by Susan Stoker, Cristin Harber, Cora Seton, Lynn Raye Harris, Kaylea Cross, Katie Reus, Tessa Layne
“That’s it? He left?”
Ghost was brought out of his musings by her question. “Yup.”
“And you were scared?”
Ghost couldn’t help it, he laughed at her bafflement. “Princess, he had a gun aimed at the woman I was with…and I had a whole seduction planned for later that night. If he’d have shot either of us, it would’ve messed up my plans to get laid.”
Rayne smacked him on the chest playfully. “Oh, you!”
Ghost smiled and grabbed hold of her hand, holding it flat on his chest. He idly rubbed his thumb on the back of it. “What are your dreams, Princess?”
He felt her settle in before she spoke. “I don’t know. I used to think I wanted to have a huge family and live in a little house with a white picket fence, but after seeing as much of the world as I have, I’m just not sure that’s what I want anymore.”
“What do you want?”
“I’m not sure,” Rayne whispered sleepily. “I enjoy seeing other countries. I like learning about other cultures, but I’m not comfortable either. Sometimes it scares me to be in countries that I know have constant terrorist attacks. I know I’m only twenty-eight, but I feel if I decide to do something else now that I’ve wasted all this time…with my degree, and in this job. I just don’t know what else I should or could do.”
Ghost wasn’t pleased when he thought about Rayne being in dangerous cities and countries either, but he didn’t have any answers for her. He kept his body relaxed under hers and stroked her back lightly.
“Mary works at a bank back home and she says she could get me a job there, but I don’t think I’m a bank kinda person.”
They lay there quiet for a bit, each lost in their own thoughts.
“I could always be a super-secret spy,” Rayne teased drowsily. Her words were slurred and it was obvious she was on the verge of sleep.
“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be,” Ghost replied almost inaudibly. “Sleep now, Princess. I’ve got you.”
Not too much later, both were breathing deeply, sleeping the sleep of the sexually sated and feeling safe in the arms of the other.
CHAPTER TEN
Rayne shifted and sighed. She felt good. More than good, great actually. She’d just had one heck of a dream… She went to stretch and felt herself held in place by a strong set of hands.
Her eyes flew open and she gasped as she looked down.
Ghost was laying on his stomach between her legs and he was lazily lapping at her sex. She groaned and threw her head back, her whole body suddenly alive and majorly turned on. “How long have you been down there?” she asked curiously.
“Long enough to watch you slowly get wetter and wetter and to learn that your body likes more direct stimulation on your clit rather than subtle manipulation.”
“Oh good Lord, Ghost. Seriously?”
“Yeah. I’m serious. When I do this,” he flattened his tongue and ran it roughly over her clit once and she jumped in reaction, “you cream more readily than if I do this,” and he lightly licked around her bundle of nerves instead of directly on it. The latter felt good, but nothing like when he’d deliberately licked hard right over her bud.
“Yeah, okay…I believe you.” Rayne felt one of his thick fingers push inside her folds and she held back the moan…barely.
“But I’ve been thinking—”
“Oh shit…”
Ghost continued as if Rayne hadn’t interrupted him. “I’ve been thinking that I’ve seen two of your tattoos, but you said you had three. I haven’t found the third yet. I checked out your ankles and arms while you were being lazy, and didn’t see anything. So that only leaves one more place to check. Turn over, Princess.”
“I want to check out yours, Ghost.”
“And I’ll let you…after. Turn over.”
Feeling nervous because she had no idea what Ghost would think of her tattoo—it was very different from the others—she awkwardly turned over, buried her face in her arms, and held her breath.
“Up on your knees, Princess.”
Ghost put pressure on her legs until she shifted and was on her knees, still bent over. She felt very exposed like this, with her butt in the air and her bits hanging out, but it was a perfect position for Ghost to get an up-close and personal look at her tattoo.
When he didn’t say anything, Rayne commented dryly, “It’s a bit bigger than the other two.”
When Ghost still didn’t say anything, Rayne risked a look back at him. She wasn’t sure what to expect. The tattoo was bigger than the others. In fact, it spanned her entire lower back. She hadn’t gone into the tattoo parlor intending on getting the biggest tramp stamp she’d ever seen, but the artist had drawn up what she wanted and it’d been so beautiful, she’d gone with his suggestion to get it bigger than she’d planned.
“Ghost?”
“You have no idea how perfect this is.” Ghost’s voice was low and reverent.
Rayne finally felt him touch her. He ran his fingertips over her back, skimming the outline of the tattoo.
“Tell me what it means to you,” he ordered softly and urgently.
She put her head back down and looked blindly at the clock on the table next to the bed. It was two-thirty in the morning. They’d only been asleep for about an hour and a half. “The eagle represents my job…a love of flying and of my country. The Army logo is in honor of Chase. I put a flower in one talon and a rifle in the other to represent both my siblings…Samantha loves carnations.”
“And the lightning bolt?”
Rayne didn’t understand Ghost’s tone, but she continued anyway. “Remember when I told you about the scariest moment I had in the plane? With the lightning? It was kinda an important moment in my life…and I thought it went well with the tattoo.”
“It goes well with the tattoo,” Ghost breathed. He couldn’t fucking believe what he was looking at. If he’d designed a tattoo for himself, it would’ve looked almost exactly like what was inked on her back. The eagle, the patriotic symbol of the United States, whose wings were spread and spanned her entire lower back. The tips of the wings barely wrapped around each side of her waist. The Army logo, the rifle…even the damn lightning bolt, which was incorporated into the Delta Force logo, was right on the mark. The only thing he wouldn’t have included was the carnation…he’d change it to a fairy wand or something. He didn’t think princesses carried wands, but somehow it still reminded him of Rayne.
Ghost felt himself harden painfully. His. She was fucking his.
He shook his head in denial. No, she wasn’t his. She couldn’t be. She thought his name was John Benbrook. She knew nothing about him. Could know nothing about him, for his safety and hers.
He leaned over, snatched a condom off the table and quickly smoothed it down his rock-hard shaft. He scooted up until he felt her heat against him. He lifted her hips until she was lined up perfectly. “Hold on,” he murmured before sliding balls deep into her with one thrust.
He kept his eyes on the eagle as he pulled away and then pushed in again. Ghost ran his hands over her back, clenching his teeth against the emotion that pulled at him. She was perfect. Sweet as pie on the outside. Caring and loyal to her friends and family. But this huge tattoo on her back told him she had a rebellious side.
His.
Fuck. He had to stop thinking that.
“So I take it you approve of the tattoo?” Rayne moaned with a smile in her voice.
“Yeah, I approve, Princess. I fucking approve.”
Rayne held her breath as Ghost fucked her with short, hard thrusts. She pushed back against him and came up on her hands and knees as he got more forceful.
“Touch yourself, Rayne. Make yourself come on my cock.”
His words were gritty and raw, but they turned Rayne way the hell on. She balanced on one hand and reached down to where they were joined with the other. She stroked him once as he pulled out and she heard him swear.
“Touch yourself, Princess, not me.”
“But I like touching you,” she pouted.
“I like you touching me too, but any more of that and this will be over too soon.”
“Party pooper,” Rayne murmured as she turned her attention to her own body. As Ghost continued pumping in and out of her sensitive sheath, she flicked over her clit with easy strokes. She rubbed herself harder and harder until she could tell her orgasm was just a few flicks away.
“I’m about to come, Ghost.”
“Yeah, do it. I wanna feel it.”
Rayne rubbed against her clit once more and then caught herself with her hands as the orgasm moved through her. She shoved backwards as she trembled. She was thankful Ghost was behind her, holding on, because otherwise she would’ve face-planted right into the mattress.
“Oh God, Rayne, yes. You feel so fucking good. I gotta…shit…” Ghost pulled out of Rayne’s still spasming body and tore off the condom. He pumped his shaft once, then again, and watched as his come spurted out of the end of his dick and landed on Rayne’s back, right in the middle of her tattoo. He stroked himself a few more times, milking as much of his seed as he could. Then he took both hands and rubbed his essence into her back…and her tattoo.
He breathed great gulps of air as he watched her skin slowly absorb his come. It wasn’t something he’d planned, or something he’d ever done before, but he wanted to mark her. Wanted to anoint that tattoo. That tattoo meant something to her, and everything on it represented his own life.
“Are you all right?”
Rayne voice was soft and worried. He’d obviously been rubbing her back for longer than he’d thought. Ghost’s eyes dropped to hers. She was propped up on one elbow and looking back at him. He gave her tattoo one last caress, dropped his hands, and scooted away from her a bit, giving her room to turn over. He sighed in regret when her tattoo disappeared from view.
“I’m more than all right, Princess.”
Rayne sat up and put her hand on his chest. “My turn to look at your ink now. Lay down.”
Ghost smiled and lay down next to her, bending an arm and putting it behind his head. “Have at it.” He gestured with his free hand to his side.
Rayne leaned down, ignoring her luscious nudity, and peered at the words inked on his left side. Ghost knew they wouldn’t give away any of his secrets, he and his teammates had thought long and hard before deciding what they’d all get inked on their bodies. It was their code, their creed. The quote was a mix of why they fought and what their service meant to all of them.
I will defend my brothers & their women,
and remember that freedom isn’t free.
Quiet professionalism rules the day.
Ghost knew it wasn’t quite poetry, but he and his teammates liked it. The reference to brothers was because that was what they all felt like. The entire team knew they’d defend each other to the death, but they’d extended it on their ink to include the women they may or may not have in the future. It was important to all of them that they knew the team would have their women’s backs…if it ever came to that.
And the last line was a reference to their job as Delta Force operatives. Not many people knew about them or what they did, and that’s how it would stay.
Ghost waited as Rayne read the words on his skin. She ran her fingertips over each phrase, much as he’d done to her tattoo. He shivered; he swore he’d remember the way her hand felt on him, as she caressed what was the real him, for the rest of his days.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Yeah.”
“It suits you.”
Ghost tilted his head in question, and encouraged her to lie back down next to him.
As she snuggled into his side, her head resting on his shoulder and her arm thrown around his body, she nodded and said, “Yeah. I know I’ve teased you about being a spy, but if I had to really guess, I’d say you were military of some sort.” When he tensed under her, she brought her hand up to his neck and laid it there reassuringly.
“I felt safe today. Completely. I didn’t care that the taxi guy was creepy as all get out, because I was with you. I never would’ve ridden that crazy Ferris wheel thing if you weren’t with me. And I never, I mean, never would’ve gone to bed with you if I didn’t trust you. All I’m saying is that you’re the kind of guy who I’d want by my side if I was fighting for my country.”
Ghost didn’t say anything, but shifted until one hand rested on the small of her back, covering her tattoo.
“I think you’re pretty amazing too,” he said in a low voice.
“Ummm. First time I’ve ever been thankful my plane was canceled.”
“Me too, Princess. Me too.”
Ghost held Rayne as she eased into sleep and throughout the next two hours. He wanted to do so many more things with her. So many positions he hadn’t had time to try out, but she was obviously exhausted. She was sleeping deeply, even the feel of his fingertips on her breast didn’t make her stir. Her nipples stiffened under his touch, but her breaths remained steady. Ghost wanted to take her hard-as-nails peaks in his mouth, then watch as they bounced and jiggled as she rode him, but he didn’t have the heart to wake her.
He’d never felt like this before. Ever.
Typically, he’d be out of bed and on his way home about five minutes after his orgasm, but being with Rayne was relaxing…and exciting. Even if she was sleeping.
She was beautiful, her skin smooth and unblemished. Her tits big enough to hold, but not so big they overwhelmed her frame. She had a small belly, and thighs he could grab hold of and not be afraid he’d hurt her. There were so many ways he wanted to make love to her, to get to know her…but with each tick of the clock, Ghost knew his time with her was quickly running out.
Even knowing he was pushing his luck, he didn’t leave her bed until an hour after he’d planned. After dressing, Ghost leaned over Rayne, who was now sleeping on her stomach clutching a pillow to her chest, and kissed her temple.
“Soar high, Princess,” he whispered softly into her ear before standing up.
Ghost turned and walked to the door and stopped with one hand on the knob. Taking a resigned breath, he walked back over to the amazing woman in the bed and slowly tugged the sheet down, revealing the curve of her spine…and the tattoo that had made him lose his mind. He stared down at it, arguing with himself. It really was uncanny how she’d been able to capture the essence of who he was without even knowing him. Ghost knew he was being maudlin, but couldn’t help it.
The side that wanted a memory of this night forever won, and Ghost quickly took out his cell phone and snapped a picture of the unique tattoo, being careful not to capture anything indecent in his photo. Her beautiful backside was for his eyes only.
He pulled the sheet back up carefully and leaned down one more time. He inhaled her scent, which by now was really a mixture of sex and whatever perfume she’d put on hours earlier, kissed his fingers and gently laid them on her lips, then turned abruptly and stalked to the door once more. He slipped out without a sound and disappeared into the large metropolis as if he didn’t exist.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
A shrill ringing woke Rayne from a deep sleep. She leaned over and answered the phone with a groggy, “Hello?” She heard the standard hotel recording for the wake-up call, hung up the phone, and sat up slowly. She looked next to her and saw she was alone in the bed.
“Ghost?”
Her voice echoed back through the empty room. Knowing in her heart she wasn’t going to find him, Rayne twisted and put her feet on the floor anyway. She padded around the corner and looked in the bathroom. Empty.
She grabbed the tank top and pants she’d been wearing last night and pulled them on, then walked over to the window and peered out. The London Eye Ferris wheel was still and silent, waiting for another group of tourists, and Big Ben and Westminster Abbey looked as stately and majestic as they had the day before. In fact, everything looked the same, including the cloudy weather…but Rayne didn’t feel the same
.
Ghost had been upfront and honest with her from the beginning. He’d told her he was a one-night kind of guy, and that he didn’t do relationships. She’d told him she was fine with that, and she was. But as he’d held her, and made her orgasm time and time again, her walls had crumbled. She’d begun to fantasize that they’d wake up in the morning and he’d tell her he couldn’t live without her. They’d fly back to the States and date for a while before he’d finally propose to her.
It was ridiculous and she was too old to be living in a fantasy world.
Suddenly cold, Rayne went back to the bed and got under the covers. She pulled the sheet up to her chin and curled into a ball on her side. She turned her head and inhaled. God. The pillow smelled like Ghost.
Ghost. It was an appropriate name for the man. She knew next to nothing about him, except he made her feel safe. And wanted. And desirable. He had a tattoo and…what else? His name was John Benbrook and he lived in Fort Worth. She perked up a bit at that. She could look him up when she got home and then…
No. He left. They had one night together, that’s all it was. He didn’t want anything more to do with her. If he’d wanted more, he would’ve told her. Rayne knew it in her gut. She was a one-time fuck for him, that’s all.
She threw off the sheet and climbed out of bed for the second time that morning. Fine then. She was a woman of the world. She could have a one-night affair and be sophisticated. Not that sleeping with someone the same day made you sophisticated in any way, but still. She could do this.
Rayne went through the motions of showering and getting ready for her shift at work. She’d be flying home to Dallas/Fort Worth, then she’d have two days off before she was set to fly again. She couldn’t remember where she was scheduled to go next, but thought it was the Middle East rotation. It wasn’t her favorite, but at the moment, she couldn’t wait to get to work and try to forget the amazing man she’d met.