Warrior Mine (18 page)

V
ail coming was
the most erotic sight in the history of mankind. Even caught in the maelstrom of her own breath-stalling orgasm, she marveled at the rippled cords of muscles bunching under his skin. The onslaught continued as his hips ground against her swollen flesh and his cum heated her belly. Through the storm neither tore their gaze away from the soul-detonating connection that flared between them.

He had to be as boneless as she, but he levered over her for a while. His hand slid from her nape. Those warm fingers stroked her cheek. Their bodies remained locked, the strength of his grip on her ass securing the union.

With shaky arms he finally collapsed onto her chest. The movement jarred his length, still deep inside her womb. Nerve endings sizzled and popped at the contact. He caged her with his strong arms. His lips danced over hers for the barest of moments before the room tilted and she straddled his hips.

“You are beautiful.” He traced a finger across her collarbone, between her breasts. His hands hooked behind her knees and tugged. The motion shifted the angle with which she seated him. His full, hard dick speared her deeper. One hand coasted up her thigh and splayed across her belly. “Ride me, Carmen. I need to watch you come again.”

Her core clenched as raw need stirred an uprising. She rolled and ground against his cock. Positioned as she was, the movements were small. His head brushed a sensitive spot with each circle that left her panting in seconds. Her face flushed as he stared unabashedly at her display. And she was on display. Her thighs parted, revealing her most intimate parts. Surely, he could see his wide shaft breaching her body. Her breasts jiggled, their stretch marks flashing like a neon sign. Carmen cupped her breasts to keep them still.

“Beautiful,” he breathed. “Just…stunning.”

Any vulnerability holding her back fell away with his adoration. The instant her fingers brushed her delicate nipples all thought evaporated. Her head lolled as she squeezed the overflowing handfuls. Vail’s hand slid lower on her belly and his thumb brushed the tiny bundle of nerves between her slick folds. “Oh my God. Oh. Yes. Oh. Ahhh.”

Oblivion pulled at her and she gave herself willingly. Pleasure grappled, pinned her to the ceiling, subduing her for a heavy moment before letting go. She drifted, euphoric. Totally blissed. And then she sagged onto his chest, exhausted.

“I could watch you come twenty times a day.”

She smiled against his hard slabs of muscle. “Again,” she murmured, “I’m no expert, but that seems a bit excessive.”

“From where I’m lying, you’re adept enough to keep me hard around the clock. And also, from where I’m lying, it doesn’t seem near enough.”

His lips brushed her cheek and he rolled them to their sides. He slipped from her body, groaning as though he hated to leave. She didn’t care for the emptiness between her legs one bit. He grabbed the discarded towel and cleaned them both. When he settled with his head pillowed on one arm he tugged her closer.

“You’re one dangerous woman,” he said with a devilish smile.

“And you’re no powder puff.” She let her finger trace his scars, the lighter, slightly smaller ones that speckled his torso. They’d just shared a most intimate act, and yet she didn’t know anything about him. Not true. She knew his nature and it was beyond reproach, but she wanted more. “Tell me about your family?”

His droopy lids widened and a frown carved his tan skin.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.” She put her fingers over his mouth. “That’s not true, I did mean to pry, but I didn’t mean to hurt you. Though how could it not?”

His lips kissed the underside of each knuckle, and then the tips. “I expected you to ask about my scars.”

“I figured they were one in the same.”

“And you’re right.” He entwined their fingers. “It hurts…still, but now it hurts in a way that reassures me I’m alive. For a long time, I didn’t feel like I was. I didn’t want to be.” He drew a deep breath, his gaze warm and attentive on her face.

“My job is dangerous in that the decisions I make affect the missions, the lives of my people, and potentially thousands more on any given day. Before, I was in the Navy.”

“You were a SEAL.”

“Yep. Risky job. Never in one place very long. And I fell in love. Ellie and I got married two months after we met.” The pain in his eyes lightened.

A prick caught Carmen’s heart and she swallowed past the odd sensation. Jealousy. She’d had no reason to experience it before. And she had none now. She wouldn’t begrudge Vail his happy memories. Not for anything. Hell, if she could resurrect the woman to make him happy…she’d think about it long and hard, and then do it for him alone.

“It was a whirlwind. Crazy really. I was on leave when we met. When I came back for a night a month later, I asked, she agreed, and we were married the next time I came home. It wasn’t easy, but we managed to make the best of our time together.” Absently, he brought her hand to his mouth and spread kisses along the side. “In two years of marriage, we were only in the same place for five total months, no more than two weeks at a time.”

As if to comfort himself, he rubbed her hand over his cheek. “Enough time to make a baby. She would have been very near Sophie’s age.”

A tear slipped from her eyes before she could call it back. She didn’t like where this was going. The thought of losing a child, even though she’d known he had… Her throat constricted.

“I had another two weeks about four months into the pregnancy. Since I’d shipped out the day after our wedding, I wanted to do something special for her. So, I booked a trip to Jamaica. A babymoon, she called it.”

Vail leaned in and kissed at the trail of her tears. “Don’t cry.”

“Impossible.”

“I didn’t think anything was impossible for you.” His breath tickled her ear.

“There are a few things.” And they all involved him and Sophia.

“There was a breach and my information was among that stolen. But the warning came too late. The leader of a terrorist group my team had collapsed a few months earlier found us at market on the island.” His grip on her hand tightened.

“I was too far away.” He laughed even though tears brimmed his eyes. “I was being stupid, holding fruit up to my chest and making boobs. The baby changed her body. Made her frame luscious and me ridiculously horny. Dumb.”

“Not dumb. Happy and in love,” she corrected.

“They opened up on her. She didn’t see it coming. I didn’t either. I should have been watching.” A growl rumbled deep in his chest. His head shook. The muscles in his jaw threatened to snap from the tension. He broke. His face buried beneath her chin.

Carmen cradled his head and wrapped her arm around his shoulder. “
Shhh
, mi valiant hombre,” she whispered, though he made not another sound. He raged, while her quiet tears soaked his hair.

She envisioned him, happy and vital, enjoying his wife in the brilliant light of day. Then the spray of bullets slicing through his world. No doubt he got his scars running full tilt toward his Ellie, not ducking for cover or waiting to find a tactical angle of attack. And God, their baby… Her mind walled the image and for that she was ever grateful.

He burrowed lower, pressing his weight against her chest. His arms twined round her middle and he held her back as she rocked him, nice and easy. After only a few seconds, he shifted lower. The heat of his tongue licked her nipple before latching on and suckling. A gasp flew from her lips.

The desperation of grief. The finality of death. It drove people toward their own death or life. Vail chose to live in this moment. Here. With her.

When he rolled her onto her back and moved between her legs she didn’t deny him. Without finesse or preamble he shoved to the root. His mouth covered her moan and melded it with one of his own.

He lifted her off the bed. Her arms and legs tightened around him, and their mouths acted out the torment they could not voice. Knees spread wide, he balanced their combined weight. His grip sank into the rounds of her ass. His hips retracted as he lifted, and their bodies separated for the briefest of seconds before he hammered them together.

The force slammed her clitoris onto the slight bulge of his lower abdomen. Her left hand gripped the whittled groove of his lat for leverage. She flared her pelvis, taking him deeper. That exquisite V of primal manliness and the dynamic aim of his cock catapulted her into orbit too soon.

Her breaths huffed hot and wet against his mouth. In a frantic effort to keep quiet, she viced her lip between her teeth. This was his deliverance. She’d be damned if she’d break his center.

A gap formed between them and her gaze flew to his. The intensity of his animalistic expression bowled her over. “You’re strangling my dick, honey. You’re coming. Let me hear it.”

“Ahhh.” The sweet relief of freedom reinvigorated her fulfillment. “Ah, Vail.”

“Yes, fucking, yes. I’m here. I’m with you, Carmen. I’m pumping into you. And you’re strangling me.” His biceps bunched and his neck strained. “Oh, Go…” Climax seized him. Everything inside her tightened. She was trapped in the grip of a mighty warrior and she never wanted to be released.

V
ail blinked
into view the horrendous hunter-green sheet blocking half of his line of sight. It took a while. The sun streamed through the window, nearly blinding him. He flicked the fabric plagued with intersecting cream and red lines from his face. Stretching his arms straight over his head, he met the headboard and shoved. His muscles filled with the heavy syrup of a good night’s sleep and a momentary shot of adrenaline that came with the short fit of exertion.

On a deep inhale he caught her scent and the fog of lethargy faded. His dick didn’t need the jolt of sweaty women, a hint of flowers, and musky sex to get him going. The guy was fully erect and ready to go. Who could blame him?

He smiled and rolled over to an empty bed. And room.

Damn.

He’d come inside her for the second time, and then promptly smothered her with his weight and fallen into the most contented sleep he’d had in what seemed like decades. The bed creaked as he sat and listened for the slightest hint of sound. When he heard none his heart stuttered. He bound from the bed, to the door, cupped his sticky junk, and peeked out the door. Down the hallway Carmen’s bedroom door stood open, but Sophie’s remained closed. A breath rounded his cheeks and he blew it out.

Maybe she was just really quiet downstairs. The need to know for sure ate at him, but no way could he streak through the house to check, which was exactly what he wanted to do. Resigned, he retreated, pulled his last pair of clothes from his pack, and then darted for the bathroom, strategically covering himself just in case.

Water splashed and soap flung like he was in the pit of hell week with ten minutes to eat, clean, and nap. He dressed accordingly before skidding down the steps. His boots caught rubber with his sudden stop. Carmen snapped a hip to one side and propped a hand and the spatula in it on her hip.

“In a rush to get somewhere?” She batted lashes strong enough to blow him over.

He sagged and lifted all at once, alleviation mingling with delight. Three large steps brought them toe-to-toe. “Yep, right here.” He placed small kisses on her damp forehead and down the bridge of her nose. His tongue smoothed over his lips. “Salty.”

“Gross,” she giggled. “I went for a run.”

“To clear your head?”

“No, to keep from getting caught in your bed.”

“That is too bad,” he groaned. “How’s Sophie?”

“Sleeping like the dead.” She shook the cooking utensil. “But I checked. She’s breathing just fine and doesn’t have a fever.”

“How are you?” he asked, tugging her closer.

Her teeth nipped his chest. “Hungry in every way.”

“If you’d stayed, I’d have brought you breakfast in bed—and then eaten you.”

“You’re cruel.” She whimpered against his shirt.

“I think you’re the cruel one.” Using both hands, he cupped her curvy butt over her thin, black workout pants, lifted, and ground her over his rigid length. “God, Carmen! Look at your nipples. You’re ready for me. Wet and needy. Bet I could get you off in less than sixty seconds.”

“I bet you could too, but I can’t,” she said with a gentle push. “What kind of role model would I be for Sophia?” Begrudgingly, he let her move back one step, but kept his hands at her waist. “We only just met, for goodness’ sake.”

“I agree.” He sucked air between his teeth. “Doesn’t mean I like it though.”

Her chin levered back, providing the first good angle for their lips to meet. He took it, swooping in before she had a chance to speak. His hands coasted up and framed her face while he teased her mouth.

“Way to go, Mom,” Sophie said from somewhere behind them.

He broke the kiss. The stunned look of a thief trapped in a safe contorted Carmen’s pretty face. He soothed a thumb over her red lips and turned. “How you feelin’, kiddo?”

“Awesome.” A smile lit her entire demeanor. She stood just a bit taller than she had the day before. Devilish satisfaction lightened the way-too-intense burdens on her shoulders.

Sophie’s eyes darted between him and her mother as she skipped lightly to the table. “So, Ma, what’s for breakfast?”

Vail watched her calculating their relationship while she perched her intelligent head on her palm. That girl, he loved her from the tips of her silly shoes to the tip of her nose. His hand clamped over his mouth to keep the realization locked away. Talk about moving fast. He could blame it on the euphoric high from last night, but it would be a lie. He’d been falling in love with that little girl since she dressed him down with smart questions and deciphered a scary situation with sharp wit instead of fear. And her world-lighting grins didn’t do much to slow the progress of emotions.

Plans changed in his mind, adjusting to the new course he’d set for himself. And Carmen and Sophie. He turned to the swaying hips at the counter. “So, what’s for breakfast?”

Carmen’s ponytail swooshed and she met his gaze with her narrowed one that jumped between him and Sophie. “You go sit over there and hold onto your patience. I was going to cook gorditas de huevos, but we don’t have chilies or tortillas.” She grabbed two apples from the counter and tossed them to him. “Will you cut these, please? The spinach eggs will be ready in a few minutes.”

He stepped closer. She stepped back, meeting the stove with her bottom. “Stand still,” he whispered. “This won’t hurt a bit.”

Her smile worked on his already sensitive heart. He leaned around her, letting his arm brush hers as he retrieved a knife and plate. Before withdrawing, his lips brushed her cheek. He retreated to the table and pulled out the chair next to the red-cheeked little girl.

“You have mischief written all over your face.” He lopped off a piece of apple and handed it over. “Shove this in your mouth so you don’t get either of us into trouble.”

She plucked the fruit from his hand, pursed her lips at him, and gave a slight headshake for good measure. The apple crunched between her teeth. “So, what are we doing today?”

“Not fishing,” he answered before the words were good and out of her full gnashing mouth. Carmen turned to say something similar, surely. Instead, she nodded in approval, and then turned back around.

He winked at Sophie and jutted his chin toward Carmen. “I was thinking, since the ice was pretty thick, we could sled the lake. You know, face your fears and all that.”

Sophie covered her mouth and winced, while Carmen snapped around so quickly her ponytail slapped her in the face. His shoulder shook so hard he had to drop the knife for fear of stabbing himself. Then he looked at the woman feigning indignation and slid the knife to the other side of the plate.

They erupted in fits of side-cramping laughter.

When it died down, Sophie asked, “So, seriously, what are we going to do today?”

Vail cleared his throat and steeled his heart. “I need to go to DC to take care of some things—”

“Carlos?” Carmen asked.

“Yes, and I want you two to come with me.”