by Tawny Weber
His body hardened, dick pressed painfully against his zipper. Hell, he’d barely kissed her. His hands hadn’t left her waist. But he was reacting as if she’d gone down on him while she was wearing thigh-high stiletto boots and glossy red lipstick.
Nope. He figured he could wrap her in a submarine and she’d still be pure temptation.
“Yo, soldier boy. I said this isn’t going to work for me,” Lara said.
Her irritated tone made Dominic want to grin, but he manfully held back.
“Sailor, actually.”
“What?”
“Navy. Sailor,” he pointed out, waiting for her to get it. He took her eye roll as understanding, then continued. “What d’ya need? I’ll take care of it for you.”
It was the least he could do, considering the varied sexual fantasies he was having about her.
“Privacy, for one.”
“You want the bedroom, I’ll hang here in the sitting area.” Wishing he’d popped for a bigger suite. One that had a bedroom door with a big lock.
“Why don’t you hang out in the hallway? Isn’t that what bodyguards do? Stand with their back to the door and glower at passersby?”
Dominic ruefully shook his head. Damned if he didn’t like her. Liking was okay, he decided. It was the lusting part that was off-limits.
“The bedroom is all yours,” he said again. Then, figuring he’d better make it clear to both of them since it was almost midnight, he went to the closet, grabbed the spare pillow and blanket and tossed them on the couch.
“You’re too tall to sleep comfortably on that,” she pointed out. He noted that she didn’t offer up the bed. Just as well, since he didn’t know how strong his resistance would be if she did.
“No worries,” he said with a shrug. “It pulls out into a bed.”
“Those are always miserably uncomfortable,” she said with a smile that said she didn’t care if he slept on a bed of nails. He didn’t bother telling her that a lumpy pullout, or a bed of nails, would be less uncomfortable than sleeping less than thirty feet from her.
He remembered that tiny scrap of silk knifed to her wall, then slanted a glance at her duffel. He hoped like hell she didn’t have more of those little babies with her. Just imagining her in one was going to cost him hours of sleep.
“I need internet,” she said, grabbing her duffel and heading for the bedroom. “I’m charging it to the room.”
“No email,” he warned automatically.
“I can conceal my location if I need to.” She shot him a look over her shoulder.
Sure she could.
“No email,” Dominic said again. He tossed the blanket and pillow on the couch, figuring it wasn’t worth pulling out. He wasn’t sleeping anyway. Not while on duty. He figured someone on the team would check in within the next six hours. If he didn’t hear in twelve, he and his assignment would be heading to San Diego. He’d find out more on base than he could here in Reno.
“You might want to call your boss, tell them you’re outta commission for the next few days,” he said. Since she’d already shared her opinion of missing work, he held up one hand to halt a repeat. “Just the weekend. Your brother will cover any wages you lose. Deal?”
Green eyes narrowed in consideration, Lara pursed her lips in a way that made him want to groan, then nodded her head.
“Missing a weekend will damage my position. I want time and a half.”
“Fine by me.” And please, let him be there when she told Banks. Grinning, Dominic handed her his cell phone. “Make the call from this. It’s secure, won’t show on their caller ID.”
“You watch too many spy movies.” Still, she took the phone. After giving it a quick inspection, she made the call.
From Dominic’s position as an interested listener, the call didn’t go well. Lara’s expression never changed, her tone didn’t alter. But her body tensed. Shoulders shifted as though she was shaking something off. Her fingers flexed, then stilled and she gave the smallest sigh, which did amazing things for her shirt. Her breasts shifted, the fabric at her waist lifting to show a hint of skin. He’d already seen her in little more than a bikini and feathers, so that sneak peek of her flat belly shouldn’t be a turn-on.
Officially or not, he was on duty. So he was going to pretend that he wasn’t affected. He just had to send the at ease memo south to his dick.
It wasn’t listening, but thankfully she ended the call and looked at him before it could get any ideas. Well, any more ideas.
“Trouble?”
She pulled a face, then tossed him the cell phone.
“Nothing to worry about. Rudy’s having a fit, but I talked to Flo and she’ll handle things.”
“And Rudy is?”
Lara shrugged. “Let’s just say Rudy isn’t a fan.”
“Want me to rough him up?” Dominic asked, the same offer he’d put out to his sisters and female cousins numerous times. None of them had ever taken him up on it, but it always made them feel better.
Lara didn’t look as if it worked for her. Instead of looking comforted, she seemed skeptical.
“Do you think you could?”
Oh, ye of little faith.
“Pretty sure I can handle him, no matter how big he is,” Dominic assured her. He mentally flipped through the list of enemies he’d taken out, such as the huge Turk with an M1 Garand he’d disabled with just his feet. So unless her coworker was sporting a Gatling gun, Dominic was good to go.
He managed to keep that to himself, though.
Barely.
“Rudy?” She shrugged, her eyes shifting down his body, then back up with an assessing arch of her brow. “He’s about five-seven, weighing in at a lumpy one-sixty and tends to tilt forward, since twenty of those pounds are hanging over his belt.”
There was a ringing in his ears. The sound of his jaw hitting the floor, maybe?
Was she serious?
He searched her face for signs that she was joking, but there weren’t any. For the first time, he saw the resemblance to Banks. Not in looks, though.
Nope. It was the tiny ball of irritated fury she lit in his gut.
“You do realize I’m a Navy SEAL, right? A highly trained, special forces military machine.”
“So you keep saying.”
“You want proof?” He had his hand halfway to his collar to pull out his dog tags before he stopped himself. What was it about this family that made him feel as though he had to prove himself?
Stupid.
Dominic tried to shake off the irritation—something he wasn’t used to feeling with women. He needed space. The hotel room only supplied about thirty possible feet of distance, but he’d take it.
“It’s late. Get some sleep,” he ordered. So he could get some peace of mind.
5
MORNING? ALREADY?
Mornings sucked.
Lara squinted, not willing to actually commit to opening her eyes yet. Not until she knew how early it was and if it was even necessary to wake yet.
Dim lights made waking debatable. But her body insisted that she really should get up. But that didn’t mean waking, in Lara’s opinion.
Skilled at functioning in a near-sleep state, she shoved the blankets off and swung out of bed. Her brow furrowed when her toes hit a warm, toasty floor, but she didn’t question it. Hey, maybe someone had found a way to heat the worn linoleum in her bedroom.
It wasn’t until she hit a wall with her forehead that she remembered that she wasn’t home.
Hotel.
Castillo.
Hot, sexy bodyguard.
Damn.
She adjusted course, using her hands this time to prevent any more walls.
No lights. Lights were a part of morning.
And mornings sucked.
In the bathroom, Lara slid back into her half-asleep fog.
Then she realized she didn’t even have a toothbrush.
Growling, she felt around the counter until she found a tube of complimentary toothpaste. Tossin
g the cap on the counter, she squeezed out a stream onto her finger and made do.
Still with her eyes closed.
Rinse, spit, a quick wash of her hands and she was ready to go back to bed.
Her eyes slitted open just enough to see the hazy shadow of her toes, she felt her way to the door and stumbled out. Was the bed to the left or right?
Left.
Maybe?
She stumbled along, humming her usual start-of-the-day mantra.
Mornings sucked.
Mornings sucked.
Mornings suc—
Her toes slammed into something. Hard.
She choked on a garbled scream as she flew toward the floor.
Oh, hell. She squeezed her eyes tight. She knew from experience that watching didn’t make the impact hurt any less.
Two hands banded her waist, fingers digging into her flesh, holding her aloft.
Lara’s eyes flew open.
“What the...”
Oh.
Castillo.
On the floor.
Her hands crawled across his bare shoulders.
Castillo, on the floor naked.
Oh, my.
Her blurry gaze locked on her hand, the contrast of her pale fingers against the golden silk of his skin.
Yummy skin.
Yummy, soft skin that looked as if it’d taste really good.
Really, really good.
Lara swallowed, wondering where all her spit had gone.
She didn’t even have enough to wet her lips.
Which meant she wouldn’t have any for tasting.
Dammit.
Her knees hit the floor, one on each side of blanket-covered hips. His hips.
If she thought she could make her eyes focus, she’d have peered between their bodies to see if he was naked all the way down. No worries. She’d rather find out by feel, anyway.
“Hi.” His voice husky, Castillo’s fingers tightened on her waist.
“Huh?” she mumbled.
“You were right. I didn’t fit on the couch.”
“Eh?”
She knew he was talking, but her brain just wasn’t engaging. It wasn’t sleep that was shutting her down this time, though.
Nope.
Lust.
It was pure passion-driven, desire-sparking lust.
Yum.
Did he taste as good as he looked?
She bent her head to his mouth, running her tongue along the seam.
Mmm, he tasted mighty good.
Good enough to make her hungry for more.
“Hey.” He hadn’t sounded surprised when she dove onto his body, but he did now.
“Hey back,” she murmured, wriggling a little to get more comfortable.
Then, before he could follow that hey up with anything annoying, she bent again for another taste.
This time she wasn’t in it for a testing little sample.
Her tongue slipped between his lips, swirling along his before dancing back out to dance over his mouth.
His fingers tightened on her waist. His body tensed beneath her fingers. But he didn’t respond.
Oh, a challenge.
Letting her body run the show, she slid closer, her knees angling down his thighs and her breasts pressed to his chest. Her mouth brushed his in a series of teasing kisses. Each one grew wetter, hotter, more intense.
A response echoed in her body.
But she wanted more. More kisses, more heat. And definitely more intensity. And she set out to get there.
Her fingers scraped across the velvet hardness of Castillo’s shoulders, down the rock-hard curve of his biceps.
Wasn’t he a big one?
With a little growl of anticipation, Lara decided to do some exploring. Reluctantly leaving those delicious lips, she nibbled her way over to that irresistible dimple, dipping her tongue in before sliding kisses along the hard angle of his jaw.
Oh, he was tasty.
She used her tongue, sliding down his stubble-roughened throat, and hummed when she reached the curve of his shoulder. It was so tempting to lean in and cuddle. But she wasn’t a cuddly kind of gal, and there were definitely more interesting things to be doing.
Angling her body because she didn’t want to give up her perch over the promising bulge beneath the blanket, Lara bit the chain around his neck, tugging it aside with a jingle of metal so she could get to his sexy man nipple.
Yum.
Now this was worth waking up for, she decided.
Almost.
Something was missing.
Hot fudge?
Whipped cream?
No, that wasn’t it.
It took a few seconds for the answer to penetrate her sleepy lust.
He wasn’t participating.
Oh, he wasn’t pushing her away or making gagging noises. His breath was coming a little faster, maybe.
But he wasn’t playing.
He was staring at her.
That hard, distant military stare.
Lara blinked.
Yep, that’s what he was doing.
Was that a part of their SEAL training? Have half-naked women climb all over them while they pretended to be immune and practiced their intimidating stare?
“Morning,” she said after a few seconds when that stare got to her. She almost hunched her shoulders and apologized before realizing she didn’t have a damned thing to be sorry for.
Hey, a girl wasn’t responsible for what she did in her sleep.
“Maybe we should get up,” he said after clearing his throat a couple of times.
She wanted to point out that he already appeared to be up. Quite up, thank you very much.
She didn’t, though.
Not out of ladylike reserve. That’d be silly, since she was straddling him like a polo pony.
Nope.
She figured his dick was stabbing into her thigh hard enough that pointing it out was redundant.
She’d be damned if he’d set her aside this time.
Besides, one of his hands had slid under her sleep shirt and was now curved over her ass.
That was a clear go-ahead signal if she’d ever felt one.
“I don’t think I’m done yet,” she told him with a smile that was pure dare. Let him claim he didn’t want her. She flexed her thighs against his hips. She’d be glad to prove him wrong.
“We really shouldn’t be doing this.” He sounded 100 percent sure. But his eyes were hot and his fingers were kneading her butt—whether he realized it or not.
“Why don’t we discuss it?” she suggested.
“Discuss it?”
“Naked,” she added, wriggling away so she could pull her nightshirt off.
He didn’t let her. His hand pressed like a vise against the small of her back, the fabric locked between them.
“This is a bad idea,” he muttered.
It was hard to take him seriously, though, since his fingers had worked their way under the slim fabric of her V-string and were heading south.
“Sometimes bad ideas result in really, really good sex,” she whispered. Then, because she had a firm policy against chitchat before noon, Lara reached between them to grab his erection.
Oh, yeah.
It was hard.
Big and hard.
“Mmm,” she hummed, licking his bottom lip.
Her eyes laughing, she met his gaze with a wiggle of her brows. He looked as if he was in pain.
Since she figured she was probably responsible for that pain, it must be her job to relieve him of it.
She gave his thick erection another squeeze. He bit back a groan. Taking advantage of his distraction, Lara shifted fast so she had the blanket out of the way and was upright and straddling him again.
Oh, baby. His dick pressed against her heat, wet delight soaking her panties.
She wanted to move. To slide up and down, in and out. To feel that long, hard length inside her, as far as he could go.
Shivering at the i
ntensity of her desire, not sure she’d ever wanted this much, this fast, Lara ran her fingers through her hair.
She stared down at Castillo. His eyes were hot, his mouth tight. For a second, she wondered what objections he was biting back. As long as he kept them to himself, she didn’t care.
Not looking away, she wrapped her fingers around the hem of her nightshirt, slowly pulling it up to reveal her skin. All of her skin. His eyes turned molten blue, his gaze so hot it could melt steel.
Lara bared her breasts and paused. She had one hell of a body and she wanted him to get a really, really good look.
Because she didn’t plan on stopping for show-and-tell once she was naked.
His breath coming just a little faster, Castillo’s eyes locked on her breasts and he wet his lips.
Good boy. He had the right idea.
Ready to go, Lara whipped the shirt over her head and threw it aside.
She shook her hair out of her eyes, then reached down to cup the heavy weight of her breasts in her hands as an offering.
“Why don’t we find out how many bad ideas we can come up with?” she suggested in a husky tone.
“A few dozen come to mind.” He reached up, his hands covering hers.
Lara almost came then and there.
His hands were so big. So, so big and talented.
He squeezed her flesh, then shifted so he was still cupping but his fingers were free to tease her nipples.
Yum.
Lara shivered, sensations flying through her body too fast for her to identify them. All she knew was that she had never felt like this.
This wild.
This excited.
This desperate.
She arched, pressing her breasts harder into his hands. At the same time she pushed down so her clit was sliding over his dick, the fabric of her panties the only thing between them.
“More.” She needed more.
“Who made you the boss?” he asked in a teasing tone.
Lara laughed.
He pinched her nipples. A zing of desire shot through her like a lightning bolt, choking her laughter.
She took a deep breath, sliding her hands over his, then down her sides. Her fingers grazed her belly button, flicking the red cherry pierced there, before moving down.
She hooked her thumbs around the narrow elastic band of her panties, then with a quick tug, ripped them off.
“Damn,” he breathed, half laughing but looking pretty impressed. Until she slid her fingers lower.