Just This Once, Contemporary Romance (Last Frontier Lodge #3) (7 page)

When he turned onto her street, Becca directed him to her parking garage. He turned the engine off and climbed out automatically. Force of habit had him holding her door before he thought twice. Her blue eyes blinked up at him. She stood, clutching her purse and jacket. He closed the door and waited. He sensed she wanted to say something. Her silky brown hair fell away from her face when she looked up. She bit her lip, her eyes bouncing away and back again.

“About what I said the other night.”

Her voice was clear, her gaze direct. His pulse lunged. He took a steadying breath before replying. “What about it?”

“How about tonight?”

Three words, her voice lilting with the question, and heat surged through his body. He was going to have to call upon every ounce of discipline he had to get through this without losing control.

“Tonight?”
 

The woman he’d wanted more than anyone was standing there waiting for him to agree to make love to her tonight, and he was terrified simply because he might not be able to keep a lid on his feelings after this. He didn’t know what that might mean for them. When it came to women and just about everything in life, he was confident. When it came to Becca, there was too much on the line.

She nodded and bit her lip again. His eyes went right to her mouth where her teeth dented her soft, plump lip, and all he could think about was how it felt to kiss her. He lost focus, but then her voice broke through.

“That’s what I said.” Her tone was sharp, just enough that it rankled and made him want to push back.

“So you did. You’ll have to forgive me if I’m a little slow on the take here. Still haven’t figured out why you think this is a good idea.”

Her eyes flashed with irritation, and he almost chuckled. Becca annoyed got his footing back under him.

“Look, you kissed me first! Maybe it’s crazy, but I figure if you want to kiss me, maybe you want more. If you’re going to be an ass about it, then forget it.” Becca started to push past him.

He moved swiftly and stepped in front of her, nothing but need driving him. He wasn’t going to let this chance pass him by. She bumped against him and pushed her shoulder against his chest. He curled his hands around her shoulders.

“Becca.”

Those blue eyes collided with his, snapping with annoyance.

“I didn’t mean to be an ass. I just…” He paused and took a breath. “This whole idea of yours took me off guard. I meant what I said the other night, but you threw me with this.”

He felt her take a breath. She chewed her lips and started twirling her hair around her finger again. “Right. I suppose maybe you think I’m nuts.”

He shook his head slowly. “No, definitely not. Kyle sure as hell shouldn’t be the last man you were with. If you say tonight, then tonight it is.”

She nodded quickly. “Just this once. Okay?”

He arched a brow. “Maybe.”

He wouldn’t push too hard, but he also wasn’t going to box himself into promises he didn’t want to keep.

Her mouth curled in a half-smile. “Fine. Come on.” She brushed past him, walking briskly to the elevator. They rode up in silence. Aidan followed her down the hallway to her apartment. He’d been here a few times with Gage and then assessed the building a few months back when she was fielding those threats. He wasn’t too thrilled with where she lived from a safety standpoint. It was a small apartment building in downtown Seattle. It was charming enough and likely filled with artsy, progressive types given its mid-century charm with hardwood flooring and cutesy wooden trim on the high ceilings. Artwork hung on the walls throughout the building with plants in the windows at the end of every hall. Yet, security was non-existent and most of the apartments had only basic locks. With Becca’s grudging agreement and her brothers’ insistence, Aidan had her apartment fitted with high-end locks on the doors and windows and a basic security system.

He followed her into the small apartment, glancing around at the warm space. She didn’t spend much time here, but she managed to keep it comfortable. The living room had floor to ceiling windows, which she draped with gauzy white curtains. A purple throw rug lay in a circle with a couch and chairs situated around it. The couch was laden with pillows, inviting someone to take a seat. Off to one side through an archway was a small kitchen. On the other side of the room was an alcove leading to her bedroom, a bathroom and a guest bedroom.

He tucked his hands in his pockets and waited, his body thrumming with tension. Again, he questioned himself, worrying this might be an incredibly stupid idea. He watched Becca set her purse on a table by the door and hang her jacket. She wore a cream colored blouse with a dark purple skirt that hugged her hips and flared around her knees. She kicked her shoes off and strode across the room, flicking on a few lamps. Pausing in the archway into the kitchen, she glanced to him. “I have beer and wine. Any preference?”

“Beer will do.” He kicked his shoes off and shrugged out of his suit jacket, rolling up his sleeves and loosening the collar.

She stepped into the kitchen and returned with a bottle of beer. After handing it to him, she sat down on the couch, cupping a glass of red wine. She gestured for him to sit, so he did. He wasn’t a man of many words and tended to be comfortable with silence. This silence unsettled him, mostly because he was waiting to see what she did.

She took several gulps of wine and set her glass on the table beside the couch. She moved swiftly. Before he knew what happened, she turned to him, slid her palm up his chest, along his neck and stroked her fingers into his hair.

“Before I lose my nerve...”
 

She whispered those words as she tugged him down to meet her lips. That was it. His restraint went up in smoke. When her lips met his, he sensed the barest thread of hesitance, as if she wasn’t sure he wanted to kiss her. Oh, he wanted. And he damn well wanted to make sure she didn’t wonder for a second just how much. He managed to set his beer on the coffee table without breaking free and immediately threaded his hand into the silky fall of her hair. He pulled back a fraction, bringing his hand to cup her cheek and tracing her lips with his thumb. Her eyes opened. For a flash, he saw the uncertainty he sensed, but she masked it quickly. He wanted to say something, but words would nudge her into thinking, and thinking might not be such a good idea right this second.

He closed the distance between their lips again. He tried to start slow, oh he tried, but he failed spectacularly. The moment she gasped against his lips, he dove into the warm sweetness of her mouth. Kissing Becca was like being thrust into a fire. Lust surged through him. Her tongue stroked against his in a sensuous tangle. When she moaned into his mouth, he tore his lips free, licking and nipping his way down her neck. He adjusted his position on the couch and dragged her onto his lap. She didn’t hesitate and sat astride him, dusting his face with kisses, nipping at his earlobe and nearly driving him wild with every touch.

He paused to look at her. Her hair fell in a rumple around her shoulders. Her blue eyes were dark with desire, and her skin flushed. Her breasts strained against her blouse as she breathed in gasps. He trailed his fingers down the side of her neck, savoring the beat of her pulse under his touch, and moved down into the vee of her blouse, her skin damp under his fingers. For so damn long, he’d shoved fantasies about her away, hoping if he ignored them long enough, eventually they’d go away. But now, here she was. He could barely catch his breath against the desire streaking through him, twisting him in its coils.

He dragged his finger under the edge of her blouse and nudged it to the side. Her breath came in soft pants. He could feel the beat of her heart, pounding in tune with his own. He began to methodically unbutton her blouse. When it fell open, he slowly pushed it off her shoulders. He’d have expected practical from her, but she wore a barely there bra, her nipples taut against the fabric, dusky and pink under the sheer cream silk. He didn’t hesitate and cupped her full breasts with his hands, dragging his thumbs back and forth across her nipples. She arched into his touch, crying out when he gave in to temptation and closed his mouth over one of her nipples.

He poured years of desire into every touch. He drew his tongue in slow circles around her nipple, waiting until her breath came in broken gasps before he drew the taut peak into his mouth, biting down softly, savoring her sharp gasp and the flex of her body under his hands. He gave the same attention to her other nipple, all the while trailing his fingers in slow circles over her breasts.

***

Becca tumbled into sensation, need rolling through her as Aidan tugged her nipple into his mouth, swirling his tongue around it. He turned the same attention to her other nipple, while dragging his thumb back and forth over the damp silk. Her breasts were heavy and aching. Desire twisted through her, hot liquid need pulsing with every beat of her heart. She sat astride him, the heat of his shaft hard against her. He dragged his lips up her neck. His touch was like flames licking along her skin. She tore at his shirt, yanking it open and shoving it off his shoulders. His chest was pure muscle. A light smatter of dark hair tapered down toward his waist. She trailed her fingers over his chest, tracing a scar that curved along his ribcage. A flicker of curiosity wondered at its source. As a Navy SEAL, his body was all that she’d expect, and yet she knew he’d seen his share of action and sustained more than a few bumps and bruises along the way.

She nearly went wild when he bit down on her nipple, so peaked with need she could hardly bear it. Only when the silk of her bra was drenched did he flick his thumb under the clasp and shove it off her shoulders. The feel of his calloused palms cupping her breasts nearly undid her. She rolled her hips against him, arching down into the spikes of sharp pleasure. He caught her lips in a kiss, groaning when she curled her palm around his cock, stroking it through his pants. Suddenly, he shifted, lifting her easily into his strong embrace and carrying her effortlessly. When he reached the shadowed alcove, he glanced down at her, arching a brow. She nudged her chin toward her bedroom door. Without a word, he shouldered through.

Next thing she knew, he’d flicked the lamp on and stretched her out on the bed. He peeled off her stockings with ruthless efficiency. The feel of the cool air on her skin only served to fan the flames inside. He had one knee on the foot of the bed. In the shadowed light, his body was mouth-watering—all lean muscle, flexing with every small motion. He held still, his eyes traveling up her body—a touch of its own kind. Her belly fluttered and clenched. The waiting, the anticipation nearly undid her. She started to sit up and reach for him. His eyes on her, he shook his head. Her pulse running wild, her breath shallow and liquid need pulsing within, she leaned back and waited.

He curled his hands around her ankles and then stroked them up her calves, his touch hot, sure, and so slow, she nearly screamed. His lips followed. Her sex clenched with need as his lips made their way up to her knees. Suddenly, he stopped and she almost cried out. He toyed with the edge of her skirt, just long enough to send her pulse rocketing, before his hands traveled over the thin fabric of her skirt. He dragged her skirt off, tossing it across the room, and stood. She was bare save for her panties. She had a penchant for sexy, silky bras, but she leaned practical when it came to her underwear. Though she managed to match by color, they were simple and cotton.

Aidan looked down at her, his mouth hitching in a small smile. His smiles were so damn sexy, she lost her breath for a moment. When he kept looking at her, uncertainty washed through her. She’d lost herself for a bit. He did that to her. But she hadn’t forgotten for years that she hadn’t been enough for Kyle. Even if she told herself all day that Kyle was a loser, it still hurt he’d found someone else more appealing. That thread of attraction she’d tried to ignore with Aidan didn’t change the reality he could have just about any woman he wanted. He was the quintessential tall, dark and sexy man with the added bonus of a super-hot military grade body. She’d lost focus and forced her eyes back to Aidan’s—the blur of his burning, blue gaze.

“What?” she asked, wondering why he kept watching her with that half-smile.

“Practical, just like I’d have guessed.”

Before she could ask what he meant, he reached into his pocket and tossed a condom on the nightstand, his eyes holding hers. She couldn’t help her wry comment. “So you came prepared?”

He shrugged. “Always.”

He shoved his pants down and kicked them to the side. He stood before her in a pair of fitted black briefs, his arousal evident. Her mouth went dry, her breath catching in her throat. Want flashed through her so hard and fast, her body felt like it was on fire. The bed dipped as Aidan knelt, one knee between her thighs. With his eyes on her like hot embers, he dragged a finger across the cotton between her thighs. It was drenched with her need. Her breath broke, anticipation arcing inside. Heat curled through her body. Desire coiled tighter and tighter as he teased her. Slow strokes, her hips rolling into his touch, until he hooked a finger over the edge and dragged her panties off.
 

Just when she was desperate to feel his touch inside of her, he drew his fingers slowly through her slick folds, teasing her until she was thrashing. Finally, finally, he eased his fingers into her channel. She fell into nothing but need and sensation when his mouth joined his fingers. His tongue dragging back and forth, his fingers plunging into her channel. Pleasure coursed through her, building and building until it broke in a wave, whipping through her body.

Aidan lifted up and over her body, bracketing her face with his elbows. For a split second, it hit her—what they were doing. Becca shoved it away. She wouldn’t let herself second-guess this. It was too amazing. His head dipped into her neck, and he feathered kisses along her collarbone and neck. The white-hot climax that had just ripped through her eddied into the pulse of desire still beating between them. His hips nudged against her. Somewhere along the way, he’d kicked his briefs off. His cock slid back and forth in her folds, slick and swollen with desire. Over the next few moments, he brought her right back to the place where need clawed at her. She wanted him inside of her so badly, she was panting and gasping.