Hot and Bothered

  He grabbed the condom lying next to them and rolled it onto his dick. A second later he was on top of her, driving into her sweet heat to the hilt.

  “Johnny,” she gasped, so much pleasure loaded into her voice he didn’t bother reminding her how much he hated being called that. Truth was, the name sounded hot coming from Shelby’s lips.

  He slid his hands underneath her and cupped her firm ass, pushing himself in deeper, buried so far inside her pussy he thought he might be hurting her. But her soft moans and the way she tilted her hips spoke otherwise, and soon he was pumping into her without an ounce of finesse. He felt like a horny teenager again, needing to drive his cock into her over and over again, needing to explode in a climax that was one year in the making.

  Shelby didn’t seem to mind. If anything, she was moving more erratically than he was, meeting him thrust for thrust, begging him to go faster, and, when fast didn’t seem to be enough for her, harder.

  “John…I’m going to…oh God…” She dug her fingers into his back, which was now soaked with sweat, and proceeded to fall apart beneath him.

  The look of ecstasy in her eyes as she came was enough to send him flying over that same cliff. White-hot pleasure shot down his spine and grabbed hold of his balls, and then he was coming too, his heart damn near bursting, his eyes blinded by the light exploding in front of them.

  “Jesus.” He gasped out a breath, trying to put what he’d just experienced into more eloquent words. “That was…Jesus.”

  Shelby wasn’t capable of talking any more than he was, because she simply gave a contented sigh and wrapped her arms tighter around him.

  He knew he must be crushing her, so he gently tried rolling off, but she held him in place and murmured, “Stay.”

  Smiling, he slowly withdrew his still-hard cock from her tightness, never moving off her while he took off the condom. Then he planted a soft kiss on her lips and said, “Don’t worry, I don’t plan on going anywhere.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Shelby woke up the next morning to the sound of rain pounding against the bedroom window. She and Garrett hadn’t bothered shutting the curtains last night, and she turned her head and watched as fat raindrops streaked down the glass. Looked like the heat wave had finally broken.

  The heat level between the sheets, however, was still at record-breaking levels.

  “Don’t you ever stop to rest?” she asked as Garrett slid one warm hand underneath her panties and teased her clit with his fingers.

  “Nope.” He snuggled closer to her, looking ridiculously adorable with his dark hair tousled from sleep and his brown eyes twinkling with mischief.

  She still couldn’t believe he’d stayed the entire night. She’d been expecting him to freak out or something, decide he’d made a mistake by sleeping with her and jump out of bed in horror. She thought she’d wake up to find his side of the bed empty, the imprint of his body the only sign that he’d actually been there.

  But here he was. Playful and awake and not in the least bit remorseful about what they’d done. It was obvious the only remorse he felt was over the fact that she was still wearing panties, but he quickly took care of that.

  “We should really get up,” she said reluctantly as his fingers continued their exploration.

  He grabbed her hand and dragged it to his groin. “I’m already up.”

  A jolt of desire shook her body when she felt his hard-on. Oh yeah. He was definitely up.

  She curled her fingers over his shaft and slowly began to stroke him, all the while wondering what had come over her. The alarm clock on her nightstand read nine a.m. She had an entire refrigerator of cakes that needed to be delivered, and yet she couldn’t stop touching Garrett, couldn’t dissuade her body from responding to those talented fingers and the way his thumb circled her clit and… Screw the cakes. Who needed so much sugar this early anyway?

  She kicked the tangle of bedcovers off her legs and climbed onto his lap. “Fine. You talked me into it.”

  Laughing, he reached up and cupped her chin. His warm hands pulled her face toward his. A second later his lips covered hers. The kiss was gentle, a flick of tongue, a nip of teeth, and then he moved his mouth to her neck and lightly sucked on her skin.

  Heat curled inside her, then spread through her body, leaving sizzling shivers in its wake. Garrett’s morning stubble chafed her skin, but the small abrasions only turned her on more. She loved his rough masculinity.

  “I don’t know how I went a whole year without touching you,” he groaned into her neck, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist.

  She inhaled the spicy scent of him, threaded her fingers through his hair and forced his mouth back to hers. This time his kiss was loaded with hunger, and she responded eagerly, pushing her tongue into his mouth and savoring the taste of him. She’d never experienced kisses like this before, hot and hurried and so damn erotic that even her tongue began to tingle.

  Leaving one hand on her hips, he moved the other around and lowered it between her legs. Without breaking the kiss, he stroked her deftly, massaged her clit, and then pushed a finger inside her, until the dull ache of desire filled her veins and her thighs trembled.

  “No, not yet,” she breathed, trying to push his hand away. “I want you inside me.”

  She reached for the nightstand, where a lone condom sat, just waiting to be torn open. She was suddenly grateful she hadn’t let Garrett use it when he’d woken her up with a kiss in the middle of the night. Carson had only had two condoms in his wallet, and since she’d wanted to conserve them she’d rewarded Garrett’s wake-up kiss with a blowjob that would go down in history—no pun intended—and now she was glad she’d had the foresight to be condom-stingy.

  “You’re a sex maniac,” Garrett teased as she ripped the corner of the packet and practically threw the condom at him.

  “Look at who I’ve got in my bed. I waited a year for you too, you know.”

  He rolled the latex over his impressive hard-on, tilting his head as he said, “I still can’t believe I missed all those signals you were sending.” His hand moved back between her thighs and he groaned when he felt how wet she was. “We could’ve been doing this ages ago.”

  She straddled him again and guided his cock where she wanted it. “Sure, but don’t you think it was worth the wait?”

  He thrust upwards. “Oh yeah.”

  God, she didn’t think she’d ever get used to having him buried inside her. It felt so good, so right.

  She whimpered when he withdrew, wiggling around in an attempt to bring him back where he belonged, but he wouldn’t let her. Chuckling softly, he flipped her onto her back and took control, teasing her opening with the tip of his cock.

  “I told you I want you inside,” she complained.

  “Yeah, well, I want it to last. I want you so bad I’m about to explode.”

  “Then explode.”

  He shot her a rogue grin. “Not until you do.”

  She gave one final attempt at getting her way, but he grasped her wrist before she could reach for his dick. Then he took her other wrist, shoved both up over her head and locked them together with one strong hand.

  “Be patient,” he ordered, his dark eyes flickering with both arousal and amusement.

  “Yes sir.”

  Very slowly, he rubbed his cock over her opening again, dragging it up and down her wet slit. Each time his tip brushed her clit she shuddered. And each time she arched her hips he withdrew and shook his head with disapproval. He was still restraining her hands, but his hard grip only drove her wild. She kinda liked being at his mercy, lying beneath him while he did whatever he wanted to her feverish body.

  Her breasts started to tingle, her nipples hardened, her pussy clenched, and yet he still didn’t enter her. His torturous teasing became too much. Her body was too primed, and when he finally plunged into her, there was no stopping the orgasm.

  It hit her like a freight train. Rushed through her blood, clamped onto her mus
cles and sucked all the breath right out of her lungs. She heard herself moaning, but the sound was muffled by the roar of her pulse in her ears.

  Garrett didn’t slow down, didn’t let her recover. He just tightened his hold on her wrists, biting down on her neck and filling the room with husky groans that signaled he was close.

  She wrapped her legs around his waist, her bare feet resting on his taut backside as she lifted her hips off the mattress to bring him in deeper. Keeping her eyes open, she watched as his features strained and his eyes grew heavy-lidded.

  “Come on, Johnny,” she murmured, loving the expression on his face, loving that she was the one who put it there.

  He buried his face in the curve of her neck, his cock began to pulsate, and then—oh yes—he was coming inside her. She could feel his heart racing, thudding against her breasts like an erratic tribal drum. He groaned, thrust one last time, then grew slack.

  “Jesus,” he wheezed out. “Is it just me or does it only get better with us?”

  Finally letting go of her wrists, he rolled over and pulled her on top of him. She pressed her face against his chest and hooked one leg over his muscular thighs. They lay there for a few long moments, neither of them speaking, neither of them moving, until Garrett reached down and laced his fingers through hers.

  “It was definitely worth the wait,” he murmured, answering her earlier question.

  Her heart leaped up and did a little flip. God, she was outrageously into this man. She’d never imagined he could be so tender, so sweet. She wished she could lie in bed with him forever, hold his hand and kiss him and wake up to his sexy face every morning for the rest of her life.

  “Let’s stay here forever,” he mumbled, echoing her thoughts.

  She stroked his rippled chest and planted a kiss on one flat nipple. “I’d love to.” The image of a refrigerator full of cakes floated into the foreground of her brain. “But I can’t,” she added reluctantly.

  She shifted and his fingers instantly curled over her hip. “No getting up.”

  A sigh slid out of her throat. “I have to.”

  “I forbid it.”

  Laughing, she disentangled herself from his embrace and got to her feet. Her legs almost gave out on her, the sweet aftershocks of her orgasm still fluttering through her body. “I’m serious. I have an entire fridge full of cakes that need to be delivered.” The alarm clock now read ten-thirty. Damn. She was already cutting it close. A lot of the cakes needed to be delivered by noon.

  “Can’t you do the deliveries later?” Garrett grumbled.

  She smiled at the disappointment in his eyes. “I really can’t. But if you want, you can be my driver and hang out with me all day.”

  No sooner were the words out of her mouth than Garrett’s cell phone went off. He swore softly, leaning over the side of the bed and reaching for his cargo pants. He fished his cell out, frowned when he saw the number on the screen, and lifted the phone to his ear. “Garrett,” he said briskly.

  Shelby watched as he listened to whatever was being said on the other end of the line. He didn’t say much, except a couple “Yessirs”, and a quick, “I’ll be right there”. Then he hung up, and the disappointment in his eyes deepened into regret.

  “That was my commander,” he told her.

  “Oh.” She swallowed. “I take it you have to go?”

  He nodded.

  “Overseas?”

  He was already out of bed and fumbling for his clothes. “Probably.”

  She swallowed harder. “How long will you be gone?”

  “No idea, babe. It could be hours, days, weeks, months…” Voice trailing, he pulled on his pants and zipped them up, put on his shirt and headed for the bathroom.

  She heard him turn on the faucet, then flush the toilet. He was gone only for a moment, but a moment was all it took for old memories to make a tired attack. She couldn’t remember how many times she’d woken up in the morning—or n the middle of the night—to the sound of Matthew’s phone ringing. How many times she’d bid him goodbye, only to spend weeks worrying that he’d get shot in the jungle or get blown up by a land mine. Not that she’d had to worry. Oh no. Matt had been in constant danger, sure, but it turned out most of the danger came from the prostitutes and random strangers he hooked up with in whatever foreign country he’d been deployed to.

  Question was, did Garrett share the same habits?

  It was an unwelcome thought, not to mention a silly one. Raking both hands through her hair, she leaned against the bedroom door for support, wishing she could exorcise the insecurities out of her brain, out of her heart. She had no right to worry about what Garrett might or might not do when he was away. She wasn’t his girlfriend. Besides, seeing as she’d had sex with one of his closest friends last night, she really wasn’t in a position to judge or reprimand.

  “I’m a SEAL, Shel.” Garrett’s quiet voice filled the room, and when she lifted her head she saw him standing in the bathroom doorway, obviously aware of the distress in her eyes. “When the team gets called, we’ve got no choice but to go wherever they send us.”

  “I know.” Shoot. Did he notice the wobble in her voice?

  Yep, he noticed. His expression softened as he stepped toward her and pulled her into his arms. His body was solid and warm against hers, his lips soft as he kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll be back before you know it. And then we can continue what we started last night, okay?”

  “Um. And will you be starting a similar, um, enterprise with someone else? You know, if you meet a woman when you’re gone?”

  The words came out before she could stop them, and from the flash of hurt she saw in his eyes, she knew she should’ve worked harder to rein in her fear and insecurity.

  Garrett’s hands dropped from her waist. “I can’t believe you asked me that.” He turned away from her, heading to the bed where he’d left his cell. He tucked the phone into his pocket. “You honestly think that low of me?”

  Uh-oh.

  When he turned back, the hurt on his face had tripled, his features now creased with disbelief and anger.

  “I…” She tried to find the right thing to say, if there even was one. “The guy I dated before…he used to fuck around whenever he was away, okay?”

  “No, not okay.” A muscle twitched in his handsome jaw. “I’m nothing like Matthew—yeah, I know all about Matthew, your Marine, and yeah, I heard rumors that he couldn’t keep his dick in his pants. But I don’t do shit like that. I don’t screw around on women I happen to care about.”

  “Garrett…” The fire in his eyes made her reconsider. Closing her mouth, she simply sighed and waited for him to get it all out.

  “You think I’d say everything I said, about wanting you, about how crazy I am about you, and then turn around and fuck a stranger? Never mind that I’ll be on the job, most likely in a remote corner of the world where the only women I’ll encounter would rather strap bombs to their chests than fuck Americans, but damn it. You think I’d do that to you?”

  She drew a long breath, suddenly feeling ridiculous for comparing this man to her ex. Garrett might have a wild past, but she believed him when he claimed to have been celibate for the last year. And in that year, he’d shown up at the café almost daily, buying lattes he didn’t even like just so he could see her. And last night…God, last night he’d actually watched her have sex with his best friend just because he wanted to let her have the fantasy, because he wanted to be with her. And the way he kissed her…it was packed with way more emotion than anything she’d ever experienced.

  Damn it, she really was an idiot.

  Garrett must’ve agreed, because he was already making a swift move for the door. “Fuck this,” he muttered. “Obviously our friendship this past year taught you nothing about me. Obviously everything that happened last night—and just minutes ago—didn’t make any impact on you either. If you don’t want to trust me, fine, don’t trust me. Screw you, Shelby. I won’t jump through hoops over some
thing some other jerk did.”

  “Garrett—” But it was too late. He was already gone, and jeez, but the man could move. She’d barely made it two steps out of the bedroom after him when she heard the door of the apartment slam shut.

  A few moments later, the distant sound of an engine starting filled her ears, and then there was nothing but the pounding of the rain against the windows.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Garrett was heading across the base toward the waiting helicopter when a familiar voice stopped him in his tracks.

  He froze for a second, then turned around and sure enough, Shelby was hurrying toward him. She wore a pair of faded jeans and a bright green T-shirt, and her wavy blonde hair was pretty much soaked from the rain.

  He managed to hide his surprise as she walked toward him with quick strides. What was she doing here? After the way he’d left things at her apartment, he hadn’t expected to see her again this soon. If ever.

  Damn, he’d really fucked up, blowing up at her like that, but could anyone really blame him? He’d made it obvious how much he liked her, how badly he wanted to be with her, and in return she’d asked him if he was going to screw someone else when he was gone. Her distrust in him had been crushing. Maybe he shouldn’t have yelled at her the way he had, but hell, how could she have so little faith in him?

  “Do you have a minute?” she asked, pushing wet strands of hair out of her eyes.

  It was possibly the most absurd question she could’ve asked. Not only was the sound of the helicopter blades whirring a clear sign that no, he didn’t have a minute, but her polite tone made him want to kick something.

  “Who let you out here?” he returned. His question made more sense, anyway, considering civilians weren’t usually allowed in this part of the base. Plus, the visitors’ badge clipped to her waistband was the kind usually designated for team wives or girlfriends. How the hell had she gotten one of those?

  “I did,” came another voice.

  Garrett glanced past Shelby’s delicate shoulders and saw Carson striding toward them.