Not Another Soldier (20 page)

I dart my gaze up in surprise and she offers me an
embarrassed shrug.

“I thought you might like it…”

I nod. Oh yeah. I like it. Her smooth, bare pussy. Oh
God, do I like it. But I like Sienna however she is. I try to think of some way
of saying so but my tongue trips over the words and something incoherent comes
out. She just laughs and draws off her shorts and underwear in one go. When she
flings them aside, they wind up hanging from her bookshelf, making her grin
expand.

I can’t laugh or grin though. While she seems so free,
so light, my heart is heavy. Heavy with fear and heavy with lust. The ache in
my crotch is unbelievable. She’s standing there, the afternoon sun licking
through the curtains and onto her skin, completely bare and naked for me.
Exposed in every way.

For
me.

I feel like I’ve been handed the best gift in the
world and don’t quite know what to do with it. I’ve spent so long coaxing and
cajoling and seducing. Now I’m the one who’s being seduced and I’m stumped.

Even though I’m still dressed, she straddles me,
silver eyes glinting with amusement. I’m thinking she likes the change in
power.

“Fuck, Sienna. What did I ever do to deserve you?”

“Funny, I’ve been asking myself that same question.”
She lowers her mouth to mine and I caress her back. That warm, feminine body
flattens against me and makes me shudder. Hard nipples press through my
T-shirt, the heat like a scalding shower on a freezing morning. Soothing and
shocking at the same time.

Kissing me tenderly, she rocks into my erection as it
strains in protest against my fly. There’s something insanely hot about being
fully dressed and having a totally naked woman writhing around on top of you.
Fingers pressing into her ass, I move with her and try to ease some of the
tension. I explore her mouth gratefully and push my fingers through her hair.
She’s got it loose and, God, do I love the feel of it. I use it to hold her in
place so I can kiss her deeply until we’re both panting. I swear, I am going to
bring her so much pleasure… Just the thought of her squirming and begging for
my touch is enough to make me explode in my pants. By some miracle, I keep
control of myself.

I’m not quite sure how it happened but she’s somehow
managed to wriggle a hand between us and is unbuttoning my fly. I hiss when she
connects with my cock through my briefs, the touch pretty damn close to
electrifying. Christ, this woman makes me lose my mind.

I place kisses along her jaw—frantic, erratic ones.
There’s no finesse behind my lovemaking today. I’m too scared, too grateful to
take it slow. Scared I’m going to lose her. Grateful she’s safe. Also kinda
hopeful this crap with Rob is over. I think—
I fucking pray
—it is.

And now it’s up to me to erase every bad memory and
replace it with good ones. I’m going to try damned hard to ingrain myself in
that pretty little head of hers. There’s still work to be done with Sienna.
Hell, I’ve still got to somehow persuade her to marry me. So I need her
thinking of me and nothing else.

Just like she’s all I think about.

Those slender fingers slip beneath my briefs and she
curls them around me, causing me to buck my hips. I bite down on the crook of
her neck, and she moans, tilts her head and gives me better access. I continue
nipping along her smooth skin while she works her hand up and down me, as much
as my jeans let her.

Muttering a curse, I lift my hips and shove my jeans
and briefs down far enough to allow her more movement. I can’t even be bothered
to remove them all the way. If I do that, I might have to lift her off me and,
at the moment, I really don’t want to do that. Sienna is too hot and too
stunning, all naked on top of me. It would probably kill me to be separated
from that lush body for even two seconds.

But then… “Oh fuck.” She slides down and settles
between my legs.

I know exactly what she’s going to do. I’m not entirely
sure I can survive this. Her tongue darts out and licks across her bottom lip
while she eyes me, just the way she always does when she’s having filthy
thoughts. I would smile if I wasn’t trying so hard to maintain control. Sienna
is so easy to read.

The heat of her mouth surrounds me, one luscious
movement at a time. I feel her tongue on me, the tiniest scrape of teeth and I
watch. Her gaze connects with mine, wide and lust filled. Holy shit, I have the
hottest woman on the planet, totally naked, taking me into her mouth and
staring at me completely unashamed. I feel a little like high-fiving myself.
Go,
Nick.

Jaw tense, I lean back against the couch and close my
eyes. As much as I want to watch her, it’s too much. I will come way too early
if I keep looking at her. So I enjoy the suck of her mouth, the searing
wetness, and the play of her tongue over me.

Soon I can’t take anymore, so I grab her elbows and
place her back on my lap. Sienna wastes no time impaling herself on me. She’s
wet, I’m wet… I fit so perfectly inside her, it’s insane. I let out a harsh
groan and she begins to move. I’m still pretty much fully clothed but her hands
keep sneaking under my T-shirt and plucking my nipples. If I touch her too
much, I don’t know that I’ll last much longer, so I hold her hips and help her
ride me.

We don’t kiss. Just kind of stare at each other. I’m
not stupid. I know this is only so amazing because I love her. It’s not kinky
or creative or crazy sex, though it’s
so
hot. It’s just us and that’s
what makes it so incredible. My heart feels like it wants to burst and poetic
words come to mind—words the guys at base would rip into me for—but I can’t
seem to get them out. So I look at her and hope I’m conveying it with my eyes.

Her minx-like expression drops and grows serious. She
tightens around me and I think I did it. I think I made her realize how much I
love her.

Knowing I can’t last much longer, I press my thumb
over her folds while my other hand continues to keep the pace. Sienna jerks and
moves with me, up and down and in small circles against my thumb. Head thrown
back, her hair teases my hand on her hip and breathy
ohs
come from her.
Her release comes quickly and she cries out my name. I’m not sure how, but I
manage to hold off and just marvel at her climax. It’s only when she draws her
head back up, locks gazes with me and utters those words that are guaranteed to
clutch at my heart, do I let go.

“I love you.”

With both hands clasped around her, I hammer her down
onto me and clench my eyes tight. Colors flicker behind my eyelids as I come
inside her, and maybe I shout her name. Sienna’s forehead dropping onto my
chest causes me to open my eyes. I kiss her hair and stroke her back then
clutch her tightly. She retreats a little, and nuzzles into my neck.

And though I can’t deny I feel a hell of a lot more
relaxed, the way she does it brings my protective instincts back to the surface
and I recall how close to losing her I’ve come these past couple of days.

“Say it again,” I murmur into her hair.

“Say what?”

“Tell me you love me.”

She draws her head up and gazes down at me. Her hair
is disheveled and there’s a slight sheen on her skin. I have to skim a thumb
across her cheek. I mean I
have
to. I can’t resist.

“I love you,” she says again, eyes soft and loving.

I put a hand to my chest and groan. “Ah, that’s the
one.” She gives me a bemused grin. “You have no idea how long I’ve been dying
to hear those words.”

“You practically forced them out of me yesterday.”

“Yeah, but this time there was no forcing.”

She glances down at our still joined bodies. “I don’t
know. There was a little forcing.” Her eyes twinkle, her lips twitch.

“You’re a minx.” Fuck, I love this. I swear I could
stay like this forever. No dealing with crap at work and living like a student.
As much as I love the guys, they could never take priority over this gorgeous,
funny woman.
This
is who I fell in love with. Thank God Rob didn’t
destroy her completely. I have to keep a hold of this somehow. The idea of
going back to my one-man room and shitty canteen food is plain depressing.

“Marry me,” I spill out. She goes rigid. Fuck. I
hadn’t meant to say it like that. I’d meant to lead up to it. Broach the
subject slowly. Maybe seduce her into saying yes. What can I say? A sexy naked
woman on your lap can screw with a guy’s head.

“I—”

“Marry me.” I wrap my arms around her and hold her in
place. If by some miracle, she says yes I don’t think we’ll be repeating this
story to the grandkids. My lips twist. Yeah buried to the hilt in her exquisite
body… what a time to ask. “I love you. I would do anything for you, Sienna. Die
for you, kill for you.”

“Don’t say that.”

Okay so that wasn’t the best thing to say considering
everything she’s been through recently.
Get a grip, Nick.
  “Fine, I
would live for you. I would spend my every waking hour devoting my life to
you.”

“I know you would.” A soft smile flickers on her lips.
“You’re amazing, Nick. I love you very much. But this is too soon…”

I press my thumb into her lip. “We’re best friends,
babe. I know you, you know me. We’ve been working on this attraction for a long
time. How can it be too soon?”

“I’ve only just buried my husband!”

“But your marriage was dead ages ago.” She winces and
I groan inside. “Shit, I’m messing this up but it’s only because I need you so
bad, short stuff. I want you to be mine. I want to come home to your beautiful
smile and lush body. And I want to be the one making you smile.”

She gazes down at me and gives a little wriggle while
running her hands through my hair. My body almost instantly springs to
attention.

“Damn it, don’t distract me, Sienna.”

“Am I distracting you?” Her lips land on my neck and
trail to my ear. She tugs on my lobe with her teeth, sending a shiver through
me.

“You know you are.” I frown.

Maybe she realizes I can’t take any more teasing as
she relents. “I’ll think about it, okay?”

I nod. Hell, I’ll take what I can get and it wasn’t a
no. I can talk her around. If I can stay focused. My gaze lands on her breasts
as she begins moving again. This is not going to be easy.

***

As I sip my coffee and study the morning news, Sienna
saunters looking as gorgeous as ever in a little sundress thing. “I’m going
back to work tomorrow.”

I lift my head and scowl at Sienna over the newspaper.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I can’t say off forever.” She settles on the bar
stool opposite me and rests her hands on my knees. “They’re short-staffed. It’s
not fair. And at this rate, I’ll have used up all my vacation and have nothing
left to have a
real
holiday with.”

“Your life is more important than work or holidays.”

“It’s in the paper now. Big Johnson will know I don’t
have the drugs. And I’m sure I won’t be in danger at work.”

“Don’t forget you were nearly attacked there.”

“I’ll be extra careful. I won’t park around the back
and I’ll get one of the security guys to escort me to my car if it’s dark.”

Her grey eyes are wide and pleading. If this wasn’t
her life we were talking about I probably would have given in long ago. The
first thing we did was check the papers. I wish to God they’d put the find on
the front page. I flick open the paper and jab at the story on page five. “They
might not even see this. Or they might not realize this is the stash they were
after.” I shake my head. “It’s too dangerous.”

“The article names Rob! Look… ‘Found in a locker
leased by an R. Wright.’”

“Okay, but still it’s only on page five…”

“In the biggest local paper. Criminals probably check
the papers daily. And hopefully the TV news people will pick up on it soon.”

I lift an eyebrow. “Expert on criminals now, are we?”

“I’m going back to work, whether you like it or not.”

She sets her jaw and I know I’m fucked. The woman’s so
stubborn, I haven’t got a hope in hell of changing her mind.

“Fine, but I’ll drive you in and pick you up.”

Sienna narrows her eyes but nods. “Deal.”

“And for Godsakes, be careful. You’re too damned
trusting.”

“If I didn’t know you were worried for me, I’d be
insulted. I’m not stupid, you know?”

“I know you’re not.” I squeeze her thighs. “I just
have this feeling. In my gut. Something tells me this isn’t over.”

She stands and pats my stomach before coming behind me
and wrapping her arms around my neck. “Stop worrying. You’re just waiting for the
moment that you need to leap in and be a hero, but it isn’t going to happen.
The cops are hanging around just in case. I’ve already seen a patrol car go by
this morning. Everything will be fine, I promise.” A kiss lands on my cheek.
“At ease, soldier.”

I let go of the tension in my muscles but I can’t
ignore the gnawing feeling in my belly. Maybe she’s right—I’m looking for
danger where there isn’t any. The Marine in me is just waiting for something
bad to happen. Guess that’s the joy of the job. Trained to kill but expected to
blend in with civvie life at a moment’s notice.