Protecting His Beautiful Lover (Southern Soldiers of Fortune Book 3)

by Leslie North

  “You will, baby. You will.” He fumbled behind him with his free hand on the floor for his jeans and pulled out the condom he always kept stashed in his back pocket, just in case. After putting it on, he rose over her, resting his weight on one forearm while positioning his cock at her wet entrance with the other. “Are you sure you want this, Tara?”

  “God, yes!” she said, pulling him down for another hot, open-mouthed kiss while arching her hips up toward him. Clint didn’t need another invitation and sank into her in one stroke, holding still for a minute to let her body adjust to the size of him. He wasn’t a small guy. Not anywhere close. Soon, Tara began to move under him, locking her legs around his waist and digging her heels into his butt. “You feel so good.”

  “So do you,” he murmured against the side of her neck. Actually, she felt amazing. But if he wasn’t careful, this would all be over too soon, and Clint wanted it to last all night. He pulled out slowly and thrust back into her, angling his strokes to bring her maximum pleasure. Soon he’d set up a rhythm that had them both edging closer and closer to orgasm. He bit his lip to keep from tumbling over the brink before her, reaching down between them to stroke her most sensitive flesh again. “Are you close, baby?”

  Tara gasped, digging her nails into his scalp, meeting him thrust for thrust. “Yes. So, so close.”

  “Good, baby. Good.” He bent to kiss her, his thumb circling between her legs and boom. Tara arched, her head thrown back as she climaxed for the second time with him buried deep inside her. The milking of her body around him was all it took. A familiar tingle started near the base of his spine and his balls tightened. Clint drove hard into her once, twice, then his world exploded in bright sparks of sensation, waves of pleasure washing over him and taking him under until nothing existed but him and her and this moment, this night.

  They lay there for a long time after, slowing drifting back to earth and to themselves.

  “That was…” Tara said quietly, her fingers toying with his hair as he rested half on top of her, his head pillowed on the center of her chest, her heartbeat pounding steady and strong beneath his ear. “Wow.”

  “Agreed.” He smiled and pressed a kiss to the side of her breast. “We didn’t even knock down the castle.”

  She laughed. “Is that a euphemism?”

  “Maybe.” He chuckled. He’d not had this much fun after sex in a long time, if ever. Given his schedule and his rules about not sleeping over, usually he was gone right after the big moment. But now, lying here with Tara felt natural, comfortable, non-threatening. An alarm bell went off distantly in his head, but he shoved it aside. “Maybe we’ll have to build things together more often.”

  “Maybe.” She shivered beneath him and he moved slightly to pull her closer. “Cold?”

  “No.” She snuggled into his side, seemingly as happy and content as he felt. “Just tired.”

  “Hmm. You should try and get some sleep.”

  “I will if you will.” Her words were muffled by his chest and soon her breath evened out into the patterns of slumber.

  The temptation was strong, too strong, to close his eyes and drift away too, but he couldn’t. Wouldn’t. Intimacy and vulnerability were too dangerous to a guy like him.

  He lay there afterward, staring up at the ceiling while she snoozed, stroking her hair and keeping her safe, because that’s what he did. This had been good, wonderful, and he felt more relaxed than he had in recent memory. Tomorrow he’d worry about the consequences.

  Tonight, though, he just couldn’t bring himself to regret any of it.

  12

  The next few days were beyond busy for Clint, what with preparing for the event on Saturday and nursing poor Ashley through a cold. It was just as well that he had plenty of reminders to stay on task, considering that sex with Tara had completely rocked his world.

  They’d not spent much time alone together since it happened, but that was okay. He’d forgotten how nice it was to just be with someone else. Plus, having another adult to talk to at home was good too. And knowing Tara was available in case Ashley needed something while Clint went to check out the event site in person was also a bonus.

  It all felt good. Maybe too good.

  Honestly, it still left him a tad unsettled how quickly they’d all fallen into a routine together. Getting up, getting ready for the day, eating meals together, spending time together in the evenings. Bedtimes. Tara was everything he’d always wanted in a partner and Clint had to stop and wonder sometimes why she wasn’t already in a relationship, since she seemed pretty damned perfect at it.

  Seemed like she’d be a pretty good mom too, someday.

  And sure, she’d made remarks about her own mother being less than great, but Tara was a natural. At least with Ashley.

  There’d been times as a single dad that Clint had felt awkward as hell about it. Like maybe fatherhood wasn’t a good fit for him. Hell, he’d been thrown into it so quickly that he’d had no time to prepare. Once he’d gotten that call from Child Protective Services, he’d left the Navy and rushed home. It wasn’t until his daughter had been delivered into his arms that he’d had a moment to stop and realize he had no idea what he was doing. And since then, there were plenty of times he had no clue how to handle things. Just today, actually, when his daughter’s training bike showed up on Tara’s doorstep.

  Hell, he’d forgotten he’d even ordered the thing, what with all the other drama going on.

  Now, he stared at the rainbow-bright hues bedecking the bike and wondered if he’d made the right choice after all. It had been backordered, giving him plenty of time to contact the company and have them switch the delivery address to Tara’s place, but with Ashley now demanding to ride it immediately, there was a strong possibility this had been a mistake.

  “Daddy!” Ashley whined, her little face scrunched up and red. “Please? Why can’t I take it outside?”

  “Yeah,” Tara said, coming up beside him. “Why not? I’ll come with you guys.”

  “Uh, no.” He shook his head and crossed his arms. “First of all, you’re under threat, remember?” he whispered to Tara. “And second,” he directed to Ashley. “You’re supposed to stay inside and keep Tara company.”

  “Daddy!” Ashley repeated, her shrill cries reaching ear-splitting levels. Her face flushed and she stamped her foot hard, signaling a total meltdown was imminent. “I want to ride! Now!”

  “In that case, I could use some fresh air myself,” Tara said with a dismissive wave. “Let’s go outside and ride your new bike for a while.”

  Clint watched as his daughter and Tara put on their shoes and headed for the door, bike in tow. “Hey! Doesn’t my vote count here?”

  They walked out, leaving him behind.

  Right. Apparently not. Grumbling under his breath, he shoved his feet into his shoes and followed after them. Had he just been thinking how nice it was having the two of them around? Because he’d been wrong. Not only did living with two females mean he was outnumbered, but now he was outvoted, too!

  “Wait!” Clint called to Tara and Ashley from the porch. “I’m supposed to be protecting you, remember?”

  “We’re fine,” Tara called back as she helped Ashley get on the bike in the driveway. “No one’s going to come for us up here.”

  “No,” he said, quiet but firm. Hearing the seriousness in his voice, both Tara and Ashley froze and turned to him. He stepped closer to Tara, lowering his voice even further so Ashley wouldn’t hear. “Whoever is after you knows your address, came here in person to cut the wires. You don’t have the luxury of ignoring that. You hired me to protect you, so you need to listen to what I’m saying to you—hanging out on the sidewalk like this isn’t safe.” He stepped back. “The patio out back is fenced in—bike riding can happen out there. But not here on the sidewalk. Is that understood?” Ashley didn’t look happy about it, but she nodded and didn’t argue.

  He carried the bike to the backyard and set it up on the patio. But wh
en he tried to help Ashley get into place on it, she turned away from him. “I want Tara to help me. Not you.”

  He looked at Tara, a bit stricken, to be honest.

  “I can handle it,” she said. “Come back and join us in a few minutes. Don’t worry. She’ll get over it fast.”

  “Fine.” Clint felt about as ready for an emotional meltdown as Ashley had been earlier, but he locked it down quick, just like he always did.

  Clint went inside the house while the girls stayed outside, and spent a few minutes sorting through some last-minute emails before heading back to the patio himself. He stood near the back door for a moment watching Tara and his daughter together. They were laughing and smiling and looked so happy. He didn’t want to ruin it by walking over there and causing another fit from his daughter, but damn if his heart didn’t also ache with longing to join them, even if only for a little while.

  Taking a deep breath, he pushed out into the warm sunny afternoon and walked over to where his daughter was riding in a small circle in the center of the patio, all on her own. Pride and gratitude welled up to join the sudden happiness inside him. “Wow,” he said, his voice low to avoid giving away his presence so quickly to Ashley, in case she still wasn’t happy about his presence. “That was fast!”

  “She’s super talented.” Tara beamed at his daughter and Clint beamed down at her. “This is her first time doing it on her own and she looks like an old hand at it!”

  “Daddy!” Ashley called, her voice excited. “Look, Daddy! I’m doing it!”

  “Yes, you are, sweetpea! You go, girl!”

  “Woohoo!” Tara cheered, adding a “Whoop! Whoop!”

  Before he realized what he was doing, Clint wrapped an arm around Tara’s shoulders and pulled her into his side. She looked up at him and he looked down at her and then he leaned in and kissed her, right there in front of God and his daughter and everyone. It wasn’t like him at all. It wasn’t the plan. It wasn’t…

  “Daddy!” Ashley came running up to them and hugged both their legs as they broke apart. “I’m so happy! Thank you for my bike, Daddy! I love it and I love you. Both of you!”

  Tara chuckled and nestled her head under Clint’s chin and he couldn’t seem to wipe the silly grin off his face. His tense shoulders relaxed and his inner critic took a break, finally. This was nice.

  This was really, really nice.

  13

  “I think things went well today, eh?” Tara said, leaning slightly to nudge Clint with her shoulder. “Not a hitch in sight.”

  It was Saturday evening and the rally earlier had gone way better than Tara could ever have imagined. Clint had used her idea of making her appearance a secret and it had worked. There were no threats, no unexpected events arising as she gave her speech, and the attendees had loved her ideas. Donations during and after the rally had gone through the roof and they’d signed up even more volunteers to go door to door raising awareness and encouraging people to call their representative and ask them to vote in support of the new climate change legislation. She couldn’t have asked for more.

  Now, after eating a delicious dinner of pasta and salad that Clint had made for the three of them, they all sat on the rug in the living room around the coffee table, playing Candyland. It was new to Ashley and she was loving all the brightly colored squares and moving her game piece to places like the Candy Cane Forest and Gumdrop Mountain.

  “Yeah. You did a great job!” Clint said, leaning down to give her a quick kiss before rolling the dice and landing himself in the Molasses Swamp. Ashley giggled and he frowned. “It’s not nice to laugh at Daddy’s crap luck.”

  The response only made his daughter laugh more. “You said ‘crap’, Daddy.”

  Clint reached over to tickle her, making her roll away to avoid him.

  It was fun, being together like this. In fact, it was the closest Tara had come to having a family game night in… well, ever. Her mom had never had time to do stuff like this when Tara was younger, and her dad had either been at work or too wrapped up in his newspaper and whiskey to make time for her. She played board games like this by herself, with her teddy bears as adversaries. But that was fine. She’d learned to cope, and it had built her imagination muscles. Maybe too much, considering how it was working overtime imagining all the things she’d like to do to Clint when they were alone.

  They’d been sleeping together for the past week or so and each night seemed better than the last. He still seemed to have his walls up, but Tara understood that. It wasn’t like she’d let him into her heart all the way either. She still didn’t do love. Although this came about as close as she’d gotten in a while. Maybe ever.

  “All right, sweetpea,” Clint said, getting up and scooping a still wriggling Ashley up into his arms. “I think it’s time we got you to bed.”

  Ashley resisted a moment, then relaxed in her dad’s arms. Tara knew the feeling. There was nothing better than Clint holding you. Those strong arms had a way of supporting you that let you know everything was going to be all right.

  While Clint got his daughter ready for bed, Tara put away their game, then went to the kitchen to make sure all the leftovers had been stored. His cooking repertoire might not be extensive, but the food he made was super tasty and she couldn’t wait to heat up a plate of pasta the next day for lunch.

  A short while later, Clint padded back down into the living room, his stockinged feet nearly silent on the hardwood floor. He slumped down on the sofa and yawned.

  “Everything went smoothly?” Tara asked, joining him. “No water issues tonight?”

  “Nope.” Clint stretched, putting his arm around her and drawing her into his side. “The kid was all tuckered out. Can’t say she’s the only one, either.”

  “Huh.” Tara burrowed her face into the side of his neck and inhaled deeply. There was something about the way he smelled that made her insides go all soft and melty. She’d never really liked cologne on a guy before, but Clint seemed to break all her rules. In more ways than one. Sleeping with your bodyguard was fraught with issues, and normally Tara wouldn’t touch that with a ten-foot pole. But with Clint, it was like she couldn’t stop herself.

  And speaking of poles…

  “Gee.” She slid her hand down his chest to the waistband of his jeans beneath his T-shirt, then lower still, to cup him through the soft denim. “I hope you’re not too tired.”

  As if in answer, his cock twitched beneath her hand, hardening fast. Clint cracked one eye open and grinned. “Baby, I’m never too tired for that.”

  He kissed her fast and hard and deep, then picked her up and carried her down the hall to her bedroom, slowly unzipping the front of her hoodie to expose her breasts along the way. She’d showered and changed after the rally, going for comfort over fashion, and now Tara couldn’t be happier with that decision. Anything that made getting naked with this man happen faster was okay by her. Clint closed the door behind them with his foot then he bent and took first one nipple then the other in his warm, wet mouth, making her pulse quicken and her eyes slide closed with pleasure. Man, the things he could do with his mouth. Delicious, wicked things that made her want to stay in his bed and never, ever leave.

  But you will leave. You always do.

  The errant, unwanted voice in her head was quickly drowned out by sensation, as Clint slid her yoga pants down and off her, leaving Tara in just her lacy thong.

  “Have I ever told you how much I love your taste?” he said, flashing her his slow, sexy grin as he stared down at her body, making the simmering desire inside Tara boil over.

  “In fashion?” she joked, shrugging out of her hoodie to leave her all but naked beneath him.

  “In everything,” Clint said before swooping down to nuzzle her through the lace of her panties. He tortured her that way with his sweet lips and tongue until she was all but begging him to get rid of her thong and take her already. “Let’s take this to the bed.”

  At first he looked like he was going
to argue with her, but then he seemed to come to some decision. Instead of the bed, though, he pinned her against the wall as he kissed her thoroughly. When they both came up for air, they were panting and ready. She ground the molten heat between her legs against his cock, hard and straining against the fly of his jeans. He was a big guy, all over, and she couldn’t get enough of him. Clint rested his forehead against hers, their breaths mingling. “Tell me what you want.”

  “You,” she said, sliding a hand down to squeeze his cock lightly through his pants. “This. Inside me.”

  “Yeah?” he chuckled, rocking against her, letting her know just how much he wanted her too. “How bad do you want me?”

  “This bad.” She shoved her hand down into his pants, scraping her nails over his washboard abs as she went. Her fingers wrapped around the base of his length, so large they didn’t quite meet, then traced up until her thumb glided over the tip of him, catching the pearl of moisture there. She withdrew and brought that bead of wetness to her mouth and licked it off, loving how his eyes tracked that tiny gesture. Loving the salty-sweet flavor of him even more. “I need you, Clint. Please.”

  He kissed her again, his tongue tangling with hers and he gripped the side of her panties. “How much do you like these?”

  “Not as much as I like you.”

  Tara grinned as he tore off her thong with one hand, leaving her bare and ready for him. So, so ready. “You going all badass alpha on me now?”

  “I’ve always been a badass alpha, baby.” He pressed her against the wall with his torso while he undid his jeans and took his cock in hand. Legs spread wide, he quickly put on a condom, then pressed the tip of his hardness against her wet entrance. “Is this what you want?”

  “God, yes!” she gasped, arching her hips to try and sink him inside her, but he remained tantalizingly out of reach. “Please.” She’d never begged in her life, before Clint. Had never even come close. But there was something about him that made her greedy. Greedy and hot and so needy. Needy for him. “Please take me.”