Lingerie Wars (The Invertary books) (29 page)

"Definitely La Perla," he said. "I'd know that taste anywhere."

Her giggle turned to a gasp as he sucked her through the lace.

"There's something wrong here," she said. It was an effort to get the words out.

"I'm doing something wrong?" he said with the confidence of a man who didn't believe it was possible.

"You're still wearing your jeans."

He looked up at her. She could barely see him in the darkness, but she could make out the grin.

"Say please and I'll take them off."

Kirsty grinned back.

"How about I say 'you don't get anything else out of me until you do'?"

"Is that right?"

To prove her wrong he slid his hand low on her body and ran a finger along the lace of her underpants to the heat between her legs. Kirsty's eyes closed all by themselves as her hips rose off the bed to meet his touch.

"You were saying?"

She could hear the laughter and the lust in his voice.

"Get the damn jeans off," she barked.

Lake laughed that deep, throaty laugh of his that drove her crazy and climbed off the bed. Kirsty propped herself up on her elbows to watch him. She could just about make out the sight of him rooting around in his pocket. Something landed on the bed beside her. She counted at least ten condoms.

"You carry that many condoms around with you?" she said.

"Only since I met you."

"That's a bit presumptuous, don't you think?"

"I like to think of it as optimistic."

As his jeans hit the floor and she saw his thumbs disappear into the waistband of his briefs, Kirsty felt sweat break out on her brow.

"Please tell me that you didn't buy the condoms from the chemist here in town?"

"Where else would I get them?"

He stepped out of his underwear and Kirsty could see enough of him in the darkness to make her mouth go dry. He was perfect. Complete and utter male perfection. She tried to focus on the conversation instead of the sight of him coming towards her.

"We'll be the talk of the town," she complained as Lake sat on the bed beside her.

"What makes you think people will assume I bought them for you?"

"Well, duh, the fact you were hanging out of my window practically naked."

"Yeah, there is that."

He lay down beside her.

"This is what I want," he said with a rumble.

His mouth clamped on hers as his hand ran down her body. She couldn't help flinching when his touch hit her scars.

"This isn't going to work if you jump every time I get near a scar," he said.

"I know."

She just didn't know what to do to stop it.

"How about we start with the scars first and get them out of the way?"

Lake nudged her to sit on the edge of the bed. He knelt in front of her. His hand was on the side of her neck that had a criss-cross of tiny white scars. Kirsty clenched her hands in front of her to stop from yanking his hand away from her.

"Tell me about these ones," he said.

Kirsty couldn't think.

"Tell me," he said again.

She swallowed, but her mouth was too dry.

"Glass," she said at last. "There was shattered glass. I was cut. A lot."

He leaned towards her marked skin and kissed her. Then he ran the tip of his tongue over it until he reached her ear.

"You taste like sherbet," he whispered, making her shudder.

Then he was gone again, but not his touch. His touch never left her. He ran his hand over her shoulder to her back.

"This feels like a big one. What's that?"

He traced the scar that started beneath her shoulder blade and curved around her side.

"The door, a piece of the door."

"You must have lost a lot of blood."

"I was unconscious, but they told me I did."

"I'm going to show you a trick," he said.

Kirsty had to shake her head to follow the conversation.

"This was the sum of my underwear knowledge before I accidentally bought a lingerie shop."

There was a tiny click in the middle of her back and her bra slid down her arms.

"I'm impressed," she said softly.

"Had the army record. Fastest underwear removal."

He threw her bra behind him into the darkness as his hands covered her breasts. Kirsty closed her eyes and swayed.

"Bet that was a useful conflict skill," she said.

"I have lots of useful skills."

His head dipped to her breasts. Kirsty found it difficult to stay upright under his touch. He ran his tongue over her nipple before biting it softly. She groaned and swayed backwards. One of his hands shot around her to keep her upright.

"I want you here," he said against her skin.

She threaded her hands through his hair and pulled his mouth towards her chest. Yes. She wanted to be here. Lake suckled on her as his hand pushed her knees apart. He shuffled between them until they were skin to skin. He kissed the outside curve of her breast and another scar. Kirsty barely noticed. She was more focused on the feel of him between her legs, and the fact that there was only a thin layer of satin separating them. His large hand slid over her thigh and hip to her waist. He thumbed the thickest scars over her kidney. There were three large ones, criss-crossing each other and surrounded by lots of little ones.

"I've got to tell you, babe..." he said as he kissed her neck.

Kirsty's head fell back to give him access.

"Your scars are impressive, but I've come across much better."

She held on to his shoulders as she lost the ability to think.

"Plus, if this is a scar competition, I still win. You only got yours from an accident. I got mine from conflict."

He let her fall backwards onto the bed. His hands moved over all of her, from thigh to breast, making every single part of her tingle and sing.

"Who are you trying to kid, Benson?" Her voice was low and raspy. It took a great deal of effort to think, let alone talk. Especially when his fingers hooked under her pants and she felt them slide down her legs. "You got your scars by screwing up on training exercises. You caused yours. That means I win."

Lake laughed as he kissed her inner thigh.

"Well," he said, his breath hot against her skin. "If you win. What's your prize?"

Brazenly, Kirsty lifted her hips from the bed towards his lips.

Lake growled as he lowered his head. And Kirsty stopped thinking about her scars for the first time in years.

Kirsty Campbell was making him crazy. She was a mass of contradictions. Soft. Strong. Insecure. Brave. She tasted like old-fashioned sweeties and felt like satin. Each touch on her skin sent ripples of vibrations through her that he could feel along the length of her body. She wiggled up onto the bed until her head was on the pillow. Lake lowered himself on top of her.

"I love your muscles," she said on a sigh.

Her hands moved over him so fast it made him smile. She obviously didn't know where to touch first.

"Even if they are steroid induced," she said.

"Hey." He kissed her hard and felt her leg curl up around his back.

"I'm still waiting," she said when he moved his lips to her neck.

"For what, exactly?"

He made tiny circles with his tongue over the scars on her neck and felt inordinately pleased when all she did was groan with pleasure. Looked like that scar problem was knocked on the head. To be sure, he caressed his way down her side, covering all of her scars. She writhed against him. Her nails bit into his shoulders. Then her lush lips kissed his chest before biting him hard.

"Ow," he said.

"You aren't listening to me," she told him.

"I'm kind of busy here."

"Yeah, but I'm still waiting."

"Okay, Kirsty, what are you waiting for?"

"The other double oh," she said.

He could see her grinning in the dark. She wrapped her other leg around his waist.

"You are so demanding," he told her. "I'm trying to stretch this out for you."

"Well, do it faster," she said.

He slid his hand between her legs.

"This fast enough for you?" he said.

"No." She pushed up towards him as her hand scrambled across the bed beside her.

"Here." She thrust a packet in his face. "Speed things up, then we'll have a little talk about technique."

Lake threw back his head and laughed as he took the condom.

Then he wrapped her up tight in his arms and kissed her until she was gasping for breath.

"We'll do fast another day," he told her. He ripped the packet open. "And for the record, there is nothing wrong with my technique."

"You can't see me," she said. "But I'm rolling my eyes here."

With a smile, Lake kissed her again.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Bright sunlight flooded Kirsty's bedroom and tugged her out of a deep sleep. She stretched languorously across her bed and stopped dead at a wall of muscle. Lake was still there and it was morning. Daylight. There was nowhere to hide. He was lying on his back, stark naked, with one arm hanging off the bed. Even in his sleep he made her mouth water. She was of half a mind to wake him and tell him his technique was rusty again—that seemed to get good results—but it was too bright in the room. He would see her. All of her. Instead she crept out of bed and slipped into her green satin dressing gown. She pulled it tight around her, aware that it was stupid to be this self-conscious with a man who knew her body intimately. By touch if not by sight.

"Lake," she said as she prodded his side. "Lake."

Unable to stop herself, the prod turned into a caress over the ridges in his stomach. She sighed. A strong hand wrapped around her wrist and yanked her back into bed. Kirsty squealed as Lake wrapped an arm around her and held her tight.

"I'm not ready to get out of bed," he told her.

His voice was gruff with sleep. It was cute.

"I told you last night that you had to leave before sunrise," she complained.

"And I ignored you."

"But..." she started to explain.

Instead she found herself kissing the impossible man. Kissing and wanting. Her leg draped over his hip even though her brain was telling her that it was daylight and things were different now. He grunted his approval and slid a hand under the dressing gown to caress her backside. He pressed towards her and she could feel all of him—morning ready and wanting her.

"You need to go," she said when she came up for air. But her heart wasn't in it.

"Don't want to," he said as his lips found her neck.

He was making her dizzy again.

"Seriously. It's daylight. We have things to do."

"I'm doing them," he mumbled against her skin.

He was the most frustrating man she'd ever met. Kirsty smiled in spite of herself. His hand covered her breast and she grinned with pleasure. Oh, she wanted him badly. But she couldn't. She wasn't ready to be seen. With difficulty, she disentangled herself, scrambled over the bed and stood beside it. On the far side from Lake.

"If you get up fast, I'll make you breakfast."

He looked down at himself, then cocked an eyebrow at her.

"I'm already up."

Kirsty rolled her eyes.

"I'll be in the kitchen if you want me."

She turned away. Lake let out an almighty growl.

"I was showing you how much I want you, woman," he shouted after her.

Grinning, Kirsty went to put on the coffee pot.

"I'll have to sneak you out the back door," she told him when he came into the kitchen.

He'd only managed to pull on his jeans, and he hadn't even bothered to button them. A vision of herself trailing her tongue down his chest to that button popped into her mind. Her gaze followed the path she would take and she sighed. When she looked up he was smiling at her, his eyes dark.

"Want to cancel the day and go back to bed? You can blindfold me if you don't want me to see anything." He held out his hands in front of him, crossed at the wrists. "You can tie them if you don't want me to touch."

Oh, oh, oh, the things those words did to her. She shut her eyes to block out the pictures, but they were still in her head.

"You're leaving," she said, disgusted to find her voice croaked. "By the back door."

He looked like he knew better, but he conceded. For now.

"I'm starving," he said as he plopped into one of the stools at the breakfast counter. "What's for breakfast?"

"Sausage, eggs, black pudding, toast and beans."

"Ah, the Scottish heart attack."

"Do you want this food or not?" She waved a silicon fish slice at him.