by Cathryn Fox
His fingers moved faster, stroking the hot bundle of nerves inside. She swallowed as tension grew, coming to a peak. Her sex squeezed around his fingers, and she dragged in a breath as her body let go. Ripples of pleasure traveled onward and outward, and he remained between her legs, licking and stroking and drawing out her pleasure until the spasms stopped. He petted her sex softly, and she took that time to figure out how to breathe again. As she took deep, gulping breaths, he climbed from the bed.
He tore his pants off, his eyes flaring hot as he reached into the nightstand. Lacking any sort of modesty he stood beside the bed completely naked, and in her haze of arousal she took her time to look him over. Her gaze left a sculpted stomach and moved downward to take in his cock. She swallowed against the sudden dryness in her throat when she saw his length and girth. He was so big, hard and ready, and as she stared, she watched it grow harder. A cry lodged in her throat and her fingers tingled, wanting to reach out and touch him. She closed her eyes against the flood of heat but opened them again when he slammed the nightstand drawer shut.
He gripped his cock, fisting it at the base, and as his muscles rippled, she was sure she’d never seen anything sexier. The foil package went to his mouth and he ripped into it with his teeth. God, he looked so wild, so feral, it excited her as much as it frightened her. His gaze caressed her body, and fixated on her bare backside. She wiggled slightly, urging him on, and the warning look he gave her had her pulse jumping.
Primed and ready, he slid back over her and she could feel his crown probing her opening. He gripped her hips and lifted her ass a bit higher, and her thoughts fell apart as he pitched forward, driving all the way inside her. His breath came in a ragged burst as he filled her with every glorious inch. And, oh, what a lot of inches he had.
She gave a breathy moan. “Yes,” she whispered with effort as their bodies fused together.
Like a man on a mission he began powering his hips forward, exploring her deeper. As her hair tumbled across the mattress, he moved urgently over her, plunging harder, faster and she buried her face in the sheets, breathing in the warm scent of him. Growls rumbled from behind as he speared her with his cock, pounding her into the mattress with each forceful thrust. Her nipples scraped against the bedding as he reached a fevered pitch, pounding hard, bruising her body in ways that excited her beyond anything she’d ever known.
She could feel the tension rising in him—in her—as he rode furiously. She felt him shift his position, angling for deeper thrusts. The depth of penetration as he stroked with hunger, with expertise, stole the breath from her lungs.
He brushed his lips over her back, and as her body absorbed the heat from his mouth, a shudder overcame her. He fell over her, gripping her shoulders with one hand as the other slipped between her pelvis and the pillow. He touched her clit and she pushed against his hand, desperate…so damn desperate. He stroked her hard as he continued to drive into her and the dual pressure pushed her to the edge a second time. Hot sparks shot through her body and he must have felt them.
“Come for me,” he demanded, his voice playing down her spine.
His tongue skated across her neck, and the delicious scent of his skin swirled around her. Heat flowed through her blood, thick and heavy, and when he growled into her ear, another orgasm hit hard.
Matt growled as her cream dripped down her thighs, her liquid heat lubricating them even more. His hips jerked forward once, twice, and a second later he grabbed a fistful of her hair and stilled his movements. Sky stopped breathing as he pulsed inside her, his pleasure resonating through her entire body. Her muscles spasmed, sucking him in deeper, and he gave a tug on her hair. She closed her eyes to enjoy the sensations rocketing through her.
He stayed on top of her for a long time, his heart beating hard against her back. His breath fell over her, warm and sweet as he took her hands from the slats. He placed them beside her head and put his palms over them, a tenderness in his touch as he brushed his thumb over hers.
“Sky?”
“Yeah,” she said, soaking in his warmth.
“Are you okay?” A wave of heat moved through her at the softness in his voice, but beneath that softness she heard something else, something that sounded like regret.
“I am. You?”
“I…yeah.”
He rolled off her, discarded the condom and snatched the pillow out from her hips. He put it back in place, grabbed her and pulled her next to him. She nestled against him and thought about how nice it was to be held by him as he pulled the bedding over their bodies. His fingers played down her arm as hers went to her bruised lips, running over the events of the night. No man had ever touched her or kissed her with such ferocity, such passion. As she thought about that, she shifted, and felt his strong heart pound hard against her cheek. That’s when she realized he was quiet. Too quiet.
She angled her chin and stole a quick glance at him to find him staring at the ceiling. Unease moved through her when she caught the worry on his face, and he stopped running his finger along her arm, leaving cold where there was once warmth. Her throat dried, and her mind raced, trying to figure out where they went from here. She wanted to say something, anything, to address his concern, but what could she possibly say? What they did might have felt right, but as the lust cleared from her head, she knew it wasn’t. Matt was her best friend. A guy who was pretending to be her boyfriend so she could open another man’s eyes.
She thought their ruse would only involve kissing and touching. Thought it wouldn’t affect her. But this… Holy hell…they’d crossed a line tonight and the truth was not only did it affect her, it had her wanting more.
Chapter Eight
Early-morning sun slanted in through the curtains. He’d lain in bed staring at the ceiling for the better part of the night, his body tired but his mind too keyed up to sleep. Neither of them spoke after he pulled out of her a few hours ago. Silence lingered between them, both lost in their own thoughts. He briefly pinched his eyes shut, not wanting to think about what was going through her mind after the lust had cleared.
He shook his head, angry with himself. He’d crossed a line with her, one that he never should have crossed. What the hell had he been thinking? He should have walked away, should have pointed her to the door and forced her to leave, but goddammit when she put her arms around him, her body teasing and tormenting his to the point of no return, he lost all ability to think rationally. And then what did he do? He’d tossed her onto the bed and went at her like a fucking rutting animal. He’d been so rough, so needy, even pinning her hands above her head and demanding she not move them.
And why did you do that, dude?
But he already knew the answer. He’d wanted her so bad for so long now, that the feel of her fingers on his skin, touching softly, exploring thoroughly, nearly did him in. If he’d allowed her to continue caressing his body he knew he would have blown like a grenade, ending things before they even began—which is exactly what he should have done.
He glanced down to see her hair sprawled across his chest. He fought the desire to touch her again, to push her hair from her face and find her lips. He could tell by her breathing that she was awake. He needed to talk to her, to make things right between them, because he was pretty certain in the light of day, they both knew last night never should have happened.
“Sky?”
“Yeah.” Her hand went to his chest and she widened her fingers.
He closed his hand over hers and put it back by her side. He couldn’t have her touching him again, otherwise he’d lose it and fuck knows what he’d do then. Things were already fucked up enough, and he could at least blame last night on the strain he’d been under.
Worry crept into his voice when he said, “I’m sorry.”
Her hair fell over his shoulder as she tipped her head to see him. She opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again. “I…I…” she began, but he pressed his fingers to her lips.
“It’s okay. You don�
�t have to say anything. We both know this never should have happened and, believe me, the fault is all mine, not yours.” He shook his head and thought back to last night, to when his emotions were running high. “I just…I wasn’t in my right mind.”
“I know,” she whispered and looked down, her lids masking her emotions.
Even though he could tell she didn’t want to pursue this conversation and was undoubtedly feeling the regret every bit as much as he was, he cupped her chin and lifted it until their eyes met. Sure the sex had been great and he felt her come—twice—but they needed to clear the air and make things right between them. Christ, if he lost her because of his stupidity… His glance moved over her face and his gut clenched with the apprehension he met there. If he had the ability to kick his own ass for being such a greedy prick, he’d already have had size-twelve boot print bruising it.
“I’m sorry.” His voice hitched and he tried again. “I’m so sorry, Sky.”
“It’s okay.”
He looked at her shirt and thought about the way he’d tugged her bra down. Disgusted with himself for not having the decency to undress her properly, he shook his head. “It’s not okay and I can’t believe the way I…the way I took you.” Not only did he leave her half-dressed, he’d flipped her over and had even slapped her ass a few times. Holy fuck. He might be a little rough between the sheets, less than refined inside the bedroom, but she didn’t deserve to be held down hard and taken from any guy, let alone him.
She averted her gaze and toyed with the edge of the bed sheet, like she needed to busy her hands.
Desperate to move past this, he gripped a fistful of his hair and said, “I think we should just forget this ever happened, okay?” Yeah, like he could ever forget the taste of her body, the way she came in his mouth, the feel of her tight pussy squeezing his cock as he let go high inside her. He sucked in a quick breath as the sheets began to tent.
“Okay?” she croaked out, covering herself with the blanket. “It was a mistake. I get it. We were both upset. Neither one of us were thinking right.”
Even though he’d already seen her naked, he said, “I’ll leave so you can get dressed.”
“But you already…” Her words fell off when he slipped from the bed to pull on his jeans. He turned back around to see her staring at his chest.
He sat on the edge of the mattress, keeping a measure of distance from her as unease raced through his veins. How could he have been such a dumbass? “Please tell me this isn’t going to come between us.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t…I can’t…” Before he could get the words out his cell phone pinged. He grabbed it from his back pocket, and swallowed hard. “It’s Caleb, asking about Gran.” He sent back a message, then looked at Sky. “I’m going to check on her cats and then go see her, okay?” He wondered how she’d take that. Any other day she’d go with him, but after last night would she run the other way.
“I’ll need a quick shower and a change of clothes,” she said, the normalcy in her voice, her actions, filling him with relief. “I also wanted to bring some lunch to the guys at the base afterward. Can you give me fifteen minutes to get ready?”
His heart squeezed, because this was the sweet Sky he knew and loved, not the one who looked at him with grief after a night that shouldn’t have happened.
“Yeah, I need to shower too. And I told Jack I’d help out today so I’ll help you with the food.” He pushed his hair from his face and when his phone pinged again, he glanced at the screen. “Caleb is heading to the base later, after rounds.”
“Oh,” she said, glancing down again.
“Do you think…?”
She looked back up at him. “Do I think what?”
“Do you think we should plan that breakup today?”
She went quiet for a long time, and she looked past his shoulder toward the window, like she was deep in thought.
“Sky?” he said, dragging her focus back to him.
She nodded and met his glance. “Okay. I think that would be for the best.”
“How do you want to do it?”
“I don’t want to make a big public scene.” She crinkled her nose. “Maybe you could just tell the guys it didn’t work out.”
He nodded, and knew there were far too many hard-core soldiers who were trained to read others. They’d undoubtedly see right through his act. But what choice did he have? She wasn’t his.
“Okay,” he agreed. “I’ll make sure Caleb knows we’re done and hint that the two of you would make a better pair.” He pushed off the bed and grabbed Sky’s jeans from the floor. When he saw her torn panties, he cringed. He picked them up and placed them on top of her jeans. A noise caught in Sky’s throat and when he glanced at her, he noticed the stain of embarrassment on her face.
Shit. “I…uh…sorry. I’ll replace them.”
She arched one brow. “Are you going to go underwear shopping at Victoria’s Secret, Matt?” she asked and he could tell she was trying to lighten the mood. He’d fucked up with her, yet she was coming to his rescue. No wonder he loved her so much.
“Yeah, I am. I ripped your panties, and I will replace them. It’s the least I can do.”
She touched her frayed underwear, “Do you…? Are you always…?”
“Am I always what?”
“You know. That…intense.”
Intense? He guessed that was one way to look at it. “I didn’t mean to lose it like that, Sky.”
“I just never saw that side of you before.”
“That’s because we’ve never slept together.”
“Oh,” she said, the color on her cheeks deepening.
“Look, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so rough with you.”
“You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”
He wasn’t sure what she meant by that, and while they were always open with each other, talking about everything, he wanted to end this conversation before he made things worse. “I’m going to jump in the shower,” he said and made a beeline for the door.
He listened to the bedsheets rustle as he left the room. He closed the bathroom door behind him and leaned against it, waiting for her to leave the apartment. The front door clicked shut and he reached into the shower, turning the water to hot. He undressed and climbed in. Desperate to wash her from his skin, his brain, he grabbed the soap and scrubbed until his flesh was practically raw.
He climbed out, dried off and tugged on a clean pair of jeans and T-shirt. Stepping into his kitchen, he grabbed a slice of bread and spread on a thick layer of peanut butter. He munched on it as he crossed the hall. Using his key, he let himself in, and plunked himself down on her sofa until she was ready. He looked at the torn underwear she left on her coffee table and nearly choked on his bread.
Darting to her kitchen, he grabbed the orange juice and took a swig from the container.
“Hey, you’re spreading germs.”
“Oops, sorry.” He held it out to her. “Want some?”
She took the carton from him and he caught a whiff of her skin. He clenched down to stifle a groan.
“Since we probably share all the same ones anyway, why not.” She put it to her lips and drank and that’s when he realized she was still in a towel, her wet hair falling over her shoulders. She handed it back and made a face that looked like she’d just sucked on a lemon. “It tastes like peanut butter.”
“Breakfast of champions.”
“That’s debatable.” She shook her head, and he was so happy to see things between them were normal. At least as normal as they could be under the circumstances. Hell, maybe they could have sex again and again, and carry on like nothing had ever happened afterward.
“You want something to eat?”
“Yeah, put a slice in for me, and just a skim of butter.” She turned and disappeared down the hall. When she stepped into her bedroom, he tore his gaze away and adjusted his pants. He stuck her bread in the toaster and when it popped he buttered it like she wanted. Sky
came back out wearing a mid-thigh white skirt that showcased her gorgeous legs, and a T-shirt that hugged her breasts. Honest to God, even though she was all grown up some days she looked like she was still teenager. She wasn’t, but she sure as hell made him feel like a fourteen-year-old boy at times—hard and horny.
He handed her the toast and she grabbed her keys from the bowl she kept on her kitchen table. “I’ll drive,” she said. “I won’t be able to bring the guys food on your bike. Plus, I’m in a skirt.”
He nodded and left the room, happy to let her drive. The thoughts of her on the back of his bike, those long sexy legs of hers wrapped around his body, was more than he could take right now.
They hopped into her car and made the short trip to Gran’s house. He fished the key from his pocket and pushed the door open for Sky to enter first. Meowing could be heard as he followed her in.
“Hey, Dexter,” Sky said, bending down to pick him up. “Poor baby. You must be worried about Gran too.”
She ran her hands over his fur, and the cat meowed louder. Matt stepped past them and padded down the hall to the kitchen. Two cats jumped from the sofa and followed him.
Sky leaned against the counter beside him. “How many cats does she have now?”
“Three.” He grabbed the can opener and three tins of food from the cupboard. “Which is three too many if you ask me.”
“Dog guy. Right. I got it.” Dexter leapt from her hands, and went to his bowl. As Matt dished out the food, Sky folded her arms and sauntered into the living room. “You need to change the cat litter,” she called out, her voice echoing in the quiet house.
“Why do you think I brought you along?” he countered.
“Forget it, Matt.”
“Come on, Sky. You know I hate changing the litter.”
She poked her head around the corner to see him. “What will you give me?” she asked, and he couldn’t help but laugh at their childhood game.
“I’ll make your bed for one whole week.”