He lifted her away from the wall after another few minutes to catch their breath and walked them farther into the room. Sam lowered her onto the king size bed in the center of the main room, following her down and settling at her side.
“Wow.”
The single word from Sam made her chuckle. She was pretty speechless too. Never in her life had sex been so tempestuous, so urgent. Never had she responded to a lover the way she responded to Sam. Of course, she’d never had a man like Sam as her lover. He was strong in more than just the obvious ways. Mentally, physically, and emotionally, she thought he might be the strongest man she had ever known. Nothing seemed to phase him. Not even running into a zombie eating someone’s face in the shade of a convenience store parking lot.
That thought brought it all back. She rolled on her side to look at him.
“That thing in the parking lot . . . that was real, wasn’t it?”
He rolled toward her and propped his head on one elbow. He caught her gaze and she could read the concern in his eyes.
“Real as it gets, I’m sorry to say.”
She sighed. “I was hoping maybe I’d been hallucinating or something.” One side of her mouth lifted in a self-mocking grin.
He lowered his head and kissed the corner of her mouth, taking her smile and replacing it with a renewal of the passion that had so recently gripped them. It wasn’t the runaway freight train of before. This was something much less desperate but also much more powerful. At length he drew back, holding her gaze.
“I’m sorry I dragged you into this.”
His statement took her by surprise. She’d been gearing up for round two while apparently he’d been thinking of something completely different. She switched gears, following where he led. It was important he understand that none of this was his fault.
“I would have stuck my nose into what was going on at Praxis anyway. All in all, I think I’m safer working with you than on my own.”
“I’ll do my best to keep you safe, but if we ever run into one of those creatures again, promise me you’ll get as far away as fast as you can. Don’t hesitate. Don’t worry about me. Just run. I can take care of myself. I’ve been fighting these guys for a while and I know how to handle them without getting myself killed. I wasn’t kidding when I said that one scratch from them and you’re dead. You’d end up joining their little zombie army.”
“They’re that contagious?”
“It’s not a disease, but yes. A single touch and you’re infected. Death is pretty quick. Then your body is reanimated and you go off to make more.”
“That’s awful.” She shivered, remembering what she’d seen. The man had looked absolutely ghastly to her.
“Yes, ma’am.” He put his hand on her hip. “It’s also a real mood killer. So why are we talking about this when I have you naked—” he looked her up and down, grinning, “—make that half-naked, in a bed?” He chuckled, moving his fingers up to the bra strap hanging off her shoulder. “Sorry I was in such a rush before. I didn’t even take time to completely undress you.”
“I was kind of in a hurry too, in case you didn’t notice.” She grinned back at him, moving closer as his hand went around to her back and the closure of the lacy bra. A quick flick and a pull and he had the hooks undone. “I can’t believe you just did that with one hand. Makes me think I’m not the first woman you’ve charmed out of her bra.”
He stilled. “No, you’re not the first,” he answered in a low, intense voice, holding her gaze. “But you’re the most important to me.”
“You mean that?” she whispered, the mood growing serious.
“Yeah, I do.” He sighed. “Emily, I didn’t mean for this to happen. I never expected—” He trailed off and regrouped. “I read your file when I agreed to take this mission and you intrigued me from the start but I never intended to seduce you. It’s not part of the mission. It’s not something I planned. It happened because frankly, I can’t keep my hands off you.” He looked chagrinned. “In the middle of a mission is not the best place for romance, but I . . . care . . . for you, Em. More than any other woman I’ve ever known. I wanted you to know that so there will never be any doubt in your mind. Making love to you was never part of my plan. I consider it a gift. Just as I consider you a gift. Someone I never thought to meet who has made a big impression on my life.”
Wow. He was really serious. Emily was touched deeply by his admission. She’d bet a year’s salary that he’d never said anything like that before to any of the women he’d undressed. The words seemed too rusty, too unrehearsed. They were from the heart—or the nearby region.
He hadn’t said he loved her, but that was too much to expect. He’d gone farther than she thought he would and that meant a lot to her. She reached up and cupped his bristly jaw.
“I care about you too, Sam. And you’ve made a big impression on my life too, in the short amount of time I’ve known you. You’re like a tornado,” she joked, trying for a lighter mood. “You turned me upside down and inside out but I like where I landed.” She patted the big bed and stretched one of her bare legs over his thigh, rubbing along the length.
His pants were only partially off. She realized abruptly that he still had his boots on. She began to laugh as her foot made contact with the leather.
“Do you always wear your boots to bed?”
“Only when I’m in a hot zone or some smoking hot lady makes me too crazy to remember my own name. Though I will admit, it hasn’t happened often. Never, in fact. You’re a first for me in many ways, Emily.”
He levered himself upward until he was sitting on the side of the bed. She admired the rippling muscles of his six-pack abs and massive arms as he bent over to unlace the boots. His back was muscled too and his shoulders were wide, tapering to a luscious V above a butt that would cause wars if women made up the army. Speaking of smoking hot, he was definitely making her burn in very eager places that wanted him again.
Who needed downtime? With Sam, she was roaring to go again almost immediately. Now
that
was something new too. She’d never been quite so eager as she was with him.
“Bet I’m your first lady pilot,” she teased, knowing her odds were good. Flying was still, by far, a man’s occupation.
“Are we talking as a friend or as a proverbial notch on my belt?” He threw her a look over his shoulder. “By the way, I don’t keep count. There haven’t been so many in recent years that I don’t remember them.”
She didn’t know if that was a comfort or somehow disturbing. Was he letting her know that he’d remember her after he left? Or was he saying that he wasn’t an inconsiderate cad who kept score on how many women he’d conquered? She didn’t know what to think but she wasn’t going to let it throw her. She had him now, and other women be damned.
“First commercial pilot you’ve slept with, then.” That narrowed the field. Most female pilots weren’t employed in commercial aviation. She rolled to her back, unwilling to meet his gaze should the answer be no. She shouldn’t have started this avenue of conversation. She should have let sleeping dogs lie.
Sam disposed of his boots. She could hear them make two soft thuds on the carpeted floor as he set them down. Then his pants whooshed down his legs to be left where they dropped. She felt his knee make a depression on the side of the bed, tilting her slightly toward him but she kept her eyes closed, refusing to meet his gaze.
Then a kiss landed on her belly and her eyes flashed open. She watched as he worked his way up her abdomen, pausing at her breasts, laving and sucking alternately hard and soft in a rhythm that had her gasping in moments. He was thorough this time, drawing out her pleasure. His mouth and one hand worked her breasts while his other hand delved between her thighs, rubbing, swirling, testing, fingers plunging deep in a teasing prelude of things to come.
It didn’t take much to make her fully aroused and ready. She moaned in the back of her throat as a small climax overtook her. He whispered words of praise and encouragement as he brought her higher still. When she couldn’t take any more, he lifted his head and met her gaze, coming closer as if to kiss her. But he stopped a few inches away.
“For the record,” he said in a gravelly voice. “You are the first and last pilot of any kind that will ever grace my bed. I can’t imagine ever meeting another lady flyer who got under my skin the way you do.”
He didn’t give her time to respond. He lowered his lips to hers and took her mouth in a hard, slow, tempestuous kiss. A moment later, his fingers were replaced by something thicker and longer, and way more satisfying.
The loving was slow and deep this time, sending her into spiraling waves of pleasure so intense that she didn’t know where one left off and the next began. Never one to experience multiple orgasms before, Emily was fast learning the kind of man it took to bring out her long hidden wild side. One man in particular. This man.
He rode her hard and drew out every stroke to give her the utmost in sensation. He mastered her body as he’d mastered his own, not letting the pace drop or speed, keeping it steady until he seemed satisfied that she’d given him all she could for the time being.
Only then did he let go, allowing his pace to rocket out of control. She struggled toward the stars with him as he plunged into her, sending them both into orbit with sensation and an agony of pleasure so intense, she thought maybe she blacked out for a few seconds.
All she knew was that when she opened her eyes again, Sam lay at her side, breathing hard, his honed body more relaxed than she’d ever seen it. She’d done that to him. Wrung him out as he’d wrung every last ebb of tension from her. He’d given her a gift of relaxation and pleasure and caring.
Yes, she felt truly cared for as he lay beside her. His big hand reached for hers and he absently interlaced their fingers, his eyes closed as he caught his breath. It felt good to just . . . be. To be still. To be with him. To be cared for by someone she also cared about.
Of course, her heart was fully involved. The caring had morphed into full-blown love somewhere along the line, but that was entirely her fault. If she spoke that word around him at this point, he’d take off running and she wouldn’t blame him. It would take time—if ever—to be able to admit the true depth of her feelings for him.
For now, it was enough to have their mutual caring out in the open. It felt good and was more than she had expected. Sam, for that matter, was more than she’d ever expected in her life. More intense. More commanding. More masterful. Just more of everything she found desirable in a man.
And for the time being, at least, he was hers.
That pleasant thought in mind, she drifted into a gentle, replete sleep.
Sam woke her a little while later with gentle kisses as he lifted her into his arms and carried her toward a door that led to the most luxurious hotel bathroom she’d ever seen. A giant Jacuzzi tub was set on a platform among a waterfall of flowers and green, growing plants. The hotel staff must take a lot of time caring for the hothouse flowers.
Emily looked upward to discover part of the secret behind why the indoor garden was so lush. Stars twinkled at her through a huge skylight centered over the tub. It had a shade that could be pulled over it for privacy, but aside from a few airplanes and maybe a satellite or two, there was nobody up there who could possibly see them. Still, it made her feel like she was outside almost, being able to see the moon and stars beaming down on them.
“You drew a bath?” Emily finally looked downward to notice the steaming water and the fine sheen of bubbles that floated on its surface. He’d left the jets off for now, but they were clearly visible between the bubbles. That and . . . lights? The tub lit up from beneath.
“Wow. This place is fancy.” Sam lowered her feet to the floor, setting her down next to the tub.
“Nothing but the best for my lady.” He winked at her again in a way she was coming to think of as charming.
Nobody ever winked at her. Not like that. Not in a way she didn’t find either grandfatherly or lascivious. Sam put a whole new spin on the simple gesture that made it intimate and sort of special. Just between them.
“Do you need a moment or do you want to soak now? I’d planned on sharing the tub with you. It’s big enough for a platoon.” He looked pointedly behind her, at the massive tiled oasis of hot water.
She felt the blood rush to her cheeks as she realized why he asked. At least he was considerate enough to anticipate her possible needs. She’d noticed another door that led to a private toilet area. Whoever had designed this place had thought of everything.
“I’ll only be a minute. Hop in. I’ll join you in a few.” She tried to skirt around him to beat a hasty retreat toward the private toilet but he snagged her waist and hauled her in for a quick kiss.
“To tide me over,” he explained when he let her go. “Hurry back. You might have to call the Coast Guard to fish me out if I get lost in there.”
She laughed, put more at ease by his teasing as he let her go. She took a few moments to answer nature’s call and clean up a bit before rejoining him. He looked so relaxed, head back on the small inflatable plastic cushion that was strapped to the rim of the tub. His eyes were closed and his arms were stretched along the oval rim. He looked at peace.