A Sexy SEAL Novella Anthology (14 page)

So she’d got on with it.

She didn’t have any illusions about
forgetting the pain of Noah’s rejection, but after years of trying
she’d finally patched over it.

But if she gave in to the passion heating
her belly, the same passion she saw in his eyes, she’d be ripping
away that patch, leaving herself bare to the misery.

She couldn’t risk it.

Even as her body practically whimpered its
protest, she stiffened her shoulders and her resolve.

“I’d say that you had your chance and you
walked away. Now you can watch me do the same.”

With that, despite the miserable pain in her
heart, Gwen turned on one heel and forced herself to march through
the double doors. Unable to leave without explaining her departure
to Russell, but unwilling to face anyone, she hurried toward a
side-corridor and the haven of temporary peace it offered.

Traditions were followed for a reason.

Obviously, breaking them was bad luck. Which
made it clear that she should have followed her New Year’s Eve
tradition and stayed at home.

She’d be blissfully sick on an ice cream
overdose right now, laughing sympathetically as Ross insisted to
Rachel that they were on a break. She’d be oblivious to Noah’s
return, and probably wouldn’t even find out he’d been back until he
was long gone again.

Far away, out of temptation’s reach where he
couldn’t stir up these dormant wants and desperate needs. Where he
wouldn’t remind her of what it felt to live with an open heart,
high hopes and impossible dreams.

She was halfway down the hall when Noah
grabbed her arm. Her stomach jumped into her throat, knotting there
so she could barely breathe.

His fingers were hot on her skin as he spun
her around, his body pinning her against the cool marble wall.

Her legs went weak as she caught the look in
his eyes. Her nerves didn’t stand a chance against the hot passion
in those hazel depths.

With one hand on either side of her head,
Noah leaned in.

“The least I can do before you marry another
man is remind you of what you’ll be missing.”

She wanted to hiss and spit at his
arrogance.

She wanted to roll her eyes and shove him
away.

She really wanted to feel nothing, to have
no reaction at all.

But she couldn’t do any of those things.

All she could do was watch as he lowered his
head.

Feel as his mouth closed over hers.

Hot, intense and desperate, his lips slid
over hers in big hungry bites before he nipped at her bottom lip.
Gwen gasped as need, sharp and painful, gripped her. As if he’d
been waiting for just that, his tongue plunged.

Her body melted. Her mouth opened, tongue
tangling with his as she gave herself over to sensations pounding
through her.

“I gave you one last ride before I walked,”
he reminded her in a rough voice between kisses. “Aren’t you going
to give me the same?”

She knew she should shove him away. She
should call him out, cuss him out and
then
shove him
away.

Instead, her fingers gripped his shoulders,
clenching tight before she pressed her palms down the hard muscles
of his chest. Oh, baby, what a body he had. It’d been amazing at
twenty-three. Cut and strong. But now? Now it was freaking
unbelievable.

Her mind screamed warnings that her body
ignored.

She’d wanted Noah since she was seventeen.
She’d dreamed about him, fantasized over him, reveled in him and
craved him.

Then she’d done without him.

If this was it, her only chance for the rest
of her life?

Then by damn, she was going to have all of
him.

Holy hell, he hadn’t thought daring Gwen
would work.

At best, he’d figured it would goad her into
losing her temper, telling him what she intended to do about
Russell. Noah hadn’t actually planned for them to take that ride
until after the party when he’d talked his way into her place.

But now that she was in his arms? Now that
she’d answered his challenge to take a ride?

Now he couldn’t resist seeing how far they
got.

She tasted so good.

She felt even better.

Noah had spent the last three years telling
himself Gwen wasn’t as delicious as he remembered, pretending that
his cravings for her were all in his imagination.

But now that he tasted her again?

Now that her flavor coated his tongue?

He knew better.

Need pounded through him, desperate and edgy
as he sipped at her lips. His tongue dipped into the welcoming
warmth of her mouth, testing. Tasting. Wanting.

She felt so good.

His hands curved over her waist, skimming
along the sweet flare of her hips before sliding down to cup the
sexy slope of her butt cheeks.

Her body fit perfectly against his, her
breasts pressed to his chest, their fullness pure temptation.

Oh yeah. She tasted good.

And she felt even better.

Noah’s fingers squeezed her butt again as he
reveled in the fullness before he angled his hands up to slide
between their bodies. He pressed upward until he could cup one
full, tempting breast. Warm and lush, it filled his palm to
overflowing.

How many nights had he woken in a sweat,
hard and horny because he’d been dreaming about these breasts? So
many that he’d lost count over the years.

His fingers scraped along the edge of deep
vee of her dress, the sequins a cool contrast to the hot silk of
her skin.

He dipped his finger a little lower, his
nail scraping over the delightfully pebbled tip of her breast. The
feel of her gasp in his mouth was as exciting as the feel of her
nipple under his knuckle.

Gwen’s fingers dug into his shoulders, her
body pressing into his as if she were sinking into him. Like he
wanted to sink into her. Rock hard, his dick throbbed in time with
their dueling tongues.

Noah tried to reel himself back.

He’d only intended to remind her of what
they’d had. To prove to her—and yes, to himself—that the flame
hadn’t gone out between them.

But now that he’d tasted her again, he
couldn’t stop. Like an addict falling off the wagon after years of
abstinence, he needed to binge. The need was so desperate, the want
so intense, that he knew he’d give anything, do anything, to have
his fix.

His tongue plunged deeper, his knuckle
sweeping back then forth over the pebbled delight of her
nipple.

She moaned, light and soft against his
mouth.

She was so damned responsive, so freaking
hot. Her body was a work of art. One he wanted to strip down and
worship.

Now.

Tight with need, desperate for more, he
skimmed his fingers over her dress to scope out hooks and
zippers.

He wanted it gone.

He wanted her naked.

He had to see her.

It was Gwen’s trembling that pulled him back
from the edge.

Holy crap.

They were in a hallway.

A hallway that was the only thing separating
them from the view of two hundred pairs of curious eyes.

He didn’t want her marrying someone else,
not even Russell. But blindsiding her with seduction in a
semi-public hallway where they could be seen wasn’t fair.

He told himself that he should let her
go.

That little voice in his head warned him to
put a little distance between them—at least ten inches. Then he
could charm her into waiting here in the hall, chatting a little,
while he got his body under control. Then he’d sit her down and
have a civilized, fully-dressed conversation.

He didn’t know what he’d say, but he was
sure he could talk her into at least sitting down and talking with
him before she did something crazy like commit to another man.

Then she sucked his tongue into her
mouth.

And Noah lost it.

His train of thought.

His intentions.

His control.

He lost them all.

He grabbed her with one hand, the other
blindly reaching for the nearby doorknob. Wrenching the door open,
he pulled her into privacy.

Privacy turned out to be a dimly lit coat
closet. Given that it was a swank hotel, the closet was pretty good
sized. Not big enough to get horizontal, but definitely roomy
enough for some vertical action.

Noah took two seconds to recon, yanked the
door closed, then angled Gwen against the cozy wall of coats.

Her face was a shadow but he easily found
her mouth with his. Their tongues tangled, hot and wild. Her hands
raced over his body, shoving his jacket off his shoulders. Noah
reluctantly released her to let the heavy fabric slide off his
arms. As soon they were free, his hands dove into her hair,
slipping through the heavy silk before skimming down her body.

His fingers, accustomed to manipulating
complex explosive wiring in the dark, made quick work of the hooks
on her dress before tiptoeing down her spine. When they reached her
hips they encountered fabric again. Her zipper gave way to flesh.
Soft, succulent flesh.

God, she felt good.

Addictively good.

She gave a tiny moan of protest when he
pulled away, but he couldn’t stop himself. He had to see her.

His eyes, used to night maneuvers, had
adjusted easily in the dim light. Without his body holding it in
place, the heavy fabric of her dress fell, pooling at her hips for
a moment before the weight pulled it to the floor with a soft
thud.

Leaving her bare except for a tiny swatch of
black silk.

Noah’s mind went blank, even as his eyes
devoured her from the top of that silky black hair to the tips of
those slender, stiletto clad feet.

“Oh, Baby,” he murmured. Holy mother, she
was incredible.

Her head fell back against the cushioned
wall, her eyes gleaming as she stared back at him.

“This is crazy.”

“How can something that feels this good be
crazy?” he asked quietly, his eyes locked on the dream-worthy
vision of his hands cupping, holding, squeezing those lush breasts.
His thumbs circled her nipples, brushing back and forth over the
silken pebbles.

“We shouldn’t be together like this. The two
of us tighter, we’re a bad idea.”

But even as she murmured the words, she was
reaching for him. Her hands made fast work of his shirt, shoving at
the fabric to get to flesh.

As soon as she’d freed him of his shirt, she
pressed her hands over his pecs, working her way down his six-pack.
Her moan of appreciation made Noah damned grateful to the Navy for
keeping his body in such good shape.

“Then let’s be bad,” he suggested, leaning
forward to run his tongue over the sensitive tip of her breast
before blowing softly on the quivering flesh. At the same time his
fingers reached between her thighs to dance over her wet heat.
“Let’s be really, really bad.”

Taking her throaty moan as agreement, he
dropped to his knees. Leaning his head against her thigh for one
second, he closed his eyes and breathed deep, reveling in the fact
that he was here with her. That she was in his arms, real to his
touch.

He never wanted to let her go again.

Noah slowly, reverently, slid her panties
down her legs, his fingers caressing every inch of her flesh from
the top of her thighs to the tips of her toes still encased in
those sexy silver sandals.

As if she were a dream, he skimmed his hand
back up the inside of her thigh, spreading her legs just enough so
he could reach his goal.

Noah traced one finger along her pouty, wet
folds, then leaned forward to sip at her heat. He wanted to go
slow. To entice her as he lured her into a realm of pleasure she’d
never be able to escape.

But the first taste of her drove him
crazy.

He couldn’t resist. He had to have more.

His tongue plunged, his fingers working her
folds to send her up higher, faster.

She gripped his shoulders, the way her nails
dug into his flesh adding an erotic edge to his pleasure.

He felt her climax building before he heard
her breath quicken, before the sound of her soft moans escalated.
His fingers joined his tongue, stabbing and swirling.

She went over with a loud gasp.

The taste of her coating his tongue, the
sound of her cries echoing in his heart, he quickly rose.

He barely remembered to grab the condom out
of his pocket before he let his pants fall to the floor. In less
than two seconds he had Gwen in his arms again and his mouth on
hers.

He cupped her butt in his hands, squeezing
rhythmically in time with their dueling tongues, then gave her a
tiny lift. In sync, Gwen wrapped her legs around his hips, the
spiked edge of her heels digging into his hips.

One part of his mind—the only part of his
brain with a single drop of blood left—wondered at how perfectly in
sync their moves were still. Three years since they’d lost
themselves in each other and they still read each other
perfectly.

And he was reading her well enough to know
that she was about to explode.

Unable to wait any longer, he slid inside
her in a smooth, easy thrust.

Then he froze.

His arms clenched, his body tightening.

It took every single, solitary degree of
control he had to keep from exploding then and there.

Damn, she so hot. So wet and welcoming.

He buried his face in the curve of her
throat, breathing in her spicy floral scent.

Needs and emotions poured through him at
tsunami force.

He was home.

Oh, God.

Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God.

She was still reeling from the first orgasm
when Noah’s plunge sent her flying over the edge again. She could
barely breathe through the sensations ripping through her body,
spiraling faster and harder and stronger in tiny explosions of
pleasure.