Ashfall (15 page)

Pressing kisses to her mouth, he murmured, “Damn, that was beautiful.”

Boldly she reached down to stroke his cock, but he drew away. He left her arms only long enough to grab another condom.

“On your hands and knees, babe,” he said.

Eager, she planted herself on hands and knees and tilted her butt upwards. She heard him put on another condom. He gripped her cheeks and with a single stroke eased into her channel. She moaned at the pleasure and closed her eyes. This time he wasn’t as slow, and each powerful stroke into her body threatened to send her over the edge. He was wilder, his throaty groans thrilling and arousing. She burst into orgasm as she slammed back into his next thrust. At the same time he held deep within her and with a loud groan he unraveled.

As they collapsed to the bed, she couldn’t help but smile again.

* * * *

Adam awakened to semi-darkness—the bathroom nightlight gave some illumination. He was spooned around Mally. He glanced over at the bedside clock. Almost five in the morning, and he figured Mally’s alarm clock would go off soon. He’d stayed the night with her, not caring if the General knew they were together. The General’s quarters were separate and at the other end of the building. Even if he had come in last night, Adam doubted he would have heard them fucking like maniacs. Adam smiled. And they had. Okay, he’d fucked her twice and made her come at least five times. He wasn’t above admitting to himself that although it wasn’t a competition, he loved that she’d gone over so many times.

He inhaled deeply and nuzzled her hair. She smelled so damned good. His cock grew hard as a spike, and he gritted his teeth. Restless and horny, he shifted against her. He pressed his cock against her butt cheeks, then palmed the round globes. She was the sexiest woman he’d ever known, and something warmer than lust gripped him. Like it or not, he wanted her with him in his arms every night, and the possessiveness growing inside terrified him on more than one level. To her sex might be just sex, and before taking her into his arms he’d felt that way about sex, too. Contrary to most of the men he knew, he didn’t sleep around much. It was easier and less complicated to take his own cock in hand if he needed release. But with the few women he’d taken to bed, he’d felt affection towards them. Nothing as mind-melting had happened to him in the way it had with Mally. Nothing as serious.

Until now.

Yeah, he felt
damned
serious.

She moved against him. A little moan that sounded like a whimper, and he kissed her shoulder. She wriggled a bit and brushed against his erection. He grabbed a condom from the bedside table and rolled it on. She lifted her left thigh and anchored it over his, parting the way. He took advantage, placing his cock at her silky entrance. Fuck, but she was wet. He thrust slowly and she gasped. Sliding deep, he savored the tight, wet clasp. He hissed in a breath at the amazing sensation.

“Adam, oh,” Her breathy moan told him how much she loved it.

“Mmm,” he murmured against her shoulder as the hot embrace of her wet channel enveloped him. He thrust once. Twice.
Holy shit.

He cupped her breast, tugging at the beaded nipple while sliding in and out of her at a leisurely pace. He loved the sounds she made, the whimpers and moans as excitement brought her closer to the edge. She squirmed in his hold, moving her hips, writhing as they worked their way to the top. He groaned as the feelings rose. He teased her clit, fingering her until she came with a shout, panting and moaning as he thrust harder and faster. Each rapid pulse of her flesh coaxed him to shoot off, and seconds later he couldn’t hold out. He plowed deep and came with one scalding blast of ecstasy after another. When they came down, he left her and cleaned up in the bathroom. She did the same, and when she returned to bed, she crawled straight into his arms and they fell asleep again.

When he awakened next it was to the smell of coffee. He felt sluggish as hell. He opened one eye and glanced around the room. Light came from the living area, and Mally was no longer in his arms. He groaned and sat up. A glance at the clock showed it was seven. Shit. She hadn’t woken him. If the General had wanted them for anything, he hadn’t called. Adam shoved his hands in his hair and sat on the side of the bed. Time to move his lazy ass. After taking a quick shower, he dressed and left the bedroom.

Mally sat in one chair sipping coffee and staring into space. She was wrapped in a robe, and he wondered immediately if she was naked under there. His mind planted firmly in the gutter. He smiled, feeling all kinds of crazy stupid, almost tongue tied with this need to say things he’d never said to another woman. Sex with Mally had taken him to heights he’d never known existed. Making love with Mally had been gut-wrenching, heart-stopping sex that tore him up and realigned him back together. It shook him to the core, and as he stared at her, he couldn’t articulate a damned thing.

She frowned and gathered her thick hair together at the back of her neck. “Something wrong?”

“No. Just looking at the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

She laughed, but not the girly, high-pitched kind of amusement. This was throaty. Sexy. “Flattery, sir?”

He headed for the coffee pot. “Truth.” She stayed put, and after he grabbed a mug of black coffee, he planted himself in the chair next to her. “What’s on your agenda for today?”

She sighed. “Well, considering we both almost got blown to bits yesterday, I’m feeling sort of rattled. I guess if the General wants us to rest, I should rest. But I don’t know…I feel like I should be useful in some way. We also haven’t made it to the compound.”

Worried, he placed his mug on the table between them. “Yeah, we do need to get over there. That isn’t all, though. Something else is bothering you. Talk to me.”

“I’m a little confused about what I’m thinking.”

“Confused?”

“I’m wondering if what we did last night was more to do with affirming life than…” She glanced up at him through her dark lashes as her statement faded.

Ah, shit.
Was she pulling away? “What? You’re regretting it?”

She lowered her eyes, clutching her coffee cup between both hands. “No. I could never regret it in a million years. But everything is in turmoil these days.” She looked at him again, sadness and maybe fear in her eyes. “It’s hard to know what’s real.”

He swallowed hard. Well, he’d told himself the same thing before they’d had sex, hadn’t he? Something inside him broke loose and told him to follow what he felt rather than trying to logic himself to death. “What’s real is now. That’s all that’s real. Maybe it’s better to feel than to pretend we don’t feel anything. I’m over that, Mally. When I thought you were hurt…that we both could have died yesterday, it tore me up in way I’d never experienced. Do you trust me?”

She looked up at him, and it seemed her heart was in her eyes. “I trust you with my life.”

Sweet words. They made him ache to protect her. “Good. Because I trust you with mine.”

Her eyes widened and then she stood abruptly. She went to the sink and put her coffee mug in the dishwasher. He rose, determined to cut her off if she decided to leave and ignore what they felt.

“This is all too close for comfort. Too confusing.” She started for the bedroom.

He stepped in front of her and took her shoulders gently. “What I’m trying to say is that what we have isn’t the same as every other relationship I’ve had. It is more. More of everything. Tell me how you really feel about me.”

That request seemed to panic her, and she closed her eyes. She slipped her hands over his pecs, and his body reacted instantly. The fall of her pretty hair over her shoulders, her faintly flowery scent, the supple curves of her body…all of it drove him crazy. He wanted her again with a raging need. Hot arousal brought his cock to attention, and he drew her close. She inhaled sharply when his erection pressed against her.

Her expression turned cool and collected. “When this is all over, when I’m back at my house and you’re back to working like you always do, this will just be a nice interlude.”

“Bullshit,” he said softly. “Tell me. Do you care about me or not? Was this really about sexual release?”

She shook her head, and when she gently brushed over his bristly cheek with a tender touch, his heart yearned for her as potently as his body.

“I’ve never…” She swallowed. “You make me feel things no other man ever has. And it scares me to death.”

Holy hell, this woman made him crazy and uncontrollable. He didn’t wait for her to initiate a kiss, but took one. Long, deep, probing for her secrets with each plunge of his tongue. He wanted her to taste him, to accept his thrust. She leaned into his body, and he molded her sweet ass cheeks in his hands. Suddenly she bucked against him, and he wanted her heat, her taste on his tongue. He lifted her in his arms, and she flung her arms around his neck. Adam took them to the bedroom and sat her on the edge of the bed. He got on his hands and knees, and slipped open her robe. Her breasts stayed covered, but her panties acted as a barrier to what he wanted. He slid them off, and the sight of silky feminine pussy already glistening with moisture almost made him growl with satisfaction.

He parted her thighs, and she stayed propped up on her elbows and watched him. He smiled at her, and her cheeks went pink. So she wanted to watch? The idea made his cock ache.
Hell, yeah.
He leaned in and tasted. She was sweet and musky and the most delicious thing he’d ever experienced. She gasped and laid back as he licked, his tongue making sweeps over her. He took his time, listening to her sighs of pleasure as he licked over and around. Finally he reached her clit and fluttered over it, nibbled and explored until her moans escalated to begging. Sensing she couldn’t take anymore, he slipped a finger deep inside her and gently sucked her clit. She cried out and shook. His cock was hard as a spear, and he wanted her with a fierce desire. He stood, chucked his clothes and snatched another condom. She pulled off her robe and scooted up on the bed, then turned over on her hands and knees.

“Oh, baby,” he gasped the words as she presented her naked ass.

With one plunge, he thrust straight to the core. Heat enveloped him, and he drew back and started a deep rhythm.

She clawed at the bedcovers. “Yes. Please.”

Her pleas urged him into a faster motion, pounding into her with a frenzy. She pushed back, meeting each of his thrusts with one of her own. Her body sucked him in, tugging along his shaft each time he pulled back. It was rapid, and seconds later she screamed in orgasm. He gave a last heaving thrust and shook all over in climax. His entire body throbbed, pulsing with ecstasy. They fell to the bed in a tangle of arms and legs, and Adam knew that no matter what happened, he’d never forget a single moment in her arms.

When the phone by the bed rang, he started. He crawled over to the bedside table and grabbed it. “Yeah.”

“Thought you’d be in there,” the General’s voice came over the line. Before Adam could say anything, the General continued with, “I’m just checking to see how both of you are. Any side effects from the explosion?”

Only if wild sex could be considered as a side effect.
Adam glanced over at Mally and smiled. She lay sprawled on her back. “Uh…no. We’re fine.”

“Good. You’ll be happy to know Mark is feeling well enough to come back to work.”

Adam sat on the edge of the bed and looked away from Mally’s distracting body. “Excellent. Any word from Ian?”

“Not a damned word. I’m seriously worried.”

“Then send us out to find him.”

“Can’t. The government contract can’t be broken. If we do, we all lose our jobs.”

Irritation welled up in Adam. “Sir, I don’t think a fucking contract is worth leaving Ian and Penny out in this mess. We need to find them.”

The General sucked in a deep breath, and Adam waited for the man’s reaction.

“You’re right. Damn it, you’re right.” The General’s voice broke. “Let’s mount up.”

“I’m going with you.” Mally’s voice cracked on the last word, her throat tight with anger.

Adam’s gaze snapped to hers as they stood in the war room. The General stood at the doorway with impatience clear on his face. Less than an hour had passed since they’d decided to rescue Ian and Penny.

Adam’s mouth tightened, and his biceps bulged as he crossed his arms. “No.”

Everything rebellious inside Mally rose to the surface. She planted her hands on her hips. “Why?”

The General broke in. “MacDaniel might be a son-of-a-bitch, but he’s a reliable son-of-a-bitch. If some serious shit hadn’t gone down they’d be back by now.” Decked out in battle dress uniform, the General had a sharp military edge a suit couldn’t give him. “You’re an asset to our team, but you aren’t as trained as you need to be in this situation. Stay here and stay safe.”

Adam’s expression eased and he sighed. “Sir, can I have some privacy with Mally?”

The General left and closed the door without another word. She stared at the whiteboard until Adam stepped into her vision.

“Mally.” He clasped her arms gently, but his voice had military command written into it. “This isn’t negotiable. You’ll be helping us by staying right here. I won’t worry about you, and therefore I won’t be distracted, okay? Plus, I’ve shown you the ropes here. You can hold down the fort.”

The tender way he clasped her arms stirred affection. Affection and fear for his life. And if she was honest with herself, fear for herself. The steel in his eyes told Mally he wouldn’t relent.

When she didn’t speak, his expression softened. “After the RPG almost blowing us to hell, I’m scared. Don’t you get it, Mally? Ever since I first heard your voice on the radio I’ve wanted you safe.”

Affection turned deeper, warmer at his soft words and the vulnerability she saw in his gaze. An ache started in her throat and made it impossible to speak. Tears threatened, but she held them in check.

She placed her hands on his chest, soaking in the sensation of his hard muscle. With effort she forced words past her lips. “I’d be safe if I was with you.”