by Zoe York
“I might.” His thumbs stroked back and forth on her bare forearms, just below the sleeve of her t-shirt, and the touch instantly sparked a heady arousal she’d been keeping at bay while he wasn’t well.
“I have one of those. A hotel room. Big bed and everything.” Her words rushed out of her in a breathy stream.
“I was hoping you’d say that.” He did a quick check over his shoulder before kissing her hungrily, his soft lips pressing her mouth open, his tongue not hesitating before stroking against hers. “I have big plans for that bed, Piper. You might want to take a nap.”
— SEVENTEEN —
Miles shifted his rucksack on his shoulder, trying to get a better balance for the flowers in the crook of his arm and the picnic basket of random German food gripped in his hand as he raised his other hand to knock on Piper’s hotel room door.
She’d wanted to stay with him until he was discharged, but as soon as his day nurse figured out they were going to have a night or two together, she urged Piper out the door. Once they had a bit of privacy, the previously tough-as-nails medical professional turned into a matchmaker in the blink of an eye. She asked a disturbing number of rapid-fire questions about what food they liked and if he needed condoms—which he did, so he tried to be cool about that one—and fed his answers into her phone.
Apparently, her German boyfriend was happy to run some errands, and even volunteered to drive Miles to the hotel.
All right then. Frank had delivered everything that Miles was now juggling, except the flowers—those they picked up on the way to the hotel.
Piper opened the door just as he lifted his fist to knock again.
“Sorry!” she said after pulling the door open. “I was having a wardrobe malfunction. Couldn’t figure out what to wear, which is silly, but this is exciting.” She was talking and waving him in, and it took her a minute to focus on him, so he was already inside when she gasped and pointed to the flowers. “What did you do?”
He grinned. “I told you, I’ve got some funny ideas about how dates should go.” Setting down the picnic basket, he handed over the flowers and leaned in to kiss her cheek. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Her breath hitched a little as she looked at the flowers, then back up at him, and he was damn glad he’d convinced Frank to stop. “These are gorgeous.”
“I’m glad you like them. Now put them down.” He couldn’t wait to hold her. Her hair was loose, falling in dark waves down her back. She wore a black t-shirt and a jean skirt, and her legs were bare. He wanted to touch them—he wanted to touch her all over.
She shook her head, laughing. She touched his cheek, guiding his face down to hers for a longer kiss before she nodded to the bathroom. “I’m getting water for these.”
He took that twenty seconds to go through the food and put the cold stuff in the fridge, then looked around for a good place to put the condoms.
Piper chose that moment to come back into the room.
Her eyes lit up as she put the flowers, now in a vase, on the narrow desk in the corner. Smooth, Dumbrowski.
“I was just unpacking…”
“Good.” She leisurely gave him a once-over, her gaze stopping on the box of condoms still in his hand. “So your doctors gave you the all-clear?”
Jesus, a simple question shouldn’t give him a hard-on. But it totally did. “Yep.” He licked his lips, suddenly thirsty for a drink of all things Piper. “I mean, we can eat first—”
He cut himself off as she launched herself in his direction. He tossed the condoms onto the bed and wrapped his arms around her, hauling her up his body.
“Food later,” she whispered against his lips.
Deal. With a groan, he opened for her, letting her take her fill of his mouth as he slid his hands under her skirt, using the excuse of holding her up to palm her ass. Lord, but she felt good. Compact and curvy, she had all these secret muscles from running—strong thighs, tight butt, narrow waist that flexed and bowed under his touch.
Impatient for more of her, he tugged her shirt up, and she broke off the kiss to pull it over her head. Even better. His head was swimming a little—nothing he wasn’t used to—and there wasn’t a chance in the world that he’d put her down until—
“Bed,” she panted.
That works, too. He swivelled and set her down, watching hungrily as she unbuttoned her skirt and shoved it to the ground. He realized it was an invitation for him to get naked, too, and stripped off his shirt before sitting on the bed to take off his boots.
Piper didn’t wait. She crawled behind him and pressed herself against his spine so she could lick along his shoulder, to his neck, and then… Yep, she just nipped his ear. His dick approved, but his head needed a minute to play catch-up.
Toeing his boots off as quickly as he could, he got rid of his pants at the same time and spun around, tackling her to the bed.
“Hey there,” he said, his voice unexpectedly husky as he pinned her beneath him. “What’s your hurry?”
Her brows pinched together for a second, something flashing in her eyes before she dropped her eyelids a bit and smiled. “I just can’t believe you’re actually here.”
“I am. Thirty-six hours. You’re going to be sick of me when I get on that plane.” Damn, that was the wrong thing to say, because the expression flickered across her face again, and this time there was no mistaking it. “Hey, no. I take that back.” He braced himself on one forearm and stroked her face, pulling her gaze back to meet his. “I’m going to miss you so much. And I want to make the next two days last.”
“Thirty-six hours,” she whispered, her lower lip trembling. Slowly, carefully, he lowered his face to hers and swiped that lip with his tongue, soft and gentle.
“And we’ll make every single one of them count.” He kissed her full on the mouth, then on the corner as he pulled back a couple of inches to see her face again. They weren’t going any further until they were both on the same page. “Okay, crash course in dating the uniform. Countdowns can be good and bad. It’s there. It’s always going to be there. Thirty-six hours until I go, five weeks until we see each other, six months to the next deployment. Sometimes ninety minutes to an unexpected mission. That’s my life. I love my job. But I love being with you, too. And when I’m gone, you’re with me. I take these memories we make and I hold them close when things get shitty.”
“I’m sorry,” she breathed, her eyes glinting bright. Crying girl alert. Shit.
“Don’t be sorry.”
“I thought I was being cool.”
“You’re beyond cool, Piper. My buddy calls you and tells you I’m going to the hospital, and you just hop on a train to Germany? That’s fucking awesome. I derail your year-in-Europe plan and you just roll with it. I appreciate that you want to be happy-happy when we’re together, but if you’re not, inside, I want you to be honest with me, okay?”
— —
Piper nodded up at Miles, blinking back the threatening tears as she took a deep breath beneath him. “Okay.”
They stared at each other for a second or two, then she screwed up her face, wincing as she said the next bit. She wasn’t sure she could see his reaction if he didn’t take it well. “I’m scared. I know you’re okay, medically, but having you where I can see you and touch you for a few days is making this saying goodbye thing so much harder a second time. I’m terrified something is going to happen to you.” Her heart hurt just thinking about it. “I just got you, Miles. I can’t lose you.”
“Oh, gorgeous. Yeah. Fuck, it’s hard for me, too. But you’re not going to lose me. I’m coming back to you, I promise.” He stroked her nose with the tip of his, then kissed her, harder this time, and when she wrapped her arms around his neck, he didn’t pull away. Instead he settled his weight on top of her and kissed her over and over again, starting with her lips, then exploring her neck, down her arms, right to the tips of her fingers, and back up again.
She rolled up and into him, pushing them onto their sides, and with aching slowness they
explored each other’s bodies, stripping away the final small scraps of underwear they wore.
Miles stroked his hand over her bare hip as he pulled their naked bodies together, his erection hard and insistent against her belly as he squeezed her ass. His fingers trailed across the back of her thigh as he whispered for her to roll onto her back, then he teased a lazy path up the front of her leg to the sensitive valley at the edge of her sex.
Dipping his head to capture a nipple in his mouth, he nudged her thighs apart, and when she spread for him, he stroked through her wet folds.
I never want to forget this feeling, Piper thought, rocking her hips to meet his touch. He was making love to her, with her, and he’d been completely right to slow them down. She snaked her hand to where his cock lay heavy against her hip and circled her fingers around the shaft. Warm, smooth, and hard, his erection pulsed beneath her fingers and when she started stroking him, she found him wet at the tip. He groaned as she swirled her thumb over the head and she arched into him, looking for his mouth with hers.
“Kiss me,” she murmured, and he grinned before he did as she asked, his eyes hot on her face until she fluttered her own eyelids shut, giving in to sensations rioting through her body.
“If you keep jerking me like that, I’m going to come all over your hip,” he muttered, and she giggled as she blinked up at him again. His face was right there, all clean-cut angles and rugged planes, but his eyes were soft and his lips were swollen. My Miles. For the rest of the world, he was a quiet hero, a ghost in camouflage, but for her, he was this extraordinary man, unexpectedly tender and honest.
“Then you should probably get one of those condoms.”
“In a minute.” He shot her a wicked grin as he slid down her body, kissing her belly first, then her hip bone. She held her breath as he nosed down the crease between her leg and her pelvis—because it was possible that her heart might just explode if she missed a second of this—and started shaking as soon as he took his first leisurely lick of her aroused flesh.
“Oh my God.”
“Name’s Miles, actually.” From between her legs, he winked at her, and just like that, all her emotions clicked back into balance.
“Oh my Miles, then,” she said, rolling her hips to try and get the tip of his tongue on her clit. “Yes, right there. Ahhh!”
He made an appreciative noise as she tugged on his scruffy blond hair and kept doing what she’d just shown him she liked, a rolling loop around her most sensitive spot that quickly ramped her up to a firecracker of a first orgasm—fast sizzle, big, shuddering pop. And she wanted more.
Miles was one hundred percent on board with that plan as he circled her slippery, sensitized entrance with his fingers, but she wanted something else. She breathed his name, and when he looked up, she crooked one finger. “Come here.”
He snagged the condoms on his way, shredding the box and sending plastic wrappers flying. But he caught one between his fingers, because he was just that good. He was perfect, and her racing heart could barely handle it. As he rolled on protection, he raked his gaze over her body, and her skin almost sizzled from the heat of his look. Slowly stroking himself, which was damn hot to watch, he teased her with just the tip of his erection, first on her clit, then between her folds, notching himself in place.
The anticipation of that first thrust made her cry out and reach for him, but nothing could prepare her for how good it actually felt as Miles worked his way into her.
His initial pump of his hips was shallow, just stretching her a bit, and she tipped her pelvis, wanting more. He gave it to her. The next thrust filled her up, and she clutched at him with her thighs. His chest brushed her nipples as he moved against her, his eyes locked on hers.
“You feel so good,” he groaned, dragging his hips back. He paused there, just barely in her, then slowly entered her, all the way this time, and as he filled her, he kissed her. He tasted like summer, warm sunshine and cherry popsicles, and she never wanted to stop tasting him. His mouth, his skin. His cock, eventually. Her mouth watered at the thought of him rocking over her tongue.
Between their bodies, he cupped one breast, and with each slide of his body against hers, each thrust inside her, his thumb would drift over her nipple just so. Perfect. Again.
Grabbing her hand, he stretched his other arm over her head as he planted his knees more firmly on the bed, his thighs working hard. All of him, really—his arms flexed around her, muscles as far as she could see and stroke and taste with her mouth as she restlessly rolled her head from side to side.
When he lowered himself a bit more, giving her just a taste of his heaviness, she begged for more, wrapping her arms and legs around his torso. She licked across his chest and when she got to one of his tight, round little nipples, she rolled the brown tip around with her tongue.
He shuddered over her.
“Good?” she asked, her voice barely recognizable to herself.
In response he fisted her hair and held her in place so she could do it again. Then he dragged her away, only to steal her mouth with his for a blistering kiss as he arched over her.
“God, Piper, what are you doing to me?” He let out a half-laugh as she clung to him, swivelling her hips beneath him when he pulled out a bit, circling just the head of his cock with her sex.
“Making you come?”
He dropped his forehead to hers as he fucked into her again, harder, jerkier this time. “Definitely gonna do that.”
“Good.”
“I want it to be good for you, too,” he grunted, squeezing her hip as he shifted their bodies a bit, hitting a new angle that took it from good to great in a flash.
Instead of responding, she just let herself moan, writhing beneath him as he picked up speed, thrusting faster and harder until she was making an endless stream of probably embarrassing sex noises. It didn’t matter. They were both frenzied with need, moving like liquid fire now, sparking each other with every thrust and clutch.
Panting his name, Piper arched under Miles, shattering into a million pieces of love as she climaxed a few seconds before he buried himself into her one last time in a rough, ragged, and totally perfect finish.
Or maybe just the start, she thought lazily as he took a few heaving breaths while still wrapped in her body.
After all, they still had thirty-five hours.
— EIGHTEEN —
The team worked quietly, pulling all their gear together in their prep room. The plywood walls and metal shelves weren’t much to look at, but compared to being in the field, this spec ops “office space” at Camp Orbit was swanky.
They’d spent weeks preparing for an attack on Tal Afar. They’d be inserted on the other side of enemy lines and get a visual on the ISIS commander and ensure they were minimizing civilian contact. It would be a long-ass wait for confirmation once they’d sent those images back to Ops HQ, then they’d watch as the air force did their thing, and pick off anyone who tried to escape.
Boom, motherfuckers. You aren’t the only ones with balls of steel, but only the good guys get to breathe after today.
Quietly they filed onto the Chinook helicopter that would fly them in. Ten SEALs and six Rangers. Each man focused on the mission ahead of them, fueled by confidence and righteous anger. Maybe thinking of someone back home.
Miles sure was. I’m doing this for you, Piper. Gonna do it smart and safe, then come on home to you.
Across from him, Vince buckled himself in, the canvas straps wrapping around his gear-laden body. He couldn’t actually see Vince’s face in the shadow of his helmet, and a balaclava he wore under his helmet would obscure most of his face anyway. Once the man slid on his night-vision goggles for the recon, he’d be encased from head to toe in Uncle Sam’s kit for the last time.
Out with a bang, man.
Above them the rotors started, and over their headsets, they heard Major Deene go through his start-up routine, talking to the flight engineer and his gunners. Then the pilot flashed a cocky g
rin back at the two teams. “Let’s go get ’em, eh?”
Sixteen pairs of feet thudded their agreement against the metal floor of the oversized bird. Let’s go.
— —
Piper wiped her hands nervously on her skirt—again. She’d only been back in the States for six days, and in that time had found a part-time job at a bookstore, confessed to her family that she’d come home early because of a boy, and gone dress shopping.
She wasn’t big on dresses. Skirts, jeans, shorts…those were more her style.
But it wasn’t every day that she was invited to a United States Naval Base to welcome home a team of special forces operators. Miles had called her three days before—their first contact in more than a week, and she’d silently cried when she heard his voice, knowing his radio silence probably had something to do with the big air strike on an ISIS training camp that had been all over the news—and given her the details.
So she was wearing a pretty red dress, snug to the waist, flaring out into a floaty skirt, and strappy sandals that made her legs look amazing. Her hair had cooperated, falling in glossy dark waves down her back despite the humidity—thank you, silicone spray—and she’d figured out makeup that would cooperate with kissing.
There was going to be so much kissing. She shivered at the thought. Miles, safe and sound on American soil. They’d celebrate for days. And nights.
She’d arrived almost an hour early to make sure she could find the right building and get her visitor pass without any problems. That had seemed smart at the time. Now she was just anxious and felt kind of awkward, and there was still fifteen minutes until the team’s expected arrival.
“Is this your first homecoming ceremony?”
Piper lifted her head and found a smiling blonde woman, obviously pregnant. “Yes. Is it that obvious?”
“I recognize the nervous fidget. I was in your shoes a year ago. I’m Cassie, by the way.”