Sand and Sin (9 page)

Going down on him had her slick and ready.

After his kiss, he leaned over and glazed her pussy with a hot lick.

She clutched his hair. “I want you. Now.”

Swept into his arms, her feet never touched the stairs.

Inside, he cut off the outside lights and opened the glass door to the deck, then seated her on the picnic table. “It’s not a pool table, but you won’t notice after I’m inside you.”

His gravelly voice made her nipples draw tight.

He lowered his head as he stripped her panties from her legs.

“Someone might see.”

“You didn’t care during our drive home.” He smiled devilishly, unbuttoning his shirt.

Reclined on her elbows, she remained speechless as he parted her knees and gave her an intimate kiss. She might be reluctant, but her body reacted with ever-growing desire.

With slow licks, he started at her upper thigh and worked his way to her already quivering clit. She rocked against his talented tongue. When his fingers filled her, she arched off the table. “Oh, God.”

“No. Jax.”

The zip of his slacks foretold his next move. She could hardly wait and angled up, anxious to witness every second.

Completely naked, he stood like a predatory warrior. His muscular shoulders and rock-hard chest accented his six-pack. Already hard again, he grasped his erection in a leisurely fashion but with deliberate strokes. He studied her as she watched.

She’d never imagined the act as foreplay until now. He was a god of hedonism, and she wanted to be his oh-so-willing sacrifice.

She needed to remember this moment. All of her moments with him. Because after this man, no other would ever compare.

He capped his swollen crest with a condom and slowly rolled it over his thickness, then pressed against her entrance.

It saddened her that she’d never feel him bare. Skin against skin. The sight of him slowly filling her made her gasp in pleasure. Erotic. Each inch stretched her snug inner walls, skimming along sensitive nerves. Making her forget her worries and nearly her name.

“My beautiful Angel. What you do to me.” His low, sultry voice stroked her as intimately as his cock. He dipped his head while freeing her breasts from her dress. The sea breeze caressed her bare skin, adding to the seduction.

She wrapped her legs around him. Drew him deeper. Digging her nails into his flexing back, she reveled at his satisfied groan.

His tongue teased her nipples, amped the lust coursing through her body. Surrendering to his domination, she let her head fall back. “Yes.”

He gathered her and carried her inside. Still lodged deep, the movement made her moan. The living area was dark except for moonlight sifting through the glass doors.

While keeping their bodies together, he knelt on the ottoman and laid her on the oversized chair. After brushing her lips with a kiss, he made a promise. “Outside was fun. Now, I’m going to make you scream my name.”

She had no doubt.

Her cell phone chimed, making her flinch.

Jax retreated, grabbed her bag, and switched on the lamp table.

“Sorry.” The immediate loss of his warmth left her chilled as she adjusted her dress. She touched the screen and answered. “Hey, honey. How’s Mickey and company?”

“Good. We’re going to the midnight parade. I’ll text you when I’m in my room. You probably won’t have left the bar by then.”

She sagged and clutched her head, her energy spent. For the first time, she caught Haley’s attitude about her job. Had Haley always resented her working nights? She tried to rationalize the Sunday afternoons they spent together after she got up from a long night at the bar. Inadequacy, along with a replay of her ex-husband’s rants about the Trident, sucked away her good mood. “You’re right. Enjoy your time, babe.”

“Mom?”

“Yes.” Her arms grew cold. Where had Jax gone?

“You should too. Time to let yourself be happy. Dad certainly has. Night.”

Confused, she stared at the phone until the display darkened.

When Jax entered, he wore his pants but was still bare-chested. He carried a glass of whiskey as he straddled behind her on the big chair. After parking his drink on the table, he tugged her onto his lap.

She snuggled against him, resting her head against his warm chest. His steady heartbeats lulled her into a languid state. She was so tired of thinking. Taking care of everything. When had life become too hard? Independence was overrated and security underrated. Couldn’t a woman have both?

Her ex wanted a servant and a whore without an opinion. To worship him. She’d have no trouble worshiping the man warming her back. He seemed to like her independent side. And from his comforting stokes along her spine, he knew when a woman needed comfort, not sex. No words. No trying to fix things. Nice…but she best not get used to it.

* * * *

Slack in his arms, he carried Peri to bed. She didn’t wake when he slid off her sandals or removed her dress. Loose curls framed her oval face.

After stripping, he crawled in next to her and drew the sheets and comforter over them. He reran a mental video of their day. Did she really give him a BJ on their way home? His dick jerked in a hell-yeah-she-did salute. Today on the pool table almost seemed like she was attempting to play out her fantasies with him.

Not a problem, Angel.

But for now, she needed only a shoulder and to be held. He’d love to have her next to him every night but didn’t believe her to be the type to settle for an occasional drop in when he could manage leave. Could he even maintain a monogamous relationship? His past said no.

The next morning, the bedroom’s dark curtains kept the pre-dawn light at bay. He woke out of habit and felt her stir in his arms. Her softness was in opposition of what he’d grown used to upon waking. The last few months, he’d be lucky to have a rack to sleep on. Most times, the ground was his bed.

The subtle floral scent of her hair enveloped him in a temporary heaven he didn’t want to leave, even as his bladder begged for relief. After a few minutes, he rolled out.

“You better come back and do what you promised last night.” Peri’s words filtered through the covers.

“We’ll wake the neighbors,” he shot over his shoulder.

“Counting on it.”

* * * *

Peri drifted in and out, overcome by endorphins or whatever multi-orgasms caused to make limbs feel boneless. The aroma of coffee forced her to move. The truck rumbled to a start and faded. She figured Jax had gone for breakfast.

Normally she would have showered, but his scent lingered on her skin. Where she wanted it. She felt completely relaxed and deliciously sore. Her nipples pebbled and her belly warmed at the memory of this morning’s love fest. Already she wanted more.

After her crazy stunt during the drive home, he probably considered her a nympho. He might be pushing her in the direction. She stood before the dresser, gauging her naked body in the mirror. Next to her eyes and hair, her legs were her best feature. He definitely wasn’t a tit man. Hers were perky but average in size. She wished she’d listened more closely to her patrons and what appealed to them about women. She might have a better insight to what Jax saw in her.

Maybe he felt obligated after she’d picked him up out of the gutter his first night back. Didn’t matter. He’d be gone in days. She’d have some great memories and experienced the best sex of her life.

After dressing in jean shorts and a scoop neck top, she found a text from Haley. They were at MGM Studios for the day. In the kitchen, she poured some coffee and headed for the deck. While messaging a thank you to Haley, the truck engine signaled Jax’s return. The door slid open a few seconds later.

“Hungry?” He smiled and dropped a fast food bag on the table beside her chair.

Peri stood and dropped a kiss on his clean-shaven cheek. “Thanks. You leave a girl famished.”

“Just what I like to hear.” He sank onto the other chair. “Beautiful day, huh?” Behind his shades, he surveyed the clear, blue Atlantic. “So, what do you want to do today?”

His husky tone made her melt. She loved the beach, but he could make her forget everything. He handed her a breakfast sandwich. He had large palms with slender fingers. The variety of hands had always fascinated her. The power to be passionate like Jax’s or deceitful like her husband’s. She suspected Jax had killed with his, but only out of duty or self-defense.

Some women couldn’t deal with such knowledge. They might even fear a man with such a history. Peri had never fit the mold of most women. If she hadn’t married so early, she might have enlisted in the military. She had great respect for those who served, and it was partly the reason she partnered with Phil at the Trident.

“What would you like to do after breakfast? We can climb one of the lighthouses. Drive on the beach. Take a tour and see the wild ponies.”

“Can we ride them?” He sipped his coffee.

“They’re wild.” She did an eye roll.

“Hence the fun.”

Such an adrenaline junkie. “I’m sure you could sweet talk one of the mares.” She took a bite of her bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich.

“Wooed a dolphin once in San Diego Bay.” He broke open the pepper packet and seasoned his food.

Okay, she’d bite. “How so?”

“The Navy has trained dolphins in the harbor to sweep for mines and check out rogue divers. One got a little frisky with me while I was on a dive mission.”

“Male or female?”

“Honestly, I didn’t check.” He grinned. “This one wasn’t looking for a good time. He wanted to get rid of me. I tossed bits of the squid bait I’d stuffed in my wet suit boot until I made it back.”

“You always have a plan?” Damn if she wasn’t slowly wishing she’d become part of it.

“I used to think so.” He leaned close and brushed her temple with his lips, then skittered along her cheek to capture her mouth, gliding his tongue along her lips.

His light and teasing stroke grew stronger, sweeping her into an alternate world where he served her every need. Her independence balked, but her feminine side wanted to be pampered for a change.

Jax led Peri up the two hundred and fourteen steps of black wrought iron inside Corolla Lighthouse. As soon as he stepped onto the observation deck atop the one hundred and sixty-two-foot tall red brick lighthouse, the memory of his late morning dream materialized. The narrow strip of land below him produced an instant déjà vu.

After making love to her, he’d drifted back to sleep. Something he never did. But she eased his need for the constant adrenaline rush he lived for as a SEAL. In his dream, he’d stood at the top of a lighthouse where the surrounding ground had flooded. A raging storm separated him from her.

She waved for him to come down to the boat she rode on with others. He ran down the steps to find the bottom of the lighthouse filled with water. He dove into the dark abyss and found the door, but it wouldn’t budge.

As much as he wanted to deny the symbolism, the flood in his dream was actually the continent keeping them apart.

“It’s one of five lighthouses on the Outer Banks.” Peri startled him from his trance.

“And Hatteras is the tallest.” He’d read the visitor’s guide cover to cover while she napped yesterday. An integral part of his job required he be a quick study.

“Yep. It’s the icon of OBX.” She snapped his picture with her phone as he leaned against the railing. “I need a pic to remember you by.”

He snagged his phone and took a shot of both of them. “We’ll work on the video later.”

She slanted him a green stare. “Paint me in camo first?”

“Can’t shock you, can I, Angel?” He laughed. “Never would have thought of it, but it sounds like fun.”

His mood over his depressing dream quickly vanished. Prior to meeting Peri, only a couple of people in his life had the ability to snap him from a funk, TJ and Sam, his closest brother on his current team. The East Coast had one up on the West Coast now.

She grabbed his bicep and squeezed. “Come on, SEAL man. After lunch and a beach drive, we’ll hunt for some body paint.”

“Let’s grab some sandwiches to take along while doing some four-wheeling.”

After a visit to the small grocery/lunch shop, he dropped the tire pressure and drove off-road along the beach. Jax easily navigated the wide girth of sand, grateful no rocks graced the barrier island beaches. A few sunbathers enjoyed the warm spring weather and some fishermen dotted the shoreline.

“What’s north of here?” He motioned ahead.

“Carova. It’s is a combination of the first syllables of Carolina and Virginia. No paved roads. North of Carova is Back Bay Wildlife Refuge, which is about fifteen miles long. If you could drive through, you’d reach Sandbridge in Virginia Beach. It’s the southernmost beach in Virginia. It’d be a short trip to the Outer Banks if driving was allowed through the refuge.”

Jax knew the geography, and federal lands were seldom given back to localities. “Don’t think that will ever happen.”

“Yeah, they only recently agreed to the route for a new bridge to Hatteras. Hope they can get it built before the Bonner Bridge falls into Oregon Inlet.”

A black stallion pony appeared, leading his small herd along the water’s edge. Jax let off the gas and slowed. They didn’t seem afraid of the vehicle, which bothered him. Federal protection didn’t guarantee safety from careless tourists. According to the literature he’d read yesterday, several horses had been killed in the last few years.

He maintained far more than the fifty-foot distance required by law as he drove by them. The ponies stopped. A couple of spindly-legged foals frolicked at the water’s edge.

“Aren’t they beautiful?” Peri whispered.

They were, but her excitement thrilled him more. Quickly, he aimed his phone and captured them for her to have forever. “They have the most soulful eyes.”

Like hers. He could lose himself in them. Would it make him less of a warrior? Probably not, but his soldiering could very well make her a widow. In his line of work, he had to think ahead and consider all the angles.

After they were a safe distance away from the herd, he parked the truck where they could sit on the gate and enjoy an ocean view. “Let’s eat here.”