Soldier's Women (11 page)

The desire in his expression and his words sent an echo through her. She
swallowed convulsively against her dry throat, feeling the muscles of her
passage clench around him, feeling every muscle in her body tense as if she were
gathering herself to leap.

He groaned, ground his teeth and began moving, striving for a rhythm that
yielded the most exquisite sensations.

She released her grip on his waist, dropping her feet to the floor and thrust
in counter to the ram of his cock, leaning up to kiss nibbling bites along his
chest, then tilting her head back to reach his throat.

He twisted, leaning down to cover her mouth with his own, plunging his tongue
and retreating in like rhythm to the thrusts of his cock. After a moment,
groaning in frustration at the difficulty in reaching her, he scooped an arm
beneath her shoulders and held her to him as he rolled up onto his knees once
more.

She gasped as he slipped an arm around her buttocks, pulling her close,
settling his cock more deeply inside her. Sensual delight seemed to arc inside
her like an electric current, fusing her pleasure centers together, building
toward release. She gripped his shoulders as he bent his head and sucked love
bites along her throat and along her collar bone and shoulder. She arched her
back as he moved lower, offering her breasts. The impetuous of his mouth
suckling her nipple ripped her climax from her in an explosion of warmth that
flooded her sex. The muscles inside of her convulsed, massaging his cock.

He released her breast with a groan, his arms tightening around her almost
painfully as his own release jolted through him, his cock jerking against the
mouth of her sex as his hot seed erupted inside of her.

Waking up and going into the living room to start working, Sera realized that
the crib was still in pieces. She’d forgotten all about it after he’d started
rubbing her leg.

She heard Nigel stirring in bed. He would probably get up any minute. She
decided she should burn him some eggs while he finished the crib.

Nigel was reluctant to get out of bed. He’d had such a wonderful night
holding Sera next to him. But he had things to do, and if he didn’t get up and
leave on his own, Sera was sure to come in and wake him up and tell him to get
the hell out. He was actually surprised she’d let him stay as long as she had.
He got up and got dressed and went into the living room. He could smell that
something was cooking. He saw that Sera was cooking.

She smiled at him when she saw him. He had bed head, and it was absolutely
the sexiest thing she’d ever seen on him. It could have just been because she
knew how he’d gotten it though.

Nigel started back on the crib, being sure to grab up the directions to have
them handy.

The kitchen began to fill up with smoke, and Sera turned off her eggs. She
put them on a plate and set them on her breakfast nook for Nigel and then went
over to her computer to get to work. She didn’t need to watch him, she’d never
get anything done.

Nigel had thought it was wonderful that Sera had taken it upon herself to
cook him something to eat while he worked, that was until he saw the blackened
eggs she’d concocted. He wasn’t about to attempt to eat those. He decided rather
than risk getting into another argument with Sera that he would leave as soon as
he had finished the crib.

“That’s it. I’m done,” he announced.

“Where do you want it?”

Sera stopped working on her computer and turned around to see the crib. It
was beautiful! She couldn’t contain her excitement. She rushed over to it and
lovingly stroked the dark wood finish.

“Oh, Nigel, you did such a great job! I’m so glad it’s done before the babies
get here. It’s one less thing for me to worry about.” She continued to admire it
for a minute and then she remembered he’d asked her where to put it. “My spare
bedroom is too far away from my room to be a nursery, so I’d like to have the
bed put in my room.”

Nigel picked up the crib and walked it into her room.

Sera followed right behind him.

“Right over here by the wall by the bed. This way I won’t have to go very far
to get them. Irene tells me I won’t get much sleep if they’re not close by.”

Nigel put the crib right where she’d indicated.

“Well, I have to go. I’ll talk to you later.” Before she could object, he
pulled her into his arms and kissed her swiftly on the mouth.

It warmed Sera all over, making her cheeks burn with the excited blush that
crept into them.

Nigel released her and headed for the door and left.

She was a little a little disappointed that he left so suddenly. And he
hadn’t even eaten his eggs. Poor thing, he was probably starving. He’d been so
busy he’d forgotten to eat.

She got to working, trying not to think about him instead of work, which was
hard because he was constantly on her mind now, but finally she put him out of
her mind.

He didn’t come over that night.

Sera couldn’t help but feel abandoned. She had known where his priorities
lay. He wanted his children, and her, he just wanted to fuck her. It was hard,
but she tried again to convince herself she should be happy. This was what she
had wanted all of the time. It wasn’t really a good idea to get involved with
him anyway. He was likely to re-enlist for the military and stay gone on tours
or lose his life in battle. She’d already lost so much in life, she didn’t think
her heart could take anymore. She didn’t think she could handle pining over him,
hoping against hope that he didn’t get himself killed in some foreign country,
surrounded by the enemy, when he should have been home with a family that loved
him.

Love. Yes, love. She loved him. She couldn’t believe she’d been stupid enough
to do it, to allow herself to be vulnerable to his charm, but she had. She’d
gone and made the biggest mistake, she’d fallen head over heels for him, and
there was nothing she could do to change that now.

* * * *

Nigel drove to the place he’d been renting since he’d gotten back in town.
Even though he finally realized that more than anything he wanted to be with
Sera and be a proper father to their children, he realized that he’d been too
pushy from the beginning with her. She was an independent woman, and she didn’t
want to be pressured into anything, and she didn’t appreciate over
possessiveness.

He decided to lay low for a few days. That wouldn’t be hard since he had to
find a job now that he wasn’t in the service anymore. He’d already begun
applying for jobs in the security field. He had several interviews throughout
the day. He hoped it wouldn’t take long to land a good job. He didn’t want to
spend too much time away from Sera and give her the wrong idea.

* * * *

Nigel was on cloud nine when he learned he’d landed a job as head of security
at a huge corporation, well, at least for a minute he was. He got tied up with
his new job immediately. He had to learn the ropes and he had to thoroughly
check out their security measures and systems for weaknesses.

Realizing he couldn’t make it to Sera’s next doctor’s appointment, he called
his mother.

“Mom.”

“Yes, honey.”

“I’m sorry to call you like this out of the blue, but do you think you can
take Sera to her next doctor’s appointment?”

Irene’s face scrunched up with worry. “You can’t make it?”

“No, I have some things I have to do. Can you make my apologies to Sera? Tell
her that I really want to be there and that I’ll see her soon. I don’t want her
to think that I’ve suddenly abandoned her, but I can’t explain anything right
now. I will soon though.”

After he got off the phone with his mother, he called a nursery and arranged
to have flowers sent to Sera with a note attached.

* * * *

Sera heard a knock on her door. Sure it was Nigel, she got up from her
computer desk and raced over to the door.

“Who is it?” she said, unable to contain the excitement in her voice.

“Delivery ma’am.”

Sera checked out her window to be sure the man outside had a delivery. She
was he had a vase of roses. She quickly opened the door.

“Are you Sera Anderson?”

“Yes.”

“These are for you.”

Sera was disappointed that it wasn’t Nigel. She hadn’t seen him for days and
she was going through withdrawal symptoms. But the roses were a nice
surprise.

“Thank you,” she said to the flower delivery man and took the vase he
offered.

She inhaled deeply of their fresh scent. She loved red roses. She noticed a
card attached. Curious, she went back in the house to set them down on the
counter to see what it said.

She opened the card and was surprised at what she read.

You are the most beautiful pregnant woman ever. I hope that our children
have half as much beauty and talent as their mother. I miss you.

Tears came to Sera’s eyes. No one had ever bought her roses before. And the
note was so sweet. She’d been trying so hard for so long to resist Nigel. She
was a fool for putting up such a fight. He was a wonderful man.

While she was getting more water for the roses, the phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Sera, it’s Nigel. Did you get the roses I sent you?”

Sera blushed, they were so beautiful, such a thoughtful gift. “Yes. I
did.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t take you to your appointment earlier today. I’d
like to make it up to you. Can I take you out to supper?”

“That would be wonderful.”

“I’ll pick you up at 7:00.”

* * * *

Nigel arrived at 7:00 on the dot. But, Sera found that instead of taking her
out to a restaurant, as she’d thought he would, he took her a house she’d never
seen before.

He got out as he always did and opened the door for her and escorted her up
to the house.

“Nigel, what’s going on? I thought we . . . .”

“Hold on just a minute. It’s a surprise.”

She didn’t say anything else as he unlocked the front door.

“Close your eyes.”

She did as she was told.

He took her hand and helped her through the doorway of the house and shut the
door behind them.

“Okay, now open them.”

She opened her eyes and gasped. There was a small dining table with one
candle and two plates with food on them. The rest of the house was completely
barren.

“What’s going on, Nigel?”

“Sit down and I’ll explain.”

She sat down. The food looked and smelled delicious.

“Did you order takeout?”

“No, I cooked it myself in my kitchen.”

“Your kitchen? This is the rental house you’ve been staying at?”

“No, actually, this is the house I just bought.” He paused and pulled out a
little black velvet box from his pocket. He got out of his chair and knelt down
on the floor in front of her.

“Sera, I bought this house with all of the money I put away throughout my
years in the military. I know you have a house, but it only has two bedrooms and
it’s small. It’s not big enough for our family.”

“Our family?”

“Yes, and I’d like to make that official. I don’t want to marry you just
because you’re having my children. I know we never met before, but I’m sure if
we had I would feel the same as I do now. I love you, and I couldn’t imagine my
life without you. Will you marry me?”

Sera started crying, “Yes. Yes, I will. I love you, too.”

Talking wasn’t all he had on his mind, he realized abruptly as it settled
solidly in his mind what it was that felt ‘unfinished’.

Reaching up to grasp her upper arms, he hauled her halfway across his lap.

She sucked in a sharp breath of surprise, tipping her head back to meet his
gaze.

“Now let me get some of the baby making practice I should have gotten months
ago?” he murmured as he dipped his head closer to hers, pausing when his mouth
hovered just above her lips, waiting to see if she would meet him or retreat.

She hesitated for several heartbeats and then lifted her lips until they
brushed his.

His heart fisted painfully in his chest, punching the air from his lungs in a
rush as he felt her soft lips meld with his own.

Covering her lips with his mouth and sucking lightly to seal the two of them
together mouth to mouth even as he traced the soft contours of her lips and
thrust his tongue between them to invade the moist heat of her mouth. The rush
that went through him then was intoxicating. It demolished any possibility of
rational thought. Releasing his grip on her arms, he shifted one hand to press
it between her shoulder blades and the other to cup the back of her head and
hold her to him for his exploration.

The painful fisting of his heart eased and then it commenced to slamming
nearly as painfully against his chest wall as she flooded his senses, as he
explored the texture of her tongue and tested the limits of the small cavern of
her mouth, stroked the silky inner walls, tasted her, breathed her. The
tentative touch of her hands as they settled along the sides of his chest sent
another, headier rush of pleasure through him. He drew her closer, held her more
tightly. Blood flushed his skin, heated it until he felt fevered. Blood pulsed
against his ear drums deafeningly, pounded in his skull, filled his cock until
it felt as if it would explode.

A deep, unquenchable hunger welled inside him. The more he tasted and
touched, the more he wanted. He slipped his arms around her, molding her more
tightly against his body from chest to waist. His skin burned where her soft
breasts flattened against his chest.

He couldn’t get enough air into his lungs. Intent on absorbing the taste and
feel of her mouth, he fought the burning need to fill them as long as he could
before he broke away, gasping hoarsely to replenish the deficit of air in his
lungs, to oxygenate his blood before he passed out.

He stared down at her face as he sucked in gasps of air. Slowly, her eyelids
lifted and she stared back at him, and his entire body seemed to tighten at the
look in her eyes.

“But before you said you wanted to talk,” she prompted after a moment.

He lifted a hand and hooked her jaw in the crook of his thumb and forefinger
to keep her from turning her face away as he lowered his head to hers. “We did
talk, now we have to make up for lost time,” he murmured a breath away from her
lips.

A jolt went through Sera as she felt the brush of his lips against hers and
then heat flooded her as his mouth settled possessively over hers. A vague
floating sensation intensified to a swirling darkness as his tongue skated along
her lips and delved inside her mouth. For a handful of frantic heartbeats, she
was suspended by surprise and confusion, caught by the certain knowledge that
she was lost if she allowed him to kiss her as he had before.

The lure of pleasure was far stronger than her will to resist ever had been,
and even as he invaded her senses with his touch and taste, she knew she’d lost
the battle long before, curling her fingers into his flesh.

As if he sensed that silent yielding, he released his grip on her jaw and
drew her closer, caging her with his arms.

She uttered a sound of need, of surrender into his mouth as he kissed her
more deeply, with more fervor, sucking lightly on her mouth as he stroked her
tongue with his own.

Weakness flowed through her in the wake of the heat that poured through her
veins. She curled her fingers more tightly into the flesh of his arms, clinging
to fight the dizziness as well as the heaviness that settled over her,
struggling to breathe when there didn’t seem to be enough air in the room to
fill her lungs.