Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
COLE
Panties. Thongs. Sexy lace things.
I close my eyes and curse myself. Opening that dresser drawer drove another nail in my coffin. I’m so screwed.
It would be impossible to stop the stiffening of my shoulders. Or the sensation in my cock.
Sierra’s panties are strewn about in the drawer. Dozens in every color. Silky, soft, sexy bits of fabric that enjoy getting cozy with my favorite place on earth.
The instant urge to bury my nose in them is brutal. It rattles me to the core.
Damn.
It’s stupid that my control is almost wrecked by a pile of fabric. But these aren’t just panties in a bin at Victoria’s Secret. These have been tossed over my shoulder, tossed on the floor next to my clothes. I’ve had my nose buried in them. I’ve eaten her sweet pussy through them.
A groan tries to get out of my throat.
Shit, we need to get out of here before I fuck everything up.
Clenching my jaw, I crush a handful of them in my fist. “Take these…”
Sierra stares at me for a second, then grabs the lingerie as I push it in her direction. “And these.” I toss socks at her.
Color rises in her face as she shoves it all in the bag.
My own face is burning hot now, but mine is because I’m about to blow a gasket from trying to contain the lava that’s churning in my veins.
I jerk the last drawer open so hard the knob comes off in my hand. “Dammit. I’ll fix that.”
Thank god the drawer is full of sweatpants. If that one had been full of anything remotely sexy, I would have detonated.
I need to get out of here.
“Are these my uniforms…?”
Oh shit. I freeze.
She’s tracing her fingers over the tailored navy blue coat that’s hanging in the closet.
I can’t speak. Until she looks my way and I mumble, “They are.”
“I’m in the military.”
“Didn’t they tell you at the hospital that you are active duty with the Air Force?”
She nods, slowly. Her brows are tucked together as she stares at the jacket. “Yes. But it’s still hard to believe.”
I have to swallow. My mouth is dry, my throat aches. “Do you know what your job was—” I catch myself. “What your job is?”
“No, they wouldn’t say.”
Maybe they had a reason. But I can’t see why now.
Her eyes follow my hand as I reach out and touch the silver wings pinned to her uniform. “You’re a pilot.” I let my pride show in my words.
This news shocks her. Her eyes go bright. “Pilot. Wow! An Air Force Pilot! Impressive.”
My heart rate ticks up for all new reasons. “A damn good one, too. Cade is one of your fellow pilots.”
When she turns to face me, the clunky thing behind my ribs goes wild. I’m a strong man, but I’m weak for her. Always have been. Probably always will be.
The happiness in her face nearly brings me to my knees.
“That feels good,” she says matter-of-factly.
My heart stomps against the back side of my ribcage. It hurts to breathe too. I rasp out, “I bet it does.”
No one has ever undone me like Sierra does. The flash of those beautiful smokey eyes or the lightness of her laugh. She was my downfall.
Correction—she is my downfall.
And hitting the bottom is going to hurt even more this time. Guaranteed.
I somehow move toward her. Or she moves toward me. I don’t know how it happened, but we are just a few centimeters apart.
The air throbs between us. All my senses crank up until I can feel her without even raising my hands.
Sweet mother of all temptations.
If I dip down, just the smallest amount, her delicious lips will be mine.
Testosterone pumps through my veins with every thump of my ticker, sending my mind spiraling off toward a dangerous line of thought. I could be deep inside of her, with her legs locked around me as she sings out my name.
It’s too much. I lose the battle and tumble.
When I reach out, her hands move to my chest. Mine go to her waist. The long strands of her red hair feel like silk against my arms. Her little sigh stirs the air between us. And I do what I shouldn’t, lean down.
She raises up on her toes.
We come together easily.
Natural.
Like we’ve done so many times.
Pain throbs through me, right along with the need for her as she opens for me. Silky sweet heaven. So damned good.
I want to tilt her backward over my arm and own her with my tongue. I need to hear her throaty purr as I make her pussy flood with wet heat.
God. Need to stop.
Instead, I stand against her, locked up, the muscles from my toes to my head vibrating with the strain as she takes over the kiss and wrecks me.
Her smaller body molds to mine, fitting against my hard angles. Just the way I remember.
The flame is very much still alive. The chemistry is still off the fucking charts. The need to claim her, to own her, as strong as it was all those months ago.
A rough sound forms in my chest. A vicious war of wills rages inside of me.
It’s a miracle when she slides her tongue against mine that I don’t snap. She’s tentative at first. Just a slow, mind-breaking exploration. Little licks. Nips. Suckles.
Sweet fucking torture.
My fingers flex on her waist, but I won’t let myself move another damned muscle. If I let go of my control, I’ll devour her.
And that’s only going to lead to one place.
Her beneath me.
Us wild.
Me driving us both to the brink of disintegration.
All the things I’ve thought about for months, but never once allowed myself to consider as a real possibility, because as long as her brother’s around, there is no us.
I want her like I want air.
Am I going there now? Hell fucking no.
Not while she’s vulnerable and confused. Not while I’m lying to her.
But my god, the taste of her is like coming home.
“Sierra, we need to stop.” I can hardly speak between my ragged breaths.
Only I drag her tight against me, sliding my hand up until I’ve got a fistful of hair.
But I keep it slow, ignoring the fact that my heart is roaring in my ears.
I want to strip her naked. I want to suck and lick, fuck and eat her until she screams my name like she always did.
“Cole, what’s happening?” she whispers, just an inch from me as she pants for air.
“I missed you so fucking much.” The words grate out of me as I drag her back to my lips.
Against my will, a rush of blood drops into my cock, searing a path from my heart straight to my loins as if I’ve opened a gate to a dam.
Alarm bells start going off in my head, like sirens on a plane that’s going down.
But I don’t move. And slowly, Sierra glides her hands up my pecs until she has her arms wrapped around my neck.
Disaster ahead. The proverbial shoe is waiting to drop.
Reaching up, I pull her hands away. “Let’s slow this train down.”
When she languidly raises her lashes, her eyes are glassy with desire. The pulse in her neck is racing. Her lips are parted and wet from my kiss.
Man down. I need an extraction fast. Fuck.
Embarrassment colors her cheeks on top of the flush from what just happened.
“I’m sorry. Not sure what got into me.”
I know what got into me and it’s not good. Not with the fucked up situation we’re dealing with.
I barely keep my head enough to make my voice steady. “We will have plenty of time for that later. After—”
Hell, I don’t have a clue what I’m saying.
Gruffly, I add, “Later. Just later.”
But the genuine panic starts when we’re on the plane.