Not for a Moment: One Moment, Book 3

by Toni J Strawn

  Mmm. Van covered every inch of her back, down past the dip at the base of her spine, his mouth suctioning at her skin, the occasional scrape of his teeth like an electric current jolting through her. His breath was pure heat against her skin, creating patches of moisture, which turned cool as he moved on. He smoothed at the skin on her legs, exploring the back of her knees, one finger trailing between her thighs.

  “Please.” Jess shifted, trying to widen her stance on the bed and invite him in. She couldn’t move. He had her trapped. Her pussy was wet, her clit aching. She thought she might go mad with the need for him to touch her down there.

  “Not long now,” he soothed.

  He continued down her legs until he reached her ankles. Van pushed her knees apart and Jess heard him groan. Slippery moisture pooled between her legs. He massaged her buttocks, his thumbs circling closer and closer to the slickness of her sex. She writhed against the bed and just when Jess felt she could bear it no more, he slipped both thumbs inside her.

  “Ahh. Yessss.”

  Jess bucked upward on her knees, pushing back against him as he slid his thumbs deep, pressing outward. Van rocked against her, his cock nudging her thigh, his knees brushing her. She could feel what this was doing to him.

  “Are you ready?” His breath was harsh, words guttural.

  Jess was beyond saying anything other than yes.

  He withdrew his hands. The drawer snapped open again. The sound of foil ripping. Breath, ragged and uneven.

  She gasped out as his cock slid inside her on one perfect glide. Tight. So tight. A low groan vibrated along her back as he pressed himself close. Van slowly withdrew, then shoved deep again. And again. Gathering momentum. Pistoning in and out.

  Hands gripped her hips and Van lifted her so there wasn’t as much weight on her knee. Jess was glad. This position usually hurt her, but the only pain she felt was the exquisite ache of building need. Not for long. She dug her hands into the sheets, driving her hips back to meet his thrusts as he slammed into her.

  Pressure built low and fast, her body tight in the grip of pleasure. Van’s pace faltered, small grunts growing to long sounds of enjoyment as he pushed himself deeper. Her legs started to shake and Jess let out a choked scream as the orgasm rolled over her. Her pussy grabbed at his cock and Van came, jerking hard one last time, buried to the hilt.

  The blindfold had come off during sex. Jess hadn’t even noticed. She looked over her shoulder at Van as he eased out of her. He rolled her to the side so she fell onto the bed and he collapsed next to her.

  “Do you want to stay?” he asked, pulling her into the crook of his arm.

  Jess could hardly open her eyes to look him. Every muscle in her body had been worked over. She was one giant orgasmic ache.

  “I don’t think I’d survive it.”

  Van gave a satisfied chuckle. “Probably a good thing,” he agreed. “You need to rest those muscles.” He jumped up. All vital and energetic. Jess would have punched him if she could have moved her arm. “I’m busy at the clinic tomorrow, but how about we pick up the day after?” He gave her a sly smile. “Unless you want to admit you’re enjoying this? Maybe want to slip in an extra session?”

  “No.” Jess closed her eyes. “Day after tomorrow is fine.”

  She needed at least a day to get over this…this…whatever it was. A workout. Sexercise. Boot camp. Her head was swimming.

  Van patted her naked rump. “I’ll run you home when you’re ready.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “What did you say?” Cole was looking at Jess as if she’d lost her mind.

  Which she might have. Jess stared back, certain her expression was an exact mirror of her brother’s.

  “I asked if you wanted to go for a walk.” She frowned. “And you said no. You never say no.”

  “You never ask.”

  Jess burst out laughing. “So, that’s the secret. The whole time you were getting on my last nerve about exercise…and I should’ve just asked?”

  “Or it could be something to do with our current living arrangement.” Cole winked.

  “Eww.” Jess screwed her nose up. “TMI. Poor Madison.”

  “What about me?” Madison stood in the doorway, looking from one Langford sibling to the other.

  “I’m telling Jess how beautiful you are.” Cole moved to drop a kiss on Madison’s lips.

  Jess faked gagging sounds. “Sorry. Suffering from third-wheel syndrome.”

  “Just as well the training wheels are about to come off then,” Cole said cryptically. He looked to Madison. “Do you want to tell her, or shall I?”

  “Ooh, let me.” Madison clapped her hands. “I’m going to Buffalo with Cole. We’re going to finish packing.”

  Jess held her breath. They didn’t mean…

  “So, you get to stay here on your own,” Cole finished. His brows drew together, like he might be having second thoughts.

  “Unless you want to come with us,” Madison asked, pretending wide-eyed innocence. She knew how much Jess craved the taste of independence.

  “Uh. No way.” Jess would have leaped in the air if her ass muscles weren’t so sore from boxing yesterday.

  She settled for a fist pump instead. Staying at Madison’s apartment on her own…or going to Buffalo? How about a hell no. Cole knew she didn’t want to go near their old stomping grounds. As soon as she’d been well enough after the accident, Jess had followed Tash to Wellsford University. She hadn’t even visited her mom’s grave. Cole had let her go because Marcus lived here. And Jess had agreed to live in the dorms.

  A lot of things had changed in the last couple of weeks, but Jess’s willingness to go back to Buffalo wasn’t one of them. She guessed Madison was behind Cole’s sudden change of heart. And she could have kissed her for it.

  “A big fat thank you.” She grinned heartfelt thanks at her friend.

  “No parties. Or boys,” Cole cut in. He crossed his arms and glared at Jess. “Or anything fun.”

  Jess rolled her eyes. “No parties. No boys,” she promised, meaning every word.

  Boy was not a word to be applied to Van Sheffield. He was all man. One hundred percent. She bounced off to the bedroom, her stiff buttocks long forgotten. A walk would have helped iron out the kinks in her muscles, but she was too excited to care about being dumped by her brother.

  The apartment to herself. Jess suppressed a giggle. And the wildest thing she could think to do was invite Van around. She was slipping. Worse still, Jess was totally okay with that. In fact, she was looking forward to her next session with Van. The boxing had been a blast. And it had taught Jess to move in different ways far more effectively than leg lifts and stretches. She wanted better balance, coordination…and a reduction in pain would be nice too. If her knee got stronger, she wouldn’t have to worry about the threat of surgery, more weeks spent recovering in a hospital bed. More scars. An operation was like taking five steps backward to gain half an inch.

  And sitting on her bed wasn’t helping. She picked up her phone.

  “Thomas.” She greeted her cousin with a sunny smile. “Jess here.”

  “Jess, how are you?” Thomas always sounded ridiculously posh. Jess still couldn’t get over him being related to her. By rights, Cole should have pummeled him into the ground when they first met. Instead, Thomas was making a nice addition to their little family. One she intended to take full advantage of.

  “Is the offer still available to practice at that army assault course you mentioned?”

  “I’ve been thinking about that,” Thomas started. “I’m not so sure if it is a good idea.”

  Damn it. He had been spending too much time with Cole.

  “It’s a yes or no question,” Jess reminded him, frowning. “You either can access it or you can’t.”

  “Yes, but I didn’t realize the full extent of�
��what you want to do.”

  Thomas had been going to say her injury, she just knew it. A nerve ticked along Jess’s jaw line.

  “If you’re hurt—” he tried to continue.

  “I won’t get hurt,” Jess cut in. “I’m careful most of the time.”

  “I have to think of my position.” Thomas continued as if he hadn’t heard her. “It will look bad for me if you and your friends get hurt while you’re wearing T-shirts supplied by me.”

  “Nice to know you care,” Jess said dryly. “And what happens if we do great? What kind of story would it create knowing you’re supporting locals to overcome the odds? Come on, Thomas,” she urged. “You’re almost the president.”

  A breath blew down the line and Jess gripped the phone, waiting for his decision. Thomas was a nice guy and all, but he was over-concerned with how other people looked at him. Something he should have considered before teaming up with the hillbilly side of his family.

  “Are you our cousin, or aren’t you?” she huffed when he still didn’t answer. “I thought you were sorry about what you’d done to Cole.”

  “I am,” Thomas said quickly. Another sigh. “Okay. Let me make a few calls.”

  “You won’t regret it.”

  He said good-bye, sounding like he already did.

  Five minutes later, he called back. “It’s all yours for the afternoon. I’ll meet you there. My friend, Joshua Stanton, will take you through the safety steps.”

  “You don’t need to come.”

  “Yes, I do. This is my name on the line if anything goes wrong.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll deny all knowledge of knowing you. There’s no paper trail. No way to put us together…oh, except for our last name.” Jess giggled. “A minor technicality, I’m sure.”

  “Please be careful,” Thomas said again.

  That was the trouble with Langford males, Jess thought as she hung up. No sense of adventure.

  Which was pretty much the same reaction she got from her teammates when Jess phoned Tash to clue her in on the afternoon’s planned activities.

  “Do we have to?” Tash whined.

  “Yes.” Jess was unyielding. “I’ve just argued with my cousin, who’s worried we can’t do this. We have to show him. I want to prove him wrong. Otherwise he’s yet another person in my family who doesn’t think I’m capable of doing anything.”

  “Right.” Tash sighed.

  Half an hour later, she pulled up with a reluctant Jayne in tow. And they seemed a lot more interested in why Jess had recently dropped off the planet rather than worrying about the assault course. Which was good for Jess. For now. She didn’t want to have to tell them what she’d really been doing. Or rather, who she’d been doing.

  “I’ve been busy,” she explained for the third time. “Madison had the ball on Saturday. Oh my God, you should have seen the dresses—”

  “You missed your lecture on Monday.” This from Tash. “And you didn’t call me.”

  “I was tired after the weekend. I didn’t get back until late Sunday night. But you should have seen the shoes I wore. They were—”

  “You missed your clinic appointment too.” Of course Jayne would bring that up.

  Jess frowned. “Do you want to hear about the stupid clothes or not! The ball was frickin’ amazing.”

  “Van said he was there too,” Jayne put in. “Did you see him?”

  “I didn’t see much of him at the ball,” Jess said carefully, mentally kicking herself for not checking with Van what to say before meeting her friends. She had no idea whether he’d told Jayne he’d seen her at the ball. She wasn’t lying. She hadn’t seen much of Van at the auction. But she had seen a whole lot of him afterward. A whole lot of naked him. Mmm. Nice.

  “Probably just as well,” Jayne retorted. “It was a charity event, not a bloodbath. I hear you’ve had a few run-ins with him.”

  Tash had her head tilted, watching Jess closely. “Did you meet anyone else?” she asked. “You’ve got this weird look on your face…I know that look.” She pointed a finger. “You’re feeling guilty about something.”

  Jess bit at the inside of her lip. What should she tell them? That she’d met someone? Hadn’t met someone? Usually Jess would be all over this, spilling her guts, giving all the gory details. This time was different. Van was the enemy. He was leaving soon and it was only temporary, even if she did like him. Really liked him. It felt like she was being unfaithful to her friends by not sharing something this momentous.

  When all else fails, change the subject.

  “I have the apartment to myself for a few days.”

  “No way.” Now, this news did get Tash excited. “Giant sleepover. Pizza in our onesies. Movies!”

  “Um…” Jess hesitated. “I’ll check if Madison’s okay with it.” She wasn’t sure how long Cole and Madison would be away. And she wanted enough time to spend with Van.

  Tash let out a gasp. “Shut the fuck up and bring my friend back.”

  Jayne stared across the back of her seat at Jess. “You never check with anyone?”

  “Yes, but Madison isn’t Cole.” Jess let out a sigh. “She’s nice and I don’t want to cause trouble.”

  Tash grinned back at her through the rearview mirror. “Our little girl’s growing up.”

  Jess poked out her tongue to show that she wasn’t. Thankfully, they arrived at the disestablished army base before Jess was subjected to any more ribbing. Tash pulled up next to a gunmetal gray SUV, parked in front of a locked gate. Link mesh fencing stretched into the distance to the right and left. Behind the gate stood a collection of gray block buildings and not much else.

  Thomas got out of the vehicle as Tash brought the car to a stop.

  “Corporal Stanton,” Thomas introduced his friend. “And I’m Thomas Langford.” He spoke with utmost politeness and a senator’s grin to Tash and Jayne.

  “Jess Langford.” Jess stuck her hand out.

  “Joshua,” he reciprocated with a firm handshake.

  “And these are my teammates, Jayne and Tash.”

  Joshua flicked his gaze over them, appraising, and his lips tightened. “Let’s get on with it then,” he said finally.

  They got back into their respective cars and Tash followed Thomas through the gate and around the back of the deserted buildings. Another five minutes’ driving and they reached a large stand of trees. And the assault course.

  Jess gripped the back of the seat in front of her and stared.

  “Shit.” She broke the silence.

  “That’s one word for it,” Tash agreed dryly.

  The assault course looked more formidable than Jess could ever have imagined. Constructed mostly of rough-hewn logs, it was made up of odd-looking structures that promised to be anything but easy to clamber over.

  “We don’t have to do it, do we?” Jayne whispered.

  Jess’s eyes narrowed. “Yes we do. This is nothing,” She clicked her fingers at the course, dismissing it. “It won’t be as hard as it looks, and I’m sure the competition course will be much easier. We have this.”

  “I still think I should check with Van.”

  “And what? We give up when he says no?” Jess scoffed, knowing full well he’d be anything but okay with her plan. “Then we’ll give up the next time. And the next time. Come on, guys.” Jess wasn’t above begging. “At least give it a go.”

  “It looks too hard,” Tash whined.

  “Yeah, but the ground looks soft.”

  “Not what I had in mind.” Jayne gave a great, shuddering sigh.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” Thomas asked, echoing their reservations.

  Tash shot him a bristling look.

  “Let’s do this thing.” Jayne led the charge.

  Jess smiled. One thing she knew about her friends: don’t tell
them what to do.

  Even if doing it was an unmitigated disaster.

  There were ten obstacles in the course, including a forty-foot tree climb with zip wire, a set of balance beams, log steps, and a nine-foot wall complete with ropes and a ditch of cold muddy water to fall into.

  And they hadn’t even got to any of those obstacles yet. Jess had wanted to start easy. Easy was getting Tash to crawl through the mud tunnel and untangling Jayne from the cargo net.

  “It’s my arm. I can’t put as much weight on it,” Jayne complained.

  “Does this help?” Jess jogged back from the exit point, ignoring the ache in her knee as she plucked up the net.

  “Marginally.” Jayne managed to crawl a few more inches.

  “Excellent. I’ll go ahead on the day then, and come back so I can lift it as we go. See? Easy.”

  “What about me?” Tash was staring up at the ladder-rung swing. “There’s no way I can get up there.

  “I won’t be able to do it either,” Jayne added.

  “Oh my God!” Jess buried her head in her hands, on the verge of giving up. On them. She had no idea if she could get over the wall either, but she wasn’t going to sit here whining about it…

  “You need to help each other,” Thomas called out. He and Joshua were lounging by the cars, drinking coffee out of a thermos.

  “You stay out of this.” Jess slumped on the bottom step of the log climb and glared at the course.

  “I’m not doing it either.” Tash threw herself down next to her.

  “I’m not giving up,” Jess huffed. “I’m strategizing. There has to be another way.” She looked over the obstacles again. “Let’s start with the ones we can do.”

  “What about the rungs?” Jayne cradled her bad arm, rubbing at the wasted muscles.

  “If you can’t swing from below, how about you climb on top?” Jess suggested. “I can give you a boost up?”