by Hart, Lea
CHAPTER TEN
The next morning, Cary and Travis lay against one another, limbs entwined, breath mingling as they started the slow assent into wakefulness. It was the moment of consciousness that allowed people the most clarity. Seconds before you became fully conscious, the truth of the world almost seemed like it was at your fingers.
Travis felt her skin against his and took a full breath filled with contentment. Why did this woman fill him so completely? He couldn’t recall a time in his life when he felt this peaceful. It wasn’t in his nature or his life’s circumstances.
Yet lying in bed, tangled among the sheets and blankets with Cary, he had found his home and a small measure of peace. They’d known each other a week, and apparently that’s all the time he needed to fall in love. He opened his eyes slowly, looked at the sun filtering through the shades and noticed how it made a pattern across the bed. He wanted this moment to be burned into his memory as the moment he realized that he loved her. Her body started moving against his as she began waking up. Her natural instinct was to plaster herself against him, which told him more about how she was feeling than any words that came out of her mouth. What she wasn’t ready to admit in person, she willingly admitted with her body when she was unconscious. He felt like this was the bigger truth, because her mind was asleep and wasn’t able to deny what was happening between them. He let his mouth run against her cheek as he kissed her gently.
Opening one eye, she smiled at him as his hand ran against her skin. “Mr. Mathers, what are you doing?”
“I’m enjoying myself and trying to take advantage of your semiconscious state.” He rolled her on top and made sure that she was positioned so that he could slide into her easily. Her hips opened up, and her legs fell on either side of him as she rested her head against his chest. He wondered if she could feel his heart beating madly against his chest. In one swift, hard thrust, he entered her and discovered that she was still creamy from their lovemaking last night. This was the state he wanted to keep her in: sated, happy and ready. “Now you’re on top and you didn’t have to tie me up to do it. Have at me baby and I’ll follow your lead.”
Cary lifted up a little and tried to figure out how she found herself lying on top of Travis with him buried balls-deep inside her. “What do I do?”
“Do what feels good. Just follow your body. It knows what to do.”
“I don’t think it knows what to do.” Rising slowly, she leaned her hands against his massive chest and found herself smiling at the way it felt. She adjusted herself and wiggled her hips against him. She watched a drop of sweat roll down Travis’s cheek. “Am I hurting you?”
“No, baby, it’s just sweet torture.” He ground his hips against her and watched as her eyes closed and her lips parted. He wasn’t going to last long, so he needed to get her to start moving. He placed his hands on her hips and lifted her up and then let her come back down slowly. A slight flush spread across her cheeks as she tilted her hips back and forth. He watched her repeat the motion and smiled up at her as she did it.
“I had no idea. This is so much fun.” She laughed as she leaned down and kissed him, and she continued to move her hips up and down slowly. Leaning down, she kissed him again and felt him thrust heavily into her. She let his mouth go as she sat up and let the most exquisite pleasure race over her limbs as she moved herself on and off him with purpose. She tried to keep her hands on his chest, but they started to slide as he became slick with sweat. She almost slipped off and started laughing as she felt him grip her hips.
“Stay up there baby….I’ll hold you. Keep riding me….Don’t stop.” He watched her smile as she moved up and down without thought or awareness. She had finally let go and was following her body’s pleasure. Seeing himself disappear inside her was making it hard for him to hold on to his control. He could tell that she was close, so he let his fingers run against her and felt her immediate response. Just like that, she convulsed around him, and he felt her hard pulls as he pushed his hips into her and emptied himself inside her with a shout. His mind shattered as he blacked out for a second with the pleasure of his body. He felt Cary collapse against him as her breath brushed against his skin. He tightened his hold so she wouldn’t slide off and felt her let out a giggle as she lay against him. “So it was fun?” he asked.
“You’re the best combination of sexy and fun.”
“This has never happened to me before, and we should stay right here for the next several months.” He held on and was finally able to take a full breath and noticed that she was very still on top of him. He lifted his head and looked down, and she smiled into his eyes.
Resting her head against his chest, she felt his heart beat against her own. It felt like they were completely in sync, and she wondered why it had happened with him. He was such a big man, and not just in a physical sense. He had a big brain and a big personality and also a big stubborn streak. He carried an aura of power with him and seemed strong and durable. She had never been around a man who was so strong-willed. She was used to her students and her friends, but this big alpha male wrapped around her was a whole new species.
“Are you thinking that you want to do it again?”
She tried to roll over but had to wait for him to loosen his grip. When he finally released her, she rolled over and looked at him. “If I want to be able to walk today, then I don’t think I do.”
“Walking is overrated. Let’s just stay in bed and keep doing it.” He lifted his head and pressed his mouth against hers. “Again and again and again.”
She kissed him back and felt his hand run against her skin. Why was her traitorous body responding again? It felt like he held the magic key to her body, and there wasn’t a thing she could do to stop it.
He felt her body respond to his touch and knew he was the luckiest man in the world. Her mind could deny what was going on, but her body couldn’t. He would just need to keep reminding her body until her mind let him in and her heart opened up to him.
He rolled on top and slipped in before she could protest. “Let me in sweetheart. I promise you’ll love the next thirty minutes.”
“I’m not going to last thirty minutes.” She felt him move slowly against her, and her pleasure was on the edge of pain. She was so sensitized to his touch that she could hardly stand it. But at the same time, she felt her nerve endings explode in pleasure. “It’s too much.”
He rested his head against hers and moved his hips slowly in and out. “I think you can take it. Doesn’t it feel good? You feel so good to me-you’re so warm and tight. I don’t think I’ve ever felt anything better.” He kissed her behind her ear, ran his mouth against her neck and felt her buck against him as she called his name and came all around him. He let himself go right along with her and for the second time that morning saw stars behind his eyes. He collapsed on top of her and waited for consciousness to return. He might have lost all of his brain cells. His certainly lost his heart.
He finally registered that Cary was pushing against him. He rolled off her, heard her take a big breath in and then heard her stomach rumble.
“I guess I’d better feed you. I’ll jump in the shower and then make you breakfast.” He kissed her hard, rolled off the bed and went into the bathroom. She watched him get into the shower, rolled on her stomach and put her face against the pillow. How in the world was she going to survive this man?
She got up, went into the other bathroom and got herself together a little before she went to the kitchen. She made the coffee and wiped the counters, and while she waited, she checked her phone and noticed that Adam had sent her the bid. He asked if she would be available to meet with Chad to go over materials for the job. She looked at the bid, agreed with what he’d come up with and sent it back with her e -signature and confirmation that she would meet with Chad. She would call him in a little bit and see where he was going to be today so she could get a check over to him.
She poured the coffee, took the cups into the bedroom and watched T
ravis make the bed. Big bad Travis was making the most perfect bed she’d ever seen. He stood back and looked at it before he nodded his approval. Cary stood next to him and handed him his cup of coffee. “That is pretty impressive, did you learn that in the navy?”
His eyes creased with amusement. “I sure did.”
“You’re a man of many talents.”
“I’m going to make you breakfast next.” He leaned over and kissed her and then walked out of the room.
Cary admired his behind as he walked away and then turned around and looked for her suitcase. She noticed that it was absent and had a feeling that Travis had hid it away. She started opening drawers and discovered that he’d put her clothes away next to his. She opened the top drawer and saw her panties and bras folded neatly next to his boxers. The next drawer had their socks comingling, and the next drawer had their T-shirts lying on top of each other. He was sending her a not-so-subtle message, and she wasn’t sure what to do about it. She pulled out a fresh pair of panties, walked into the closet and discovered her clothes hanging next to his. He had her all neatly moved in, and she was guessing that he was pretty happy with himself right about now. As she got into the shower, she decided to ignore what he’d done. She would give him this one and save her energy for something bigger.
Travis worked away in the kitchen and listened with a half ear to see if Cary was going to start yelling about where he’d put her clothes. All he heard was the shower turn on, so he figured that he was safe for now. He heard the washer stop and decided to switch the laundry. He put the set of sheets in the dryer and walked back to the bedroom to get the laundry basket. He noticed that Cary had emptied it and separated it by color. He saw his boxers mixed with her bras and panties and felt an overwhelming surge of happiness. This was definitely the right road to be on. The mixing of dirty clothes was definitely a good sign. He picked up one of the piles, took it to the laundry room and decided that this was an excellent beginning to their one-week anniversary.
********
Cary sat at the table and ate breakfast as she wondered how to get her center back. “Thank you for making breakfast.”
“I’m glad you like it, because it’s the only thing that I can cook.” He watched her and wondered what was going through her mind. She seemed a little preoccupied. “I can also handle the grill and make baked potatoes.”
“That’s pretty impressive.”
“What is going on in that mind of yours? I can see it working away at something.”
“I was just thinking about the rest of the summer and trying to come up with a plan. I think I need to stick around for a while and make sure that my house is getting done.”
“Have you ever had unstructured time?”
“Not really. I usually teach summer school and reading classes. I’m homeless with nothing to do. I need to figure out how to get my feet back under me.”
“I haven’t had any significant time off in the last fifteen years, and that’s why I decided to take off for the summer. I thought it might be easier if I was on the road, and I was hoping it would allow me to make the transition a little easier. So in some ways, we’re going through something similar.”
“I never thought about it that way. Somehow that makes me feel better.”
He rested his hand over hers and winked at her. “I have good news. We’re going to jump out of the airplane tomorrow. I have us scheduled for a morning jump with a friend of mine.”
“I’m excited and scared out of my mind. What if I freeze and can’t make myself do it?”
“We’re doing a tandem jump, so you’re not going to have a choice. I’m going to be controlling the whole thing. All you have to do is hang on and enjoy yourself.”
She put both her hands on her face and looked at him with a dazzling smile. “Saying thank you doesn’t seem like enough.” She leaned over, kissed him and put her head against his. “Thank you.”
“Happy one-week anniversary baby.”
She lifted her head and studied him “It’s been a week? It seems like much longer.”
“I’m going to take that as a compliment.”
She got up and laughed as she cleared the table. “I never doubted for a second you would.”
He followed her with the rest of the dishes. “What’s on your schedule today?”
“I’m going to go the library and the mall and then meet with Adam later on.”
“I think I’ll go over to ASI and fill out my paperwork, because they’ve been after me. I should just go and get it over with. I told Mark that I would go over to the base later on and fill in for one of his instructors. Maybe we can meet up at the beach later on and walk home.”
“OK, sounds good to me. Birdie told me a funny story last night about walking on the beach with Rory. They were walking toward the hotel and saw Mark leading his group down the beach on a run, so she waved to him. He made his whole group stop on the beach, turn around and do push-ups while he kissed her hello. Then he made them get up and resume their run. Rory was laughing out of her mind the whole time.”
“That sounds like Mark. I think it’s pretty funny that he made them turn around.”
“Mark told her later on that they were not worthy of seeing him kiss his wife.”
“I think SEALs treat love the same way we treat everything else in our life that means something: with dedication, full attention, commitment and unwavering focus.”
“Are you trying to tell me something?”
“I just want to prepare you, so you can get your mind right. I want you to be ready for what’s coming your way.”
“I should say the same thing to you. Get ready, Travis Mathers. You think you’re ready…..but you’re not.” With that, she sauntered out of the kitchen and down the hall. She heard his big, loud laugh and kept going. She had no idea what she’d meant when she said that, but she didn’t like him throwing challenges at her all the time. She’d thrown something back and had no idea what it meant. That’s OK, I’ll figure something out later on.
She came back out with her phone in her hand and showed Travis an address. “Do you know where this is?”
He looked at it. “That’s down by the airport. It’s probably one of the hangars.”
“Oh, that makes sense. I’m going to meet Adam, and he’s probably starting the work out there for Max.”
“Why don’t we go together? I haven’t been to the hangar yet, and I want to see what kind of set-up they have. We can stop at the offices first in downtown and then go out there.”
“You can drop me off at the mall while you go in to the office.”
“All right. What are you going to buy at the mall? Do you need my help?”
“No, I don’t need your help. I can buy underwear all by myself. I’ve been doing it for years.”
“I could give you my opinion. I have lots of them.”
“I noticed that, but I think I’m good.”
“You can show me everything when you get home, maybe give me a little fashion show.”
“You wouldn’t make it through the first set, because you like underwear when it’s on the floor.”
“That’s true. I think that’s a good place for it. I like the process of getting it off you, though.”
“I noticed that last night. I like how you used your teeth to free me of my clothing. That was very creative.”
“I have a lot more ideas like that.”
“I’m sure you do. You can keep them to yourself for now.”
“Are you sure?”
“As sure as sugar. I would like to be able to walk today.”
“Walking is overrated.”
“What are you going to tell Mark when you can’t manage to work-out with his recruits?”
“I can do both, and if I can’t, then Mark will just be out of luck. I’m retired now, and I have to focus on my transitional activities. The head doctor told me that.”
“Getting at me two or three times a day is a transitional activity?”
“It’s the only one I care about.”
“Good to know. I like a man who has focus, and you seem to have that in spades.”
“He grabbed her waist and pressed his hips against her. “You have no idea.”
“Oh, I think I do, I can feel your focus right now and it’s going to stay where it’s at.”
“All right. Let me know when you’re ready.”
“I sure will.” She laughed at him and started to feel better. She was starting to get a little mojo back. She was tired of feeling out of sorts. They could figure out how to get through their summer together. Who better than a navy SEAL to be her partner in crime?
CHAPTER ELEVEN
They stood at the open door of the hangar and watched the helicopter hover over the ground. It seemed really low. But what did she know about helicopters and how high or low they were supposed to be? She did know that men hanging off the skids and doing pull-ups was probably not a good idea. She held on to Travis’s arm as the rotor blades whipped the wind around them. She shouted into his ear, “Are they supposed to be doing that?”
He shouted back, “Define “supposed to,” as a devilish happy grin played on his face. He watched as the men pulled themselves up on the skids and shouted a loud Hooyah! The chopper took off into the sky, and the guys climbed back in and waved to everyone below. He might just like working with Max and the Team after all. This was the same crazy shit they did when they were employed by Uncle Sam, only now he was going to be making a load of money. He couldn’t believe what they were offering to pay him in the first year. He knew the guys already and had worked with most of them at some point over the years. Hell, his best friend and swim buddy already worked there. He suddenly had a feeling of happiness bloom in his chest for the first time since he retired. The future didn’t seem so scary and depressing. He had his arm around Cary and was looking at a bunch of men whom he respected the hell out of. “That was fun, but I’ll have to show them how it’s done next time.”