Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Diana woke to a hand between her legs and a hard cock against her hip. The dim light of early morning slanted through the blinds. She turned toward him, slinging a leg over his hip, giving him better access to her body.
His fingers strummed her into a shattering orgasm and then he rolled on a condom and pushed inside to the hilt before pinning her to the mattress beneath him. She made a sound that caused him to still.
“Did I hurt you?” His voice was a soft rumble against her senses.
“I’m a little sore.”
He swore. “I should have asked first.”
When he started to withdraw, she gripped his hips with her knees and held him in place. “It’s a good kind of sore. Don’t stop.”
Later, when they’d both come and he’d gone to dispose of the condom, he returned with a warm washcloth and gently stroked it against her tender flesh. She bit her lip to keep stupid tears from falling.
No man had ever thought to bring her a washcloth before.
Joel had always gone to the bathroom to remove the condom and turn on the shower.
He never returned to cuddle in the immediate aftermath, never kept touching her the way Alex did.
He touched her like he enjoyed it beyond the sex part, and that made her heart squeeze.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Of course. Why?”
He looked unhappy. “Your eyes are red. Did I hurt you that much?”
“I’m fine. Really.” She sniffed and his gaze sharpened.
“Diana.”
She hesitated. But if she didn’t give him a reason, he’d persist in believing he’d hurt her. She didn’t want him to feel that way. “You’re thoughtful. I haven’t had much of that. My own fault for choosing poorly, I guess.”
“It’s not your fault.” His voice was rough at the edges. Almost angry. Not with her, but for her maybe?
“Not sure how you can say that.”
“Because other people’s lack of consideration isn’t your fault. You can care about making sure your partner has a good time and isn’t in pain, or you can be an asshole. I choose not to be an asshole. At least not about this.”
She couldn’t help but smile, which she thought he’d intended. “So, you admit to being an asshole.”
“Most of the time, sure. Lived too long and seen too much not to be.”
Including whatever had happened to him in Alaska.
His mother died when they were living in the wilderness, and he escaped sometime in the next year.
Just a kid. He was forty-two now, and she did not doubt he’d lived through some rough things.
He was a special ops commander, not a raw recruit on his first mission.
“I’ve never been with someone like you,” she admitted. “Not just the thoughtful part. You genuinely seem to like the things you do to me.”
His gaze sharpened. “Are you telling me the guys you’ve been with haven’t enjoyed making you come?”
She looked away as he finished soothing her body with the warm cloth. “I don’t know if it’s that, exactly. Maybe? I don’t know.”
He gripped her chin gently and turned her face to his. “Diana, what are you telling me? Spit it out.”
“Oral,” she squeaked when he didn’t let her go, the heat of embarrassment crawling over her skin. “You’re the first, uh… The first.”
“Are you fucking telling me,” he growled suddenly, “that no man has eaten your pussy before me?”
She put a hand over her face. Which was on fire. Why had she said anything? Why let him know how pitiful her sex life truly was before he’d shown her what she’d been missing?
“Oh God, this is so humiliating. Forget I said anything.”
He pulled her hand away, forced her to look at him. His face was thunderous. Her heart hammered.
“Diana—baby. That’s—Jesus, I want to kill the men who didn’t treat you the way you deserved.
How any man could not want to bury his face between your legs and listen to the sounds you make—I’ll never understand it.
You’re perfect. Gorgeous. You piss me off, but I’d never consider not diving in there and licking my way to heaven.
Fucking hell, Princess, I’m sorry you didn’t get what you deserved. ”
She blinked at him. Then blinked again as tears threatened. “I didn’t know I could ask for more. I should have.”
“Maybe you should have, but it’s still not your fault. You understand me? It’s the men who were too selfish to take care of you before they took care of themselves.”
She pushed up on an elbow. They were both naked and she felt the stirring of desire again. How could she want this man so often? She’d endure more soreness just to have him inside her. But she had a feeling he wouldn’t go there yet. He’d want to give her time to heal first.
“You drink coffee?” he asked, his gaze finding hers after perusing her body again. His dick was throbbing to life, but he was trying to be considerate. Distracting himself.
“Naturally.”
His grin fired off sparks in her belly. “One more thing we have in common then.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Did you think I drank the blood of babies each morning?”
“Something like that.” He stood. “I’ll go make coffee. Gonna have to take a raincheck on the shower sex, unfortunately. Not that I don’t want to, but you need to feel better.”
“Like you said to me, it’s not your fault. You didn’t do this—okay, you did, but not on purpose. I don’t have to go to the hospital or get a sling for my crotch, okay? It’s just a little sore from all that banging around in there you’ve been doing.”
He nodded. “I like banging you, Princess.”
“I like banging you, too.”
“See? There is something we like about each other.”
He dragged on a T-shirt, jeans without underwear, buttoned the fly, and sauntered out of the room, whistling all the way to the kitchen.
Diana headed to the bathroom and took a quick shower.
She found an extra toothbrush in a package, used his comb to untangle her wet hair, and threw on her clothes from last night.
When she went to join him in the kitchen, Kane Fox stood at the counter. He frowned at Alex as he poured coffee into two cups. When Kane looked up and saw her, the corners of his mouth tightened.
“Morning,” she said, going straight to bright and friendly since there was no excuse on earth he’d believe about why she was there, other than the correct one.
“Morning, Agent Corbin.”
Her stomach tightened. “Call me Diana. Or don’t if it makes you uncomfortable.”
Whenever she felt backed into a corner, she went for icy calm.
People didn’t know how to take someone who never got ruffled.
She did get ruffled, but she was good at pretending she didn’t.
She’d learned the skill at the feet of a master—her mother.
Mary Anne Corbin Adler never showed an emotion she didn’t think about first.
Including love for her children.
The front door opened and closed. A moment later, Daphne Bryant walked in. Diana went rigid, waiting for the condemnation in the other woman’s eyes, but Daphne only smiled like a cat who’d happened upon a bowl of warm milk.
“Morning, Diana. Sleep well?”
“Always,” she said coolly. “How about you?”
Daphne cut her eyes to Kane. “Eventually,” she said. Kane managed to blush, which was interesting.
“What do you want in your coffee, Diana?”
Alex held her gaze. He acted like this was a perfectly normal occurrence for her to be standing in his kitchen, wearing her clothes from last night, wet hair hanging down her back.
“Cream, if you have it. Milk if you don’t.”
“I’ve got half and half.”
“That’s perfect.”
He took a carton from the fridge and poured in a healthy splash before stirring and bringing her the cup. Instead of walking away, he slipped an arm around her, kissed her temple, and faced the other two. It wasn’t what she’d expected, but she was oddly grateful for it.
Then again, they were supposed to be dating.
For all to see. So it would make anything they did together less suspicious.
It surprised her how quickly he embraced the idea.
There was no easing his friends into the idea, no gentle introduction.
He was going for full-frontal assault. Hit them with overwhelming force and conquer.
She should have known what his choice would be. He wasn’t a brilliant military commander for nothing.
As expected, Kane’s brow furrowed. In contrast, Daphne looked delighted. She went over to the cabinet and grabbed a mug. She was clearly at home here.
“I can see you have questions,” Alex said, his voice a cross between mildly bored and diamond hard. “The answer is that it’s none of your business.”
“Boss,” Kane began, but Alex must have given him a look because the man went silent.
“Considering what I’ve had to endure with the five of you going against orders to form attachments, I think you can acknowledge you have no right to question me about this.”
Kane nodded. Daphne hip-checked him after pouring herself a cup of coffee, splashing in cream, and lifting it to her lips.
“Mmm, good coffee. Kane forgot to buy beans.” She smiled.
“For the record, I’m happy to see you, er, enjoying yourself, Alex.
I’ve always thought you were too uptight. A little lovin’ will do you good.”
“Babe,” Kane muttered.
But Alex only laughed. “Thanks, Daph. Appreciate the vote of confidence.”
“You’re welcome. So, Diana... do you read romance novels?”
Diana blinked. Not what she’d expected. But Daphne was watching her expectantly. Eagerly.
“I, um, haven’t read one in years.”
“But you do read, right?”
“Yes, definitely.”
“Good! Then you can come to book club. It’s this Tuesday at the library.” Daphne smiled. It wasn’t entirely guileless. She was up to something. Diana could guess what it was, too. An interrogation.
“Shouldn’t you check with your book club before inviting me?”
“Nah, we’re a very welcoming crew. Besides, if you’re planning to date Alex, then you should get to know the others who’re crazy enough to fall for one of these guys.”