by Selena Kitt
“You okay?”
“Just a cramp,” Antonio said, forcing himself upright. “I’ll walk it off.”
After he went home and showered, he was toweling off when his phone rang. He planned to ignore it until he dressed, but he caught the caller’s name on the screen.
Lina.
His pulse shot to levels it hadn’t seen since gun fights in Afghanistan.
“I’m surprised to hear from you,” he said in a controlled tone.
“I owe you an apology.”
“Aren’t you getting married? Or did it already happen?” His voice came out accusatory, defensive. Seconds stretched while he waited for the answer.
“The wedding is off.”
Relief bloomed inside him, starting as a tiny bead of hope and ballooning to engulf his entire being. “You’re not getting married? What happened?”
“Can you please come over so we can talk?”
When he arrived at her apartment, Lina managed a weak smile. “It was wrong of me not to tell you about Brett. I’m sorry.”
Antonio barely heard her apology as his focus was drawn to a red, swollen mark under her left eye. Anger swelled in him, followed by a fierce primal emotion to protect her. “What happened to your face?”
“It’s nothing.” She brushed his concerns off with a wave.
His body heated from an inner fury. “Did he do this?”
“It’s not what you think. Things got a little out of hand.”
“I’ll destroy him,” he promised through a low icy growl.
“Don’t,” Lina warned. “It’s over.”
“How can you say that?” A dark possessiveness, a need to protect her grew stronger. He cupped her cheek, the unmarred area beneath the wound. “Nobody should ever treat you this way.” Touching her soft skin calmed the beast rising within. “How can I make it better?”
Another emotion surged through him, a strange combination of relief and happiness. She was no longer engaged, no longer promised to another man. He leaned in and kissed the unmarred area, calming and claiming her. She had to be his. He wanted her, needed her more than he could ever explain.
“That’s a good start,” she murmured.
Taking the encouragement, he ran his fingers through her silky hair, kissing along her jaw line. Her body softened, and he pulled her close, dancing his lips along the curve of her lip. Cradling her in his arms, the drive soared through him again, filling him with strength and power and an all-consuming need to shield her from harm.
Her lips trembled and she whispered, “Even better. I don’t feel it anymore.”
He moved his lips a couple of inches from hers, her sweet breath warming his lips. “Then I should continue with this treatment.”
Antonio pressed his hand against her lower back, her soft breasts crushed against him, causing his cock to twitch. His lips hovered before hers, inching closer, knowing this time it meant a new promise. She wasn’t bound to another man. She would be his.
He claimed her with his mouth, running his hands all over her curves to possess her in every way. A soft moan escaped her, the sweetest sound to his ears, and he fought the primal urge to tear off her clothes and mark her as his. Clutching her lush ass, he pressed himself deeper against her, his cock hard as steel, raging with the drive to bury itself deep inside her. The more animalistic his needs, the more she responded in kind, kissing him with a wild fury, raising her leg and wrapping it around his waist, granting him an invitation to get closer. Wasting no time, he grabbed her leg and rammed his pulsing erection against her.
Damn clothes. In a fury, she ripped off her top and fumbled with his buckle. He shed his shirt and reached for her jeans. They tore at each other’s clothing until he was in his boxers and she in a bra and panties.
He paused and stepped back to admire her. Her blue eyes appeared as dark as the night seas and hooded with desire, the way they always had when she grew inflamed with her need for him. Her cheeks flushed, and her full pink lips parted.
“You’re so beautiful, Lina.”
Scanning her graceful neck and further down, he watched the rise and fall of her breasts as she panted. She wore a lacy, pale pink bra and matching panties, innocent and naughty at once. His eyes roamed over her curves, in with her waist and flared out with her hips, settling on the tiny pink piece of fabric between her legs. His imagination went wild picturing what it concealed. Her naked body seared onto his memory, her touch keeping him companion on many cold nights in the desert.
Lina’s gaze traveled down his chest, and he tightened his body under her appraisal. “Wow,” she whispered, “you’re even in better shape than before. And you were always athletic.”
“We found ways to work out in the desert. Marines can be pretty inventive with sandbags.” She was too far away, and he ached to get closer, to touch her soft tanned skin. He stepped toward her to bridge the distance between them.
She raised her hand. “Hold on. I want to read this,” she said and zoomed in to read the words imprinted on his chest, a short poem about life, beauty, dreams, and treasuring the people you care about. “It’s beautiful.”
Antonio had tensed while he waited for her to read the words. He wasn’t sure why. But when she said she was finished, he exhaled. “I got it last time I was on leave. To remind me what’s important, you know what I mean?”
Her lips parted before she said, “I do,” in a silky voice. She moved forward with hands extended and ran her fingers over the planes of his chest. His skin burned under her light touch, then erupted into flames as her fingers traced further down into the indentations of his abs.
His breath hitched in his throat, coming out as a strangled gasp as he said, “Your roommate’s not here, right?”
Lina peered up at him, her blue eyes sparkling with both innocence and seduction. “She’s working. I don’t expect her to be home for hours, but the hospital gives her wacky schedules that change all the time.”
He scanned their apartment, focusing on the two half-open doors. “Which is yours?”
She pointed to the one on the right. Antonio scooped her up and threw her over his shoulder. She was so light. Lina yelped and then laughed, a musical sound to his ear.
“I know you’re used to carrying heavy things, but a warning next time,” she teased.
“You weigh less than a sand bag,” he replied and swatted her fine ass.
She squealed, and blood surged to his cock. If he grew any harder, he’d have trouble carrying her through the door.
Antonio made it through only hitting his shoulder on the way, but it was worth it as Lina kissed it better. Her soft, warm lips reminded him of other things she could do to him.
The Marine inside scanned the surroundings, a natural instinct to assess any situation. A queen-sized bed with a white down comforter and five pillows of different sizes in shades from lavender to purple was the focal point, set in the middle of the room. The room was painted a lavender color as well with a few enlarged black and white posters in black frames—lovers in front of the Eiffel Tower, in Venice, and New York City.
So she dreamed of traveling the world with her lover. Or had she with her ex-fiancé? A moment of jealousy rammed through him, which he drove away with a new goal. He’d be the man to take her to all the places she dreamed of and do things to her that would make her forget her ex for good.
He placed her on the bed and stepped back to take in the vision of her lying there like a goddess. With her gentle curves and sun-kissed skin highlighted by the pale pink of her bra and panties, she was sexier than any model. Most of all, it was the look in her eyes. The one that spoke of her desire for him and got him harder than steel.
“Come here,” she commanded, her voice low and sexy. She reached her arms out to him.
“Yes, ma’am.” He crawled on top of her, his cock pressing against her, aching to get in. He took a deep breath to control the demand. He’d waited for her long enough; he wouldn’t rush it. He ran his fingers through
her hair to brush it off her face. He wanted to touch and kiss every inch of her, starting with her beautiful lips.
He cupped one of her breasts while he teased the seam of her lips with his tongue to heighten her desire the way he’d always loved to do.
She lifted her hips, begging, “Please.”
Darting his tongue inside, he explored her delicious mouth. He pulled one of the bra cups aside to thumb her hardening nipple. God, he had to taste it. Touch the sensitive bud with his tongue, cover it with his mouth. He trailed kisses from her lips down her neck and found the tempting rosy tip bud. He circled with his tongue, and she arched against him, offering more. He seized the opportunity to reach back and remove her bra. One step closer to reclaiming the woman who had captured his heart and soul when he was too young and stupid to know what he’d had.
Caressing and tonguing her breasts—he could come from this alone. She ran her hands through his hair, coaxing him to continue. As if he needed prodding. It took all his willpower not to drive himself into her. But she was special and worth savoring. He may have been as well-behaved as a monk on his deployment in Afghanistan, but he found a few women to screw while stationed at Camp Lejeune. Not much else to do there but drink and fuck. And try to forget Lina.
It had never worked.
Most of the encounters were forgettable, but making love to Lina had seared his brain. Now that he had a chance again, he would make sure this was a night she’d never forget either. He licked the smooth skin of her breasts down until he found the seam of her panties and she squirmed.
“That tickles,” she laughed, lifting her head from the pillow.
“I know.” He searched her face. “I remember every place you’re ticklish. I remember the touch of your skin, your intoxicating scent. I remember every little thing that turns you on. And I want to spend all night exploring all those things and see if I can discover any new ones.”
The laughter left her eyes as they widened with anticipation. She bit her lip and dropped back to the pillow, her blonde hair floating around her like an angel’s halo. He continued his relentless pursuit to bring her back to him. Forever this time.
Antonio ran his finger over her inner thighs, tracing circles there, then moving up to dance along her panty lines. She squirmed as he tormented her, trying to get him to take notice of what she wanted. He knew exactly what it was, her scent calling to him, driving him to the edge of his self-control.
She’d have to wait a little longer, until she was begging for it. He stroked the darker part of her pink panties. “You’re so wet, Lina.”
“I want you,” she said, without a hint of self-consciousness.
He moved his knuckle to graze her clit, and she made soft desperate noises. “How much?”
Between escalating breaths, she murmured, “A lot.”
He inched a finger under her panties and stroked her hot, wet sex. “Do you want this?”
“Yes,” her voice quavered.
Plunging a finger inside her, he fucked her deep. “How about this?”
She moaned and cried, “Yes.”
His patience was slipping. He ripped the panties off of her, ready to ram into her, but the sight of her glistening pink pussy stopped him. He needed to taste her. Now.
Antonio bent lower and ran his tongue above her knee, inhaling the sweet scent of her. He traced circles and figure eights as he moved up the soft flesh of her inner thighs. She rose, coaxing him further, faster. He lingered as he reached the top, teasing her with long slow licks.
“Don’t torment me.” Her breath was ragged.
He was torturing himself even more. He wanted to touch and lick and fuck every part of her at once.
“What do you want?” he asked.
“You know.”
“Say it.”
“I want you to lick me.”
“Where? I want to hear you say it.”
“My pussy.”
He loved hearing dirty words come from her sweet mouth. Loved to hear her beg him for it. Like a conquest each time. He gave her a wicked smile and rewarded her with a long slow lick from the front of her slit to the back, and she quivered beneath him. She tasted like heaven.
He reached under her ass to cup her cheeks, hold her to his face where he wanted her. She relaxed back onto the bed with a sigh. He took his time exploring every inch of her with his tongue—except her clit. She’d have to wait for it.
God, he missed this. One taste of her, and he was addicted all over again. Fire roared through his veins like lava, surging to his cock, and he had to regroup a couple of times to keep from coming all too soon.
She was squirming underneath him. “Please, Antonio.”
He didn’t want to hold back any longer himself. He licked and sucked her clit, latching onto that precious pearl. Then he stuck a finger inside her, fucking her with his mouth and hands. She shuddered, thighs going rigid, and she grabbed his hair.
“Oh, my God,” she said. “Oh. Antonio.”
She broke then, her walls contracting around his finger, and she crested over him; warm, savory fluids covered his tongue. When the waves subsided, he moved back with a victorious smile. She was his again.
“That was—unreal,” she said.
“I’ve only just begun.”
He searched for his jeans and dug out a condom. Stretching it over his cock, he approached her. Climbing on top of her, he edged the tip in.
“Fuck me,” she said, pulling his head down to hers. Their mouths crashed, tongues collided, and still it wasn’t enough. She clamped her legs around his waist, coaxing him further inside her, while they devoured each other.
Sliding into her warm tight pussy was everything he remembered, and more. All he had missed, dreamed about—something he had wanted so badly, but had seemed out of reach. The primal caveman experience he felt when claiming her was replaced by something far more overpowering. He didn’t know if it would lead him to shoot his load prematurely or bury himself into her sweet soft hair and cry. Something beyond his understanding or control. Once he was entrenched deep inside her, he had to pause.
“Are you okay?” she asked, pulling away to look at him.
No, this was making it worse. Her beautiful eyes, full of dark desire, now peered at him with concern. She would undo him yet.
“I’m fine,” he said. His voice came out a low rumble. “It’s been so long. And you feel so good. Too good.”
“This feels incredible.”
Better than Brett? He forced that prick out of his mind. This was his moment.
He fucked Lina with increasing thrusts, building up the pressure. She dug her nails into his shoulder blades, rising to meet him with an escalating urgency. This was the way it should be, the two of them together, driving each other crazy with need. He reached for her clit, stroking it with the perfect amount of pressure. It shot her over the edge, and she cried out as she clamped her legs around him. Her pussy contracted against him, enveloping his cock in a hot, wet velvet embrace. It was too much. He couldn’t hold off any longer. He released a low, raw groan as he came, pulsating over and over, losing himself in her. Then he collapsed into her arms and breathed in the fruity scent of her hair.
He was hers. He always had been. Only he’d been too stupid at nineteen to realize. Even if he had said the words, he’d never really let her go.
Chapter 9
Lina adjusted her position as she roused the next morning. The arms wrapped around her reminded her she was in Antonio’s protective embrace. And all the areas their skin touch reminded her they were still naked.
Warm lips touched her bare shoulder. “Good morning, bella.”
“Mmm, I always loved the way you called me that.”
Her eyes fluttered open to see a framed black and white poster of a couple in Paris. On her vanity was the project she was working on, a collage of ticket stubs from shows. Ones she’d been to with Antonio a long time ago and those she’d seen since. A collection of memorable nights. None of t
hem included nights out with Brett; he wasn’t into live music and would much rather go to a Red Sox or Bruins game. Yet another sign of their incompatibility she’d overlooked.
He buried his face in her hair and inhaled. “You’re more beautiful now than ever.”
Being cocooned within his arms felt right. Like she was whole again. She had fooled herself thinking Brett was the safe bet, because she’d never felt more secure that she’d made the right decision as she did now. Even if taking a gamble meant she’d get hurt again, it was worth the chance.