Chapter 36
MIKEY
She was as needy as I was. How grateful I was that she didn’t hold any resentment over how things played out. Though guilt swam heavy in my belly for longer than I liked to admit.
“Get out of your head and make love to me, Mikey,” Scottie whispered, pulling away from the kiss briefly.
I smiled gently against her mouth, nipping at her lip. “That’s my girl.” Soft fingers whispered at the hem of my shirt, pulling it over my head. Amber eyes full of desire slid brazenly across my body, resting at my torso. Trembling, she reached forward and danced her hands across scars that once held so much pain and anguish. But here in her embrace, here with my world being consumed by hers, they held nothing but gentle whispers of love.
Tugging at the bottom of her shirt, I slipped it off and greedily took in the incredible sight before me. Goosebumps prickled on her skin as she pulled her hands away from my torso and unhooked her bra. Anticipation steeped hot in my veins, heavy like the static that pulsed low in my stomach.
I watched, lapping in the deliberate trail of her fingers slipping each bra strap off of her shoulders. Powerful. Stunning. An alluring enchantress she was morphing into as she finally let the fabric fall from her body.
A moan hummed in my chest at the sight of such indescribable beauty, and I stepped into her body, capturing her mouth. Skin against skin, I hooked my fingers into her hips, desperately holding onto her.
A quiet whimper tumbled between her teeth, vibrating against my tongue as I shoved it down her throat. How lucky of a man I was to be here with such a beautiful fucking woman. Never before had there been so much peace and calm swirling within my mind.
Hypnotized by her smell, by her taste, I ached to unbutton my pants. Her body writhing against mine bound me in a spell where she could have whatever she wanted. Heat rose in my muscles as her own fingers once more traced marred skin as if she found some solace in sharing that secret with me. Like a branch in a flood, my thoughts were no longer my own. Controlled by the desire to give her pleasure unlike before, I let the beast free from his cage.
No longer was he something I feared. No longer was he something I needed to keep chained up. He was a puppy in her arms. I was at mercy to her every whim. The control I sought came at the cost of losing it all to her.
As I pulled away from her lips, sliding my kiss down to her neck, her hands left my body and reached for the hair pinned behind her head. Within a moment, her tresses flowed like a waterfall cascading down her back and breasts that I was not about to keep hidden. Like butterfly wings, I glided my hands up her sides, her chest rising faster and faster, knowing what I was aiming for, and I paused. Waiting for her permission, despite knowing that it was already given.
And she guided my hand up the rest of the way. Lost to the feel of her breast beneath my palm, my other fingers tangled in her hair, she wiggled free of her pants and underwear in one fell swoop. I slid my tongue across her collarbone, and she bared her neck to me, inviting more and more.
Biting down on her throat, I hooked my free arm beneath her legs, quickly hoisting her from the ground. She kicked free of her pants as I pinned her to the side of the Humvee with my hips.
There was something different about this time. Something more carefree yet vulnerable. Something that had me caving to her every moan. Her whimpers as I kneaded her breast sent me into a tailspin. Every buck of her hips against me had me lapping from her hands.
Her fingers danced around my waistband, blindly fumbling for the buttons that barely held back my cock. There was no restraint this time. My heart raced, the world other than her becoming non-existent,
She was my world. She was my home. No matter how terrifying it was to give myself to someone else completely, she was worth it. Finally, I felt my pants loosen, her hands freeing me from the only thing separating us from fully giving in to one another.
Opening my eyes as I trailed my lips to hover over her mouth, she panted, her body trembling. Slowly, bedroom eyes peeked through her dark, thick lashes. A smile, so much more tender and endearing than usual, gentled her face. She draped an arm over my shoulders and brought her other hand to rest against my cheek.
Holding tightly to her hips, I leaned forward and captured her mouth. She whimpered against my kiss as I finally buried myself in her.
My hands memorized every incredible curve on her body. I would never forget the quiet sounds and tiny squeals she made with every peak of pleasure I made sure to give her. Every gasp. Every plea. Every whimper. Every moan.
She was mine. All of this was mine to have. Each roll of her hips, each clench of her fingers on my own skin. Every shudder of her incredible, imperfectly perfect soul became mine.
How beautiful she was as she writhed beneath my touch, her own euphoria reached.
And I gave her everything. The shadows that haunted my mind flooded with a shift in my fury. She didn’t mind my depraved heart. She didn’t mind the blackened stains upon my body. In fact, she sought them out. She asked to be a part of them. With every passing moment, sharing everything with her, I knew the closer I came to spilling over the edge, the better of a man I was.
Not because I had to deny the side of me that scared most people, but because she wanted to see that side. It made her feel safe. I wanted to be her safe place. I wanted to be her home as she was mine.
With fingers tightening around her hair, I came undone. Waves of static filled my entire body. The world turned warm and black, nothing there but the silhouette of the woman I owed my world to.
Home was not a place, but a person.
It was her.
She panted against my chest. Both of my hands slowly slid away from her hips, and I planted them against the Humvee on either side of her. My body weight kept her pinned to the vehicle, her heart hammering with every bead of sweat coating her skin slick.
That faint hint of vanilla slithered into my twisted soul, and I inhaled deeply, taking another moment to memorize the feel of her bare body against mine. Lips peppered soft kisses against my chest, and I pried my eyes open, glancing down at the woman who made me believe that there was a chance at my heart being more than just ice.
“I didn’t realize you could be such an aggressive romantic sap,” Scottie whispered, hooking her heels together around my waist.
“Aggressive being the keyword here,” I teased with a wink and threaded one set of fingers back through her hair.
“Not just barely.” She winked.
“That’s ’cause you have to be able to walk at a moment’s notice, Scotch,” I replied, narrowing my gaze.
She lightly whacked my side. “We should probably get dressed just in case soldiers start coming back.”
“Which they’re likely to do seeing as it’s practically dark out.”
“Are you gonna go shower?”
I nodded, gently sliding myself out and guiding her legs to the ground. “It’s been seven days as you’ve so politely pointed out.”
“Shit. Which means I may get a fucking UTI thanks to you,” she grumbled, scrambling for her clothes.
I chuckled, buttoning back up my pants. “You’re the one that asked me to fuck you.”
“No. I asked you to make love to me.”
“Same thing, Scotch.”
“Either way, you don’t have to point that out.”
Shaking out my shirt, I stuck my finger through the small hole made by Bernie’s button bomb.
Scottie giggled, hooking a bra strap over her shoulder. “You still have a small bruise from that, if you haven’t noticed.”
“Part of that fake blood was actually real ’cause it definitely ripped through some skin. Like damn, I hadn’t expected that,” I replied, pulling the fabric over my head.
“That’s what you get.”
Adjusting the hemline around my waist, I pursed my lips. “Are you going to forever hold that against me?”
She nodded with a gleeful grin on her face. “Absolutely.”
I narrowed my gaze suspiciously as she smoothed out a few wrinkles in her shirt. “Are you about to Pavlov the shit out of me?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She smiled to herself, beginning to wrap her hair back up into the regulation bun.
“Hmmm. Sure,” I muttered, watching as her fingers worked through hair that had me boiling with desire once again.
“Let’s go find the guys,” she lightheartedly said.
“You should pee first, Miss ‘I might get a UTI.’”
“And you should shower, Mr. ‘I haven’t showered for seven days and let my girlfriend think I was dead,” she snapped in response.
“Girlfriend?” I grinned as her cheeks burned bright red.
“Shut up, Blondie. Let’s go,” she quickly stated and walked off in a huff.
I followed behind, giddy and humming quietly to myself. Ignoring the quizzical stares from passing soldiers as we emerged from the motor bay. Not a word was shared between us. The rest of the team wasn’t eating once we made it to the chow hall, so we stole some food and disappeared.
She raced off to the latrine, while I ignored the taunts from the team back at the tent as I retrieved my toiletries before a quick shower. Once I was clean and dressed in a new uniform, I whistled along my way back to the tent, excited to see Scottie even though it had only been maybe fifteen minutes.
Those seven days had been torture. I knew I was out fulfilling orders, accomplishing a mission. But not doing so with Scottie, not being with her, knowing she had to be in the most excruciating pain had been unbelievably agonizing. Yeah, I remembered what she’d said to me before the mission, but I also knew her well enough to know she hadn’t actually meant it. Though, it had hurt despite being aware she’d said it to simply protect herself.
How forever grateful I was that I’d made it home. And that I was able to see her again. To hold her again.
To love her. To fully, truly give in to everything we’d been fighting.
Ducking into the tent, I paused and sighed. Bernie, Ford, and Duncan all grinned as Scottie stood just an inch ahead of me. They pointed at our bedrolls. No longer was there a space between them.
Bernie wiggled his brows and then leaned down on his side, propping his head up on his palm with a bent elbow. “Hello, you two,” he flirtatiously said with a grin.