One of her favorite things about Erik was how well-spoken he was. As primal as his characteristics might be, he wasn’t a Neanderthal grunting his likes and dislikes in disjointed phrases. But tonight was obviously no ordinary night. Since walking through the door, he hadn’t uttered a single complete sentence, and his whiskey-colored eyes might as well be saying Me, Tarzan. You, Jane for all the civility she saw in them.
“The fuck are you wearing?” he asked, heat flickering in his eyes.
Unable to remember, she glanced down. Oh, right. “An oversize sleep shirt I’ve had for years.” She frowned, rethinking her choice. “Not the sexiest thing, I know.”
He’d said she shouldn’t wear anything she wanted intact, and this thing was a handful of washes away from dissolving into the ether. The white cotton shirt, which hit her at mid-thigh, was threadbare and transparent enough that the dusky rose color of her nipples showed through without the aid of special lighting, and the neck was so wide it was forever sliding off one shoulder or the other. Underneath, she wore a white lacey thong. She almost hadn’t worn any panties at all, but she couldn’t bring herself to be quite that bold.
“No,” he said, “it’s perfect.” Rolling his shoulders back, he shucked the heavy coat and tossed it over one of the kitchen bar stools, then advanced, ambling toward her and causing warmth to pool in her belly.
Dark stubble covered his jaw and part of his neck, and she remembered loving the way it softly abraded her skin as he roamed down her body or scratched along her inner thighs when he buried his face between her legs and launched her into the heavens with lips, teeth, and tongue.
“You’re blushing. Tell me what you’re thinking.” Like a trained animal, her body reacted to the command and strength in his tone. Her skin tingled and her nipples pebbled in anticipation of his hands, his mouth; good Lord, what the man could do with his mouth.
“I’m thinking about how devilishly handsome you are,” she answered hesitantly. “That’s not exactly right, but what I’m thinking is…well, lewder than I’m comfortable articulating at this juncture of the evening.”
“Christ, Livvie, I love the way you say things. When you talk all proper like that, it makes my dick get so fucking hard.”
Good thing, because she didn’t know how else to talk—something she would have iterated to him if she didn’t find herself rendered speechless as she watched him come toward her with lithe movements that belied his size. He shrugged out of the suspenders attached to his bunker pants and let them fall to hang at the sides of his legs. Then he started pulling his shirt up and out of his waistband, and her throat went dry.
“I love that you’re thinking dirty inside that sexy brain of yours, Doc,” he said, his voice deep and gravelly. “Have I turned my sweet, innocent Livvie into a sexual deviant already?”
Reaching one hand back between his shoulder blades, he yanked off his T-shirt and dropped it to the floor, discarded as thoroughly as every last thought in her head. It was the first time she’d seen his entire torso shirtless since the hotel, and her memory should be ashamed of itself, because it hadn’t done the real thing a shred of justice.
Perfectly formed pectorals tipped with flat brown nipples sat over two columns of eight—yes, eight—blocks of abdominal muscles that disappeared into his pants that rode low on his hips, along with the slashing Vs of his obliques. All of that framed by round shoulders and muscular arms… Sweet baby Jesus. No one with a body that perfect should ever be allowed to cover it up.
At last he stood directly in front of her, mere inches apart that still seemed like miles. “I asked you a question.”
Did he? She tried to rewind the last thirty seconds…something about…sexual deviant. Oh, definitely, but… “Only with you.”
“Good answer,” he growled as he caught her up against the hard planes of his body, then he crushed his mouth to hers and all sense of time and place evaporated.
Erik devoured her, consumed her. His hands were everywhere all at once—fisting her hair, kneading her breasts and the globes of her ass—then his kiss went rogue, running over her jaw to her ear to the place where neck met shoulder.
She felt him grab the top of her shirt a split second before the sound of it being rent in two filled the air. It was now ripped down the front far enough to expose her to her naval. He pushed the sides apart and attacked her breasts with his mouth, lavishing each of them in turn with a ferocity that made her feel worshipped and helpless in the same breath.
“Erik, please,” she begged, staring down at the top of his head in a dizzying reverie. “I need you.”
His gaze snapped up at her plea. He reminded her of a feral creature standing over his meal, wary and unhappy at the interruption. But then awareness flickered in his eyes and he straightened to his full height, which placed the tempting hollow of his throat in her direct line of sight. Giving in to temptation, she leaned in and laved the indentation, intending on continuing all the way up, but he halted those plans when he fisted her hair and forced her eyes to meet his.
“How? Where?” he demanded. “Tell me, Livvie. Tell me how to make you forget your own name. Tell me what you need.”
She tried shaking her head, but he held her hair fast. “Anything, everything, I don’t care. So long as it’s here and now, all I need is you.”
Holding his gaze, she slipped her hand inside his bunker pants then cupped his thick erection over the heavy cargos he wore underneath. Hissing through clenched teeth, he wrenched her hair back even more. She gasped, both startled and exhilarated as the pleasuring sting at her scalp swept over her skin and left trails of goose flesh in its wake.
Erik’s nostrils flared with shallow breaths and his pupils had long since swallowed their amber counterparts. Still, he held himself back. Like he was waiting for her to say the one thing that would snap the leash on his control and release the man he’d been with her in their hotel room, the man she’d known only as one thing.
“Take me, Wolf.”
That’s all it took.
Whether it was her complete submission or using the name she’d called him that first impassioned night together, he went from stock-still to explosive in the blink of an eye.
He spun her around in his arms and bent her over the small dining room table. Pressing a hand between her shoulder blades, he growled a single command of “Stay” before crouching behind her. He shoved the bottom of her shirt up around her waist then tore her thong clear off. Rough hands grabbed the cheeks of her ass and spread them, exposing her even farther. She felt the cool air hit her a moment before the warmth of his breath feathered over her swollen sex.
“Swear to Christ, Livvie, you have the prettiest pussy I’ve ever seen.” He slid one finger through her folds, from entrance to clit and back again, stimulating her precisely enough to make her insane.
She whimpered, ready to beg if that’s what he wanted. Hell, she’d beg, grovel, plead, and promise damn near anything under the sun to get him to do more than merely tease her with his finger. Unable to control the urge, Olivia’s hips arched up, her pussy literally seeking out the contact it needed so desperately. But that only earned her a sharp smack to her right cheek, making her gasp as the heat from his hand seeped into her skin.
“That was for trying to manipulate me into giving you more than I wanted. Now hold still or I’ll drag this out even longer.”
Oh God, if he did that she wouldn’t survive it. Never in her life had she experienced even a hundredth of the sexual tension—the desire, the feverish need—coursing through her body. She’d do anything in this moment to feel him filling her, stretching her, claiming her.
“Please,” she whispered.
“Shhhhh…” Again he stroked along her inner lips, lighting up the zillions of sensitive nerve endings and killing her a little more with every passing second. She bit down on her lip, her body vibrating with the discipline it took to not move a single muscle as he tortured her with one long finger. “So perfect. So pin
k and wet,” he grated. “So fucking mine.”
With that, Erik finally—blessedly—delved between her legs, his mouth assaulting her in the most carnally delicious ways. She cried out, overwhelmed by the ministrations of his wicked tongue lapping and swirling and flicking. The stubble on his jaw scratched along the inside of her thighs and the calluses on his hands rasped her sensitive skin as he pulled her open to give him better access to the most intimate parts of her.
Though she was still lying prone on the table, Olivia swore she was floating. The world around her felt fluid and in constant motion, like a zero-gravity chamber. Erik pulled back, breaking contact with her, and she thought she’d cry from the separation until he drove two fingers deep inside of her and started pumping them in and out, priming her body for him. Then he curled his fingers and used quick, shallow strokes to rub along the ridged surface of her G-spot, and suddenly she was that much closer to heaven.
“Yes!” she cried out. “Oh God, that feels so good. Don’t stop, don’t ever stop.”
The sensation of a rubber band twisting in her belly grew tighter and tighter as she chased her orgasm. But she couldn’t seem to catch it. It hung there, suspended and just out of reach. Sweat dampened her hairline, and somewhere in the back of her mind she was cognizant of the mumbling pleas spilling from her lips, begging him to give her that sweet release.
“Good girl, Livvie,” he said, the vibrations of his deep voice radiating through her overly sensitized flesh. “Go ahead, you’ve earned it. Come for me.”
She felt the rough pad of his thumb press on her clit, and the double stimulation (and maybe his command) finally, finally sent her flying. Her back arched sharply, her entire body pulled taut like a bowstring as he continued to milk her climax, and the waves of it crashed over her like a stormy tide.
“That’s it, baby. Fuck, you’re so tight. I can’t wait anymore.”
Olivia heard the foil wrapper of a condom being torn, then felt the blunt head of Erik’s cock part her swollen lips and poise at her entrance. Relief and anticipation swirled together at the culmination of what she’d fantasized about more times than what could be considered healthy. She was about to be filled by the man who’d haunted her dreams and even her daydreams; the man who’d obliterated every misconception she’d had of how sex should be; the man who did, in fact, make her feel like a goddess and knew exactly how to make her melt beneath him.
“You’d better hold on, gorgeous. This is going to be a bumpy fucking ride.”
Her pleasure-addled brain had only one response. It’s about damn time.
…
Erik barely gave her time to grab the opposite edge of the table before he thrust home, burying himself so deeply he couldn’t tell where he ended and she began. Hell, he wasn’t sure he even wanted to. He might play the dominant role, the one who held all the power, but in truth it was Olivia. Thank fuck she wasn’t the type to get off on control but preferred having it taken. Because if she knew just how badly he had it for her, she’d have him pinned to the ground under a spiked heel faster than he could say Oscar Mike.
Leaning over her, he blanketed her body with his and kissed his way up from shoulder to ear. “Livvie, Livvie, my Livvie,” he said, his voice strained from holding himself still inside her hot sheath. “You feel so goddamn good, Livvie. I’m not going to last.”
“I don’t care. Just fuck me, Erik,” she said. “Please.”
Hottest thing ever? This strong and beautiful woman literally begging him to fuck her, and he’d be damned if he’d keep her waiting any longer. “My pleasure.”
Erik withdrew almost entirely before slamming all the way back in to the hilt, forcing a grunt from his chest and an exultant cry from her lips. He didn’t pause or break stride as he pistoned his hips again and again, seating her on the length of his dick with reckless abandon.
Part of him wanted to straighten up so he could watch himself enter her, watch as her sweet cunt swallowed every last inch of his cock. But he couldn’t bring himself to put that much space between them; he’d prefer it if nothing, not even air, separated him from Olivia’s body. Already he regretted not taking the time to shuck the rest of his clothes and bunker pants, since he could feel them preventing his groin and thighs from making contact with the smooth skin of her backside.
Although he had to admit, fucking her in part of his turnout gear was hot as shit. Talk about a fantasy come true, this couldn’t have been better than if one of those smut-pedaling romance novelists had written it for him.
“Harder,” she gasped. “Fuck me harder.”
“Hell yes.” He kept the steady rhythm but threw all his weight behind his thrusts, acting like a battering ram breaking down any remaining walls she’d built to keep him out. “You’re going to feel me inside of you for days. And every time it’ll remind you of who owns your sweet pussy.”
Needing more leverage to make good on that claim, he slipped his arm beneath her, then anchored his hand on her opposite shoulder. He used his other hand to wrap around the length of her hair. With one hand pulling in and the other pulling back, Erik doubled his efforts and reveled in her moans and cries of utter satisfaction as he pounded into her like his life depended on it.
“Feel that, baby? This is where you belong. Under me, with my cock filling you up. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes.”
“Say it,” he growled. “Say this is where you belong.”
“It’s where I belong,” she panted. “However you want me. I’m yours.”
I’m yours. Those words echoed in his head and reverberated through his chest, somewhere in the vicinity of his heart. They made him feel like an indestructible force, a Sherman tank in human form. As long as she was his, he could do anything, beat anything—even this PTSD shit—because just being with her was motivation enough to be the best self he could be.
She’d been one hell of a catch to reel in, damn near fighting him the entire way, but now that he had her—and he did finally have her—he wasn’t about to let her slip away from him again.
“That’s right, baby. No more running. Not from this. Not from us. You. Are. Mine.”
As they hurtled toward the finish line, he got faster and faster, like a runaway train with a busted accelerator. He felt the muscles in her cunt flutter around him, felt the white-hot lightning of his own orgasm shoot down his back to pool at the base of his spine, gathering strength and drawing his balls in tight. If she didn’t come soon, he’d be going off without her and that was un-fucking-acceptable.
Releasing his hold on her shoulder, Erik drove his hand between her pelvis and the table. He found her clit with the tips of his fingers and began to rub circles over the distended nub. Her mouth fell slack and her eyes rolled back. She was right there, hovering at the edge, but not yet falling over.
“Told you last night. I own your orgasms, baby, and I want your cunt milking my cock right fucking now,” he said, giving her hair a quick yank for emphasis. “Give yourself over to me, Livvie. Come for me.”
Obedient as ever, her inner muscles responded to his command and clenched him so tight he thought he might pass out. She tried to scream through her climax, but he wrenched her head to the side and swallowed it with a bruising kiss just as his own cum rocketed up his dick and emptied into her convulsing channel.
Breathing being a necessity for sustaining life, they were eventually forced to break apart and draw in long gulps of air. Other than the heavy panting, they could’ve passed for dead, lying lifeless over her dining room table.
“Am I crushing you?” he asked, his face buried in her neck.
“Uh-uh.”
She may have answered in the negative, but she sounded like she had an elephant sitting on her chest. “Liar.” Reluctantly, Erik pushed himself up. He had to take care of the condom and get them both cleaned up so they could move on to the Netflix part of their date…so they could do more of the “chill” part later, after they recovered. Despite not being cleared f
or active duty yet, he still had another seven-hour day of training ahead of him, so he’d have to suck up the lack of sleep. He’d done a lot harder shit on a lot less sleep as a ranger, and he had a lot of wasted time to make up for with this woman.
The sad little sound she made when his softening erection slipped from her tight sheath made him want to gather her up and hold her, reassure her that even if they weren’t physically connected, he’d keep her as close to him as humanly possible.
Instead, he bent to kiss her sweat-dampened temple and told her he’d be right back. After turning the shower on to let the water warm up, he finally got out of his boots and the last of his attire, bunker pants and all. He went back to Livvie, who hadn’t moved a muscle other than the satiated smile now gracing her beautiful face, and tore the rest of the shirt from her before lifting her into his arms and carrying her into the bathroom.
When he set her gently on her feet, his eyes immediately caught on the light purple marks marring the creamy skin in the front of her hip bones. What…? The edge of the table. Cursing a blue streak, Erik dropped to his knees to study the bruises. “Fuck, Livvie, I’m so sorry,” he said, his voice raspy with tension. “I was too rough with you; you should have said something.”
Anger boiled in his veins; anger at her for not telling him he was hurting her and anger at himself for not keeping his head on straight and realizing what the repercussions would be from their position and the force he was using.
“I would have said something if I needed to, Erik.”
Delicate fingers with trim nails skated over his buzzed head. As always, her touch instantly soothed him and calmed the beast rioting inside his mind, but he didn’t want to be soothed or calm. He didn’t deserve it after doing this to her. He was a fucking monster who couldn’t be trusted to keep his own brothers alive, much less an angel safe from harm. Why did everyone in his care always get hurt?