by Raina Wilde
His hands roamed her body in a way that was both familiar and exploratory. Jenna broke that contact of their lips to brush her mouth along his jaw toward a spot on his neck that, she suddenly remembered. used to drive him crazy.
He threw his head back and groaned with primal pleasure.
“Jenna…” he breathed as she swirled her tongue on his sensitive neck. “Oh, god. If this is some kind of joke or revenge…” His words were swallowed when she brought her mouth over his with determination, her tongue easing his lips apart to stake its claim.
He raised both hands to her neck as he deepened the kiss. The tips of his fingers tangled in the braid that had dried hours ago. He flipped the tie off the end of the plait and released the locks into his gentle hands. With the waves of auburn flowing, Alex plunged his hands into the thick mass of hair that spilled down Jenna’s back.
Jenna’s hands found the hem of the striped sweater that Alex wore. She eased her fingers beneath the cotton undershirt to grasp the edges of both articles of clothing before thrusting the fabric upward toward his chest. She met serious resistance as the fabric bunched and tightened over the bulk of his frame. Jenna could not imagine how she was going to get the shirts over his shoulders.
In one swift move Alex grabbed his collar and pulled the shirts over his head, depositing them unconsciously atop the single houseplant Jenna had managed to keep alive. With a similar, swift, motion he peeled Jenna’s sheer top up and over her head, followed shortly by the black tank top.
Jenna experienced a moment of inhibition as she stood there with the top of her body covered in only the heavy-duty support bra that barely concealed her sizeable breasts. Alex gave her a look of pure adoration as he peeled away the hands she was attempting to use to mask her body.
He looked deeply into her eyes as he unhooked her bra and let it fall to the floor. Jenna met his gaze and didn’t move. This time she did not cover herself. Alex laid his palms across her breasts, his thumbs making lazy circles that had Jenna leaning into his hands.
“You are even more beautiful than I remembered.” Slowly, Alex bent down and laid claim to one breast with his mouth. It was Jenna’s turn to groan in ecstasy as Alex lovingly explored her body.
Jenna did not know how long they would have remained in her foyer if Alex had not eventually straightened and moved to pick her up in his arms. She made a slight sound of protest against his mouth but only received a disapproving growl in return before he carried her with stubborn resolve to the bedroom.
With smooth, efficient movements he released each of them from what remained of their clothing before pulling Jenna gently with him under the cool, satin, covers.
As their bodies collided, the feeling of her soft, silken skin exhilarated Jenna as it rubbed against Alex’s firm skin, coarse from years of fighting.
She brazenly ran her hands along the side of his body, while he held her firmly against him. It would have been impossible for Jenna to ignore the impressive erection that pressed against her thigh. She could tell that Alex, with extreme difficulty, was trying to prolong her enjoyment.
Jenna glided her manicured nails, with nonexistent pressure, down the length of his back, eliciting a shudder that ran through Alex’s body. She wanted to tell him that there was no need to prolong the torture as Jenna had secretly been imagining this moment for nearly a month now.
Alex’s hand dipped between them and came to rest at the joining of her legs. There, he rubbed gently, bringing Jenna to the peak of frustration as she gasped with pleasure before he removed his hand. Moving his fingers further toward her center Alex discovered the extent to which Jenna’s desire had truly grown.
With a murmur of satisfaction he rolled her beneath him and placed the heat of his erection against her core.
“You’re sure about this?” He asked. Clearly still in disbelief at the turn the night had taken.
“I’m positive, Alex.” She shifted her hips enticingly against his flesh.
With achingly slow pressure he eased inside of her and began the slow strokes that would bring them both to the peak of ecstasy.
The next morning Jenna awoke in her usual tangle of lingerie. She stretched pleasantly and opened her eyes to witness Alex resting his head against his arm and watching her with a burning look of unadulterated desire. For a quick moment, she thought she might be dreaming. That was, until her brain replayed the memories of their lovemaking. She blushed as she remembered the numerous times that Alex had awoken her in the night to hold her tightly as they talked. Their conversations had flowed almost as if no time apart had passed between them. Each exchange inevitably ended in the passion of another round of lovemaking.
Jenna smiled and rolled into Alex’s waiting embrace.
“I’ll never get enough of this silk and lace that you are wearing.” He nuzzled her neck until she giggled.
With a sigh Alex pulled his face back to stare at her seriously.
“You know, Jen, I never stopped loving you.” He trailed his fingers through her hair with a small smile, as if he could not believe he was lying beside her at this very moment. “There was never anyone for me, but you. I know this is all very sudden, and unexpected, but I just want you to know that you are never getting rid of me this time.”
Jenna’s heart soared at the profession of love and commitment.
“I don’t care how busy your promotion may make you, or what my new agent might try to convince me to do, this, right here…” He pulled her close and pressed a soft kiss to her lips, “this is what is most important to me. I don’t know what took me so long to see that.”
Jenna placed a soft hand along his cheek.
“You know, Alex,” She modeled her speech after his own. “I may have stopped loving you at one point…” She trailed off as he smiled and nodded his acceptance of her statement. “but, I love this version of you, the true you, more than I ever did in the past.”
That Friday morning, oblivious to the bustle of the city of Chicago below them, Jenna and Alex forged a new contract of love that would carry them confidently into their future.
THE END
Flip the page for Bonus 2: Sealed Hearts!
Sealed Hearts
Adventure novelist Emily Parker finds herself trapped in a dangerous world of terror and intrigue when she discovers that her long time boyfriend is actually a high profile, international drug lord.
In an attempt to escape with her life, Emily devises a plan to deliver concrete evidence to authorities that will take down the drug ring once and for all. And when she discovers that the plots in her books are much less frightening than reality, Emily is lucky to find that the well-muscled and strikingly handsome Ben Portman, alongside his team of Navy SEALs, is there to help her escape from the extensive reach of the drug lord’s mercenaries.
When Emily and Ben find themselves trapped on an isolated cruise ship that is being patrolled by the enemy, can they learn to trust each other enough to work as a team, or will they both end up at the bottom of the Atlantic?
SEALed Hearts
Emily Parker rinsed her toothbrush in the sink of the immaculate restroom. The quaint space was attached to the port side cabin that she had rented aboard an opulent intercontinental cruise liner. On short notice, it had been the only mode of transportation in which she could maintain a small level of anonymity.
The ship swayed with a soothing rhythm as it trudged along beneath the ebony sky. Emily checked the thin silver watch on her wrist. It was nearly two o’clock in the morning. She’d had difficulty sleeping in the nighttime over the past months. If anything were to happen, she told herself, it would occur under the cover of darkness.
She was about to chastise herself for the crippling paranoia that had recently become an active part of her personality when the deep rumble of male voices outside her door captured Emily’s attention.
With silent footsteps she slunk across the main cabin to press her ear against the door. Her heart hammered in her chest and sh
e raised her fingertips to her mouth to conceal the sound of her breathing.
“When did you see her?” demanded a brusque male voice that sent chills to Emily’s core.
One of the other passengers was about to blow her cover. Emily quickly evaluated the cabin. She could pack in under two minutes but there was no alternative exit from the cabin. She chewed her lower lip; if the men remained at her door she would be trapped.
“Oh man. They were up on the top deck, in bikinis, yesterday. That lady and the chick staying in the room next to her.” the drunken male laughter sounded vaguely familiar to Emily’s ears but she couldn’t quite place the voice.
“Do you know where on the ship she is staying?” asked the first voice, clearly annoyed with the passenger.
“Well, yeah I know. I mean, I really hit it off with her neighbor, if you know what I mean.” There was a long pause as the drunken man chuckled to himself. “She went back to her room early and we walked her to her door because, you know, it was right next to where we were headed.”
Emily’s brow furrowed in confusion as she listened to the man’s story. Maybe they weren’t talking about her. She’d made a point not to interact too closely with any of the other passengers and she certainly hadn’t been walked to her door by any of them, as this man had so assuredly claimed.
She had almost convinced herself that her worry was irrational, when a third voice spoke. It was the unmistakable, smooth drawl of Casper Lorenz.
“Which cabin?” Two words, Emily thought. It only took two words for Casper to send her into full hyperventilation. Her palms started to sweat as Emily realized that this was the end. The running was over. Casper had found her and tonight he would exact his revenge. A dozen dark scenarios of slow painful death flashed before her eyes. All that stood between Emily and Casper was a thin wooden door and an inebriated tourist.
“It was…” the man’s slur turned into a hiccup, “way up on the ninth deck. Ninety-seven.” Emily could hear Casper conferring quietly with his men as the passenger prattled to himself. “No. Ninety-ninety-seven…” the man let out a loud expletive, “Nine-ninety-seven. Yup, that’s it. Nine-hundred-ninety-seven, on the ninth floor, with a blue door.” He repeated the rhyme as if thoroughly proud of himself.
Emily breathed a tentative sigh of relief. This was the second deck. Her cabin number was 204. The passenger was sending Casper to the opposite end of the ship and even the wrong level.
“Let’s go.” came Casper’s sharp command.
“Sir, should I take care of this?” the first brusque voice asked of his boss. Now that he had spoken again Emily thought that the voice might belong to Val Marquez, Casper’s go-to muscle.
“Don’t bother,” the voices began to fade as footsteps shuffled away from her doorway, “he won’t remember a thing in the morning.”
Thirty seconds later Emily was haphazardly shoving toiletries into her duffel when there was a quiet knock on the door. She froze and stared toward the wooden frame as if it were about to implode at any moment.
With caution, she approached the nearby window and lifted the corner of the curtain to peer out at the visitor.
Standing patiently outside her cabin was a man that Emily recognized as a solitary passenger whose path she had crossed numerous times during the past week. She had only noticed him for two reasons. The first was that he appeared to be the only other guest aboard the cruise ship who was traveling alone and, like Emily, clearly determined not to be bothered. The other reason had to do with the fact that he was, quite possibly, the most attractive man that Emily had ever seen in person.
She recalled seeing him at the pool on the top deck all chiseled muscles, tanned skin and rugged masculinity. Her eyes narrowed as she wondered what he was doing knocking on her door at this time of night. He appeared to be in complete control of himself, leaning forward to knock once more upon her door. Clearly, he had not been the fool who had spoken to Casper only moments before.
She dropped the floral curtain and moved to unlock the door. She had only eased it open a few inches when the man had brushed past her, spun around and shut the door behind him.
“What are you doing checking the curtains?” he lectured. “Fabric has too much motion for you to risk touching it.” He ran a rough hand over his face as he paced the floor of her cabin. Emily stood rooted to the floor unsure of what was happening. “If you had done that while they were out there you could have gotten us both killed.”
It suddenly occurred to her that the sober man standing in front of her was the same man who had been slurring his words less than a minute before. Now, his deep voice was recognizable from the few times that he had offered polite greetings as they had passed aboard the ship.
“Who are you?” she snapped, “What were you doing out there? What are you doing in my cabin?”
He held his hands up to slow her down.
“We really don’t have time for this. Tell me what those guys want from you and I might be able to get you off this ship before they kill us both.” He was canvassing the room as he spoke, checking drawers and looking underneath the bed that stood in the middle of the room.
“Are you kidding me? For all I know this is some kind of trick and you work for Casper. Get out! I don’t need your help, just go away.” She approached the man and attempted to push him toward the doorway. With her hands firmly planted on his chest, Emily put the full force of her five-foot-six frame behind the effort only to realize that the man had not budged an inch. She doubted that she had even caused his body to sway.
Emily craned her neck to look up into the steely gray eyes that were evaluating her with what, unfortunately, appeared to be amusement.
With a sigh she removed her hands and, crossing her arms beneath her breasts, tapped one foot as she waited for an explanation.
With a groan of annoyance the dark haired man began to pace back and forth across the cabin. He was taller, and much more broad, than Emily had realized from her distant evaluations.
“I woke up to a noise outside of my cabin. It’s only five rooms down from here.” He clarified. “When I went to investigate, I saw a speed boat, with all of its lights turned off, dock with the ship. Nine men boarded, three remained on the getaway boat. They have an arsenal of weapons and one of the men, Lorenz, is an international fugitive. So, I figured these are some bad guys. I pretended to be drunk, thinking that maybe I could get some answers, when they showed me your photo and asked where to find you. I lied, and off they went.” He turned toward her and began to walk a slow circle around Emily as if examining every detail about her. “I asked myself, what would men like this want with the quiet woman staying in 204? I figure, it couldn’t be anything good and maybe I need to check it out. Also, I’m fairly certain the cruise line doesn’t want armed thugs messing with their passengers so we should probably try to draw them away from the ship. If we move fast enough, I can take down the three on the boat and we can get away on that.” He summed up the situation with an eerie nonchalance that gave the impression that this was a normal day for him.
“Who are you and how do you know about Casper Lorenz?” she narrowed her eyes with suspicion.
“Ben Portman.” He sighed and proffered a hand, which Emily shook hesitantly. “The truth is, I’m a Navy SEAL. I was assigned to this ship to do recon about possible drug trafficking suspected from the staff on this ship. Until tonight, I had seen nothing suspicious. Now, with an international drug lord and his fugitive cronies boarding the ship under cover of darkness, I have the proof that I need to start planning a mission with my team.”
Emily stared in shock at the man standing in front of her. He was literally the answer to her prayers. If a group of Navy SEALs were planning a sting against Casper, she needn’t worry about her powerful ex-boyfriend any longer.
“You are going to send Casper to jail?” she asked hopefully.
To her dismay Ben laughed.
“Casper Lorenz is slippery. All sorts of teams have been
trying to get something on him for years, and so far no one has any concrete proof. His residence is a veritable fortress and he keeps his hands clean of any direct dealing.” He shook his head. “No, the most that we can hope to do is attempt to collect proof against him. Hopefully, my team will be the first to actually get something but we’ve only just started with some basic reconnaissance.”
Emily’s heart sank. She knew what needed to be done. She could not leave the ship. The thought terrified her.
“Come on.” Ben Portman gestured toward the door. “We need to get out of here before they realize that I sent them to a cleaning supply closet.” He grabbed her duffel and attempted to guide her to the door.
“Stop!” Emily could not think with him taking charge all the time. “I can’t leave the ship.” She said with determination.
“You have to.” He argued. “Those guys are going to kill you, for whatever reason. You realize that don’t you? They are going to try to kill me too, if I don’t get out of here. I’m alone on this ship. My team is hours away at Lorenz’s house, where he is supposed to be.”
Ben placed a gentle hand on Emily’s upper arm in another attempt to guide her out of the cabin.
“Stop.” She whispered this time. As softly as she had said it, she knew he had heard when his body stilled. The impact of her whisper was much more effective than the shout. “I have evidence.”
“What?”
“I have the evidence that you need. All of it.” Emily repeated.
“What do you mean? How could you have…?” Ben cocked his head and looked at her as if he was seeing her with new eyes. “What is your name?”
Emily chewed on her lip, knowing that if Ben thought that she had anything to do with Casper’s criminal activities she would be in deep trouble.