Caleb eased his back against the wall, eyeing the woman stretched on the cot. She hadn’t been kidding about making him sleep on the floor. And although the room was hot and stuffy, heated by warm air running in channels beneath the wooden floor, she’d removed only her tunic. She’d kept the sleeveless, thigh-length shift in place and her pants tied with a serious knot. Did she really think all those layers would keep what was happening between them contained?
He raised a knee and wrapped an arm around it, watching her sleep. Or pretend to.
Her breaths were too even.
“Stop looking at me,” she whispered.
“I can’t sleep.”
She groaned and turned toward him, sliding a hand beneath her cheek. Her eyes glittered in the moonlight spilling through the narrow window. “Floor that bad? As many years as you’ve been in the army, I’d have thought you could pretty much sleep anywhere.”
“Not used to sleeping with women.”
She chuckled, the sound warm and sexy.
He grunted at his own choice of words.
“You’re not sleeping with a woman,” she said slowly.
Caleb glanced away, his mouth twisting. “But I want to,” he growled.
“That’s the problem?” she said, amusement lightening her tone. “I thought you didn’t like me.”
“I like you plenty. That’s the trouble. Don’t want to worry about having to save your ass.”
“Worry about your own.”
“Can’t help the way I’m made. Women are supposed to be protected.”
She raised her head and leaned on an elbow. “How’d you manage to make it this long in the army without some female busting your chops about your chauvinism?”
“I’m not a chauvinist. Just a man. It’s something hard-wired. And it doesn’t help a bit that you’re…tiny.”
She sighed. “I’d tell you to get over it, but I’d be wasting my breath. Tell me the truth. Is your shoulder bothering you?”
The dull ache was so much a part of him now that he’d forgotten. But why had she asked? Was she looking for an excuse to let things move to the next level?
Caleb tried to rein in the excitement humming in his veins, but her position, propped on an elbow, exaggerated the deep indentation of her waist and the swell of her hip. Damn, he’d love to get closer.
He grunted, which Fari took as a yes. The closest the macho man would come to admitting he was human and hurting.
“Tell you what. There’s room for both of us—if we sleep on our sides.” She rolled to face the wall, and held her breath.
After a few moments, he moved tentatively onto the cot, sliding in behind her, his body pressed to hers. “Anything comes up, ignore it, ma’am.”
She smiled in the darkness, liking the low rumble of his voice.
His hand settled on her waist, and his knees bumped the backs of hers as he gently forced them into a closer embrace.
“Don’t go getting any ideas,” she whispered breathlessly.
“Too late,” he murmured, his breath gusting against her hair.
His face nuzzled her neck and his breathing deepened, then evened out.
Was he going to fall asleep that quickly? Because she was wide awake now. All her previous warnings to herself about keeping this strictly professional were losing their starch with tall, dark and brawny plastered to her backside. “’S nice,” he said sleepily.
Not the adjective she would have used. Not in a hundred years. She remembered the lazy slant of his eyes each time he’d challenged her.
Gradually, however, the warmth at her back, the feeling of complete safety, sheltered as she was in his arms, eased her toward sleep. Fari nestled closer, pushing her butt deeper against his groin and snuggling her head on the arm he’d slipped beneath her.
“Move again and I swear I won’t be responsible,” he muttered.
Her lips twitched. “Thought you were asleep.”
“Maybe this isn’t such a good idea.”
She’d just gotten used to being up close and personal, and now he was the one with complaints? “I was only trying to be nice.”
“You don’t feel nice.”
“Excuse me?”
“Rub that sweet butt against me one more time…” His hand tightened on her hip. “Babe, I’m holdin’ on by a thread.”
Something long and hard ground against her rear.
How had she missed that he was aroused? “I’m supposed to ignore that?”
Laughter gusted against her ear. And then her own body shook. Their laughter rose, and Fari turned in his arms to face him. “Looks like we’ve got a little problem.”
“Nothin’ little about it.” His arms tensed, but didn’t pull her any closer.
She knew he was fighting the urge to test her, to see whether she’d fold beneath the enforced intimacy. And if she was honest with herself, she’d have to admit she was tempted.
“This is strictly against protocol.” She said the words, but even she could hear the breathy tremor in her voice.
“Who’s gonna know?”
“You will. And tomorrow, you’ll have that cat that licked the cream look.” She shut her eyes, realizing how her words could be construed.
His chuckle vibrated against her. “Could I get that lucky?”
She didn’t answer, but opened her eyes, meeting his steady gaze.
He didn’t seem to expect an answer. He leaned toward her, and she angled her face to meet his kiss. It was surprisingly sweet, and over way too quickly.
“Stop me anytime now,” he warned.
Fari’s breathing hitched. She bridged the short gap between their bodies and ran her fingertips over the plain felt fabric on his sleeveless shirt, which he’d pulled from his trousers for comfort. “Aren’t you hot?” she asked, rubbing her palm over his chest, enjoying the play of muscles that resulted.
“I didn’t want to scare you.”
“Scare me?”
“I’m not little, Fari. I didn’t want you to think I was tryin’ to impress you.”
“With your manliness?” she teased.
“Something like that.”
She laughed softly and eased a little closer, until her breasts were brushing that
manly
swell of rock-hard chest.
A low growl rattled through him, and the hand he’d rested lightly on her hip slipped lower and enclosed one cheek of her butt. He gave a squeeze. “You’re softer than I thought you’d be.”
“Doesn’t mean there’s not muscle there. Just that it’s—”
“All woman. I didn’t miss that. First thing I noticed.”
Her lips twitched. “My ass?”
“No, the fact that you’re all female.” He breathed deeply and smoothed that wayward hand up her ribs and over her breast. His caress was gentle, but not the least bit hesitant.
He was taking charge, and here, at least, she was glad to let him do so. That way she didn’t have to think. Didn’t have to own the fact she was obligated to object. She didn’t have the heart to stop him. Not when everything inside her yearned for him.
“This doesn’t change a thing,” she whispered. “I still don’t like your attitude.”
He kissed her nose. “Tomorrow, it’ll be back to ‘ma’am’.”
Fari stretched up and licked his bottom lip. She waited for him to open, then slid her tongue inside his mouth for a long, languid taste. When she pulled back, she found it hard to breathe. Again. “Is it hot in here?” she asked, waving a hand near her face.
She found herself dumped on the mattress, with him kneeling above her, tugging his shirt over his head.
She didn’t wait for him to finish, but glided her hands over his hot skin, molding her palms to the ridged abs running down his belly, then rubbing the pads of her fingers over his small, flat nipples.
His shirt landed somewhere on the floor, and then he was tugging her up and quickly stripping away her shift. He opened her pants and pulled clothing away—so quickly she didn’t have a chance to blush.
Not that that would have stopped him. He stood beside the bed and untied the knot that held his trousers closed, then pushed them down.
“They sent you commando?” she asked, her breath suddenly choppy. Caleb’s swagger wasn’t posturing. The man was built to please.
“Maybe men here don’t wear ’em. Or maybe they just knew this is how I like to be. Havin’ second thoughts? Want me to stop?”
She ought to. The part of her that was all about the mission should have nipped this in the bud.
But Fari knew she was sunk. No turning back. In answer, she came up on her knees in front of him and slid her hands around his body, then snuggled her face against his chest and began to kiss him.
Caleb’s breath left him in a long groan. The minute her hot, moist mouth began to kiss and suck its way across his chest, her tongue lashing at his nipples, he knew there was no way in hell he wasn’t gonna have her.
Fari might have been a little shy about moving her sweet mouth downward, but her hands were doing a low crawl toward the line of departure.
However, when her fingers wrapped around his length, he pushed them way.
Her head came up, her mouth swollen and wet, her half-lidded eyes questioning.
“Doesn’t seem fair,” he murmured, twisting the bottom hem of the undershirt that flattened her breasts like a sports bra and gave it a tug.
Her teeth bit into her lower lip, but she raised her arms, her gaze never leaving his until he pushed the soft fabric over her head. Then he leaned back, his gaze taking a slow path down her body.
His throat tightened, along with the rapidly beating muscle in his chest. Pale skin tinted a light almond looked too fragile for his callused fingers to touch. Rusty-brown nipples with spiked tips made his mouth water.
He gave her a gentle shove, toppling her backward onto the mattress, and wrestled with the serious knot at her waist. But he was determined. It loosened, and he whipped her pants off, then climbed right over her sweet little body.
He eased himself down, bracing his weight on his elbows, until he lay atop her body, his cock snug against her belly.
He scooped her mouth up with his, rocking against her, showing her how he was going to take her. Slow and easy, but thoroughly.
Her legs parted, her thighs riding his hips. Her hands slid down either side of his spine, hesitating for only a fraction of a second before they opened over his buttocks and gave him a squeeze.
“Ah, sweetheart,” he groaned. “Last chance.”
But she shook her head and dug her nails into his backside.
Good enough for him. Caleb pulled away, angled his hips and made a single glide between her folds, then moaned when he found her slick, wet opening. Another glide and he centered himself and thrust up to fill her tight well.
Fari came unglued, moaning loudly. Her body undulated beneath him, her thighs scissoring around his hips, encouraging him to move faster, her nails scraping his skin. “Harder,” she whispered.
He gave her a fierce kiss, gritting his teeth to keep the pace slow. He pulled out then and once more slid home. “Not too fast?”
“Perfect,” she said, her voice deepening.
Wet heat surrounded him, and he was lost to the sensations, her walls closing around him, caressing his shaft in soft little ripples that drove him crazy.
He backed onto his knees, thrust his arms under her thighs and pulled her butt off the bed. Then, locking gazes, he worked his cock into her, pulling her close, then easing her off, while he pumped faster and faster.
Her hands closed around her breasts, nipples peeking between her splayed fingers, and he didn’t think he’d ever seen anything as sexy when her back arched, her mouth opened and she gave a short, husky shout.
Caleb continued to give her what she needed, not slowing until she eased down onto the bed, her head turning from side to side while the ripples gripping his shaft slowed.
When her eyes blinked open, he lowered her thighs and lay down over her, his cock still thick and hard, lodged deep inside her. An urgent, almost painful heat throbbed in his groin, but he wanted her to watch when he came apart. Just to even things up a bit.
Tomorrow, she might be embarrassed by what they’d done in the middle of a mission, but she would have the image of what he looked like when he lost it to ease that discomfort.
Her fingers traced his mouth, then slid around his ear. She tugged his lobe and leaned up to whisper, “What’s holding you back, cowboy?”
“Ladies first.”
Her laugh was a soft huff of breath. “Such a gentleman.”
“Hardly ever.”
“What’s the occasion?”
“I wanted to watch you come apart. Now it’s your turn.”
Her heavy-lidded glance lowered to his shoulder as she gently traced the edges of the puckered dent in his flesh. “I don’t understand you.”
He turned his head and nudged away her fingers with his mouth. “I’m not that complicated. I promise.”
A deep breath pressed her chest against his. “Tell me what you need.”
“All I need is right here,” he said, with a short glide of his cock.
She wrinkled her nose. “That’s crude.”
“It’s the truth.”
“No sugarcoating?”
“Would you respect me as much if I did?”
“Nope.”
He gave another sexy glide, and her eyelids fluttered downward, only to blink lazily and then widen at his tight smile. “Not going to be polite about this, are you?” she groused.
Caleb grinned. “Think that’s even possible?” He’d managed it more than a few times, with lovers he’d liked a whole lot better than this prickly little lieutenant. But this time, he knew deep in his gut, things were going to get messy. Thoughts of how it might be to wake up next to her more mornings than they had left filled him with regrets. And he didn’t like regrets.
He’d made a mistake, letting things go this far. They had a job to do, and the closer they got, the harder it might be for him to keep that mission in mind. Not when he was already worried about how he’d keep her safe.
Still, he was way past being able to call a halt to this. Not when the part of him that liked her a lot was so damn hard, and right now exactly where it wanted to be. Urgency tightened his balls. He dropped his forehead to the prickly mattress beside her head, inhaled the scent of fresh straw and tried to regain a little perspective and hold on to his control.
But her hands were digging into his back, her nails raking down his spine. When she cupped his buttocks and dug deep, he gave another rocking glide, then another, then came up on his arms because he was lost.