“Fuck, Kayla.” He grits out the words and pulls me toward him, and then I’m over the edge and screaming his name as the orgasm slams through my body.
When my body finishes trembling, Jace slides his hands around my ass, and he lifts me as he stands up.
He stays inside me as he walks me to the opposite wall of the hut, carrying me as if I weigh nothing. I grip his arms to stay upright, and my legs wrap around his body. He’s my safe place, my anchor, and I never want to let go.
He pushes me up against the wall, and the rough wood makes me arch my back, and as I do, Jace thrusts in hard and goes deeper, making me cry his name.
The rhythm changes from slow and steady to rough and wild. He’s in charge now, and I cling on as he thrusts into me again and again until the pressure is too much and I come long and hard, and a moment later Jace comes too.
We’re both panting, and he kisses me gently as he sets me down on the floor. The smile is back on his face, and I’d do anything to keep it there.
“You know, sweetheart, I didn’t think anything was better than being out in the field. But being here with you feels pretty damn good.”
“I thought you didn’t have feelings.”
He kisses me gently on the lips, and his gaze finds mine. “I’m catching some for you.”
My stomach flutters, and the yearning I felt in the moment before I came is back in full force, followed immediately by anxiety clawing at me from the inside. It’s dangerous to want something this much. I’ve seen where it can lead. I’m an all-or-nothing person, and wanting Jace when he’s planning to leave is terrifying. But I can’t help the little flip my stomach does when he kisses me gently on the lips.
“We need to refuel.” Jace reaches for our discarded meal. “And then I’m making you come at least a dozen more times.”
His mischievous smile is back, and I can’t help but smile back at him. I tell myself this is just a distraction; it can still just be sex. Besides, there’s nothing else to do when we have another night here.
We spend the rest of the day and night fucking, eating, and dozing until my body aches, and my mind finally finds a peace I don’t have to work for.
10
JACE
Soft morning sunlight peeks through the thin curtains, illuminating Kayla’s soft features. She sleeps like a kitten, curled up next to me, her body warm and soft, her breathing gentle and rhythmic.
I watch her for a long time until the cramp in my arm becomes too painful to ignore. She stirs as I move, and her eyes flicker open.
“Morning, sweetheart.”
She smiles up at me, and my heart melts. I don’t want to leave our hut; I don’t want to go back to Hope and Jake’s Retreat where my life revolves around doctors’ appointments and recovery exercises.
For a few magical days, there’s been nothing but the two of us, living in the moment. And for the first time since the explosion messed up my body, I’ve felt content. The restlessness inside me has eased, and I haven’t thought about the missions I’m missing out on since we arrived in this hut. For the first time since the accident, I’m exactly where I want to be.
Except we’re running out of food and water, and if we don’t head back soon, Grant will come and find us and haul us back to Hope.
“The rain’s stopped.” Kayla sits up and the sleeping bag slips down, exposing her smooth skin and the top of her breast. Her hair falls over her shoulder, and she looks like an ancient Greek goddess. “I guess we’ll be heading back today.”
There’s a hint of disappointment in her tone that reflects my thoughts exactly. We should be grateful to head back for a decent meal and a hot shower, but we’ll lose the magic of this place and the magic of this brief time together. I don’t know what happens between us when we get back. I want to see Kayla again, but I’ve learned not to get attached when I could be deployed at any moment. I saw too many relationships fall apart in the special forces. It’s easier to be a man alone than to let someone down.
It never bothered me before, but for the first time in my life, I wonder what it would take to make a relationship work once I’m deployed.
If I’m deployed.
My finger curls around a strand of Kayla’s hair, which is poking out of the sleeping bag. I want to stay in this hut, living in the moment with Kayla and not having to think about what’s on the horizon.
Kayla stretches her arms in the air, exactly like a kitten waking up, and her words from last night echo through my mind.
Maybe it’s time to make a different choice.
The sleeping bag slides completely off her torso, leaving both breasts exposed. She peeks up at me with mock-innocence.
“Oops.”
