Crimson Lips [Amazon Warriors] (Siren Publishing Classic) (3 page)

Sloan knew this woman would be harder to approach and start a conversation with than any of the other women in there. He relished the challenge. He was a solider used to fighting for what he wanted. She would be no different.

As he continued to watch her and plan his method of attack, he saw her scowl over toward some of his men in the corner. A frown should never mar such a stunning face.

He walked over to his men to find out what had happened to cause the gorgeous woman’s anger.

“What a freak!”

“That’s just unnatural.”

“I bet it’s a guy.”

“Hey, what are you guys talking about?” Sloan asked, afraid to know the answer.

“Lieutenant, please tell me you didn’t miss the giant of a…woman,” one of his men said, using air quotes when saying
woman
, “that just walked in. We were just trying to decide what she was.”

What the fuck!
Anger boiled within him, and his fist launched itself toward the guy’s face before he could register it was happening.

His fist landed square in the guy’s jaw, and the corporal hit the deck with a grunt.

He looked from the man on the floor to the men looking at him as if he’d lost his mind.

“Have we been at war so long that you guys have forgotten how to respect women, or do you normally treat women you don’t even know like shit? No wonder the women ’round here won’t give us the time of day if you’re going to treat them like that. I expected more from you guys.”

Sloan looked each man in the eye, and each one had the decency to look ashamed and embarrassed.

“We’re done here. All of you get your shit together and head back to base.”

He watched his men quickly down their drinks and head out, not saying a word to each other or the locals.

Sloan walked back over to the bar and ordered another drink to calm his frustration with his men. He needed to go apologize on their behalf, but he wanted to be something resembling calm when he approached the offended woman.

How could his men not see the appeal of the goddess of a woman? She would star in his wet dreams for a long time to come, no pun intended.

He was just taking his last mouthful of his drink when a heady smell of the wilderness and lavender filled his nostrils. He felt someone sit down next to him. He lowered his glass and turned in his chair to see the goddess looking at him with a quizzical look on her face.

They just sat there looking at each other for what felt like several minutes. He could feel the eyes of some of her friends staring at them. What were they expecting to happen?

He slid his glance sideways to see the looks on their faces when he heard the sexy woman sitting before him say “Ignore them” with such authority, all he could do was obey.

It was easily done, though with her beauty as a distraction.

Even her voice was sexy, deep yet feminine and raspy. He wanted her to speak again, only this time he wanted to watch those plump, red lips move.

“You fought with your friends to defend me. Why?”

Straight to the point. He liked that.

“They were being assholes.”

She gave him a curious look. “That much is true, but I don’t need you to stick up for me. I can take care of myself.”

“No doubt, but I don’t like men mistreating women, whether I know the woman or not.”

“Honorable. You have a lot of respect for women.”

“My mother was a great woman. She raised me right.”

“Apparently. So you’re a mommy’s boy?” she asked with a smirk.

He smiled. “Don’t let it get around. I have a reputation to protect.”

Sloan could see a smile creep onto her face, but she resisted it.

“Can I get you a drink?” she asked.

“Isn’t that supposed to be my line?”

“I don’t like sticking to the normal stereotypes, so what will it be?”

“Scotch on the rocks.”

She called the bartender over and ordered one for each of them. He really liked this woman.

After she paid, they took a drink, never breaking eye contact.

“So, who do I thank?”

“Crimson Acker.”

Crimson held out her hand toward the handsome stranger. He gave a small laugh, took her hand, and shook it as he said, “Sloan Baptiste.”

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, I just should have known you’d have a name like that. What else could you call someone with the deepest red lips I have ever seen? I knew it wasn’t lipstick.”

Crimson didn’t get self-conscious often, but she knew the color of her lips was odd to mortals. She pulled her lips inwards, trying to hide them.

“Don’t.” He cupped the side of her face.

“I like them, and I like that your name refers to them. They are the sexiest lips I have ever seen.” Sloan ran the pad of his thumb across her lips and stared at them as he spoke.

She cleared her throat, and he removed his hand, looking into her eyes, trying to see if he’d offended her? Not likely.

“I overheard you say to those guys you’d just come back from war?” she asked to indicate she wasn’t offended by his comment but wanted to change the subject.

Sloan looked relieved as he spoke. “We’re marines and we’ve been on operations in Iraq for the last eight months. I’m their Lieutenant.”

“That explains it.”

“Explains what?”

“You look like you take care of yourself.” What an understatement, she thought to herself. “You can obviously handle yourself in a fight, and you have an air of a leader about you.”

“Same can be said for you.”

They shared an intense look. No man had ever acknowledged that about her before, and the fact that this man was mortal shocked her beyond belief.

Crimson had never spent much time in the company of mortal men. They always seemed intimidated by her strength, or she was afraid she’d damage their fragile male egos.

This man, on the other hand, seemed to accept and appreciate her strength.

The man kept surprising her. When she first walked in, she could feel him staring at her. She was subtler in her appreciative glances. The man looked like he would be a little taller than her if she didn’t have her heels on, which she liked. He had muscles bulging from his tight T-shirt and jeans that she would swear she could see the outline of his cock through.

He was almost pretty.

Sloan had clearly shaved before he came out, and it defined his chiseled jawline and strong features. She could see a small scar on his face, which, for Crimson, was a complete turn-on. It showed he had fought battles and survived, and that was something all Amazons could appreciate.

He had a deep, husky, baritone voice that sent a shiver up her spine that she struggled to hide. He had a military buzz cut, but she could see he would have a gorgeous head of the darkest black hair. Sloan smelled like cologne and man, rugged and musky. She loved it.

Crimsons favorite thing about Sloan was his dark, chocolate eyes that seemed bottomless. She could look into them for hours. She could tell that he had seen things he wished he hadn’t. It hid in the depths of his stare.

He was a complex man she wished she could explore, but the tribe would never accept a mortal as her partner, but they wouldn’t mind her having some fun with him. She smiled to herself.

When she looked up, she saw Sloan staring at her mouth again with a big goofy grin on his face. Her smile got wider. This was going to be fun.

* * * *

Mesmerized. Sloan could think of no other word to describe his reaction to Crimson’s smile. He knew he’d react like this if he were ever lucky enough to experience her smile.

Neither had said anything for quite some time. They both just seemed to appreciate looking at each other.

It wasn’t enough for him anymore, though. He wanted to touch her, so he racked his brain for an excuse to get close to her. The only thing he could come up with was a dance, but he was a terrible dancer. It had even been said by one of his brothers that he didn’t have two left feet when dancing, it was as if he had no feet at all.

He decided that the embarrassment would be worth it to get closer to Crimson, besides her large group of friends had gotten bored watching them a while ago and were minding their own business.

So he took a deep breath, prepared himself, and asked, “Would you like to dance?”

For a brief moment, he saw a flash of panic and surprise cross her face. He thought he was going to get shot down, but she nodded and stood before him.

Sloan quickly followed suit and stood beside Crimson.

There was a brief pause as they stood there looking at each other, Crimson with a look of uncertainty on her face. Then he burst out laughing.

Crimson was easily a couple inches taller than him in those ankle breakers. She smiled and offered, “We can sit back down if you want, or I can take them off.”

Even before she had finished the sentence, he was shaking his head. “I’m dying to get my hands on you, so we are dancing, and you’re leaving those sexy shoes on while we do.”

He grabbed her hand and led her to the small dance floor. He noticed some eyes where back on them, but he paid them no mind as he focused on the gorgeous woman in his arms.

They both laughed as they were both pretty bad at dancing, neither seemed to mind. He was too focused on his hands that rested on her curvaceous hips, and their height difference put him at eye level with those sinful lips.

* * * *

Crimson felt completely comfortable with Sloan. Even with their awkward and uncoordinated dancing, she was having fun, not focusing on her surroundings or her responsibilities to the tribe.

They were in their own world.

He seemed completely comfortable with her, too. He didn’t mind the height difference or their embarrassing dancing, and she could see he was completely focused on her.

His hands felt amazing on her hips, but she wanted them to explore her entire body just as she wanted to do to him. It wasn’t enough for her to just hold his shoulders. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and feel his muscles move beneath her touch.

Her warrior instincts were telling her to be bold and forward, just like they had told her to do when she approached him at the bar, but she didn’t want to be in control tonight. She wanted Sloan to take the lead, take the decisions out of her hands.

It was like he read her mind as his hands slowly moved around to her back, pulling her closer to his body, then he gradually moved his hands downwards to grab the firm globes of her ass.

He made his intentions clear and gave her plenty of time to resist his advances. Not on her life would she say no to this man right now. He was so sexy and made her feel sexy, which was rare considering her warrior stature.

She followed his lead and twined her arms behind his neck getting ever closer to his tempting mouth.

They did their best to grind on each other, but they didn’t seem to have an ounce of rhythm between them.

Even with their lack of dancing skills, she could feel him rubbing his thick and stiffening cock against her, and she could feel his breath quicken the more often she rubbed her breasts on his chest.

Crimson felt nervous and excited as they stared into each other’s eyes, just waiting for what they both knew was inevitable. They both seemed content to let the anticipation build.

Just as her lust was about to boil over and lean in to kiss Sloan, he beat her to it.

Seemed he couldn’t wait any longer either.

He wasn’t gentle or slow, he was urgent and demanding. It was a kiss that made her toes curl. Being the true Amazon she was, she met him force for force, with tongues teasing, teeth clashing, lips sucking and nibbling. It was just what she wanted.

He continued to massage and squeeze her ass. He wasn’t gentle about that either. She loved it. Most men treated women like a delicate flower that would break with the smallest bit of force. Not Sloan, he was aggressive and demanding. She relished it.

Never one to take a backseat, she grabbed the back of his head with one hand, refusing to let him stop and loving the feel of his shaved head beneath her hand. The other rested over his shoulder and traced the defined muscles of his back. She loved a man with a strong back. The man got sexier and sexier the more she discovered about him.

She’d lost track of time by the time they both eased up on the kiss. All she knew was that they were both panting for breath.

They gazed into each other’s eyes before Sloan leaned in to whisper in her ear.

“I want you…bad. You are the sexiest woman I have ever met. From the moment I saw you, I’ve wanted to fuck you any and every way I can get you.” He licked and nibbled her earlobe, and her eyes rolled back. “Right now I don’t care how or where. It just needs to be
now.
” He pulled back to look her in the eye once again. “Say yes.”

She didn’t need more than a second to make up her mind, she took his hand and led him out the front door, getting a few curious glances from members of her tribe, but she was so horny and turned on, she didn’t give a shit what they thought.