Blaze of Glory (16 page)

“Sure.
Why
not?”
She
leaned
closer
until
she
knelt
in
front
of
him.
“We
both
want
it
so
much
our
toenails ache
and
we
obviously
haven’t
forgotten
each
other,
so
let’s
give
that
wildmonkey
sex—as
you
call
it—a chance
and
see
where
it
leads.”

“Okay.
Uh.”
Way
to
go
with
the
smooth
talk,
Romeo.
But
he
wanted
her
so
much
even
the
notion
of having
her
actually
initiate
the
encounter
scrambled
his
brain
like
Sundaymorning
eggs.
“I
would
have
liked to
give
you
a
more
romantic
setting.
This
is
a
bit,
uh,
high
schoolish,
doing
it
in
the
back
of
a
vehicle.”

“It’s
adventurous,”
she
insisted.
“I
would
think
you
would
be
an
outrageous
lover.” Ah,
hell.
She
had
high
expectations
going
into
this.
He
had
the
confidence
he
could
come
through,
but still…
He
would
just
have
to
work
all
the
more.
No
great
hardship.
“So
you
think
you
have
me
all
figured out,
do
you,
Doc?”

“Somewhat,
yes.”
She
nodded,
a
stray
strand
from
her
blond
braid
slipping
free
to
caress
her
jaw.
“Although you
do
tend
to
surprise
me
occasionally.”

He
released
her
hands
and
stroked
upward
to
her
hair,
tugging
apart
her
braid,
each
strand
of
gold
over
his hands
a
sensual
experience
all
its
own.
“Well
then,
prepare
to
be
surprised.” CHAPTER
TWELVE

GRACEMARIE’S
MINDraced
with
endless
possibilities
of
how
Bobby
could
surprise
her,
all
the
while knowing
she
probably
hadn’t
even
come
close
to
whatever
this
outrageous
man
might
have
in
mind.

“Stay
put.”
Bobby
dropped
a
quick
yet
intense
kiss
on
her
mouth.
“I’ll
be
right
back.” As
she
watched
him
leap
out
of
the
van
to
collect
heaven
only
knows
what,
she
kept
her
mouth
closed
and tipped
in
her
chair.
A
warm
burst
of
air
from
outside
gusted
in
along
with
silence
outside.
Bobby
shocked folks
on
a
regular
day.
She
could
only
imagine
what
he
would
have
in
store
if
he
worked
overtime
on
the stun
effect.

And
to
think
it
seemed
he
planned
to
put
all
that
creative
energy
into
making
love
to
her.
Gulp.
She
felt
a smidge
outclassed
here
given
her
own
limited
knowledge.
Her
past
couple
of
relationships
had
been satisfying
but
by
no
means
fireworksprovoking.

Bobby
seemed
to
be
the
fireworks
sort.

She
stuffed
down
her
insecurities.
This
could
well
be
her
only
chance
with
Bobby,
since
who
knew
what she
would
face
in
taking
care
of
her
father.
How
would
Bobby
feel
about
her
father
at
his
worst?
Certainly her
last
serious
relationship
had
broken
up
because
the
rat
bastard
had
made
it
clear
he
didn’t
want
her
crazy genetics
mixing
with
his.

For
nine
months,
she’d
regretted
not
making
love
to
Bobby,
even
if
their
relationship
couldn’t
have
gone anywhere.
How
atypical
for
her
to
want
a
fling.
Right
now
was
even
a
stretch
for
her,
but
she
wouldn’t
run from
him
this
time.

She
looked
around
at
all
the
technical
equipment,
computers,
screens
and
printers.
So
not
a
romantic
setting, but
this
was
about
the
two
of
them.

The
front
seat
had
possibilities.
And
thank
goodness
for
tinted
windows
and
the
front
windshield
cover.

Grace
Marie
passed
the
time
by
taking
off
her
boots.
She
wore
the
clunky
leather
combat
gear,
comfortable in
her
own
femininity,
but
they
weren’t
exactly
dome
pumps.
She
wriggled
her
bare
toes.
What
was
he doing
outside?
And,
sheesh,
if
he
didn’t
get
back
in
here
soon,
she
would
get
cold
feet.

Okay.
Not.
She’d
waited
nine
months
for
this
moment.
She
could
wait
nine
minutes
if
necessary.

The
side
door
slid
open
again
with
another
burst
of
muggy
air,
Bobby’s
lean
and
hot
form
filling
the opening,
his
arms
full
with
a
wadded
blanket.
“Did
you
lock
the
doors?”

“Oh,
uh,
no,
I
didn’t
think.
Can’t
think.”
She
risked
and
admitted,
“Because
of
you,
this,
what
we’re
finally going
to
do.”

“I
like
it
that
you
can’t
think
right
now.
That’s
a
real
rush.” He
locked
the
doors.
Committed.

Brushing
a
quick
but
no
less
sensual
kiss
across
her
lips,
he
reached
to
drop
the
blanket
on
the
bench
seat along
the
back.
No
cold
feet
on
her
part,
she
watched
and
waited.
The
militaryissue
blanket
blossomed open,
booty
tumbling
out.

“I
just
want
you
to
know
I
was
careful
and
stealthy
about
returning
to
the
van.
I
would
never
want
anything you
and
I
do
here
to
be
fodder
for
gossips,
and
God
knows
we
guys
are
the
worst
gossips.” He
won
her
over
so
totally
with
his
thoughtfulness
her
eyes
teared
up.
What
a
sweet
and
deep
gesture
she never
would
have
expected
from
him.

Hands
on
her
shoulders,
he
urged
her
down
to
sit
in
the
front
seat.

“Uh,
Bobby,
about
the
front
seat?”

“Not
the
seat.
Trust
me.”

Nudging
all
the
contents
to
the
side
in
a
pile
she
couldn’t
quite
distinguish
in
the
dim
overhead
lighting,
he spread
the
blanket
along
the
long
centeraisle
floor.

At
the
head
of
the
makeshift
bed,
he
placed
two
water
bottles,
both
purple.
“KoolAid
added.
Manna
from the
gods.”

She
giggled.
Giggled?
She
hadn’t
indulged
in
the
teenagestyle
giggle,
well,
ever.
But
Bobby
encouraged uninhibited
behavior.

He
spread
a
bounty
of
crackers,
KoolAid
drinks
and
a
pineapple
with
his
knife
beside
the
fruit.
She searched
the
back
seat
and
found
nothing
more.
Her
brow
furrowed.
She’d
almost
expected
“toys”
of
some sort,
but
then
Bobby
never
did
anything
the
way
she
expected.

Then
he
knelt
and
unfurled
his
finger
to
place
one,
two,
three
condoms
beside
the
bottles.

Three?
Hmm…
Yum.

He
held
out
a
hand
to
her.
Such
a
simple
gesture,
but
one
of
commitment
to
the
moment.
He
was
giving
her all
the
power
by
having
her
come
to
him,
rather
than
scooping
her
up
and
kissing,
stroking
away
her inhibitions
as
he
undoubtedly
could.

She
rose,
extended
her
arm
and
fit
her
hand
in
his.
Hers
wasn’t
a
pampered
hand,
not
with
her
chewed
nails and
calluses
from
working
out
to
keep
in
shape
for
her
regular
job
as
a
profiler
for
the
police
department
and her
reservist
position
in
the
Army.
She
could
hold
her
own
in
physical
training
with
men
in
both
professions.

But
somehow
her
paler
skin
and
rough
hand
eclipsed
by
his
much
larger
one
seemed
feminine
at
a
time
she wanted
so
much
to
be
onehundredpercent
woman
for
him.

The
heated
gleam
in
his
eyes
reassured
her
he
found
her
brown
Tshirt
and
BDU
pants
as
sexy
as
any slinky,
sparkly
evening
getup.
Definitely.
Because
he
was
looking
at
her.

Holy
crap,
he
was
already
seeing
her
naked.

She
smiled.
A
laugh
bubbling.
Because
yep,
she
was
already
seeing
him
without
his
clothes,
too,
and
so
it was
all
okay.
And
she
had
a
feeling
the
reality
would
be
even
better.

She
reached
for
the
hem
of
her
Tshirt
and
he
brushed
aside
her
callused
hands.
“No
way,
lady.
I’ve
been dreaming
of
unveiling
you
since
the
first
time
I
saw
you.” Having
him
undress
her
felt
more…well…intimate
somehow,
especially
when
she’d
expected
a
more
frantic first
joining.
Slowly,
his
hands
bunched
the
cotton
fabric
of
her
shirt,
inching
upward
ever
so
slowly,
as
if
he were
savoring
each
patch
of
revealed
skin
illuminated
by
the
overhead
dome.
No
outside
halogens
pierced the
tinted
windows.

His
dark
eyes
flamed
hotter.
His
knuckles
against
her
flesh
burned
a
path
she
would
feel
for
hours.
Then
the shirt
was
off
and
over
her
head.
She
shook
her
hair
loose,
looking
at
him
looking
at
her.
She
still
wore
her bra,
pink
lace,
thank
goodness,
instead
of
her
sports
bra.
She’d
been
ready,
just
in
case….

From
the
obvious
appreciation
in
his
gaze,
apparently
he
was
a
breast
man.
Thank
goodness
again,
because her
thirtyfourC
size
sometimes
made
her
feel
a
bit,
uh,
“out
there.”
Clothes
didn’t
glide
over
her.
They stretched
and
outlined,
which
wasn’t
exactly
how
she
wanted
the
world
to
see
her.
She
was
a
brainiac,
after all.

Sexy
felt
good
right
now
and
somehow
Bobby
had
a
way
of
making
her
feel
beautifuland
respected.

His
hand
fell
to
her
waist,
the
BDU
pants
buttons.
The
van
was
tall
enough
for
her
to
stand
inside,
but
he had
to
lean
down,
which
put
his
mouth
conveniently
on
her
shoulder
for
nips
and
kisses
and
more
of
the same
up
her
oversensitive
neck.

She
smiled
her
acquiescence
and,
before
she
could
blink,
the
pants
were
pooling
around
her
bare
feet.
She kicked
them
free
and
stood
before
him
in
her
pink
bra
and
matching
thong,
the
set
seethroughlacy
enough for
him
to
view
the
proof
of
her
true
blond
status.

She
tapped
the
tab
of
his
flight
suit
zipper.
“Your
turn.
Or
rathermy
turn
to
torment
you.” He
spread
his
arms.
She
tugged
the
torsolength
zipper
down,
trailing
her
other
hand
behind
to
feel
the tensing
of
his
muscles
as
she
made
her
way,
down,
down,
down…yes.
Right
there.

Carefully,
she
eased
the
zipper
over
his
boxerscovered
erection.
Yep,
he
most
definitely
wanted
her.
He shrugged
his
shoulders
to
hasten
the
falling
away
of
his
flight
suit.

She
pushed
him
to
sit
on
the
back
bench
seat
so
she
could
rid
him
of
his
boots.

He
whistled
long
and
low
as
he
looked
down
at
her.
“If
I
live
to
be
a
hundred
and
eight,
I’ll
never
forget how
magnificent
you
look
right
this
instant.”

She
tossed
his
boots
and
socks
aside.
“I
never
would
have
pegged
you
for
a
romantic.” He
stood
and
pulled
her
against
him.
“I
think
I
may
be
insulted.”

“I
didn’t
mean
to.
Only
to
say
you
seem
more
the
funandgames
type.”

“Lady,
ensuring
that
I
bring
you
to
a
screaming
orgasm
is
serious
business.” Oh
my.

And
then
their
underwear
was
gone.
Poof.

Disappeared,
thanks
to
their
fasterthanthespeedoflight
hands,
and
now
they
were
finally,
finally,
oh
yes, thank
you,
naked.
She
couldn’t
writhe
hard
or
fast
enough
against
him.

He
lowered
her
to
the
blanket
and
covered
her
body
with
his.
Skin
to
skin
in
the
ageless,
traditional
position.

Not
acrobatic
as
she
expected,
but
from
the
look
in
his
eyes
the
moment
seemed
so
very
intimate.
Something she
hadn’t
expected
from
him,
this
openness
of
emotion.
Feelings
and
flesh
and
a
slight
slickness
of
sweat from
the
warmth
as
well
as
the
need.

Then,
he
kissed
her.

Gently,
a
brush
across
her
lips,
so
slow
and
sweet
her
heart
squeezed.
This
wasn’t
how
she’d
envisioned being
with
Bobby,
yet
it
was
far
more
arousing
and
maybe
a
little
frightening
because
it
was
all
very…she searched
for
the
right
word
and
could
only
come
up
with…

Real.

This
wasreal.
Bobby
took
his
time
to
let
them
find
their
familiarity
in
kissing
each
other,
because
they
had moved
rather
quickly
from
a
couple
of
quick
gropes
in
the
past
tothis.

She
whispered
against
his
mouth,
“Slow
is
sweet
and
good
and
sexy—”
she
traced
his
lips
with
the
tip
of her
tongue
“—but
more
would
be
even
better
now.”

“That’s
just
what
I
was
waiting
to
hear,
because
this
is
all
about
making
sure
you’re
comfortable
with
what comes
next.
It’s
about
making
this
as
pleasurable
for
both
of
us
as
possible.” In
case
they
never
came
together
again.

The
rogue
thought
smoked
through
her
brain
without
warning,
threatening
to
chill
the
moment.
Something she
refused
to
allow.

Her
hands
slid
around
to
his
bare
back,
muscles
bunching
under
her
fingers
as
she
urged
him
closer.
“More would
pleasure
me
much.”

He
met
her
mouth
open
and
hungry,
the
kiss
as
personal
as
any
she’d
ever
experienced
because
of
that realness,
mumbled
words
of
want
and
reassurance
and
worship
of
how
damn
hot
he
found
every
curve
of her
body.

Speaking
of
finding
her
curves…his
hands
cupped
her
breasts
in
a
gentle
massage
that
tingled
to
her
toes.

Again
he
took
his
time,
no
bebopping
around
from
body
part
to
body
part
before
she
had
a
chance
to
fully enjoy
that…

Yes,
more
of
that.

His
fingers
circled
and
teased
the
peaking
buds
until
she
wanted
to
scream,
stopping
only
a
second
short
as she
realized
everyone
outside
might
hear.
At
least
no
one
knew
they
were
inside.

His
mouth
replaced
his
hands,
moving
from
breast
to
breast
while
his
hands
moved
down,
his
finger slickening
the
dampness
and
sliding
inside.
A
low
moan
ripped
free
from
her
throat
along
with
the
notion that
she
needed
to
be
a
more
active
partner.
She
was
usually
more
active
than
this,
but
he
stole
her
reason.

She
dipped
her
head
to
tease
his
flat
round
nipples
into
a
hardness
echoed
by
the
rigidity
she
was
about
to learn
more
about.
Her
hand
traveled
south
to
test
the
length
of
him.

She
didn’t
have
enough
hand.

Uhoh.
And
maybe
ouch.

“Trust
me.”
He
blew
the
heated
words
against
her
breasts
as
she
stroked
the
length
of
him
again
and
again.

“Oh,
I
trust
you.
I
just
don’t
trust
the
laws
of
physics
on
this
one.”
There
was
only
so
much
of
her
and
there was
so
very
much
of
him.

“No
worries,
lady,
we
have
all
night
and
many
ways
to
bring
each
other
pleasure.”
He
spoke
each
hot
word lower
down
her
body.
“Your
choice.”
Pausing,
he
huffed
a
breath
against
the
golden
curls
between
her
legs.

“Your
comfort
level.”

Her
knees
fell
apart
as
quickly
as
her
concerns.

He
pressed
a
kiss
as
slow
and
gentle
against
her
nether
lips
as
he
had
in
their
earlier
kiss.
Taking
his
time.

Drawing
out
the
pleasure
and
making
her
yearn
for
more
suckling
kisses
until
she
begged.

Something
she’d
never,
never
done
before
but
found
it
in
no
way
demeaning.
Rather
arousing,
because
he could
make
her
want
more
than
she’d
ever
felt
or
needed
before.

“Please,”
she
begged
again.

In
answer,
his
mouth
grew
bolder
with
the
stroke
of
his
tongue
parting
her
lips,
seeking,
caressing,
exploring until
she
writhed
against
the
blanket
suddenly
itchy
against
her
oversensitive
skin.
Her
knees
clamped against
his
shoulders,
her
feet
swinging
up
to
rest
on
his
waist.
She
reached
to
twine
her
fingers
in
his
shortshorn
hair,
holding
him
in
place
even
though
he
seemed
in
no
hurry
to
leave
her
until
she…until
she…

Spasms
of
pure
pleasure
squeezed
through
her,
arching
her
back
upward,
her
hands
squeezing
tighter
in
his hair
relaying
her
intense
need
to
wring
every
sensation.
She
bit
her
bottom
lip
to
keep
from
screaming
out.

Her
spine
curved
upward
twice,
once
more
and
held
with
her
tightly
restrained
moan
until
she
finally collapsed
back
into
a
muscleless
mass
on
the
blanket.

Bobby
pressed
another
of
those
gentle
kisses
to
her
intimately,
then
to
her
stomach,
easing
the
dampness from
his
face
before
he
stretched
over
her,
reaching
for
a
condom.

She
tried
to
string
words
together—not
very
successfully.
“Wait.
I
want.
Give
you.”
She
gasped
for
breath.

“Same.
Let
me.”

“Later.
Definitely,”
he
promised
while
sheathing
himself.
“Right
now
with
my
entire
self
full
of
the
scent
of you,
Ihave
to
be
inside
you.”