The Strength of Love

by Serena Akeroyd

  She came when he raked his teeth against her nipples, biting down in such a way that she was hard pressed to contain a scream. She grabbed ahold of her forearm with her mouth, biting down to suppress the sound, and as her climax, the break in tension, flooded her body, she felt that glorious splash of cum as, for the first time in months, he came inside her. Filling her with his seed, with every part of him, marking her once more as his.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Don’t move.” The words came from the door, but Gia seemed too tired to turn her head.

  Josh gritted out, “Don’t worry. I don’t intend to.”

  “Not you. I was talking to Gia,” Luke replied.

  Josh levered off her to frown at his husband. “What?”

  He motioned with his hand. “Get off her.”

  “Why?”

  Luke licked his lips. “I haven’t finished my meal.”

  When Josh’s eyes widened, Luke realized he’d made his point, and he watched on as Josh pulled out of Gia and felt a thrill curl through him when she made a small mewling sound of disappointment.

  He’d heard them as he’d made his way down the hall. Lexi was fast asleep on the sofa in the schoolroom, and he’d been headed back for a drink as he carried on with his work when that sound Gia made when she was close to orgasm reached his ears.

  Knowing what they were about, he’d watched as Josh fucked her bareback, and now, he intended to have some fun of his own.

  He hobbled over to where they were both situated, and he took a seat at the table, which put him in the perfect place for a direct line of sight with Gia’s cunt. As he sat there, he saw small trails of cum start to work out of her pussy, coating the lips with the creamy liquid that always made his mouth water.

  Her legs dangled off the side, and he knew she was out for the count, because she’d made no move to sit up or to get comfortable. He took his time watching the creampie fully realize, and when enough had slipped out, making a mess of her cunt, he reached forward and, with an openmouthed kiss, slurped along her labia.

  A shriek escaped her, and she curled up from the table, coming close to unseating him. Josh was at his back, watching Luke’s ministrations, and as he looked up, he saw Josh push her back down and hold a hand to her mouth to keep her quiet. On purpose, he slipped his lips up to her clit and sucked down, watching as, once more, she reared up, her thighs almost clapping closed, trapping his head between them. He didn’t mind—hell, anything but. His cock was hard as a pike as he tasted that beautiful combination of his lovers’ essences.

  He slipped his tongue inside her, thrusting shallowly and giving himself more of an opportunity to taste them both. She shuddered as he went back to her clit and thrust two fingers inside her cunt. The soft tissue clung to his digits as he tilted them up and raked them along the front wall of her pussy. A yell was torn from her, muffled by Josh’s palm, as he fucked her like that, making sure her clit was fully encompassed by his lips so he could suck hard on the small nub.

  She came like that, his mouth on her and his fingers inside. But he was quick to release her, not letting her ride out the orgasm in a way he would ordinarily have done. Instead, he got to his feet, grateful that Josh helped stabilize him, and he pushed down his shorts, released his cock, and within seconds was sheathed inside her.

  His head fell back on his shoulders at the glorious heat that swallowed him whole. She was wet, deep inside, from her climaxes and Josh’s release, and the notion set him on fire. He fucked her slowly, letting her surf along the crest of her last release, enjoying the pulsing of her cunt as she worked to climb down from the high he’d taken her to. He knew the exact moment when she began the ride to the top again; she dropped her feet to the table and used them to keep her hips supported so she could fuck him back.

  He reached for her hands, bridging them with his own, and kept a tight hold as they both worked each other to release. A hoarse cry was torn from his lips as pleasure cascaded down his spine, raking his nerve endings with a heat so scorching it might as well have come from hot coals.

  His eyes burned bright with white heat as he reveled in the branding delight of fucking his woman while his man looked on.

  As her delicious cunt clamped down on him, milking his cock of every drop of seed, and as her body swayed and shuddered with her third climax, he realized how proud he was that this woman was the mother of his children.

  She was made for him, made for Josh, and she was created by God to be the one person who could love their children and nurture them in the exact right way.

  Crazy though it might seem, to him, she was perfect. Secretive, guarded, yet nurturing and warm—her contrasts made her unique and, ultimately, theirs.

  At that moment, nothing could have been more beautiful.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Did you ever get in touch with Dana?”

  Gia rolled over onto her side to face Luke. She’d thought he was still sleeping, but apparently not.

  “Yes, that night when I first broached the idea with Josh.”

  “What did she have to say?”

  “No. She didn’t want to come.”

  “Trust Josh to have a PA exactly like him.”

  “How’s that?”

  “Fixated on the lines bordering work and home.” He shrugged. “I suppose it makes sense. My work was, well, it was intense. His is a lot worse. The repercussions from his side can be innumerable. For me, the fallout is tighter. No less worse but not as far-reaching.”

  She shuddered. “What you both do terrifies me.”

  “Did, sweetheart. I don’t do it anymore. I just help out.”

  Gia snorted. “If you think I’m going to believe that, then you must think I was born yesterday.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means I’m not an idiot. Helping out, I’ll guaran-damn-tee, will involve you being called at three a.m. for an emergency. Maybe you’re not contracted to deal with it, but it won’t matter. It never does with the Forces. You’ll get roped in time and again.”

  He frowned at her. “Is that why you didn’t want me to take the job?”

  “Partly.”

  “What’s the other part?”

  “I genuinely wanted you to have some time for you. To do what you wanted. To fulfill your dreams and your passions. I’m sad that you’ve dedicated your life to a cause that was worthwhile, yes, but one that wasn’t your vocation. It was your father’s.”

  “I’ve achieved a lot. Accomplished a lot in the time I served. I have no regrets.”

  “Do you mean that?”

  “I really do.”

  She bit her lip as she studied him. “I thought you drifted back to sleep after the nightmare.”

  “I did.” He sighed, then guilt lacing his tone, murmured, “You didn’t?”

  Gia shook her head.

  “I can always sleep in the spare room. I don’t want to disturb either of you.”

  “You can’t disturb Josh when he’s not bloody here.”

  “For him not to have called, then something’s going down.”

  “I know. I’m not complaining, simply stating a fact.”

  “I don’t want to wreck your sleep either, love. You need it now more than ever.”

  “No, what I need is the father of my child at my side while I rest. That’s what I need.”

  “Even if said father of your child wakes up screaming down the house?”

  He looked unconvinced, and she rolled her eyes at him. “Stop exaggerating. You don’t scream.”

  “I don’t? It feels like I am. It sounds like a scream in my head.”

  No. It wasn’t a scream. It was worse. The smallest whimpers. And those sounds were so tiny, so feeble, they hurt her heart more than the loudest yell. She didn’t say that, though. He was on a downer as it was, and she truly didn’t want to sleep without him. The idea of being alone in their bed while he was downstairs, dealing with the terrors that plagued him at his most vulnerable—no, she
couldn’t have born it.

  “Well, it’s not loud enough to wake me. Usually, it’s your tension. That’s what wakes me up.”

  He shuddered, turned as much as he could onto his side, and rested his head on her pillow. “They’re easier to handle when you’re there, after.”

  A small smile twisted her lips. “I’m glad.” When she woke up, she almost always started running her hands through his hair, gently tracing her fingers over his temple and forehead. Anything to relax him. To take him out of the war zone. “What made you ask about Dana?”

  “I don’t know. I just figured you’d have mentioned if we were having a dinner together.”

  “I would, and like I said, we’re not.”

  “But?”

  “But nothing.”

  “Sounded like there was a but to me.”

  She huffed. Living with a mind reader sucked. “She called me yesterday. Out of the blue.”

  “What? To tell you Josh was going to stay at the base tonight?”

  “No. I’d have told you if that were the case, silly. She wants to meet up with me.”

  Luke leaned up on an elbow, frowning down at her. She only saw his scowl because the moon was still bright, enough to lighten up his face. But in the darker shadows, he looked saturnine. Most unlike his regular self. The contrast of white moonlight and black-as-pitch night highlighted the crags in his features, deeply underscoring the lines and the scars—most of them new and coming from his last and final deployment.

  “She wants to meet up with you?” he repeated after gawking down at her in silence.

  “That’s what I said.”

  “Why? Did she say?”

  “No. She didn’t. It was weird. Not like the last time I spoke with her about the dinner party. She’s always been polite—nice, even. She was standoffish last time, but yesterday she sounded nervous as hell.”

  “I wonder why.”

  “Me too.”

  “What’s going on in your head?” he asked after a few seconds where she’d let silence fill in the gaps.

  “I’m not sure,” she confessed. “Why would Josh’s PA want to talk to me privately?”

  “It will be something and nothing, honey. If you’re thinking she’s going to reveal they’re having an affair, then think again. That man doesn’t have enough energy to fuck the pair of us, never mind have someone on the side.”

  She snorted. “He has been rather out of it the past week, hasn’t he?”

  “Out of it? He hasn’t even had morning wood.”

  “I like how you know that.”

  He flushed. “I always look.”

  “Perv.” She grinned at him.

  “No. It’s a good indication with him.”

  “It is?”

  He flushed a little harder. “I learned it years ago. When his sex drive drops, he’s dealing with something serious. Think about before the appeal.”

  “Yeah. He wasn’t particularly interested. But neither were we, so it didn’t really stand out.”

  “Uh-huh, well, now we’re all interested. There’s nothing holding us back, is there?”

  “No, I guess not. I haven’t thought much of it, though.”

  “You wouldn’t, because you didn’t know it was a sign.”

  “What kind of sign?”

  “Something big and usually bad is going down at the base.”

  A sigh was torn from her. “Why can’t you both be desk jockeys?”

  “Technically, he is, love.”

  “You know what I mean,” she half growled at him.

  “I do. But life is never so simple. He’ll come out of it. Don’t worry. I don’t want you wondering if he’s having an affair or anything.”

  “To be honest, love, I wasn’t. I don’t have a clue what she wants to talk to me about. That’s all. But if I’d been concerned, I’d have mentioned it to you. As it is, I can deal with it. I’m more curious than anything else.”

  “Well, I’m glad. You’re ours, and we’re yours, Gia, sweetheart. We’re not interested in anyone else.”

  She smiled. “I’m lucky, aren’t I?”

  “I guess, but it’s just the strength of our love. It binds us all together. If anything, we’re all lucky to be bound by something so unique.”

  “You’re such a romantic.”

  “I know, and it’s withering away here with you two staid buggers.”

  Gia chuckled. “I wouldn’t put it like that.”

  “What? The staid part or the withering?”

  “The withering, silly.”

  He winked, then reached for her and tucked her close against him. “When are you going to meet Dana?”

  “Tomorrow. Curiosity got the better of me. I want to know what’s going on. She’s never called before, not like this.”

  “I don’t blame you. I’d come with you if I could. The minute it’s over, you call me and tell me what’s going on.”

  “Sure.” She laughed and turned to smile up at him. “You old woman, you. Wanting to know all the gossip.”

  “Hey, less of the old.”

  “Well, you’re older than me.”

  He grunted. “Don’t remind me. Josh and I spend half our time feeling like dirty old bastards as it is.”

  “Dirty’s exactly how I like you,” she teased.

  Luke buried his face in her throat and mock-bit the tender flesh there. She squealed, then burst out laughing when he blew down in a half raspberry. “Good, because you know what they say.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”

  She smirked. “I’ll bet I could with the right incentive.”

  He pondered that for a second. “You know what? Could be that you’re right.”

  * * * *

  “Thanks for meeting me, Ms. Jefferson.”

  Gia blinked at the formal greeting. Especially from someone who was only a few years younger than her. “Hey, it’s Gia. It’s always been Gia.”

  Dana flushed and began to knot her fingers together. She screamed nervousness, which added to Gia’s tension—she still had no clue what she was doing here. “Thanks. I-I know you must be wondering why I called.”

  “You’ve got that damned right. I’ve been trying to figure out what’s going on ever since you put down the phone.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

  “What? Kill the cat?” When Dana blinked at her, she mumbled, “You know, curiosity?”

  “Oh. Yes. Sorry. My mind’s not working.”

  Considering Josh thought Dana was one of the smartest women he knew, that single statement was more than telling. It put Gia more on edge than she’d been since her early morning conversation with Luke.

  In his arms, with the moon peeking through the curtains, casting them both in a white-gold glow, where all their problems could be discussed and solved with a simple conversation, it had been easy to believe that this chat wasn’t going to be calamitous.

  Sitting here, in the mall square, with kids screeching and running around as their mothers enjoyed a coffee with their girlfriends, it wasn’t so easy.

  “Why not? What’s wrong, Dana?”

  The younger woman’s hand shook as she stopped knotting them together and reached for her coffee. She must have been waiting a while, because the cup was half-empty and looked to be cold, so Dana had been more than punctual—she hadn’t wanted to be late at all. “I need to ask you something.”

  “Ask away,” Gia said freely, just wanting to know what the hell was going on.

  Dana was about to speak when a waitress popped up to their left. Gia wanted to bat her away. Instead, she asked for a latte and tried to be patient as the woman made small talk about the sandwich specials. Refusing them all, she turned to Dana, pointedly dismissing the server, who finally took the hint.

  “You were saying?”

  Dana bit her lip. “Are you really pregnant?”

  Whatever she’d been expecting, it hadn’t been tha
t. “Josh told you?”

  “Yeah. The other day. He was excited. Heck, he was whistling. I was curious because he only whistles if something we’ve done has worked out well, and we were still in the middle of recon, so I knew it wasn’t work related.”

  “Well, yes, I’m pregnant.” She’d only found out the due date yesterday, which was three months earlier than she’d expected. Which meant Luke had been a daddy, technically, since before his deployment.

  Wasn’t it crazy how things worked out?

  He’d been so terrified about leaving, utterly certain he was going to die…and with his seed in her belly, his child—an extension of himself—growing…death had been an impossibility.

  “Congratulations,” Dana told her, her voice weak.

  It wasn’t derogatory, nor was it scornful. It was feeble, timid. Odd. “Thanks. I think.” Gia stared askew at the other woman and, spotting the waitress heading their way, dug in her purse for a bill and handed it over immediately, hoping to get her out of the way.

  “You must be happy,” Dana continued once they were alone again, her fingers fiddling with the carton. She was jittery, so its contents splashed around like a blue whale was swimming around in there.

  “Yes, we are.”

  “He looked very happy when he told me, and it got me to thinking.”

  “About?” Hell, this was like pulling teeth.

  In fact, that would probably have been easier.

  “About why I came to work for him in the first place.”

  Gia blinked, surprised by the direction they were veering in. “Weren’t you assigned to him?”

  “No.” Dana raised a hand to her mouth and began gnawing on one of her nails. “I’m kind of a…well, a loophole.”

  “A loophole?”

  She nodded. “I’m not an NCO or an officer. I’m not a part of the army.”

  “But you have clearance?” Gia asked, a perplexed frown creasing her brow.

  “Technically.”

  This conversation was getting weirder and weirder. “What does that mean? You have to have clearance to work with Josh. That’s how it goes, isn’t it?”