Love Is In the Air Volume 1

by Susan Stoker

  “Maybe it has been in the past, but no longer. And while I agree that it’s become pretty commercialized these days, I have no problem making sure my girl knows how much I care about her on the fourteenth of February every year.”

  Holly blushed. She reached out and poked Dash in the belly.

  He sucked in a breath. “What was that for?” he asked, grabbing her hand and holding on to it so she couldn’t poke him again.

  “Just making sure you’re real,” Holly quipped.

  “I’m real, all right,” Dash said. Then he leaned down and covered her lips with his own.

  Holly melted under him, as she did every time he kissed her.

  Before she knew it, she was on her back on his couch and Dash was lying over her—not crushing her, but surrounding her with his heat and scent.

  They kissed for quite a while, then Holly felt one of his hands slip under her shirt and rest on her belly. She sucked in a breath and he lifted his head. He stared down at her but didn’t move his hand from where it was resting on the bare skin of her stomach.

  “This okay?” he asked.

  And just like that, Holly melted once more. Dash was a gentleman down to his bones. He would no sooner do something that would make her uncomfortable than he would cut in front of a granny in the store to get a better place in line.

  “Very okay,” she reassured him. She thought he’d go back to kissing her, but he didn’t lower his head as his hand moved upward.

  It was intense to stare into his eyes as he touched her, but Holly loved it. She saw his eyes dilate as his hand closed around one of her breasts. He squeezed her through her bra, and she felt her nipple harden immediately.

  “So damn soft,” he murmured. He gently pulled the cup of her bra down and then his calloused palm was touching the tender skin of her breast. Holly couldn’t help but arch her back, pressing herself harder into his hand.

  “You like that.”

  It wasn’t a question. But Holly answered him anyway. “I like everything about you.”

  He smiled and finally dipped his head back down to hers.

  They kissed as he played with her breast. When he lightly pinched her nipple, she moaned. When he pinched it harder, Holly grunted, her stomach tightened, and she felt a gush of wetness between her legs.

  Dash moved, surprising Holly. He got up on his knees, then stood. He grabbed her hand, pulled her off the couch, and towed her down the hall toward his bedroom.

  It took a second for Holly’s brain to catch up with her legs, but when it did, she smiled. Dash didn’t stop until he was standing next to his bed. He pulled her into him, and Holly could feel his hard cock pressing against her belly.

  “You need to use the restroom?” he asked.

  Holly shook her head.

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure.”

  “Because once I get you naked in my bed, I’m not going to let you up to breathe for quite a while.”

  His words made Holly squirm. “I’m sure,” she repeated more firmly.

  Dash’s hands reached for the hem of her shirt and he slowly lifted. Holly’s arms went over her head to help him and before the material had cleared her head, Dash was already reaching behind her for the clasp of her bra.

  She sucked in her belly as she stood in front of him in nothing but her jeans. She knew she wasn’t exactly toned, but he didn’t seem to care. Dash went down on his knees in front of her and nuzzled the pooch she’d never been able to get rid of.

  “So fucking beautiful,” he murmured against her skin. His breath tickled, but Holly wasn’t even close to laughing. His hands reached for the button and zipper of her jeans…and before she knew it, she was standing in front of him without a stitch of clothing on.

  He inhaled deeply, and a flash of embarrassment ran through Holly. She knew she was turned on. She could feel the wetness on her inner thighs. But like everything with this man, he immediately put her at ease.

  He stood up and motioned to the bed with his chin. “In.”

  Holly moved to get on the bed as Dash disrobed. By the time she got settled on her back, Dash was climbing onto the mattress. He was absolutely beautiful. Muscles bulged in his arms as he used them to support his weight. His cock was long, thick, and oh so hard. The tip brushed against her thigh as he came over her, smearing a bit of precome on her skin. Holly wanted to touch him, to make him as crazy as he was making her. But he didn’t give her a chance.

  “You’re mine,” he growled.

  Holly could never picture what the authors in the romance books she liked to read meant when they wrote that a man growled. But after hearing Dash tell her that she was his in that rumbly, low tone, she got it.

  “And you’re mine,” she returned.

  “Fuck yeah,” Dash agreed. “I’m never letting you go.”

  Holly’s stomach clenched in need. “I’m okay with that.”

  “You better be,” Dash said, then he moved down her body until his face was between her legs.

  “Dash?” Holly asked, uncertain. She’d given and received oral sex once or twice but in no way felt used to either, but the intense look on Dash’s face gave her pause.

  “Shhhh,” he said. “Let me make you feel good.”

  Holly’s head flopped back against the pillow, and a waft of Dash’s musky scent filled the air around her. She moaned at the first touch of his tongue and dug her fingernails into his forearms as he began to pleasure her.

  Twenty minutes later, Holly was sweaty and shaky from the three orgasms Dash had wrung out of her when he finally moved back up her body. She watched as he rolled a condom over his cock and she held her breath as he lined himself up to her soaking-wet folds.

  “You ready?” he asked.

  Holly could only nod. Was she ready? She felt as if she were born ready for this man.

  He pressed inside her slow and steady and when he was all the way inside, Holly felt claimed. She wrapped her thighs around his hips, dug her fingers into his biceps, and stared into his eyes as he began to make love to her.

  It was nothing like anything she’d ever experienced before. This man was hers. Heart and soul.

  “Mine,” he whispered as he tenderly pressed in and out of her body.

  “Yours,” Holly agreed.

  Holly woke up in the middle of the night and found herself lying on her side, with Dash snuggled tightly behind her. He had one arm around her waist and his breathing was deep and even. The feel of his naked body against her own made goose bumps break out on Holly’s arms.

  This was everything she’d ever wanted. And the sex was…unbelievable. She’d never understood what all the fuss was about. She got it now.

  Without thinking about the fact it was three in the morning and that Stella was probably sound asleep, Holly reached for her phone, which Dash had so generously gone out to the other room to get for her. She hadn’t needed it, but he’d insisted it was safer to have a phone close at hand in case something happened in the middle of the night.

  She loved how caring and concerned Dash was. He’d been that way all week, constantly asking how she was doing, how she was feeling, if she was working too hard, eating enough, etc.

  Holly shared everything with Stella. They’d talked at length at work about Dash and Magic and how crazy-fast their relationships were moving. But both felt comfortable with the speed. Neither had gone all the way with their men before tonight, and Holly couldn’t resist following up on a conversation they’d had at work the day before.

  Holly: Definitely a 12 on a scale of 1 to 10.

  Then she put the phone back on the small table next to the bed, and turned in Dash’s arms. He stirred.

  “You good?”

  “I’m perfect,” Holly told him.

  “Yes you are,” Dash mumbled.

  Holly buried her nose into his chest and curled her arms in front of her. Dash’s arms tightened around her waist and she could feel his cock twitch against her belly. She smiled. Neither w
as ready for another round right this moment, but knowing that she could turn him on even when he was half-asleep did wonders for her self-esteem.

  “Hol?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Love you.”

  Holly froze. Did he just say what she thought he said?

  “And no, I’m not talking in my sleep,” Dash added. “It’s late…or early. Too soon to get up. Go back to sleep,” he ordered.

  Holly took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She should’ve been freaking out that he’d said the L-word, but she wasn’t. That said a lot about her feelings toward this man.

  Right before she fell asleep, she felt Dash kiss the top of her head, then relax once more.

  4

  “You want me to pick up a sandwich for you today?” Holly asked Stella before she headed out the door. It was the day before Valentine’s Day and things between her and Dash, and between Stella and Magic, had never been better. It was hard to believe that a month ago they’d been ogling the men from afar and now they were…ogling them from much closer proximities.

  “No, I’m good. Magic is coming over and bringing us something. We’re gonna go out to the tables between here and the PX and have a picnic.”

  “You know what he’s got planned for tomorrow?” Holly asked.

  “No clue, and it’s driving me crazy,” Stella admitted.

  “Yeah, I keep trying to get Dash to give me a hint and he’s been extremely secretive about it all.”

  “Guess that comes from being a Delta, huh?” Stella asked.

  “I guess so. All right, I’m headed out. I’ll be back in about forty-five minutes or so.”

  “Sounds good. Dash meeting you at the PX?” Stella asked.

  “Of course,” Holly said with a smile and a wave.

  She walked the three blocks to the post exchange…and for some reason today, she felt as if there was a weird vibe in the air. Holly had no idea why, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something felt…off.

  She hated being paranoid but still felt herself walking a little faster. As a result, she arrived at the PX before Dash. She entered the building and headed for the small kiosk that sold the subs she was addicted to.

  The building that held the PX was set up sort of like a mall. A large open space was at the front, with a clothing shop for the soldiers on base, a flag shop, a store that sold powder nutritional supplements and other health food, and had several kiosks in the middle of the space that were rented by various small businesses. Large windows lined the outer wall, facing the parking lot, letting in lots of light.

  A separate food court was in a building next to the PX, but Holly had always preferred the less crowded sub shop in the PX building partly because it wasn’t quite as busy here as in the food court.

  “Hey!” said Annabel, the employee who worked most weekdays at the sub kiosk, as Holly approached.

  “Hi.”

  “You want your usual?” Annabel asked.

  “Yes, please. And since I’m here, I might as well order Dash’s too.”

  “Extra jalapenos, right?” Annabel asked.

  Holly wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know why he loves those things so much, but yes.”

  “You got it.”

  As Annabel made their sandwiches, Holly stared out the front windows. As she unconsciously searched for Dash, something caught her eye. It was a man. He was wearing camouflage, which wasn’t surprising, since they were on an Army base—but it took a second for the object in his hands to register in Holly’s consciousness.

  It was an automatic rifle.

  A moment after that registered in her brain, Holly heard the unmistakable sound of gunshots.

  “Holy shit,” she muttered.

  “What was that?” Annabel asked, turning toward the window.

  As she watched, the man turned and headed toward the PX. Holly was moving before she even thought about it.

  “Go!” she yelled, running around the small kiosk and grabbing Annabel’s arm. “There’s a guy out there with a gun! Shooting!”

  Just as she said the last word, another volley of gunshots sounded, closer now.

  People around them started to panic. Someone screamed.

  “Go into the PX!” Holly yelled as she pointed toward the entrance to the store. It was down the large open space to the left. There was an employee looking their way, obviously startled by Holly’s shouts.

  “Go to the back, away from the windows! Go, go, go!” Holly ordered trying to get the customers milling around the outer area of the store to get to safety.

  For whatever reason, people seemed to listen to her. Everyone ran toward the PX entrance as if their lives depended on it…which they probably did.

  Holly turned to check on where the man with the gun was once more and was alarmed to see how much ground he’d made in the short time she’d taken her eyes off him.

  He was yelling now. In Arabic. His voice was muffled through the glass, but it was obvious he was delusional, shouting “Allahu Akbar” over and over.

  He might think his God was the greatest, but Holly couldn’t waste any time thinking about what his motives might be, because next, she immediately saw Dash. He was in the parking lot, in the direct path of the crazy man with the gun.

  In a few seconds, the shooter was going to walk right past the vehicle Dash was crouched behind—and probably take the opportunity to shoot him.

  Then Holly noticed that Dash wasn’t alone. He was crouched with a woman and her child, a little girl probably around five years old. The terror on their faces was clear, even from where Holly was standing.

  She moved without thinking. If she could get the shooter’s attention, make him change direction and come after her, he wouldn’t see Dash, or the woman and child.

  With adrenaline coursing through her veins, Holly ran faster than she’d ever run in her life to get to the opposite side of the lobby, to the other door. She burst through and turned to see the shooter.

  She opened her mouth and yelled in Arabic as loud as she could. “What are you doing? Stop it!”

  The man immediately stopped and turned to look at her. An evil smile crossed his face and he changed direction, pointing his rifle at Holly as he walked toward her. He began to speak in Arabic, talking about his mission and Allah once more.

  Holly didn’t stick around to listen—she bolted back into the lobby in the front of the PX.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the mother and little girl running toward the other side of the building. She sighed in relief as they disappeared around the brick structure, safe.

  But Dash didn’t follow them. Instead, he ran for the door on the other end of the PX lobby.

  More gunshots rang out and the glass in one of the huge windowpanes at the front of the building shattered into a million pieces. Holly couldn’t help but let out a scream of fright. She ducked and ran toward the other door…and Dash. She had no idea what he was going to do, but just having him there made her feel a hundred times safer.

  The look on Dash’s face as he slammed through the door made Holly pause for a moment.

  This was the soldier. The deadly Delta Force operative.

  Then she was in his arms. But it wasn’t a loving embrace. His hands were rough as they grabbed her biceps and forced her down into a crouch behind one of the kiosks in the middle of the lobby.

  More gunshots rang out, and another window shattered.

  “I’m going to kill you, woman. I must kill all infidels!”

  “What’s he saying?” Dash asked.

  Holly told him, then couldn’t help but be impressed at the litany of swear words that left his mouth. The man next to her was as different as night and day from the man she’d spent the last couple of weeks sleeping next to. He was hard, deadly. But Holly wasn’t scared of him.

  How could she be scared of the man she loved?

  “On the count of three, we’re going to make a run for the entrance to the PX,” Dash told her.


  Holly shook her head. They wouldn’t make it. How she knew that, she wasn’t sure. But she knew if they even peeked their heads out from behind their hiding space, they were dead. Dash wasn’t armed; why would he be on a random weekday? But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t do whatever he could to stop the threat. That was just who he was. And Holly couldn’t lose him. Not after she’d finally found him.

  Time seemed to stop. Holly stared at Dash and tried to let him know without words how much she loved him. She’d never said it out loud, figuring she had plenty of time to tell him later.

  Sirens sounded in the distance, and Holly got an idea. She thought about how many people were probably hiding inside the building. The parking lot had been pretty full. If the shooter got inside, there was no telling how many people might be wounded or killed.

  “They’re coming!” she yelled in Arabic. “You better run!”

  It was lame, but she didn’t have time to think of anything better to say. She didn’t really want the man on the loose on the post, but she definitely didn’t want him coming inside the building.

  He responded with another volley of shots and another window shattered under the onslaught of bullets. Holly swore she felt a shot go right by her head. Dash pulled her harder into him, and she gladly buried her head against his chest once more. The position was awkward, as they were both crouched on the balls of their feet behind the kiosk, but Holly wanted to be ready to run at a moment’s notice, and figured Dash felt the same way.

  After a few seconds, to her surprise, Holly heard more gunshots—farther away than they’d been before. And when no more glass broke, she lifted her head and stared at Dash.

  “Is he leaving?” she whispered.

  Dash nodded. “Stay here,” he ordered.

  Holly clutched at him for a moment before forcing herself to let go. This was what Dash did. She had to trust he wasn’t going to go toe-to-toe with a terrorist while he was unarmed.

  He was only gone for a few seconds, but it seemed like an eternity.

  “Come on,” Dash said, scaring the shit out of Holly when he reappeared next to her. He had his hand out, and Holly took it without hesitation.