Callie nodded. Beau’s one kiss had loosened her and made her desire trump any fears she’d been holding on to. Her needy body was insistent now; she’d gone too long without sex, without release, and his kiss had undone her, sprung open the latch and released her need, making her a prisoner of lust and hunger that could only be quelled by letting Beau love her.
When he walked over, helping her on with her coat and handing her the strap of her purse, she felt as if she were walking in a dream, only half present in this reality. But she couldn’t fight the need any longer. She just couldn’t.
He placed his arm around her shoulder as he pushed the door open, guiding her down the walk.
“Where are we going?” she asked, her voice sounding faraway, as if they were standing in a tunnel.
“The Eagle’s Nest, Callie. You know about it, don’t you?”
She licked her lips, relying on Beau to guide her, her arm wrapped around his waist as they slowly walked to the parking lot. “Yes . . . but . . . isn’t it occupied?”
“Not to my knowledge,” he said, his voice low but amused.
“But . . . Matt and Dara . . .”
“We have two Eagle’s Nests,” he told her, opening the door to the Humvee. “They’re at opposite ends of the warehouse.”
She stood there. “Oh,” was all she could manage to say. If nothing else, Delta boys were prepared for all possibilities. They must have believed in the old SEAL saying, “One is none, and two is one.” It meant that you should have two of everything, just in case.
“You still want to go over there?” Beau demanded, tipping her chin up, her eyes meeting his. “This is up to you, Callie. I’m fine with anything you want.”
Her panties were soaked. Callie could feel her juices between her thighs. Whatever battles her mind had waged about him, her body had won the war. “Yes, I want this. I want you, Beau.” She lifted her face to him, feeling the heat, the animal hunger radiating off him, enveloping her, mesmerizing her, and taking her to a place where only pleasure awaited them.
“You have me, sweet woman. Climb in, okay? It’s a short ride over there.”
Leaning her head back, closing her eyes, she wanted to remain cocooned in the special heat and masculinity of his body, his arms, and his mouth. Her lips tingled and she could taste Beau on them, along with the apple pie and coffee. Now she was hungry to taste him all over.
She didn’t try to think. Her body refused all questions, humming along like a Formula 1 racer wanting to tear down a track.
She wanted Beau’s hands all over her just as her hands wanted to explore that tall, powerful body of his.
“Talk to me, Callie,” Beau urged her quietly as he drove down the road.
“About what?”
He smiled indulgently. “Are you protected? Do I need a condom? I’m clean, by the way . . .”
She groaned. “Oh, that . . .”
“Yeah, it’s a necessary part of our lives. Tell me what you need.”
She could feel her body gnawing and hungry. “I’m on birth control pills. I’m clean. And I hate condoms.”
He chuckled darkly. “Good to hear, and I agree about condoms. Not my first choice, either.”
“Good,” she whispered, sinking back, her whole lower body turning molten. Beau’s kiss had been searching, giving, and taking. He had tasted her gently, then, confirming his instincts, relished the promise in her lips. She could feel the low reverberation in his chest as he’d taken her mouth, cherished it, then given it back to her. He had deepened the kiss until she swore she could imagine him licking her everywhere. Just . . . everywhere . . .
The promise in that one kiss was stamped throughout her yearning, ravenous body. More than anything, Callie knew Beau could fulfill her. And never, in her entire life, had she wanted to make love to a man more than him.
Where had her caution gone, or her concern that Beau would be like Chet—here today, gone tomorrow? It wasn’t fair to compare the two, and Callie knew it. Yet, Beau wasn’t going to give up his career, either. He had already made that choice, and she wasn’t a part or a consideration of it. So what drove her into this seething storm of arousal that had suddenly overtaken her and wiped out her common sense? Her fear of the future?
There was no disputing that Beau wanted her. She saw the glint of the hunter that he was in his eyes. She felt his animal hunger, a primal warrior quality that had unveiled itself as she’d kissed him. Callie knew she had no one to blame for this decision except herself. She had claimed him with her offered kiss, and he had responded. That was the promise he’d made to her. She had to initiate. She was in control. So far.
Right now, Callie felt like a plane spinning out of control, hormones raging, lust in charge; she had gone too long without orgasms, without the pleasurable touch of a man in her life. Instinctively, Callie knew that Beau would treat her as an equal partner tonight. He wouldn’t be like a rutting stag in heat.
Just the way his mouth had lightly fitted against hers on that first grazing touch, Callie knew he was going to be an exquisite lover. And was that the reason she’d decided to do this? To share his bed? To be in his arms, an active, giving, loving partner?
No, she had to face the facts: not only did she know he would love her thoroughly, love her first, strive to give her all the pleasure possible, but she also knew his heart, his emotions, would be involved, too.
Closing her eyes, she took a deep, ragged breath, surrendering to her arousal and her need for this man—in every possible way. Tonight, she was going to give Beau Gardner her heart, her body, her soul. Callie had no idea where this would lead either of them. And at the moment, she didn’t care.
C
allie had never
been inside the Eagle’s Nest and was surprised to find it resembled a studio apartment. There was a cozy living room with a couch and chairs and a kitchen with a stove, microwave, and refrigerator. The bedroom was at the other end, with a purple velvet spread across a king bed flanked by small tables.
What she liked the most was the bathroom. It had a tub—something she missed desperately—and a huge, two-person-size glass-enclosed shower. The green and white tile floor shined beneath her feet. The carpet in the living room was beige, the walls white, a few pictures hung here and there. The place had no windows, which she missed, but that was understandable, since they were deep inside a huge warehouse on the base.
Beau locked the door and turned, moving toward her. “Well?” he asked. “Does this meet your expectations?”
She nodded. “It’s even nicer than I heard from other women who had visited this place,” she admitted, pulling off her wool coat.
Beau hung it in a nearby closet. “These two apartments were built by the first Delta Force team entering Bagram in 2001 onward.” He moved around, settling his hands on her shoulders, searching her eyes. “We bring women we care about here when we want quiet time together. Sometimes, it’s a place to talk and share and learn about one another. Sometimes it’s about love. Sometimes sex. But not always.”
“That’s what I heard from my friends,” Callie said, nodding.
“The guy you fell in love with? Did he ever bring you here?”
“No. I never knew about this place until a year after that.” She looked around, feeling the warmth of the quiet room. “It’s got a nice, peaceful feeling.”
“The best thing about it is, it’s private.” Beau moved his hands gently up and down her upper arms. “Sometimes, when there’s a big football or basketball game going on in the States, a bunch of us guys who are off duty will come over here. We’ll have beer, eat nachos, and watch the game.”
“Typically male,” Callie murmured.
He grinned. “Guilty.” Beau smoothed back some strands of her hair from her shoulders. “We’re here, Callie. Together. Tell me what you want.”
And with that one question, she knew she had to give him her honest answer. “You, Beau. I want you.”
“Well, you have me. You had me the first moment I saw you.”
“But I don’t know where we’re going, Beau. A part of me is scared to death and another part wants to leap off that cliff with you and just be a risk taker.” She felt delicious sensations throughout her body clench as he swept her hair aside and kissed the sensitive nape of her neck.
“Relationships are always about risking one’s heart,” he murmured, leaning over, his lips trailing more slow, soft kisses down her neck. “You have to know something, Callie,” he added, easing away. He cupped her face, fixing his gray eyes on her glistening green ones. “I’m taking as much of a risk as you are. My heart is completely involved in this. It’s not just about having sex with you. It’s me wanting to love you the very best way I know how.” He searched her eyes. “I’m not going to get up afterward and walk out on you or never see you again. What I want with you is long-term. I want to share that journey with you, if you’ll let me.”
She trembled. “Yes . . . that’s what I want . . . what I need, Beau.”
His mouth pulled slowly into that smile she loved so much. “Then come to bed with me,” he said, his voice thick with emotion as he slid his hand into hers, leading her.
Beau made it seem so easy, and it felt natural to be with him. He had turned on a light in the kitchen and darkened the rest of the place. She pulled off her blazer and put it down on a bench at the end of the bed. Then she watched him shrug out of his suit coat and place it beside her blazer. She sat down and pushed off her shoes and he joined her, doing the same. They both felt the unspoken urgency to be together in every possible way.
She stood, stepping out of her long black skirt and slip, and as she pulled the apricot sweater over her head, she saw his face change, his hungry gaze taking in her lacy white bra and panties. Callie owned only one set of what she considered “girly” lingerie, and tonight she had worn them. Now, standing before him, her whole body responded to the primal look of a man wanting his woman.
And she wanted him just as much.
Oddly, Callie did not feel embarrassed as she watched him disrobe, but if she’d thought she was needy before, she became shaky with lust as he stood before her. How she wanted to touch him, kiss him, feeling his powerful, tight body against her own. Without a word, she walked to the edge of the bed, shimmying out of her lacy panties. And before she could unhook her bra from the back, Beau was there, the silent ghost that he was, now with mere inches between them, the heat rolling off his body, his powerful erection barely grazing her belly.
“I want to do this,” he rasped, sliding his hands around her back, unhooking her bra. As he pulled the straps down her arms and let the bra drop near her panties, her breasts fell free. She saw his eyes narrow and leaned into him as his hands cupped her breasts, the weight of them in his callused palms, sending sheets of fire radiating within her.
She whimpered as she leaned into his strong hands, desperately wanting him to touch her nipples. As if reading her mind, he brushed their peaks with his thumbs, and her knees crumpled, a low moan of relief issuing from her.
“You’re so sensitive,” he growled, taking her to the bed, lying her down, and coming alongside her. She was curvy in all the right places, her breasts full and taut. Beau watched the play of light and dark against her soft, feminine body, from her breasts to her hips to her firm, curved thighs. His heart was pounding in his chest, his erection pressing into her, and he heard her gasp as he moved his thumb across her deep-pink nipple, which begged to be further explored by him.
And he was ready to do just that. Nothing existed for him but the sound of her whimpers, her hips restless and pleading against his. As he leaned over, capturing that delicious peak with his lips and drawing it into his mouth, she cried out, her fingers digging into his shoulders, now moaning his name. He smiled as he licked and sucked on her nipple, feeling her begin to dissolve in his arms, against his hard erection. She was alive, hungry, and most of all, as bold as he’d expected her to be. That red hair was a warning for every man who might prefer a passive lover, because Callie McKinley was quite the opposite.
As he left her nipple, her hand moved and curved around his erection, sending a bolt of fire through him, the jagged pleasure ripping up his spine, making him growl with appreciation. He saw that faint smile on her lips, saw the huntress in her eyes, and he slid his mouth against hers, celebrating their coming together, absorbing her lush curves, the strength of her hips and belly against him. Beau took her mouth with a hunger that matched her own. He knew what she wanted, and he was more than willing to give it to her.
Callie gasped as his fingers trailed down across her belly. He captured one of her legs beneath his own, opening her thighs. The moment his fingers trailed across her mound, she trembled. His fingers moved through her slick, heated folds, and she cried out his name as he explored her with a leisure that built an immediate, throbbing ache at her entrance.
Her hands gripped his broad shoulders as she lifted her hips against his hand, wanting more of his touch, wanting him to stop the gnawing ache that was driving her insane.
Beau’s nostrils flared as he dragged in her sex scent, his fingers coated with the fluids from her body. Her red curls were saturated, the insides of her thighs gleaming wet, and she was so ready that all he could do was deepen that kiss, his tongue moving provocatively against her own, creating a rhythm that made her whimper against his mouth. Then her fingers began to dig frantically into his shoulder as he sought the swollen, silky knot at her entrance, and she cried out when he found and stroked it.
Ordinarily, a woman took time to build and prepare for entry, but Callie was already there, telling Beau how much she wanted him.
“I need you,” she gasped as he left her mouth. “Beau, don’t tease me. I need you inside me. Now. Now!”
“You’ve got me, sweet woman,” he growled, rising, moving his knees between her damp thighs. The scent of her, a combination of musk and wildflowers, filled his nostrils. She didn’t wait but urgently moved against his erection, coating it with her heated moistness, moving up and down against him, sending him into a hurtling ache of fire ready to explode from within. Beau barely maintained control as he moved to her entrance, his hands sliding around her hips, cupping her cheeks, drawing her up against him, feeling her response build until he knew she could wait no longer. Her lashes shuttered closed and her head fell back against the pillow, her back arching upward, wanting him.