Heart's Desire

by Ellie Masters

  It was dark outside, no moon. Only stars twinkled down on them, and the entire base had quieted down.

  Lyons angled right, heading away from the med center.

  “Where are you going?”

  Without a word, he headed between stacks of pallets brought in from a recent resupply airdrop, disappearing from view. She followed him into the depths of increasing darkness, wondering what the hell bug had bitten his butt. The pallets formed a maze, and she quickly lost him in the twists and turns.

  “Lyons!” she yelled. “What the fu—”

  She never heard his footsteps, but her scalp tingled, and electricity skated down her spine. A broad hand covered her mouth while Lyons hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her between rows of pallets. Stacked two high, the pallets formed a place of darkness and privacy. Her boots scuffed against the ground, but he pulled her into darkness and away from prying eyes. Her feet lost purchase at one point, but he continued to drag her back. For a moment, she considered swinging her elbows or kicking out with her feet, except her chest heaved with frightened anticipation of…something. He hauled her deeper and then stopped, spinning her until her back slammed up against one of the pallets.

  “What the hell are you doing?” she said in a husky whisper when he removed his hand from her mouth. Why she’d whispered or why her voice had sounded that way wasn’t something she understood. It wasn’t even something she had time to ponder because his eyes were edged with steel.

  “Something I should’ve done a long time ago.” A crazed look lingered in the strength of his determined gaze and dipped down where it hardened the line of his lips. He looked wild and unhinged.

  Her heart fluttered with the realization of what she saw.

  Hunger.

  Holy fuck, he was unraveling and had her backed up, cornered with nowhere to go. Her breaths quickened, and her entire body turned rigid because she had no intention of running. This was Lyons. She’d run countless missions with him. She trusted him with her life, and he trusted her with his. They were a team.

  Her back pressed hard against the unforgiving pallet, and she placed her palm between them, pushing against his chest. “Lyons…”

  “My name is Ryker,” he said with a growl.

  “Don’t come any closer,” she warned, except he couldn’t get much closer than he already was. Not to mention, she very much wanted no space between them.

  His scent flooded her nostrils, turning her insides to jelly. She swallowed down her fear as something else rose to take its place.

  Then, he was on her. His arm snaked around her waist, and he pulled her against the hardness of his body. He grabbed her nape, controlling her head, as he leaned in and claimed her mouth with the fire in his breath, the heat of his lips, and the feral intensity of a man pushed beyond his limits. Nothing but complete and utter devastation could come from what came next, but there was no turning back.

  “Ryker!” she cried out, but he swallowed her words with a sweep of his tongue.

  Without hesitation, he took her mouth with a bruising intensity. His power, the feel of his tongue striking her lips and teasing her tongue, shot a ripple of warmth through the core of her being. Her skin heated and flushed. Her fear faded, and she met his hunger with ravenous need.

  She clutched at his wrist, but he merely moved his hand from her nape to her throat, never once losing control of his dominating grip. A flutter of concern passed through her, but she could still breathe. He hadn’t closed off her airway. He wasn’t hurting her. Instead, deep, ragged pulls of breath rattled into his lungs and raced back into hers.

  “Please,” she whispered.

  “No,” he said. “You’re mine, T. You’ve always been mine.”

  She couldn’t move. And she couldn’t think to tell him to stop because he leaned the full length of his body against hers, showing her exactly what was on his mind. Her pulse ricocheted, flying hard and fast, until it returned with a muted roar in her ears.

  “Ryker,” she said again, realizing what would come next. If she didn’t stop this now, Lyons was going to cross a line neither of them would ever return from.

  Using his body, he pressed her against the hard pallet, effectively caging her in. This freed his other hand to tug at the buttons of her desert fatigues.

  She clutched the shackle of his hand and stared at him. “We can’t…”

  His fingers released the lower button of her BDU top. She sucked in air as he freed another button. No! He freed a third button. She needed to say no and stop this from progressing any further. Mentally, she chanted the word, but for the life of her, she couldn’t say it. Not when his entire being flooded her senses.

  The rich taste of him had her curling her toes. His masculine scent had her pawing at the fabric of his uniform. Her lips couldn’t form the word no because she was too engrossed in the wonder of his kiss. The power and possession behind Ryker’s assault effectively silenced all doubt. His impulse to dominate raced through her veins, thundered along her nerves, and set her ablaze from the inside out. She flung her arms around his neck, digging her fingers into his scalp because she needed more.

  He had her fatigue overblouse unbuttoned. He tugged at her shirt, pulling it free of the constriction of the waistband of her fatigues. She moaned beneath him as he slid the webbing free of the buckle, loosened her belt, and attacked the topmost button of the fly of her pants.

  Taking a moment, she opened her eyes, not really certain when she’d closed them and forced herself to face the raging torrent of emotion in his eyes.

  Hunger. Need. Lust.

  And more. There was so much more.

  All of it swirled in the intensity that had become Ryker Lyons. He had another button undone. His breaths turned to grunts as he rocked his hardness against her belly.

  This could destroy their careers. If she didn’t stop it now, they could potentially lose everything. Except her fingers gripped his nape, and her mouth opened, welcoming him in. She encouraged him to continue. Consequences became insignificant things fluttering in the periphery of her mind.

  His hand wrapped around the soft skin of her neck, and his fingers dug at her nape. Electrical pulses penetrated her nerve endings. Like tiny white-hot pricks of erogenous hunger, they shot down her spine and licked her nerves where they coiled in a rising fury of fiery heat and need.

  “We have to stop,” she gasped on a needy breath, even as his fingers slipped into her pants.

  “We’re not stopping,” he said.

  His words hardened her nipples and sent her pulse into a frenzied beat that hammered in her ears. He was going to fuck her. That wasn’t something she could let happen.

  She pushed him away, putting the full weight of her body into the effort, but he merely shifted to the side, twisted her in his grip, and sent them both careening to the ground. She landed with a huff, spared the full brunt of the fall by the protection of his arm cradling her back. He landed on top of her with a grunt, keeping his weight—and therefore full control—pushing down on her body. She could breathe, but she couldn’t move.

  His other hand went to his belt and then to the buttons of the fly to his trousers. She tried to scramble away, but he held her tight. Their hips rocked against each other and elicited a low groan from him. With a tug to her pants, warm air brushed against her bare bottom.

  “Fuck, T,” he said with a groan. “Where the hell is that condom?”

  This was the moment to say no. To end this before it went too far. But her skin was on fire. Her heart hammered in her throat. Her insides churned with a ravenous hunger to feel him plunging deep inside.

  “Breast pocket,” she said. That had most definitely not been a no.

  He fumbled inside her pocket.

  “No,” she huffed between his kisses, “other pocket.”

  Fingers searching, he retrieved the foil packet, brought it between them, and surrendered her mouth only long enough to rip off the edge. There was no going back now.

&nb
sp; He shifted to the side and sheathed himself in latex. She thought he’d plunge right in, overcome with his lust, but found herself gasping as his fingers fluttered over her folds.

  “T,” he said, “if you don’t want this, you have to say so now.”

  But there was no way to deny what she wanted because he could feel her arousal. Her inner thighs were slick with what she wanted. Revenge fuck or just a fuck, it didn’t matter. Right now, all she needed was to feel him inside. She bit her lower lip and stared at him, refusing to say the one word that would end whatever this was.

  Mistake? Regret? A beginning? She no longer cared.

  Lyons shifted again, moving his weight to roll on top of her, making it difficult for her to breathe. He sank his fingers between her soaked folds, and she arched her back and let out a scream. His free hand covered her mouth.

  “Shh,” he said with a smirk on his face, “not so loud.”

  The stretch of his fingers awakened long dead nerves. Excruciating and wonderful, it was wickedly perfect. Her breaths fluttered in and out of her lungs as he curled his fingers and stroked her precisely where it felt too damn good.

  She didn’t want this. They shouldn’t be doing this. He needed to stop. But she couldn’t think. Each flex of his fingers sent tendrils of heat shimmering to her core. Her body betrayed her, or perhaps it revealed a truth she’d been ignoring for far too long. He corralled every buck of her hips and arch of her spine, taking her higher and higher, but then he stopped and yanked her trousers to her ankles.

  “Oh my God!” She’d been nearly at the brink of what was surely going to be the most explosive orgasm of her life.

  They both still wore their boots. Neither of their pants was coming off, but Lyons didn’t seem fazed by that obstacle. He gripped her knees, bent them, and then spread them wide. His greedy gaze angled between her legs, the intensity making her snap her knees together, but she couldn’t. He’d wedged himself between her legs and held them open. He was stronger and larger, and she was at his mercy.

  His gaze lifted to meet hers. “When I’ve had my fill of you, we’ll discuss the recent choices in your life.”

  “Recent choi—oh my God!” The rest of whatever she’d been about to say disappeared beneath a strangled cry.

  Lyons buried his face between her legs and swirled that talented tongue of his with diabolical skill. She remained torn between wanting him and stopping this but ached more for the relief an orgasm would bring. A part of her despised herself for using him like this. Lyons knew her goal. She’d told him she wanted to fuck and that she didn’t care who it might be. But maybe he had his own goals. He was a ladies’ man, so it shouldn’t surprise her that he’d want to mark her on his list of conquests. Well, as long as they were using each other, no one could get hurt.

  Her hands plunged into his hair, gripping the longer strands on top and tugging them as he worked his incredible skill. Her back arched, and sounds of pleasure spilled from her throat as he drove her to the edge of madness. She yanked his mouth against her pussy, grinding herself on his face, while he lapped her juices, plunged his tongue inward, and curled it back around to the sensitive nub of nerves at her clit.

  She needed this. By God, she needed this. As he licked a path up her slit, she wanted nothing more than to come on his tongue. Crazy in fact how much she wanted that, and she felt the beginnings of an explosion rising from deep inside. Her toes curled inside her boots as her back bowed again.

  “Oh fuck, oh God, I’m coming.”

  The orgasm shook her limbs and shredded her strangled cry. While she moaned and panted her way through the force of the waves cresting through her, his tongue continued to lap, his mouth ground against her clit, and he forced her to ride his face until she forgot her name. While her body twitched with the aftershocks of her orgasm, unbearable pleasure built again. More bliss came in the wake of a mind-blowing orgasm as he licked her through another wave of pleasure. Her cries scratched her throat raw, but as the second orgasm ripped through her, he shifted his weight yet again, staying with her as she chased her pleasure.

  He covered her with his body, settling his hips between her spread thighs, kissing her again. This time, he held himself up, his arms braced on either side of her ears, palms flat against the ground. A stillness hovered in the air as he angled his hips to place the head of his cock against her folds. In that moment, the forest green of his eyes lightened, softening into a verdant field of lustful need. Her heart stopped, hanging between one beat and the next, as the enormity of what would happen next rattled through her mind.

  Then, with the sudden surge of his hips, he breached her walls, slamming in with a jolt of pleasure that jumpstarted her heart into a frenzied gallop. Her tissues stretched to accommodate his girth and electrified with the sensation of being filled…by Lyons.

  Holy shit, they were fucking.

  Staring into his eyes, she couldn’t help but think how incredibly gorgeous he was and how he belonged all to her for the moment. The features of his face tightened with intensity as he chased his pleasure. Her traitorous body rose to meet his, hungry for more. Her pussy throbbed with greed as he thrust into her with punishing force. Evidently, Lyons didn’t take things slow. Not that it surprised her. He fucked like he lived—hard and to the edge of sanity.

  His hooded eyes glanced at her, full of a feral power that hitched her breath. She rose to meet him, as much as her posture allowed, taking the full length of him deep inside. The pulse in her throat hammered against her ears as tendrils of heat curled along every nerve in her body. He was a man built for sin, for taking, for pleasing, and perhaps even loving.

  The rest of the world faded away. His eyes enraptured her. His grunts and groans excited her. The slow burning coil of heat in her body tightened and prepared to ignite once again.

  “Lyons,” she said, whispering, “I’m close.”

  “Ride it, T. Give me one more.” His hips rocked against her, dragging his cock against the sensitive tissues of her pussy.

  Everything narrowed down to him, the rugged planes of his face, his strong, angular jaw, and the storm brewing in his eyes. For a man who kept himself tightly controlled, he was moments from losing himself to his lust. Right with him, riding the wave of desire, she gripped his hips and begged for more.

  “Harder. Please. Fuck me harder.”

  “You like it rough?”

  She didn’t really know. Her entire sexual experiences had been soft and loving, not this animalistic need of a man staking his claim.

  “I-I-I don’t know, but if you don’t fuck me now…”

  “You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting to hear those words.”

  He thrust, and their combined groans lifted to the stillness of the night. Burying himself as deeply as possible, he filled her completely. The burn from the stretch had her shaking, uncertain if she was feeling pleasure or pain. Then, a switch flipped, and Lyons was fucking her like a wild man. Fury and aggression filled every hiss of his breath as he slammed his cock into her violently and punishing with his need. His lips pressed against hers, claiming her there as well. His kisses were no longer demanding but bruising with their savagery.

  She’d never been taken like this before and never felt a man come undone as he fucked her into a mindless state of bliss. She’d never felt that flare of combustion as pleasure ripped her entire world apart.

  “Lyons!” she cried and then dissolved into mindlessness as another orgasm overtook her and dragged her into oblivion for the third time that night. She dug her hands into his back, cursing the fabric of his shirt. She wanted to feel the heat of his skin.

  With a grunt, he pounded into her. His eyes flashed to hers. “Next time, we won’t take things so damn slow. Hard and rough is fine with me.” His words were gravelly and harsh. With his thrusts quickening, his orgasm gathered, and he released with a savage thrust. His entire body shook as he ground against her, panting with his orgasm.

  And then she saw it. It was
evident in his eyes. Victory.

  They fucked hard, but they still remained mostly clothed. In uniform. Fucking on deployment. An officer and an enlisted. The urge to curl in on herself overcame Tia, and she wanted to crawl away and hide under a rock. She’d wanted a revenge fuck, and he’d given her exactly what she’d asked. Only he’d gathered her along with however many scores of nameless women on his ever-growing list.

  She pushed him away, and even as the languorous curls of heat licking along her nerves dissipated, she could only think of one thing.

  What have I done?

  Chapter Seventeen

  Rebound

  Ryker

  Oh, hell no! There was no way he was going to let that look of mortification, regret, and terror fill the face of the woman he’d just fucked. He had no future plans in his head. It wasn’t like he’d married them off and filled a home with kids, but this wasn’t a one-and-done kind of thing for him. From the look on her face, that was exactly what was going through her head. What kind of man did she think he was?

  “Stop,” he ordered, layering his voice with the first command he’d ever laid at her feet.

  She scooted away, trying to pull her BDU trousers up and over her hips.

  He grabbed the waistband and jerked it back to her knees. “Stop.”

  “Lyons,” she hissed.

  “No,” he said, leaning over her, crushing her back to the hard ground. “Not until we talk.”

  “Talking is the last thing I want to do right now. Look…”

  “If the next words out of your mouth are, This was a mistake, you can just stop. What just happened is what you call an inevitability.” He placed his hand between her thighs and forced them apart. She squeezed against him, but he overpowered her, moving his hand to cup her mound. “I don’t regret what happened, and I’ll be damned if you do the same. Talk to me, Tia.”

  Her eyes widened when he used her full name. Come to think of it, he didn’t think he’d ever used her name before. She was T when he’d joined the unit, and like everyone else, he used her nickname.