by Dawn Ryder
She reached up and pulled him down so that she could rise up onto her toes and kiss him.
Like she’d never have another chance to taste him.
She’d surprised him.
She felt his body tense, the muscles on the back of his neck tightening as she pressed her mouth firmly to his. She’d felt like his presence was intense, but it was nothing compared to the jolt that went through her when their flesh connected. She was reeling and absolutely thrilled to her core.
Nothing mattered except the taste of him and getting more of it. Her only fear was that he’d pull away.
Bram didn’t disappoint her.
One moment, she was suspended in contemplation of him rejecting her, and in the next, he was wrapping her into his embrace, binding her against the hard body she’d been unable to forget.
“God … Jaelyn…” He buried his face in her hair, inhaling deeply. “I dreamed about the way you smell.”
She’d dreamed about him alright, too …
So much so, she was impatient to get back in contact with his skin. She dug her hands into the soft jersey of his black T-shirt and pulled it up, out of his waistband.
“Christ—” He jerked back from her, drawing in a ragged breath.
His rejection was the one thing she feared and it left her horrified.
Bram captured her wrist, his fingers closing around it in a grip that was firm and just as solid as he was. He pulled her behind him into the truck. The shell rose up above the cab of the vehicle making it rather spacious inside. Bram released her and turned to pull the door shut. It left them in semidarkness as she watched him grab the sleeping bag and toss it down to cover the bed.
Bram hooked her around the waist and pulled her against him a moment later.
“Hummm…” It was really more of a purr than a word. Just a sound that reflected how much she enjoyed the way he claimed her.
It was a no-holds-barred sort of thing. Bram held her head tightly, his lips pressing hers apart as he teased her lower lip with the tip of his tongue. Encased in the privacy of the truck bed, her impulses flared into flames.
He made her frantic, or maybe “demanding” was a better word. Jaelyn grabbed for the loosened edge of his shirt, her fingers fumbling as she tried to shove the garment up and over his head.
He drew back so that he could rip the shirt over his head. For one spectacular moment, she got a glimpse of his chiseled chest. In the next, she was chucking her own shirt over her shoulder and absorbing the way his lips curved.
It was very male.
And very satisfied.
She reached behind her to unhook her bra.
“No.” It was a command, soft, yet hard edged. Her fingers froze as she felt her eyes widen, suddenly worried that he was going to reject her.
She was pretty sure it would crush her.
Bram waved his finger back and forth. “Not … so … fast.”
She caught a hint of need in his tone and watched his expression reveal something she’d never expected him to allow her to see.
It was the raw hunger of a man who had been serving his country. Doing the right thing, while keeping his soul in chains so he might be called honorable. It surely left him feeling like he’d been deprived of the things everyone else enjoyed due to his diligence.
Well, she’d be happy to fulfill his needs.
“Just … a little … slower, Jaelyn.”
She brought her arms around her body and crossed them over her chest, trailing her fingers over the swells of her breasts. His gaze focused on her hands, his lips parting in hunger.
She’d never imagined she had the power to mesmerize him.
And she realized it was a privilege.
She opened up her arms as she reached her shoulders, teasing the straps of her bra for a moment before she turned around and opened the waist band on her skirt. The sound of the zipper filled the space as she pushed it down her legs followed by her nylons. The night air was cool against her newly bared skin and she let out a little sound of enjoyment because she was so heated.
Her breath caught as she heard Bram shucking his pants as well. Anticipation tightened in her gut, heightening her perception yet again. They were so close together but she would have sworn she heard him coming for her, felt her skin tingling as his body heat reached across the space between them to tease her.
Awaken her.
“Perfect…” His voice sounded raspy next to her ear as he cupped her shoulders. “So very … perfect.”
He found the clip in her hair and opened it. The soft strands of her hair fell down to cover her neck and shoulders. He shifted, sweeping his hand beneath it as he stroked her neck, his breath teasing her bare skin.
“I promised myself…” He swept her bra straps over her shoulders. “… that I wouldn’t rush you…”
Her breasts were heavy, making her bra sag now that it wasn’t held on her shoulders. Bram worked the hooks free in seconds but she turned around and crossed her arms over her chest as her brain insisted on thinking about what he’d said.
“You mean … you thought about … me?”
It had been a legitimate question, one she really wanted to know the answer to. At least that was until she caught sight of him.
It was a sin to cover his body with clothing.
Her mouth went dry and her need to know his motivations shriveled up in the face of just how cut and hard he was.
Raw.
The concept of man-animal had never been more fitting. It left her with nothing but cravings and he was exactly what she wanted to feast on.
“Every day…” He bit out the words. She got the feeling she was missing something, it was flickering there in his eyes but he was moving closer and her priorities were shifting.
Reaching for him was more important than conversation. Her bra fell when she unlocked her arms, slithering down her body to leave her breasts free. He let out a groan as he cupped them, his gaze lowering to them as he brushed her nipples with his thumbs.
“I want to play with these…” He leaned over and captured one hard point between his lips.
She gasped, arching back as a jolt of pleasure went down her back. It hit her right in the clitoris, making the tiny bundle of nerve endings a mass of demanding sensors.
Bram eased her back, until they were lying on the sleeping bag.
She rolled toward him, frantic to slide her hands along his arms and chest. She opened her thighs, clamping them around his lean hips as he threaded his hand through her hair to capture her and pin her in place for his kiss.
His mouth devoured hers and her appetite was raging just as fiercely. She needed to meet him, passion for passion, be more than just taken by him. It seemed impossible to touch him enough. She was stroking him, kissing him back, running her hands along his sides and along the edges of his hip before she closed her fingers around his ridged length.
“Don’t do that.” He growled at her, shifting his weight so she lost her hold on his cock.
“The hell I won’t,” she declared as she rolled over toward him.
“I like your spunk, Jaelyn…”
A moment later, he was rolling and pinning her once against to the surface of the bed, each of her wrists clamped above her head in his hands.
“I want to make sure you know how much I enjoy the way you challenge me…”
It was an abrupt power shift. One that sent an odd little feeling of excitement through her. He didn’t miss it either, stilling above her, his grip secure but not biting.
He was watching her, gauging her reaction. Arousal went snaking through her, stunning her with how sharp it was because it conflicted with her logical thinking brain.
But it made sense, in a very strange way. He was a man-animal and she liked him that way.
“Fuck me.”
It was blunt.
A hell of a long way from how she’d ever spoken to him before. It was her turn to gauge his reaction and it didn’t take long. His lips thinn
ed, his grip on her wrists tightening.
“Jaelyn…” There was a warning in his tone, one that pissed her off.
“If I wanted a nice guy … I wouldn’t have kissed you.”
She’d never been so honest, not even with herself. It didn’t fit with the image of her life, the way her grandfather compared her to LeAnn.
But it felt so right!
To be wrong, or naughty, or maybe just true to her feelings.
“Or pulled your shirt off,” she added. “I like you without clothing, Bram. Without … politeness…”
His lips parted into a grin that was anything but nice. It was menacing and all bad boy, man-animal. It triggered a jolt of need that felt like it shook her to the core. His cock was against her thigh and she was certain she felt it jerk.
That just made her wetter.
He shifted, withdrawing for a moment. She heard the sound of a foil packet being ripped open before he sheathed his length in a condom. And then he was coming back to her, covering her, lifting himself enough so his cock settled between her spread thighs, the head of it nudging the folds of her sex.
He lowered his head so his mouth hovered over hers. “Fuck?” His breath sent a shiver across the delicate surface of her lips. “Yeah … I want to do that to you, baby…”
He pressed forward, her body opening to accept his girth. But she was tight, and he stopped.
“You said you were waiting…”
“Because the last time I had sex … it wasn’t worth the effort…,” she answered. “I want you.”
His face tightened. There was a flare of enjoyment in his eyes as he pressed forward again. Her body gave way, taking his length.
“I want to do other things, too…” He pulled free and she whimpered, unable to contain the needy little sound.
“Like claim you…,” he whispered as he slid back into her. This time, he penetrated easier, her body taking him as she lifted her hips. But he didn’t press much deeper. Instead, he gave her only another inch of his flesh and then he held her in place as he watched her whither.
He made good on his words, working his hips in slow thrusts that left her covered in a thin sheet of perspiration as she waited for him to satisfy the needs twisting in her core. Time slowed down, leaving her aware of every motion, every millimeter he penetrated, and how long he made her wait for satisfaction.
And he was making her wait, watching her, judging how close she was to the edge.
“I hate you so much right now.” She growled at him, twisting her wrists in a bid for freedom.
He leaned over and bit her softly on the side of her neck. The tiny pain combined with the craving to have him deeply seated inside her, making her more insane than she already was.
“You enjoy the fact that I don’t play nice … said so yourself.”
It was the truth. She locked gazes with him. “And you like that best about me.”
Enjoyment flashed in his eyes. There was a hint of vulnerability there, too, but she was too far past thinking to dwell on. All that mattered was the fact that she could see his resolve crumbling. Watched it falling away to be replaced with raw hunger.
The mood shifted between them, ripping away the last shreds of control. It left them both at the mercy of their cravings, desires they strove to feed, moving together as pleasure twisted deeper, intensifying, and finally blinding her as it flashed through her in a burst that shattered absolutely everything in her world.
It was gut-wrenching and mind-numbing, reducing her to a panting heap that had no strength left.
But she didn’t need any. No, Bram pulled her close, warming her when her skin chilled, lulling her to sleep with the sound of his heart.
* * *
“Told you she was the one,” Ricky muttered as he drew a drag off his cigarette.
Gideon was holding the tablet so tightly, his fingertips were white. He was watching the way the truck rocked back and forth.
“I want to kill him.”
Ricky offered the cigarette across the front seat of the car. “And waste the chance to let him know you have his little bitch spread out in your bed? Thought you wanted to have fun with him. Dead men don’t suffer.”
Gideon turned his bright eyes toward Ricky. There was the unmistakable look of insanity in his gaze. The glint of obsession. Some guys needed a target to deal with the stress of being in a killing zone. The military had a fancy term for it: post-traumatic stress disorder.
Ricky just knew what it looked like.
“How are we going to get her?” Gideon demanded.
“Now that part,” Ricky said as he dropped his smoke out the open window and turned the key in the ignition, “we need to be careful about. Because we’ll only get one shot now that the captain saw you watching through the windows. He’ll be on guard.”
“He’s not as smart as me.”
Ricky drove toward the exit. “I noticed. Why do you think I keep telling you we’ll get her? We just have to be patient and make sure we set it up just right. You got everything you need to keep her?”
“Yeah,” Gideon muttered, looking back at the tablet. “I’m ready.”
Ricky headed away from the parking structure because Gideon might be ready but there was no way Bram Magnus would be lax enough to let his guard down tonight. They needed a different setting, some place where their prey was alone and out of Bram’s sight.
The moment would come.
And he’d be ready when it did.
* * *
Jaelyn was lying on him.
Bram woke up, another car engine breaking through his slumber. He heard it leave and part of his brain wanted to think about just why there was another car in the garage this time of night, but the feeling of Jaelyn resting on his chest was far too distracting.
He stroked her hair back from her face with gentle fingers, still absorbing the fact that she was really there.
He’d dreamed about her so often, it wouldn’t have surprised him to wake up and discover it was all another fabrication of his subconscious mind.
She was real.
He caught the sound of her breathing, and the gentle thumping of her heart against his side.
There were twenty other little things he noticed just then, tiny details of her person, from the way her eyelashes rested on her cheeks to the scent of her skin and the ache in his balls.
Release was always intense after deployment.
But he knew this was something different.
It scared the shit out of him.
Which only made him grin because somewhere during the time he’d spent with Saxon Hale and his Shadow Ops team, he’d stopped being afraid. The thrill of the chase had become his drug of choice and like any addict, he’d craved it enough to discard concern over any repercussions that might result from chasing what he wanted.
Now?
He found himself thinking about things every good guy was supposed to want. Like deep emotions and family ties.
But he was stuck on the realities of what his sister, Zoe, had endured because of their father’s position. Her best friend hadn’t escaped, either.
“Is it time to get back to the real world?”
“I guess you’re right,” she mumbled. “Can’t sleep here.”
Bram stiffened, his arms tightening around her as she spoke and as her words sunk into his brain. Jaelyn lifted her head, stroking his chest a final time before she sat up.
“We could,” he answered. “But only if you want to explain things to your grandfather.”
He was testing her. She didn’t miss it, either, worrying her lower lip while putting her bra on.
“I don’t lie to my grandpa,” she said at last. “And I also don’t mess with his ideas of what the world should be like.”
She turned away, rummaging around in the space for her clothing. He should say something.
He wanted to.
But he hadn’t earned the right to ask her for any sort of commitment.
All he’d
done was lose his head and grab her the moment he’d gotten her out of sight of her family. It wasn’t that he regretted it. No, he’d wanted her too damned much.
But she deserved more.
And somehow, he was going to give it to her.
* * *
LeAnn wanted to be pissed.
But her temper deserted her, leaving her standing in the hallway, the sight of Jaelyn creeping into the house branded in her mind. It combined with the way Bram watched Jaelyn disappear, standing in the driveway for a long moment, his body tight.
She knew the look on him. Well, on any man really. It was desire. What stuck was the fact that Jaelyn’s hair had been mussed, her lips swollen, and she’d headed toward her room like it was the last thing she wanted to do.
Bram really had come back for Jaelyn.
LeAnn should have been able to take shelter in a storm of righteous prissiness over her sister’s betrayal. Instead, she ended up taking a hard hit from her conscience.
She’d cheated on him.
The best guy she’d ever dated.
Actually … the best man. She’d blundered big-time in not realizing the potential Bram brought to a relationship. Sure, he’d been as interested in a hookup as she was, but there was a core of integrity in him that she really should have taken time to think about trying to touch.
Gramps was right. She was an idiot.
Bram stood for a long time in the driveway. At last he turned and headed for the garage and the loft apartment.
That stung, too. He wasn’t leaving.
He’d always left after getting a fix from her.
It had just been sex.
LeAnn was forced to face that fact, feeling trapped by the circumstances of her making. But even accepting blame didn’t change the way her feelings were threatening to rip her in two. Like a concrete block was pressing down on her chest, making her struggle to draw a breath. Hot tears stung her eyes as they spilled down her cheeks.
LeAnn reached up, catching some of them on her fingertips and carrying them down so she could stare at them.
She never cried.
Bram was worth it though.
It wasn’t that she thought she had any chance of regaining him. No, she realized with a sick twisting of her belly that she’d dashed her chances with him and there was even some part of her that wouldn’t take him back now that he was with Jaelyn.