Big Easy Temptation (16 page)

When he’d finally wrung every last second of ecstasy from her, he gently pulled his
hand back and sucked his fingers into his mouth, tasting the sweetness of her arousal.
She was honey on his lips.

“How do you do that to me?” Holland turned in his arms. “How do you make me forget
everything except you? I’m not a wild sort of girl.”

“Of course not. You enjoy sex, as you should. You’re not only a woman, you’re a lady.”

She frowned. “I’m also not the sort who needs help to sit in a chair or someone to
open the door.”

“I know, but I need to do things for you. Don’t make my wanting to ensure you’re protected
and cared for into some mark against your strength. I need for you to know how special
you are to me. That’s why I do those things for you.”

She sniffled a little and rolled those gorgeous eyes of hers. “Naturally. You know
exactly what to say to me. God, you’re too good to be true, Dax. This is all going
to fall apart.”

What was going on with her? He drew her closer, hugging her tight. “Everything falls
apart at one point in time. The key is making sure you put it back together.”

“I love you, Dax. Don’t ever forget it.” She kissed him, cupping his face in her hands
and pressing her whole body against his.

He lit up like a kid at Christmas. Clearly, he’d read her wrong. She was ready. He
was damn sure ready. Finally, their timing was right. “I love you, too. God, you have
no idea how much I love you.”

He picked her up, filling his palms with that luscious ass of hers. Holland wound
her legs around his waist. He loved the weight of her in his arms. If she let him,
he would carry her everywhere, holding her close.

Now he fumbled his way to the balcony door because what he was about to do did require
privacy. He wasn’t going to quiet her this time. He wanted to hear her scream for
him.

Somehow he managed to get the door open, managed to get them inside. All the while
their tongues mated, sliding against each other in a frenzy of love and euphoria.
He let his every sense be inundated by her. Her sweet scent, peaches and arousal.
Fuck, all he had to do now was smell damn peaches and he would get hard. The feel
of her curves pressed to his, her breasts against his chest. The sound of her mewling
cries. He loved it when his badass woman turned into a sweet kitten in his arms.

He moved to the bedroom, his cock jumping every single time he took a step. The friction
of his erection against her core threatened to undo him.

Her fingers slid against his scalp. She wasn’t even trying to hold on to him, just
explore. She trusted him. The knowledge flared through his system, arousing him as
surely as the feel of her bare skin against his. She knew he would never drop her,
never let her be hurt.

When his knees made contact with the side of the bed, he let himself tip forward,
sending her down gently. He straightened and ripped his shirt over his head. He didn’t
have time for a slow strip tease. He needed to be inside her now.

With shaky hands, she fumbled with the button of her slacks. A sweet desperation marked
her expression, very likely mirroring his own. They needed each other, needed this
act of passion to place the stamp on their words.
I love you.
They’d said it with their mouths, and now their bodies wanted to put an exclamation
point on the confession.

His hands trembled, too, as he undid his belt and the fly of his khakis. He toed out
of his shoes because he was not making love to her with shoes on and his pants around
his knees. This was too important. Besides, once he got her into bed, he was keeping
her there.

“Let me do it.” Holland scrambled off the bed, chucking her slacks to the side. She
was down to her pretty bra and panties, which sported a wet spot. Yeah, he’d done
that to her.

She dropped to her knees and finished dragging down his zipper. “I don’t think it’s
Naval policy to go commando, Captain.”

He took a shuddering breath as she pulled his khakis down, freeing his cock. “Good
thing I don’t have to pass inspection, then, isn’t it?”

“Oh, you pass inspection.” She leaned forward and took the head of his cock in her
mouth.

He watched it disappear behind her plump lips with a groan.

Dax loved how she went after what she wanted. He’d been with women who played shy.
Maybe some actually had been, but for the most part it had been a game to get him
hot. They would pretend to be innocent and sweet, like they’d never sucked a cock
before. Not Holland. She dove in with gusto, minus the silly games.

“Fuck, that feels good.” He slid his fingers around the crown of her head, guiding
her to take more. Her mouth was like hot silk, encasing him. He wanted to feel the
back of her throat.

She whirled her tongue around, then eased back. “I love how you taste. I want every
part of you, Dax. Everything you have to give me.”

He was fairly certain they were talking about more than simple oral sex, but that
was part of the mix. He’d never let her bring him to climax this way, simply let her
play and increase his arousal before climbing between her thighs.

“Sweetheart . . .”

“Please, Dax. I want to do this. I want to feel you come in my mouth.”

He damn near did right then and there. Even more, he couldn’t refuse her. “All right,
but it’s my way the rest of the night. Now take more. Take it all.”

He gently fucked her mouth, in and out, forcing his way in inch by solid inch. As
he did, she cupped his balls. Pleasure radiated up his spine, making his eyes roll
back. So good. She felt so damn good. And when she dropped to her knees, it felt like
he’d earned her. Holland wouldn’t get intimate with anyone for fame or money. She
would only do it because she wanted to. That was the best rush of all, knowing he’d
made her want him.

Made her love him.

Even as her mouth worked him, his blood heating to a boil, all he
could think about was how much he worshipped her and would forever. Yeah, she was
good at giving head—but that was part of the love, along with sex and comfort. She
was all that to him, wrapped up in one beautifully strong package.

They would be better than his parents. He would be a better man. He would be the best
husband in the world for this precious woman.

Her tongue worked the underside of his dick, sending a crazy thrill up his spine.
When she gave him the barest edge of her teeth he hissed, the sensation elevating
his pleasure.

“More.” He tightened his grip on her hair.

She rewarded him with a groan that played along his skin and vibrated up his flesh,
urging him to shove his cock deeper into her mouth.

She sucked him hard, working his dick to the back of her mouth with pliant lips and
an active tongue. She swallowed around him and he couldn’t hold back another second.
He gave her what she’d asked for. He let go and came with a hard moan, thrusting into
her mouth and releasing everything he had. Through a haze of ecstasy, he watched as
she sucked him down.

Electricity sizzled over his skin. His whole body felt alive. She did that for him.
No other woman could. But it was more than mere desire. He ought to know, because
he’d felt it a million times. It was more than just pleasure. He’d experienced that,
too. This . . . only love could feel this big and life changing.

Dax smiled as she pulled back and stared up at him, wearing the sweetest smile, like
a cat that had stolen all the cream.

He grinned back, then lifted her up and tossed her on the bed.

He wasn’t done with her. Not even close.

*   *   *

H
olland woke hours later and couldn’t help but stare at Dax. He was spread out on his
back, the sheet clinging to his hips. Even in the moonlight she could see all the
muscular cuts of his torso. His face appeared so peaceful in repose.

She felt as if she struggled against a storm of anxiety.

She’d almost lost him again. After he’d made love to her for the second time, he’d
fallen asleep. Holland had risen and paced. That was when she’d noticed the text on
her phone from an unknown number, likely an untraceable burner phone. Whoever had
sent the terrible message had probably already dumped the phone.

Next time it’s for real.

Simple message. Nothing that pointed to any particular incident. Hell, if she were
another woman in another situation, she might convince herself someone had texted
her by mistake.

But she knew the truth. The Russian mob or whoever the admiral’s enemies had been
could get to Dax. They could kill him.

She’d thought about it all afternoon. After visiting her uncle, she’d considered going
straight to her bosses. She’d actually started driving to work before she realized
she would be putting all her coworkers at risk. Yes, they were law enforcement and
risk was part of the job, but first she would have to convince them she wasn’t simply
love struck or paranoid. She would have to sell her murky conspiracy theory.

If she did, they’d all be ass-deep in something dangerous—and whoever had threatened
Dax would only come for him harder. Even if she couldn’t convince her peers that she
was onto something, every one of them would be vulnerable to a threat they wouldn’t
see coming simply because they’d heard the truth.

As her uncle had shown her the incriminating pictures of the admiral with Amber Taylor,
all Holland could think of was how disillusioned Dax would be if he saw how rough
Hal Spencer had been with the girl, the way in which he’d left her bruised and battered.
What was the point of putting him through that now? His dad was gone.

If she told him everything she’d seen and learned today, he’d be hurt and angry but
he still wouldn’t believe his father had killed
himself, at least not when and where he had. And Dax would never stop looking for
the admiral’s killer.

What was she going to do? How could she distract him from this case and keep him safe?
If she didn’t find a way, the violence that had taken the admiral could also take
Dax. Even the thought made her crazy. She couldn’t lose him like that. Not when they’d
finally come together.

What did she owe justice? Certainly not the life of the man she loved. Her uncle seemed
to think that Admiral Spencer’s death had been a suicide. Should she risk Dax’s life
to go after the people who might have driven his father to it?

She leaned over and kissed Dax’s forehead. How could such a good man come from such
a flawed and selfish one?

“Hey, we never ate.” He chuckled as he turned over and dragged her into his arms.
“Well, we never ate the pizza I brought.”

“I put it in the fridge a little while ago.” She hadn’t been at all hungry since she’d
realized the Russian mob could make good on their threat. “Do you want me to heat
up a slice for you?”

Holland wanted to make him comfortable and happy before she told him—somehow—that
she would no longer be investigating any further and that he shouldn’t, either. Not
tonight, but tomorrow. He had to work tomorrow, and she would do everything possible
to make sure whoever was watching believed that she had dropped the case.

Tomorrow night, she would make him see that not digging up these old bones was for
the best—for everyone. They needed to let the past rest so they could have a future.

He gave her a sleepy smile. “Nah. I just want to lie here with you. How late is it?”

“A little past midnight. Dax, I love you.”

“I love you, too. I like saying it. I’ve never said those words to any woman but my
momma and sister.” He turned on his side, propping his head on his hand. “You’re the
one for me, Holland. You’re the one I want to keep safe, the one I trust.”

God, she prayed he still trusted her tomorrow. “I feel the same way.”

But she had to put his life first. Even if he got angry with her and they had a horrible
argument, she would make sure he stayed safe. She couldn’t do any less.

They would make it through this.

He leaned over and kissed her with a groan, his big body rubbing against hers.

She had to smile despite the dark thoughts in her head. “How on earth are you hard
again?”

It didn’t seem possible but the man had the stamina of a rutting bull. Thank god.

He kissed her again, deeper this time. “This is all for you, sweetheart. I’m always
hard around you. I don’t need to eat or drink or sleep. I just need you.”

She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back, reveling in the way his big hands
felt on her body. She understood. She’d never gotten so hot so fast for anyone before
Dax. It was like the man knew how to touch her, to kiss her, to arouse her like no
other.

The minute he touched her, she softened, her heart beating faster. When he lowered
his head and sucked a nipple in his mouth, Holland let all the bad stuff drift away.
She would convince him somehow that dropping the investigation was all for the best
and they would move on together. She would be good for him, and when he had to go
back to his ship, she would wait for him to come home again.

She’d already waited years for him. At least this time she’d know he was coming home
to her.

Holland rolled over, covering his body with hers. “My turn.”

“We’re taking turns?”

She could hear the smile in his voice and grinned. “You’ve had most of the turns tonight,
babe. You’ve kept me on my back all night. I want to be on top.”

He watched as she straddled him. He was already hard. Such a beautiful beast. She
reached down and took his shaft in her hand.
He liked a firm grip. She knew because he’d told her so. Her man liked to talk during
sex. He liked to tell her how beautiful she was. It was time to pay him back for that,
too.

“Do you have any idea how hot you are, Captain?”

His lips curled up. “I do not, Special Agent. You should tell me.”

“It’s easy to see you’re suffering from low self-esteem because no one ever told you
how gorgeous you really are.” He’d had whole magazine articles devoted to his body,
but he needed to hear it from her. The compliment would mean more to him because it
was coming from the woman who saw deeper than his surface and still loved him.