn hot himself wearing a pair of blue jeans that hugged his hips and a black turtleneck sweater.

“Did you find anything unusual this morning when you went through the files?”

Jerked away from her thoughts on how sexy her boyfriend looked—had they reached boyfriend-girlfriend status?—she glanced at Cody. Unable to help herself, she reached over and ran her palm over his stubble, her stomach fluttering when he leaned his face into her hand. “I love that day-old beard look on you. Makes you appear dangerous.”

He smiled, showing his sexy dimple. “But never to you, darlin’.”

No, he never would be to her. They’d made love last night, dozed off, made love again, slept some, and made love again. He’d stayed in her bed, waking up next to her this morning. But she’d had to beg him to not move to the couch, and she knew he hadn’t allowed himself to fall into a deep sleep. Her hope was that when he stayed over, she could eventually prove to him that even if he had a nightmare, he would never hurt her, even subconsciously.

“To answer your question, no, nothing struck me. I went through all the files from the first day I opened the clinic. Yes, I’ve had pets that I couldn’t save for one reason or another, but I just can’t see any of those owners gunning for me.”

“Damn, I was hoping we’d get some kind of lead. There was nothing unusual at all?”

She shrugged. “There was one thing, but the owner doesn’t fit the profile we got.” He raised a brow, and she laughed. “You do that so well.”

“What’s that?”

“That brow-raising thing men do.”

“Ah, that. We’re born with the talent.” He took her hand and put it on his thigh. “So what’s the unusual thing?”

“We accidently sent the wrong dog to be cremated.” Both of Cody’s brows rose, making her giggle. He grinned and waggled them. As each day passed that she spent with him, he seemed to grow happier, lighter in heart. She liked to think she had something to do with that.

“I felt so awful about it. It was Brooke’s first day, and we had two dogs die, one from old age, and the other from liver cancer. I had to euthanize both. The owner of the dog that was old wanted him cremated. The other owner wanted to take his dog home to bury him. He also accused me of not doing enough to cure the animal. Anyway, Brooke got the dogs mixed up. The man who wanted to take his dog home was furious about the mistake.”

“Let me guess. You took the blame, didn’t tell him it was Brooke who screwed up?”

“Of course. I wasn’t going to throw her to the wolves. It was an honest mistake, and believe me, she learned from it.”

“Was he married, the man who was mad?”

“I have no idea. He never had a woman with him, and we only get contact information from the owners. All our records are about the animals. I did check, but he didn’t list anyone else as a contact.”

“I agree he doesn’t fit the profile, but tomorrow, let’s go to the clinic and get the phone number. Call it, see who answers.”

She should have thought of doing that today. “We don’t have to. I can access the clinic files from my home computer. The profile could also be wrong, couldn’t it?”

“There’s always that possibility, but Kincaid said the profiler had never been wrong, that he knew of.”

“I just want to find Pelli. It’s killing me wondering if he’s okay.” She blinked against the burning in her eyes. She wanted her baby.

He covered her hand where it rested on his leg with his. “I know, and we’ll find him.”

And he sounded so sure that she believed him. Otherwise she’d fall apart. He turned onto a long cobblestone driveway where other cars were already parked along the sides, and her mouth fell open at seeing the huge two-story house.

“Wow,” she muttered.

“Yeah, kind of amazing, isn’t it? I’ve only been here once, but I can tell you that you ain’t seen nothing yet.”

The house was about twelve feet off the ground, built like that because of hurricanes, with a four-car garage under it. A wide set of stairs with what looked like polished, dark mahogany rails led up to a double front door. It had a beautiful, weathered copper roof, and ocean-blue shutters framed the oversized windows. The yard was covered in pale rose gravel, and the plants were palm trees, beach grasses, and succulents.

“Wow,” she said again, not being able to think of another word good enough for what she was seeing. Cody laughed and bumped against her arm. She grinned up at him. “If my mouth falls open when I get inside, kick me.”

“I’d much rather kiss you,” he said as they reached the top of the stairs. “Like this.”

When their lips met, she sighed. She had only kissed a handful of men, so she didn’t have much to compare him to, but she’d bet her beers that there wasn’t a man in the world who kissed as well.

“Ring the doorbell when you’re done.”

Riley jumped away—heat immediately flaming her cheeks—and turned to see Logan Kincaid standing in the doorway, amusement dancing in his eyes. “Ah . . . hi. We were just . . . we were . . .”

“We were kissing,” Cody said, giving her a wink.

“I noticed.” Logan stepped back. “Come in.”

Could she be more mortified? She pinched Cody’s arm in retaliation as she passed by him to step inside. His chuckle didn’t endear him to her, and she glared at him. That got her a big grin.
Men!

Logan closed the door behind them. “Good to see you again, Riley. Everyone’s outside.”

As she followed Logan through the house, she did manage to keep her mouth closed, but it wasn’t easy. The place was freaking amazing. Floor-to-ceiling windows on the side facing the gulf provided a magnificent view of Pensacola’s famous sugary sand beach, and the water sparkled an emerald green. The interior colors were beachy—blues, turquoises, and greens—and the floors were bleached wood. The great room opened up to a state-of-the-art kitchen and dining area, and stairs led to a second story.

“Wow,” she whispered.

Cody put his mouth close to her ear. “Told you,” he whispered back.

She elbowed him in his stomach.

“Ooof.” He rubbed her bottom.

She sidestepped. “Stop it.”

“Make me.”

This playful side of him was new, and she liked it, but she wasn’t about to tell him. Nope. Not giving him that satisfaction.

“You have a beautiful home,” she said, increasing her pace to catch up with Logan, then was snatched back when Cody caught the waist of her jeans.

He tucked her against him. “You can’t get away from me, darlin’.”

Like she wanted to. “You’re being a bad boy. Behave or I’ll punish you.”

His eyes lit with interest. “Yeah?”

“Well, that threat didn’t have the desired effect.”

“When you two children finish playing, join us. Everyone else is here,” Logan said before opening one of the French doors and walking out.

“Does he have eyes in the back of his head?” She’d thought he was too far away to hear their whispering.

“Yep, and the best set of ears you’ll ever find.”

“That’s something you should have mentioned.”

“More fun letting you learn that on your own.”

She rolled her eyes. It was funny, though, that his messing around with her had relaxed her. Maybe that had been his plan all along. When she stepped out onto the back deck and everyone looked over at her and Cody, she froze. Well, relaxed was good while it lasted.

Cody put his hand on her lower back, flattening his palm and rubbing his thumb over her. “There’s not another woman in the world I’d be prouder to introduce my friends to than you, darlin’.”

She shot him a grateful smile, and he dropped his hand from her back, lacing their fingers together. Glancing at the couples, she was relieved to see that everyone was wearing jeans. The temperature was in the high sixties with only a slight breeze, the sun was bright in the sky, and the waves made a gentle splash against the shore. A beautiful day to spend on the beach. The deck stretched across the entire back of the house, and flames danced in the fire pit that everyone sat around. She squeezed Cody’s hand and got a return squeeze.

Cody didn’t know why Riley was nervous about meeting his friends, but he could see that she was. She was beautiful and had a great personality—sassy and funny. He guessed because of her upbringing and then dedicating herself to getting her clinic up and running, she hadn’t had much opportunity to socialize. But the death grip she had on his hand had him sending a warning glance at his friends. They better accept her. Because the team was so attuned to each other, they got his message, and the men gave an imperceptible nod. The women totally missed the communication happening between the team, but they all had warm smiles for Riley, so he relaxed.

He let go of Riley’s hand and put his arm around her shoulder. “Everyone, this is Dr. Riley Austin. She’s already met the team and is friends with Maria, so I’ll just introduce the rest of you gorgeous ladies.”

“My cat loves her,” Maria said.

“Then that’s good enough for me,” Dani Kincaid chimed in.

“Riley, meet Dani Kincaid. Sitting next to her is Sugar Turner, Jamie’s wife.”

Sugar waved. “I’m pregnant.” She patted her rounded stomach.

Riley laughed. “I can see that.”

“Well, I meant that if I go into labor, it’s good to have a doctor around.” She glanced at her husband. “I don’t think I’m fixin’ to, honey, so get that worried look off your face.”

Sugar was as southern as they came, and her accent with those drawn-out words was cute. “Ah, Riley’s a veterinarian.” Cody was positive Sugar already knew that because he was certain that everyone had been told about Riley by now. In her own way, though, she had put Riley at ease, and he liked Sugar for that.

“True,” Riley said, “but I’ve delivered scads of kittens and puppies, so I’m sure I could figure out how to deliver a baby if it comes to that.”

Jamie snorted. “She’s got two months to go. Let’s not even talk about delivering a baby today. Makes me want a drink.”

“And he doesn’t drink.” Sugar patted her husband’s knee. “You’ll live through it. Probably.”

Everyone laughed, and Cody thought the last of Riley’s tension had vanished. “On the other side of Jamie is Charlie Morgan, Ryan’s fiancée. Charlie’s a stunt plane pilot.”

Riley smiled at the petite woman. “That’s really cool. I heard you actually fly in air shows?”

“Sure do. Have one tomorrow afternoon, in fact. If you’re not doing anything, come out and watch.”

“I’d love to.”

As he and Riley took the two empty chairs, the whole group made plans to go to Charlie’s air show. Kincaid had asked Cody Friday afternoon what he and Riley liked to drink, and a few minutes later, a young man dressed in black pants and a white shirt brought them beers with limes stuck in the neck.

When Riley showed surprise, Dani said, “I didn’t want to be up and down taking care of drinks and food today, so we hired a caterer. Hope you like seafood. If not, you can opt for a steak.”

Riley pushed her lime into the bottle. “I love seafood. Your home is beautiful.”

Cody sat back, watching Riley get to know his friends. She was shy with them at first, but as the afternoon wore on, she seemed to be enjoying herself, and he was surprised at how much fun he was having.

Welcome back to the land of the living, Dog.

After a delicious dinner of fresh-off-the-boat cold boiled shrimp, grilled grouper that melted in his mouth, and raw oysters for anyone who wanted them—not him, but he learned that Riley liked them—everyone decided to take a stroll on the beach as the sun set. After the first ten minutes or so of walking as a group, Cody noticed that each couple began to wander off on their own. Holding hands with Riley, he slowed his steps.

Throughout the evening, he’d tried not to envy his teammates’ happiness. It was blatantly obvious that every damn one of them was in love, and even more incredible, not embarrassed to admit it. A few years ago, when they were still a SEAL team, except for Ryan, who was already married to his first wife, not a one of them saw this day coming. He certainly hadn’t. Yet, here he was, about to say something he thought would never come out of his mouth.