“Wow.”
Arin chuckled. “Used up all your words in your presentation?”
Mali smiled. “I might have, yes.”
She had no idea what to say to Raul. She had spent nights thinking about what she wanted to say to him. It’d been months. Right before she’d left, he’d taken her hand and told her he’d keep in touch.
After what she’d said about them going their own ways, he’d proved to her that distance and time zones weren’t obstacles to him. He’d texted every day. He hadn’t needed responses from her, hadn’t asked for anything. He’d simply sent her fun pictures of Taz and Arin and King and the entire Search and Protect team. He’d sent her images of sea turtles and endless variations of shaved ice desserts. Every text had brought a smile to her face. When she’d asked him questions, he’d texted responses. It hadn’t mattered what she’d asked or how inconsequential her inquiries might’ve seemed to her. He’d always been out there, answering her.
He hadn’t called, though. She’d gotten the impression he’d wanted to give her the space and the choice. She hadn’t called him. So they’d just texted and it’d given her the space to recognize that she’d been afraid of what they could be.
He’d been a surprise, an unpredictable variable, and a threat to her carefully planned academic career. She’d been in a living nightmare when her research team had been kidnapped, and he’d stepped into the middle of it. Once the nightmare was over, she hadn’t been able to separate him from the experience, even if she had wanted to.
So he’d let her go. And he’d proven he’d still be there if she wanted him. It’d been huge. She still hadn’t worked through all of her apprehension yet. But hell, she figured he deserved her if he wanted her, and she deserved to be happy. More than happy.
She stared up at him. “I am so glad you’re here.”
He smiled then, slow and incredibly sexy. None of his texts had indicated anything but light flirtation with no expectations. She’d wanted him to cross the line, even hint to her that he wanted more. Here he was, and just his smile was doing bad, bad things to her ability to remain standing.
“After dinner, can I see you home?”
Yes. Oh yes. Maybe by then, she could manage to pull together all the things she’d been wanting to say to him.
* * *
She wasn’t just beautiful. She was everything. He’d soaked in Mali’s talk as she’d presented her research findings and analysis. The sound of her voice had soothed a six-month-long ache. It’d been a good idea to watch her from the back of the hall at first and then to stand back as she’d entered the restaurant. He’d enjoyed the play of expressions across her face, ranging from nervous to professionally serious, passionate with the conviction of her research, and gracefully relieved once she’d arrived at the restaurant for drinks with close colleagues.
He’d refrained from trying to give her a hello hug because he’d have held her too tight, been too much, too soon. Instead, he’d savored every little touch she’d given him through the drinks and chatter. Every brush of her fingertips over his wrist or the light bump of her knee against his. She’d continued to rest her hand against his shoulder as she’d given him driving directions to her apartment, leaning close through the drive.
Now, standing behind her as she fit her key into the deadbolt lock of her front door, he was close enough to catch the scent of her hair and the hint of perfume she wore. She didn’t smell of beach sand and sea salt anymore, but there was the faintest hint of plumeria. She leaned back into him briefly before opening the door and letting Taz precede them into her home.
He’d given her a fair chance to fade in his memory. She hadn’t. The chemistry between them hadn’t changed gradually to friendship the way it could have. It was time to explore the “what ifs”—if she was willing.
“Careful of the step here. This is just sort of an entryway between the outer door and the inner door to my place. The lightbulb in this hallway went out, and I never got up there to replace it.” A faint light flared from her hand as she used her smartphone as a kind of flashlight.
“I could change the bulb for you,” he offered automatically.
“Oh, don’t bother. It’s really not worth it.” She stepped out of tiny heels, placing them on a shoe rack next to the first step from the landing, and he wondered what shoe size she must be. They had to be more than three inches high. He strongly approved of the way they’d changed her walk from a smooth gait to a sexy stride, where her hips rolled as she moved. He wanted to commit her size to memory because it’d be fun to buy her all sorts of sexy heels in the future if she liked them.
He bent and took off his own shoes, chuckling as he slid them under the shoe rack. The size difference was crazy. It’d look ridiculous to put his big shoes on the top rack next to the neat collection of small footwear.
As he straightened, she was standing there waiting for him within arm’s reach. Her eyes shone with anticipation.
He reached out, careful, and caught a loose strand of hair near her jawline. “Hey.”
She rose up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss against the corner of his mouth. He set his hands on her hips to steady her, bending his head to follow as she settled back down on her heels. He returned her kiss with a longer one of his own, reveling in the warm softness of her mouth and the sweet taste of her. “I had a question for you.”
“Mmm hmm.” She slipped her hands under the front of his shirt and coasted them over his abs until her palms lay flat against his chest.
Words. What were words?
This time, they kissed as if they were drowning. They breathed each other in, tongues exploring and tangling with each other. He pulled her close against him, and she ground her hips against him in response.
Damn. He was going to bust out of his own dress pants.
He bent his knees, sliding his hands over her tight ass, and lifted her. She spread her legs and wrapped them around his waist. He was careful to keep hold of her as she leaned back, unable to hold on with her hands still trapped against his chest. He took a step forward and braced them both against the wall. She was wearing the barest bit of silk or satiny something under her cocktail dress. He wondered how mad she’d be if he tore it off her.
Mali trailed kisses along his jaw and then gently bit the side of his neck. He groaned into her hair, squeezing her ass while he rolled his hips against her.
“T-Taz will be fine inside the kitchen.” She didn’t make it a question. She only freed an arm and flailed somewhere in the dark, her phone clattering to the floor as she somehow found the inner door on the opposite side of the entryway and swung it shut in his dog’s face.
He probably grunted something in agreement. He’d made a noise. He was sure of it. If he didn’t taste more of her in the next few seconds, he was going to rip their clothes to shreds.
Her hands were on his shoulders now, pulling at his polo. She was breathless as she gave him her next request that wasn’t a question. “Off.”
Yes ma’am.
He let her down carefully and pulled his shirt over his head, surrendering it to her. “Now I get something of yours.”
“Wh—”
He kissed away her question. She’d find out in just a minute. He ran his hands over her shoulders, her soft breasts, over her ribs and her waist. As he explored with his hands through the fabric of her perfect little dress, he kneeled down before her and prepared to do the only kind of worshipping he ever did. And he planned to put everything he was into it.
He buried his face into her belly, glad when her hands caressed his hair. He pressed kisses into the inner hollow of her hip as he slipped his hands under her skirt, finding the sides of her panties. She gasped as he pulled her panties down and she stepped out of them for him. Looking up, he watched her gaze go dark with lust as he tucked her underwear into his pants pocket.
Her lips were parted, and she was watching. Good.
Lifting her skirt to expose her, he nuzzled her first. She
whimpered. He grinned up at her then and wedged his shoulder between her legs, forcing her to widen her stance and present herself even more to him. Her hands landed on his shoulders as she braced herself. He blew a puff of air against her most private flesh.
“Please,” she whispered.
He raised an eyebrow, nuzzled her again, and then darted the tip of his tongue between her delicate folds.
She balled up her right hand in a fist and brought it down on his shoulder in a credible thwack.
He chuckled. She was riled up, frustrated, for him. There was nothing in this world so tempting. He parted her folds with his thumb and ran his tongue up her slit.
She gasped.
He lunged forward then, and he feasted on her. She cried out, grabbing his shoulders and leaning back against the wall as he explored, tasted, nibbled, and sucked. He relearned the sounds she made, reminding himself of exactly where to press the tip of his tongue to get her to whimper and just how to tease her entrance to make her moan. He grasped her ass in both his hands and squeezed as he darted his tongue wickedly inside her. She called out, exciting him further.
He let her go as he licked her folds and she gasped for air. Then he circled her clitoris with his tongue, tickling her with his fingertips.
“You are so mean.” Breathless with need.
But he wanted to hear more from her.
He clamped his lips over her clit and suckled as he thrust a finger into her, groaning at her tightness. And whatever sexy sound came out of her as he pumped his finger inside her—he had no idea how to describe it—but it was exactly what he wanted to hear.
Her hands were in his hair, and her hips were moving whether she was aware of it or not, helping him, encouraging him, as he stroked her with his finger and mouth. He steadied her with his other hand when she tensed, right on the edge, and he kept up the rhythm of his finger inside her until she crested and her orgasm took her in a shuddering release.
He sat back, taking her into his arms as she collapsed down on top of him. But then she rolled and pulled him over her on the hallway floor. “I want you inside me.”
“Anything you want.” He barely got his agreement out before he undid his belt and pants, keeping just enough presence of mind to free his wallet and retrieve a condom.
His brain stuttered as she lifted one leg over his shoulder. She was showing him exactly how she wanted this, and he only hoped he could give it to her before she sent him into a stroke. In a split second, he had the condom out of its wrapper and rolled over his length. With his hand at the base of his cock, he guided himself into her; a groan of his own ripped from his throat with her tightness around him.
Her hand landed on his hip and grabbed hold, urging him, and he was not about to argue. He drew back and drove into her, balls deep, and she cried out with the pleasure of it. Again. And again.
“More,” she gasped. “I missed you so much. I want you. Harder.”
“Everything.” His voice had dropped to a growl. “You can have everything.” Because he loved her, this woman who could embrace everything about him. She’d seen every aspect of him and hadn’t pretended she understood. She’d acknowledged him and hadn’t hidden. And here she was, with him now, wanting him.
He thrust into her, fast and hard, picking up the pace at her encouragement until fireworks started firing off behind his eyes. She arched to meet him, taking him in as far as she could. When he thought he wasn’t going to make it, thought he was going to lose it before her, she tensed under him again.
“Come with me,” he urged her.
Her eyes went wide, and they went over the edge together.
It took them a few long moments, raggedly gasping, to come back to themselves. He eased her leg down from over his shoulder and gathered her into his arms. It was a good thing this was a private foyer.
Hooking his arms under her knees and behind her back, he lifted her as he got to his feet. Kicking his clothes aside, he got them both to the inner door. She had draped an arm around his shoulders as he cradled her but she reached out with a free hand and opened the door for him.
He carried her inside and froze.
Taz lay on top of a large box across the room. Actually, there was nothing but boxes. No furniture. No appliances. Nothing, not even food, on the shelves in the kitchen. Well, there was a candy bar on the kitchen counter.
“What?”
Her arms tightened around his shoulders. “I’ve been packed. I was leaving tomorrow morning.”
His heart stuttered. But no. It didn’t matter. He’d adjust course. Whatever it took.
Before he could pull his wits together to ask any of the fifty questions whirling through his brain, she pressed a kiss against his cheek. “I have a one-way ticket to Honolulu, over there. See?”
There was a sheet of paper, an e-ticket printed out.
She tapped his lips until he looked down into her dark gaze, sparkling with joy. “I was going to come to you. I figured it’s an island; how hard could it be to track you down? If Arin didn’t know where you were exactly, I was going to make her and King help me find you right away. I didn’t plan to wait.”
She’d been ready to come to him.
“And then you both were here, tonight. I couldn’t have dreamed of better timing.” She was laughing now, quietly, and pressing kisses against his jaw between words. He tightened his hold on her. “I love you.”
“I love you.”
They’d said it at the same time.
“I was going to come to you, you know.” He whispered to her. “I was ready to do whatever it took to help us work. I was ready to wait as long as you needed to decide if you wanted to be with me. But I was going to wait nearby.”
She snuggled into him. “We both made the big gesture. I like that. Puts us on even footing.”
“Yeah.”
There was a pause and then she asked, “What are you looking at?”
He grinned. “I’m counting how many rooms you’ve got here.”
She drew back to stare at him quizzically. “Why?”
He chuckled. “Well, if we’re leaving in the morning, I figure we’ve got enough time to do right by every room in here. You know. As a send-off.”
She gasped. Then she bit her lower lip with mischief and hunger in her eyes. “I like the way you think.”
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Alex Logan and Courtney Miller-Callihan for working with me to bring Raul and Mali’s story to life and for your amazing patience.
Thank you to Christopher Baity, Executive Director of Semper K9 Assistance Dogs, for your insight into working dogs. Any exaggerations or errors are my own—because sometimes we writers need to stretch a few truths to make things work—but hopefully the story is plausible thanks to you.
Thank you to Katee Robert and Allison Pang for helping me in those crazy moments where I lost the beats of my story. Your help in finding them again was invaluable.
Thank you to Matthew for being the heart in which mine finds home even when we’re far apart.
And finally, thanks to my readers. The True Heroes series is continuing because of you, and I hope you’ll enjoy.
Also by Piper J. Drake
Extreme Honor
Ultimate Courage
Absolute Trust
After multiple tours of duty, Brandon Forte returns to his hometown on a personal mission: to open a facility for military service dogs like Haydn, a German shepherd who’s seen his share of combat and loss. It also brings him back to Sophie Kim, a beacon of light in his life…And the one woman he can’t have.
Please see the next page for an excerpt
from Absolute Trust.
Chapter One
It was a quiet Tuesday afternoon in New Hope. Few people were out and about on the main street when it was this cold out, which was perfect for Brandon Forte. The jet-black German Shepherd Dog walking just ahead of him needed space for this excursion, a couple of things to look at but not too much to excite him
. A few people to see was good for them both, too, so long as they weren’t going to be overwhelmed with requests to pet or take pictures.
Besides, the bake shop all the way down on this end of town tended to have day-old baked goods at a discount, and the shop owner occasionally gave Forte a cupcake or cookie on the house along with special home-baked dog treats for whichever dog was with Forte. It gave the dogs and him something to look forward to on the walk.
Today, it was Haydn. Haydn was a seasoned veteran and one of the dogs Forte had trained on active duty for the Air Force. Now, Haydn had come to Hope’s Crossing Kennels for a new kind of training. The black GSD had a lot of physical therapy ahead of him. He’d been fitted with a prosthetic to replace his front left leg prior to arriving, but it was up to Forte to help Haydn figure out how to use it. The big dog had walked the kennel grounds fine but was obviously getting bored. It happened with intelligent animals, the same way it could with people. Both of them were more than ready for a change of scenery and terrain.
Thus, the outing and the very slow walking.
Besides, it took skill to stuff a chocolate cupcake with cookie dough frosting dusted with sugar in one bite. A man needed to practice once in a while to make sure he could still manage it.
And it was a necessary skill, as far as Forte was concerned. Sophie tended to bring her own cooking and baked treats to Hope’s Crossing Kennels every weekend. She was a close friend to everyone at the kennels, an integral part of what made the place home to each of them, and she was…more to him. If she caught him partaking of other sweets, she’d never let him hear the end of it.
Now if it was about dating, she never had a word to say about any of the women he saw or the one-night stands he indulged in now and then. He’d bumped into her once in a while in Philly on the weekends. They both dated, and it couldn’t matter less to her who he chose to spend his time with, as far as he could tell. But take a taste of someone else’s baking, and he was in for a world of hurt. Thus, the one-bite-and-inhale technique. Because she had a knack for popping up out of nowhere.
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