Guardian (18 page)

“Sophie…Sophie! Stop!”

She spun around to face him and slammed into his chest.

“You’re okay, Sophie. We’re okay.” His breath ruffled through her hair, along her every ravaged nerve. “We’ll just sit tight and wait for a state trooper to come pick us up. An hour from now, we will laugh about how we hauled ass across the desert for nothing.”

“Don’t! Do
not
trivialize this.” She shrugged off his touch, inching back.

David hugged her again, securing her against his chest. He radiated steamy heat, pure power.

Sophie pushed his arms down and turned away. She wouldn’t let herself drown in the molten silvery blue allure of his eyes.

“Sophie, I know you’re upset right now.” David gripped her shoulders with tender hands and spun her to face him. “Hell, I’m shaky myself.”

“Upset? Upset!” Defiantly, she stared straight into his beautiful eyes. “I’m furious.”

He held up his hands. “I understand. An accident like this is scary stuff. It’s not unusual to be emotional afterward, and I apologize for putting you in harm’s way.”

How like David to assume he could save everyone, that through the strength of his will he could battle even mortality. Damn him for looking so strong, his broad chest inviting her to crawl into the circle of his arms and cry out her rage at an unfair world. His befuddled expression was almost comical, almost.

“You stupid, egotistical
man
, I’m mad at myself!”

“Sophie, I’m not following you,” he said, reaching for her elbow. Her flinch stopped him cold. David held up both hands defensively. “Maybe it’s best if we don’t talk right now. We need to sit tight and wait for the state trooper.”

A wave of nausea choked her. Her purse slipped from her slack fingers, thudding on the ground. It wasn’t like she stood a chance at having cell phone reception out here anyway. She grabbed her knees.

“Sophie…” He massaged the back of her neck. “Hang in there. You’re okay. Look around you, we’re okay.”

Straightening slowly, she glared at David. The heat
from his body fueled her wrath, one fire feeding another. “Excuse me, Major, for not being one hundred percent logical right now, but the way I see it, I’m entitled to my little breakdown, and I’m not asking you to do a thing about it.”

“Not logical? You’re the most logical woman I’ve ever met.” The power of him crowded her. “You can reason yourself through a fifteen-minute decision on whether to have a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch. So take a deep breath and let’s think through this clearly.”

“I’m thinking clearly for the first time since I let my hormones grab hold of me in the courtroom.”

“And what did you figure out, Counselor?”

“You love your job. If you didn’t have the military, you’d find something else to give you the same jolt.” Words flowed from her, resentment jumbling them one on top of the other. She had to make him understand before he could twist her back to his way of thinking. “I’m not denying what you do is honorable. I give you credit for channeling that macho need for a thrill into something that serves a purpose. But how is your daughter going to feel when she doesn’t have a father anymore?”

Sophie held up a hand to forestall David’s answer. “No need to worry, though. You’ve already lined up Madison as her surrogate mother. Just like Lowell knew he could play and I would take care of the home fires. Just like my father knew Nanny would pick up the slack with me. Have your children and then leave them for someone else to bring them up while you head off on your next crusade.”

Even scowling he looked so damn sexy it angered her all the more that she could be attracted to him
now
of all times. She would have thought him completely unconcerned except for the betraying tic in the corner of his
eyes, eyes usually creased with amusement. “Don’t confuse me with your bastard dead husband.”

She remembered the day in the courtroom when they had jockeyed for control. Stakes had seemed so high as she fought for her case, for financial independence, to stem a wayward attraction tangling her concentration.

The moment faded into the larger void waiting to absorb her. This man tempted more than her body. “The interesting part is that I don’t think it takes much heroism to play your games. Either you win or you die.”

Rage at David and at life in general sapped her, leaving her light-headed as she gasped through the pain. Did he even understand the line between courageous and reckless? “Don’t you have some great joke you’d like to crack right now?”

“No.” The gentle comforter had long departed. David stood silent, his lean body one fluid line of tension. “I’m just waiting for you to finish. Come on, Sophie. Why else am I no different than Lowell Campbell?”

The mere mention of her husband drove her the rest of the way. “You never have to face the backlash of your actions. You leave that part to the women, the stuff that requires more gut courage than you’ll ever know. We’re the ones who pick up the pieces of lives blasted to bits by your latest reckless endeavor. Step in front of a bullet. Smack a bridge. Honorable or not, the end result is the same. The woman explains to her children why they don’t have a father.”

Even though a portion of her brain whispered how she wasn’t being entirely fair. Haley Rose’s mother had bailed. David had lost his stepson…But the power of her emotions, frustrations, and fears just steamrolled over her logic.

Her eyes fluttered closed. She chewed the corner of her mouth, grounding herself in the mundane pain to avoid facing the larger ache as she pushed David away.

“But hey, kids, he was so
brave
.” Her eyes snapped open. “Well, I’ve got a news bulletin for you, Major. Dying is easy. Being left behind, that’s the tough job.”

Sophie stared at the dynamic, fearless man in front of her and knew she would give almost anything to feel his arms around her again.

Anything except risk a repeat of the past year.

“So don’t preach to me about keeping my head clear.” She punctuated each point with a step closer. “Don’t explain to me about being strong.”

The roaring in her ears faded and the world around her grew as silent as the moment when the Cessna’s engine had stopped.

All her senses fine-tuned to hyperaware. Her fingers gripped the warm cotton of his shirt stretched along the breadth of his shoulders. The scent of him, like crisp air and musk, saturated the air and chased away the acrid stench of fear. And she couldn’t deny it. Her body burned for him.

His pupils dilated with an answering arousal.

An answering excitement stirred inside her, spreading, heating, sending a bolt of moist desire gathering between her legs. She’d wanted him, ached to have him fill her since that crazy moment in the courtroom, but the desire was nothing compared to this greedy hunger gnawing at her.

Yes, the adrenaline dump in the aftermath was always the most powerful, and the feelings coursing through her were multiplied by the crash. She knew this.

And still she bracketed his face with her hands and guided his mouth to hers.

*    *    *

David froze in shock.

For all of two heartbeats, and then to hell with restraint.

He palmed the back of Sophie’s head, sealing his mouth to hers more firmly. Her mood changes were giving him whiplash, but then he was anything but steady right now himself.

The soft, sweet sweep of her tongue against his sent a bolt of undiluted need straight to his groin. Inhibitions peeled away out here in the vast expanse of desert nothingness, surrounded by more nothingness. Emotions flooded him with all the tension of the crash landing, the fear for Sophie, the restraint in holding himself in check in the crisis.

Awareness flowed between them, more tempting than a simple grope. Her verbal blast had shocked him more than the broken gauge. He wouldn’t defend himself. Apparently there wasn’t anything he could say that she wanted to hear.

Her curves molded to him, the lush softness of her breasts pressed to his chest, the give of her hips fitting into the cradle of his. They’d kissed before, but this was a whole different sort of coming together.

Unvarnished. Raw. Lust. Fueled by the life-and-death moment in the air.

She gripped his shoulders, her fingernails digging through cotton to push half-moons into his flesh. The power of her need fed his. His hands tangled in her hair,
swept over her back and down to cup her bottom, lifting her, bringing her closer. Her legs slid up and around his waist, spreading her wide and hot against him.

“Sophie,” he groaned against her mouth. “I want to be buried inside you right now, but this place is far from a bed and any of the romantic niceties you deserve.”

Her arms went around his neck, her legs holding strong. “What I want, what I
deserve
, is to quit fighting this attraction. I need you here and now.”

“God, Sophie.” He pressed his face into the curve of her neck, drawing in the jasmine perfume of her shampoo. “You’re killing me here.”

Her legs slid down and she angled her face to look at him. “But you don’t really want this.”

He combed his fingers through her hair. “Wrong. I want you, make no mistake, but is this really the time or the place?”

“This is exactly the right time and place.”

There was no missing the fiery conviction in her voice and eyes.

Still, he pressed, “You have to know that’s adrenaline talking.”

“What’s so wrong with that as long as I’m a hundred percent sure this is what I want? And believe me, I want you. Here. Now. Quit trying to protect me all the time and just
be
with me.”

The driving urge to keep her safe encompassed more than one level. “That’s easier said than done. Hell, Sophie, I don’t have protection.”

A smile curved her kissed-plump lips. “I do.”

She leaned to scoop her purse from the ground and yanked it open. She unzipped a hidden pouch and pulled out—thank God—four condoms, neatly folded.

“Ambitious woman.”

“How long do you think we have before the state trooper arrives?”

He looked at his watch and the midafternoon sun over the deserted stretch of sand. “An hour, but we’ll hear him coming long before he gets here.”

She pressed the condoms into his hand and folded his fingers over them. “Then the question is, Do you want to have sex, here and now? No niceties, just you and I together…”

His free hand covered her breast.

Her mouth snapped shut, and her eyes fluttered closed. Her head fell back as she arched her spine, fitting her more firmly into his palm. He stroked and explored, and wondered where the hell control had gone. But then everything was a power struggle with Sophie.

Gripping his wrists, she moved his hands lower to her hips. Then let go. With deliberate precision, she peeled her doubled tank tops over her head in a sweep that left him stunned all over again. His mouth dried up, his eyes locked on her as she stood in her jeans and bra, tumbleweed rolling past her feet.

God, she was magnificent.

She reached behind her back to unfasten her ivory bra, bold and winning the hell out of this power play, and he was happy to lose. She flung aside the scrap of lace. The sun streamed over her, glinting off her golden hair, showcasing the tan lines around her breasts. Her dusky nipples were tight and calling to him. He tucked the condoms into his back pocket and devoted his complete attention to caressing, stroking, tempting her as much as she tempted him.

He filled his hands with her creamy softness, dipping
to taste her. He laved his tongue around the budding desire, flicking and pressing her to the roof of his mouth. Her husky “yes” stoked the flames hotter and higher inside him.

She tugged at his camo pants, slipping the button fly free so slowly his erection throbbed. Then—finally—her small cool hand slid inside his boxers. She stroked the length of him, then up again, her thumb gliding over the glistening tip of him.

The need to come all over her hand almost overtook him.

Her fist glided, her thumb sliding over the damp tip and slickening her hold. Too easily he could be a damn selfish bastard and let this play out right now. He was that close to the edge.

Before he lost it totally, he eased her hand from his pants and kissed her wrist, right over her speeding pulse. He nipped his way up his sun goddess’s arm and back to her breasts, distracting her while he unfastened her jeans. But she wasn’t a passive follower. She wriggled her jeans down and off—which shimmied her nipples against his mouth in a tantalizing brush that sent sparks exploding behind his eyes.

He slid his finger between her legs, exploring the slickness, reveling in how ready she was for him.

She bit his ear lightly, the rasp of her teeth catching just enough to sting without injuring. “Enough foreplay. I want it all. I want you, inside me,” she demanded. “Now.”

And he was more than willing to follow her order.

He yanked off his T-shirt and draped it on the ground. He lowered her onto his makeshift blanket, kneeling over her. Sand and pebbles dug through his pants, anchoring
him in the stark reality of coming together out here in the elements. Her hair fanned on the desert floor. She drew her knees up, her feet planted, and for the moment he let himself just look at her, uninhibited, offering herself to him.

Her eyes held his, intense and full of passion. Something darker lurked in her expression, but hell, the feelings inside him weren’t pretty, either. He pulled the condoms from his back pocket and tore one free. Her steamy gaze followed his hands as he sheathed himself.

She lifted an arm, linking her fingers with his and tugging him down until the sand grated along his elbows. He covered her, and her legs slid fluidly around him. Bringing him closer. Positioning him exactly where he wanted to be most.

He should go slower, for her, but Sophie’s heels urged him to thrust deep and fully. Her damp heat clasped around him. Snapping the last restraints on his control. This joining was edgy…

Inevitable.

The sun beat down on his back, the wind rasping sand over them in a way they were going to feel later. Yet still she rolled her hips against him, her heels digging into his ass, urging him closer.