Holding Out For A Hero: SEALs, Soldiers, Spies, Cops, FBI Agents and Rangers (6 page)

What? Courage?
he thought, but then it smacked him hard.

“I need you. I need to be . . . normal again,” he said and was grateful for the understanding that swept over her features.

She popped off the coffee table and jerked her head in the direction of the stairway. “I’ll be in the bedroom straight back from the stairs.”

“I’ll be there in a minute.”

With a nod, she walked away, providing him with an unrestricted view of a leanly muscled body that was still feminine, with womanly curves and those amazing breasts he’d loved to touch and taste just moments earlier.

And which he could enjoy again if fear wasn’t keeping him paralyzed.

He reminded himself of what he’d thought earlier that day. That it would be a day of firsts.

He’d already tasted the freedom of flying across the waves and making love to her, as hurried as it had been.

Now it was time to move on and truly savor being with her even if it meant finally revealing what he was.

He slowly came to his feet and gingerly pulled up his track pants over the remnants of his erection. With hesitant steps, he walked toward the stairs and then moved up them more quickly, his stride becoming more confident as he reached the second floor landing.

It was dark except for the spill of light coming from a doorway at the back of the house.

Her bedroom.

He wiped his wet palms across his pants and hurried there, pausing at the door to appreciate the sight of her sitting on the edge of the bed gloriously naked.

Waiting for him.

She met his gaze as he approached and came to stand right before her. His hands were fisted at his sides to keep from touching her as much as he wanted to. First there was something he had to do.

“You okay?” she asked, sensing his hesitation.

“There’s something you need to know,” he said.

She raised her hand and laid it on the center of his chest. “I’ve seen the scars, Zack.”

She trailed her hand down to the waistband of his pants and said, “I know there’s more than what I’ve seen. Sometimes the scars are buried deep.”

As she finished, she swept her gaze past him and across her room, drawing his attention to the pile of boxes in one corner. Beside them was a large dresser, devoid of the usual female touches along its surface. Not even a single picture frame there or anywhere else in the room.

Her scars
, he thought and that reveal somehow gave him the courage to grab hold of his pants and slowly lower them.

Samantha was silent as he did so, appreciating the beauty of his ruined body as he revealed his erection and then his upper thighs. As he skimmed the pants lower, she finally caught sight of the prosthetic and it explained so much.

His absence from the volleyball games. The ever-present track pants on the beach and the way he’d been on the waves, like someone getting reacquainted with something they’d once done.

Like making love
, she thought and met his gaze.

What she saw there made her mouth grow dry and her heart thump loudly in her chest.

I’m the first
, she thought, but then again, he was her first as well in a long time.

His hands were once again fisted at his sides and nearly white from the pressure he was exerting. She covered his hands with hers and urged them open. Twined her fingers with his as she said, “Do you know what I see?”

He was staring straight ahead, avoiding her gaze and the sight of his prosthetic, still partially covered by his pants.

At his prolonged silence, she said, “I see courage and heart. I see a man with the strength to rebuild his life and live again.”

He dipped his head and met her gaze, his shimmering with the hint of tears.

“I wish the same for you, Sam. I wish I could help drive the darkness from inside so you can finally feel free of the past,” he said and she was struck once again by how well he understood her.

She smiled and playfully shook his hands. “You’re already doing that, Zack. For the first time in a long time . . . I want more. I
need
more.”

She needed him and the way he could make her feel again. Make her believe that one day she could be as strong as he was.

“I’m here, Sam. For whatever you need, I’m here.”

“Make love to me, Zack. Help me feel alive again,” she said.

With a nod and a sexy grin, he kicked away his track pants and kneeled before her. Placing his hands on her knees, he urged them apart and skimmed his hands up her thighs to cup her buttocks and urge her closer to the edge of the bed.

“Your wish is my command.”

Embrace The Night: Chapter Eight

Zack edged closer, dropped a kiss on her knee, and then ran a trail of them up one thigh until he was at her center.

There was a noticeable tan line just above the darker triangle of carefully trimmed hair and he placed a kiss along that line before shifting lower.

His hands shook as he bent his head to her center and found the sensitive nub there.

A sharp gasp escaped her as he tongued her clit and then licked his way all across her lips before another long lick along the nub.

“Zack,” she murmured and cradled the back of his head, urging him on.

He shot a quick glance at her and shifted his hands up to cup her breasts and the tight buds of her nipples. He tweaked the tips and she closed her eyes and butted her hips toward his mouth.

She draped her legs over his shoulders and he buried his head against her center, licking and sucking the delicate flesh while he played with her nipples.

Her soft cries of pleasure and the shift of her hips and legs, pushing toward him and opening to give him greater access, drove him on.

He dropped one hand to her center and as he swept his tongue along her nether lips, he found her clit with his thumb and applied pressure, dragging a long needy moan from her. Beneath his lips he felt the pulsing of her vagina and his cock swelled and jerked at the thought of being inside her.

But first he wanted her to come. He wanted her to experience the pleasure that he sensed she’d not had in a long time.

Dipping his fingers down, he eased one in and then another while shifting his mouth to her clit. As he stroked her with his fingers, he sucked at the nub until her body was shaking against his and lifting from the edge of the bed, seeking release.

“That’s it, Sam. Come for me. Let yourself go,” he urged and continued to work his fingers along the slickness of her vagina.

“God, Zack. It feels so good. So good,” she said, eyes closed. Her body arching toward his.

“Come for me,” he urged yet again and stroked her harder, feeling the first glimmers of her climax tightening around his fingers. Knowing she was so close, but holding back, almost as if afraid of letting go.

“I’m here to catch you, Sam. I’m here,” he said and bent his head and kissed her clit again.

Her release burst against him a second later.

Her back arched ever higher and she keened with pleasure, but he wasn’t done satisfying her just yet.

He shot to his feet and positioned himself at her center, his cock nudging the damp folds.

She opened her eyes and met his gaze. “Yes. Please, yes.”

Sam bit her lower lip as Zack drove in and her release climbed ever higher. Her body shook and she could feel herself tightening around him, drawing him into her core.

Drawing him into a part of herself she hadn’t given anyone access to in a long time.

“God, you’re so beautiful. So perfect,” he said as he paused deep within her.

She was far from perfect. She was broken in so many ways, but with him . . .

Over the many months of knowing him, she’d come to believe that she could be different with him. That she could maybe be whole again.

Maybe . . .

All thought fled her mind as he finally moved, drawing her up again into the pleasure of the physical. Of being with this very special man who despite his pain and his scars, could live and love again.

He pumped in and out slowly at first and her climax ramped up with each thrust until she was rising up off the bed, meeting his every thrust. Begging for him to take them both over since the passion was almost too much to bear.

A long low groan escaped from him and he dug his fingers deeper into her hips, holding her tight as he increased his pace. His flesh slapping against hers until with one sharp drive, he took them over, his gaze locked on hers.

He was so beautiful
, she thought, reaching up across the fine lines on his sweat damp chest to the back of his neck to draw him down to her.

She kissed him, opening her mouth against his. Opening so much more with the gentle play of her mouth, offering him thanks and peace and . . . love.

Yeah, I could love this man
, she thought as he returned the kiss in a way that made her feel treasured.

After long moments of the kiss, he shifted away slightly and asked, “You okay?”

She smiled and nodded. “Way more than okay.”

He grinned, that sexy boyish full of life grin that she’d seen earlier as he surfed.

“Would you like to stay the night?”

Embrace The Night: Chapter Nine

Zack couldn’t imagine anything better than spending the hours with her in her bed. Except maybe waking up in the morning with her beside him, all sleep warm and mussed.

“I’d love to. Let me just do one thing,” he said and with regret, pulled out of her to head to the nearby bathroom.

Inside he washed up and grabbed a washcloth, wet it with warm water. When he returned, she was still on the edge of the bed, waiting for him.

He smiled, joined her, and with tender strokes, he bathed her center with the washcloth.

“That feels good. Thank you,” she said and cupped his cheek.

Grinning, he said, “I have to admit that at first I didn’t really like getting a sponge bath. Maybe it was ‘cause I was feeling like shit and wallowing in self-pity. But I got to like them. They were relaxing.”

He turned and tossed the washcloth back into the bathroom. “I’ll pick that up later,” he said.

She rubbed her hand across the lean muscles of his chest and with a sexy purr she said, “Or maybe I can give you a bath later.”

His dick jerked with the thought, but it was way too soon for another round. He wanted time with her that wasn’t just about having sex.

Fuck me, I’ve gone all sensitive guy
, he thought, but grinned with the pleasure filling him.

“I’d like that, but first, how about we just rest a little.” He bit back a comment about cuddling because that would totally cost him the last of his manhood, but shit, he did want to cuddle with her.

She scooted up toward the headboard, ripped down the sheets and patted the space beside her.

He sat on the edge of the bed and hesitated. He didn’t sleep with the prosthetic, but taking it off now was awkward.

“Could you . . . ?” he stopped short, suddenly not ready for the kind of intimacy he’d been anticipating just moments earlier.

He felt the weight on the mattress shift and shot a look over his shoulder. She had flipped onto her side, her back to him, obviously aware that he’d needed those few seconds of privacy.

Breathing easier, he depressed the buttons to break the vacuum that helped keep his leg on and eased it off. Then he removed the sleeve that protected his skin and create a seal for the prosthetic. There was immediate relief from the pressure of both the sleeve and artificial leg against him and a sense of freedom that almost matched that of having it on and being able to walk again.

Slipping beneath the sheets, he spooned against her back, wrapped an arm around her waist, and dragged her close. She was a perfect fit against him with her sweet butt right against his cock, her long lean back nestled all along his torso and her head tucked just beneath his chin. Heat immediately built between them and he savored the feeling of having her beside him.

Sam rested her hand against his, enjoying the warmth of his body all along hers and the pleasant weight of his arm around her waist, keeping her near.

I could get used to this
, she thought, grateful that she’d taken a chance to explore the attraction between them. Wondering if she could be brave enough to let it be something that grew beyond this one night of pleasure.

“This is nice,” he said, echoing her thoughts.

“Mmm,” she murmured, loathe to say a word and shatter the peace she was feeling at that moment.

He sighed deeply and the action brought them ever closer. She snuggled back even tighter against him and let herself melt into the moment.

Long minutes passed. The arm around her waist relaxed and he fell away a little, but kept her tucked to his side. His deep even breaths confirmed that he had fallen asleep.

She let herself drift into that place between wakefulness and sleep where everything was not quite as clear and time just seemed to tick by in slow motion.

She spent a lot of time in that in between world at night, barely asleep, but not quite awake.

She hadn’t really been able to fully sleep since Afghanistan and that fateful night she’d come alert to find herself in the middle of an unexpected fire fight.

They were supposed to have been far from danger during their patrol. No one had reported any Taliban in their area and the river patrol she’d been on had confirmed that.

They’d been so wrong.

The Taliban had come out of nowhere. Too many of them to fight and she’d been taken prisoner.

She fought back the images of the days that followed. Of the beatings and threats of rape. She was surprised they hadn’t done that right away, although they’d certainly taken their liberties as she lay there bound and naked.

Freedom had luckily come quickly as the Army had scrambled a team to rescue them. In less than a week she was back on her ship where she had been serving with Mark.

On the outside the bruises and scrapes had healed and she’d put on a brave face to not show what was inside.

Fear.

Pain.