Course of Action: The Rescue: Jaguar NightAmazon Gold

by Lindsay McKenna - Course of Action: The Rescue: Jaguar NightAmazon Gold

  He suckled her, and she could feel how Josh monitored himself, never wanting to cause her discomfort. He knew where she’d broken her arm, her leg, knew she’d broken her nose. There was a care in his ministrations as he moved his hands down her thigh, as if memorizing her slowly, like sipping a fine wine, tasting it with his sensitive fingertips. Aly slid her hand downward, fingers wrapping gently around his erection, feeling Josh stiffen and groan. His mouth crushed hers, stealing her breath, hunger igniting between them.

  He pulled her hand away, easing it across the bed. Lifting his head, his breath ragged, he growled, “This time...this first time is for you, Angel. There will be plenty of other times I’ll be more than happy for you to touch me there.”

  She smiled and whispered, “Are you a dream, Josh Patterson? A wonderful figment of my romantic, idealistic mind and heart? I’ve always dreamed of a man who loved me enough to think of me first....”

  He smiled faintly. “Where I come from, Marine men put their women first, last and always. That’s a reality, not a dream, Aly.”

  And before she could say anything, he laid her out on her back, gently pinning her right leg with his. He eased her apart, his eyes never leaving hers.

  “You’ve never, really, been loved, Aly. People have taken what you give them all your life. But has anyone honestly cared enough about you to pleasure you first? To make your body sing? To feel so damned good that you fly apart in their arms?”

  His guttural words shimmered through her. A hot glow and throb began between her legs. Wanting. This time he took one nipple, suckling her strongly, and she whimpered, arching up as his large hand slid across her other thigh, easing her open. Her heart started to pound and her breath was serrated as she closed her eyes, all her focus on how good his hand felt caressing the inside of her damp thigh.

  Aly whispered his name, moving her hips upward, wanting him to touch her, to enter her. The pleasure radiating from her breast made her ache below. And as if he sensed her more than ready, he moved his finger slowly, sliding it into the wetness of her body. She uttered a sound of need, and tried to lift her arm but he held it in place, keeping her pinned so that he could feast upon her wherever he wanted. It was frustrating but at the same time, the need building in her was so ravenous, she cried out as he slipped his finger into her, teasing that swollen knot just within her entrance. Her world tilted and she moved against his finger, wanting more, wanting him.

  Josh chose the second nipple, licking it with his tongue, and it was as if a twin electric shock had occurred deep within her body. Aly’s voice broke in a cry as he brought her to orgasm, her walls contracting, the explosive, undulating outward motion rolling through her lower body, making her cry out again and again. And he kept stroking her, milking her, asking her body to give everything it had been holding on to for a long, long time.

  She was hurled into heat, light and boiling pleasure that bubbled throughout her lower body. She felt only his touch, heard his deep, low voice near her ear, urging her on, asking her to give him everything because he loved her. And she did. The combination of his dark voice, his warm breath across her tightened nipple and his fingers sliding into her caused the second avalanching orgasm, which spun her into an abyss of raw pleasure she’d never experienced.

  Josh watched as a flush spread up across Aly’s glistening body. She was damp, limp, and in that world where only pleasure existed. He smiled and moved above her, using his knee to widen her thighs a little more. That luscious, sexy mouth of hers was parted, lips glistening with his last kiss, her breasts perfect, those pink nipples just begging to be seduced all over again.

  He eased down upon her, keeping most of his weight off her, planting his elbows near her shoulders, drowning in Aly’s barely open eyes that were radiant with satisfaction, with wonder. Yeah, it could be that good, and now she knew it. No amount of small pride moved through Josh over that discovery as he smiled down at her. Sex and orgasms were the best damned drugs in the world. And it was addictive with the right person.

  “Now,” he growled near her ear, licking the lobe and then kissing her cheek, “I’ll take my turn, Angel. This is about us, though. Not just me. I want to rock it out with you, so come with me?” He moved his mouth tenderly across her lips, tasting her, absorbing her feminine heat as he slowly introduced himself to her wet core. He felt her tremble, watched her eyes, wanting to make sure it was from pleasure and expectation, not fear or discomfort. Those delicious corners of her mouth curved and she smiled into his eyes, her hands now free, twining around his neck as she lifted her hips to greet him, to urge him into her.

  Aly’s courage never failed to total Josh emotionally. As much as had been denied her as a child, she could give her body, her heart and soul to him without a second’s thought. The glint in her blue eyes...it was love, not just sex. He knew the difference as he slid his hand beneath her lower back, positioning her.

  “I want this to be good for you,” he rasped against her mouth, slowly entering her, feeling how damned tight she was.

  He kissed her deeply, sensing her body clench against his girth. And then it surrendered, more hot fluids surrounding him, wrapping around him, making him shudder because he was so close to coming. Her hands drifted from his neck, sliding down his flanks to settle against his narrow hips. He’d hesitated but she wouldn’t have it, thrusting her hips upward at the same time, pulling him forward with her woman’s strength.

  Josh clenched his teeth, his heart pounding in his chest, perspiration standing out on his flesh, his fists wrapping tightly into the blankets on either side of her head. And she didn’t stop. God, she was so assertive! He’d wanted to give her at least one more orgasm but she was sensuously moving against him, establishing a rhythm that would tear through his control.

  He rose onto his knees, pulling her up a bit on his thighs, breaking her rhythm and establishing his own so he could bring her to orgasm before he came. If she was disappointed, she didn’t look it, her eyes half closed, her lips parted, as he pulled out and then began to tease that sweet knot of nerves, watching her start to become loosened and moaning, feeling the orgasm build rapidly. Oh, yeah, this was what it was all about for him. Watching Aly’s expression when her beautiful, fiery-hot body contracted almost violently around his erection, feeling her sudden release. And just as she came, he settled her on the bed and thrust into her, taking her, moving deep, hearing little cries, her fingers gripping his shoulders as she was thrown into ecstasy.

  Then, and only then, did he allow his control to release. The heat tore down his spine, through his tightened groin and then the explosion hurled him into that same space with her. All he could do was groan, paralyzed with the intense pleasure as it throbbed wildly out of him.

  They collapsed together on the bed. Aly was breathing raggedly, gasping, and so was he. Josh forced himself to get most of his weight off her, but her hands pulled him down a little more upon her, as if she needed him as a big, warm male blanket covering her. The dreamy look in her eyes, the curve of her lips, told him just how much she’d enjoyed it. And him. He was still inside her. Knowing she was going to be more than a little sore, Josh eased out of her. He left her for a moment to remove the condom and then came back to the bed, back to her side, gathering her damp, warm, soft body against his.

  Josh kissed her lips, whispering, “I love you, Aly Landon....”

  Her drowsy eyes widened a little and then, that sinner’s mouth of hers whispered against his mouth, “I love you, too, Josh Patterson. I don’t know how.... I don’t care....” She kissed him tenderly, hands framing his face, wanting to tell him in another way that how she felt was real. Was forever.

  * * *

  Aly lay in the darkness, lights from Manaus lending grayness to the room where they languished on the bed. She’d slept but she didn’t know for how long. Only that it had been a deep, deep sleep. Better than she’d ever experienced.

  As if knowing she had just awakened, Josh eased up on his elbow, tracin
g her brow, her cheek, with his fingers. Again, she felt the intensity of his stare, as if he were somehow memorizing her with his trailing fingers. She caught his fingers, kissed each one of them, watching the instant pleasure, instant predator-like focus, of his eyes on her.

  “If this is a dream,” Aly whispered, placing his hand over her breast, “then I don’t ever want to wake up from it, Josh.” She searched his eyes for an answer. She felt him cup her breast, lean over, suckle her, the sensation exquisite, making her sigh, move her hips against his, feel his erection grow against her belly.

  He lifted his head and studied her in the shadows and light, caressing her cheek. “We met in a nightmare, Angel. But we turned it into a dream come true for us. Believe me, I didn’t go into this mission thinking about anything except rescuing you.”

  “And then?” she prompted softly. “What happened?”

  “I saw you sleeping in that room,” he told her, frowning. “You were frightened because you had your body curled into a fetal position. I saw the swelling on your cheek. I knew you’d been through hell. But—” Josh shook his head “—when I held your shoulder down and put my hand across your mouth, I saw your eyes.” Josh leaned down and kissed each of her eyelids. “I don’t think you see how beautiful you are, Aly. Your eyes are like windows right into your soul. I saw your soul that night. It jolted me. It scared me. But it also lured me. Called to me. And as we escaped and I saw how tough you were, how much heart you possessed, I fell in love with you.”

  “In three days?”

  Josh shrugged. “I know it isn’t logical, Aly. But you fell in love with me, too. I saw it. I felt it. We had this connection between us. I can’t explain it. When I saw you, it was like a direct line into my heart.”

  She stretched out and rested her hands over his heart, her chin atop them so she could look into his darkly shadowed eyes. “What’s going to happen to us?”

  Josh’s mouth quirked as he smoothed his hand across her shoulder.

  “Aly, I’ve got orders right back to Afghanistan the day after I drop you off at Coronado. Your father’s meeting you there.”

  Her heart wrung and she felt so much pain she could barely breathe. “I don’t want to see my father. I want to be with you.”

  Josh gave her a sympathetic look. “He loves you in his own way. I know it’s not what you want to hear...and he never was able to reach out to you, to hold you or to care for you the way you needed.” He smoothed her wrinkled brow, seeing the grief in her eyes. “Look,” he said, “we need to think outside the box on this. What do you intend to do, Aly?”

  She shook her head, burying her face in her hands. “I can’t go back to Brazil. Not after what happened.”

  He heard the sadness in her hoarse voice.

  “What, then?”

  “I don’t know.” She flashed him a lost look. “I went down there to prove to my father I was brave. As brave as he thought Adam would one day be.”

  “Your older brother? The one who died in the car accident?”

  “Yes,” she whispered, closing her eyes, trying not to feel the pain that was always with her. “My father called Adam brave, courageous, someone who would grow up to be a Marine. A warrior like him.”

  “You took that job knowing it was in a heavy drug-trafficking area to prove to him you were courageous?”

  “Yes,” she admitted tiredly, rubbing her brow. “Stupid, looking back on it now, isn’t it?”

  He pulled her up so that her head could rest on his shoulder and he could hold her. “No, not stupid. Just the little girl in you crying for justice. Crying to have your father acknowledge that you were just as good as Adam. But he never saw you, Aly. That’s his mistake and he’s got to live with it the rest of his life.”

  “I don’t want to be around him, Josh. God, I hate it!”

  “Will you see him at all, then?”

  “Yes, I’ll see him. But after that, I don’t know. I just feel so confused inside. I know I’m traumatized. I know I need to rest, to just chill out...”

  “Then you don’t want to go back to the charity?”

  The anguish on her face tore him up. Aly’s whole life had been jerked out from beneath her. She’d challenged her father, trying to prove she was just as brave as her older brother might have been. To try to change how her father regarded her. It broke Josh’s heart. He threaded his fingers through her hair, soothing her, watching some of the pain dissolve beneath his caress.

  “I have an idea,” Josh said. He rolled over, tucking her beside him as he rested on his elbow, studying her sad expression. “I know you love the outdoors because you said that in your dream you had a house in the mountains...” He took a deep breath, feeling as though he was standing on the edge of a cliff. Would Aly agree to his idea?

  Moving his thumb across her cheek, he said, “I want you to go home to my parents’ ranch in Rush City. They will love you, Aly. They never had a daughter. My mom, Lisa, is an RN. She works at the small hospital. You’d have a lot in common with her. You’d have animals around you. Horses. The great outdoors.”

  He watched her expression closely. “I know it’s not the Rocky Mountains, Angel, but at least you’d be in the country. My father is a very warm, loving person. And so is my mother. They could give you my old room.” He grinned a little. “It’s not lavender walls, but they could be painted.... I finish my deployment in three months. I have thirty days’ leave coming at that time. I’ll come home to you, Aly.”

  Josh wanted so badly for her to consider the suggestion. His parents would know how to make her feel welcome, a part of the family.

  “Have you talked to your parents?” she asked, searching his face.

  “No...not yet. I have to have something to tell them.” He smiled tenderly. “Aly, you need a place to let down. To rest. To think over your life, what you want, what you need.”

  She nodded. There was no place for her to go except to her father’s apartment in Washington, D.C. And she couldn’t do that. Not ever. Being around him was like pouring salt into open wounds between them. “What would your mom say?”

  “About what?” he teased. “That I love you? That I want a life with you? Look, you’ll have three months to really sort out what happened here, and to sort out us. And if it doesn’t work between us, Aly... Well, I’ll respect your decision.”

  She swallowed hard, feeling her heart burst in anguish. “What decision? That I wouldn’t love you after three months of you being away?” Her voice cracked and she sat up, pushing her hair away from her face. “Josh, I’m clear about you and me. I can’t tell you how much of an impression you made on that night you came into my room. You scared the hell out of me, but I heard your voice....”

  She pressed her hand to her brow for a moment, moving her lips, trying not to cry again. Allowing her hand to drop to her lap, her voice quavered as she admitted, “You fed me hope. I believed in you. Even more important, you made me believe in myself. You were kind, even when I couldn’t keep up with you. You weren’t impatient with me. You looked through me, Josh. I know you do that because that’s just who you are. You saw me. You never questioned if I had enough willpower, enough bravery, to do it. You accepted I could do it.” She choked, tears falling down her cheeks as she pressed her hand to her heart. “You believed in me. You accepted me. No one has ever done all that for me. Not ever.”

  Aly wiped her tears away, holding his shadowed gaze. “I feel as if when you walked into my life, you were the other missing half of me I’d been looking for. I knew in my heart, you were the one.” She sniffed. “I—I’ll never forget one day, when I was ten and I was cutting out pictures for my scrapbook, that my mom came over and looked at what I was doing. She sat with me and I saw tears in her eyes. Josh, I asked her why she had tears. She pointed to what I’d cut out and glued into my scrapbook.”

  “What was it?” he asked, his throat tightening, wishing he could bring Aly’s mother back for her. The woman knew how to love her, how to draw shy, wi
thdrawn Aly out and how to listen to her dreams.

  “I loved King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. I’d found Sir Gawain on a white horse and I’d cut it out. I put him in front of the house that I’d picked to be my home someday. I told her...” She pressed her hand to her mouth, her eyes glimmering with tears. “I told her that someday a man would ride up and rescue me. That I was in trouble and needed help. That he would be the man I wanted to live with. I really believed that, and my mother squeezed me, kissed my hair and told me that dreams do come true. And...and I believed her.”

  Josh sat up, picking up her hand that was wet with her tears. “Kind of scary that at ten you were so psychic,” he told her quietly, holding her tear-filled gaze. “You’re amazing, Aly. More important, your mother believed in you.”

  “You’re my knight in shining armor.”

  “Maybe a very tarnished knight,” Josh corrected, teasing her a little. He got a small smile out of Aly. “But I always try to be honorable, Aly. Do the right things for a higher reason than myself. But I’m far from perfect.”

  “You don’t lie, either. I’ve watched you these three days we were out there, Josh. You never got angry with me even if I slowed you down. Or when my feet had blisters and I didn’t tell you about them. If that had been my father, God, he’d have gone ballistic.”

  “Did he lose his temper with you?” Josh asked her.

  “All the time,” she admitted, miserable. “I felt like a cockroach underfoot. My father loved Adam. He doted on him. He bragged about him to neighbors, to our schoolteachers.”

  “And that’s where you learned to be quiet and not be seen or heard?”

  “I guess.”

  He studied her. “I don’t have a white horse back at my parents’ ranch, but I have a nice pinto quarter horse that you’d probably like a whole lot. My father, Ted, is a quiet man, Aly. He’s got a lot of patience. Hell, he raised me, and I wasn’t exactly tame or easy to deal with.” Josh chuckled. “He’s someone you can sit down and talk with about anything. He’s a man with a big heart and he cares.”