by Beth Abbott
He felt Hannah give a little nod, confirming that she’d heard him, but Danny wasn’t going to let her get away with bottling things up.
“Drago also said something about Sergei changing the format of the contest for the rest of the weekend, to accommodate the fact that they’re now down to three teams.” Danny deliberately didn’t give any additional information, because he knew Hannah’s natural curiosity to find out what was going on would get the better of her.
To give credit where it was due, she lasted a full four minutes, which was three more than she normally lasted.
“Why are they down to three teams?” She whispered, her hand reaching up to hold on to his strong forearm.
“It seems our comrade Lebedev dislikes being disobeyed.” Danny nuzzled Hannah’s neck. “He especially didn’t appreciate the Polish team embarrassing him in front of his business associates.”
“What did he do?” Hannah linked her fingers with Danny’s, bringing their linked hands up so she could kiss the back of his hand.
“According to Drago, he threw them overboard and left them to swim home.” Danny couldn’t help but smile to himself.
He’d finally got Hannah’s full attention, and she turned in his arms until they were nose-to-nose.
“Danny, they’re at least fifty miles from the nearest coastline.” She frowned. “How on earth are they going to swim to shore?”
“Honestly? I think the swim will be the least of their problems.” Danny shrugged. “I have no doubt that by the time they went overboard they would have had any number of perforations from being repeatedly shot. And then, of course, they would have to have survived a fifty to sixty-foot drop into the water.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me Lebedev had killed them?” Hannah scowled at him.
“Because it’s not nearly as entertaining a story if you give the punchline first.” Danny smiled at Hannah.
“Is Kellen really Ok?” Hannah whispered, and Danny’s heart almost cracked open at the pain in her voice.
“He’s going to be absolutely fine.” He reassured her. “And from what Drago told me, he was quite happy to let Micky tend to his wounds. She was obviously going to have to be quite attentive, and very close to him.”
On any other day, Danny matchmaking would have at the very least made Hannah smile. Tonight, not so much.
“He knew what he was getting into when he signed up for this job, baby.” Danny insisted. “They all did, and still they agreed to go.”
“They didn’t agree to get stabbed a bunch of times.” Hannah said quietly.
“Maybe not.” Danny shrugged. “But to a guy who signed up to serve in the military, knowing he could be shot at, stabbed, tortured, blown up by IED’s or missiles… do you really think Kellen would have balked at what happened tonight? You really should give the man more credit than that. Suggesting that he would have been put off by something so trivial by comparison, would be a real kick in the ego to a war hero like Kellen. You need to take that into consideration before you speak to him and start sobbing out your apologies.”
He watched Hannah’s eyes narrow as she looked at him, and he wondered if he was about to get a mighty ear-bashing.
In the end, though, Hannah sighed and looked down.
“I know you’re right, and I’m trying to rationalise everything the way you explain it… but I can’t help feeling guilty because it was me that asked the guys to go on this operation.” Hannah’s eyes were full of regret. “If I’d known then…”
“Hannah, if you hadn’t asked them to go, then JT would have asked them, or Tuck, or Gregor.” Danny pointed out. “The potential positives that could come from this mission far outweigh the dangers. Even if we just achieve half of our objectives, it will be worth it.”
Hannah nodded, but Danny wasn’t convinced she believed him.
“Look, you’re tired and stressed, and you need to sleep because we have another long day ahead of us tomorrow.” Danny reminded her.
“I don’t think I can close my eyes yet.” Hannah admitted. “I’ve tried but I keep seeing all that blood all over Kellen.”
Danny looked at Hannah’s face, and as always, his body stirred in response to her beautiful green eyes, and those kissable lips.
“I have an idea in mind for how to make you forget what happened tonight, for a little while at least.” He smiled slowly. “What do you say?”
Hannah reached up to stroke his face.
“You know I can never say no to you…” Hannah bit her lip.
“But…?” Danny prompted her.
“But, I don’t know if even you can keep those images out of my head tonight.” She frowned. “And I really don’t want any sort of negativity to leak into our love-making. It means too much to me to sully it.”
Danny understood what she was saying, but the thought of leaving her to dwell on what had happened was really not going to be an option.
“Can we try something?” He smiled at her. “Something slightly different?”
“Danny, I’m not doing BDSM with you!” Hannah growled. “I don’t care how much fun Matt and Suzy say it is!”
Danny snorted a laugh.
“That really wasn’t what I had in mind.” He grinned. “I was thinking of something a little more intimate. Something slower, and more intense.”
He watched Hannah’s eyes widen and knew that he had her interested.
“Naked, now!” He instructed, moving away from her to ditch his boxer shorts.
Before he turned back, he tapped the touch lamp by the bed, and changed the setting to the darkest glow possible, which just happened to be the purple light.
When he turned back around, Hannah had already shed her nightdress, and as she lay waiting for him, her blonde hair looked platinum in the strange lighting.
He pushed her gently onto her back, moving to her side where he could easily lean down to take her lips in a slow and sensual caress.
He teased her mouth open, and licked just inside her top lip, tormenting her tongue into following his into his mouth so he could suck on it.
He felt Hannah’s moan, and deepened the kiss, not touching her at all with his hands, but allowing his chest to rub against her breasts, the coarse hairs gliding roughly over Hannah’s taut nipples.
When she reached her hands up to touch him, Danny pulled away.
“Keep your hands by your sides, and your eyes on me.” He instructed.
Hannah returned her hands to the bed and kept eye contact with him as instructed.
Instead of kissing her, he threw the duvet back, so it pooled at the bottom of the bed, and slid his body over hers, spreading her legs as he did, and settling his thighs between hers.
With the difference in height between them, even with his hips between Hannah’s thighs, Danny still towered over her, and he used the height to his advantage as he leaned back down to kiss her.
He lowered himself onto his forearms which he placed on either side of Hannah’s head, and took her lips again for what he planned would be the kissing adventure of a lifetime.
Starting off softly, he angled his head slightly, so he could nibble on her top lip, sucking it into his mouth before switching to the bottom lip.
When Hannah moved her head to kiss him back, he raised the passion level by kissing her deeply, exploring her mouth with his tongue, the extra weight pushing Hannah back into the pillows.
Just when he felt her start to lift her hands, he changed things up again, raising his head to kiss her brow and her eyes, before trailing kisses down her cheek to her chin and then starting again down the other side.
It wasn’t long before he could feel Hannah responding by lifting her hips into him, almost as though she was trying to get some friction from rubbing herself against him.
When his lips returned to her mouth, he felt her back arching, as though she was trying to get him to touch her breasts.
He lifted his head from hers and stared down into her eyes.
“What do you need, baby?” He asked, already knowing the answer but needing to hear Hannah say it.
Hannah blinked up at him.
“I need you, Danny.” She whispered.
He smiled down at her.
“I think that goes without saying. But how do you need me, Hannah?” He asked, watching her reaction with interest.
“I need you everywhere.” Hannah said quietly.
“You’ll have to be more specific, sweetheart.” Danny urged. “If all you need is for me to lie here and hold your hand, I’ll happily do that. But, if you want something else, you’ll have to be a little more vocal.”
As he watched her brows draw together, he moved slightly so that his rock-hard erection slid up and rubbed against her sex. When it rested exactly where he wanted it, Danny lowered his weight back down, effectively trapping it there.
It was all he could do not to groan his satisfaction.
Hannah stared up at him, her eyes wide and full of emotion.
“I want and need you in so many ways, I wouldn’t know where to start, and I’d possibly never run out of words.” She breathed. “I promise to tell you the rest later, but for now, I’ll start with the one I think you want to hear most…”
Danny watched her lips twitch mischievously, and waited… and waited…
“Hannah, I’m getting older sweetheart.” He scowled at her. “It doesn’t stay inflated like it used to.”
Hannah finally broke into a smile.
“Danny, baby, it works just fine, and only two days ago it stayed inflated for several hours, all by itself.” She reminded him. “But in case you’re worried about your memory failing with your advanced age, maybe you’d better show it the way home before you forget where it’s supposed to go. You know that’s what I need most.”
Danny rocked his hips back a little until his cock freed itself, and as he lined it up with Hannah’s sex, he slowly pushed forward.
“Is that what you mean?” He murmured, as he slowly filled her.
He stared down at her, struggling to keep his concentration on what he was doing while Hannah lifted her hips again, helping him to glide in more easily.
When he was fully seated, Hannah lifted her legs and wrapped them around his thighs, pulling him deeper still.
The sensation was excruciating and incredible all at once, and Danny almost felt his eyes roll back as Hannah squeezed his shaft with her inner muscles.
“Oh, God!” He groaned, burying his face in her neck to stop himself losing it altogether.
“Make love to me.” Hannah whispered in his ear, and once again, Danny found himself desperately trying not to detonate too soon.
As he lifted his head, Hannah reached up and pulled his face down for a passionate kiss.
So much for telling her to keep her hands by her sides!
As they devoured each other’s mouths, Danny pulled his hips back until his shaft was almost out of her warm sheath, before pushing back in a little harder and quicker than before.
Hannah’s inner muscles rippled in welcome, and her heels dug into his ass as she pulled him in deeper.
No sooner was he seated deeply than he pulled out again, but this time, before he pulled out altogether, he pulled his knees up so they were almost beneath Hannah’s thighs, leaving her spread wide for his pleasure.
He thrust forward again at this new angle, his lips never leaving Hannah’s, and his groin pressed against Hannah’s mound as he hit the end of her channel.
He felt the sharp intake of her breath as he twisted his hips, rubbing himself into Hannah’s clit. Obviously, he was hitting exactly the right spot, causing Hannah to lift her hips into him.
Danny could feel the heat building, and he kept on thrusting and withdrawing, each time twisting at the last second to rub across her tender bud.
Hannah’s breathing grew increasingly ragged, not helped by the fact that he had kissed her soundly throughout.
Eventually he took pity on her and dragged his lips away, allowing them both to gasp much needed air.
Even then, he kept thrusting slowly, his hips moving to their own rhythm, completely autonomous and beyond the control of his scrambled brain.
He watched Hannah lick her lips, her eyes closed and her breathing shallow.
Danny slowed it down for a few seconds while he took hold of her hands and lifted them above her head, pinning them to the pillow.
Hannah’s eyes flew open as he started pushing into her again.
“Danny, I need….” She breathed.
He knew what she needed without her finishing the words.
Danny slammed home, making that last-second adjustment to rub Hannah’s clit.
“Oh, God!” She moaned.
Again, Danny pulled back, and without hesitation, he repeated the motion, causing Hannah to groan again.
He loved getting her to this place where it almost hurt to chase the ultimate pleasure.
Danny sped up his thrusts until Hannah was groaning and barely able to gasp a breath between each moan of pleasure.
He could feel his own orgasm building in the base of his spine, and he bit his lip to hold off for just another minute or two.
When he felt Hannah’s muscles ripple as a shudder racked her body, and she gasped his name over and over, Danny finally let go of his self-control and slammed into her two, three, four more times until he felt his release explode from him, draining every last drop of energy from his body.
He kept surging into her as the euphoria swept through him, but truthfully, it was his body doing the thrusting, his mind having completely lost control.
Eventually he ran out of energy.
He let go of Hannah’s hands as his body sagged, just about getting his elbows back to the mattress in time to catch his weight before he landed on top of her and crushed her.
Danny’s head spun, and he literally saw stars at the back of his eyelids as he struggled to come back into his body.
He slipped out of Hannah’s warmth and slid to one side, pulling her tiny frame on top of him like a blanket. Her heart beat erratically in a bizarre rhythm mimicking his own pulse, as their breathing gradually slowed.
He felt her pull back for a second, but she was only reaching for the sheet to pull it up over them, before returning to the same position, lying across his chest, her face buried in his neck.
Danny wrapped his arms around her, enjoying the warmth of her skin against his.
“I need you because you give me a strength I don’t possess on my own.” She murmured into his neck. “I need you because you’re my soulmate, and the one person who fills my heart with more joy than anyone should have a right to.”
Danny froze for a second, then realised that she was fulfilling her earlier promise of telling him all the ways she needed him.
“I need you because my children won the lottery when they got you as a dad, and nobody could ever take your place in their hearts.” Hannah kissed his neck softly. “I need you because you’re the only man in the world I could ever have felt safe enough with to fall in love with.”
Danny stared at the ceiling, not wanting to interrupt Hannah, not least because his throat was so choked up with emotion.
“I love you because you’re the strongest, bravest, most loyal and hardest working man I’ve ever known. You selflessly do everything for our family, everything for me, and you ask nothing in return.” Hannah’s fingertips were skimming over his chest, but Danny doubted she even realised what she was doing.
“I need you because you are the most drop-dead gorgeous man I’ve ever met, with a heart of gold and a body made for sin.” Danny smiled at their much-used words. “And I literally would kill any woman who tried to steal you away from me with my bare hands.”
Hannah lifted her head to stare at him.
“I need you because you’re more important to me than air, or food, or water.” She explained. “I could live without food and water for days. I could probably manage without air for a couple of
minutes. I wouldn’t want to live without you for a second.”
Hannah’s hand came up slowly, and she ran her thumb across his bottom lip in a gesture that was almost exploratory.
“I resigned myself a long time ago to the fact that our kids will grow up and leave home and make their own lives.” Hannah half-smiled before becoming serious again. “I could never resign myself to living without you. If you left me, I’d be wrecked forever. If you… d-died… I’d follow straight after you.”
Danny could see from the emotion in Hannah’s eyes that she was now completely serious.
“Please don’t ever die, Danny.” She whispered. “I don’t want our kids to be orphans.”
Danny swallowed to clear the lump from his throat.
“I am married to the most beautiful, intelligent, kindest, sweetest, sexiest, most badass woman on the planet, who also happens to be my best friend and soulmate, as well as the most incredible mother to our kids.” He pulled her closer, so that they were almost nose-to-nose. “Do you really think I’d be dumb enough to die and cut short our time together? That hurts, baby, it really does.”
“So, you promise to live forever with me?” Hannah half-smiled at him, but he could see the tears shining in her eyes.
“I solemnly promise to live with you for at least another eighty years, and if at all possible, I’d prefer to die in my sleep after a vigorous bout of sex with you bent over your walking frame.” He picked up Hannah’s hand and used her finger to draw a cross on his chest before raising it to his mouth to kiss. “How does that sound?”
Hannah smiled at him, her face radiant in the strange purple glow.
“I’ll take another eighty years.” She nodded. “And sex bent over a walking frame sounds hot. Can we get one to try it out?”
“Why not?” Danny shrugged teasingly. “We’ve tried it with you bent over just about everything else.”
Hannah huffed in indignation as Danny wrapped her in his arms.
“Come on, it’s time to get some sleep.” He reached behind him to tap the lamp off.
When he lay back down, Hannah curled back into him as she always did, as though she was trying to climb inside his skin.