Brianna's Navy SEAL (7 page)

He was silent for a minute. She kept her gaze on the patterns her fingers traced in the soft nap of the sofa. Finally, when he still didn't speak, she glanced up at him through her lashes. The intense look was back, with the roiling emotions even more visible in his eyes, but now he showed more on his face, too. Indecision, concern, and a tension that could only be lust. Her pulse quickened and her body seemed to soften all over.

"Cable?"

"I haven't pressed you because I felt you had reservations, and I didn't think you'd really want it to get physical when there was something holding you back emotionally."

Perturbed, she pushed to her feet and paced a little. “Men are not supposed to think that way, Cable Addison.” She stopped in front of him, feeling better now that she had the height advantage. Vulnerability was much more manageable from here. “Yeah, I was holding back. You've got a temporary job and an adventurous history and as soon as I fall for you, you'll be moving on."

"I thought you had your own thirst for adventure."

"Had. I told you, I got over that.” Something of the haunting she felt in her heart must have passed over her face, because he looked speculative, then seemed to dismiss it.

"Come here.” He held out his hand, and she hesitantly took it and let him pull her back down, this time right next to him, hip to hip, upper bodies half-turned so his face was right over hers. “Let me show you what's going on with me,” he murmured, lowering his head. The kiss was as good as all the ones that had gone before it, but this time he held her differently. Whereas before he'd been tender and gentle, even reverent, this time his hands on her back and arm were almost demanding.

And Brie responded. Holy hell, did she respond. Desire had always grown slowly under his kisses, unfurling under careful sunlight and sprinkles of rain. This kiss was a match tossed into tinder. Her breasts ached and she went wet and achy right away. His right hand started to move toward her breast and she moaned, but his fingers dug into her arm instead. He closed the kiss and pulled away, his breathing harsh, his eyes closed. His left hand tightened on the nape of her neck. Finally, his whole body tightened, then released with a short shudder.

"Does that give you an idea of how I feel?” he asked, opening his eyes but not putting any more distance between them.

"It tells me you're horny,” she said, her voice coming out weaker than she'd like. “And, um, that's a good thing, by the way."

"I'm not going anywhere, Brie.” He let go of her left arm and stroked her cheek. “The past is definitely the past. If my teaching job ends here, I'll find another one nearby. We're not on the prairie.” He swallowed. “Can you believe that?"

She could for now, if it meant they'd take this upstairs. No one could predict the future, and she'd gotten as much assurance as she could ask for.

"Yes, Cable.” She tilted her head and ran her tongue over his lips. “Thank you. Can we stop talking now?"

Pulling her hard against his chest, he had one thing to say before his mouth found hers again.

"Hoo-yah."

Cable kissed Brie's shoulder as he slid from the bed, smiling at her sprawl. She lay on her stomach, arms over her head, one knee bent, in a position of complete exhaustion.

All his doing, of course. Brianna had been revved by the time they got to the bedroom, pushing for hard and fast, but Cable knew when slow and unrelenting was better. She'd come twice, screaming, and then taken him in for a third orgasm she called more psychological than physical. And then she'd fallen asleep.

He walked naked down the hall to the bathroom, flicking on the shower. He was wide awake, and hoped the warm water would relax him enough to join Brianna in sleep. Before he could get in, he heard his cell phone ring. Dashing back to the bedroom, he grabbed his jeans from the floor and pulled the door closed behind him before digging the phone out of his pocket. The glowing readout gave the time as 0113. The phone number was his sister's, and his heart caught for a second.

"Hello.” He moved away from the bedroom, hoping Brie hadn't been awakened. “Alena?"

"I'm sorry to call so late,” she said, her voice calm and steady. That didn't mean anything, though. She was older than him and had endured his escapades with panache when they were growing up. And her husband was a cop.

"I wasn't in bed. What's up?"

"Everyone's okay. Nothing's happened. Well, nothing bad. But I couldn't wait until morning to check on you."

He eased into the bathroom and shut off the water, perching on the closed toilet lid. “Check on me why? Everything's fine here.” He turned toward the wall and kept his voice low, just in case Brianna came out of the bedroom.

There was a beat of silence. “They didn't tell you?"

"Apparently not."

"It's Sid Carothers."

Cable didn't need her to say more than that. “He's out."

"Yeah, he came up for parole, I guess. Frank told me he was asking around your old haunts, looking for you. And you know how vocal he was when he went to jail, about what he'd do to you when he got out. Frank just got home, or I would have called sooner."

Her husband Frank was a beat cop, one of the best, and a rare one who didn't have bigger aspirations. He'd been like a big brother to Cable when he and Alena first hooked up in high school. He'd inspired Cable to go through the academy, and had also been a big part of the fiasco that made him quit the force early on and go into the service, instead.

The fiasco that had at least put Sid Carothers in jail.

"So, what, you thought I'd be crying in my cereal or something?” he teased his sister.

"Yeah, right, and shaking all the way to school. But you don't have to cry to be bothered by something."

He shrugged. “What's to be bothered about? No one who knows where I am would tell him. And I think I can handle a piss-ant like Sid Carothers."

He listened to Alena agree through a yawn, and reached over his shoulder to scratch an itch on his back. He couldn't quite reach it, and an instant later froze as fingernails scraped over his bare back.

"I gotta go, Laney. I'll call you later this week, okay? Or call me if you hear anything I should know."

"Okay, hon. Love you."

"Love you, too."

He snapped the phone closed and pretended to relax under Brianna's ministrations. Her nails eased the itch that crawled all over his back like it was trying to avoid her, but he didn't know how much she'd heard and how much more he'd reveal if he talked first.

"Your sister?” Brie finally asked when he didn't volunteer anything.

"Yeah, down in Florida."

"It's late,” she observed, but mildly. He wasn't looking at her face so he couldn't tell if the mildness was feigned.

"Her husband's a cop. He gets home late sometimes."

"Mmm.” She switched from scratching to massaging his shoulders, leaning into him so he could tell she was as naked as he was. His cock twitched. Could he distract her?

But he was too late. She let her arms dangle over his shoulders and said, “Is someone after you, Cable?"

"Not really.” He gripped her wrists as his body reacted to her breasts against him. “An old enemy. I was a cop for a little while, and this was a guy I arrested. He's been in jail for a long time, and asked about me when he got out. But he has no clue I was a SEAL or that I'm a teacher now, so there's nothing to worry about."

Brianna leaned against Cable's back and wondered if she should believe him. Any knowledge she had of this kind of thing came from TV, and the bad guys always came after the good ones. But this wasn't TV, and from the sound of it, this guy was out of touch. He certainly wasn't going to show up tonight.

Deciding she had more immediate things to think about, she straightened as Cable stood and turned on the hot water. This was the first time she'd seen his body all at once, and it made her breath catch. He looked less massive naked, without the emphasis on his shoulders and chest. Everything was tighter than she'd ever seen on a man. His skin had no slack, and it glided over the muscles beneath as he leaned to adjust the water. His left leg came up to balance him, and her thigh twitched as his clenched.

She positioned herself so that when he finished with the water, he had no choice but to put his arms around her. She leaned up to kiss him, appreciating his quick smile before their lips met.

There were advantages to making love with someone like Cable. All Brianna's previous partners had been fairly fit, but not like this. Stamina and strength didn't play into the events of her past. She wrapped her arms around his neck, released the kiss so she didn't bruise his mouth—or her own—and jumped, wrapping her legs around his waist. He caught her easily with his hands under her thighs, without so much as adjusting a step. Brie moaned at this display of power and bent to kiss him again. Their tongues tangled languidly, Cable's a taste that was already so familiar to her. A thought flashed through her head, something about certainty of the future, but was gone before it fully formed.

She hefted herself a bit higher so her breasts were in front of his face. He leaned in, inhaling deeply, and wrapped his arms around her back to hold her in place. Then he just stood there, his eyes closed, his cheek resting on her chest. She stroked his hair.

"You smell good,” he murmured.

She pressed her nose to his hair. “So do you."

He tilted his head up and smiled at her. “You're getting impatient."

"I haven't said anything,” she protested, but wondered how he knew she wasn't really in the mood for cuddling.

"You don't have to. I can feel it.” He took her right nipple between his lips and tugged, and she felt an answering tug in her middle, followed by a quickening of her blood.

He held her up with one hand and began teasing her left breast with the other, while his mouth did amazing things on the right. Her breathing got quicker, and her grip loosened just enough for her body to slide a few inches down his.

Now his mouth caught hers again, his hand pinching her nipple harder, and his full erection prodded her. She realized she hadn't planned ahead very well.

"Condom,” she murmured, biting his earlobe while he attacked her neck.

"Drawer,” he muttered back, taking her mouth again.

Brianna was so hot now, she could barely see. Then she realized both could be attributed to the steam billowing through the room from the shower they were ignoring. She looked over her right shoulder to gauge the distance to the vanity drawer. Cable slid his hand up her slick spine and nibbled at her left shoulder. She shuddered.

"Don't move,” she ordered, leaning back. She tightened her thighs around his hips, trapping his erection between them. It stroked her and she gasped. Cable gripped her hips, still not moving his braced feet, and rubbed harder against her.

Gritting her teeth, Brianna leaned further away from him and snagged the round knob of the drawer with her fingertips. It slid open easily, but the box of condoms was toward the back, amidst a jumble of tooth stuff, clippers, loose cotton swabs, Band-Aids, and who knew what else. She shook the drawer forward and back, trying to make the box shift toward her. She felt the vibration of Cable's chuckle against her legs and tightened them, making him inhale sharply.

"I can move closer,” he said.

"Don't you dare.” She stretched her right arm, making her shoulder pop—that would probably hurt tomorrow—and grabbed the box. Tightening her abs, she pulled herself upright with a triumphant grin.

"Okay, how are we going to put it on?"

"We'll manage.” Brianna selected a square package from the box and tossed the box to the counter. She was delighted that Cable was going along with her silliness, knowing without her telling him that she wanted to do this whole thing standing in one place. Okay, with him standing in one place, her climbing all over him.

Putting the condom on
was
going to be a challenge. But Cable was showing no signs of weakening. In fact, while she tried to tear the foil packet with her teeth, he let go of her with one hand and used that hand to make sure she stayed prepared for him. Just a few moves with his fingers, and she felt another surge of moisture. The desire that had ebbed during her acrobatics came roaring back. She shifted outward and downward as much as she could, Cable now holding her waist, and managed to roll the condom over him.

He boosted her back up and looked her in the eyes. “Now?"

"Now."

Instead of the thrust she expected, he slid slowly into her, filling her gradually, holding her gaze with his and letting her see his intensity. When he was inside her as far as he could go, he held still and wouldn't let her move.

"I'm not going anywhere, Brie."

Her chest tightened. “I believe you.” Now she leaned forward, holding him tightly, and slid up and down, clenching around him as hard as she could. He groaned and took over the movements, thrusting long, hard strokes and somehow managing to position her so her clitoris got stimulation, too.

Brianna felt the tingle and tried to urge him on. “Cable, I'm close.” Her fingers tightened on his shoulders and she threw her head back. “Oh, God."

"Not yet, Brie.” He slowed just a little, pulling her to him now instead of thrusting his hips. She arched, trying to get him to press harder against her G-spot. “Slow down, honey."

"You did this to me,” she panted, lifting her head and narrowing her eyes at him. “It's your fault I'm so pushy.” She knew what would make him give in. She let go of his shoulder and squeezed her own breast, pinching the nipple and crying out.

"Damn, you're good.” He obliged by picking up the pace, pounding into her, his own approaching orgasm apparent in the jerkiness of his movements and the first sign of breathlessness. “Okay ... Brie ... we'll do it your way. Come, baby.” He moved one hand to press his thumb against her clit. She screamed as she came abruptly, golden light shattering her vision and waves of purest pleasure washing through her. Cable shouted, and a few thrusts later, it was over.

Brie clung limply to him, saddened as everything changed. Her legs felt locked in permanent cramps. Her back twinged, and she felt slimy now instead of smooth.