Authors: Tori Carrington
“I’
D LIKE
you to come out with me tonight.”
Recalling Linc’s words, said during a cell-phone call in the middle of the lunch rush, was enough to make Regina feel as if she’d gotten a good night’s rest. And a new pair of feet.
Neither of which she had, of course.
After working a double shift, she ached in all the wrong places.
And last night, she’d tossed and turned. If she wasn’t thinking about Linc and how much she wished he were next to her, Viv was intruding in her thoughts, sharing things she wasn’t all that sure she’d wanted to know.
While she’d heard stories about women relocating to Colorado Springs solely for the purpose of meeting, dating and ultimately marrying air force pilots, she’d never actually met one…until Vivienne. Of course, she hadn’t learned that until now. She’d learned her friend had been through two pilots already, both relationships ending in dismal failure. Even odder, it seemed Viv was only concerned that the tight-knit military community would saddle her with the reputation of being a groupie.
As for Linc…
How was it, in such a short time, she had a difficult time imagining what life had been like without him? Thoughts of him began the moment she woke in the morning and followed her throughout the day. He even invaded her dreams. She reviewed the things she did know about him and imagined the answers to things she didn’t.
Then there was Viv…
How was it they had been friends for over a year and had never really talked? Oh, they’d spoken. But not about anything important. Not about what really mattered. She supposed part of the reason was because she, herself, had so much to hide. She’d told no one about her past. About Billy. She talked about her mom often enough, but everyone did that.
Well, everyone but Viv.
Regina sat down on the bench in the diner employees’ area and absently untied her shoes. She’d asked about Viv’s parents once. And had received a noncommittal answer. She’d easily dismissed the incident, not thinking anything of it, when perhaps she should have.
No, she definitely should have.
She took off her shoes one by one and replaced them with her sneakers.
Of course, there was no way she could have known the truth, much less guessed at it.
Linc…
She experienced what was akin to a full-body sigh again. Then looked at her watch. Shoot! She had only forty-five minutes to get home, shower and get ready before he came to pick her up.
She grabbed her things and headed for the door, her feet and heart feeling light again.
S
MOOTH MOVE
, S
LICK
.
Bringing Regina to the Barracks had been a bad idea. But since he hadn’t been about to leave her at home alone, and he couldn’t miss Jason Savage’s birthday celebration, he’d figured it was the only viable solution.
If only his partners and coworkers weren’t staring at him as if he were a few cards short of a full house, he might never have questioned his thought processes.
He glanced at Regina. If she noticed anything out of whack with their open surprise, she easily hid it, her smile wide and warm. He’d suggested she dress casual when she’d asked what she should wear, and she had in a simple pair of jeans and a purple blouse that hugged her curves nicely.
He introduced everyone and she shook hands with them, one by one.
“And this is the birthday boy,” Darius said, indicating where Jason sat next to him.
“Happy birthday,” Regina said easily, shaking his hand.
“Thanks, Regina. Nice to meet you.” His grin was wider than usual as he looked them both over. “
Very
nice to meet you.”
Oh, he was going to hear it for this one, Linc knew.
He’d never brought a date to anything. In fact, he made it a point of going out of his way to avoid any kind of fix ups altogether whenever in the company of his professional team.
Of course, Regina wasn’t really his date.
Damn.
Who was he kidding? He took in the way she laughed, registering how merely being near her made him feel, and realized the only person he seemed to be fooling was himself.
Thankfully, everything settled down into an uncomplicated rhythm after the introductions. He and Regina sat at the table reserved in the back for the occasion. She chatted easily with Megan and the guys, and sipped on the draft beer poured from one of the pitchers ordered for the table. Which was more than he could say for himself. He kept looking at his cell, estimating how soon he could get out of there.
Then he blinked and the table seemed to undergo some sort of silent version of musical chairs. Suddenly three people appeared between him and Regina, with Jason sitting to his right.
He got up, deciding to go to the restroom to wash his hands, and Jason got up with him.
“Hey, there,” his friend said, catching up with him. “Got a minute?”
“No.”
Jason’s full-throated laugh set his back teeth on edge. “I’m the birthday boy, remember? You’re not allowed to tell me no.”
Linc stared at him.
“So…who’s the chick?”
Linc lengthened his stride and Jason matched it. “She’s not a chick.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Tell me, Savage, what exactly do you see?”
His friend looked a little too amused for his liking. “A lot more than what you’re likely willing to tell me.”
“Such as?”
“Such as…you like her.”
Linc pushed in the men’s-room door with more pressure than was necessary, nearly taking out a guy who was on his way out. He apologized without looking at him.
“And she likes you.”
“She isn’t my date.”
They took their spots at the urinal.
“Well, if she isn’t, then what is she?”
“She’s…”
Revealing who she was would be tipping his hand when he wasn’t quite ready to.
Simply, he didn’t want his team knowing what he was up to. Billy Johnson was his personal target; he didn’t want backup. Didn’t need it. And he didn’t want anyone to know just what it was that made it personal.
Then there was the fact that Regina was more than Johnson’s old girlfriend. Far more. Even if the only reason he had brought her along tonight was related to Johnson.
He finished up and stepped to the sink.
“I like her,” Jason said next to him.
Linc slanted him a glance. “I’m happy for you.”
“What would you say if I asked to date her?”
Linc turned toward his friend so quickly, Jason instinctively took a step back, raising his dripping hands.
“Whoa, big guy, slow down.” He looked at where Linc’s hands were fisted at his sides and then reached for a couple of paper towels from a dispenser behind him, handing Linc one. “Just making a point.”
“Oh? Well, you had better spell it out for me before I make you eat this paper towel.”
Jason laughed so hard Linc was tempted to make him eat the entire dispenser.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh. Please don’t take offense…”
“If you don’t stop…”
Jason raised his hand again. “Hey, I’m just pointing out you’ve got feelings for the girl. That’s all. And if you have feelings, well, that makes her your date.”
“Who said I have feelings?”
“Who?” Jason pressed a finger into his chest. “You. By looking like you wanted to bash my head into the sink for daring to ask what I did.”
“Yes, well, at least you asked permission this time.”
If any words were capable of sobering his friend up, those were it.
They stood staring at each other for long moments, neither of them needing to be reminded of what had gone down in Florida.
The door opened and Darius stepped in.
“What’s up?” he asked, elbowing between them to use one of the sinks.
“Nothing,” Jason ground out before leaving the room.
Dari met Linc’s gaze in the mirror. “What he said,” Linc offered.
Then he left as well, leaving Darius appearing puzzled behind him.
“N
EVER
?” R
EGINA WHISPERED
in response to Megan’s comment.
“Never. Ever. In fact, some of the guys were beginning to wonder if he was…well, you know.”
“Gay?”
Megan nodded.
Regina smiled so wide it almost hurt her face. “Trust me, he’s not.”
“I figured as much.”
Regina liked the woman who had come to sit next to her after Linc had left the table. She understood she was one of Linc’s partners and immediately picked up on her connection to Darius, another partner.
She wasn’t sure what she’d expected when Linc had invited her out. Perhaps dinner or a movie, or even a night dancing at a club, not unlike the one where they’d met, despite his suggestion she wear casual clothes.
But this kind of outing wasn’t even on her radar.
What did it mean that he was introducing her to his friends and business associates?
She caught sight of him as he returned to the table. His expression was thunderous. And the partner whose birthday it was, Jason, looked more sober than the beer she’d seen him drinking would suggest.
She watched Megan look between the two men, her brow wrinkling. Regina immediately picked up on some thing going on. An undercurrent of tension she didn’t understand.
And that was probably none of her business.
But she couldn’t help wondering, nonetheless.
Linc had spoken a little of his past. Of his aunt and the Bronx. But when it came to his business or personal relationships, he’d said very little. Heck, she hadn’t even been aware that they were meeting up with his friends tonight, and that it was in honor of one of their birthdays. It might have been nice to know that.
Had he always been so quiet? If so, she wondered why.
A guy she’d seen behind the bar pulled up a chair next to her.
“Hey, Jax,” Megan said warmly, her pretty face softening. “Meet Regina. She’s Linc’s date. Regina, this is Jason’s younger brother, Jackson.”
They briefly shook hands. “Linc?”
Regina looked down, suddenly feeling awkward.
“I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
“No, no. It’s okay. We haven’t been…dating long.”
Actually, she wasn’t entirely certain that’s what they had been doing. While he’d stopped by the diner and they’d enjoyed a couple of meals together, tonight was the first time he’d actually asked her out.
Of course, there was the sex.
Regina was glad Jax and Megan were engaged in conversation and weren’t looking at her face, which she was afraid might reveal more than she cared to consider.
“Hey, Jax,” Jason said from across the table. “You and Megan have absolutely nothing to talk about.”
Conversation stopped as the younger man looked at his brother.
More awkwardness.
Regina guessed there was a lot more going on within this group than she could ever hope to figure out in a single night. So she resolved not to try.
But Jackson held up his hands, said his goodbyes to Megan, said it was nice to meet her and left the table.
Megan leaned closer. “Never mind all that. Jax’s been angling for a job at Lazarus forever, but Jason doesn’t want him there. Long story.”
Regina smiled at her and took a sip of her beer, searching for a way to change the subject. “He work here?”
“For now, yes.”
Instead, she looked to find Linc rising to his feet. She gazed at him hopefully.
A simple nod of his head told her he was ready to go…
L
INC COULDN’T HAVE
ushered Regina from the bar quickly enough.
What the hell was all that?
If he’d had a clue that any of that would have gone down the way it had, he would never have brought Regina here.
Hell, he wouldn’t have come himself.
His partners might be the closest thing he had to family—except for his aunt, of course—but he wasn’t about to put up with meddling from them.
He handed Regina into the SUV and then rounded the car to get into the driver’s side.
They’d driven in silence for five minutes when Regina said, “Everything all right?”
He glanced at her, taking note of the concern in her eyes, the seriousness of her expression.
Damn. He must look like a mad bull loose on the streets of Pamploma.
He forced himself to relax. “Yeah. Everything’s fine.”
Liar.
Truth was, he was wound up tighter than a major-league pitcher who should have retired years ago.
He put it down to the ambiguity of the situation between him and Regina. So long as Johnson was at large, the criminal would hover over them both, a constant, unwanted presence.
The irony that Johnson was indirectly to credit for his being near her at all was not lost on him.
Neither was the possibility that the felon could be the thing that pulled them apart.
Regina’s soft laugh drew his gaze back to her. “I can practically hear your teeth grinding from here.”
He realized she was right: he was grinding his teeth.
He was surprised at his chuckle. More surprised at the tension that seemed to leach from his muscles at her noticing his state of mind and trying to ease it.
“Where are we going now?” she asked, looking through the window at the road in front of them.
He hadn’t realized he was driving to his apartment until just then.
“My place. I thought I might make us something to eat. You hungry? Or would you rather go out?”
She seemed to consider his words. “I’d like to see your place. Yes, I’m hungry. I work ‘out’ all day, so I’d enjoy a homemade meal.”
He couldn’t seem to look away from her smile. But a warning horn from the driver behind him told him he’d better.
They both laughed.
And just like that, the awkwardness he’d experienced at the the Barracks slipped away. His mind turned to what he could pick up to make for her, wondered what she’d think of his place…and imagined what she’d look like lying bare against his sheets…
L
INC’S PLACE WAS
comfortable. In fact, it wasn’t all that unlike hers, really—a one-bedroom apartment that held the bare necessities and not much else. Well, except for the mammoth flat-screen TV. Judging by his taste in magazines, and the parts of the newspaper that were left open, she guessed sports dominated much of his viewing.
She smiled to herself as she walked around, the aroma of chicken frying filling her senses.
She paused in the door to the bedroom. Hello. Okay, makes two things that were different: the TV and their beds.
She stared at the king-size mattresses and the dark sheets and spread that were tangled on top and her hand went to her throat. Of course, he was tall, his feet hanging over the end of her simple double bed whenever he slept over, so perhaps the larger size was necessary.
But all she could seem to think about were the naughty things they could do together there…
“You can go in if you want.”
She felt Linc’s words against the back of her neck more than heard them with her ears. She shivered, her nipples growing sensitive as they hardened against her bra cups.
“Um, is anything in danger of burning?” she found herself whispering.
He nudged her hair aside and lightly kissed the back of her neck, her full-flush reaction anything but light. “Only me.”
Regina instinctively leaned against him, her bottom against his front. She felt his arousal press into her lower back. Any thought of food vanished from her mind, leaving only a deep hunger for him.
He chuckled softly. “I have the feeling we’re going to need the, um, energy, so maybe we should eat first…”
She hummed her response, her eyes fluttering closed as she enjoyed his warmth.
She felt his hands on her arms, caressing before bracing her, holding her upright as he stepped back away from her.
“Beer?”
She blinked her eyes open and turned to smile at him. “Share one with me?”
“Deal.”
She preceded him into the kitchen, taking a seat at a small table that was set for two, including what looked like an emergency candle that had been fused to a small plate, the small flame flickering from their movements as they settled themselves.
“Fajitas.” She appreciated the amount of work done in a short time. Warm flour tortillas were wrapped in foil. A skillet held strips of chicken breast, white onions and red peppers. Sliced tomatoes and fresh shredded cheese were in bowls. Then, of course, there was the salsa. Regina plucked a white corn chip from another bowl and dipped it.
“Careful,” he warned.
Too late. She’d crunched on the chip and felt the heat of the sauce before the word was all the way out of his mouth.
She coughed. He handed her a plain tortilla and nudged her water glass closer to her.
Thankfully she hadn’t eaten much, so another chip, this time without sauce, was all it took to stop her eyes from watering.
She laughed. “Hot.”
“How I like it.” His gaze raked over her face, telling her that’s not all he liked hot.
He opened a beer and poured half of it into her chilled mug and the other into his while she went about putting together her fajita.
“You cook like this often?” she asked.
“Every day.” He slid a tortilla onto his plate. “When you’re on assignment, you have little say in what you eat. So when I’m home, I make a point of cooking for myself.”
“Like this?”
He shrugged. “More or less.”
“I can’t tell you how often I just bring home something from the diner.”
“I would too, if I worked there. It’s as close to home cooking as you can come outside of home. At least from what I had.”
She watched as he expertly rolled the filled tortilla, his hands dark against the white, his fingers thick and long.
She had difficultly swallowing the bite in her mouth.
He squinted at her. “The salsa again?”
She shook her head and finally managed to get it down. “No. The cook.”
His eyes smiled at her as he took a bite of his fajita.
There was something sexily elemental about watching him eat…especially since he seemed to feel the same way, his gaze fastened on her mouth as she chewed.
“Your friends seem nice,” she said, taking a sip of beer.
“My friends are insane.”
“Your friends are the family you choose.”
He tilted his head. “I’ve never looked at it that way before.”
A spot of salsa was left at the side of his mouth. She indicated where it was, but he missed it. So she leaned across, braced the heel of her hand against his wide jaw and rubbed it onto her thumb. She automatically stuck the digit into her mouth and sucked.
She didn’t realize he’d stopped chewing until she caught his intense gaze. It was all she could do to swallow her own saliva just then.
“Screw food,” he said quietly.
Within two moves, he’d moved the table’s contents to the counter and then reached for her, easily hauling her across it so she sat on the edge, his mouth on hers before she could catch a breath.
Mmm… This was definitely better than anything from a skillet. And much, much hotter. She tasted beer and hot sauce on his tongue.
His hands grasped her hips and then slid under her shirt, cupping her breasts through her bra. Regina shivered at the feel of his thumbs rasping over her stiff tips through the thin satin then gasped when he stripped the shirt off along with her bra, replacing his thumb with his mouth.
Oh, yes. Much better than food…
Her skin tingled where his mouth made contact. And it wasn’t just the normal tingling, either. She realized that the salsa he’d eaten was adding to the heated sensation. And upping her excitement level.
He popped the buttons on her jeans one by one. She braced herself with her hands and lifted her hips from the table as he stripped the denim from her. The kitchen lights were on but she didn’t feel one iota self-conscious; the need burgeoning within her wouldn’t allow room for anything else. There was only the growing urgency to feel him inside her.
But if she was hoping that was imminent, she was mistaken. Instead, he stripped off his T-shirt and jeans, presenting himself in all his toned and massive glory. Her gaze snagged on his solid erection and she fidgeted, only to be held to the table by a stilling hand on her stomach as he leaned down to press his mouth to first one hip, then the other even as he parted her thighs with his other hand.
Regina’s heart beat a thick, uneven rhythm in her chest, the sound and her own ragged breathing filling her ears as he drew his tongue in a line from one hip to the other…and then dipped lower.
She caught her breath as his tongue ran the length of her shallow crevice and then his mouth fastened on her tight, sensitive nub.
The same heat that had infused his attention to her nipples crashed over her like a wave, a combination of his hot mouth and the chili powder from the food. She moaned deep in her throat and spread her thighs even farther, dropping her head back as she gave herself over to sheer sensation…
H
OT
…
Linc took in the sight of Regina spread across his kitchen table, every inch of her bare and beautiful, and experienced a need so extreme he suspected he could come just looking at her.
She leaned back against her arms, her hair tousled, her green eyes half-lidded, her luscious lips parted. He followed the line of her neck to her collarbone and then down to where the tips of her breasts glistened from his suckling them. Her stomach trembled, matching the chaos shaking his insides.
And she tasted as good as she looked…
After initially having to hold her down to prevent her from interrupting his plans, he was happy she surrendered to his desire to please her as she had him, laying herself open to him. He ran his tongue up her inner thigh and then used his thumbs to part her swollen flesh, giving him access to the pink, most delicate parts of her.
He gently caught her clit between his teeth, basking in her low moan as he pulled the hypersensitive bit into his mouth. Her trembling transformed into shivers as he dipped first one then two fingers into her dripping channel, twisting them and then withdrawing.
Her hips bucked as she achieved orgasm and he held her still again, continuing to sample her as she shuddered and shook, her soft moan wending around him so he nearly climaxed with her.
Before her last shudder hit, he lifted, sheathed himself and then positioned his erection between her thick folds. She wrapped her legs around his hips and lifted herself from the table, welcoming him inside her.
Linc locked his jaw, holding on to control with the thinnest of lines.
Until now, they’d had sex only in the dark, denying him a full view of her…of them. Now he was determined to use the light to take in his visual fill. Registering the passion in her eyes, he then shifted his gaze to where they were joined. He watched himself enter her, her flesh closing around him, her juices glistening on his hard shaft, and then withdrew only to slide in to the hilt.
“Yes…”
The word could have come from him, or her, or both as he held himself steady, warding off his crisis with every shred of strength he possessed.
But when she ground against him, there was no stopping off anything. He grasped her hips and stroked her hard and fast, racing toward a certain end so they might begin again…