Soldier With Benefits (Military Men Book 2) (7 page)

Mac noticed Carolina Eastern’s clipped nod at the cameraman. The woman had balls of steel and was calm under fire, but Mac didn’t like the way the reporter scrutinized her and had done since they’d first met earlier this afternoon. The hair at the back of her neck prickled, a portent of a bad omen.

The gunfire intensified up ahead, the locals exchanging return fire. Uneasiness intensified inside Mac, and sweat tricked down her spine beneath her cotton shirt and heavy protective vest.

“Use the alternative route,” Louie said to the driver when a spray of bullets kicked up dust to the right of their vehicle.

Carolina leaned forward between the seats. “I want to report the story.”

“No,” Louie said immediately.

“I need to report stories as they happen. It’s my job.” Carolina’s crisp diction and New York twang indicated her determination.

“We’re paid by your network to keep you safe,” Louie countered.

Mac wanted to add her five cents so bad her jaw ached with the tension of keeping her mouth shut. The woman was a pain in the ass. Demanding as hell. None of the team liked her. Dressed well though. Mac really coveted her leather boots. Must have cost a fortune. Mac continued to monitor the area, ducking and yanking the cameraman by the collar when a shot fired in their direction. A metallic ping told her the shot had hit their vehicle. A second shot glanced off the door. Too damn close.

The driver floored it, tires shrieking as they fought for purchase. The rear of the vehicle swayed before it picked up speed. A cloud of dust obscured vision.

“Everyone okay?” Louie shouted.

“I wanted to film this for a report,” Carolina said with clear sarcasm.

Mac and Garrett shared a look.

“We’re all good.” Mac ignored Carolina’s growl of frustration.

Simon radioed, the static worse than usual. “Tai’s hit,” he said. “Upper arm. We’ve stemmed the bleeding okay. He’ll live.”

“I’m complaining to the network,” Carolina snarled.

Louie turned to glare at her, eyes flat with anger. “You do that.”

The rest of the trip passed in taut silence. They dropped Carolina and the cameraman at their quarters, all of them heaving a collective sigh of relief as they drove to their base.

Mac climbed out of the vehicle, sobering on seeing the gouges in the roof of their vehicle. The path of a bullet showed clearly against the paintwork. At least the armored panels had held.

“Another day, another dollar,” Garrett quipped when he saw the grooves.

“Yeah.” Jeez, talk about close. She prayed she lived through her contract. If something happened to her no one would look after her father. It felt as if she stood between a rock and an inflexible wall. No choice. This was the only way she had to make quick money.

Inside, she stowed her weapon and unfastened her vest, their close call replaying in her mind. She headed for her room, closing the door behind her. Unable to remain still, she strode the length of the small room and back. The door opened without warning and Louie entered.

“Thank goodness,” she muttered, taking two running steps and leaping at the same time. She needed distraction.
Now
.

Louie laughed, his arms wrapping around her shoulders and maintaining balance at the same time. Their mouths clashed, sparks shooting between them.

Clothes flew left and right as they fought to undress each other, to continue kissing and touching at the same time. Mac groaned when Louie peeled one cup of her bra away and scooped her breast upward. He lowered his head and sucked her nipple into his mouth. The hard suction of his mouth sent reaction roaring through her.

Mac wanted to get closer, to touch his skin and feel the power in his solid muscles. She wanted to grope his ass. Mac laughed at the thought.

He lifted his head. “What’s so funny?”

“Hurry up and strip. Those boots need to come off before your trousers.”

“As much as I like the bossy command, we don’t have to do everything fast. We have plenty of time before anyone will come looking for us,” Louie said.

“Yeah, but I can’t grope you as well if you’re wearing clothes.”

“Grope me, huh? Has a nice ring to it.” Grinning, he tangled his fingers in the hair at her nape and licked across the shell of her ear.

She sighed, wriggling against his erection, laughing out loud when his teeth scraped over a pulse point. “Maybe we should try the bed.”

Louie snorted. “I’d love to try a bed. The bunk doesn’t count as a bed. It’s too bloody narrow. I’m lucky I haven’t knocked myself out.”

“Good point.” Mac considered the bunks for a second before turning back to Louie. “We could always do a little redecorating. Mattress on the floor.”

“You just want to ride me, woman.”

“Damn straight. Nothing better than being in control,” Mac said.

Louie nodded. “Not a bad idea, but I wanna play a little first.” Raw need sizzled on his face, darkening his brown eyes to almost black.

Mac took one look and moisture gathered between her legs, desire a savage throb inside her pussy. She wanted him to fill her, to slide his cock between her legs and halt the sweet pain that filled her. Damn. She closed her eyes and swallowed, tension ramping up between them. “I need you,” she said, straining against his body, rubbing against his erection and trying to force the issue, make his patience snap.

It didn’t work.

Louie ran one hand down her back, pausing to strip off her dangling bra. Heat stabbed her with his every touch, her nipples pebbling to hard, needy points.

“Pretty. I love your breasts.” He stroked the underside of one, lifting the heavy globe and laving the plump curve. “You taste good.”

“I’m sweaty,” she protested.

“Yeah, but you smell nice.” He licked a slow path around the areola then blew.

“I thought you were in a hurry.”

“Nah, I never said that,” he said, and she could tell by his expression nothing she said would induce him to speed. Maybe she should just enjoy the ride because if there was one thing she knew about Louie it was he was a generous lover. He liked his partner to feel good. “We have plenty of time.”

“Won’t everyone wonder if we don’t turn up in the gym?”

“No, because you’re gonna say you were so tired you fell asleep. I’m gonna say I had to do some office work, and no one is going to think anything about it because after the next mission, one or both of us will be in the gym with everyone else.”

Mac gave in to the impulse to touch and stroked a hand over his bristly cheek. She grinned into his serious countenance. “If you think that will work.”

“We’ll make it work.”

“Good. Can we get to the good stuff now?”

They stared at each other. Louie rubbed his groin against her hip, his hard erection burning through the layer of fabric still separating their bodies. “This feels pretty good to me.” He closed the gap between their mouths to brush a kiss over her lips. It started off slow, growing to passionate. Desperate.

Mac struggled with the button and hook of Louie’s fly, desperate to feel his entire body, to fondle his ass. He had the sexiest butt. Finally, she gave up in frustration. It was difficult to concentrate on more than one thing at once. Kissing Louie fried her brain. She tried not to think about it too much, the way he made her feel. Happy and excited. There was no time in her life for a relationship. This
thing
with Louie was all about the sex. She tore her mouth from his. “Can we do this?”

“All in good time.”

“But this isn’t romance. It’s fucking to scratch an itch,” she snapped, glaring at him. Why wasn’t he like other men? They craved sex and took what they wanted without a desire to savor the experience.

Louie stilled. Surprise then determination flitted over his face. Maybe some intrigue as well. Dammit, she didn’t want to captivate him, make him want to pursue her. She wanted him to understand that this was casual, without expectations on her part. What was wrong with plain, selfish sex? The world had gone mad, becoming way too politically correct for her liking.

Louie stepped back, his gaze softening as he studied her body. “You’ve lost weight. You need to eat.”

“You’re not my mother.”

Laugh wrinkles formed at the corner of his eyes. Grinning, he unfastened his trousers and slipped them and his boxer-briefs down his legs. “A fact I am truly grateful for.” He reached for the mattress on the bottom bunk and lifted it onto the floor, flexing biceps attracting her attention.

In Fiji, she’d licked the flowing lines of his tribal tattoos, tasted his skin and indulged herself. The fleeting idea of repeating the experience brought a frown.

After flicking the lock on the door, he strode over to her. “You’re right. Let’s fuck.”

Although she’d used the term a few minutes earlier, the harsh word seemed to echo between them. It hurt.

Aware of the contradiction in her thinking, she forced a smile while confusion reigned inside her. Ignoring the inconsistencies in her thoughts, she let Louie seduce her. Sexy smile. Gorgeous body. It didn’t take much to fall into his embrace.

His hands skimmed with purpose and the skill she’d become used to. His mouth was soft on hers, and he kissed her until desire grabbed every scrap of her attention. She shivered, feeling the weight of her breasts, the heavy expectation flooding her body. A soft, needy sound escaped and she tilted her neck, silently asking for the redirection of his mouth.

“Not your neck.” Louie kissed the slope of her breast and sucked until her inner walls clenched with need.

“More,” she whispered. “I need more.”

“Patience,” he countered. “I told you, we have time.”

He didn’t intend to hurry, so she gave up and went with the flow. Skin brushed skin, and she squirmed and twisted when he tongued her breasts, stroked her arse. He lifted her and settled her on the mattress, following her down. Things became more serious then. Heated whispers. Touches designed to inflame. Mac felt as if she floated, his touch making her want more of the erotic assault.

Louie parted her legs and lifted her hips in a smooth move. Seconds later, his mouth and tongue devoured her swollen flesh. His stubble scraped the tender skin of her inner thighs while his tongue traced wicked patterns around her clit. A moan escaped, and she bit her bottom lip to still another cry. A finger pushed inside her with a hot, easy glide. Her stomach hollowed, her hips canting to push against his tongue.

“Louie, please. I need you to fill me now. We can do it all over again. I just need you now.”

Louie stilled and glanced up at her. “Promise?”

“Yes.”

He nodded, the undeniable masculine interest deepening. “I know how you feel about promises.”

Oops, she’d forgotten that. While they’d been in Fiji, the discussion had come up. She couldn’t remember how, but she’d told Louie she never, ever went back on her word.

He pulled his finger from her and without breaking their gaze, he licked it clean. Her breath caught, her chest tightening with a wave of emotion. Even though she knew nothing could come between them because of her vow to her father, she couldn’t help but wish things were different. This man, he touched places inside her…

Swallowing, she tugged him closer, sure every emotion shone on her face for him to read.

“Hey, don’t you want to go on top?”

“Plain old missionary is fine for what I have in mind.” Hard, hot, sweaty sex. The kind that made a woman forget her problems.

Louie didn’t say anything, but he grinned and it made her catch her breath again. He was stunning when he smiled, and despite her complaints, his take-charge manner didn’t bother her. It was part of his military training and something she respected. Trusted. During their time in Fiji, he’d bound her with silken scarves, the loss of freedom making the sex sizzling hot. She sighed as he moved over her and slipped inside, the head of his cock barely embedded.

“Louie.” Mac tried to move but he held her still.

“I wouldn’t want you to think you’re getting your own way.”

Mac snorted. “How could I think that? This is torture. You’re tormenting me.” He opened his mouth as if he were going to speak but didn’t. Instead, he pushed a little deeper and pulled back. In a silence thick with tension, they stared at each other.

Mac clenched her inner muscles and he groaned, pushing inside her fully with one slow, toe-curling stroke.

“I love the first, perfect stroke,” she whispered. “I like the way it feels when I stretch around you.”

“Feels pretty damn good on this end,” Louie said with a strangled laugh.

At first, he kept the thrusts slow and steady, but she urged him on, digging her fingernails into his shoulders, kissing his neck, the whorls of a tattoo and undulating against his muscular body with sighs of sincere appreciation. There was no pretense because Louie really did it for her. Later, she’d probably think about how wrong it was to let her emotions show, about the danger to her sanity and the way he screwed with her focus and future plans. Yeah, later. Right now she intended to wring every bit of enjoyment from their encounter.

Mac met each of his thrusts while their lips met in wild abandon. His scent surrounded her, his taste filled her. She climbed higher and higher, then for one scary moment, she balanced on a knife-edge of pleasure. A moment of clarity before she soared over the precipice into ecstasy. No other word for it. Mac clutched his sweaty shoulders and hung on, savoring the lingering pulses of her sex as she sailed back down to earth.

“Louie,” she whispered.

“Good?”

“Yeah.” The word was a soft sigh of pleasure.

“We’ll see if you can go again.” His chuckle, laced with sin, made her smile. He increased his strokes, changed the angle, and to her surprise, a sweet burn flared. She melted against him, her hands busy touching as much of him as she could reach. Her hands came to rest on his muscular butt. Nice.

“Aw, damn, Joanna,” he whispered hoarsely against her neck. He slammed into her with hard, digging strokes, the sounds of fucking loud and distinctive.

Mac didn’t care. She felt a primal sense of satisfaction as his cock jackhammered into her and at the hunger etched on his face. He came with deep body shudders, his seed splashing into her. When he finally stilled, he rolled, laughing when they fell off the mattress onto the floor. He wrapped his arms around her and held tight. Mac knew she should move, that they should clean up, shower and maybe hit the gym. Instead, the urge to move trotted right out of her mind, replaced by contentment. Cuddling in Louie’s arms felt right, and that should have scared her half to death.