Heat It Up (7 page)

She choked down a laugh. “I’m sure he does.”

The next five holes went by far too quickly for Jane’s liking. Although Becker didn’t say much to the other men, she liked them immensely. Carson’s sarcasm was endearing, Will’s brooding made her laugh, and the two young ones were unbelievably entertaining. Ryan and Matt flirted up a storm with her, complimenting her, quizzing her about how serious she and Becker were, which elicited a frown from her date. But she knew Becker wasn’t angered by their behavior. He seemed to be fighting back laughter the entire time, as if Evans and O’Connor, as he addressed them, were harmless little siblings he didn’t take seriously.

After they finished the last hole, Jane took her bows as she was declared the official winner. Becker and Will headed over to the booth to return everyone’s putters and balls, leaving Jane alone with Carson, Ryan and Matt, who all eyed her with extreme curiosity.

“What’s he like?” Carson asked, lowering his voice despite the fact that Becker was completely out of earshot.

“Seriously,” Ryan added. “We’ve been trying to get a handle on the Lieutenant for a while now.

He’s barely spoken two words since he joined the team.”

Jane felt her cheeks grow warm. What was Becker like?
Intense
, she wanted to say. She thought about the way he moved inside her body and added
passionate
to the list.
Thoughtful
, because he made her breakfast. But as she opened her mouth to respond, the only word she really wanted to say was
mine.

She had no clue where it came from, this weird idea that Becker belonged to her. That she even
wanted
him to belong to her. All she knew was that, in the last five days, she’d started to really like Thomas Becker. They were almost polar opposites. He was serious, she was wild and outspoken. He considered each word carefully before speaking, she just blurted out whatever entered her mind. But sex...that’s where they were completely in sync.

“He’s sweet,” she finally said.

That got her three pairs of wide eyes.

“Sweet?” Carson wheezed out. “No way.”

Ryan nodded in agreement. “No way is Lieutenant Becker sweet. He’s prickly as hell.” Jane laughed. “Yeah, he’s prickly. But he’s also…”

“Sweet,” Matt supplied, looking like he was holding back laughter.

“
Yes
,” she insisted.

“Whatever you say,” Carson answered with a careless shrug.

“So, about that interview,” Ryan suddenly said. His blue eyes swept over her face, the corner of his mouth quirking. “When and where?”

“You’ll really do it?” she said. “I thought you were joking before.”

“No, I’ll answer a few questions. But only if you don’t publish my name. Our commanding officer is pretty anal about that shit. He doesn’t like the team getting any publicity.”

“No names,” she assured him. Deep down, she wished Becker could have agreed this readily to the interview, but she respected his decision. She wasn’t one of those overbearing journalists who stalked potential sources.

“You’re here until Sunday?” Ryan asked.

“Yeah. Maybe we can meet up tomorrow?”

“Sure,” he said easily. He stuck his hand in the back pocket of his long red surf shorts and pulled out a cell phone. “Put your number in here and I’ll call you tomorrow to figure out a time.” Jane took the phone and entered her contact info. As she handed it back, Ryan’s hand brushed hers and a spark of heat went off in her belly. She stared at his long, callused fingers, then met his gaze, which was playful with just the slightest glimmer of sensuality. Lord, this man probably had no problems getting women in bed. One touch, one heated look, and even she, who’d been having the best sex of her life for the past week, was tempted to get naked with him.

She took her hand back, just as the sound of footsteps came from behind. She turned and greeted Becker with a smile, but he didn’t return it. His dark eyes were expressionless, but she saw a muscle jump in his jaw. Was he pissed at her? Angry that they’d ended up spending the afternoon with his teammates rather than by themselves?

“Ready to go?” he said quietly.

“Sure.” She turned to the other men. “It was nice meeting all of you.” Carson, Will, and Matt nodded in agreement, shooting her charming grins. Ryan grinned too, then added, “I’ll call you tomorrow to set up the interview.”

They said their goodbyes, and then she and Becker were walking back to his SUV. He still had that distant look on his face, and he didn’t say a word until they were well away from the golf course. “They liked you.”

Jane smiled. “I liked them too.” She hesitated. “Why don’t you spend time with them when you’re not on base?”

“Different interests,” Becker said with a shrug. He flicked the right turn signal and changed lanes.

“Evans and O’Connor are out every night, chasing women and partying. Can you honestly see me doing that?”

“No. But what about Carson? Or Will? Will totally seemed like your man-soul mate.” Becker let out a laugh. “Yeah, I like Will. He’s married, lives with his wife in a small town, an hour or two from here. So he’s not around much, from what I hear. And Carson lives with his girlfriend, spends most of his time with her.”

“He said they do this mini-golf thing once a month,” Jane pointed out. “Maybe you should go with them next time.”

“Maybe.”

Becker fell silent again. They drove over the bridge into Coronado, in the direction of the hotel, but it wasn’t until they reached the parking lot that he spoke again.

“You were attracted to him.”

Jane’s head jerked up. “Huh?”

“Ryan. You were attracted to him.”

She was unsure how to respond, especially since she couldn’t figure out where he was going with this, or how he even felt about it. His face was completely expressionless, his tone calm.

“I saw your face when he touched your hand,” Becker added when she still didn’t answer.

“I reacted to him, yeah,” she said frankly. “He’s a good-looking guy. They all are.”

“But you only reacted to Evans.”

Becker shut off the engine and unbuckled his seatbelt, but made no move to get out of the car. Jane undid her own seatbelt then studied him carefully. “Where is this coming from? And what is it you want me to say? Yes, there was a spark of attraction when he touched me.” Becker searched her eyes, a deep line creasing his forehead. “If I wasn’t there, if you’d met him on your own, would you fuck him?”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “After a five-minute encounter? I’m not
that
bold. Maybe if he bought me dinner first.” She tilted her head to the side. “I’m not sure why we’re talking about this. I don’t plan on fucking anyone but you, Beck.” She reached for the door handle. “In fact, let’s get out of the car and find us a bed. I think I need to show you who I
really
want to be with.” Chapter Five

Becker fought a strange wave of anger as he followed Jane into the bedroom of his cottage. She was already reaching for the tie around her neck that held her halter dress in place. She lifted her wavy red hair and undid the knot beneath it, letting the dress slip down to the floor. She wore a bikini-style bra and that sexy thong he’d watched her put on earlier, and he wanted nothing more than to step toward her and run his fingers over every inch of her body, but for some reason he remained rooted in place.

And for some reason, he couldn’t stop picturing another man’s fingers on Jane’s curvy body.

Another man’s fingers pinching her nipples. Sliding into her pussy. The thought made him curl his hands into fists. Jealousy streaked through him, so strong, so potent that his entire body went stiff as a rod. He still remembered the pink flush of Jane’s cheeks as Ryan Evans touched her hand, the seductive little smile she’d shot Evans. At that moment, Becker had wanted to throttle the other man, and the volatile reaction had caught him off guard.

So what if Jane was attracted to another man? She was only here for three more days. They would both go their separate ways then, and unless Jane took a vow of celibacy, she would probably find another man after she and Becker said goodbye. Maybe not right away, but eventually, she’d be fucking someone else. Someone who wasn’t him.

His blood began to burn again.

“What is the matter with you?” Jane asked, rolling her eyes. She stood half-naked in front of him, while he was fully dressed and loitering in the bedroom doorway. “Please don’t tell me you’re still thinking about Ryan and me.”

“I…” He cleared his throat then opened his mouth to continue, but the words that came out were ones he’d been trying not to think about since he’d witnessed the sparks between Jane and Evans. “I was actually considering inviting him back here with us.”

Jane’s blue eyes widened. “What? Why?”

“So he could fuck you.” His voice thickened. “So
we
could fuck you.” Her breasts rose as she sucked in a sharp breath. “Why would you want to do that?”

“Because…because it would get you out of my system,” he burst out.

Painful understanding dawned on her face. “You want to see me with another man. You want to think of me as a slut, don’t you?” Her tone softened. “That way you could hate me. And if you hate me, then you wouldn’t have to like me so much, right?”

He didn’t answer, his throat suddenly going dry. Damn her. Why was she so fucking perceptive?

She’d completely called him out. Figured him out. And she was right. When he’d seen the flicker of arousal in her eyes while she’d been standing with Ryan, the jealousy had come fast and fierce. Jealousy he shouldn’t be feeling over a woman he’d only known a week. Sex for eight days, that’s all he’d wanted out of this. But he’d gotten much more.
Too
much more.

“Well, you know what?” Jane said with a sigh. “I don’t think it would have made a difference.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Seeing me with Ryan wouldn’t make you hate me.” Very methodically, she unclasped the front of her bra and threw it aside, revealing her big, mouthwatering tits. “I think it would have turned you on.” He shook his head. “I would’ve strangled him.”

She shook her head right back then removed her thong. She moved naked toward the bed. Offered him a tantalizing view of her firm ass as she bent down to open the top drawer of the nightstand. She pulled out a condom and the tube of lubrication they’d been using the past week. “You would have loved it,” she corrected, her blue eyes sizzling with heat. “Come on, Becker, tell me it doesn’t turn you on, the thought of Ryan’s cock plunging inside me. Tell me you don’t get hard thinking about him inside my pussy, while you fuck my ass.”

His dick turned to marble, pushing against his zipper. Damn it. Damn
her
. She was right. Despite the relentless jealousy pulsing through his veins, he
was
aroused.

Jane eyed him knowingly then shot a pointed look at his bulging erection. “That’s what I thought.” She licked her lips, desire and anger battling on her beautiful face. “Come here, Becker. Take your goddamn clothes off and come here. Let’s see how much it turns you on.” It was almost like a magnetic force was drawing him to her. His body was taut, muscles straining as he did what she asked and shucked his clothing. He walked over to her, naked, his cock eagerly jutting out at her.

Her touch wasn’t gentle as she gripped his erection. “I want you in my ass,” she said in a throaty voice.

Becker’s pulse sped up like a racecar tearing toward the finish line. “Are you serious?” he choked out.

“Dead serious.” She teased his tip with her index finger, rubbing the drop of precome. “And I want you to pretend he’s here with us.”

He opened his mouth to protest, but she cut him off with a stern look. “You started this, Beck, and we’re going to finish it.”

She gave his cock one last caress, then lowered herself onto the bed and tossed him the condom. He rolled the latex onto his stiff shaft and joined Jane on the bed, reaching for the lube. He squirted a hefty amount into his palm then flipped her onto her stomach and began to stroke her. Kneaded her firm cheeks with his hand. Circled her puckered hole with his finger, got it nice and slick. Jane gasped when he slipped the tip of his finger into her ass. “Want me to stop?” he said hoarsely.

“No, keep going.” She moaned as he pushed his finger deeper inside. “
Yes
, Beck, keep doing that.” His heart pounded in his chest, his groin so tight with anticipation he could barely move. Fuck, he wanted to be in that tight ass. He stretched her with his finger, rubbing lubrication over the delicate opening. A second finger entered the mix, then a third, until Jane was moaning wildly. She was on her hands and knees, but when he poised himself behind her, she rolled onto her side and said, “Like this. I want you to imagine him here with us, fucking me from the front while you’re thrusting from behind.” A jolt of arousal shot through him. The picture she’d just painted wasn’t supposed to turn him on, damn it. Yet it did. It fucking did.

Becker slid down and pressed himself into the graceful curve of her back. His balls were heavy, aching with the need for release. He shoved Jane’s unruly red waves off her neck and kissed her nape, swirling his tongue over the little hairs there. She whimpered and wiggled her ass into him. She was slick from the lube, slicker from the sweet juices soaking her pussy. When he slid his hand between her legs and felt the moisture pooled there, he couldn’t help but slide into her pussy for a few languid strokes.

They both groaned, and Becker pushed in deeper, thrust harder, cupping a firm ass cheek with one hand and teasing her puckered hole with his other. He slid his finger inside, and she was so tight, he was paralyzed with lust. Fuck, he needed to be in there.