Chapter 24
24
“Do you think he’d tell us more if I did date him?” Ani asked with a yawn when they were both back in the old truck. Through bleary, exhausted eyes, she watched a few summer students meander by in hoodies with backpacks slung over one shoulder. One kid cruised past on a skateboard.
The university campus sprawled atop a rise that overlooked the city of Fairbanks, which spread in low buildings through a valley and across a wide river. There had to be a safe place to stay somewhere down there.
Gil answered with nothing more than a growl. A very satisfying growl, if you asked her. Then he changed the subject.
“How can you have the antibodies if you haven’t been infected?”
“I might have gotten a very mild case, maybe from Victor.” She yawned again. “I haven’t felt sick, but it’s been a very busy couple of weeks since then.”
“Forget all that,” said Gil. “Let’s find a place to stay. You can have a nap while I check Victor’s place.”
The thought of separating made her uneasy, but on the other hand, a nap sounded wonderful. “Do you think it’s safe?”
“I’ll be careful. I can move faster alone anyway.” He winced as soon as those words came out. “Sorry.”
“No, you’re right. If there’s anyone watching his place, you’re better equipped to deal with it. Just…” She hesitated.
“What?”
“Be safe. If something happened to you, I’d be…” Biting her lip, she shifted course. “I don’t even know how to drive a manual transmission. I’d be stranded here.”
“That’s it. Driving lessons after your nap.” He grinned at her, but she got the sense he knew what she really wanted to say.
If anything happened to him, she’d be heartbroken.
They checked into a small hotel that catered to fishermen, call the Reel Inn. It offered a full breakfast, along with laundry facilities and an extensive DVD collection. The desk clerk didn’t seem to mind that Gil paid cash. She barely glanced at his ID, and didn’t ask for Ani’s at all. He requested a room with a view of the parking lot.
“The only one available has a king bed and no smoking.”
“Perfect.”
“Do you really think anyone still wants to follow us?” she whispered as they made their way to their room.
“I have no idea, but if they are, I want to be able to see them.”
He did a quick check of the room, which was about as simple as a hotel room could get—small bathroom with a shower, a king-size bed, a wall-mounted TV, and two nightstands. Instead of a Bible, the nightstand held a fishing guide.
Ani checked the bed linens and bounced the mattress with her hand. She yawned again.
“That’s it. Into bed with you.” Gil physically picked her up and plopped her onto the bed.
“My shoes…”
“I’ll get them.” He untied her low-heeled boots and slid them off her feet. She’d bought them for looks, not actual hiking, and her feet ached after covering so much ground. Also, did her feet stink? She wouldn’t be surprised.
But Gil didn’t seem to mind. Sitting on the bed next to her, he pulled off her socks and ran a strong thumb along the tendon that stretched along the inner curve of her left foot.
She gave a loud moan. “Oh my God. That feels incredible.”
He smiled and adjusted his position so both of her feet were in his lap. He massaged her heels, chasing away her aches with skilled, knowing fingers. She sprawled across the bed like a rag doll, unable to do anything except let out a moan now and then. Medically, she knew that serotonin was flooding her brain. But that didn’t account for the pure magic he was conjuring with his hands on her feet.
It was the way he touched her. He was tender. But oh so strong. Sensitive. But forceful too. No hidden knot of tension was safe from him. Those hands of his found it and worked it until it was no more.
“How did you learn to do that?” she murmured helplessly.
“They teach it in Secret Service school, right between surveillance techniques and weapons handling.”
She giggled. Lord, she hadn’t giggled like that since middle school. Gil made her laugh. He came across as so rough and tough, but that was just on the surface. Underneath he was funny and sort of…humble.
“I really don’t understand why some woman hasn’t snapped you up. I’d marry you for that foot rub alone,” she said lightly.
“Done.”
Another giggle spurted from her lips. Gil was moving up to her calves now, his big palms soothing the tired muscles there. It felt so good, like a drug going directly to her brain. “You’re funny. I think I’ve had enough of marriage for a while.”
“Understandable.”
Was that a hint of something else under that flat comment?
“Sometimes I think getting married to John was a way to feel like a normal person again after my attack. John didn’t like to talk about it, or about anything below the surface. He just wanted to have fun. He couldn’t handle it when we started…having problems.”
His hands didn’t pause their stroking, but she sensed a shift in his mood. Why was she talking about her dead marriage when this incredible man was giving her the most sublime foot massage she’d ever experienced?
John had dominated her thoughts—her heart, her life—for so many years. Why was she letting him do it now?
No more.
She pulled away from his masterful hands and sat up, folding her legs under her.
“Sorry,” he said, surprised. “Did I hit a sore spot?”
“No. You’re perfect. It’s just…” She couldn’t put it into words, she had to just show him. Launching herself toward him, she flung her arms around his neck and kissed him hard on the mouth. His shock didn’t last long. A moment later his arms were tight around her and he was kissing her back…deep, arousing kisses, a man’s kisses, confident and sure, promising things that sent her head spinning.
She lost herself in the wild tumble of sensation. It drowned out every thought. Which was just how she wanted it. Escape, lust, bliss…it was all there in every sweep of his tongue.
Without moving his mouth from hers, he tugged off his jacket and tossed it aside. He teased her sweater off her shoulders and she squirmed to chase it from her body. She kept waiting for some note of caution to ring a bell in her head. It’s too soon. I don’t know him. I’m still in divorce recovery.
But nothing like that came. The messages pouring in from her body were the “get it, girl” kind. I want him. My god, his hands. Oh yes. Right there. More, more, more, don’t stop.
She abandoned herself to those strong hands of his, felt them move across her body removing clothing. Down to her bra now. Oh yes, his hands cupping her breasts, peeling down her bra, tongue lashing across her nipples. It was all about pleasure, nothing but pleasure, this was how it was meant to be, bare skin and hot breath and straining muscles.
It felt right, so right, when he slid his hand under the waistband of her jeans and met warm flesh. She rose onto her knees so he could pull her pants down. Then a flash of reality threw a spray of cold water over her pleasure.
He was going to see her scars. It was impossible not to.
In the next moment, she forgot all about that because he was sliding his finger across her wet lower lips and a blinding thrill of sensation chased everything else away. Moaning, she thrust against him, greedy for everything that hand could give her. And it offered everything. Nothing held back. As he worked his palm against her hot sex, she felt the orgasm gather, fast and furious. When it slammed into her, she went spinning through a world of stars and color and heat and pure physical bliss.
She fell back, gasping, clinging to his sweaty shoulders. His shirt was off. When had that happened? The muscles of his arms and chest flexed and bunched as he adjusted their bodies. He had to be the most physically fit man she’d ever been naked with—not that it was a long list. But that wasn’t what made her feel so safe.
No, it was his thoughtfulness that did that. With Gil, she felt both respected and desired. Sweet lord, that was a potent combination.
Her gaze dropped to his crotch. A bulge swelled between his thighs. It looked big and urgent. As far as she was aware, they didn’t have a condom. It had been years since she’d used a condom. Why would she, as a married woman trying to get pregnant? But that was standard protocol in the modern age, right? Gil probably used them all the time.
“Got a condom?” she said, going for jaunty to mask her embarrassment at being so out of the modern swing of things.
“No, I didn’t bother to grab anything like that when I left the house.” He cupped his hands around the back of her neck. “But it doesn’t matter. Watching you come was about as hot as it gets. We don’t have to go any further.”
Nice thought, but she wasn’t going to stand for that. She felt too good. He deserved some of that goodness too.
When you feel safe, you feel free . The thought flashed through her mind as she unzipped his jeans. He spread his strong thighs farther apart, then rose up on his knees. A quick pull on his briefs exposed the flesh rearing forth. She was drawn toward it, almost helplessly, this erection that she’d never seen before, had no relationship with.
Filling her mouth with him, hands roaming his flesh, she lost herself in his grunts and flexes. He pulled out before the end and pumped into his own hand. That gave her pleasure too, watching his arm muscles flex and cord, his hand wrapped around his cock.
“I wasn’t sure…” he gasped as he finished. “Didn’t want to assume.”
She nodded, still immersed in the movements shaking his powerful frame. She’d done that to him. She, Ani Devi, who barely two weeks ago had wondered if she was done with sex forever. She, Ani Devi, who’d mentally nailed a “condemned” sign over her own body.
He went into the bathroom and cleaned off. When he came back, he stretched next to her, set his hand on her bare hip, and stroked lightly. The puckers of scar tissue began there and curved down her thigh. Her tiger tattoo twined through them. They lay like that for a while, in a slumbering dreamy afterglow.
“Do you need to change position?” he murmured eventually.
Thoughtful. Always so thoughtful.
“That’s probably a good idea.” She eased her legs from under her and crawled under the covers.
“I start to cramp up if I stay in one position too long.” He rolled up his pants leg and showed her the bullet scar on the back of his calf. It was still raw, still healing, but she could tell it was mostly a surface wound, though it had probably torn some muscle fibers.
She ran her fingers across the wound. “It’s healing well. You got lucky it didn’t hit the bone or a tendon.”
He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and gazed at her with enigmatic green eyes. “Ready for that nap, Doctor?”
Her eyes were already drifting closed as she nodded. He laughed softly. “Good. I’ll be back soon.”
He tucked the covers around her and plucked his clothes off the floor. She made her eyes stay open so she could watch him. He was such a full-throttle, hundred-percent sexy man. Sexiness radiated from every line of his body, every stitch of dark hair, every glance from those green eyes.
“Pick up some condoms, would you?” she murmured… her last words before falling into sleep.