by Tawny Weber
What would she do if she had that sort of confidence?
Who would she face down?
What would she change?
Wanting was so easy.
But going for it?
That was another story.
Then again...
Her eyes trailed over Mitch’s body, her mouth going dry.
She’d wanted Mitch. Probably more than she could remember wanting anything or anyone else in her life.
And she’d had him.
Oh, my, she’d had him in so many delicious ways.
But had she gone for him? Was it enough that she’d gone along for the ride, if she ended up exactly where she wanted?
It could be.
But that was the easy way.
She watched the play of muscles as Mitch lifted his fork, his bicep rippling effortlessly, his abs tightening when he twisted to set his plate on the table. Her eyes dropped to the only part of his body not showing skin. She’d never wished for a tighty-whitey kind of guy, but she’d bet they’d offer a better view right now.
She wanted to see him naked.
Wanted to feast her eyes on every single one of his muscles. To stroke, pet, lick them. She wanted to watch him grow, to see if she could inspire him to new lengths. Long, hard new lengths.
She let out a shaky breath.
Maybe hard was a whole lot better than easy.
She gave a little shiver.
“You cold?”
Livi blinked, then mentally replayed the question.
Cold?
Oh, my, no.
“Just hungry,” she told him quietly.
“Oops.” Mitch shot a rueful glance at his clean plate.
But she wasn’t hungry for food.
Livi was pretty sure if she waited, Mitch would feed that hunger without any prompting from her. He’d probably come up with an even better way to do it, too. Something creatively sexy, like he’d done when he’d tied her wrists together. She shivered at the memory, delighting in the idea of waiting, in letting him take control.
But there was something about Mitch that made her want to prove herself. Livi wanted him to see her as an equal. As a source of as much pleasure and excitement as she saw him.
Even more, she wanted him to feel the helpless need for her, that intense craving that she had for him. There were so many levels of need. She didn’t just want him to need her body in a way that any woman could fill.
She wanted him to need her to answer the desires she, and she alone, inspired. The ones she stirred up through her actions, through her imagination and through her demands on him.
“Want dessert? I thought I saw strawberries in the fridge.”
“Strawberries are nice,” Livi replied in the same quiet, contemplative tone as before.
As she said it, she realized nice would never stick with a man like Mitch. Nice was okay, but forgettable. Nice could be replaced with good or okay or not bad.
Livi wet her lips and slowly got to her feet.
She would never forget Mitch.
She didn’t want him to ever forget her, either.
Which meant she had to go for it and get beyond “nice.”
Her eyes locked on his, she moved around the coffee table to stand beside him. A part of her, the one that always wanted to hide instead of talk to people, whispered for her to take the plate and pretend she was simply tidying up.
Livi took a deep breath and hushed that whisper.
Instead, she crossed her arms over her stomach, grabbed the hem of her tank and pulled it overhead.
His brows shot up.
What was the worst he could do?
Say, “No, thank you.” I don’t want my body worshipped right now.
Determined, she leaned forward and hooked her fingers in the elastic band of his shorts, then tugged.
“You’re not going to find strawberries in there,” he said with a husky laugh. But he didn’t stop her. Instead, he angled his hips so she could slide the fabric off.
“I’m not hungry for strawberries.”
“What are you hungry for?”
Even his words pushed her, challenging her to say aloud what she wanted. She glanced at the smooth length of his already hardening erection and skimmed her finger around the satiny head.
“I’m hungry for a different kind of dessert,” she told him with a wicked smile, straddling his long, hard body, delighting in the feel of him between her thighs.
“Is that a fact?” he asked, his voice even huskier.
“Oh, yeah.”
Livi shimmied down his chest, over his hips until she straddled his thighs, making sure to slide the pebbled tips of her breasts over his flesh as she went.
“Livi...”
Before he could finish his sentence, she took him into her mouth. And oh, my, what a mouthful he was.
Livi lost herself in his taste, sliding her tongue along the thick fullness of his cock. He was so big, so hard. So yummy.
“Livi...”
She sucked on the head as if she could draw his essence into her, as if she could absorb and share some of his power.
His fingers tunneled into her hair, tangling in the ponytail, gripping her scalp.
She didn’t know if he was trying to hold her closer or pull her farther away. She didn’t care. Her teeth scraped along his length.
He hissed, arching his hips.
She blew a puff of cool air on his wet flesh.
His free hand fisted into the couch cushion.
She slid her mouth up, then down. Sucking and sipping.
“Livi.”
This time he didn’t trail off, didn’t lose track.
Instead he jackknifed himself into a sitting position, grabbed her by the waist and flipped her around so she was still straddling him, but facing his feet. She heard the fabric of her sleep shorts rip before she felt the cool air on her hot core. Before she felt the even hotter spear of his tongue sliding over her swollen flesh.
Her hair falling over her face and shoulders now, she let it blanket her as she leaned down to once again delight in her new favorite dessert, Mitch’s engorged erection.
Heat swirled, tension built with every flick of his tongue. Livi wanted to fly over, needed the satisfaction that his fingers promised as they teased and tempted.
But not until he came first.
Determined, feeling as if her every hope of keeping Mitch’s attention after this one orgasm rested on who came first, she ran the edge of her teeth gently around the head, her hand sliding along the shaft in the same rhythm in which his tongue worked her.
She felt him tense.
He grabbed her hip with one hand, as if to warn her to slow down.
So Livi sped up.
She felt his juices rising, felt his body preparing to explode. Triumph surged, adding its own layer of pleasure to the delight his tongue was offering.
“Livi, now,” he growled against her clitoris.
“Make me,” she challenged right back.
“Damn it.”
She would have laughed with triumph, but her mouth was full.
Then it wasn’t.
Livi gave a startled cry as Mitch moved her so fast the room blurred. One second she was straddling his body, ready to take him into heaven.
The next she was belly-down on the couch, his body poised behind her, seeking entry.
Livi angled up and welcomed him in.
The second he hit her wet heat, he lost it.
His explosion sent her flying, her body shattering into a million pieces. And each one of those pieces was filled with satisfaction and delight.
* * *
“HOW DO YOU DO IT?”
<
br /> Her lush body curled naked in his arms, her fingers tracing random patterns on his chest. Mitch didn’t figure Livi was referring to his holding her upright against the shower wall while he’d poured himself into her welcoming body.
But since that was the last thing he remembered before dropping into bed with her, he wasn’t sure what she did mean.
“Do what?”
“All of it.” She propped herself up on her elbows, giving him a superb view of her breasts through the tangled blonde curls falling over her shoulder. “I mean, it can’t be easy to juggle everything, to handle all the responsibilities and challenges in your career.”
Her words trailed off as Livi bit her lip and looked away for a moment. Was she trying to figure out how to ask him about that career?
His body, so wonderfully relaxed just a moment ago, tensed in anticipation.
What he did was classified. From the code he used, to the places he went, to the targets he engaged, every real aspect of his career was top secret. Which meant he didn’t talk about it, except with his fellow teammates, and then only if they were serving on the same mission. Hell, he didn’t discuss ninety-five percent of what he did with his father or grandfather, and they were both active duty superior officers.
And this was why he usually kept his liaisons short and sweet, he thought with a sigh. Livi was different. He wouldn’t tell her anything, but for now while she was naked and vulnerable, he’d sidestep lightly. Then later, he’d make sure she understood the parameters.
“It’s my job. I chose it. I train for it. I do it. That’s all there really is to say.” He kept his tone light and easy but steeled himself for her reaction.
“That’s what I mean,” she said, putting her weight on one elbow so she could gesture with her other hand. The move did intriguing things to his view, but not enough to ease Mitch’s tension. “How do you do that? You’re amazing. You do the impossible and simply accept that it’s doable. You must face insurmountable odds, but you have such an even temperament. Then there’s everything you must have faced. But you still smile. Is it innate? Were you born with that confidence or is it something you’ve built over time, layer by successful layer?”
When he could only stare, shocked to his core, Livi’s shoulders drooped a little. She wrinkled her nose then shrugged, as if dismissing her own question.
“I suppose it’s a crazy question. I guess I’m just...” She hesitated. “I’m fascinated by what makes people strong. Probably a quirk of the job I do, I guess. I’m always interested in building layers of strength. You’re one of the strongest, most self-assured people I’ve ever met.”
That wasn’t what she’d been about to say, but he let it go. Mostly because he was stunned by her words.
“You humble me,” he said quietly. “And you make me sound much more—much bigger—than I am.”
This time Livi’s head shake was emphatic, her brow furrowed in a stubborn frown.
“Oh, no. You’re definitely all that. When I first saw you at Roz’s, I called you Super Hottie in my head,” she told him with a shy sort of laugh. “But it’s not a joke. You really are a superhero. You’re the leading man who saves the world. I don’t think it’s because you’re a SEAL, although I’m sure that adds to it. I think it’s simply who you are. Strong, confident, sure.”
“You’re mixing up personality with my training,” he decided. “I’m one of the best because that’s what being a SEAL means. That’s what we’re trained for.”
“If you weren’t a SEAL, you’d still be one of the best,” she argued. “I’ll bet you were the best all through school. I’d wager you excel in whatever you do when you’re not being a SEAL, too.”
Well, yeah. Of course he did. Why wouldn’t he?
Watching Livi’s fingers comb through the silky length of her hair, Mitch frowned.
His entire life he’d been given compliments, accolades, approval. He’d never questioned his right to those things, just as he’d never deliberately sought them out. They were simply a part of his world.
He was one of the best.
That wasn’t ego.
It was simply fact.
Because he expected it to be. Because everyone else in his life expected it, as well. Mitch didn’t think he’d ever considered another option.
But neither had he ever considered it special, something to be admired to the degree that Livi seemed to think it deserved. He’d have chalked it up to great sex combined with a little hero worship, but that’s not what he saw in her eyes.
He wasn’t sure exactly what it was that he saw in those blue depths, though.
Confused, a little blown away, Mitch couldn’t find the words to tell her how she made him feel.
So he showed her instead.
He pulled her into his arms, keeping his kisses gentle, his touch tender.
He wanted to show her how incredible she was, not talk about how special she thought he was.
He felt her instant flare of passion but worked to bank it. He wanted her to simmer, not boil over.
He wanted her to float on desire, not catapult into passion.
He simply wanted her.
With a gentleness and care he’d never realized he had, Mitch worshiped Livi.
Worshipped her body.
Her spirit.
Her beautiful sweetness.
As he did, he felt something shift.
But he felt too good to worry about it.
He sent her up in a smooth, easy wave. Then he followed, sliding home and letting himself ride that wave as her cries washed over them both.
Incredible.
She made him feel so good.
Her body blanketed over his, he felt Livi drift off to sleep against him. It was only then that Mitch himself relaxed.
His head was spinning. His emotions, too, although they were revolving in the opposite direction. The combination was overwhelming and just a little nauseating. Like a carnival ride gone haywire.
Mitch spent a considerable portion of his time in danger, risking life and limb, facing impossible odds to bring down extreme enemies. He was a skillfully trained, highly specialized expert who lived on the edge.
So he made it a point to balance the rest of his life against that.
He’d basically excelled in most of his pursuits.
He’d surrounded himself with people who inspired him, with challenges he enjoyed.
And he’d always considered his sex life to be strong and healthy. He’d never wanted for more than he had.
Until he’d met Livi.
Now, he couldn’t imagine sex without her.
He was a little worried that he couldn’t even imagine his life without her.
He wanted to write that thought off to exhaustion and maybe a little sexual haze. But he knew better.
Like everything in his life—simple or complicated—Mitch faced it head-on. He had feelings for the woman in his arms. He didn’t know what they were yet, but he’d have to figure it out. Soon.
And when he did, it’d be fine.
Whatever it was.
Mitch had never faced anything, anyone, any situation, that he couldn’t figure out and make work in his favor. It might not work immediately, but it always worked eventually.
Whatever this was with Livi would be no different.
So for now, he’d simply enjoy it. With that last thought, Mitch tucked his chin into Livi’s sweetly scented hair and drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.
* * *
WHO KNEW THE area around her apartment building was so quiet at three in the morning? Then again, she’d never stood on her balcony in the wee hours, watching the moonlight glint off the ocean.
“It’s almost hypnotic,” she murmured.
“A seductr
ess,” Mitch agreed, his arm warm around her shoulder and his body heating the right side of hers. “She’s had me hooked as long as I can remember.”
“Is that why you joined the Navy? Because you love the ocean?” Was that why her father had left her and her mother? Because he couldn’t resist the call of the waves?
“The Navy is a family tradition,” Mitch said, his voice pitched low, in keeping with the cool night. “I’d have joined regardless. But yeah, I do love the ocean.”
“Is it different where you’re from? You live in Virginia most of the time, don’t you?” Just saying the words hurt, like a fist-to-the-gut reminder that he was temporary. But she’d known that, she chided herself. She’d gone into this relationship with her eyes wide open. Besides, everything was temporary. Her marriage had taught her that.
Still, she shifted a little more tightly against Mitch’s body, as if she could hold on to the feel of him for just a little longer.
“I was last stationed in Virginia,” he said in such an agreeable tone that Livi wondered what that was doublespeak for. “But I’ve sailed on every ocean. None of them is the same, not as another, not from day to day.”
Watching the silvery glint of moonlight on the far-off waves, Livi cuddled in his arms as Mitch described the Atlantic in the winter, the Indian Ocean in the summer. He spoke of places she’d never heard of and a few she’d always dreamed of seeing.
There was so much passion in his voice. The same sort she used to have for fitness, she realized. But more, there was a reverence, layered with quiet assurance. He respected the ocean’s power and was humbled by its magnificence. He knew he belonged there. He was a part of that magnificent power.
She was in awe.
And she realized, as he talked about an ice storm in the Arctic, she was freezing.
Despite the blanket she’d wrapped around her before they’d come out, and the warmth of Mitch’s body, Livi shivered. Her cheeks felt like ice and her poor toes were shaking against the tiles beneath them.
“You’re cold,” Mitch noted. “We should go in.”
“No,” she protested quickly. “I don’t want to go in yet.”
She’d never had a romantic moment like this before. She didn’t want it to end. Not yet.
“At least let me go inside and get your coat.”