Night Hawk

by Lindsay McKenna

  Not wanting to leave her mouth but knowing he must, Gil broke the kiss that was sending shock waves through his body. He’d waited for what felt like a lifetime for this moment, but he was in no hurry. There was another kind of pleasure in slowly undressing Kai, pulling the cap sleeves down her long arms and slender fingers.

  He allowed the dress to pool around her perfect, small feet and helped her step out of it. Gazing down at her, he saw that she wore a lacy black bra and panties. Kai looked exquisite to him as he leaned around her, unsnapping the bra. Her small breasts were high, the nipples pink and tight beneath his hungry gaze. His mouth watered. How badly he wanted to taste them, but he forced himself to wait. Sliding his fingers beneath the elastic material around her hips, he saw her eyes shutter closed as he lightly stroked her flesh, a soft catch in her throat. Smiling into her eyes, Gil helped her step out of them.

  “My turn,” he growled, devouring her with his gaze. Kai had always been petite. But she was perfectly balanced with small breasts, a slender waist and soft, flaring hips. His gaze pinned on her belly and he thought that she’d be able to carry a baby. The sizzling thought that she could carry his baby careened through him like a shock wave. Yes, he loved her. Gil would marry her in a split second if he thought Kai would say yes.

  As she helped him unbutton his shirt, spreading it open with her hands, her cool fingertips brushing against his dark-haired chest, he tensed and closed his eyes, his hands resting on her shoulders. Her touch felt so damned good to him.

  In no time, she had the shirt off him. He saw the impish quality in her eyes as she deliberately slid her fingers beneath the waistband of his trousers, watching his reaction, her other hand firmly brushing against his erection, which was killing him. Groaning, he rasped, “I’m almost there, Dove…don’t…” Gil wanted to come within her small, tight, welcoming body. Where he belonged.

  With a softened laughter, she said, “Okay, I won’t mercilessly tease you.” She unbuckled the belt, unsnapped his trousers and pulled down the zipper, brushing against the thick erection just beneath his boxer shorts. She smiled and said, “I see you haven’t changed, Hanford. At all…” Kai pulled his trousers down to his ankles. He stepped out of them.

  “You make me this way,” Gil rasped, grazing her breasts, not touching her nipples, watching her eyes shutter half-closed with arousal and gray fire. Kai was still just as responsive and he felt her heat, her need of him.

  Moving her fingers around the elastic band, she nodded. “I think we have that effect on one another.” She pulled his shorts down, his erection making her smile even more.

  Gil knew he was going to throw her on that bed behind them if they didn’t get to the shower in a hurry. He moved her in front of him, watching the sweet sway of her hips, her cheeks a special focus of his. “Let’s go,” he urged. He heard her laugh and, suddenly, he felt the last of his worries, his tensions, dissolve. Kai was committed. Completely. She’d placed whatever else she might feel about them—or him—aside for this night.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  THE MOMENT THE twin rain showers soaked Kai’s hair, she lifted her face to the soft streams, closing her eyes, allowing the warm water to sluice in rivulets down her body. Gil lathered up his hands and approached her, water flowing across his powerful shoulders and down his dark-haired chest. Placing her hands near his heart, she could feel it pounding beneath her palms. His eyes glittered with hunger—for her. The same look she’d seen before. It made Kai feel shaky with need for him.

  She felt Gil’s hands begin at her neck, the sensation of his callused hands sending wild, teasing shocks downward. Her breasts tightened as his hands moved slowly across her shoulders. Wordlessly, Kai allowed her brow to touch his chest, lost in the feel of his hands upon her once more. It had been so long…so long…

  And as he gently wrapped his hands around her arms, sliding them down to her elbows, she sighed, the trembling sound lost in the shower.

  “Feel good?” he rumbled near her ear.

  “Yes,” she whispered, barely nodding her head. His hands left and, moments later, there was more lather as he slid his hands in slow, circular motions across her shoulders and began to work down. Her body tightened as his fingers followed the flare of her hips. More than anything, she wanted Gil to cup her cheeks, bring her against him, his erection pressed deep against her belly. She arched into his touch. He did not disappoint, his long fingers following the curve of each of her cheeks, bringing a moan of anticipation from within her.

  Gil drew her against his hips and she slipped her arms around his torso, holding him tightly, lips against the hair on his chest. He smelled so good to her. So stable. Rock solid. Kai could hear the heavy thud of his heart against her ear, water running down either side of her cheek. Kai didn’t care if she drowned as Gil held her against him. There was no terrible, life-threatening urgency as there had been years earlier in their lives. It was a quieter time now, in some respects. Her heart blossomed with such fierce love for Gil that she buried her face against his wet flesh, never wanting to let go of him again.

  Slowly, Gil opened her thighs, dragging his fingers inward, following the curve of her body between her thighs. A cry of yearning tore from her, more haunting than anything, echoing in the mist and steam gathering within the enclosure. She felt his lips caressing the shell of her ear and then his tongue moving to the sensitive area behind it. Kai shuddered, her knees weakening as he stroked her folds, teasing her wet entrance. Each time, she cried out, clinging to him, afraid of collapsing from the pleasure of him merely stroking her, teasing the knot that was so swollen and throbbing, his fingers finding her more than ready for him.

  “You’re hot, like thick honey, Dove,” he growled, easing his hand from between her legs. “I want you. All of you. But not here. I want you in bed where I can see your face, look into your eyes, hear your sweet songs…”

  She felt his arm go around her waist, as if sensing she was on the verge of not being able to stand from the pleasure he’d just given her. Gil had never been selfish or taking. He’d given generously to her. Always. And it was happening again. Kai barely lifted her chin, meeting his narrowed eyes that gleamed with arousal. “Then,” she whispered, “let’s hurry. I—I can’t wait, Gil… It’s been so long…so long…”

  His smile was so very male and yet incredibly tender. He nodded, kissed the tip of her nose and continued to soap her body down, taking his time, as if reacquainting himself with every inch of her flesh. By the time he was finished, she couldn’t stand and had to sit down on the wet, warm tile bench and watch as he washed himself.

  Kai had always thought Gil was beautiful in a masculine sort of way. He was built tall and strong, but he wasn’t overly muscled, more ropy and solid. His flesh glistened with the water and she was mesmerized by the smooth flow of muscles contracting and relaxing as he moved the washcloth languidly across his body.

  Kai knew he was a hunter. And he had hunted her in the most delicious and satisfying of ways. The first time they had made love, he had been trembling with the need for release, but he’d focused on her needs before his own. She knew it would be no different this time.

  Kai wondered if the reason for his approach to loving a woman was because of his solid, loving family background. Sam had always been in a hurry. His needs overrode hers. He used her as a release, she felt, more than anything else. If he wasn’t too exhausted after climaxing, he would then tend to her needs, but it didn’t happen as often as she wished. With Gil, every time, he had placed Kai first. It didn’t matter how badly he wanted to climax, she was the object of his affection. Completely. Fully.

  Gil turned off the showers and moved outside the stall and grabbed two towels. He eased Kai to her feet, wrapping one bath towel around her body. She held on to his upper arm, unsteady, as he pulled his around his waist and tucked it in. And then he growled, “Come here,” and lifted her into his arms as if she weighed nothing.

  With a gasp of surprise, Kai’s arms f
lew around his thick, solid shoulders as he carried her out from the bathroom into the bedroom.

  “What?” Gil teased, giving her a warm look. “You didn’t expect me to sweep you off your feet?”

  Smiling, Kai drowned in his stormy-looking blue eyes. “You always surprise me, Hanford.”

  Taking her over to the king-size bed, he gently laid her down on one side of it. Her towel had come loose, the material barely draping across her breasts as she stared up at him. Gil sat down, his hip next to hers. She saw the hunger in his expression yet felt nothing but gentleness as he eased his fingers through her damp hair. Shards of fire leaped across her scalp, down her neck and tightened her nipples hidden beneath the fluffy towel. Now even the fabric aroused her as it moved across them.

  “I’ve been dreaming of this day for so long,” he confided, allowing his fingers to move to the back of her skull, gently massaging it. “Right here. Like this. Wet, your skin glistening, your eyes sultry looking and seeing your skin turn to goose bumps wherever I touch you…”

  Her lashes shuttered closed and Kai reached out, sliding her hand down his chest, feeling the hard wall of muscle beneath the dark, damp hair. “Touch me anywhere…everywhere… I love it all, Gil…please…” She heard that low, animal growl and she quivered, knowing he was going to be so thorough that she could barely wait to have those callused fingers drifting to the next part of her wildly sensitive body. The warmth and stickiness increased between her thighs. He could turn her on with just a look, never mind the slow, massaging movement of his fingers that made her melt into the bed beneath her.

  But if he thought for a moment she wasn’t going to be a partner in this reunion, he was mistaken. Opening her eyes, Kai allowed her hand to drift down across his heavily muscled chest, feeling his skin grow taught as she grazed him. Gil reached out, capturing her hand, moving it above her head, leaving her open to him, his eyes part amusement, part the hunter he was. A fierce yearning bolted through her as he leaned down, his mouth a bare inch from hers.

  “I’m so close to coming, Dove, that normally, I’d want you all over me.” One corner of his mouth crooked as he held her sultry gaze. “This one time? Let me set the pace for us?”

  She nodded and flexed the wrist he held captive. Gil released her, allowing her to frame his face, which was so close to hers. “This one time, but I’m wanting you right now, too.” Her lips drew upward and she saw the joy and fire burning in his narrowing blue eyes. It was as if they were back with each other from so long ago, as if they were merely picking up where they had left off.

  Kai didn’t want to think of the heartbreak of Gil leaving her without a word, a note. She pushed it all away, wanting to believe he would never do that to her again. The way he looked at her, as if she were something beautiful and sacred being held his hands, made her heart throb with possibility. His hand ranged downward from her neck, across her collarbone, eliciting tiny licks and flames in the wake of his trailing fingers.

  He slowly released the towel, exposing her breasts to his gaze. Kai saw the change in his face, the satisfaction that he was going to suckle them. Her breasts tightened beneath his searing look as he pulled the towel free so that she lay naked beside him.

  “I’ve never met a woman like you,” he told her thickly, dragging his fingers upward from her hip, across her torso and curving around her breast that fitted within his palm. “I feel like a man that’s been given a second chance, Kai. I’m not going to waste the opportunity.” Gil took her mouth gently, asking her participation, celebrating their being together once more.

  The moment his mouth met hers, he brushed a thumb lazily across the peak of her breast and Kai jerked upward, the pleasure so intense, a cry echoing in her throat as he deepened their kiss. Jolting shocks raced down, gathering in her lower body. His tongue moved against hers and her breath jammed with exquisite pleasure.

  Kai rolled to her side, pressing her hips against his, silently asking him to come inside her. She felt desperate, beyond starving and he seemed to read her mind, because he eased from her mouth, looking deep into her half-closed eyes. His breath was ragged and she felt tension in every line of his body. The moment was excruciating as Kai gave him a pleading stare.

  Rising, Gil pulled the towel away from his waist.

  Her gaze moved to his powerful erection, thick and more than ready. She felt a flood of heat pool deep within her. She watched as he turned off the light, just the faint illumination from the nearly closed bathroom door giving her enough to see him approach her. Gil walked with such male grace. It had always turned Kai on even though she’d never told him.

  As he moved to the other side of the bed, his knee making a deep indent in the mattress, he pulled her onto her side so that she could stroke and slide her hand down across his torso to his narrow hips.

  “Hurry,” she whimpered as his hand lay on her hip and then moved slowly down her curved thigh as he watched her reactions. His scent entered her nostrils and Kai saw him give a bare nod, watching her intently. As he pulled her thigh up and over his leg, leaving her utterly exposed to his coming exploration, Kai surrendered to him, her head coming to rest on his shoulder, her hand stilling across his waist, waiting. Just waiting. Please touch me. Touch me…

  His fingers followed the curve of her cheek, trailing downward, and she moaned, pressing her breasts against his chest. Her nipples tangled in his damp hair, further sending tiny jolts through her. And just as his fingers met her wetness, he plundered her mouth, her cry drowning in him as he stroked her, absorbed her within his ravishing mouth. Her fingers curved into his hard flesh and she arched into his fingers sliding through the folds, teasing her, testing her, making sure she was more than ready for him. Somewhere in the boiling haze of her mind, Kai knew Gil was always concerned because she was smaller than he was, that he never wanted to enter her unless she was more than slick and swollen.

  Right now, Kai didn’t care, her whole body contracting into a throbbing ache as he slid one finger into her, beginning to lavish that swollen knot at her entrance.

  He plunged his tongue deep into her mouth, emulating the rhythm of sex between them, his second finger sliding into her, massaging her, making her mewl, her entire body tensing as she felt the boiling fire build. Mindless, wanting, she thrust against his fingers, beyond starving and needing an orgasm, her lower body only wanting relief. As he lifted his mouth from hers, his lips settled on one puckered nipple and captured it. She felt herself flying apart. And as he suckled her strongly, she felt her body bloom with searing heat, the orgasm ripping through her. Kai screamed, clinging to Gil, her senses flooded and overwhelmed with the most violent orgasm she’d ever experienced. The searing intensity swept through her in a rush, leaving her gasping, crying out, unable to move as he continued to stroke her, drawing every last vestige of pleasure he could give her from her own body.

  Hurled into heat and light, stars exploded behind her eyelids and all she could do was sob as relief began to follow in the wake of the massive release still rippling through her, ever expanding outward, giving her even more keen satisfaction.

  As Gil eased his fingers from her and released her nipple, she moaned and suddenly fell apart in his arms, lost within the inner world of gratification reverberating through her body and blinding light behind her eyes. Only vaguely aware of Gil gathering her next to him, his hand brushed down the full length of her spine, cupping her cheek, holding her tightly against his erection, and he caught her dazed attention. His lips caressed her temple, her cheek and, finally, moving slowly, deeply, across her parted, wet lips. It felt so good to bury herself within his strong, cradling embrace, his mouth worshipping hers, growing gentle, not as intense or teasing. Kai lost track of time, only aware of the cherishing caresses of his hand along her damp, fulfilled body. She knew he would give her time to fully absorb the orgasm still flickering hotly within her. He understood a woman needed time between them.

  *

  GIL FELT HIS heart open powerful
ly as he held Kai, a faint smile touching her lips, burning satisfaction evident in her drowsy, barely opened eyes. As she looked up, met and held his gaze, the love he had for her nearly spilled out of his mouth. He held such secrets from this woman who had artlessly and trustingly given herself without reservation to him once more. He felt the chaffing guilt of having left her, knowing Kai didn’t have to be here with him right now or try, once more to make a relationship burgeon between them. He’d felt like a man consigned to life imprisonment until this moment.

  So much hope tunneled through Gil as he studied her soft gray eyes, her pupils huge and black as she looked wonderingly up at him. Gil knew that expression. He’d pleased her. All he lived for was to do exactly that. It was more than sex with Kai. It always had been so much more. Gil could not separate his emotions from the act itself where she was concerned. She just naturally drew his heart out of hiding, twined her soft, giving body around him and captured it within her small, slender fingers.

  Kai sighed and weakly reached up, touching his temple. “That felt so good…”

  “Yes, it did. And there’s more to come…” He smiled at her, continuing to kiss and lavish her slender throat, moving his tongue to behind her ear, which was so sensitive to his siege, to bring her satisfaction once more. The moment he licked the area, she reacted and made a happy sound. Then he drew her fully against him, positioning her so that he could easily reach her nape, one of the primary erogenous zones in her body. Her soft hair brushed his nose and cheek. He hungrily inhaled her scent, his erection throbbing. And as he lightly used his teeth to graze the sensitive area, he felt Kai fly apart in his arms, her cry startled and throaty, her body restless and demanding against him.