I’d give anything in the world to feel his tongue against my clit, but he offers freely, and as his hands frame my hips and he starts to lap at my folds, stars twinkle at the edge of my vision. I can’t breathe, can’t hold on, and when he scrapes his teeth along the throbbing bundle of nerves, white hot pleasure implodes within me. I can’t hear myself scream, can’t see or sense anything besides West. He tugs on a condom and as he pulls my hips up, sliding his cock deep inside in a single, swift move, I claimhislips.
With my arousal sweet on his tongue, I can’t get enough of him, and I rock my hips closer, though he threatens to split me in two. So lost in the pleasure building again, I don’t even notice when he breaks the kiss, but as his teeth close over my nipple, I arch, and the movement urges his cock just where I need him to be. Keening cries reach my ears, and I don’t recognize them as my own until he kisses me again and the soundfades.
Our sweat-slicked bodies move with a punishing rhythm, each thrust taking me higher. When I don’t think I can stand another moment, West reaches down and flicks my clit. I fly apart, and a heartbeat later, hejoinsme.
* * *
West
Lights twinkle all along the Seattle Wheel. Why the city decided to erect a Ferris Wheel on the waterfront I’ll never understand, but the red, white, and blue lights—leftover from the 4th of July, make for a romantic backdrop as I slide my hand downCam’sback.
After kayaking on Lake Union, I brought her to the Pinball Museum, where I learned to never bet against her. Down eight games to one, I wagered the rest of the night on a single run of an obscure Lord of the Ringsmachine.
“Truth now, angel. You let me win that last game,didn’tyou?”
She glances up at me, her dark brown eyes nearly black as the last purple streaks in the sky fade into the night. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” A hint of a smile curves her lips. “That dwarf came out of nowhere to redirectmyball.”
Pausing at the railing so we can stare out over Elliot Bay, I draw her against me—her back pressed to my chest, my arms around her waist. “When I’m with you, nothing elsematters.“
She turns and tips her face up. Our lips are only inches apart, and the hint of aroused woman tickles my nose. Her brows draw together in confusion, and I ache to smooth the wrinkle away. “West, last night,youwere—“
Her mouth curves into a frown, and I slide my fingers into her hair, pull her closer, and crush my lips to hers. If I go back to last night, I’ll stay there, in the dark and despair of one too many nightmares, one too many bills to pay. My time with Cam is too precious. She tastes of the scotch we ordered with dessert, along with a hint of chocolate. As I deepen the kiss, she yields to my desires—and her own. Short nails scrape over my shoulders, down my back, and when she grinds her hips against me, I can’t help mygroan.
“You won the bet, soldier. What do you want to do now?” She palms the painful bulge in my cargo shorts, glancing around quickly to ensure no one’s watching our rather publicforeplay.
“God, Cam.” I can’t think when she touches me. “Let’s get outofhere. …”
* * *
Stretched out on her side,her arms wrapped around one of my pillows, Cam sighs in her sleep. The blindfold and soft cuffs I bought on a hunch hang from the headboard, the memory of her screaming my name, her hands gently bound above her head soothing the monster inside me. How can I sleep knowing I could wake up to find myself on the floor, huddled in my closet, or worse—with a weapon in my hands ready tofight?
I brush a kiss to her bare shoulder. “I’m falling for you, angel. Might be halfway tolovingyou.”
She stirs at my whisper, but settles again without opening her eyes. With the hours she’s been working lately, she needs the sleep, so I grab my pillow and settle on the floor next to the bed. I’ve half a mind to sleep on the couch, but the less comfortable I am, the less likely I am to have nightmares. Survivor’s guilt, mytherapistsays.
One quick stretch to flick off the lamp, and darkness blankets the room, broken only by the single shaft of moonlight illuminating myangel.
* * *
Waves of painrace up my legs, my ankle shattering as I fall through the floor to the hard-packed dirt below. I grunt, ignoring the agony. If you can’t hoof it a mile on a broken leg, you’re not cut out to be a SEAL. At least that’s what my CO always said. Something rattles next to me, and I’m instantly on alert, coming to a crouch, only then realizing I’m naked. In my bedroom. Prepared to defend myself against thenightstand.
“West?” Cam’s sleepy voice penetrates the thick smoke that threatens to choke me. “Whereare—?“
Shaking my head, I clear the last vestiges of the nightmare. Smitty isn’t really dead two feet away, the room isn’t burning around me, and the primary scent in the room isn’t blood, but Cam. My ass hits the floor, and when my head slams into the nightstand, the lamprattles.
“Downhere.”
Sheets rustle, followed by a muffled curse, and then she’s looking down at me, her mussed curls tangled around her face. “Are you sleeping on thefloor?”
Thick strands of carpet dig into my knees as I stretch to flip on the light. “Yeah.” The lump in my throat strangles my reply, and I clear my throat. “Just…easier.”
“Easier?” Her voice lowers, her slight accent thickens. With a groan, she eases herself off the bed and starts limping around for her clothes. “We don’t have to sleep together. I cangohome.”
“No.” My plea sounds rougher than I intend, and she stops with her panties clutched in her hand. “I get nightmares, Cam. All the time. Hell, I haven’t had a woman in my bed overnight for two years. I didn’t want to hurt you.” I can’t look at her, but warm fingers wrap around my wrist and tug me up to themattress.
“Look at me,” she says. “I didn’t get a solid night’s sleep for three years after the bombs. Between the pain and the nightmares, I resembled a zombie—all the shuffling, groaning, and inability to form coherent sentences. A few more months, and I probably would have developed a taste forbrains.”
After a pause, she jabs me in the arm with her elbow. “Oh, come on. That was a little funny.” When I meet her worried gaze with a weak grin, she reaches over to cup my cheek. “I know nightmares. The meds help with the arthritis and the nerve pain, but nothing erases the terror of being unable to move while fire eats through your protective gear. Nightmares don’tfrightenme.”
