Wyne and Dine (Citizen Soldier Series Book 1) (18 page)

“Better,” she murmured, surging up
to put her mouth on his chest while her hands pressed into his thighs to keep
him there. “Much better.” Her lips moved lower.

“Wait. Don’t…” He grabbed her
shoulders to hoist her up, but he was too late.

Her fingers wrapped around his
erection, and she licked him.

He muttered a curse. He wasn’t
going to last. “Lea…don’t. I want to come inside you.”

She glanced up, heat smoldering in
her eyes, steeling his strength. Shit. He nearly lost it right then.

“You will.” She licked him up one
side then down the other. “I promise.”

A light sheen of sweat broke out
over his shoulders and chest. “This isn’t how—damn—”

Her tongue swirled over the tip of
him and he groaned, the deep rumbling sound filled the air between them. Then
she slowly took him into her mouth.

Ah, hell. She was so warm and wet
and moving in a rhythm he loved. “Lea…” The exquisite feeling became too much.
His hands moved to her hair, and he closed his eyes as his hips arched up to
meet her. He’d been sporting a hard on all day, dreaming of her all damn week.
Heat skittered down his spine, and the tell-tale tightening in is groin
signaled he was about to lose control.

He forced his eyes open to stare at
the vision of the sexiest-damn woman he’d ever met, kneeling between his legs,
naked except for her heels, dark hair falling to form a silk curtain around
them, as she worked him in her mouth.

She slayed him. Her inhibition. Her
acceptance. Her need for him, which matched his need for her.

She picked up the pace.

“Ah…yeah…hell, yeah…” His eyes
rolled back in his head.

It was all too much. The pent-up
frustration he’d endured all week. The wicked things she was doing with her
mouth. The feel of her soft breasts bouncing off his thighs.

She brushed her thumbs over his sac
and hot pleasure like he’d never known rushed through him. He was done. Cupping
her head, Ben thrust up into her mouth and came so hard he saw stars.

When his vision finally cleared, he
focused on the woman smiling up at him.

“How’s that for fun?”

Ben laughed and hauled her up on
his lap, feeling lighter, better. He always felt better with her around. “It’s
a start,” he said, kissing her lips, plans for round two already forming in his
brain.

L
ea awoke to the feel
of a soft caress down her back. She opened her eyes and found a sexy man in her
bed. “Good morning.”

“Yes it is,” Ben said, running his
hand down her body and back up. “But it’s getting late, and we need to get
ready for the wedding.”

He still didn’t stop his caresses,
trailing a finger down her breast to touch her nipple. Heat pooled low in her
belly, and she squirmed.

“Then you have to stop that.”

A wicked grin claimed his lips.
“Make me.”

Now all her good parts were
tingling. So she reached out and did some stroking of her own.

“Hey, none of that,” he warned,
making to grab her hand.

Laughing, she pushed him onto his
back and sat on him. “I prefer all of
that
.” And to prove it, she
wiggled her butt right over him.

He let out a curse. “You’re killing
me.”

“No.” She shook her head, and bent
down to nip at his chin, her body on that delicious slow burn he was so good at
achieving. “Just starting the morning with a bang.”

Which, surprisingly, he was up for,
considering they were up most of the night having
fun
.

Twenty-seven minutes later, she was
dried off from their shower and slipping into a robe, her gaze never tiring of
watching the play of muscles across his back and arms as he began to get
dressed.

She sighed. “Seems a shame to cover
up all that goodness.”

His hands stopped buttoning his
shirt as he lifted his gaze to her. “No worries. If you play your cards right,
you can have more goodness tonight.”

“Is that right?” She smiled,
walking over to the credenza to pick up the green negligee he’d unknowingly
delivered last night and dangled the delicate material from her finger. “And if
you play yours right, you can unwrap yours.”

He stilled, the amusement gone,
replaced by unmitigated heat. “You’re really going to wear that today?”

“Yep. All. Day.” She dropped it
back into the bag. “But you don’t get to see me in it, unless you play your
cards right.”

Emerald eyes stared a moment before
he growled and reached for her. But the knock on the door stopped whatever he
was about to do.

“Lea, it’s Brandi. Are you awake?”

At the look of panic that crossed
Ben’s face, her frustration turned to compassion. But then his moment of crisis
was gone, and he was the one who opened the door.

“Hey, sis. Yes, she’s awake, but I
can’t say for how long. The woman had me up most of the night.” Then he
surprised her again by pulling her in close and kissing her right in front of
his sister. As her body took over and she began to melt into him, he drew back
and grinned. “I’ll leave you with that thought.”

She grabbed his arm to stop him,
and lifted the nightie still clutched in her other hand. “And I’ll leave you
with this one.”

He let out another of those sexy
growls and mumbled something about her killing him before he turned to hug his
sister. “Morning, you. I’ll talk to you later. Before you become Mrs. Kade
Dalton.”

“Okay.” Brandi smiled up at her
brother and tapped his chest. “You don’t have to leave on my account. I can
come back. There’s still time—”

“No.” He shook his head. “You two
have things to do, and I have a wedding to get ready for.” His gaze found her,
and she was happy to see it was warm and open. “Lea and I are good.”

She responded with a smile and a
nod, then watched him kiss the top of Brandi’s head before he left the room.

Brandi turned to face her and
blinked. “Wow. What did you do to my brother?”

She laughed, unable to stop the
blush from finding her face. “We had wild, monkey sex.”

“Well, you two need to do that more
often,” her friend said, walking farther into the room. “I don’t think I’ve
ever seen him smile with his whole face before. It was in his eyes and
everything.”

“I know.” She nodded, feeling all
kinds of warm and, yeah, smug, because she put it there.

Brandi narrowed her eyes and
studied her. “Same goes for you.”

“That’s because we had fun.”

“How did you get him to agree to
that?”

She smirked. “Jordan had a hand in
it.” She lifted the negligee and bag. “Seems she told Ben I’d left this
downstairs last night, and he thought it was the gift you gave me. But when I
pulled this out, whatever reservations he’d had, they flew the coop, and he
told me he was on board with having fun until I leave for the city.”

Brandi shook her head and laughed.
“That woman is too much.”

“I know. And I’m glad.”

“Me, too.” Her friend admired the
garment. “I can’t believe it’s the same color as your maid-of-honor dress.”

“I know,” she repeated, and
grinning, dropped her robe to put the negligee on. “Now I can wear it
underneath today without it showing…and I told him that, too.”

“Oh my God.” Brandi’s hand flew to
her face as she smiled. “You’re as bad as Jordan. That’s going to drive him
insane.”

“I hope.”

“Yep, as bad as Jordan.”

Slipping the robe back on, she
glanced at the clock on the nightstand. “Enough about me and Jordan. Today is
your day. Time to focus on you. Since Kade stayed in a guest room last night, I
have the hair stylists meeting us all in your room in an hour. So, what do you
say we start getting ready for this wedding?”

“Sounds good.” Brandi pushed the
hair back from her face, and that’s when Lea noticed the necklace glinting on
her neck.

“Oh, how beautiful,” she gushed,
stepping close to admire the vaguely familiar square-cut diamond pendant. “From
Kade?”

Her friend shook her head, tears
filling her eyes. “No. My dad. He gave it to me a little while ago. He had my
mother’s engagement ring made into a pendant for me.”

Now that her friend mentioned it,
Lea remembered how she’d once admired the stone on Mrs. Wyne’s finger way back
when childhood had been perfect. Before car accident and cancer had robbed her
and Brandi of their mothers.

“It’s beautiful. Come here.” Throat
hot and tight with emotion, she pulled her friend into a hug, and together,
they held onto each other in solidarity of another milestone they’d never get
to share with their mothers.

After a few minutes, they pulled
themselves together and wiped away their tears. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t
fair. Her friend’s mother should be in the room with them, celebrating this
wonderful occasion. But, she wasn’t, and they would cope. They always did.

Her stomach was knotted, but it was
time to push the sadness aside and focused on all the good the day had to
bring. “All right,” she said, conjuring a smile as she hooked an arm through
Brandi’s while she held her garment bag with the other. “Let’s go get you ready
to marry that handsome Texan.” 

B
en wasn’t an overly
emotional guy. Hell, he buried them deep, under years of layering he’d built
around his heart as a shield. Between women and New York and deployments, he
had a veritable fortress in his chest. But Brandi had always had a secret
passage, and today was no exception. And probably Lea had something to do with
it, but he preferred to blame the feelings on the day.

He knew his dad had given his
sister the necklace he’d asked Ben to help him have made from the engagement
ring his father had given to Brandi’s mother. The sentiment was huge. Not only
for obvious reasons, but from the not so obvious. The one where his
no-nonsense, hard-driven, emotions-are-for-wusses father actually came up with
the idea.

Yeah, that was huge.

And it had meant the world to
Brandi, as Ben knew it would. He saw it shining in her eyes when he’d shared a
quiet moment with her before the wedding. Sure, they were filled with tears,
but there was also a deep love and a deep affection for their father, and no
one would ever guess, if they hadn’t already known, that the two weren’t blood
related.

Just as, later on, when the older
Wyne had walked down the aisle, head held high, chest out with a radiant Brandi
on his arm, Ben had felt the honor and pride rolling off his father in waves.
His sister had been stunning in her white satin gown, reminencent of old
Hollywood, with only a few white satin roses sewn at the hip. She was a lot
like Lea, not pretentious, so he wasn’t surprised to see she’d picked out a
gown that was simple, elegant and graceful with a little playful air, just like
the woman.

Despite his dire outlook on
relationships, he stood watching, with the Pocono mountains a breathtaking
backdrop, as his radiant sister professed her love and devotion to a good man,
whose humbled gray gaze held the same deep love and affection glowing in his
sister’s open gaze, and he couldn’t help but be happy for them. Kade had gone
through hell, and Ben was glad Brandi would bring joy and peace into the man’s
life as she had to him and his brothers and father.

With the ceremony now over, and
tears and hugs and handshakes had passed, Ben was more than ready to clip his
emotions and return back to normal. Too much emotional overload. His chest was
tight with it. But now, it was over. His sister was married; it was time to
eat, drink and be merry.

And turned on. Again.
Damn it.

Try as he might, all damn day, Ben
couldn’t help see past Lea’s elegant green dress and picture her walking down
the damn aisle—or on a gorgeous rescued horse as the wedding party rode around
the resort—mingling at the reception—or standing in the damn food line—in the
negligee of the same damn color.  She was very distracting, but he welcomed the
distraction; it helped him to get through whenever the day got too emotional.

Yes, he much preferred the emotion
she tugged from him.

Lust.

Lea’s pretty hairdo all piled high
and sexy on her head with little pieces hanging down, made him want to twirl
them around his finger and pull her luscious mouth to his, and as he stood in
line behind her at the buffet, he gave into the need to lean closer and inhale
her scent. A wuss move, he knew, but didn’t care. She smelled as sweet as she
tasted, and he was looking forward to easing away the tension of the day as he
lost himself inside her sweetness.

“Hello, handsome,” she said, sending
him a sideways glance full of the heat rushing through his body. “How are you
doing?”

Behind the heat, there was more,
there was a knowing in her gaze. His heart cracked open a little. She always
could see past his pretense, his tough exterior and knew, just knew he was
dealing with shit.

“I’m good, but I’ll be better later
when we’re alone.”

She smiled on that one, then
nodded. “Me, too.”

He spent the next hour reliving
that conversation, using it to get him through. Everything had been going fine.
He was standing in the corner having a drink with the guys, watching Lea
swaying to some Latin type pop song, imagining her in that damn nightie, when
Kevin ambled over with Shayla’s cute little baby girl, Amelia, in his arms.

“Ah, what’s the pout for, pumpkin?”
Cole asked, smoothing the little girl’s brow.

“She’s not too keen on going home
tomorrow without Tyler,” Kevin answered, blowing raspberries on the flower
girl’s arm, eliciting a sweet giggle.

He knew Tyler had been thrilled to
have Cody and Amelia around the past few days.

“And I suspect she’ll be asking for
him for a week or two once we get back to Texas.” The cowboy’s tone, usually
light with mischief and amusement, held an undercurrent of concern and deep
affection.

For some reason, the tension ratcheted
up in Ben. The invisible bands returned to squeeze his chest tight. He had no
idea why, and refused to dwell on it. So, when the music turned slow, he was
happy to escape with an excuse to go ask Lea to dance. And within two point one
seconds of her wrapping her arms around him and holding him tight, that
unreasonable tension dissipated in her warm embrace.

“You’re awfully tense,” she said,
brushing her nose into his neck as she snuggled close. “We should do something
about that.”

He smiled and gathered her close,
already feeling so much lighter. “What did you have in mind?”

Her chuckle rumbled through him.
“You’ll have to wait and see.”

Forty minutes later, his sister and
her new husband said their goodbyes and left for their island honeymoon. Which
meant he no longer had to party. At least, not with all the guests. No, he just
wanted to party, privately, with only one.

But she was walking her father out
to her brother’s car. Mr. Gablonski was getting tired. He’d done really well,
Ben thought, for his first all day outing.

“You two staying out of trouble?”

Jordan appeared at the bar where he
was nursing his seven and seven next to her husband as he watched a few couples
dancing. Keiffer was out there with Caitlin again. Gwen was dancing with one of
the Texas guardsman, and Mason was dancing with Jill, the woman responsible for
the reception’s delicious desserts, looking more at ease than he’d been in
years.

“Of course,” her husband replied.

“What about you, Ben? You having a
good time?” Her gaze held just a hint of mischief.

He snorted. “Not sure if I should
strangle you or thank you,” he said.

Cole lifted his drink. “Heard
that.”

She ignored her husband and focused
on him.

Shit.

“You trying to tell me you didn’t
like what was in Lea’s bag last night?”

“Ah, hell, Jordan, what did you
do?” Cole’s gaze bounced from him to his wife then back again, “Sorry, Ben.”

“No reason to be sorry,” she said.
“Not if you like negligees.”

“She’s wearing the damn thing now,”
he said, then tossed back the rest of his drink, and motioned to the bartender
for another. “Underneath her dress. All damn day.”

Cole’s mouth twitched. “Sorry, man.
That has to be tough.”

Jordan smiled at her husband. “I
have one on, too.” She pulled at her dress where only he could see, then patted
his cheek before she turned around and walked away.

The bartender handed Ben another
seven and seven. He handed it to a wide-eyed Cole. “Here, I think you could use
it more than me. She must be a handful.”

Although, that probably made the
man a lucky bastard.

“No thanks,” Cole refused the
drink. “Yeah…she is.”

Warmth and satisfaction and
something he didn’t quite recognize flittered through the man’s gaze. He
winked, then walked straight to his wife, and Ben watched as Cole pressed her
against one of the posts and whispered something in Jordan’s ear that had the
tough as nails woman melting into the cowboy.

He turned away and downed half the
drink in one gulp, his gaze searching the crowd, wishing Lea would appear so
they could call it a night. And he could make her melt into him…and then he in
turn could melt inside her.

“Did you miss me?”

He twisted to the right, and his
shoulders relaxed as he gazed into Lea’s smiling face. “Yes. You ready to call
it a night?”

Her smile faded. “I…actually, I
won’t be able to stay the whole night again, Ben. Sorry. My sister’s catching
the bus back to the city tonight, and I don’t want my dad to be alone.”

“Can’t you ask your sister to
stay?”

Lea stared at him as if the idea
was new. Because it was. She never asked for help. Always did things herself.
The woman needed to give up control and let others help, too.

“It’s not as if Gwen has a photo
shoot tomorrow, right?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I
don’t think so.”

He ran his hand down her arm and
softened his tone. “Then ask her to stay one more night. Why does it always
have to be you who takes care of your dad?”

She pulled away from his touch, her
normal, open and friendly expression closed and tight. “Excuse me for being
concerned about my dad,” she huffed then marched out of the pavilion.

Ben muttered a curse and strode
after her. “Lea, wait up.”

She stopped near one of the big
oaks, still close enough to catch the light from the party, but out of earshot,
then turned to face him. “Look, I’m not going to apologize for caring about my
dad.”

“It’s not about that and you know
it. It’s about giving up control. Letting your brother or sister help out. Have
you even asked them?”

“They’re busy. They have careers.
I’m here—”

“Stalling your own. Putting your
life on hold,” he cut her off, tired of hearing excuses. “You need to start
living it, Lea.”

Her chin rose. “I thought that was
what I was doing.”

“To a point. But now that your dad
is near the end of his recovery, you should start getting your life back on
track.”

“I thought that was what I was
doing,” she repeated.

“Was it? Have you sent out your
resumes? Or do you need to talk to your father’s doctors again?”

Anger flashed through her eyes.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means you have to stop using
your father as a crutch. Start living your life. Let your brother and sister
help with your dad. Share the responsibility.” He held his breath, hoping she’d
see the merit in his suggestions. He liked control, but he’d also learned, long
ago, to delegate authority because one person could not do it all.

She blew out a breath and nodded.
“You’re right,” she said, surprising the hell out of him. “Since I’ve been
back, I haven’t really asked them to do anything. I’ve just kind of jumped in
and did it myself.”

“I know. I tend to do that myself,
too. But it’s okay to let others help.” He chanced touching her arm again.
“He’s their father too. Let them help.”

“Ben’s right,” Gwen said, appearing
out of nowhere. “I can help. Just didn’t think you wanted it.”

Lea frowned at her sister. “Sure I
do, but you have a career to worry about—”

“As do you,” Gwen pointed out. “So,
how about we work that into all our schedules and between you, me and Ryder, we
can all make sure Dad gets back to work, without putting any of our lives on
hold. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Good. It’s settled then,” Gwen
touched Lea’s arm. “You enjoy yourself tonight. Let me worry about Dad. I’ll go
back to the city tomorrow night. I’ll give the bus station a call right now and
switch my reservation.” The woman already had her phone out as she turned and
walked back toward the party.

He grabbed Lea’s hand and squeezed.
“Are you okay with that?”

God, he hoped she was okay with
that.

“Yes. I’m a bit surprised, but
definitely okay with that.” She squeezed his hand back. “Thanks for pointing
out I wasn’t asking my siblings for help. I thought I was trying to make their
lives easier, but I can see where you were right. I need to let them help,
too.”

He nodded. “It doesn’t mean you
don’t care. It’s all right to give up control once in a while.”

A playful gleam entered her eyes.
“I like when you give up control. Or take it.”

And just like that, he got hard.

“Speaking of taking…It looks like
you get to take me out of that nightie after all.” She smiled and reached up to
touch his face, and he had all he could do not to give voice to the
whoot
rolling around in his head.

 “What a coincidence. I happen to
be great at removing nighties,” he said, hooking her arm with his as he led
them to the lodge.

Out of respect for his father, and
Brandi and her guests, Ben resisted the urge—barely—to toss Lea over his
shoulder and put boot to heel and rush to his room.

I
t was the following
weekend when Lea received a quick call from Brandi letting her know the
newlyweds had arrived back in Harland County safe and sound from their
honeymoon.

“How was the beach?” she asked,
envious of the week her friend had had of uninterrupted sex in a secluded hut
on Bora Bora.

“Heaven. Nothing but sun, sand and
sex.”

Lea’s insides tightened at the
thought of enjoying a week like that with Ben. It didn’t compute. Between his
work and his family, her work and her family, not to mention seeing all the
Texans off last Sunday, they hadn’t had much more than a few stolen caresses in
the supply room, or her basement this week. “I’m so envious.”

Brandi laughed. “I take that to
mean things are still
fun
with you and Ben?”

“Yeah, when we can fit some time
into our schedules.”

“Speaking of schedules. Did you
send out your resumes?” her friend asked.

What was with everyone pushing her
about her resumes? They should know she didn’t need pushing. Much. She had to
admit, her finger had hovered over the button a few extra seconds, but she did
hit Send.