Chapter 10 #2
He cupped her face again. “Best thing I ever did.” He kissed her because he needed it more than his next breath, then held her close, his mouth at the shell of her ear.
“I don’t ever want to lose you, especially now that I have you.
I lost too many people during my time away.
Good soldiers. Friends. Brothers. I can’t lose anyone else. Especially not you.”
She pressed into him even closer.
His cock got excited, but he kept his cool and his hands at her back, holding her close the way she needed him to for now. “You don’t have to hide your scars from me or anyone else. Wear them proudly. They tell people who you are. A survivor.”
Tears glistened in her eyes. “Thank you for saving me and giving me this.”
“What do you mean?”
“This. Acceptance. Comfort. Safety. Affection. A place beside you.”
What he was giving her was all his love, she just wasn’t ready to say it. He’d give her time. Soon she’d believe it.
“You belong with me.” He hugged her as tightly as he dared without hurting her, then kissed her on the head and set her gently away from him.
He pivoted toward the shower and turned on the tap, adjusting the temp until it was just right.
He didn’t want to burn any of her scrapes or cuts, but she needed some heat to loosen her sore muscles.
“Okay, sweetheart, get in.” He turned and gulped when he got a look at her fully naked.
Pale pink nipples hardened into tight buds at the tips of her creamy breasts.
Her flat stomach had a nasty bruise and some scrapes across it.
Her hip bone on one side had another dark bruise, the other side a mass of scrapes.
And her mound had a dusting of trimmed golden hair, avoiding her stitches.
God how he wanted to get his hands on her, his fingers and tongue inside her. “You’re so beautiful. And tempting. You’re killing me.”
That bashful lopsided smile came back. “Do you have a razor I could use? It’s…ah…been a while.”
He pulled a disposable blade out of the cupboard under the sink.
She ducked into the shower while he finished undressing. He walked in behind her, closing the glass door. She’d already gotten under the spray and was rinsing her oily hair thoroughly.
He’d put her shampoo and conditioner in the shower before she went to sleep. He should have helped her get clean before they had company, but she’d been so tired.
He squirted a healthy dollop of shampoo in his hand. “Turn for me. I’ll do your hair.”
She turned her back to him and let the water run down her chest.
He pulled all her hair into his hand and on top of her head, then massaged the shampoo into her scalp, sliding his fingers through the thick golden strands.
“Oh, that feels good. So does the hot water. My whole body is super tense.”
He could think of a dozen ways to loosen her up, and all of them ended in orgasms. His cock got excited again, but he messaged her scalp and neck, enjoying how much she loved it. “The way you were stuck lying on that hill had to have hurt your back and strained your muscles.”
“Tell me about it. But your bed was super comfy.”
“Our bed,” he corrected her. “I spared no expense on the mattress. Rinse.”
She turned and dipped her head back into the stream of water.
He helped get the soap out by combing his fingers through the strands, even if he was sneaking peeks at those stunning breasts again. They’d be the perfect handful. “Turn again.”
He picked up the bottle of conditioner and squeezed out a generous portion. Her hair was long and thick and he worked the conditioner in carefully.
“Let me shave while the conditioner sets in.” She grabbed the bar soap and lathered it under her arm, then shaved it. But when it came to the other side, there was no way for her to lift her arm without pain.
He took her wrist. “Let your muscles go loose. I’ll hold your arm up and shave it for you.”
“Seriously?” Her whole face flamed red.
“I don’t mind. It’s not a big deal and you’ll be more comfortable.” He did the job in a matter of seconds and gently lowered her arm.
“This is kind of embarrassing.” A blush flushed her cheeks.
“When I was shot, a nurse had to literally hold my junk and help me pee into a container. Sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do.”
She pressed a kiss to his sternum over his heart. “I ache thinking of you going through something so traumatic. It scares me that you came that close to death, even though I know you’re here. Alive.” She put her hand over his heart. “I think about how you found me… What if I lost this chance?”
He cupped her face and looked deep into her gorgeous green eyes. “But we didn’t. I’m here. You’re here. Like it was meant to be, our two worlds intersecting.”
She looked up at him, a soft smile tilting her pink lips. “Thank you for helping me.”
“You don’t have to be embarrassed about anything with me. Soon, I’m going to have my hands and tongue all over you, up in all your business.” He gave her a wicked grin.
She shocked him by taking his hard length into her soapy hands and stroking him. “Let me say thank you and relieve some of your tension.”
He tried to hold back the moan of pleasure that shot through him with her small hand encircling him at the base of his rock hard cock. “Sweetheart, you don’t have to do that.” But oh, how he loved the feel of her hand gripped around his shaft.
Her eyes sparkled with delight. “What if I want to?” She stroked him up and down, her fingers wrapped around him, sliding easily along his length thanks to the soap.
“There’s something you should know.” He barely got the words out, he was so focused on her beautiful face and her hand giving him more pleasure than he could ever give himself.
Her hand stilled right over his cockhead, her thumb brushing the slit. “What’s that?”
“I’ll never say no to sex of any kind with you.” He loved her smile and the confidence his words gave her.
“Good to know. So if I wake you up with my mouth around your dick, you won’t mind?”
That sounded like heaven. “Will you mind waking up to my tongue in your pussy?” He wanted to taste her so badly.
“That sounds like a very good morning to me.” Her smile dimmed a bit. “I don’t have a lot of practice with…any of this, so be patient and tell me what you like and don’t like. I want this to be good for you.”
He stared down at her hand working up and down his length and thought if she was trying to please him, it was damn good to him. “Go with your instincts. Your hands on me always feel good.”
She slid her hand down his shaft, her fingers squeezing tight. “I’m…eager to be a good lover. I’ve read some racy romances, so I know the basics, but I want you to be able to tell me what you want.”
“Faster and harder if your aim is to get me off with your hand.”
Her smile lit up his heart and her hand doing exactly what he said got him even harder. “That’s it. It’s so good.”
She kissed his chest, right over his bullet scar. “When I’m feeling better and can move more easily, I’ll be able to do more.”
He didn’t like the disappointment in her eyes. “You’re doing spectacular.” He wanted to thrust into her hand but held back, letting her be in charge, so she’d be more comfortable with him.
She was staring at her hand sliding up and down his length.
He tipped her chin up with his fingertip. “Look at me. Watch what you do to me. See how much I want you?”
Her gaze met his and he let her see how she riled him up and made him burn. It revved something up in her, too, because she squeezed a little tighter and jacked him faster.
His balls tightened and his lower spine tingled with his impending orgasm.
“That’s it. Keep doing that. I’m going to come.
” He couldn’t help it, he grabbed her hand and held it still while he thrust toward her, spraying ropes of cum over her belly as she wrung him out.
“Fuck, that was fantastic.” He swooped in and kissed her deep, needing her taste on his tongue as much as he needed her body pressed to his.
When he ended the kiss, he stared down into her dazed gaze. “You okay?”
“So good. But tired.”
He turned her under the spray and cleaned her up, though he loved seeing her marked with his cum.
He dropped to his knees, lathered her legs and shaved them for her, trying not to notice how close he was to her wet pussy.
Her energy was fading, he could tell, and she steadied herself with one hand on the wall.
The soft grin never left her lips as she stared down at him taking care of her.
At last he rose, turned off the water, wrapped a towel around her and dried her softly.
He quickly dried himself with another towel, then used it to squeeze the water out of her long hair.
He grabbed her brush off the counter and ran it through the slick strands.
With every minute that passed, she became more relaxed.
“Do you want a shirt or something to sleep in?”
“If it’s yours and smells like you, yes.”
He pulled her into his arms. “You make me think dirty thoughts and want to hold you close all night.”
“Hmm. That sounds nice. I forgot how nice it feels to be close. But I never felt it this strongly until you.”
He brushed his thumb over a particularly puckered scar on her shoulder. The gash had to have been deep.
Who hurts their child like this?
He kissed her forehead. “I’m here for all the cuddles you want.” Nothing felt better than having her skin against his.
While he’d pushed everyone away for a long time, it felt so good, so right to keep her close.
He put ointment on her shoulder wounds and thigh, then re-bandaged them.
It took a bit longer to treat all her scrapes, especially since he kissed above every injury, hoping to ease her pain and build the intimacy between them.
“The head wound looks better. Less swollen.” He kissed her forehead, brushing her soft cheek with his thumb.
He thought about her plummeting down into that ravine and the callous person who sent her plunging to her death. He wanted to find them and beat them bloody.
He tamped down his rising anger and grabbed the shirt he’d worn today and slipped it up her arm on her injured side, then over her head, and pulled it down so she could put her other arm through the hole.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now you look like you’re done in, so go climb into bed. I’ll be there in a second.” She walked away, leaving him to clean up the bathroom.
He needed a minute to cool off. He’d never wanted a woman the way he wanted her. That hand job in the shower wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy him. He wanted to be balls deep inside her.
Soon.
He wanted her safe.
Right now, she needed comfort and his protection. He’d give her both. Everything she needed and more. Because she belonged to him and he belonged to her. Once she believed it, they’d grow closer together. They’d build a life. And neither of them would ever feel alone again.
And whoever was out there plotting to hurt her again, they’d get what’s coming to them.
He wouldn’t stop until they were found and neutralized.