Page 9 of Lack of In-between
“Fuck, baby. That’s harsh.” Paul’s bent knuckles caught under her chin, lifting her face so she met his gaze again. “Lemme guess, he tried to tell you it wasn’t what it seemed?” She nodded slowly. “That explains your reaction, why you didn’t believe me.”
“Well, I knew what I saw. And I was disappointed because I thought there was something between us. Tiny, just a little thing, but maybe, possibly something.” His hand stroked down her neck, and she arched into the touch, chin lifting on a sigh. “You hugged her, and it seemed a natural thing for both of you, like you’d been with her for a long time.”
“I was. We were married for a decade. Our daughter’s not quite a teen now, so you can do the math. We’ve not been together for a long time.” His fingers grazed across the top of her shoulder, pausing to play with the thin strap of her tank top. “I haven’t slept with her for four years.”
Rose’s eyes popped open, and she stared at him, watching as his lips curled in a slow smile.
“I surprised you.” She nodded. “I’ll take it a step farther.” He inched closer until she felt the heat from his body all along her front. “I haven’t been with anyone else since then, either.”
“Four years?” She shook her head in disbelief. “Surely you didn’t have to be celibate. A good-looking man like you?”
“Didn’t have to be, no. But bedding someone without having a connection doesn’t appeal.” He leaned in and hovered there, teasing, his lips a bare tantalizing breath away from hers. “I haven’t felt this kind of connection before.” His hand glided down her arm, thumb brushing against the side of her breast. “It’s strong with you. We fit together in so many ways.” The kiss started soft and slow, his mouth exploring hers, lips pressing and pulling back, the kiss renewing with every change of pressure or pace. “I’ve been trying to get to know you better for months.”
“I wasn’t sure.” She slipped her arm under his, pulling herself tight to him, the heat from his erection nestled against her core. She angled her neck and looked up, watching as his eyes darkened with desire. “I kept talking myself out of it being real.”
His hips thrust forward, grinding his cock against her. “It’s real, Rose. So damned real.”
Five
Wolf
She’s everything I’ve ever wanted.He pushed up to an elbow, arching over Rose, who shifted to her back. Wolf slipped his fingers through her hair, straightening and arranging the locks until they were spread out over the pillows. “Woman, you’re so fucking perfect.” She stared up at him, lips slightly parted. “Gonna kiss you.” He made good on the promise, dipping to capture her mouth again, relearning everything that pulled a reaction from her, impressing every moan, every soft sigh, and each writhing shift underneath him into his memory.
“Paul.” Soft and breathless, his name was a whisper from her lips as her chin lifted, breasts pressed tight to his chest when she arched up.
“God, I like hearin’ my name like that.” Needy, she was so fucking needy.For me.
Outsiders might think this was fast, too fast. But they hadn’t lived the lives of the people in this bed. She was a warrior just as much as him, and God knew he understood how quickly it could be ripped away. She probably had the same memories of her time spent deployed, and while that might not be a question he’d ask here and now, he still understood the need to move forwards. To not let grass grow underneath their feet, because it could all be gone tomorrow.
“I want.” Just that, no additional explanation needed, but her simple words galvanized him into motion as, fingers to the hem of her shirt, he drew it up her body, exposing creamy skin with every inch.
“I got you, Rose.” He lay his lips to her belly, drawing a line up to where the fabric had bunched under her breasts. Nudging with his nose, he gained access to the soft curves, laving the darker pebbled circles of her nipples, pulling them into his mouth and sucking firmly, teeth nipping gently at the tender flesh. She gasped out his name again, and her hands left his shoulders to cup her breasts, presenting them for his attention. He moved from one to the other, repeating the same movements, until she was unable to stay still, hips thrusting up against the weight of the thigh he’d thrown over her legs.
Wolf laid his palm over the mons of her pussy, covering her and pressing lightly. “If you don’t want to be with me tonight, Rose, I need you to tell me now. I want you so damned much, baby. You don’t even know what you do to me.” She pushed up, thighs shifting apart to give him better access. “That’s an answer, yeah, love that. But I want to hear you, baby. Want to know you’re with me in this.”
“Paul.” Her voice was soft but firm. “Make love to me.”
“Music to my ears.” He lifted away, shifting to kneel beside her, leaning over to kiss her as he drew the waistband of her skimpy pajama bottoms down, taking the silky panties she wore with them. He smiled against her lips when she bent her legs, shoving with her feet to make it easier to discard the unwanted clothes. Tossing them aside, he brought the top over her head, careful as it gathered her hair to flow through the opening.
“Please.” She stared up at him, eyes open wide, the green overshadowed by darkly dilated pupils. He kissed her, coming down over her body like a blanket, covering her, groaning when her legs fell apart and he slipped between them, his jeans-covered erection notching into the apex of her thighs like he’d been born to be with her. “One of us has too many clothes on.”
Paul laughed at her grumbling. “True story.” He kissed her deeply, tongues sliding together, twisting and tangling in the heat of her mouth. “Lemme take care of that.” Her palm against his chest paused his movement, and he waited.
“Let me.” She pushed at his shoulder, and he went with the suggestion, moving to his back in the middle of the bed. Naked, glorious in her confidence, she rose over him, and he gave himself over to her gladly.
She made quick work of his belt and the fastening of his jeans, careful as she drew the zipper down. She shoved them partway over his hips, just enough to get her hands on his cock. Fully erect, the crown was wet with arousal, and he groaned when she dipped her head to lap delicately at it, the tip of her tongue flicking over the slit, gathering and drinking down what she clearly saw as an offering to her.
Then she abandoned his cock. Moving to his shirt, she unbuttoned it one slow movement at a time, beginning at the bottom and spreading the tails wide, exposing him in her own way. He smiled at how they went for the same thing, using different methods, both highly effective. He tightened his abs and felt his cock jerk in response, heat from her body blazing everywhere they touched. She chased the slowly opening fabric with kisses along his belly, up a line to his chest, where she curled her fingers in the hair, making her way to his flat nipples, kissing and licking, and nipping at him. He fisted his hands in the covers on either side of his body, trying to hold back the need to take over. To flip her to her back and spread her legs, to drive deep inside.
“My control will only go so far, baby.” He thought it was fair to warn her. She tipped her head so her eyes gazed up at him even as her mouth worked his flesh. “Jesus Christ, woman. You’re killin’ me here.”
“Good way to die, yeah?” She grinned and moved back to what she’d been doing, with one addition. Heat encompassed the head of his cock. Then it was exposed to the chill in the air as her fingers curled around the shaft, stroking down to the root, where she gripped tighter.
He gasped and groaned, thrusting up into the tight fist she made around his cock, fucking into her hand. She straddled his thigh and ground her pussy against the rough fabric still covering most of his bottom half. “Kiss me, beautiful.” His hands abandoned their grip on empty fabric and found their way to the back of her head. He cupped her skull with both palms, lifting her face away from his chest and bringing her up so their mouths clashed, hard and hot. The next moments were a blur of heat and pressure, wet tongues and deep kisses.
He finally maneuvered her to her back, more of an ease than a flip, still losing the heat of her hand on his cock in the process. He stretched out over her again, and she shifted, letting him slip back into the cradle of her thighs. He pressed forwards, the shaft of his cock slipping up through her lower lips easily, finding her wet and slippery. He buried his face against the column of her throat and froze. “Baby. Fuckin’ drenched for me. Love that. Wanna be in there now, wanna be bare, but gotta take care of you. Lemme get a condom and lose the jeans.”
“Okay.” Her soft answer drifted hot across the shell of his ear, her tongue flicking and licking along the curve. The hold she’d taken on his arm and shoulders didn’t lessen; she pulled him tighter than ever, even as she repeated her agreement. “Okay.”
