HIS Series Box Set (Books 4-7)

by Sheila Kell

  Sure in the past he’d wanted to make love to her. Wanted to fuck her until she screamed his name. But he’d never made that move over the line because of her virginity. Brian. The name whispered to him. She’d given her virginity to the man. In love with him or not, she’d allowed him to have what somewhere in the back of his mind, he’d always hoped would be his.

  The weight slammed into his chest at the realization. How could he have thought that when he’d been chasing skirts while she’d been looking for her proverbial “Mr. Right?” Only to find out he’d been the man she sought. His brain hurt at how much he’d confused things with them. Had he pushed her to Brian with shoving her away after the incident? No. She’d already been pregnant then. But, she hadn’t spoken of her wedding before then, when she would’ve known she’d been pregnant. Why had she hidden it from him? Asshole, maybe the same reasons you hid from her. You didn’t want to see what could possibly flash in the other’s eyes. Any pulling back wouldn’t have been bearable.

  The door opened a fraction, and Trent reached for his weapon. Light from the hallway illuminated Kelly slipping inside his room. He released the weapon and reached for his T-shirt. He couldn’t do anything about not having on underwear. That thought hadn’t occurred to him if he’d had to leave the bed in a rush.

  Picking up his T-shirt, her voice stopped him. “Don’t put on a shirt.”

  Motionless, Trent hesitated before he slowly dropped the cotton material and reached up to turn on the bedside lamp instead.

  She closed the door and approached the bed.

  Propping up both pillows against the headboard, he slid up and back, keeping the covers on his lap. He nodded. The time had arrived to show her.

  Kelly sat on the edge of his bed and bit her lip. “I couldn’t sleep. All I keep remembering is how you’d hold me when I was frightened or sad, and your presence comforted me until I drifted off.”

  Had she known he’d been thinking the same thing? No. Not possible. Just coincidence. He cleared his throat. “Kelly—” What could he say that would deter her even though he wanted her with every fiber of his being? “I don’t think that’s a good idea. This is Mike’s house.” Since he’d come to like the man, he didn’t wish to disrespect him in his own home by sleeping with his dead son’s fiancé.

  Looking around the room, she spotted his underwear sitting on top of his jeans, turned to him and raised a brow.

  Although it shouldn’t have, heat crept up his neck. “Yeah, I’m naked.” He also had a hard-on in the works from looking at Kelly in her thigh-length nightgown that while it lay loose over her belly, remained snug over her plump breasts. The chill in the air had her nipples puckering, and his length hardened even more.

  “You can put your underwear on, and I can still crawl in bed with you,” she said.

  “Yeah, and look what happened the last time we were in bed together.” His voice may have been more cynical than he’d meant, but he couldn’t take it back. It’d been said.

  On her beautiful face scrubbed clean of makeup, she blushed, and the pink tinge to her cheeks made her all the more adorable in his eyes. She should be cherished, came to his mind.

  “I’ll be okay if it happens again.”

  Trent choked. Had she really just said that? “Kelly—”

  “No”—she waved her hand—“it’s okay. I really just wanted to talk with you. Are you ready to discuss what happened?”

  It was the perfect time, yet weariness and uncertainty of her reaction crept in, weighing heavily on his chest. How could he be such a pussy when he should be strong? “There’s not much to tell. I got injured and now I’m scarred.” His response sounded almost flippant, and he inwardly cringed at how he’d spoken to her.

  “Hmm. Something tells me there’s more to it than that.”

  “Don’t try and go all investigative journalist, Kelly. There’s nothing more.” Liar. There’s the fact you were the only survivor of the two HIS men.

  “Let me see your back,” she requested softly but with steel in her voice and her arms crossed over her magnificent chest.

  “Kelly…,” he said, stalling, “I’ve had second and third-degree burns across the back of me. The third-degree ones were limited to my back, but still, my entire backside is scarred. They had a tough time finding skin for grafts. The insides of my thighs took the biggest hit.” Swallowing hard against the lump that had crawled up his throat, he added, “I’m hideous.” That simple fact should’ve stopped things, but not with his Kelly.

  Instead of pity, sadness enveloped her eyes. Sadness and a bit of love. Although she always had the last part there. How could he not have noticed it? Selfish bastard. Yet, if she’d been his when he’d been injured, would she have stood by him or run? Would he have wanted to live for her? He’d never know, but now he could find out if she’d be by him from this point forward.

  He could do this. She’d understand the burden he carried about his burns and scars from shrapnel.

  “I bet it was pretty painful.” Her eyes misted, and he wanted to pull her to him and assure her he’d been all right. But, it’d be a lie because he hadn’t.

  Nodding, he reached for one of her hands in her lap and toyed with her fingers. Awareness surged through him. “It sucked. I didn’t want the pain meds but had to have them to get through the day or night. Some of the third-degree burns went down to the sensory nerves so I didn’t even feel it when they were treated.”

  “But that wasn’t all, though? Was it?”

  “No,” he said. “I felt the rest, every time they reapplied a salve or bandaged me. It took a ton of pain medicine for me to attend Jake and Em’s wedding.”

  With a slight turn of her body, she clasped his hand and slid her knee on the bed. “I was always jealous of the relationship you had with Emily.”

  He chuckled. “I could see that. Now,” he added. “We’ve been like brother and sister since we were small.” Squeezing her hand, he smiled. “Not close like you and I, though.”

  “I want to see your back. Please,” she pleaded.

  Hesitantly, he shifted to a sitting position and scooted forward enough to give her room behind him. Releasing her hand, his insides churned at finally showing his disfigurement to Kelly. Waiting while she stood and moved positions on the bed, he put his trust in her love for him to keep her from getting sick or showing distaste for him.

  Looking back over his shoulder, he saw the look of astonishment flood her face. Whatever she’d been prepared for, it hadn’t been what she’d seen.

  Her hand came up and covered her mouth. “Oh, Trent. It must’ve hurt terribly.” A myriad of emotions lanced across her expression and when pity flashed, he almost bolted back around, but her words stopped him. “You just don’t like to do things halfway, do you?” She caught his eye and flashed him a sheepish grin.

  Taking that as acceptance, every muscle in his body relaxed, and he smiled back. Why in the hell am I not in love with this exceptional woman? Something niggled inside him and said in a faraway voice, Maybe you are.

  KELLY wanted to be sick. Not at the sight of Trent’s scars, but at what he must’ve gone through in his infirmary. Seeing the extent of his wounds sent pain slicing through her heart. Oh, how she’d have wanted to be there with him while he recovered. “Thank you for the sacrifice to save Amber.”

  Trent grunted and turned back away from her. “Someone had to do it.”

  His tortured voice beat at her soul. Something else ate at him, but she’d be patient and wait for it. She just hoped it didn’t involve Jamie. He might not have loved her, but he cared for her enough to share this pain with her instead of Kelly.

  In an effort to show him that she didn’t find him repulsive, she asked, “Can I touch your back?” Her heart broke a bit when he stiffened. This might be too much for him, all at once. “That’s okay. I don’t have to,” she said, even though every muscle in her body screamed for her to reach out and feel him, touch the injured part of him as if she could rep
air the pain and discomfort he’d once suffered.

  He nodded but didn’t speak.

  Taking that as permission, she reached up with a shaky hand and lightly touched his right shoulder near where the scarring began. He appeared to have about two inches on each side of his back that had either not been touched by the bomb blast or had healed nearly clean. The middle of his back though didn’t look nearly as bad as she’d expected considering his phobia in showing her. The surgeons had done a decent job in attempting to make his back look normal.

  But, it didn’t look normal. Her hand glided toward the center of his back. Nor did it feel that way. The smoothness didn’t feel like normal skin. Some of it was a bit leathery and some almost cold to the touch. But none of it disgusted her. While she wished he hadn’t been injured, being alive was more important.

  Scooting closer, she slid her arms around his waist and tightened her grip. With her head resting on his shoulder, she fought the mistiness of her eyes as she whispered, “I wish I’d been there for you.”

  He clasped both of her hands in his and leaned back when she looked up at him. “I’m sorry.” A tear slid down her cheek as Trent turned his body to her, but he couldn’t reach around considering their positions on the bed. “Come here.”

  With more tears sliding down her face, Kelly stood and moved in front of him. Trent slipped her onto his lap, where she could’ve sworn his arousal poked her. His hand almost palmed the side of her face with his fingers in her hair and his thumb on her jawline before it wiped away the stray tears she couldn’t stop from falling. “Oh, Kelly. My angel.”

  She didn’t have the time to react to the endearment because he leaned forward and touched his lips to hers, ever so softly. The brief contact lit a need for him inside her that threatened to erupt. “Kiss me again,” she whispered.

  With a smile, he leaned close again. “Gladly.”

  Adding his second hand to rest on the other side of her face, he pulled her to him and took her lips in a deep, soul-searing kiss. Their mouths open, their tongues making love to each other, shot fire to her core. Not that she’d need a kiss to want to make love to Trent McKenzie, but the kiss surely enhanced the excitement. The difference this time and the last time was that he wouldn’t be hiding from her. She’d have every part of him, scars and all.

  She lost herself as their lips moved over each others, and whatever part of her mind had thought not having sex again with Trent was the right thing to do, fled. The part that said she’d take him to her bed any way she could get him danced inside her stomach as it fluttered with desire.

  Moving her head, he changed the direction of their kiss as his tongue mimicked what she hoped he planned to do to her. And by the growing arousal beneath her lap, she believed the kiss alluded to an erotic evening.

  A moan slipped from within her chest and escaped through her mouth as he broke their kiss and sucked on her lower lip with tantalizing nips.

  “You taste so damn good. I can’t wait to taste all of you,” he warned her.

  The thought of him going down on her almost made her cream her panties in delight. If she was wearing any. She’d wait. She might suck at patience most of the time, but with Trent, she had it in abundance. Hell, she’d waited so long for him to notice her as an attractive woman.

  Tiny electrical shocks jolted through her as his thumb caressed her bottom lip, and he stared at it as if engrossed in its meaning.

  “Did you know you have perfect lips? Not too thin and not too plump?”

  How the hell was he talking right now? Not only did she find catching her breath hard, but all she wanted to do was rip off her nightgown and get down and dirty. “Oh,” she managed to say.

  “I think I’ll have to have more.” Closing the short distance again, his lips covered hers, gently, lovingly. When she opened to him, his tongue moved in languid strokes within her mouth, like he had all night to do this. She’d only ever been with Brian who didn’t believe foreplay should last longer than it took for him to get hard. Trent obviously believed differently.

  And she loved it.

  A lot.

  Shutting down her wandering mind, she reveled in the kiss, the warmth of his mouth on hers, the tenderness yet yearning in his lips. If she hadn’t already lost her head over this man, one of his kisses would do that.

  The kiss changed to hot and heavy, and she had to break it off to catch her breath. With their foreheads resting against each other, they each took gulps of air. “Wow,” she whispered.

  He nodded, sliding their foreheads against each other. “Wow.” After a pause, he added, “I think you need to lose that nightgown.

  She couldn’t agree more.

  Standing, she slipped her nightgown over her head and smiled when he realized she wasn’t wearing panties… again. She held no self-consciousness of her pregnant body. Not with Trent.

  He slid his hand up to her baby bump and held it there. “Are you sure we won’t hurt the baby?”

  Almost snorting at the absurdity of asking this time and not before, she forged a smile instead. “It’s fine.” Wanting the focus off the baby and on her burning need for him, she guided his hand to her breast. Excitement ricocheted through her at his massaging touch. When his fingers tweaked her hard nipple, she almost came unglued.

  She’d heard sex hormones could be strong while pregnant, but she knew it was all about Trent. The man she loved.

  Before kneeling on the bed, she moved the covers displaying the rest of his sculpted body. Kelly let her gaze rake over him slowly. Boy was he ready for her. His magnificent cock stood at attention, and she wanted to reach out and grab it, pump and bring him satisfaction. Instead, she leaned in to kiss him while maneuvering herself down beside him. She planned to be on top during sex, but exploring in this position would be a great start.

  Taking over the kiss, his lips devoured hers, and little firecrackers of pleasure rocketed through her, focusing their energy on her core and her burning need.

  Reaching a hand up to cup her head, Trent shifted her and deepened the kiss. His tongue probed and stroked and loved every inch of her mouth. While delicious shivers skittered down her spine, she reached out a hand and stroked his chest, feeling the firm muscle beneath. During recovery, he might not have been able to work out like he had in the past, but his body still remained a work of art with toned muscles.

  He moaned in her mouth when her hand dived lower toward his erection. When her fingers encircled him, he stiffened and pulled back from the kiss. “What are you trying to do to me, angel?”

  Smiling, she licked her lips seductively. “I’m just getting started.”

  With a low growl, he pressed kisses along the column of her throat, eliciting tiny, erotic bubbles to float inside her. As his palm covered her breast, she tossed her head back and moaned in delight before she remembered her mission of pleasing him.

  When she leaned down to kiss his chest, his hand left her breast and she almost cried mournfully at the loss of his touch. The enjoyment of her lips on his body added to the pressure building within her core. Sliding down, she leveled herself between his legs. Looking up, she almost lost herself in his gaze as he watched her make love to him.

  With a smile, she licked his erection from base to tip before slipping it into her mouth. Lost in pleasure, he closed his eyes and groaned. Moving her mouth over the tip, she swirled her tongue around it. Trent twisted his hands in the sheets on each side of him. Joy at the success of driving him wild surged through her.

  She glided her mouth back down, then licked and sucked until his hands fisted in her hair. “Enough,” he rasped.

  Grinning, she slid up, straddled him and positioned his erection at her wet folds.

  “Are you ready?” He reached a finger out to check her wetness. “Damn,” he said when he found her more than ready. He pulled his finger back and licked it.

  She couldn’t help it if bringing him gratification turned her on something fierce. “Yeah, damn.” Slipping him ins
ide, she slowly slid down until fully sheathed. “Hmm.”

  Her love for this man exploded with him deep inside her. Life felt right with them together. He may only be offering her passion at the moment, but she’d grab hold and take it wherever it’d go.

  Both of his hands raised and rested on her breasts, each mimicking the motions of the other as he massaged them in his strong hands.

  Placing her hands on his chest, she began to rise and fall so he could slip enough from her to tease them both before plunging back in deep. Her plan had been to torture him until he was ready to come apart, but the more she tried to drive him crazy, the closer her orgasm drew.

  After teasing her nipples, he raised a hand and cupped the back of her head, pulling her down to him, her belly between them. “I’m so damn close,” he said in a whisper before he took her mouth in a searing kiss, lips crashing together, his tongue intruding in her mouth, trying to coax hers to play.

  Caught by surprise at the intensity of the kiss, she relaxed and allowed instinct to take over, knowing where Trent was concerned, she’d never fail.

  She broke the kiss. “Me, too.”

  Grasping her ass cheeks, he said, “Well, let’s get there.”

  With his hands guiding her, he shifted their movements just enough to ratchet up the urgency building inside her. She needed more and needed it now. “Trent,” she begged.

  “Let it go, angel.”

  Passion surged, climbing higher until starlights flashed before her eyes as a blinding wave of red-hot pleasure sought its way through her body, lighting every nerve ending while leaving her limp and sated.