Chapter 12
Jagger followed the trail of discarded clothing as he made his way up the split staircase leading to the townhome’s upper floor. His rock-solid dick was screaming for him to sprint after Talia for fear she would change her mind, but he forced himself to keep on with his calm, casual pace.
When he reached the top, there were four doors to choose from. The closest one was cracked open just enough he could tell it was a small bathroom. The other two doors toward that end of the short hallway were closed, but when Jagger looked to his right…
Bingo.
Jagger pushed open one of two white, double doors which led to the home’s master suite. As he crossed the threshold, his heart gave a hard kick when he spotted a black, strapless bra in the middle of the room’s plush, ivory carpet.
A few feet beyond that—near the threshold to what he realized was the en suite bathroom—lay a tiny scrap of matching lace he realized was a thong.
Hell, yes.
Talia was in the next room. He could hear her moving about. And going by the items he’d found on his way up the stairs, she was also completely naked.
Are you coming?
With that one, simple question, the dark-haired vixen already had him feeling as though he was about to explode. How he was going to make it through this without embarrassing himself, Jagger didn’t know. But he was committed now, and there was no turning back.
Talia needed this. She needed him. And Jagger wasn’t about to disappoint.
He crossed the threshold into her spacious bathroom. Everything was white, from the walls to the cabinets and floors. But it was the blurred image behind the shower’s frosted glass walls that caught—and held—his attention.
Even in its steamy, unclear view, Talia’s nude silhouette was like a masterful work of art. One he longed to touch but feared he would ruin.
Their personalities often clashed in the best of ways, yet they’d both been torn from the same cloth.
Two patriots whose lives had been spent doing whatever they could to make the world a better, safer place.
In that moment, however, there was something Jagger wanted even more than peace on earth and all that other stuff.
For the rest of tonight, his focus was on Talia. His one and only goal was to show this woman all the ways he’d been dreaming of bringing her pleasure.
Between what happened at the port and the twisted gifts someone had been leaving her, she deserved a few hours to let herself go and forget. But even as Jagger removed his own clothing and joined her in the shower, he innately knew what was about to happen between them went much deeper than that.
“I was beginning to think you’d changed your mind.”
Talia’s sultry voice sounded a bit huskier as it echoed off the spacious shower’s ceramic tiled walls.
“Not a chance in hell.” Jagger pulled the glass door shut behind him. He turned to fully face her and instantly lost the ability to breathe.
From the moment they’d first met, he’d thought she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on. Seeing her the way God had created her was a sight he felt compelled to cherish.
She’s absolutely perfect.
Long legs. Toned curves. Flawless skin that appeared to be kissed by the sun. Well, almost flawless.
Son of a—
Jagger frowned when he spotted the softball-size bruise marring the skin above her left breast. If she hadn’t been wearing a vest when that bastard’s bullet slammed into her—
“It’s just a bruise, Jag.” Talia began to wash her body with the thick, bubbly soap.
She’s right. She’s still here and obviously doing okay. But still…
“How’s the head?” He had to ask. Jagger had to be positively certain this wouldn’t cause her more harm than good.
“I’m fine.” She gave him a pointed look, her face already washed clean of the makeup she’d worn to the club. “Headache’s almost gone.”
Her expression was a silent dare. A challenge he could either accept or deny. While Jagger was nothing if not a gentleman at heart, Talia wasn’t a wilting flower. And she sure as shit wasn’t a delicate doll made of glass.
This woman was a warrior, much like him and his team. If she said she was fine, he needed to take her at her word.
“You gonna stand there and stare, or join me under the shower while there’s still plenty of hot water to go around?”
Talia began working a bar of soap into a thick, white lather before lowering her hands and exposing her breasts.
Even better than his fantasies—and there had been many—the twin globes were full and firm.
Her erect nipples were the color of dusty rose, matching perfectly with the small, circular area surrounding them.
He took a step forward. And then he took another. Jagger’s dampened feet stopped just shy of letting the tip of his protruding cock come into contact with her flat, lower belly.
Even before this moment, Jagger could tell Talia kept herself in mission-ready shape. But without her clothes…
Lord have mercy.
She literally took his breath away.
He took the soap from her hands, his chest growing tight as their fingers touched. “Turn around,” he ordered softly.
She didn’t hesitate to do as he’d asked.
Jagger used his free hand to move her long, damp locks over one shoulder so they rested against her chest. With her thick, dark hair out of the way, he lifted the bar and began to gently glide it back and forth over her skin.
The back of her neck. Her delicate shoulders. Along her spine and the feminine curve of her waist. Talia’s back stiffened and she sucked in an audible breath when he moved lower, teasing the firm, rounded muscles of her perfectly heart-shaped ass.
It took every ounce of strength he possessed not to say fuck it and finally take her the way he’d imagined in his fantasies. This woman may be a badass operative in the field, but she was still a woman at her core.
Talia deserved to be treated with reverence and respect.
She needed gentleness and caring, not some Neanderthal who only cared about getting off.
While diving deep into her tempting body was on the evening’s agenda, Jagger willed himself to take his time and hopefully make her forget every other man from her past.
She turned to face him, the shower’s full, soothing stream raining down between their bodies. Without a word, she took the soap from his hand and set it on the built-in shelf beside her.
“I don’t need flowers and moonlight, Jagger.” The enticing woman seemed to have read his mind. “I just need you.” She moved in close, pressing the entire front of her body up against his. “Just this.” Talia reached up and pulled his mouth to hers.
She took control of the kiss, and he let her.
Whatever she needs.
As far as Jagger was concerned, he’d already won, so he made the conscious decision to let her take the lead.
Talia deepened the kiss, her tongue swirling and dancing with his in the most delectable way. Droplets of water splashed on and around them, but neither seemed to care. They were too busy feasting on one another to pay any attention to anything other than each other.
She stepped back a few inches, just enough to allow room for her hands to wander. They teasingly slid from his shoulders and down the length of his arms. Talia lifted them back up, placing her palms along his chest. His abs. His hips.
Moving inward, she took his erection into her fist. Her other hand cupped the delicate skin beneath his aching shaft.
Jagger sucked in a breath, the sound mixing with the water’s soothing, steady timbre. Of their own accord, his lids fell shut, and he gave himself over to her.
The clean, fresh scent of the soap hung heavily in the humid air. But his focus was on the way her hands were expertly working his cock.
Oh, yeah.
A deep moan escaped as she squeezed a bit tighter.
Her lips followed a tantalizing trail from his mouth, along the side of his neck, and continuing down to one of his nipples.
Jagger moaned again when she teased the tiny bud with her teeth.
And when she bent down to replace her hand with her mouth, he thought he’d come unglued.
I’ve died and gone to Heaven.
Talia slid her luscious lips around the pulsing tip before taking damn near his entire length into the molten heat of her mouth. He threw his head back as she began sucking him, slowly at first. Her tongue playing his body like a finely tuned instrument in tandem with the torturous suction.
Jagger’s breathing picked up. His pulse became quickened inside his veins, and his heart felt as though it was trying his damnedest to break free. It had been a long damn time since he’d been with a woman, but it had never, ever felt like this.
His lower back tingled as the telltale fluttering began to build deep inside his gut. He could tell he was already close. If he didn’t put a stop to what she was doing, right the hell now, it would be over before they’d ever truly began.
Not. Happening.
He reached for her shoulders, steadying them both as he pulled himself free. Disappointment filled Talia’s beautiful, golden brown eyes, prompting a quick but succinct explanation.
“You keep doing that, we’ll never make it to the best part.”
“Oh, yeah?” Her disappointment appeared to morph into curiosity. “I don’t know.” A slight shrug. “I thought that was going pretty damn well.”
“Too well.” He pulled her to him with a grin.
Talia giggled. “I mean, at least you were enjoying it.”
The woman had no idea. Within seconds, the talented vixen had him precariously close to the edge. But as much as he wanted to get there, Jagger needed to make sure she was taken care of first.
It was, after all, the gentlemanly thing to do.
“Let’s see how you enjoy this.”
Jagger bent down and brought his lips to the pulse point of her neck. Talia gasped, tilting her head to the side as he playfully sucked and nibbled her there. And when he brought a hand to her smooth, bare sex, he felt the bite of her short nails digging into the skin at his sides.