Chapter 17 #2
Sighing, Patch closed his eyes and let her words float over him. Months apart gave him lots of time to conjure up things he wished to do with her the moment he got a chance.
She positioned him to her liking, her warm mouth covering him. Her tongue licked the underside of his thick cock, and she covered him down to the base, making him groan, unsure if it felt like sweet agony or so pleasurable it hurt.
“Doc, I love watching you,” he murmured. “Your mouth feels incredible.”
She smiled as she ran her tongue along the side, licking him like a lollipop. “You taste as good as I remember.” Her head went down again, and he gripped her long blonde strands and twisted them in his hand.
Every nerve ending seemed to fire all at once, making him feel more alive than ever. “Ride me, Claire. I need to feel you around me.”
He scooted down on the bed and helped her swing her leg over him.
She giggled as she fell onto his chest, making him laugh. He kissed the top of her head before she rose and balanced herself on top of him.
She bent her head down as her hand searched for him. “My stomach’s in the way,” she said, laughing.
“Then move your head and let me do it. Stop trying to fix things. I know where I’m going.”
She lifted as he aligned himself with her. Claire slid slowly down as they both moaned in pleasure. He gripped her hips, holding her still.
“We’re connected, Doc. You, me, and this baby. We’re one. I can’t describe how much I need you both. Every night, I dreamed and prayed for you, and I’m not a particularly religious man. This baby came as a surprise, but there’s something bigger than us.”
“It’s love, faith and family,” she told him as she slowly moved her hips. “When we have each other, we feel complete.”
Patch nodded, letting her take over. His emotions grew stronger as she placed her hands on his abs and smiled brilliantly at him. No matter how old he grew, this moment would be seared into his memory.
* * *
Claire rocked her body against him. His rock-hard stomach helped her balance as she gazed into his eyes. Whatever happened in Afghanistan greatly affected Patch. She saw the emotions of wonder and longing in his expression. Her heart raced at his beautiful words.
“Ride me, Claire,” he begged. “I need you.”
Patch didn’t have to plead. She felt the same need. Pressing herself down harder on him, she increased her pace. Patch cupped her breasts and pulled on her nipples. Sending sparks of electricity running through her.
Sighing deeply, Claire rode him, sending both higher.
“That’s it, baby,” he encouraged. “Ride my cock.”
She closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of him stretching her. Her body floated as the pleasure built.
Patch slid his hands down her waist and rested them on her hips. He thrust upward, giving her more. ‘Yes,” she whispered.
Taking his hands, she intertwined their fingers and leaned further back, taking all of him.
“Claire Bear,” he said urgently.
She smiled as their eyes locked on one another. He tugged her toward him. “I want to see you when you come,” he said.
“Yes,” she said as she flew higher.
A pleasant warmth filled her low in her belly and spread lower.
Patch moaned deeply, letting her know he was close, too.
She moved closer to the tidal wave and went over the edge. Her mouth parted, and she called, “Patch.”
Thrusting harder, he let himself go.
Together, they rode the wave back down. Spent, Claire sighed contentedly. Patch lifted her off him and placed her head on his shoulder.
Turning his head, he kissed her forehead. It seemed more intimate than before.
“You’ve worn me out,” she said, softly laughing.
“Did we overdo it?” he asked, facing her.
“No. I loved every minute,” she assured him.
“Stay here. I’ll get you cleaned up, and we’ll take a nap,” he ordered.
“No,” she said, tugging on his arm. “I’ll come with you. I’m famished. Let’s clean up and order dinner.”
“Don’t we have leftovers from the party?” he asked, helping her off the bed.
“They’ll make a lovely midnight snack. My future husband came home today. I think a nice steak with a twice-baked potato has a nice ring to it,” she said, wrapping her robe around her.
Chuckling, he followed her into the bathroom and helped her. When he put her house shoes on, she padded to the living room, grabbed her phone, and placed the order.
“Ty says this one’s on him. He sounds a little sad Sparky didn’t join you,” she admitted.
“They’ll be home soon,” he assured her. “The team won’t miss Leo’s funeral.”
Entering the kitchen, he opened the fridge and pulled out a glass pitcher with water and strawberries. He poured her some and grabbed a soda for himself. He took it into the living room, grabbed coasters, and placed them on the table.
Claire wrapped herself around him and stroked his scruff.
“Don’t you want to ask Knight to act as your best man?” she asked.
“I plan to for the wedding. If you don’t mind, I want Monday for the two of us,” he confided. “I have the need to keep you close.”
“When you lose someone close to you, it sometimes makes you want to cling to what you have,” she said, using her skills.
“Don’t analyze me,” he said softly. “There’s a lot of time to think in the desert.
I’ll always be grateful to Leo for surrounding me with his team when I needed help.
A few years ago, you stole my heart with broken furniture, a messed-up fireplace, and your stubborn ability to get through this thick head of mine.
I planned to end it all, and you’ve given me a life worth living.
Leo taught me how to fight for it. I will never let you down. ”
“I won’t let you. I’ll be by your side forever.”
Patch choked up at her words. Life took on a whole new meaning for him. For his dead brothers, he’d honor them by living a good one. For Leo, he’d never give up or abandon his brothers. For Claire, he’d be the man she deserved, a man he could be proud of.
* * *
The following day, Knight came up behind Gabby and zipped up her maternity dress.
“Why can’t you call Claire and tell her we can’t come to lunch at Ty’s? I want to spend time with you and Marcus,” he cajoled.
“Some of the other ladies are coming, too,” she answered. “Who makes a maternity dress with a zipper in the back? We can barely find our feet. How do they think we can get to our back?”
“I’ve seen Patch’s mug for the last several months every day. Now you want me to have lunch with him?” Knight grumbled, picking up his son. “Don’t you want Daddy to stay home with you, big boy?”
“It’s only for a couple of hours, and one of the teens who watches Marcus will be here any minute.
Get dressed. The faster we leave, the sooner we can come home,” she admonished.
“The women have supported Claire and me through this whole pregnancy. I can’t tell Bryanna sorry, my husband came home, and yours is still stuck in Afghanistan. ”
Knight frowned. “I can imagine Saint’s all kinds of pissed about me leaving the team.
Victoria locked the cabin door while I helped with Hollywood.
When the plane started moving, I demanded she stop it and let me off.
I don’t care what Doc and Kassie say about her being sweet and all.
The woman can be scary. She pulled out a knife and told me to sit down and buckle up, or she’d help with slowing the population boom in Serenity. ”
“Oh, she only teased you,” Gabby said, brushing him off with a wave of her hand as she put on her pearl earrings.
“I’m telling you, she planned to neuter me right then and there. I saw it in her eyes,” he insisted.
“Knight, you’re a Navy SEAL, and you’re telling me a woman twice your age and half your size scared you,” Gabby said, disbelieving him.
“It’s like her eyes glowed with anticipation. Then Patch opened his big mouth, and I knew we were in trouble,” he explained.
Gabby turned toward Knight. “What did he do?”
“He told me to give him a hand with Hollywood. When I went to help, Patch thanked Victoria for coming.”
“I don’t see why him thanking her caused any problems,” Gabby reasoned as she took Marcus from Knight.
“Usually, it wouldn’t, but he kept working on Hollywood, who kept yammering about a rattle and trying to get up to leave. He lost his patience and told me to bring my candy ass back there. Victoria let me pass, and then he said, ‘Thanks for coming. I’d feel awful if I bothered Ivan in the field.’”
“No, he didn’t,” Gabby exclaimed, not believing him.
“Yeah. Then she asked him what he thought she did all this time. He replied. “I don’t know. Ivan said you went home. Did you stock up on Irish coffee and those stupid sausages Kassie likes so much?”
“Nooo,” Gabby said, plopping on the bed. “Did she try to kill him?”
“Her eyes narrowed, and she got this mean expression on her face,” he told her.
“Then he barked at me for stupidly thinking Sparky didn’t have a hand in it.
He thinks she put the team at risk by asking Victoria to leave before she boarded the plane.
Apparently, Victoria assumed Patch meant women didn’t belong in the field. ”
“Oh, he didn’t go there. I’m surprised he’s still breathing,” Gabby said. “Did he not realize who he spoke to?”
“He vented about Sparky. With her blindness and no dog, she was the weakest link on the team. Don’t get me wrong, she knew the areas and the language, allowing us to investigate.
Saint worried Sparky might get hurt or lost if we ended up in a firefight with some of the villagers.
We left a man behind to watch over her, and it cost us one set of boots on the ground, searching for Leo. ”
“I take it, Victoria didn’t handle his choice of words and applied them to herself, too,” Gabby surmised as she put a clean shirt over her son’s head.