CHANCES ARE (Last Chance Rescue)

by Reece, Christy

  “Rinse.”

  Though water gushed over her, she had no problem hearing the husky thickness of his tone.

  Standing beneath the spray, she allowed Jake to rinse the soap from her hair. It took an enormous amount of self-control for her not to grab his hand and lead him to other, hidden places aching for his touch.

  At last the soap was gone. The water stopped abruptly as Jake turned off the faucet. Angela opened her eyes and watched in agony as Jake turned away. Was he walking out, just leaving her like this?

  A large towel covered her head and Angela smiled beneath it as Jake dried her hair. Then, as if it was just another day at the office, he efficiently and effectively dried her entire body.

  “Let’s get you out of there before you get a chill.”

  He helped her out of the shower and then she stood in the middle of the bathroom, stark naked, and waited for his next move. Yes, she knew she could leave and go throw some clothes on. She also knew she could touch him and probably get what she’d wanted almost from the moment she met him. She did neither—this was Jake’s call.

  Every particle of Jake’s body felt like it was on the cusp of explosion. Cupping her face with his hands, he stared down into a dark velvet gaze filled with need. Angela had never closed herself off from him and she wasn’t now. Expressive, beautiful eyes told him she was his for the taking. And God help him, he was going to take all she could give.

  He watched her eyes widen as he lowered his head. Before he pressed his mouth to hers, he whispered softly, “You’re sure?”

  At her soft response of “With everything that I am” Jake was lost. The instant his lips covered hers, he was engulfed in an erotic burning haze. Sweeter than any delicacy he’d ever tasted, her mouth offered sensual delights he had never imagined.

  He pulled away from her soft, luscious lips and then closed his mouth over her breast, sucking deeply, his tongue flattened against her nipple as he pulled at her. The breathy, gasps coming from Angela urged him on. But he needed more. With a growling “Hold on” he cupped her beautiful ass in his hands, lifted her and headed to the bedroom.

  Following his orders perfectly, she wrapped her legs around his waist and held tight. Jake could hear words of caution and reprimands coming at him from various sources in his head. He shut them down. He had dreamed about this forever…had wanted Angela from the moment he met her. She had made no secrets of her desire for him. They were two consenting adults performing an act as old as time. It was nothing more than that.

  The instant the back of her legs hit the bed, Jake pushed her all the way onto the bed and then followed her down. His mouth became a marauder as he delved into every valley and shadow on her silken body. Starting at her long, elegant neck, he caressed with his hands and his tongue, leaving a trail of wet kisses as he glided to her breasts where he once more tasted each one. With great reluctance, he lifted his mouth and stared down at them. The soft glow of moonlight from the bedroom window highlighted gleaming mounds of perfection.

  About to go back for another taste, she arched slightly, brushing her body up against him, reminding him he had even more treasures to taste. Lowering his head again, he kissed and licked her stomach and followed a slow, delicious path to her long legs. Trailing kisses down one leg, he stopped at the bottom, picked up her foot and licked from heel to the top of her toes. Looking up to see what kind of effect that had on her, he became lost in the dark sensuality of her eyes where every emotion was revealed to him—acceptance, arousal and desire. All the things he needed to see.

  Taking her other foot, he performed the same taste test and then, still holding her foot in his hand, he leaned forward, bending her leg as he went. And there she was, exposed and open for him. She arched toward him in blatant invitation. With a deep growl of approval, Jake dipped his head. Pausing at her entrance, he breathed in the musky scent of arousal. Never had he smelled anything sweeter. Spreading the folds of her sex, his tongue licked in a long, deliberate swipe. Her hitching breath made him smile. Yes, they both wanted it. This time he went deep, thrusting all the way inside her. Hot moisture hit his tongue as he delved over and over again. Angela’s fingers weaved into his hair, her hands pressed him deeper between her legs. Hell, he could spend a lifetime eating her. Her breath hitched higher and when climax hit, she tightened like the taut string of a musical instrument, her body arching upward toward his greedy mouth. Grabbing her hips to still her movements, his tongue delved as deep as he could go as he let her ride his mouth to fulfillment.

  Breathless and panting as if she'd just run a marathon in a matter of minutes, Angela wound down from the most deliciously exquisite orgasm of her life. Jake's head was still between her legs, gently lapping. Wanting to give him the same kind of pleasure, she cupped his jaw in her hand and whispered, “Jake, let me taste you, too.”

  She had a flash of fear that regret would set in and he'd leave her without letting her have the same luxury of delighting in his body. That fear was obliterated when he sprang to his feet and stripped with impressive speed and no finesse.

  She laughed softly. “It's a good thing you’re not a stripper by trade. The show would be over before it started. You are—” She broke off on a gasp. He was…there was no other word for it…he was beautiful. She had never even seen him without a shirt, which was probably a good thing because she would have been all over him. Every inch of his body was steel encased in smooth, hard silk.

  She stretched out her hand and was instantly mesmerized by the feel of him beneath her fingers. He dropped down beside her and then did something no other lover had ever allowed her to do. He sprawled out before her and gave her total access to his body, allowing her to touch him anywhere, everywhere. Her hands glided over him as if he was a piece of fine art and she was a connoisseur. Her fingers trembled as they roamed over the steel hard muscles of his shoulders and chest. The slight furring in the middle of his chest was a delight to touch, the hair coarse and silky at once. She swirled a fingertip around a copper nipple and smiled when it sprang up hard, as if eager for attention.

  Trailing her hand down his torso, she explored the hard planes of his abdomen. Her gaze lowered and despite her knowledge that big men often had big parts, she couldn’t prevent the gasp at his size. Without thought of consequences, her only desire was to taste the long, hard length, she opened her mouth and took the head into her mouth.

  Jake drew in a sharp breath and pulled away.

  She looked up at him. “What’s wrong?”

  “Not a damn thing. Just didn’t expect that.”

  “Can I have more…now that you know?”

  His laughter was a short bark. “Baby, you can have as much as you want.”

  She smiled. “I don’t think I can handle as much as I want.” Lowering her head again, she took him back into her mouth and to her throat, testing exactly how much she could take. When he reached her throat, she pulled away to keep from gagging, then tried again. The sounds coming from Jake told her he approved. She reveled in his taste, in the sheer loveliness of being able to give him pleasure.

  Seconds later, Jake pushed her away and grabbed her shoulders. Before she could ask him why, he had flipped her onto her back and was devouring her mouth like a starving man. Angela wrapped her arms around him and opened her legs wider, allowing Jake to settle between them. And with one hard, driving thrust, he pushed deep inside her.

  Angela met each thrust with a counterpoint arch of her body. In perfect rhythm, as if they had synchronized and planned this sexual dance, their bodies writhed and twisted. Coupled with the need for fulfillment was the desire to give each other everything they had. For every groan from Jake, Angela gave a moaning approval of her own. In beautiful sexual connectivity, they took what they wanted and gave all that was asked.

  He stiffened and she knew he was close. Grabbing his hips, she arched up and pushed him even deeper, igniting her own explosive climax. On a wail of ecstasy, release washed over and in that splendid moment
of sweetness, Angela knew that her life would never be the same.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Cocooned in a hard, warm embrace, Angela snuggled against Jake’s chest and allowed herself the fantasy of forgetfulness and peace. She had never expected to be here with him like this. What they had just experienced was something she wanted to hold on to for as long as possible.

  She pressed a lazy kiss to his chest and sighed. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this relaxed.”

  “Me either.” He released a sigh. “It’s a little late to talk about it, but I didn’t use protection and I—”

  “Not to worry. I’m covered.” She peeked up at him. “Healthy, too.”

  He dropped a kiss on her nose. “Me too.”

  “Good.”

  His arms tightened around her and they lay in perfect quietness for several more seconds. And then Jake broke the silence and said, “Tell me about your family. Are you more like your father or your mother?”

  Loving the rumble of his voice beneath her ear, she wiggled deeper into his arms. “One of mama’s favorite sayings was: ‘I swear, Angela, you’re just like your papa.’ “

  “You weren’t like your mother?”

  Angela laughed. “Oh yes, very much so. In fact, my father would always counter with, “No, Elena, she’s just like you.””

  Grateful for the opportunity to share the memories of her loved ones with Jake, she continued, “My family was wonderfully unique but I guess a typical one, too. We had our disagreements. My father wanted my brother to study architecture but Max wanted to be a painter. He was an amazing artist. From the time he could walk, he knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life. That didn’t prevent my parents, especially Papa, from trying to influence him. He never budged.” Her voice held a wealth of sadness as she added, “He was on his way to fulfilling his dreams.”

  Dropping a comforting kiss to her head, he said, “And your sister, Chloe, what was she like?”

  Her eyes closed to prevent the tears, she said, “Like a peaceful river.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Angela shrugged, unsure if she could do justice to her sweet little sister. “She just had a way about her that was calming. She possessed a maturity far beyond her age. My parents and brother had a tendency toward drama, often overreacting to even the most mundane events. Chloe was even-keeled and serene. She took things in stride and gave great advice.”

  Humor in his voice, he said, “So it was just your brother and parents who were dramatic?”

  Angela laughed. “Okay, me too.

  “And Chloe gave great advice. She give you any?”

  “Absolutely. In fact, Chloe was the only one in my family who knew I worked for LCR. I never told my parents or my brother because I knew how they would react. And Noah feared they could be targeted if any of his enemies knew, so I kept it to myself.”

  “But not Chloe?”

  “She didn’t know for a long time but one day we were talking about our dreams for the future. Chloe wanted to be a teacher, like Papa. She used to play schoolhouse with her friends…she was always the teacher. Anyway, she asked me what I wanted to do.”

  “And you told her you wanted to be an LCR operative?”

  Pain seared her heart and tears threatened again…that dream was dead. Chloe would be so disappointed in her. Unable to verbalize her answer, Angela nodded.

  “And what was her reaction?”

  “She was surprised but pleased, too. I think she saw me as some kind of superhero.” She snorted softly. “Little did she know.”

  As if she hadn’t just touched on a painful subject, Jake said, “And your parents? What were they like?”

  “Mama was sweet, wise, and self-sacrificing. Papa was temperamental, loving, and had a great sense of humor.

  “To Mama, family was the most important thing. Despite the fact that she didn’t want to leave the States and come to Paris to live, she did it for my father and our family. I was only ten but I remember how sad she looked when we arrived, as if she’d lost her best friend. Papa tried to make it better for her, reassuring her that she would soon love France as much as she loved America. I don’t think she ever did but she adjusted eventually. And she did whatever she could to make sure her children never forgot that part of their heritage.”

  “How’d she do that?”

  “Family dinners were a big thing for the Delvecchio’s. You could miss breakfast and lunch but you never missed dinnertime. It was served promptly at six o’clock. If you were late, you had to pay a price.”

  “Like what?”

  “Hmm. Like naming the past presidents of the U.S. Sometimes you could get by with just naming the fifty states, reciting the Preamble to the Constitution or the Pledge of Allegiance. If you were really late, it was the Gettysburg Address or you’d have to sing the national anthem.” She giggled as she added, “We all suffered when that happened since not one of us could carry a tune.”

  She remembered one particularly controversial mealtime. “Papa was an educator and was usually all for such discipline but one day he was fifteen minutes late and Mama made him pay dearly for it. He had to name the fifty states.”

  “That doesn’t seem that hard.”

  “It is when you have to name them in date order of when they became a state.”

  “Hell, that is harsh.”

  “Yes, he wasn’t too pleased but she had made his favorite meal, so he had incentive.”

  Jake chuckled. “Your family was unique.”

  “That they were. I miss them so much.” Encouraged by the intimacy they’d shared, as well as his questions about her family, she said, “What about yours? What’s your family like?”

  His shoulders shifted in a slight shrug. “Didn’t have any brothers or sisters.”

  “But your parents? They’re still alive?”

  “Yes. Both my parents are attorneys. My father still practices and is on the board of directors of numerous businesses. My mother left her career when I was born but filled her spare time with various charities. They go to all the right parties and know all the right people.”

  “You don’t get a along with them?”

  “Actually, I love them a lot…we just don’t have much in common. They wanted a different kind of life for me than I wanted for myself.”

  “Like what?”

  “Ivy League schools, marrying well…having children who would carry on the family businesses and traditions.”

  “And what did you want?”

  “I didn’t know for a long time. I went to the schools they chose, dated the girls they approved of. Even got a degree in political science and was headed in the exact direction they wanted me to go.”

  “Did something happen to change your path?”

  “Yes and no. I was a semester away from getting my master’s degree and was set to start law school the next year. Then I met Harry.”

  “Who’s Harry?”

  “An Iraq war vet I met at one of my mother’s charity events. He was a highly decorated soldier and sat at the table with us. He’d lost one leg and part of his arm in an IED blast. I remember thinking if that had happened to me, I’d think my life was over. But Harry was only a few years older than me and had already done remarkable things with his life. He was married, had a couple of kids, and instead of feeling sorry for himself, was working to make things better for returning soldiers. I, on the other hand, had come to the dinner because my mother made me. I was pissed because a couple of my friends had gone snow skiing and I wanted to go, too. And, oh yeah, my Porsche had a door ding. Those were my big problems.”

  “Sounds like Harry really made an impact on you.”

  “He did, much to my parents’ and my fiancé’s dismay.”

  Though she longed to ask about that fiancé, she wanted to hear more about Jake’s life-changing decisions.

  “What did you do?”

  “I enlisted.”

  “Wow, that was gutsy.”

  “N
ot really. What I told you earlier was true. I didn’t know what I was getting into. I only knew my life up to that point had been useless. I’d been breathing air and taking up space without any real contribution.”

  “How did your parents take the news?”

  “They weren’t happy but eventually accepted my decision.”

  “And your fiancé?”

  “Broke it off with me.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yep. When it was clear I wasn’t going to be providing her with the life she wanted, we both agreed it wasn’t going to work.”

  “What a shallow woman she must have been.”

  Jake remembered Sarah’s baby blue eyes swimming in tears as she pled with him to change his mind. She’d been a sweet girl who had expected a certain kind of life. He had no ill thoughts about her but he also knew his feelings for her hadn’t been the long-lasting ones either. Their marriage never would have worked.

  “She wasn’t a bad person. She just wanted a different kind of life. But so did I.”

  “She obviously didn’t love you.”

  That much was true. Their broken engagement had been a mere blip on his life, with barely any influence. Within six months of their break-up, Sarah was married to one of her father’s junior law partners.

  “How long were you in the Army?”

  “Six years. I considered making a career of it but I came home on leave and—”

  “And what?”

  Jake shrugged. “I met someone and decided to do something else.”

  “Teresa?”

  Jake released a slow breath. They were getting into territory he didn’t want to go. He’d already shared more about his past than he ever had with any other person. Hell, even Teresa hadn’t known about his terror before he’d been sent to Afghanistan or about the talk he’d had with the Army chaplain. He’d never considered the events something he would want to discuss. With Angela it had felt right. But there were certain areas he could not and would not talk about. Soon the discussion would be halted. He regretted that because he knew the sweet intimacy they were sharing would also end. However, going further into his past would only cause massive regret. He lived with his mistakes daily. Having them as a topic of conversation was out of the question.