by Em Petrova
She stole a glance at his expression. His brows were lowered and he scowled at his rolls as if they’d committed a crime against him.
By now the rolls were cooler and she picked hers up and bit it, tasting nothing. When did life have to become so complex? She wasn’t sure having Chaz around wasn’t complicating it more, especially when mixing in his long looks she couldn’t interpret or the butterflies that swirled in her stomach each time he did.
He reached across the table and stroked a lock of hair off her jawline. She met his stare, and sure enough, the depths of his eyes were burning, alive with something she didn’t understand but gave her that warm feeling in her belly again.
“I’m sorry I sounded so controlling. It’s just that I do this for a living—protect people. Protect my country. I’ve never been in a situation where I was protecting someone I care about the way I care about you.”
With that, he dropped his hand and got up from the table, leaving his plate, and walked outside onto the deck.
She gazed after him for a minute, stunned by his words.
She got up and went out too. He stood with his back to her, looking over the water, his fingers laced on his head in a pose that struck her as so strong, so damn masculine, that her body sprang to life.
Stepping up to him, she rested a hand on his muscled spine between his shoulder blades. Under her fingertips, his flesh seemed to flex.
“I shouldn’t have said that, Fleur. Again, I’m sorry.”
She folded her hand and drew it to her side. “Were you being truthful? You care about me?”
He dropped his pose and turned to face her. “Of course I care about you—I just shouldn’t have told you. I don’t want to burden you with any more pressure. Look,” he took her by the shoulders, “I’m here to keep you safe and help you figure out your next steps. In the meantime, if I can give you some rest and peace, then dammit, I will.”
Standing in his hold, with his body so close, she could think of anything but rest or peace. Not while her body was crying out for him to touch her.
She took a step closer, bringing her breasts against his chest. He sucked in a sharp breath and went dead still. “What if I don’t want rest or peace?”
“Fuck, Fleur. What are you asking?”
She eased her hand around his nape, drawing him down. He came slowly, his gaze fixed on her mouth. “I don’t want to rest and I won’t get peace until you’re touching me the way I need.”
“Goddammit. You make it impossible for me to keep this damn promise to myself.”
She couldn’t help but stroke the short hairs on the back of his head. “What promise?”
“That I won’t claim you like an animal, though God knows it’s what I want. Hell, need.” He swallowed, his throat working.
And every cell inside her was cheering him on, wanting more of the forbidden words.
“Fleur, I’ve been with many woman, and I never hold back this way. I—” He searched her eyes. “I’m an asshole. I take them and never want to hear from them again. But with you…”
She might be playing an even more dangerous game now. She could best anybody at poker and had managed to keep a pace ahead of her father and his friends but she’d never dabbled with a man this way.
“What if I tell you I want you?” Her quiet words were barely out before he swooped in and captured her mouth. At the same time, he tore at her top, which was really his. Yanking it up to cup her breasts as if her flesh had sent out a beacon. He strummed his thumbs over her already hard nipples, raising a gasp from her.
Passion struck, and she looped her arms around him, angling her head to receive his kiss. As he thrust his tongue into her mouth, dizziness swept over her. He released her long enough to yank her shirt overhead and then his own.
The chiseled muscles on his chest had her practically panting, her pussy soaked.
They threw themselves at each other. He took her down to the wooden deck to only the sound of loons and water gently lapping the support posts.
“I want to hear those sounds you made when you came in the shower,” she whispered hotly against his lips.
A groan left him. “You watched. Fuck.” He went for her shorts, stripping her bare in seconds. When she moved to unbutton his jeans, her fingers brushed the hard length that had slid so perfectly through his fist that day.
Reaching inside, she touched him—warm, pulsating.
His eyes dilated as he stared down at her and let her unzip his jeans and take his cock in her hand. She gave it an experimental pump and his guttural groan made her nipples squeeze into painful hardness.
He watched her face as she explored him for a minute—but not long enough. He wrapped his fingers around her wrist, stilling her hand. Panting, he said, “I can’t last if you do that. And with you, I want to last. All. Day.”
Liquid heat slipped from her folds as her pussy tightened on his words. “Then get to it, Knight. Do your job.”
He flashed a wicked grin that was more wolf than human as he shoved his jeans and underwear down his hips. “You asked for it, petite fleur.”
* * * * *
Fuck, she tasted like heaven and honey on his tongue. Her moans growing louder with each rotation of his tongue around her clit. When he added two fingers into her pussy, stretching her, filling her, her stomach dipped and she threw her head back and issued a loud, uninhibited cry.
He doubled his efforts, watched the pink flush of arousal spread across her skin. Juices flooded his fingers, and he pulled them out to smear them across her pussy so he could lick them off her. He was throbbing, so damn hard, he didn’t know how long he’d really last once he got inside her. Luckily, he had some condoms, though he might have to go raid Roades’ nightstand in hopes of finding more to last through the day.
And night.
And the next day.
No, this couldn’t be a sex marathon. He was supposed to be watching out for her. And pumping her for information.
He firmly slammed that thought from his mind and flattened his tongue on her pussy. She was all tan skin and curves, so tasty he could happily stay between her legs for hours.
“Chaz!” She dug her fingers into his shoulders, and he added a third finger to her pussy. A contraction hit her, vibrating up his arm. Then another. He pulled her clit between his lips and sucked full force.
She came apart with a scream that sent birds into flight, and he might have laughed if he wasn’t feeling like the fucking king of the world right now. She pulsated around his fingers and rocked her hips as he drew out her orgasm for long seconds.
When a shuddering cry left her, he slowed and gave a gentle stroke of his tongue over her folds, removing his fingers as he did to suck on the juices that strung between her body and his digits.
She flung her arms out to the sides, her wrist hanging off the deck that also served as the dock. He hadn’t realized how close they were to the edge. Knowing his luck, he’d finally get inside her and fuck her right off into the bayou.
He lifted his head and settled his gaze on her. She was looking back, eyes blurred with desire.
“How are you so damn good at that?” she asked on a rasp.
“I know what you need.” He did a pushup and crawled up her body slowly, hovering over her, his cock trailing over her body, thick between them.
“It’s my turn.” A glint came to her eyes. With a start, he realized they were brown. How had he missed that during breakfast? Maybe because it was the most natural thing in the world to look into her brown eyes.
She reached down and took hold of his length, stretching her fingers around his girth. Surprise hit her expression as she stroked him—all of him—right up to the tip.
“You are big,” she said.
“Uh-huh. And I’m going to fill you up so good, sweetheart.”
She passed her fingertip over the head that was damp with arousal. Then she brought her finger to her lips and sucked.
He groaned and rolled away before he sp
illed his load without even getting inside her.
“I want to suck you,” she said, leaning onto her elbows.
He rooted in his jeans for his wallet, desperation hitting its peak. “Like hell. I can’t hold back with you anymore, and I want inside that tight pussy I just ate.”
She shivered though it was hot outside, her nipples tight buds straining upward. He mentally promised them each a good sucking while he buried his cock in her.
He located his wallet and yanked out a condom. Putting these things on always annoyed him but now he felt like howling with frustration because he couldn’t get it on fast enough.
He jerked his wrist, sliding it fully to the base, the XL rubber stretching firmly over his head. He tugged at it to give himself more room for the massive load he was about to blow.
Throwing a look at Fleur, his heart gave a triple beat, stunned by her beauty. She was the most beautiful, feminine creature he’d ever set eyes on, and right now he believed in mermaids or sirens or what the fuck ever came up from the depths of a bayou and captivated men.
He took her by the waist and rolled so his back was on the hard deck and she straddled him. With her slick folds nestled against his cock, heat burned through him.
“Give me your mouth,” he demanded, pulling her down.
She kissed him with a ferocity that matched his own. How long had she been wanting this from him? He had been holding back to prove something to himself—that not only wasn’t he an animal rutting with every beautiful woman who came his way, but he could hold back when it was something worth waiting for.
“Fleur,” he whispered between kisses, cupping her face and probably feeling way more in his chest than he should for a woman whose only plan was to get her life back and leave him. She rocked her hips, teasing his cock with her wet pussy.
She rubbed back and forth, up and down. Until he could bear it no more and he grabbed her by the hips and shoved her down over his cock.
She slid the rest of the way on her own, her mouth open on a wide O of surprise or pleasure or both. She slipped the down until he felt the tip of his cock brush her deep.
His balls clenched hard with the need to unload. Some primal throwback to caveman ancestors who were driven to procreate or some damn shit. He almost laughed—he was losing his damn mind.
She held totally still, adjusting to his size. He wanted to give her the time she needed, but he was dying to pull out and slam into her tight, wet heat again.
Gritting his teeth, he toyed with her nipples until she began to moan. Then he drew her off his dick, feeling every inch of her sweet body. She jerked down against him on her own—taking his every inch. Then again. Soon she was crying out with each falling motion and on the rises she held her breath.
He watched her, almost more taken by her pleasure than his own, though how was a mystery to him since he’d never had it feel so damn good.
He bucked his hips, and she grew boneless in his hold. He lifted her on his cock and fell, lost in the stars that seemed to burst in her brown eyes. Then she kissed him, sucked on his tongue.
And he fucking lost it. Driving into her hard and fast, and she peaked seconds before electricity shot through him and he unloaded with a roar.
His first thought was he’d killed her. She lay atop him, her hair trailing over his chest, and he couldn’t even feel her breathing.
His second thought was, What the hell just happened to me?
He wasn’t into that romance bullshit where people claimed to have out-of-body experiences during sex with the person meant to be their partner. But maybe… somehow… waiting to bed Fleur had done something to his way of thinking.
Yeah, like you fell for her weeks ago, man. You’re blind if you don’t see it. Stupid if you don’t admit it.
And Chaz was far from stupid.
He trailed a hand over her spine. “All right?”
“Mmm. Better than all right. You, Chaz Knight, are one hell of a lover.”
He grinned against her shoulder and then lightly bit into her skin. She shuddered and held onto him tighter. “Keep talking like that and my head will get big.”
“That’s what I’m hoping for.” She ground her hips.
With a laugh, he met her gaze before drawing her down to claim her lips—right before he rolled them both off the deck into the water.
Chapter Eight
Fleur lay entwined in Chaz’s arms, both of them stretched out on a lounge chair under the stars. He’d built a small fire in a ring that was somehow rigged so it wouldn’t burn through the deck, and the heat off it warmed her bare toes. She hadn’t been dressed in hours, and she was fine with that. Especially since it meant she got to touch every inch of Chaz’s hard body with every inch of her own.
He traced small patterns on her spine and each brush of his fingers had her growing more and more comfortable.
“This place is so peaceful,” she said after a long quiet spell.
“No place in the world more relaxing,” he agreed. “We used to come here every weekend as kids, and once we all started our own lives, we try to come every chance we get. But it’s not often we’ve got the whole crew together. Plus, my sister’s still in basic training.”
She shifted to look up at him. “How does a whole family go into the forces? Lexi seems to be the only one who didn’t.”
“That’s because Lexi has some special hurdles.” He told her about her being deprived of oxygen at birth and how she was more naïve than most and had some poor ability with math that kept them all protective of her. Especially with men who could take advantage—and had before.
“Thank you for telling me that,” Fleur said. “For trusting me with your family, even knowing what I came from.”
His chest moved as he dragged in a deep breath but he didn’t stop the circles on her back. “What was it like for you, Fleur? Growing up with that?”
She opened her mouth but wasn’t sure where to start. There was too much she’d turned a blind eye to or just plain knew nothing about. “There was a family part of the house and Dad’s ‘business’ part. I was never, ever allowed in his office and there were other rooms…” She trailed off, memories surfacing. “One time I chased my cat into one of the rooms and Daddy and his friends were gathered around a big table with black bags on it. I didn’t know what was in the bags then, but I’ve never seen him get up so fast. He stormed across the room, picked me up and carried me out. He didn’t yell at me until he set me down in the kitchen and told me to never come in there again, even for the cat. And I didn’t.”
“Were you punished for it?”
She shook her head, his flesh warm under her cheek. “Just watched a little more closely after that, I guess.”
He looked down at her, his expression unreadable. “And you didn’t find any of these things odd as a kid? Or as a teen, you must have been catching on that he was doing something that wasn’t on the up and up.”
She sat up a little to meet his gaze. “You have to know I love my father. He’s the only family I’ve got left, and I just followed rules that were always set in place for me. The way some kids never ate in the living room, my rule was to stay out of certain parts of the house or not ask questions. It was normal to me.”
“I understand. Family is everything to me, so I get it.” His tone was soft, soothing.
She lay back down with her head pillowed on his hard chest. “Later he gave me things to run on the plantation and it kept me busy. I had control of the orders for feed and seed. I managed the workers and even organized annual picnics for all of them. My father always treated our workers right, and I was proud to help him achieve that.”
“That’s a fabulous thing. Did any of them ever wonder what was going on besides growing crops and raising livestock?”
“Not that I ever knew.” Her voice sounded breathy, partly strangled. If they had, would he have had them killed like Frankie—or her mother? She racked her brain for times when a worker had stopping showing up or quit hi
s job and couldn’t think of any. Relief made her head swim a bit—it killed her to consider her father might have taken one of their lives to hide his own operations.
“Did he ever take you on vacations?”
“Oh yes. Daddy loves to travel and I’ve been all over.”
“Tell me some of the places you’ve visited.”
“Besides Disney World, which was my favorite place to go as a kid, we’d go to California a lot. And New York.”
“Have you been to any foreign countries?” He cleared his throat.
“All over Europe. Russia a few times. Ireland. And some South American countries. The hiking down there is amazing. Have you ever been?”
“Yeah, but I wasn’t there to hike.”
“We rented a house overlooking the jungle one year that had a view so gorgeous that it almost brings tears to my eyes just remembering it. Someday I’d like to go back.”
If she was ever free to not look over her shoulder and wonder who was watching her.
He changed paths with his caresses, drawing lines from her shoulder to elbow. “Do you hear that?”
She listened but heard nothing but the bayou. She tensed. “What is it?”
“Airboat. Can only be one person, and that’s Elise with your bag. Run inside and get dressed.”
She hopped off the lounge they were sharing and grabbed for her abandoned clothes. A glance at Chaz’s beautiful form, the dips and swells of his muscles and his cock that never seemed to go completely soft, made her wish they weren’t being interrupted. But she’d be glad to have her things.
Chaz got up and started pulling on his clothes while she ran inside to use the bathroom and get dressed. She wasn’t ashamed of sleeping with Chaz, but it was private and she didn’t want Elise to question why she was so disheveled.
The boat's engine grew louder and finally cut out. With her hair in a ponytail and looking as close to put together as she could with the clothes she had on hand, Fleur came out of the cabin to greet Elise, seeing Chaz had dressed too.