Unbreak My Heart (45 page)

“You don’t know—”

“Oh yes, I think I do. Boone fucked you once. You wanted more, even when you were aware he’s the quintessential ‘one and done’ guy. Maybe you fantasized he’d ask you to this event. So it pissed you off that he admitted he’d rather show up with some ‘random chick off the street’…than with you or any of the other base rats who’ve hit the ‘one and done’ threshold.”

“You think you’re so smart but you don’t know shit.”

“No, you don’t know shit. So I’ll let you in on a little secret, Janell. I
am
Boone’s girlfriend. I was his first girlfriend and I’ll also be his last girlfriend. See, we met in
godforsaken
Wyoming years ago. We lost track of each other. But we found our way back to each other. So I’ll admit the irony that ‘one and done’ applies to me too—but it’s like this; I’m his
only
one
and he’s
done
with everyone else. I don’t care that you fucked him in the past. But I do care if you put your fucking hands on him now. Because if I see you lay a single finger on him? I will come after you with everything I have because he is mine. Get that?
Mine
.”

Not so ballsy, now, are you Janell?

I got right in her face. “Nod your head if you understand.”

“Yeah. I get it.”

“Good. Feel free to pass that around to any of your fellow base rats who have visions of Sergeant West’s combat boots under their bed.”

She practically ran away.

Right then I believed that blood could actually boil; mine rushed hot and fast and angry. My lungs were heaving. My heart raced.

I needed that glass of water. With a goddamned Crown chaser.

Strong arms circled me from behind, trapping me.

Boone buried his face in my hair. His body shook.

I turned my head toward his and hissed, “Are you laughing at me, you rat bastard?”

“No. Never. Jesus. I’m…” His lips found my ear through my tangle of hair. “I heard what you said to her.”

“And?”

“And I’m so fucking hot for you right now that it’s taking every ‘deflect combat’ maneuver I ever learned to stop me from dragging you the fuck out of here.”

“Oh.”

“Two hours. Then we’re gone.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“I almost rented
a limo to pick us up after the party,” I murmured in Sierra’s ear as she slipped the keycard in the door.

“Why?”

“That’d be a classier way to fulfill your car sex fantasy that you keep bugging me about.”

Once we were inside the room, Sierra pushed me against the door and cupped my cheek in her hand. “What is going on in that head of yours, soldier? Why would you think a limo would matter to me?”

“Because sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever feel worthy of you.”

“How ironic. Because sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever feel like I deserve you.”

We watched one another.

“You deserve a man who celebrates everything about you that is uniquely you.” I turned my head and kissed the base of her thumb. “A man who loves you like you are the sunshine that fills his days and the moon glow that fills his nights.”

“How lucky I am that you are that man.” She placed her hand over my heart. “I love that I’m the only woman you’ve ever deemed worthy enough to share this poetic, romantic, utterly sweet side of yourself with.”

“I didn’t know it was there until you brought it out in me.”

“Show me without words.”

No idea why my nerves kicked in. I knew what Sierra wanted in bed; I’d become an expert at giving it to her. Hard, fast, dirty, greedy. Sometimes sweet and slow. Sometimes funny but always frequent.

But maybe tonight, I’d give her what she needed. What we both needed.

I brought her mouth to mine for a long, exploratory kiss.

She swayed against me and I automatically righted her by latching onto her ass.

My hands were rough, so I kept my touch light on the delicate fabric of her dress as I skimmed my palms up her back. When I reached her shoulders, I ended the kiss and whispered, “Turn around.”

Her teeth dug into her bottom lip as her eyes met mine. Then she faced the bed.

I slowly tugged the zipper on her dress down. I slipped my hands beneath the fabric as I peeled it away, planting kisses in a line down her spine until my lips connected with the section of skin between the dimples of her ass.

Then her dress was a pool of red fabric on the carpet.

She hadn’t worn sexy garters and stockings, just a fire-engine red thong. So I could see every sexy inch of her. From the nape of her neck, to the curve of her ass, down her long legs to the backs of her heels, still encased in sexy black stilettos.

Fuck. She was just so beautiful.

Her body trembled. From the cold or my intense perusal…didn’t matter. I’d warm her up soon enough.

I swept her hair off to the side, letting the hot wash of my breath choose the spot on her neck before my mouth descended. While I tasted her there, I continued to caress her with my fingertips, my palms, and the backs of my knuckles. Everywhere I could reach; her arms, the outside curve of her body from her rib cage to her hips, her belly, her breasts, her collarbones.

She didn’t speak. She didn’t have to; I was already attuned to her. I felt every quiver and every goose bump. I heard every ragged breath and every tiny sigh. I caught the scent of her arousal and breathed in the perfume of her skin.

This deliberate seduction of her was intoxicating me.

A sheen of sweat coated my skin beneath my uniform. My cock was painfully hard. My chest felt tight. I had to lock my legs to keep myself upright. I’d become lightheaded from all the tactile and emotional sensations bombarding me.

Then Sierra trapped my hand on her hip and turned back around to face me. She allowed one fleeting brush of her lips across mine before she began to undress me.

Her hands were reverent as she smoothed them over my uniform. She had me unbuttoned, unhooked and undone in no time. Then she stepped back and watched as I removed the last of my clothing until I was as naked as she.

We reached for each other at the same time.

We ended up on the bed. Not in a frantic tangle of limbs. But bare arms and legs slowly sliding and gliding together. I needed every inch of her skin touching every inch of mine. Rubbing on mine.

I spooned her from behind so my front side covered her back. Then we rolled across the sheets so I could feel the soft press of her tits against my shoulder blades as her hands mapped the front of my body from my face to my neck to my chest to my cock.

I rolled her onto her back and levered my body over hers. Not in a pushup position, but my weight on her, my passion-dampened flesh sliding on hers. Exchanging breath with openmouthed kisses.

She reached between us and guided me to her entrance.

I pushed inside her warmth, her heat, her wetness until I couldn’t go any deeper.

I watched her face lost in pleasure, and part of the pleasure came from seeing her recognize the look on my face mirrored hers.

Our bodies arched and moved together almost of their own accord. I didn’t lead. Neither did she.

We were in perfect sync.

The rising storm, the waves crashing and then hitting that crest, followed by the ebb and flow of passion, all clichéd, but true.

In that moment she’d reminded me exactly what it meant to belong to her, body, heart and soul. And I reminded her that her heart, her body and her soul were safe with me.

W
ith the help
of Red Bull, I survived my mid-afternoon Monday slump.

Which turned out to be a lucky thing because Phyllis Mackerley showed up.

Even when it was probably stupid, I remained behind my desk and had her sit across from me. I needed every confidence boost no matter how small. The tug of war between
take the job
and
decline the job
had started to feel like a stalling tactic to increase the perks.

That wasn’t it at all—and I told Phyllis as much.

“You don’t even need to clarify that for me, Sierra.”

“Thank goodness.”

“But what I am about to tell you will sweeten the pot.” She grinned. “Or more accurately, will make the pot runneth over.”

I squinted at her. “Did you and tequila have a reunion and a little afternoon delight?”

Phyllis giggled. Giggled. “I’ll admit I do feel almost high right now.”

Okay.

“Ask me why.” She fairly bounced in her chair. “Go on.”

“Why are you so giddy?”

“I had a phone call from Pashma Wickersham this morning.”

“Get out. Seriously?”

“Seriously. And
she
called
me
.”

“Tell me, dammit. Was she headhunting you or what?” That wouldn’t surprise me. Phyllis was brilliant and generous and exactly the type of leader that an organization like Women Entrepreneurs International—WEI—wanted on their roster. Pashma Wickersham, the president of WEI, had outstanding accomplishments in the decade she’d been at the helm of the organization. The founding members of PCE had used the WEI business model and we’d embraced Pashma’s philosophies for business and life.

“No, dear, she wasn’t headhunting me.” Phyllis grinned. “She’s headhunting you.”

“What?” I must have misunderstood.

“Or more specifically, WEI has been watching PCE for the last year.”

“They have?”

“Yes. And they would like to bring PCE in as a charter.”

“No way.”

“I absolutely would not joke about this.”

“Omigod, omigod, omigod!” I pushed my chair back and jumped up and down a couple of times. I might’ve screamed.

Phyllis was laughing at me. “I knew you’d react this way! Isn’t it just unbelievable?”

“Yes! This is huge. WEI doesn’t have any charters in Arizona. And the cities that do have a WEI charter? The members have access to the WEI database, their speaker’s bureau, their conferences, not to mention the whole financial side and the worldwide networking.”

“I know. I’m in shock. This is beyond anything I could’ve ever hoped for, Sierra.”

“Me too.” I lowered into my chair. “But why us? Isn’t the vetting process done by the CIA or something?”

She laughed. “No. But it is very thorough and like I said, they’ve tested PCE a few times.”

“Tested. Like how?”

“From what Pashma told me, WEI sends a new potential member to PCE for guidance with a marketable product. How things are handled at each stage earns a rating. If the first test is failed, there are no others. If the first test is passed, then two more tests are conducted, a product with limited marketability and one that isn’t viable at all. Evidently honesty earns the highest value points. PCE passed all three tests. We passed the requirements for a well-run, well-organized meeting that is welcoming to new members yet continues to be relevant to existing members. We show continued membership growth. We have a variety of mentors across age, race, cultural and educational backgrounds. In fact, PCE had the highest test values of any charter in the past four years.”

I could scarcely wrap my head around all of this.

“And that is what brings me here, Sierra. If you accept the directorship of PCE, you will in effect also be the chair of the WEI charter.”