Extreme Honor

by Piper J. Drake

  She leaned up and pressed her lips against his. He held still for a long moment, not pulling away but not reciprocating. Then his lips parted and he returned her kiss gently.

  But it wasn’t enough.

  “More,” she whispered against his lips.

  David lifted his head and tucked her against his shoulder again, resting his chin on her head. “You’re really upset right now. It’d be better to tuck you in and let you get some rest.”

  No. No sleeping. She didn’t want nightmares.

  “There’s too many things crashing inside my head. Too many bad memories.” She needed him to understand. “I’m terrified and I don’t want these things to keep ambushing me in the dark.”

  His arms tightened around her. “It takes a while to work through these, sometimes a long while. When they happen, you’ve got to find your way through. Breathe. Look around you.” He paused. “Maybe see a professional to talk through it. You’ve been through a lot in less than two weeks.”

  She shook her head. “A shrink isn’t what I need right now.”

  “Well, I’m not sure of one who’s got office hours at this time of night anyway but soon. Everybody handles these things their own way. You’ll find your way.”

  She huffed out a laugh. Maybe. Probably. So far, she liked his method of dealing. The panic had receded to a faint jangle in the back of her head and she was grateful. It’d be even better to replace it with something positive.

  “To be honest, I want better memories.” She pulled away from him just far enough to look up into his eyes, catch his gaze. It was important for him to know she meant every word she was about to say. “Make love to me? Not because I’m upset. But because you’re wonderful and I’m insanely attracted to you. Because I want to make memories with you. Good ones. Can we do that?”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Oh boy, did he want to. Cruz struggled with his raging libido.

  “This isn’t right, Lyn.” He needed to get off this bed and out of this room. Stat. What she was offering would test the self-control of a saint and he wasn’t one. Not even close.

  “You’ve already insisted we do the right thing once.” She reached out of the cocoon of the comforter he’d wrapped around her and snagged a handful of his t-shirt.

  He could break away easily, but because it was her holding him, he wouldn’t. Did she even know?

  “I’m completely awake and in full control of my mental faculties.” Her gaze held his with a steady, smoldering burn.

  Every part of him was waking up in response to her. Woman knew what she wanted. “You are extremely upset and vulnerable.”

  Part of him wanted to pounce on her, press his lips against every delicate part and run his tongue along her body until he found sensitive places even she didn’t know about herself. Curled up as she was, completely naked under that comforter, she was definitely vulnerable.

  His damsel in distress narrowed her eyes at him and pressed her lips together. “There’s a whole lot of life going on and it doesn’t make sense to me to wait for happier times or calmer days.”

  She had a point there. She was also shrugging out of the comforter some and the smooth skin across her exposed shoulder was insanely enticing.

  “Besides, there’s a certain excitement about the last twenty-four hours at least.” Her cheeks warmed to a rose flush. “I’ve never felt more alive than now.”

  He could understand her reaction. Extreme danger, potentially life-threatening. One of the ways people could deal with coming through those kinds of situations intact was to celebrate life. And hell, as far as he was concerned, enjoying it with another person was even better.

  Buying himself some time to clear his head, he straightened and looked Atlas in the eye. “Let’s get you settled for the night.”

  Lyn leveled a smoldering stare on him, letting him know she definitely didn’t plan to cool off while he was stepping away, and caressed the big dog’s head. “Good night, Atlas.”

  Of course she’d sound happy, all sorts of sweet and innocent. None of them was fooled, though. Atlas was probably more than aware of the pheromones floating around the room.

  Atlas reluctantly followed him off the bed and out of the bedroom into the sitting room. There was a large crate for guest dogs set up, complete with water and food bowls, freshly laundered blankets.

  “Hok.” Cruz motioned to the crate.

  Atlas studied it, then Cruz, for a long moment before entering. He sniffed around for a few seconds, then lay down with an audible huff.

  “Sorry, bud.” Cruz had a small amount of brotherly sympathy for the big dog. Besides, depending on how he answered Lyn, he might end up out here bedding down next to the big dog. “We’ve both slept in strange places. At least this is comfortable.”

  Besides, if circumstances were reversed out in the field, Cruz wouldn’t have begrudged Atlas. Well, things were different for dogs.

  Moving on.

  Lyn was still curled up at the top of the bed with the comforter gathered around her when he returned. He strode across the small room and paused. The lights were all on but in their vintage fixtures, the glow they cast was soft.

  * * *

  “Stay with me, David.” She rose up out of her comforter when he came within reach, pressed a kiss on his jaw.

  His control frayed and dissolved. Heat rushed up through his body and up into his head despite the few moments of clarity he’d gained earlier. Nope, he hadn’t had a chance.

  As her lips found his, he angled his head to give her better access and opened for her. Their tongues danced and explored. He drank in her sweetness, her lips touched with a hint of salt from the bath. He wondered if he’d get the same complex flavors when he ran his tongue over other parts of her.

  When, not if.

  Oh, he was going to hell.

  “Are you sure?” He wanted to give her every opportunity.

  Her gaze was steady, though, and her smile was warm, intimate—a visual caress just for him. “What’s taking you so long?”

  He chuckled. “Oh, you have no idea what you are getting yourself into.”

  He climbed onto the high bed and stalked up to her on hands and knees.

  “I have high hopes.” She reached out to him, caressing the sides of his face.

  Her lips were soft, welcoming. He kept the kisses light for the moment, playful. “Do you want the lights out?”

  She froze for a moment and he drew back so he could catch her gaze. Shadows and fear flickered in her eyes.

  He made a soft hushing noise. “I like the lights, if they’re okay with you. I like seeing you.”

  The tension eased throughout her body and he let his weight settle over her as she gave him kisses as her answer. Her body was pliant under his, her curves pressing against him and tempting his control. He’d burned out most of it trying to resist her at all.

  He ran a hand along her side, enjoying the silky smoothness of her skin and the curve of her hip under his hand.

  She nipped at the corner of his mouth and tugged at his t-shirt. “No fair.”

  He sat up long enough to pull the t-shirt over his head, enjoying her touch as she sat up with him to run her hands over his chest. “I haven’t had a chance to shower yet. I could—”

  She shook her head, tugging at his belt. “Uh-uh, I’ve waited long enough.”

  Okay then. He helped her with undoing his pants and both of them chuckled as he got out of them without leaving the bed, mostly because she wouldn’t let him. Once he was naked, she ran her hands over him, hungry and greedy in the best of ways.

  This was another aspect of Lyn he enjoyed, the way she met him in every activity. She didn’t just sit back and let him do all the work or always take the lead. She met him head on.

  As her fingers wrapped around the length of him, he shuddered. “Careful.”

  “I’m done being careful.”

  The heat of her mouth closed over him and he almost lost his balance, his control, and e
verything right then and there.

  He buried his hand in her gold hair. God, she was doing things to him and he’d have all sorts of catching up to do. And he would.

  She sucked and licked the head of his shaft as her fingertips teased the tender skin under his balls. He groaned under the onslaught of sensations, almost blinded by how good it felt. He gritted his teeth and reached for whatever willpower he had left not to thrust or rush her in any way.

  A moment later, she released him, looking up the length of him with wet lips and a very saucy expression. Growling, he pushed her back on the bed. He settled himself between her legs and ground his hips into her, rubbing his erection along her slit. She was already wet, ready for him.

  “There’s so much I want to do for you,” he groaned. Then he kissed her neck, tasted the slight salt left behind by her bath mixed with the natural sweetness of her skin. “But I want to be inside you now. Right now.”

  “Please.” Her whisper tickled his ear and her hands gripped at his hips.

  He drew back and reached to one side, pulling open the drawer of the nightstand and fishing out a condom from the box thoughtfully hidden there. It’d been Kathryn, not Thomas, who’d pulled David aside before settling them into the room to tell David she kept the master suite well stocked with amenities for all sorts of needs. He sent the saucy old proprietress silent thanks.

  After unwrapping the condom and rolling it on, he was back to Lyn as fast as he could be. He nuzzled her breasts until she giggled, her arms wrapping around his shoulders. Capturing one taut nipple in his mouth, he suckled until her breath caught.

  “Tease.” Her voice was husky now with a tinge of impatience.

  Good. That made two of them. He took one of her hands and guided it south, placing her hand on his rigid shaft and letting her guide him in. He watched her, kept her gaze locked with his. Any moment, any fear, any doubt, and he’d stop. But he didn’t want to miss this. Wanted to enjoy every bit of it with her.

  As she positioned him at her opening, he pressed inside her, hot and slick. Tight. Her eyes fluttered shut and her neck arched as he filled her. He fisted the comforter on either side of her as he pulled back out and slid in, rocking against her in a slow rhythm.

  Her breath changed to heavier panting and he drank in the sight of her gorgeous breasts rising and falling as he continued to move inside her. She groaned and grasped his forearms, trying to angle her pelvis for even better penetration.

  He bent his head low to catch her mouth for a hot kiss. “More?”

  “Oh, yes.” Her face was flushed and her hair spread out all across the bed under her. She was beautiful.

  And he planned to give her everything she wanted.

  He coaxed one of her knees higher against his side, then hooked his arm underneath. The new position allowed him to go deeper. She called out brokenly and her inner muscles convulsed around him.

  She was close. He was closer. And damn it, he was going to hold on until she got there.

  He dragged in breath after breath, slowing his pace and savoring every slide in and out of her. She clutched at his shoulders then shifted her grip to his hips, urging him deeper and faster. Every time he rocked into her, she made fantastic sounds of pleasure. Her breasts bounced beneath him and he couldn’t deny her what she wanted.

  Increasing his rhythm, he drew out and plunged back into her faster.

  “David! Yes! Harder!”

  Yes. Pleasure gathered low and tight, his balls even tightened, until every other thought left his brain and his focus was only on the feel of being inside Lyn.

  Her thighs tightened and her hips thrust upward as she gasped, then she came apart beneath him. He pulled out and slid himself back in tortuously slow as her inner muscles convulsed around him and she came, hard.

  They held on to each other in the aftermath, both breathing hard. Every few moments one or the other of them twitched, sending a cascade of sensations through both of them. Hypersensitive, it was agony to leave her and clean up in the bathroom. But when he came back, she’d moved over on the bed and pulled down the sheets to tuck them both in.

  He climbed into the bed next to her and tucked her up against his side. “Is it okay with you if we wake up early tomorrow?”

  She snuggled into his shoulder. “Mmm. Sure.”

  There was a beat of silence as he pondered turning off the lights in the room. It wouldn’t hurt to leave them on, for tonight at least. Given time, she’d work through her triggers.

  “Fair warning,” Lyn whispered, her lips brushing his lower jaw. “I’m very partial to morning ambushes so we might be waking up a little earlier than you planned.”

  His lips stretched into a real smile. “Yes, ma’am.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Cruz didn’t enter the neighborhood this time until buses had gone through for just about every age group. People in suburban areas like this took notice of a lone stranger walking through when children were headed to bus stops. He didn’t want the attention and he wasn’t interested in the kids.

  What he wanted was to catch Sean Harris at home, alone. Or at least without his children around, amping up his need to protect his family.

  Lyn and Atlas were back at a small coffee shop with the car parked outside. He’d tucked them in the back corner of the place away from windows and in direct line of sight of a security camera. Safe as he could make them without being there. Then he’d headed back to Harris’s home on foot. He didn’t want the possibly familiar car tipping Harris off to this visit before he could confront the man face to face. And he didn’t want Lyn involved in case things got ugly. Besides, the less she knew about all this, the better.

  It’d been one thing to bring her along the first time. She’d added to the impression of a friendly visit. Just a few questions. No danger to anyone.

  This wasn’t likely to be a friendly visit.

  Harris was home. His car was in the driveway. The minivan wasn’t. Good. Likely his kids and his wife were out of the house.

  Cruz wasted no time heading straight for the front door and ringing the doorbell.

  It took no more than a minute for Harris to answer. “I already talked to you. We’re done.”

  Before Harris could close the door, Cruz shoved his booted foot in the doorjamb. “Someone tried to run me down last night. Then they tried to run me and my friend off the road. You know anything about that?”

  Surprise flashed across Harris’s face, then his mouth pressed in a grim line. “I told you I can’t talk to you.”

  “Considering someone knew where to find me to make a go at me, I’d say they know I was here yesterday.” Cruz tipped his head. “They might even know I’m here again. Could be they’re planning on asking you what I wanted to talk to you about but I’m guessing they haven’t yet. Either way, they’re going to be making some assumptions. How much you want to bet they’ll err on the cautious side and assume you talked to me anyway?”

  “How stupid are you, threatening me?” Harris’s face had turned a ruddy red.

  “I’m not. I’m making some educated guesses.” Cruz kept one hand on the doorjamb and the other loose at his side. Nonthreatening, but ready to bring up to guard if Harris decided to throw a punch. Harris was probably in good shape. It’d be a challenge, but Cruz had been keeping up his conditioning, too. “And I’m going out on a limb figuring you’re a decent man who didn’t try to turn me into roadkill last night.”

  The other man was definitely angry, but he wasn’t homicidal.

  “Look. I was home all night. It wasn’t me.” Harris worked his jaw and then shook his head. “Why did you come back here? You don’t have enough evidence to convince you to stay out of this?”

  Cruz shook his head slow. “Just getting started. Whatever this is, my friend died because of it.”

  “It’s not espionage or a threat to the country or any of that shit.” Harris was loosening up, eyes darting past Cruz up and down the street.

  Cruz was keepin
g an eye out himself, using the reflections in the small windows to either side of the door.

  “This was just a business deal.” Despite his claim, Harris sounded like he was swallowing glass talking about it. “The kind of business that takes years to complete. We all needed to keep our mouths shut. Some of us didn’t.”

  “Calhoun knew about this…deal?” No way. Calhoun had been a man of honor and he wouldn’t have gotten caught up in any shady dealings. He’d wanted to come home with nothing on his conscience, no guilt and no regrets.

  Not likely to happen for any of them. A person had to make choices out there. Some of them weren’t black and white, right or wrong. But if a soldier could make the best decisions possible, then it made coming home easier.

  Harris shook his head. “Nah. Your friend took a hit to the head from a stray piece of wall in a rundown building we were entering. He made it through the initial incursion but was down and unconscious while we were mopping up the site.”

  “You call interrogating someone mopping up?” Cruz raised an eyebrow.

  It might not be wise to let on how much Cruz did know about what was in those videos, but obviously Harris was still playing it safe. Cruz needed him sharing more. Give a little to get to what mattered.

  Air rushed out of Harris in a whoosh, as if Cruz had sucker-punched him. “How much do you know? Forget it. Look. Your friend wasn’t awake when we interrogated that son of a bitch and didn’t make a deal. The rest of us, what the fuck were we supposed to do? Once some of us were in, we all had to be. None of us was willing to risk being the only man standing back from it.”

  And now they were getting somewhere.

  “What was it?” Cruz asked.

  Harris held up his hands. “Doesn’t matter.”

  “My friend thought it mattered enough to keep evidence,” Cruz growled. “Hiding it was a gamble with his life and he lost. I want to know why.”