Under Fire (25 page)

She tipped her face up to look at him. “You knew I wanted you even when we were in the Bahamas?”

“Yes,” he confirmed simply, without arrogance, just a calm assurance. “The connection was there, undeniable. But you also made it clear then you didn’t want to act on it. I had to respect your wishes even if I didn’t understand.”

“I was scared.”

“And were you right to be afraid?” He stroked her hair away from her face with an impossibly gentle hand. “Because the last thing I want is to frighten you.”

“It’s not you. It’s me.” There was no holding back anymore, not after what they’d shared. She had to tell him what was in her heart. “I’m afraid of what you make me feel. All those feelings are so amazing, but I can’t escape the fear of being hurt, the fear of loss.”

“Then yeah, I totally understand.” His green eyes turned hazel with emotion. “What’s going on here between us is scary as hell.”

His answer stunned her.

“I’ve never heard a man admit to being afraid.”

Liam pressed a lingering kiss onto her shoulder. “Then you’ve never heard a man be honest.”

His words sent sparks showering through her body as tangible as his mouth on her skin. The grazing touch reignited the liquid fire in her veins, arousing. And yes, it unsettled her to the roots of her hair how totally it spread to every niche of her being. She was totally encompassed by the sensation, by him.

As his lips continued up her shoulder to her jaw, her ear, she wriggled against him. His body stirred against her, thickening against her stomach with rigid promise. Without thinking—just feeling—she rocked her hips, the solid length of him rubbing delicious friction against the oversensitive nub between her legs.

Spreading her legs wider, she wriggled closer, taking her pleasure higher. He cupped her bottom with both hands, guiding her, moving her faster, more precisely, until she gasped from the need clawing to be set free.

“Liam, I want—I
need
you inside me.”

A slow smile spread across his face. “Then take me.” He repeated her words from earlier. “Take me now.”

Yes, yes, yes.
She’d won this victory for both of them.

Arching up, she shivered as the air gusted over her damp body. Liam rubbed up her arms and along her back until she forgot about anything but the feel of him touching her. She gripped his wrists and brought his palms around to cup her aching breasts. She pressed more fully, her eyes drifting closed as she moved and guided his hands in just the way she wanted. His obvious approval throbbed against her.

Then his hands left her and she opened her eyes quickly, only to sigh with relief. He reached over the edge of the tub and pulled a condom from where it rested on top of a folded towel. She took the protection from his hand and covered him smoothly, taking her time to cover him, cradle him, and work him with both hands until his fingers dug into her hips.

Rising up on her knees, she positioned the thick head between her legs and lowered herself, slowly, carefully, taking all of him deep inside her.

The glide of him in and out as they moved in tandem felt too good, even more than before against the door or the tile wall. She molded her hands along the hard planes of his chest, his muscles and tendons bulging. She’d already come three times in the past couple of hours, so she just let herself enjoy the luscious sensation of his powerful strokes and soaked in the sight of him.

She was totally aroused by his wit, his honor, his assurance. But God, she would be lying to herself if she didn’t admit his body totally turned her inside out with desire, passion, ragged-edged lust.

Then surprisingly, she started the climb to completion again. She quivered with the sweet build. Her head fell back. She rolled her hips faster. He thrust deeper while caressing her breasts. Steam wafted between them as if their heat ramped the temperature in the tub. Water sloshed over the edge of the tub onto the tile, but she couldn’t bring herself to care or to slow.

The waves inside increased until finally, God yes, finally, release crashed over her. Again. And again. Her cries of bliss carried along the humid air with his growl of fulfillment. He pulled her to him and locked them tighter as the waves crested… and receded.

A sigh of total satisfaction racked her body until she wilted on top of him. He hugged her tighter and they simply lay panting in the cooling water.

At some point—she lost track of time—he lifted her from the tub and she was almost too exhausted to notice the drift of air across her naked flesh. He walked into the motel room, set her feet on the ground. Anchoring her to him with one arm, he unrolled their bed linens across the mattress. He scooped her up again and rested her on the clean sleeping bag before settling alongside her.

He was snoring before his head hit the pillow. Such a man. Her man. She curled against his side, the tepid air drying the water on them both. By all rights, she should have been ready to pass out after the past couple of days and the amazing sex they’d just shared. Instead, her body went on high alert.

Was she staying awake to keep watch so he could sleep?

She didn’t know. But she couldn’t stop cataloging details. The distant thrum of music carried from the bar. Cars revved and roared out of the parking lot, the sound of spitting gravel echoing. Disco and Fang leaped from the spare bed and padded together into the bathroom. Disco always preferred cool tile on a hot day.

And through it all, she held on to the hard-bodied bulk of Liam, wondering why her teeth were still chattering. Why was she more afraid now than at any other point during this crazy roller-coaster ride the past couple days? Because Liam was right. She had been lying. Just not about anything to do with Brandon’s situation. She’d been lying to herself for years about why she avoided relationships.

She’d been fooled by Caden when he promised to turn his life around, then had pot in his car. He’d vowed he was clean and joined the service. Would he have stayed truthful over time? She would never know. She’d tried to tell herself she’d held back from love because she’d already lost her soul mate fiancé. But she’d deluded herself.

Because believing a possible lie was easier than admitting she was afraid of being betrayed again.

Liam
walked
in
the
land
between
dreams
and
reality, not sure where he stood or which side he wanted to land on.

But
then
the
ground
beneath
his
feet
was
shaky
in
the
aftermath
of
the
earthquake
that
had
rocked
this
Bahamas
island. He walked with Rachel in a strange kind of companionable silence, given the world around them. The landscape had changed somewhat.

Less
dust. More volunteers erected temporary housing, hammers and saws echoing while dump trucks hauled away debris from fallen structures. Engineers worked on better water and sewage removal. Red Cross workers were everywhere.

The
only
thing
that
remained
the
same? The appalling scent of decaying bodies, still drifting out of the remaining rubble.

What
a
strange
feeling
to
hang
out
with
a
woman
who
actually
understood
his
job, who had experienced a good bit of the same kinds of hell he’d seen. So she would probably understand his need to leave it behind for a few minutes before they had to plunge themselves back into the thick of it all over again.

“So, ready for our hot date?”

“Date? Is that what we’re doing here? I think not.”

“Didn’t anyone tell you that you want to sleep with me? I thought you already knew.”

She
choked
on
a
laugh. “Wow, that was corny. Really corny.”

“I thought you could use a smile.”

“You’re right, and thanks.”

“Happy to oblige, again and again.” He slid an arm around her shoulders. “So stop, drop, and roll, baby, because you’re so hot you’re on fire.”

The
scent
of
her
freshly
washed
hair
as
she
walked
beside
him
chased
away
the
rest
of
the
world.

She
groaned, but still kept on chuckling. “You’re bad.”

“No way. I’m entering the priesthood tomorrow. Wanna join me for one last sin?”

Her
laughter
turned
to
giggles
until
she
hiccupped. “Okay, okay, enough already.”

“I figure if I make you smile enough, you’ll sleep with me.”

She
swatted
his
stomach. “You’re so sensitive it’s a wonder all those women divorced you.”

Ouch. That one stung a little. But he liked the way she didn’t pull punches. And no, he wasn’t known for his sensitivity. But he was known for his ability to make a person smile in the middle of a crisis.

He
stopped
at
the
Red
Cross
supply
station, holding up two fingers for the worker dispensing boxed lunches, complete with the little half-pint cartons of orange juice. Liam took the two stacked meals and looked at the crumbled street around them. The chaos of a few days ago had shifted into a steady grind of tackling a cleanup that would easily take years.

There
weren’t exactly a lot of places to hang out by the beach and eat, so he steered her back toward their cottages. One of the porches would be as good a place as any to park it for now.

“Rachel, to be honest, I don’t get the vibe from you that you’re looking for sensitive.”

“Hmmm… True enough, I guess. Comes from the way I was brought up. Around my house there was lots of love but no coddling. My mother was an ACO—animal control officer. Like those shows you see on the animal channel.”

“Was? What does she do now?” He fell into the ease of their conversation much as they fell into sync walking side by side.

“Nothing. She’s dead now.” She looked at him quickly, then away. “She was breaking up a dog-fighting ring. The owner didn’t take kindly to having thousands of dollars’ worth of assets seized.”

Holy
crap. “He didn’t turn his dogs on—”

“No! Heavens, no.” She sighed heavily, rubbing her bare arms. “The man was the killer animal—not the canines. The bastard came after my mother with an aluminum baseball bat and cracked her skull. She never regained consciousness.”

She
went
silent
with
the
kind
of
thick
quiet
that
couldn’t be broken with a smart-ass comment, the kind of pause that was best to wait out while she put her thoughts together on what she wanted to say next.